Page 86 of Willow Vale

The band started playing on the stage, cutting me off, and one of them motioned Desi over with a hand, signaling that they were ready.

“Oh, gotta go. Tell me later!” she said before she untied her apron and tossed it under the counter. The regulars in attendance clapped for her as soon as they spotted her red hair and wide smile.

Everyone went wild over her incredible voice as soon as she started singing. It didn’t matter if the bar was empty on the weekdays or packed on the weekends; whenever Desi got her hands on that microphone and sang her heart out, shining as bright as a star and happier than I’d ever seen her, there wasn’t a living soul who dared miss out on it. Sometimes, people even gathered around the windows to watch if we were too full inside.

Like tonight, for example, there wasn’t an empty chair or booth in sight. I wouldn’t have been surprised if all of Willow Vale came to see her. I smiled as she sang a new country song I’d never heard before. She and one of the band members sang together, and the crowd was loving it when the tempo picked up.

Two arms wrapped around my waist, and I smiled when I caught a spicy scent that could only belong to one man. Travis rested his chin on my shoulder as we watched the band.

I leaned into his chest, taking in all the familiar faces in the bar. Finn was nursing a beer as he watched the band while he waited for his turn at the pool table with some of his friends, Logan Ward included. I’d take Logan over his brother any day, though apparently the latter skipped town a while ago. Saul was talking animatedly to his band of gossipsand a few of the ranch hands from Silver Hill had also snagged a booth.

The crowd gave Desi a big round of applause when she finished the first song, leaving the band to continue playing without her. She ran over to us with a huge smile.

“Hey boss man, get tired of brooding in your cave already?” she asked as she reached over the bar to snag a glass. Travis waved her hand away like she was a fly and served her a drink himself, not wanting any of his patrons here to think they could just serve themselves.

“I thought I heard a dying cat out here, I had to check and make sure. Turns out it was just you,” he quipped and frowned at me when I shoved an elbow into his ribs.

“You should be thanking me; I’m bringing in more business than ever lately.” She winked, and he grunted. I knew he secretly loved her singing just as much as I did.

A handsome man with dark hair that was perfectly coiffed entered the bar just then, earning curious glances. He wasn’t from around here, that was for sure. If his outfit wasn’t indication enough that he was a city boy—a collared shirt underneath a knit sweater and black slacks—then the expensive looking gold watch on his wrist was a dead giveaway. The men in this town weren’t much for showy outfits and accessories.

Travis frowned at the man as he approached the bar with a cocky grin on his lips. But he wasn’t looking at us; his eyes were on Desi.

“Hey, hot stuff,” he said, sounding as full of himself as he looked—it might seem like a judgmental thing to say, but he was staring at my best friend’s ass for way longer than should be deemed appropriate in a public setting.

Hearing him, Desi perked up and turned to spot him right away. With a happy giggle she ran over and launched herselfinto his waiting arms. Travis and I glanced at each other with equal levels of surprise and skepticism. I knew she was seeing a city boy, but she hadn’t described him as…pretentious? Maybe that was a tad bit harsh. I could admit I was overprotective of my best friend, and it wasn’t fair that I was judging the man after I’d barely seen him for a few seconds.

When the city boy finally set her down on her feet, she pulled him back to the bar and I was keenly aware of several eyes on us. Logan and Finn seemed to forget all about their game as they stared at the newcomer curiously from the pool tables.

“Lila, Travis, this is Toby! He came into town a while ago, and he was so in love with The Pint that he’s been coming back ever since.”

“Tobias,” City Boy corrected with a pearly white toothed smile. Tobias draped his arm across Desi’s shoulders, and she sidled up to him with a doting look on her face. She’d mentioned that she met him here, but she never mentioned he’d become a regular at the bar, had she? “I have to say this little bar is quite impressive. I didn’t expect it to be as popular as it is.”

Little bar?

I risked a look at Travis and, sure enough, he was regarding Tobias with a scowl that made it seem as if he just stepped in a pile of horse shit on the ranch. My guess is that he was smelling it too when Tobias said, “I’m taken with this town. It’s cute, in an outdated sort of way. Lots of room for improvement, wouldn’t you say?”

“And what is it you do exactly?” I asked, not liking the way he was talking about our town as if it was beneath him. It may not have been glamorous or fancy in any way, but this was home.Our home.

Desi didn’t seem bothered by all the things I was noticing,and she was either ignoring the flat stare Travis was aiming at her new boyfriend or she really was that oblivious. If anything, she was looking at Toby—Tobias—through rose-colored glasses. That, and she seemed really happy. As much as I loved my best friend, the few times Desi had boyfriends in high school and college, they were almost always jerks. They had to mess up terribly for Desi to see they weren’t as good as she built them up to be.

It made me worry this was one of those situations again.

Toby went on and on about his job in finance and dabbling in entrepreneurship until Travis couldn’t take it anymore—he never was good at feigning interest if his heart wasn’t in a conversation—and he walked away to help customers trickling to the bar. To be fair, I wasn’t listening to him either. I was focused on Desi the whole time.

When her shift ended an hour later, she and Tobias left The Pint with her arm wrapped around his waist and his still draped over her shoulders.

She was so happy; it should make me happy for her.

I just hoped over time we’d see what she saw in this guy because I had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.

CHAPTER 37

Travis

“Why didyou want to come all the way out here?” I asked Delilah the next day when she brought me out onto the north side of the ranch. We rode Sable and Nila out to the golden willow tree we used to spend hours under when we were younger, and it opened up so many memories for me.

A beautiful girl with crazy hair and wary eyes that cut right through me with their raw sincerity. A ghost of the beautiful, incredible woman now before me.

---