Page 80 of Willow Vale

Travis grunted, clearly not convinced, but one kiss from me and he dropped it.

The rumble of a truck approaching caught our attention. Finn waved a hand at whoever was parking an old red Ford Ranger with white paint on the side. It was a beauty and clearly well taken care of.

It made me think of Beth and how much work I’d have to get done on her. The last time the Bronco broke down, it had been because of the battery. Travis called the mechanic and we got it switched out. But not without the mechanic telling us the long list of things wrong with her.

Travis had been trying to convince me to sell her and get a new truck ever since.

I told him over my dead body would I get rid of my pride and joy. Still, our little arguments and disagreements never lasted longer than a few hours. At night, we always found ways to make it up to each other. We’d been insatiable eversince the first night we spent together. Now, any time River wanted to go to Amelia and Desmond’s, Travis wasted no time before pouncing on me.

As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, he whispered in my ear, “River is begging to have a sleep over at my parents’ tonight. He guilted me into convincing you.”

“Oh, he did, huh? Are you sure it isn’t you who wants to convince me?” We both knew I couldn’t deny River anything, especially when it came to Amelia and Desmond. Still, I couldn’t say I’d be opposed to having one night with Travis without having to be quiet or being scared that at any moment he’d wake up.

His hands squeezed my hips and I giggled. We both walked down the steps as a man got out of the Ford Ranger and greeted Finn. They made their way over and I tried to figure out why he looked so familiar. His tanned skin was golden under the porch lights and his brown hair was short, almost cut to a buzz. When he shifted his gaze toward us, his green eyes were piercing but not unkind.

Why did he look so familiar?

“Lila, I don’t know if you remember Logan from back in the day,” Finn introduced us. “This is Lila, Travis’s girlfriend.”

Girlfriend.

That was…new.

Travis hadn’t even introduced me as his girlfriend—it was hard when everyone in town knew both of us well. The fact that Finn was the one introducing me like that made me bite down on a smile, more than happy. Travis’s hand rubbed the small of my back as if he shared the same sentiment.

“Logan, it’s nice to meet you. Sorry, I feel like I’ve seen before. You look familiar.”

“It’s probably the Ward gene.” Logan pointed to his face. “Once it’s there, it sticks. Sorry.”

Ward. As in Victor Ward.

I hadn’t heard much about Logan, the youngest Ward, and the few times I hung out with Finn and Wren and their circle of friends from high school, I rarely saw him. He always kept to himself. He was quiet but respectful when he shook my hand and greeted a reluctant Travis.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did for my sister at the rodeo,” Travis said when we were all done eating and Finn and some of the guys took off in their trucks to go light fireworks down the road. I looked over my shoulder as I held River, swaying him from side to side now that he was starting to get tired. Travis was talking to Logan and they both had serious expressions on their faces. Logan stood stiff as a board as Travis stuck his hand out to him. “You were the first one to get to Nila, so thank you.”

Logan shook his hand and murmured something I couldn’t hear, but I did catch the surprised blink Travis gave him as the man said his goodbyes to the rest of us before getting in his truck and driving down the gravel road to join Finn and the others.

CHAPTER 34

Lila

I staredat the email that had just popped up in my inbox.

I scrolled to the top of the page to re-read it just to be sure before I logged out of the library computer I’d been hogging for the better part of an hour. I sat back and stared at the screensaver for a second, my hands shaking slightly as I placed them on my lap.

I did it. I sent my application.

I hadn’t told Travis where I was going today, only that I wanted to take River out to spend some quality time alone together before I went over to the apartment to get some clothes since we were spending yet another night at his place.

Luckily for me, River loved the library and he’d been perusing the children’s books we’d picked out for him on the empty seat next to me.B is for Buckaroowas his current choice, and he traced his pudgy index finger over the lines as if he could read all the words printed on the colorful page. I waited until he was done before we checked out a few books he wanted then offered to take him to the park for a bit. As eager as I was to text Travis and let him know I’d applied for the nursing program I showed him one night while we werelying in bed, I also wanted to wait until I had a definite answer.

I tried to stay positive, but a part of me was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because with my luck, it almost always did. It was an unhealthy habit of mine, and I was trying to shake it off.

Easier said than done.

What they said about childhood trauma is true; it stuck to you long into adulthood like tar, dark and sticky. Nearly impossible to remove without really digging in to scrub it all off. It wasn’t easy as that. Most times, you had to let it peel off layer by layer with work.

Try as I might, I couldn’t shake the words my mother said to me over the years. It didn’t matter if she was drunk or sober, she always threw me in with her mistakes, her failings. How could I stop hearing her words and stop them from poisoning all the good I thought I had to offer? I couldn’t do anything to forget about the damage she’d done. However, I could try to heal from it little by little.

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