Page 1 of Willow Vale

CHAPTER 1

Lila

Every now andthen I’m hit with an overwhelming sense of panic.

An onslaught of an emotion carried by an oncoming bus approaching at full speed. A bus I always thought I could see slowly heading my way that I could somehow avoid. Some days, I managed to step back onto the curb and narrowly avoided it entirely.

Today was not that kind of day.

Releasing a curse under my breath, I ran down the sidewalk as fast as my legs could take me. Panting and barely getting any air into my lungs, it was one of those times when I was acutely aware of how out of shape I was. I really needed to work out.

I really needed to do a lot of things.

Which is exactly why I was running.

My little brother, River, giggled as I jostled him with every step, holding onto me for dear life. His curls bouncing atop his head. “Lila, bad word.”

“Exactly, so don’t repeat after me, buddy,” I said as I reached the preschool with only a minute to spare. I huffed asI sat him down, struggling to catch my breath from all the rushing I did after sleeping through my alarm—again—jumping out of bed with my heart in my throat, quickly getting breakfast ready, and waking River up for school. He fought me every chance he got, which was the last thing I needed at 6:45 in the morning on a Tuesday.

I barely managed to throw on an oversized sweatshirt and hop into a pair of faded jeans before we were out the door. I was so ready for summer to get here if only to have a little reprieve.

“Okay, you got your lunch in your backpack. And don’t forget to give your book to Ms. Walker when you see her, okay?”

He nodded as I knelt to fix his hair. Staring into those curious deep blues that were the opposite of my dull brown eyes, always made me smile. River was just shy of four years old, and full of more energy than I could keep up with lately. His chestnut brown hair resembled mine, but it was getting shaggy since he refused to let me give him a decent haircut. Unlike River’s hair, mine was an untamable mass of thick curls that rarely complied on a good day. Now that I thought about it, I needed a haircut too.

Given I had no time to do anything other than put it up into a messy bun that morning, I knew I had to look like one hot mess.

I sure as hell felt like one.

Once he was all set, Mrs. Green, one of River’s teachers, opened the door for us. She gave me a kind smile after I apologized for nearly being late…again.

“Love you, little man,” I said as River looked over his shoulder and waved excitedly at me before he took Mrs. Green’s hand and she led him into his classroom.

As soon as he was out of sight, my smile dropped as Ilooked at the time on my phone. I was going to be late for work…again.

Groaning, I spun on my heel and jogged back toward my rusty truck. “Can this day get any worse?”

“They fired you?”Desi practically shrieked in the Pepto-Bismol pink booth she sat in across from me.

After I’d changed into proper clothing for work, I ran into the bank like a mad woman with an apology already on my tongue, locked and loaded.

I’d barely been given a glance from my manager, who always looked at everyone with a scrunched-up nose as if everyone in his immediate vicinity reeked of bad BO and stale beer.

News flash, he was the one who carried the natural perfume of a person who could burn the eyebrows off a passerby.

I swirled my spoon in my steaming mug of coffee and shrugged. “He said I wasn’t a right fit for the company going forward. Forgetting the fact that there were only three people working in the bank to begin with since the place opened in the 1950s. I’m getting my last paycheck next week, so at least there’s that,” I groaned, dropping my head onto the table. “What am I going to do?”

After getting fired for the second time this year from another job I hated—but tolerated almost as much as my employers tolerated me—I called my best friend in my time of need. Desi worked at the bar across town and typically stayed up late, but all it took was for one SOS text from me this morning and she told me to meet her at Sally’s Diner to debrief.

We’d taken the booth at the window overlooking downtown where I could see the mountains, still covered in snow, peeking over the buildings. Crisp green leaves filled the trees and flowers started to bloom this far into May, and buildings were decorated with hanging wooden signs inviting customers inside.

Desi hummed. “Okay, let’s think.”

“About how I’m a failure?” I asked without lifting my head. I waved a limp hand in the air. “I think the whole town knows that by now.” That was the beauty and the curse of our small town in Wyoming. Everyone knows everyone.Everything…

Desi smacked my hand. “Stop that. I meant damage control, babe.Damage. Control. It’s not the end of the world. We just have to think of who is hiring in town. It can’t be that hard…”

“It’s May, every college kid is bound to come back to their summer job in town if the high schoolers haven’t already claimed them. I already looked up job listings and the only thing available is a janitor’s position in a high school in the next town over. I’m the definition of screwed.”

---