Page 12 of Willow Vale

I should have felt relief.

Instead, I only felt sick with a longing I’d tried to bury in the past a long time ago. Wondering when that heavy feeling will pass this time.

CHAPTER 6

Lila

“You’ve gotto be kidding me,” I groaned as I slid my cellphone in the back pocket of my jeans.Well, there goes my backup babysitter.

“What’s wrong?” River asked as we walked to the gas station close to our apartment after he begged me to let him get some chips. One look at his pouty lips and baby blue eyes, and I knew I was being played like a fiddle. It was hard to say no to a cute kid in general, but more so when it came from this one.

If I was superwoman, then River was my kryptonite.

“I was just talking to Lacie,” I said, mentioning his babysitter.

He beamed and I almost regretted telling him, afraid to see his good mood slip away once I told him Lacie was going to Florida for the summer with her family.

Which left me with Miss Thompson as my backup, or so I thought.

He wasn’t all that crazy about our downstairs neighbor babysitting him because she was the opposite of Lacie in every way imaginable. A competition between a teenager andan eighty-year-old woman who didn’t like most people wasn’t exactly fair, but River didn’t care. He only wanted to have fun and eat lots of candy. Naturally, he was all for Lacie, whereas I had to wrestle him into behaving for Miss Thompson.

With one going away for vacation and the other dealing with health issues, I was left with no one. Which meant I’d be without a babysitter this summer, and there was no way I’d be able to work.

I was busy stressing over who I could ask and trusted enough with my four-year old, when I heard a deep voice say my name from down the aisle.

“Lila North, is that you?”

I looked away from River as he perused the chips like it was his job to inspect every bag. Only to spot none other than Desmond Adler heading our way. His short, dark hair was dusted with more grays compared to the last time I’d seen him. Not surprising since he must have been heading into his mid-to-late sixties by now. The crow’s feet around his kind blue eyes were more prominent too, and he was smiling at me in that way that always melted my heart.

Still, Desmond looked as good as he had when I’d first met him years ago after my grandfather introduced us. Unlike the rest of the people in Willow Vale who looked at me with pity most of my life, Desmond and Amelia Adler never once made me feel like I was less than. Like I was a child who needed to be treated differently. Because to them, I was just a kid who needed love.

The thing I adored the most about the Adlers growing up was that they gave out love to strangers like it was free candy. And they had buckets practically overflowing with love in their home.

Back then, Irene would drop me off with my grandfatherfor days at a time, and it meant I’d spend a lot of time on the Adlers ranch too. My grandfather was never good at taking care of anyone—not even himself—so most of the time I had to fend for myself before he had to head out for work. Eating sandwiches and cereal at his place before going hours without food had become my normal.

I’d lost a lot of weight when I first started hanging around him on the ranch. Between being neglected by my mother and then him, I was just trying to get by as best I could at age ten.

That went on for a while until Amelia saw me one day and nearly lost it. She and Desmond had walked out of the barn one morning while I waited for Travis’s little sister to come out to play. Her kind smile disappeared when she spotted me on the porch, stopping dead in her tracks the moment she took a good look at me. At first, I was sure she would scold me or yell at me. That was the usual reaction I received.

Instead, Desmond and I watched as Amelia Adler ripped my grandfather a new one for neglecting me. All because she’d cared about me. I realized I didn’t know what that was like until that moment.

After that, I’d lost count of all the birthdays, barbecues, and holidays I was invited to by the Adlers. They even celebrated my birthday when Irene always forgot for one reason or another.

I’d like to think it was because of the Adlers that I learned what a true family should be like. I tried to take care of River the same way Amelia and Desmond had treated me. I’m not sure who I’d be if it hadn’t been for them practically taking me in or what kind of example I’d be setting for River now.

“I knew I spotted you and your wild mane over the aisle,” Desmond greeted as he approached me.

I ran a hand through my hair with a laugh, feeling mycheeks flush. I held out my hand to shake his. “Mr. Adler. It’s good to see you again. How are you?”

Desmond’s smile was warm as he regarded me for a minute before looking to River.

Rather than take my hand, Desmond shocked me by wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me into a hug. I hesitated only for a second before I wrapped my arms around the man who’d practically become a father to me.

The scent of leather and cedar coming off Desmond’s button-down shirt brought back memories of a cozy home on a ranch and a loud family full of joy despite all the hard work they did day in and day out.

When we finally broke away from our hug, Desmond’s eyes were shining with emotion. I almost laughed and I probably would have if I didn’t feel myself get all misty eyed too. The funny thing about Travis’s dad was that he never shied away from showing tears when he got sad or overwhelmingly happy. Amelia had always teased him for being unapologetically emotional. Standing at six-foot-two and built like an ox, Desmond Adler was a big softy.

“We’ve missed you, kid. Haven’t seen you in a hot minute. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were avoiding us. I thought for sure I wouldn’t see you until I was well into my nineties.”

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