Page 21 of Willow Vale

“I had some car trouble when I left the store in town,” I told her.

Amelia frowned. “Oh? Should I call Finn over to have a look? He’s pretty good with cars.”

“Oh, no. That’s all right. I just needed a jump start. I actually ran into Travis there and he helped me.”

Her gray eyes seemed to light up. “I see. Good. I raised him right, then. And you look as beautiful as always, Lila.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Adler.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Amelia? Now come over here.” Before I could say anything else, Amelia’s arms wrapped around me, and she pulled me into a strong embrace. She swayed us from side to side as River moved to hug my leg while he watched us.

Shaking away the momentary surprise, I wrapped my free arm around her back and reciprocated the hug. Amelia held me tight, and I was reminded of how strong she’d always been, never holding anything back when it came to her bone crushing hugs, but I didn’t mind. I knew what this moment meant to her—to both of us. Breaking up with Travis was one of the hardest decisions I’d ever had to make, because I knew it included severing my ties with the rest of his family—and that was a deep cut I’m not sure I ever truly healed from.

Irene might have given birth to me and been present in my formative years of childhood, but Amelia Adler was a mom through and through. To this day I don’t remember ever seeing the woman be anything but kind and warm to her children. She was the mother I never had but always wanted.

When she finally let me go, it was only to lean back and get a good look at me. “It’s so good to see you again, Lila.”

“You too,” I rasped before she hugged me one more time.

“I think you might crack one of Lila’s ribs if you’re going to keep hugging her like that, Milly.” Desmond chuckled as he joined us on the porch with an amused grin, taking us in before winking at River. Seeing the grin on Desmond’s face, I was instantly reminded of Travis. They both looked so much alike that I couldn’t help but think about him again, watching me with those breathtaking blue eyes that saw right through me.

I never understood how he could do that—know me better than anyone. Sometimes I think he knew me better than I knew myself.

We were going to try to be friends again. That’s what we both agreed to do, and as much as it terrified me to open myself up to him again, I always felt there was a big part of me missing for four years. But how could I let myself have any of those things when I had to make River my top priority?

My fears were a constant reminder of my own mother’s failures which could so easily become my own if I stumbled even once. Okay, maybe I wasn’t doing a great job now after losing my job. But I was trying. No matter how tired I was, I knew that I was at least doing the one thing Irene never bothered doing in the first place.

So why didn’t that feel like enough?

“I just got a little carried away,” Amelia said, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts.

I forced a smile as she stepped back before crouching down to greet River. He gave her one of his shy waves before burying his face against my leg, rubbing his nose against the fabric of my dark jeans.

Amelia beamed. “There are freshly baked cookies in the kitchen for you and your sister. I just made them this afternoon. Do you like sweets, River?”

River nodded.

“Wonderful, what’s your favorite type of cookie?”

River hummed, really thinking about his answer before saying, “Chocolate chip.”

I nearly rolled my eyes at his answer. It didn’t matter what it was—so long as it had chocolate chips, River was eating it.

“Well, what do you know?” Amelia rose to stand beside Desmond. “I happen to have about a dozen chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen just for you. Come on in.”

River smiled shyly as he took Amelia’s offered hand and followed her into the kitchen, sparing me a glance to see if I would follow. He only looked away when Desmond placed a hand on my shoulder and led me inside. I had to swallow another bout of nerves as I stepped into their home, hit with a wave of nostalgia that I couldn’t quite prepare for.

“Nothing’s changed,” I murmured as I walked with Desmond down the hall and past the stairs that led to the second floor, past the wall decorated with a handful of frames filled with family photos of the Adlers.

“You know us, we like to keep things pretty much the same around here.”

“It’s nice,” I said, not wanting Desmond to think I was judging in any way. I paused at the threshold leading into thekitchen when I caught sight of Amelia and River having a conversation. Her hand was on his back as he sat on the counter while munching down on a chocolate chip cookie. His little legs swinging back and forth.

“You know, one of our mares had a foal a few weeks ago. His coat is all brown except for a white spot right on the bridge of his nose. Would you like to meet him sometime?” Amelia asked him.

“Can I really see the horses?” he asked, forgetting all about being shy when excitement won out and his love for horses triumphed over everything else.

“Of course, you can. And if you want, you can see all the horses every day when you come to visit. Would you like that?”

---