Page 16 of Wannabe in Wyoming
Did she have the guts?
Tucking the letter safely into her back pocket, she sprinted up the dirt driveway to the front door. If she could pull a shotgun on her ex-husband, she could pick up the phone and take a chance. The first thing she was going to tell him was, yes. Yes, to the date. Yes, to the visit. Yes, to everything!
Dammit, maybe she should’ve bought those condoms after all.
Barreling into the house, she skidded to a stop by the island where she’d left her cell phone. She snatched the letter from her back pocket and smoothed it out on the countertop. Her hands trembled, hitting the numbers wrong three times before she got it right. Taking a moment, she tried to calm her racing heart before she pushed green button. Raising the phone to her ear, she held her breath and waited as it rang.
“Staff Sergeant Casey.”
His voice was deep and thick, sounding more than a little annoyed.
“Hello? If someone is there, you’ve got two seconds before I’m hanging up and blocking this number.”
She shivered at his commanding tone, never thinking he’d sound like that.
“N-Nathan? It’s Willow,” she replied, unsure and hesitant. Nerves jumbled around in her stomach until she was sure she was going to puke. Had it been a mistake to call him?
“Willow?” he replied, the air of command now absent in his tone, having been replaced clearly with disbelief. “Is that really you?”
“Yeah. Yes. It’s me. I, ugh . . . I just got your last letter. Is this . . . um . . . is this a bad time? I should have waited until later this evening, but I was just so excited to call you.”
“No! No, this is a perfect time. I was just leaving work for the day. It’s so good to finally hear your voice. Hang on, let me get in my truck.” She could hear people talking in the background, their words and laughter rising and falling in volume, as if he’d walked by a large group. The sound of a vehicle’s door opening was followed by it shutting again before he spoke again. “Willow . . . I just . . . wow. I don’t even know what to say. I’m smiling so hard my face hurts.”
Relief was coursing through her over the fact he was happy to hear from her, Willow began pacing back and forth . “Same here. I’m . . .” she trailed off, struggling to get her thoughts into words. “I’m just so glad you’re home safe. Where are you?”
“Fort Riley, in Kansas.”
“Really? That’s not that far away here. You could . . .” She smacked herself on the forehead. “Oh my God, that was really presumptuous of me.”
“No. Stop. It’s not. I told you I wanted to come see you, and I meant it.” He paused. “Did you think about what I asked?”
“The date?”
“Yeah.” His voice was quieter than it’d been a moment ago and sounded a little insecure. Maybe he was as nervous as she was.
“Yes.”
“Yes, you thought about it?”
Laughter bubbled from her lips before she put him out of his misery. “Yes, I thought about it, and yes, you can take me on a date.”
His sigh of relief was audible, making her giggle even more. God, when had she become a woman who actuallygiggledat a cute guy? She didn’t know or even care. All she knew was that Nathan made her feel lighter and happier than she could ever remember being.
“You laughing at me, Wannabe? You know how damn nervous I was? I thought for sure Jeremiah would’ve beaten me to it.”
That sent her into another fit of hysterics that soon had her stomach hurting. She had to brace herself against the counter otherwise she would’ve ended up on the floor in a pile of mirth. “Oh shit, Nathan!”
“Why you laughin’ at me, woman?” he growled into the phone, but she could tell there was a smile behind his indignation. “That’s not very nice.”
“Oh, Nathan, trust me. Of the two of us, Jeremiah would much rather be takingyouon a date, not me.”
There was a long pause, and she almost thought the call had dropped before she heard him say, “Wait, you mean . . .”
“Yup. He’s just a friend.”
“Thank fuck. I was ready to fight him for you.”
She gasped. “Seriously? Wow. That’s a first.” More relaxed now, she took a seat at the island.
