Page 19 of Honey Bee Library
I offered him a smile, feeling relieved that he wasn’t throwing a tantrum like I thought he would.
“Was I naughty?”
His question caught me off guard. “What?” I asked.
“Was I bad?” His little sniffle broke my heart. “Is that why we can’t go back?”
“What? No.” I pulled him to my chest and hugged him. “It has nothing to do with you,” I said softly as I pulled back and pushed his blond curls from his forehead.
“But I was bad with daddy. That’s why he left.”
My heart broke as I listened to my son try to understand why the men in his life kept leaving. I felt selfish. I’d deluded myself into thinking I was refusing Cole’s invitation to protect my son…but maybe it was more to protect myself.
And then the guilt came.
It crashed into me like waves during a hurricane. It took my breath away. My chest squeezed so tight that my pounding heart ached. I stared at the space that Cole had just vacated. Unlike with Harold, I could fix this. I could bring back this male figure in my son’s life, at least I hoped I could.
“Wait here,” I said as I hurried out of my office and through the kitchen.
I burst out the back door and scanned the parking lot. Thankfully, Cole’s car was still there, but the brake lights were on. I hurried down the back stairs and across the gravel, and I knocked on his trunk to let him know I was there.
“Cole,” I shouted as I rounded his car and reached the driver’s window. I tapped a few times on the glass.
His gaze met mine, and he looked genuinely surprised as he rolled down the window. “Willow?” he asked as he took me in and then glanced behind me. “What are you doing?”
“Is the invitation to stay with you still good?”
He frowned. “What?”
“Is the invitation still good?”
He paused. “Yeah. Of course.”
Relief filled my chest. “Good, ’cause we’re coming with you.”
7
COLE
Jasper filledthe car ride to my rental with welcome chatter. I was still confused as to why Willow changed her mind, but from the way she was staring out the window with her arms folded, I figured she didn’t want me to ask. I was going to keep my mouth shut, even if not knowing was eating me alive.
She’d seemed so sure that the last thing she wanted was to stay another night with me. She even let me walk out of the diner and get into my car. If it hadn’t been for her knocking on the trunk, I probably would have driven off without seeing her.
Secretly, I was glad she’d stopped me. If she hadn’t, she would have wasted all of Maddie’s hard work. When Maddie got in this morning, I sent her off with my credit card and an unlimited budget to get Jasper things that I assumed he’d lost in the fire. Toys, Hot Wheels, some clothes. Anything a kid would have wanted, I made sure Maddie got.
I liked Jasper, and I wanted him to have a place that felt homey. That felt secure.
I even floated the idea of Maddie getting some things for Willow, but since I didn’t know her size, Maddie suggested that it might be a bad idea. The last thing I wanted was to offend her by getting the wrong size or the wrong style of clothing.
I wasn’t really sure what Willow’s style was. She normally wore plain t-shirts, jeans, and an apron tied around her waist. I doubted she was some closeted clotheshorse, silently mourning her designer clothes and bags. Willow kept things simple, and she made simple look good.
Even though I didn’t know much about her, I knew a few things. She loved Jasper and the diner. When I was with her, she didn’t play games. She didn’t pull her punches. And I respected her for that.
It was strange to admit, but I was beginning to appreciate her. There was a quiet strength that I both respected and admired. I knew she would fight for the things she cared about. Willow was an excellent mother.
“You guys hungry?” I asked as I waited for the security guard to open the gate. I waved at him, and he waved back in acknowledgment. I waited until the gate was fully open before I drove through.
“I’m starving!” Jasper piped up from the back at the same time Willow said, “No.”
