Page 44 of Won't Back Down

“About three years ago, we met in Raleigh, while you were on leave, for a quick weekend before you had to get back. We’d just planned to hang out because we wanted to see each other and catch up. But one thing led to another.”

I didn’t miss the color that bloomed in her cheeks. “Did we go to bed together?”

“I didn’t spell it out, but that was the implication.”

I could picture it. Finally giving in when we were miles away from home and anyone who knew us. I wouldn’t have come up for air for that entire weekend.

And now I was the one squirming in my seat. “Okay, I’ll dig back through my records and figure out some dates that will work. You’ve probably got more flexibility on that than I do, in terms of documentation of where you were when.”

She cleared her throat. “Yes.”

“Okay, what else?”

“We kept it a secret because of Jace. Because we weren’t sure how he’d react.”

“Well, that’s the God’s honest truth. Are we going to tell him the full story when he does find out?”

But Willa didn’t answer. Her gaze was fixed out the side window, and that pretty pink had faded from her cheeks.

“Wren? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t go this way,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Not this road. I’m not… I can’t…” As her breath went shorter, Roy strained against his seatbelt to stick his head over the seat, trying to reach her shoulder.

What the hell?

I pulled over, throwing the truck into park, and reached for her. “Baby, what is it?”

“Os…prey Beach. I can’t… I’ve never… been back.” She shook under my hands, and I cursed myself eight ways from Sunday as I realized what she meant.

I’d been about to drive right by the site of the bonfire. It had never occurred to me that, in ten years back on the island, she’d never been back.

I pulled her in, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Okay. Okay, I’ll find another route. I’m sorry. I didn’t think. It’s okay.”

Keeping my arm around her, I awkwardly shifted the truck back into gear with my left hand and steered us back onto the road, making a U-turn and heading back toward town. I’d take whatever route she needed rather than subjecting her to this.

By the time we reached the road that circled the edge of town, she’d stopped shaking, but her hands were still twisted in knots. “Sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologize. This is fine.” We still had plenty of time to get everything done. “In sickness and in health, and in taking the longer road home. I’ve got you, Wren.”

Always.

CHAPTER 21

WILLA

Outside, the wind howled, and the rain lashed as the category 3 hurricane battered the island. Sutter House creaked around us, sounding for all the world like the hull of a great ship battling the waves, but our little nest in the dining room was pretty cozy. As the central-most room of the house, it made the safest spot to ride out the storm. Sawyer and I had shoved the table that seated sixteen to the far end of the room and covered the whole thing in a tarp. It resembled an indoor greenhouse with all the potted plants we’d hauled inside. That left just enough room for the queen mattress we’d wrestled downstairs and set in front of the fireplace that opened on the other side to the den. The flue was closed, of course, but an assortment of candles had been set inside, waiting to be lit whenever we lost power. Sawyer had produced a portable power station that would be enough to power our devices, a fan, and the mini-fridge he’d hauled down from Granddaddy’s third floor office for at least a day or so. All in all, we were pretty well set.

I was halfway through reviewing my notes on the sustainable tourism initiative grant I’d set aside after Granddaddy died, when the lights finally winked out. “Well, it held longer than I thought it would.”

Sawyer thumbed on the flashlight of his phone and crossed to switch on the battery-powered lanterns set around the room. “Since the storm didn’t make it past cat 3, maybe utilities won’t be down too long.” He grabbed a lantern and brought it over to where I sat in a camp chair, my feet propped on the hearth. “Here, you want to keep working?”

“No, I think I’m probably done for the night.”

“In that case, you hungry?”