Page 10

HUXLEY

A s I drive to Charming Café to pick Willa up after work, I debate telling her how much I've missed her all day long. That it’s hard to imagine my life without her.

Time and experience have taught me that almost as soon as I become comfortable in a home, I have to leave it again. Start with another decrepit pile of bricks and turn it into something wonderful.

But Willa and I have been magical from the very beginning, so I want to believe that we are already a sure thing.

I park right in front of the café, then wave at Desire through the window. I see her call to the back, then Willa rushes out. Scooping her into my arms, I don't care that my sister is probably watching as I kiss my girl.

After a moment, Willa pushes me away with a saucy grin. "Hey buddy, this is my workplace, you know. Let's try to keep things a little respectable here."

My bottom lip sticks out as I roll my eyes, pouting. " Fine ." A warmth spreads through my chest as I realize I truly love it when she laughs at me.

Just before we head off, my phone pings. I throw the truck back into park, then read the text.

Dad: You didn’t respond to my email. Urgent family video call in 35 minutes. Just us and Gabe – your uncles are in the middle of an electrical project.

Well, shit .

I’ll be there.

"What's wrong?" Willa asks. "Your entire energy just changed."

"Family video call in half an hour. Apparently, I missed the email about it." I glance over sheepishly. "Since I'm taking a break, I've turned off my email notifications."

"No problem," she says brightly. "I have a ton of reading to do, and I'm overdue for a call to my family as well. We could do dinner tomorrow night instead?”

I lean over for a swift kiss that immediately turns heated, then reluctantly pull away. "Thank you for understanding, Angel."

I drive Willa home, where a five-minute breathless kiss in the front hallway of her aunt's house doesn't feel nearly long enough. As soon as I can force myself to pull away, I race home and boot up my laptop just as the call is starting.

Dad glares at me through the screen. "So kind of you to join us."

They must be taking this seriously, since my parents aren't side by side on the couch. Mom and Dad are in separate windows and are clearly in different offices. My younger brother Gabe’s eyebrows are knit together uncomfortably.

"Huxley, your father and I have identified the perfect neighborhood for your next reno," Mom says, leaning toward the camera. "Arrangements are already being made to?—"

"Mom, stop. I told you I was taking an extended break. I'm working here in Cedarville for a while."

Dad's entire face tenses up. "If we let this opportunity slip away, some other flippers will slide in and take over that neighborhood. There are eight to ten houses that would be perfect for us. We need you to get in there since you can begin immediately."

"No, I can't, Dad. I'm not doing that right now." I feel my shoulders beginning to lock up. "I've told you this several times. Would you like me to translate it into French or Spanish for you? Perhaps hire a skywriter?"

"No need to get snippy.” Mom's lips purse as she peers at me through the screen. "I don't like you staying at your grandfather's house. You're going to get too comfortable out there and never want to come back."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you,” I sigh. “I don't want to come back. Maybe once in a while for a special project, but that's it. Plus, I'm looking into buying Grandpa's house from him anyway. You don't have to worry about that."

My mother pins me with a stern glare. "Houses always fall apart when they are bachelor pads. You shouldn't have that nice house without a woman there. It will kill the resale value."

I keep my mouth shut. There's no way I'm going to tell them about Willa when they’re in this kind of sour mood.

"What kind of work are you doing, then?" Gabe asks mildly. He’s always the diplomat whenever there’s a family spat.

"General contracting. Fixing up rooms instead of entire houses." I attempt a smile. "And at the end of the day, I can go home to a working shower and a comfortable bed."

"You're going soft," Dad grumbles. “I didn’t even think about slowing down until I hit sixty.”

Yeah, right. Dad’s idea of “slowing down” is doing two houses a year instead of three or four. Plus he and Mom always hire up to a dozen extra pairs of hands for a flip, whereas Gabe and I only call in a handful of locals here and there.

I also can’t tell him that I don’t want arthritis in my hands like him. It’s difficult to suppress my grin as I consider I now need a full range of motion to caress Willa and please her in every possible way.

Mom’s expression becomes exasperated. “We should probably just go ahead and buy the house and wait for you to pull yourself together. It can easily sit empty for a few weeks while you give your head a shake.”

“You do what you like with your money. I’m not leaving Cedarville.”

“And if we talk to Grandpa about taking his house back?” Mom leans closer to the screen. “It could be argued that he’s not of sound mind, considering selling you his house.”

My blood runs cold. “How dare you. He’s sharp as a tack, and everyone knows it.”

“Cecily, enough.” My dad’s dark tone is a warning. “Let’s discuss this again in a few weeks.”

I’m so furious that I end the call without another word.

It turns my stomach when my parents treat me like a child, but I can deal with that. I can even deal with finding another house on Cedar Lake if need be. Yet there's no way in hell I'm leaving Cedarville or Willa, or letting my family dictate my entire life.

As I pace around the living room, it occurs to me that Willa is in a very similar situation. Her parents have her whole future mapped out for her, with no thought as to what she actually wants. It's going to be harder for her to stand up for herself, since she’s younger.

Well, she has me in her corner now. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure her life turns out exactly the way she wants it to.

Fingers crossed that that’s here with me.