Page 73 of Willow Vale

Travis was shutting down on me. I could tell. I could see the walls coming up around him. After the day he had, I couldn’t blame him. I also knew he didn’t have to keep trying to be strong. Not with me and not when it was just the two of us. I knew that when he was with others, he assumed the role to take charge, the guy who had everyone’s back. When it was just the two of us, though, he was different. He was vulnerable and gentle. He needed that now even if he didn’t acknowledge it.

I heard him rummaging around in the closet before I stepped inside.

“Travis?” I said as I found him pulling a quilt from one of the shelves overhead. He tensed at the sound of my voice.

“I’ll be there soon,” he said, his words clipped and hoarse. “Just give me a second.”

My heart squeezed painfully in my chest. I was moving before I gave myself a chance to second guess myself. If all the loss in my life had taught me anything, it was that having someone stand by you, even in silence, made a world of a difference. It was always better than being all alone.

Right now, I wanted to give Travis someone to lean on. The same way he always let me lean on him. I wanted to be the person who could take on all his sorrows, all of his fears and frustrations.

“Travis.” My hands slid up his back, my fingertips feeling the way his muscles stiffened.

“Delilah, please—” His voice cracked.

I didn’t use my words this time.

I reached up and caught his face in my hand, urging him to look at me. When he did after a brief second of hesitation, there were tears shining in his eyes. The sight of this man breaking apart before me and still trying to fight it made my soul ache.

“Tell me what you need.”

He released a scoff that ended on a choked sound. It brought tears to my eyes. He took my hands in his and for a moment I thought he’d gently reject my touch. Push me away to keep trying to be strong.

Except he murmured roughly, “Let me hold you. I need to hold you.”

With a nod, I went up on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Travis bent down, molding himself around me when he pulled me into a crushing hug. His hands clutched the back of my shirt as his shoulders began to shake and the first tears fell.

I closed my eyes as he finally allowed himself to fall apart.

Knowing I’d be here to catch him.

CHAPTER 30

Travis

Wren had beenasleep for an entire day. She hadn’t stirred at all, even when we all gathered around in the room later that morning. Delilah and River were there, along with Desi, who sat down with Finn in silent support.

My sister’s face was pale with dark circles under her eyes. The rise and fall of her chest beneath the white blanket and hospital gown kept me sane as I waited for her to wake up.

A hand tugged on my leg, and I looked down to find River looking at me. His blue eyes were a shade darker than mine, but still bright as he raised his arms up.

I picked him up and he patted my cheek. “Travis?”

“Yeah, bud?”

“I don’t like you sad. It makes me sad.”

After holding Delilah in my arms for most of the night, I was woken up by the sound of River calling his sister’s name. I hurried downstairs and swept him up before he could start crying because he couldn’t find her. I took him up and laid him down in the middle of the bed between us. When I woke up a few hours later, I was greeted with two sleeping faces curled up beside me. Both River and Delilah had slept withtheir hands on my stomach, and I assumed it was their little way of ensuring I didn’t go anywhere.

There was no way I’d be going anywhere without them.

“I’m not sad. Just tired, I promise.” I brushed his shaggy hair away from his face. I’d convince him to cut his hair with me next time I headed into town to get mine cut, now that it had grown longer. Though the way Delilah constantly ran her fingers through my hair made me wonder if I should leave it be.

She was curled up on the leather couch by the windows overlooking the hospital parking lot, the mountains serving as a backdrop. My parents were sitting on either side of her, sleeping like the dead. I’d bet anything that they hadn’t slept all night waiting to see if Wren would wake up.

“I’ll go get you guys some coffee,” Desi said as she stood up, Finn rising with her, sporting dark circles under his eyes and his short blonde hair a mess atop his head. He followed her out into the hall after she asked if he wanted to come with her. They were both back in no time, and I knew Finn was probably more eager than the rest of us to see her wake up.

For so long, it had always been him and Wren. They naturally gravitated to one another, always knowing when one was upset or needed space. Before Wren left for Montana, they’d been inseparable. Wren’s move had been hard on Finn, and I suspected it had been hard for her too.

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