There was a hint of defiance in her tone as she scrambled up and ran into the kitchen. Lucas watched as she found the phone by the debris of the hot chocolate preparation.
‘Jake …’
He heard her suck in a breath.
‘Really? Slow down – hang on …’
She headed into the bedroom and Lucas sunk back into the chair. The moment had gone. He had been prepared to explain everything to her, to fully open up – but as usual Jake had come along and spoiled everything.
They may have broken up, but was Jake really letting her go?
He took another sip of his drink, but it now tasted bitter on his tongue.
‘Wow,’ Willow said, as she stepped back into the room. ‘It sounds like Jake had a pretty heavy day at work. He sounds emotionally drained. But he’s got some great material to use.’
‘Well, that’s the main thing of course,’ Lucas said dryly.
Willow shot him a warning look. ‘I think he’s really been through a lot, Luc. His work is challenging at times.’
Lucas put his empty mug on the table. ‘I’ll be sure to check out his footage later. Listen, Will, I think I should go now. It’s getting late.’
Willow was staring into the distance again, looking distracted. ‘Mmmm – what was that?’
‘I said I better go.’ Lucas stood up. ‘It was nice chatting and all, but I’ve got an early start in the morning.’
Willow finally turned to face him. Her skin was slightly paler and she was chewing on her bottom lip. ‘We didn’t get to finish talking.’
‘We can another time.’ Lucas shrugged. ‘It’s not like I won’t get to see you again.’
‘I guess.’ Willow stood up too. She stepped forward and touched Lucas’s arm. He tried not to flinch. ‘Luc, Jake freaked me out a bit. He was really worried about something on the phone and that’s not like him at all.’
‘Really?’ Lucas tried to sound interested, but in reality, anything involving Jake made him want to get out of here even quicker. Why did she care so much? But there wasno doubt that something was bothering Willow. ‘What did he say?’
‘He said he thinks a storm is coming our way. Apparently, the weather channels are playing it down, but his friend is a weather geek and he’s worried it might hit us hard – something to do with the current pressure and our position by the mountains.’
Lucas shrugged. ‘We’ve had storms before, Willow. You know we can deal with them.’
‘But what if this is a bad one? Jake seemed so worked up. He told me to prepare. He thinks it will hit later tomorrow.’
‘Well, if it does, we’ll deal with it.’ Lucas carefully took Willow’s hand and squeezed it in his own. ‘It will be OK. I promise.’
They locked eyes again. Something deep and almost terrifying surged through Lucas. His gaze drifted down to Willow’s lips, how they were so perfect and just so slightly parted. He felt a different feeling, a familiar, primal urge to sink further within himself and he released his grip quickly.
He had to leave.
There was nothing for him here.
Chapter 27
Willow
‘I’ve been checking the weather apps all morning. I can’t see anything much. Just rain and high winds.’ Greg was sitting at one of Willow’s tables, drinking one of her hot matcha lattes and scanning his phone. ‘I’m hoping it’s not going to be too bad. I’m doing a demo of my game tonight at the bar. Rachel is coming and Mia said she’d come too with that Adam guy. Apparently, they got talking at the bar last night.’
‘I’m probably worrying about nothing,’ Willow agreed.
It didn’t help that Jake had sent her several warning messages this morning. He knew that she had a fear of storms. It had been something that she had had since she was a little girl and a bad one hit the town. It was the same evening that her mom left for the last time and Willow was getting used to her new room at Grandma’s. Lucas was there playing with her, trying to take her mind off all the bad things in her life. The storm itself wasn’t a particularly strong one, but there was something terrifying about being in an unfamiliar space with the wind howling and lashing outside. It was silly perhaps, but Willow thought she was being punished by something or someone. That something bad was coming to get her.
And that feeling had never quite left her.
