Page 8 of Honey Bee Library
Was she really going to fight me on this? It was a ride to work.
“It’s just that…I don’t want to inconvenience you. I mean, I’m sure you have things to do, and I still have to drop Jasper off at school.”
“I can take him. We have the time.” I couldn’t quite understand why she was so resistant to my help. It wasn’t like she had a lot of options.
When Willow didn’t respond right away, I feared I’d overstepped.
“It’s just that…” She let her voice drift off. “I don’t want Jasper to ruin your car,” she finally blurted out.
I frowned. I hadn’t expected that. “How would he ruin my car?”
Her eyes went wide. “You haven’t been around a lot of five-year-old boys, have you?” She leaned in. “They are wild, and your car is expensive.” She shook her head. “I can’t afford a hotel stay. Do you think I can afford to detail your entire car?” She scoffed as she pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.
“If that’s what’s holding you back, don’t worry about it.” I shrugged. “I’m not worried.” I leaned forward, trying to catch her gaze. “It’s just a car.”
She sighed before turning her attention to me. “Just a car.” She shook her head. “Maybe to you it’s just a car. But to me, it’s a month of income. I couldn’t afford to fix it if something happened.”
I was confused. Did she really think so little of me? Did she really think that I would go after a single mom for damages when I insisted that I drive them around? From the earnest look in her eyes, yes, that was exactly what she thought.
Wow. She didn’t know me at all.
The side of the road wasn’t the place to prove my intentions. I needed to get her and Jasper to safety first. I would table what she thought about me for another time. Right now, I needed to persuade her to come with me.
I glanced over to her car to see Jasper peering out the window at us. I lifted my right hand with my elbow at a 90-degree angle and held my left hand out like it was resting on a Bible as I turned my attention back to her. “I promise not to bill you for any damages made to my car from you or from Jasper.”
She slowly folded her arms across her chest as she studied me. I could tell that she wanted to say no. That she wanted to run. Again. But a resigned expression slowly passed over her face; she was beginning to accept that she had limited options. It was either me and my car or showing up very late to Jasper’s school and the diner. And from what I knew about Willow, she hated to be late.
When she finally sighed, I celebrated inside.
“Fine. You promise I won’t be held responsible for anything Jasper may do to your car?”
I held her gaze. “I promise.”
She studied me for a moment before she nodded. “Okay.”
She didn’t say anything more as she headed to her car and opened the passenger door. Seconds later, the back door opened, and Jasper sprinted over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and began jumping up and down.
“Mommy told me that we get to ride in your Batman car!” He cheered.
“Yeah, you do,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I should hug him back, so I settled on patting his head.
He pulled back and raised his fists in the air. “I’m so excited.”
I nodded. “Me too.”
Willow emerged from behind the passenger door with their two duffel bags. “Jasper, give Cole some space.” Her cheeks were flushed, so I stepped forward to take the bags just in case she was struggling with their weight.
I could feel her hesitation, but she didn’t say anything. She allowed me to take them from her without a fight. I took that as a win. With the duffel bag straps pulled onto my shoulder, I nodded toward my car. Willow grabbed Jasper’s hand and followed after me.
I let Willow help Jasper get situated in the back seat while I made my way to the trunk. After the duffel bags were deposited, I slammed the trunk closed and headed to the driver’s door. For some strange reason, I was nervous all over again. I’d fought off nerves the other night when I led Willow to my rental. Now, those nerves were back as the realization that she was going to get into my car hit me like a ton of bricks.
I wasn’t nervous for her safety—I was an excellent driver. I was nervous…to be around her. She’d made it clear since the moment I stepped into the diner that she wanted nothing to do with me. I’d heard her on numerous occasions whispering about me to the staff as she stared at me like she was plotting a way to take me down.
Even though I knew she hated me, I felt drawn to her. I wanted to be in her presence. It was a strange reaction and one that I was struggling to understand. Even now my heart was pounding as I pulled open the driver’s door and dropped down onto the seat. Once my seat belt was buckled, I turned to look at Willow, who was sitting stiff as a board next to me. Her hands were on her knees and her gaze was focused out the windshield.
“Everything okay?” I asked as I pressed on the brake and shifted my car into first gear. I peered over my shoulder and studied the traffic flow.
“Yeah. I’m—we’re fine.”
