Page 15 of Courageous Demands

Willow stood up silently, eyes still locked… only to see the old lady hold up a finger, smirking.

“Don’t forget my cruller either. I like to dunk it in my coffee.”

Boy, she sure had some nerve…

“Of course, Mrs. Kendall,” Willow smiled, biting her tongue as the curious side of her burned and flared to life like a match lighting a flame.

“Exactly. If this old dog can learn new tricks, then I know you can too, and maybe we’ll just surprise each other. You might not be the mongrel that is whispered about in town.”

... Mongrel?

There was an uncomfortable chuckle behind her from some of her constituents who overheard the comment, and she plastered on an easy smile.

“We are always learning, aren’t we?” Willow began in a saccharine-like voice and turned to finish saying hello to everyone. It wasn’t thirty minutes later that the donut shop suddenly began to clear. Letting out a deep breath, she smiled at Alec’s mother, who was watching her like a hawk. “Mrs. Beckett, could I get a cruller, two black coffees, and…”

“I should tell you I’m out of donuts,” Alec’s mother hissed in frustration. “If I hadn’t already agreed to this months ago and wasn’t so curious – I would throw you right out on your…”

“Whoa,” Willow hesitated, backing away from the angry woman in shock. Mrs. Beckett had always been smiling, sweet, and kind to her before. This woman was a mama bear who’d been poked with a sharp stick and she was downright angry.

“Ruth…”

“Get a coffee for yourself, Mary,” Mrs. Kendall ordered the other woman pointedly over Willow’s shoulder. “And charge her for a few donuts. I’m hungry now and getting grumpy.”

The wizened old eyes landed on her haughtily.

“And you’re going to pay, sit down, shut up, and learn something today, Chicken Little, or I will bring down your entire world. Do we understand each other? You need me – and did I ever mention that Mayor Winstead is my cousin’s half-sister? I’ve got connections everywhere, and if they aren’t related, I’ve probably slept with half of them. So before you open that pretty yap of yours, remember… donuts are fairly cheap. I could be asking for prime rib.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No, Chicken Little. I’m telling you flatly how the world works, and you are about to get schooled… by me.”

Willow pulled her wallet out of her purse and blinked at the total that rang up on the cash register. Four donuts and three cups of coffee were over a hundred bucks? Was this extortion?

She looked at Alec’s mother, who didn’t blink an eye.

“Inflation.”

“Sure,” Willow replied, handing her the card without hesitation. Neither of these women was scared of her title or consequences. Nope. It was truly refreshing, and for the first time in forever, she realized that she was about to discover what a true ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting looked like.

Accepting the tray, Alec’s mother walked past her, nearly spilling the coffee on the tray – and turned the deadbolt on the front door of the donut shop before turning off the ‘Open’ sign.

Willow swallowed.

“Sit your scrawny butt down,” Ruth began regally, and as Willow started to open her mouth, the woman held up a finger. “Nope. You listen this round. Mary, take a seat, and you keep your yap shut for a second, too. You are too close; this is too personal for you.”

“Wait…”

“Nope,” Ruth interrupted once more. “I know more than anyone that there are two sides to every story, but for the rest of us, it’s extremely hard to tell which is right and which is wrong because emotion blurs those lines.”

“I’m not doing this,” Willow sputtered nervously getting up – only to feel a hand jerk down on her arm, pulling her back into the seat.

“You are going to listen because I’m not letting you destroy my Alec again,” his mother snapped, her eyes shining with rage and unshed tears. “He told me to leave you alone, to be nice, and not say anything – but I’m done being nice…”

“Mary!”

“Ruth… You didn’t see him a few months ago.”

“Wait… what?” Willow whispered, suddenly scared. “What happened to Alec?”

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