Page 14 of Courageous Demands

Alec plugged in his radio for a moment and gave them an update quickly to prevent either from happening. “Guys, I’ll be out in a few,” he said simply, pulling the cord again.

“Good for you, Alec,” she praised knowingly. “Look, I had a long hard discussion with my past recently, and while things aren’t back to one hundred percent, they are better now. Communicating with someone you love is…”

“Whoa – I never said…”

“Hush, boy. Don’t interrupt your elders,” Mrs. Kendall snapped at him, and Alec immediately clammed up out of respect, just like his mother taught him his entire life. “As I was saying, communication is hard with someone you care for because it’s intensely personal. It’s normal to be afraid of rejection, fear of loss, or even more pain. But if you don’t take a chance, then you’ll always wonder or regret things.”

“I should be going,” he whispered, knowing she was right. Slowly looking at her, he saw the approval in her eyes.

“Just try to be open to talking when the time comes… okay?”

“We are not having this discussion – and this goes no further. Got it?”

“Of course not.”

“Thank you.”

“What are you wearing under that uniform, young man?” she replied, wagging her eyebrows at him – and Alec stood up, grinning and feeling a little better after the talk combined with her acting ‘normal’ now.

“A well-oiled, chiseled birthday suit, complete with no tan lines.”

“I always liked you, Alec.”

“Thanks – I think.”

“Go on and get outta here, you rascal.”

5

* * *

WILLOW

I think I would rather have a root canal…

Willow put on a brave face, smiling happily and making small talk with the community this morning at the donut shop. People were coming in, left and right, chatting. She had shaken so many sticky hands in the past two hours that it was staggering. The faces were a blur and to say that she was on sensory overload was an understatement.

“I’m so glad to see you doing well, Judge Rushman,” Alec’s mother said warily, looking at her like she was some trapdoor spider. There was no telling what Alec had shared with his mother, and they hadn’t communicated at all since that day of the photo shoot.

“So, Judge Stomp, if you’re done crushing hearts beneath that chunky heel on your shoe, maybe you should try to work an angle you haven't thought of, dearie. I thought people claimed you were smart, just, and fair.”

That voice carried over the heads of people with zero hesitation. She was in the middle of shaking a man’s hand, plastered a smile on her face, and tried not to let her panic show as his curious face showed his surprise.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Willow began in a falsetto voice – only to hear Ruth Kendall begin again.

“You know, if I could get one of those hot little firefighters from the Flirt’s Battalion to look at me twice – I sure as heck wouldn’t be here canoodling with half the town when we all know Judge Slimeball Jr. is going to lose. His father has screwed the pooch to more than one person locally, and I’m not the only recipient of the Stevenson warped version of leniency.”

“Excuse me just a moment,” Willow smiled easily and moved to talk to the old woman who was making a scene, taking over the room with her smart mouth and causing havoc. It only took her a second to lean over and whisper to the lady who was sitting there, smirking and had a chiffon scarf wrapped around a head full of curlers. “Could you please give me a little space so I can talk to these good people?”

“What you need to do is shake hands, kiss a few babies, and then park your keister down so a real woman can tell you how to play the game you are currently losing so badly at right now.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You broke that boy’s heart, and he’s never been the same. Well, it’s time you mended things.”

Old, weathered eyes held hers – and Willow swallowed at the knowledge she saw lingering in those depths.

“I’ll take a coffee, black, when you order breakfast for the two of us and decide to join me,” Ruth Kendall began, her voice as lofty as the Queen of England holding court among the peasants. “I’ve got all the time in the world, but your girly-clock is ticking young lady.”

---