“Thank you, Flint…for everything.”
“You deserve the world, Willa. Don’t need to thank me.”
“Of course I do.” I lift my head, meeting his gaze. “You’ve done so much for me. I still can’t wrap my head around how much you bid?—”
“I can afford it,” he says. “Hell, what’s the point of having money if you can’t help the people you care about?” He plants a kiss on my cheek, like he wants to underscore his point. “It was worth it, Willa. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
I smile at him, but he doesn’t smile back. There’s a furrow in his brow, gradually deepening, like he’s thinking hard.
“I think it’s my turn to ask what’s on your mind,” I say.
He grunts, running a hand over his beard. “None of my business. Just wondering about your debts. How it all started.” When I don’t answer right away, he squeezes me tight. “You don’t need to tell me.”
“It’s okay. I want to.”
Flint listens patiently as I tell him about my mom. My turbulent upbringing. Her death. Discovering the debt she’d left behind in my name. He goes still when I tell him about the first call from the debt collector—how I thought it was a mistake.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve any of that.”
I nod. “She left such a mess behind her.” Then I sigh, adding, “I still miss her, though. She wasn’t a perfect mom. Heck, she wasn’t even an okay mom. But she was mine.”
The grief is still there when I think about her, a torrent of mixed emotions, a hole in my heart that hasn’t healed. It probably never will. But the pain doesn’t feel as heavy now. I don’t feel like I’m carrying it alone anymore, not with Flint holding me tight in his arms, telling me it’s going to be okay.
“I lost my mom young, too,” he says quietly. “Messed me up for a while. But it’s true what they say. Time heals.”
“I’m so sorry, Flint.” My heart pinches with sympathy as I glance up at him. “What happened?”
“Heart attack. She worked non-stop to put food on the table. Too proud to ask for help.” He gives me a pointed look. “I won’t let that be your life, Willa.”
The firmness in his voice feels like a warm blanket around my shoulders. I feel so safe here with Flint. More at home in his arms than I’ve ever felt before. But there’s still a flicker of fear I can’t shake. I’ve always been the only person I could count on; I’m not used to putting my trust in another person or giving up control. It’s a risk—and sometimes risks backfire.
But Flint Calloway doesn’t feel like a risk.
He feels like solid ground under my feet after a lifetime of treading water.
And when I finally drift off in his arms a few minutes later, tucked against his burly chest, I sleep better than I ever have.
10
FLINT
It’sa sunny afternoon on Cherry Mountain. Bright and clear, the sky forget-me-not blue, light streaming through the canopies. The kind of weather that’s perfect for chopping wood and working long hours in the forest. Once upon a time, I’d have stayed out from dawn until dusk, making the most of it.
But that was before Willa.
By the time mid-morning rolls around, I’m already desperate to get back to her. I need to see her, even just for five minutes, so I let my axe fall to the ground beside the woodpile and stride toward our little office in the trees.
It’s been two weeks since I gave Willa a job as my admin assistant—two weeks since my whole world turned upside down. So much has changed in that time.
When the $100,000 hit Willa’s account, she wiped out all her debts in one fell swoop. The debt collectors stopped calling. The urgent letters stopped arriving. It’s all gone, and my girl finally gets a fresh start, free of the debts her mom left behind.
I’m so fucking happy for her.
So happy she can finally put that shit behind her.
As I approach the office, my heart skips a beat, just like it always does when I know I’m about to see Willa. I push open the door, and she looks up from her desk with a bright smile.
“Good morning…again,” she teases.
