Page 14 of Cozy Cabin for Two
Willow smiled as Anson approached her, holding out a bottle of wine. “As the guest tonight, ma’am, I’dbe honored to let you have the first taste of something special I’ve been working on all summer. I made strawberry wine. And if it passes with your approval, then next summer I’ll double the strawberry field and make sure we make plenty for everyone.”
“Oh, I’m flattered,” Willow gushed.
“Here you go.” He poured some into a red cup.
She sniffed it first, and moaned. “So far, so good.” Then, after a taste, her eyes grew wider. “Yes, it’s lovely. More, please.”
Anson chatted a few minutes with her about the process of making it. My attention faded from them to the conversation Ro and Eli were having.
“So, school starts this week?” Ro asked, poking at half of a burnt marshmallow with her finger.
“Yep, I’m so glad we have Mrs. Libby this year. Dad says she taught him when he was little, and she’s been at the school forever. She’s so nice, like a grandmother.”
“Oh. I never had one of those,” Ro admitted. My chest tightened at the vulnerability in her voice. “Are kids mean at your school?”
“Nope. We’re all ranch kids. Our parents would probably kick our butts if we were mean to anyone.”
“At my old school in California, some girls weremean to me about...” She glanced back at her mom, then back at Eli. “About stuff.”
I cocked my head to hear more, as I casually ate dessert.
“What kind of stuff?” Eli asked with the straightforward curiosity of childhood.
“My dad died when I was little. There was a father and daughter dance last year. Some girls said mean things to me about not having a dad.”
My forkful of blueberry pie froze halfway to my mouth.
“That’s rough,” Eli said simply. “My mom died. Some kids are stupid. My dad says not to pay them any attention.”
The simple acceptance in his voice made Ro’s shoulders relax, her expression settled. “Really? You don’t have a mom?”
“Nope. Just me and Dad. But it’s okay. We’re good at taking care of each other.”
“Yeah. I know what you mean. Willow and I take care of each other, too.”
I hid a smile, but also covered up for something else. For not being there when Ro needed a father figure around.
Across the way, Knox had taken out his guitar,and another man had brought out his banjo. They started playing old country songs, the ones most people knew the words to and could sing along. Ivy kicked off her shoes and started dancing barefoot in the grass, pulling her sisters up to join her despite their protests. Eventually, they even pulled Colt and some of the other guys up and danced under the stars.
Willow clapped along to the music, her face lit up with genuine enjoyment. Beckett, who had started working for us earlier this summer, dared to come up and offered her his hand for a dance.
What the hell was this? My gut clenched with jealousy.
She declined with a gracious smile, mentioning her still-tender ankle. I relaxed my shoulders, but my eyes sent the guy the glare of death. I’d be sure to assign him to shit duty, mucking out the stalls for a month.
The music changed to something slower, familiar. “There’s an oldie.” She glanced at me. “Remember when we were sitting on the dock at the lake together, and this was the song playing on the radio? Every time I hear it I think of that night.”
I recalled that moment, but not the music playing. If memory served, as we were about to kiss, the only sound I’d heard was the blood rushing to my cock.
Suddenly the air charged between Willow and me.We seemed to lean in closer to each other as the song played on, our elbows touching with an unspoken current running between us. My palms itched, dying to touch more of her.
Earlier in the cabin, we had been so close to kissing. So very close. Chris’ phone call had interrupted before anything could happen. Before I could claim Willow for myself. Before I messed everything up between us.
I wrestled with all of it, imagining Scott scowling down from above. The guilt hit me hard again. Sorry, brother, but your wife and daughter just showed up here out of the blue. I’d kept her away for so long. What the hell was I supposed to do about all these emotions surfacing now?
Ro suddenly squeezed in between our chairs, breaking our elbow connection, sadder than sad, mouth in a frown. “People are dancing, Mom.” Was that a sniffle I heard from her?
All at once I jumped up, and I knew what I had to do. I offered her my hand. She looked up at me with those big hazel eyes that were too much like her mother’s.
