“No, that’s not what this is…” Willow said, somewhat ticked off.
“You know what this reminds me of?”Rose asked.“Persuasion, the book we’ve discussed in the book club.I think it was Annie who’s mentioned the introduction in her copy of the book.Apparently, Jane Austen had written to her niece, encouraging her to avoid committing to someone if she wasn’t really in love.So, I’m just wondering—are you scared to commit because you’re not sure of your feelings for him?”
“Of course not.I love Hunter!”Willow called out in frustration.
Rose grabbed her hand.“When I fell in love with Cooper I had only one wish—to be with him.Always.We love you, Willow.In your own way, you’ve persuaded all of us to give love a chance when we were too scared.It’s now our turn to do the same.Love, I’ve learned, is not happy with just sometimes, it insists onall the time.”
“For someone who is wearing a ring, you don’t look very happy,” Laura said.“You can live anywhere; you can paint anywhere.And as for your family, we’re always here whenever you want to visit us.”
“What’s more,” Ellie added, “Your mom would love to visit you in Colorado.You know how excited she always is to travel when you have an exhibition in another state.”
“You took the leap of faith to go and see Hunter,” Rose said.“But you need to be even braver for the next step.”
Staring at her friends, their words swirling in her head, Willow groaned out loud.“I thought I was!After I left the jewelry store in Bozeman, I had this epiphany that I’ve been using my weirdness as a shield to protect myself.I thought I had opened up my heart in spite of the fear of getting hurt but listening to all of you… you’re right.I’ve made sure I have a way out if things didn’t work out.So, what do I do now?”
“It’s two days till Christmas,” Rose said.“Give yourself a chance to think of all the pros and cons.Didn’t you say he was visiting over New Years?”
“That was what he said,” Willow muttered.She would see Hunter in less than two weeks.Okay, she loved the man, but surely she could be okay without him for a few days?
“I also want to talk about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” Laura was saying.“Shouldn’t we give Arlene a break this year and do the dinners ourselves?”
Willow wasn’t paying attention anymore.It was seventeen days before she saw him.Seventeen nights without him.Seventeen times twenty-four… Damn it, she was never good at math, but she did know seventeen days and seventeen nights were way too long to wait to see Hunter again!
Of course, she could just move to Colorado to always be with Hunter.
Could she do that, though?Just pick everything up and moved away from everything and everyone she’d ever known?
As she looked around her, her heart sighed.Of course she could.It meant she would always be with Hunter.She’d keep her house here for the times they visited her family, but they’d live on his ranch.
Hundreds of thoughts ran through her mind.How would Hunter feel about having her permanently around?It was one thing to have long-distance relationship with a weird artist, it was something entirely different to live with such a person day in and day out.
“…Willow?”Laura’s voice finally brought her back to the present.
“Sorry, what?”
As Laura repeated her questions, Willow’s mind was back to her problem.Instead of rushing back to Colorado like she wanted to do, she should maybe wait for Hunter’s visit and see how things were between them once he was here.So many things could still change.
*
Hunter put hisphone back in the pocket of his jeans.Tod Styles had just phoned again about the property for sale outside Marietta, Montana.Listlessly, he kicked the bale of hay in front of him.
Why the hell did he keep answering the realtor’s calls?It wasn’t as if he could do anything about it.This ranch had been in his family for generations, this was where he belonged, he couldn’t just pack up and leave.His dad was still fit, but after watching him over the last few days, Hunter knew his dad wouldn’t be able to keep managing the ranch.
His phone rang.It was his dad.Frowning, he answered.Why would his dad phone him, he knew where he was?”
“Dad?”he answered.
“Do you mind coming to the office, please, Son?We’d like to talk to you.”
Minutes later Hunter walked into the office in the homestead.His eyes widened.Both his parents were there as well as Wilder and Jade.
“What’s going on?”he asked.
His mom patted on the seat next to her.“We want to talk to you.Come and sit down.”
“About what?”
“About you and Willow,” Jade said.
