Everything felt different.
Willow spent the next day in a daze, not really sure what to think or feel. Not only had Honey Springs been badly impacted by the storm but so had her heart and head. She was all over the place. The storm may have passed, but she was still in turmoil.
The town itself was in a full-blown clean-up operation – directed mainly by Rachel and Greg and assisted by the local and state agencies, volunteers and utility crews.
Honey Springs had made the news, not in the way that any of them would have wanted, but news reporters buzzed around the scene like wasps desperate to get as much footage as they could of the pretty little town in peril. Influencers like Sapphire and others quickly became involved, making emotional posts that were shared widely. Luckily for Willow, the matcha wagon hadn’t taken too much of a beating due to Lucas moving it behind The Diner for protection, and what little damage it had sustained, Tommy had said he could easily repair.
Willow just wasn’t sure she was ready to face it yet.
Honey Springs was famous and no longer forgottenabout. Long term this could be an amazing thing, but right now it was a bit bewildering.
Of course, some of the residents liked this better than others. Ava and Alice were becoming real small-town celebrities, especially as in Ava’s words, ‘she was fortunate to survive’. They had already given interviews to the press and talked in wide-eyed bewilderment about the damage to the Honey Pot Inn that they feared ‘would be costly’. In reality, Willow knew that the Honey Pot Inn had only really sustained superficial damage and any repairs were likely to improve the shabby building. Rachel too seemed to be enjoying the attention, as she stepped out of her grocery store and spoke to the press in her brightly colored outfits, eager to add that she was writing a book ‘based on her experiences’.
Willow was staying at the Honey Pot Inn. Both Eric’s and Jenn’s cabins were far too wrecked and luckily, Eric was being kept in the hospital for a few more days. Jake had spoken to his dad and managed to persuade him to check into a private treatment clinic for his drinking after his discharge. Willow hoped that this would be the start of them rebuilding their relationship.
She also hoped that Jake could finally move on.
She hated seeing him so upset at The Diner. The shock of Eric’s injuries had clearly made Jake feel some guilt. When he’d held her, he had been shaking – he seemed scared of what might happen to his dad but also scared of the person he had become. Willow had done all she could to comfort him. But Jake had to sort himself out on his own.
They had their final conversation that morning in the Honey Pot dining room. They were both eating a frugal breakfast that Alice had thrown together. Jake was stayingthere too, while Eric was in the hospital, but he was very much in his own room.
Willow took the opportunity, now that things were calmer, to ensure Jake knew how she truly felt.
Willow was still painfully aware that she hadn’t seen Lucas. She hadn’t even dared step into The Diner yet. Her chest felt tight just thinking about it.
She knew she needed to sort this out first, once and for all. She slid her hand across the table and took Jake’s in hers.
‘We need to talk …’
Jake had been scrolling on his phone with his other hand. He put the phone down and frowned. ‘What about, babe? Did I tell you how much my account is blowing up? People can’t believe I’m linked to Honey Springs too. It might actually benefit me staying in this shabby old place.’
‘It’s not a shabby old place.’ Willow’s tone was cold; she withdrew her hand. ‘It’s my home.’
‘Yeah, yeah – it is at the moment. I get that. But once you’re finished with your van nonsense and I’ve increased my online presence, we can move out properly. I was thinking maybe of getting a bigger place over at the Ridge. I’ll still be near Eric—’
‘Jake, you’re not listening to me,’ Willow growled. ‘You never listen to me. That’s part of the problem.’
‘Of course, I listen to you.’ Jake blinked at her. ‘What’s gotten into you?’
‘You have!’ Willow snapped. ‘You swan back here with your rescuer hat on and think that you can have everything just as you want it. Well, you can’t, Jake. Things change. I’ve changed. I’ve realized what I want.’
Jake sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. ‘Oh yeah? And what’s that?’
‘I slept with Lucas,’ she said coolly. ‘I slept with him, and I’m sorry, I know we’d only just broken up, but I don’t regret it one little bit. In fact, I think I love him. I think I always did.’
The words shocked her more than they seemed to shock him. Did she? Did she love him? She couldn’t stop thinking about him and her heart stilled in her chest every time she thought of what they did together, the kiss, his touch on hers—
Jake broke the spell with a short, cruel laugh. ‘Lucas! Lucas Dawson. That jerk? You are kidding, right?’
‘No. I’m not kidding.’ Her words were clipped.
‘But we used to tease him in school. We hated him back then.’ He blinked at her. ‘Why would you want to be with someone like that?’
Memories swirled around Willow. Realization hit her like a hammer.
‘I didn’t tease him. You did,’ she spat. ‘You were horrible to him. I’d forgotten just how much! I think I tried to dismiss it at the time because you used to act like you were joking – but you weren’t, were you? You always hated him. You were jealous.’
‘Jealous? Of him?’ His eyes glinted.
