Page 25 of Finding Home (Willow Valley #1)

TWENTY-FIVE

CHLOE

T hings have felt oddly normal and comfortable with Everett since he opened up to me about his ex.

I was surprised that he let me hold him, but we sat like that for nearly an hour, my arms wrapped around him, before he finally pulled away and said we should get some sleep.

I swore he was going to kiss the top of my head before he decided against it and left me watching him as he went upstairs.

On Saturday after breakfast, we all meet at the front door and head out to Everett’s truck and he drives us into town.

He parks, and we walk down Main Street. I smile at people as we pass, and they smile back.

It’s one of the things I love about Willow Valley the most, how loving and welcoming everyone is.

They may be busybodies who love to gossip, but almost every one of them would give you the shirt off their back if they thought you needed it.

This town rallied around my family after everything Grayson and Rebecca went through, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.

I push the door open to the store, and Lila and Everett follow me. Tyson, a local teen, greets us as we approach the counter.

“Good morning,” I say. “How are you?”

“I’m good, ma’am. How are you?”

“I’m good, thank you, Tyson.”

Tyson ducks his head, and for a second, I think I see the tips of his ears turn pink. I hear a small chuckle beside me, and I look at Everett, but his face is blank and grumpy as ever, arms crossed over his chest.

“What can I help you with, ma’am?” Tyson asks.

“We’re looking for a pair of boots for this one,” I say, running my hand over Lila’s hair. Everett did braids in it this morning, and Lila was beaming when she came down with them, but I don’t think it rivalled the pride on Everett’s face when I told him they looked good.

Tyson nods and asks, “What size is she usually?”

I look at Everett, and he grunts, “Kids’ thirteen.”

Tyson nods. “Do we know which boots we want?”

“I want boots like Chloe,” Lila says beside me.

I give Tyson the details, and he comes out with two pairs of boots and leads us to a spot with a bench, and I help Lila into the boots.

She tries them both on and walks around, coming back and telling me she preferred the first pair.

While Tyson packages them up, we wander around the store.

She points at a hat, and I grab it down and place it on her head, and she walks over to the mirror and looks at herself.

“It’s so cool,” she says.

“It is. Maybe we’ll come back and grab you one before summer starts,” I say and bite my lip almost immediately after the words leave my mouth. There I go making plans for the future with this little girl. I avoid looking at Everett, not sure what his reaction will be.

“Can we?” Lila asks.

“We’ll see.”

While Lila and Everett talk, I sneak over to the counter and pay Tyson for the boots, knowing that if I don’t beat Everett to it, he’ll pay for them, even though I’m the one who wanted to bring Lila. I grab the boots and turn to them. “You two ready?”

Everett nods and reaches for his wallet.

I hold up the box. “All taken care of.”

“North,” he says, and something about that nickname, which I have no idea what it means, has goosebumps erupting up my arms, and I’m holding back a shiver.

I tilt my head, attempting to hide how the nickname affects me. “ Everett.”

He shakes his head and offers Lila his hand.

As she slips her hand in his, I bite my lip, knowing I’ve at least won this for now.

Once outside, Everett leads us down the street towards Incahoots.

Incahoots serves food all day, so minors are permitted, until ten p.m. when they’re required to leave by liquor laws.

As a kid, when we’d be down at the lake with friends, we’d often walk up to Incahoots and order food, taking it back with us to the lake more often than not.

Everett pulls open the door, allowing Lila and I to enter first. I lead us to my usual table in the corner, and they follow. Boyd’s behind the bar and waves as I pass him. As I’m taking off my coat to get settled, I notice Beau sitting at the bar and say to Everett, “I’ll be right back.”

He raises a brow, but I don’t answer his unspoken question before leaving and taking the stool beside Beau. Beau wraps an arm around me when he notices I’ve taken a seat.

“Hey,” I say, and he spins the bottle of beer in his hand.

“Hey.”

“What has you here at one in the afternoon enjoying a beer?”

He doesn’t respond to my question, which means it’s the one thing he won’t talk about.

“Aspen,” I whisper, and he shoots me a side-eye.

I sigh. This man is stubborn as fuck, and I know pushing him isn’t going to get him to do anything he doesn’t want to. It’s why no one was able to stop him from enlisting. I don’t push, instead, I move the conversation to the apartment. “Have you gotten settled in the apartment?”

He nods. “I’m sorry you had to move out. If I had known you were living in it, I would have found a different place somehow.”

I shake my head and place my hand on top of his and give it a squeeze. “It’s all good. I found a place.” I look at Everett and Lila past him and can’t help my small smile. “I’m happy where I’m at.”

“I’m glad. James said they should be done with the majority of the house so it’s at least liveable in a few months and then you can move back into the apartment.”

That has a rock dropping in my stomach. For some reason, the thought of moving out of Everett’s and into a place of my own doesn’t excite me, it disappoints me .

I force a smile on my face and say, “Sounds good.”

Boyd stops by and says, “Your table is waiting for you to order, Chlo.”

I nod and slide off my stool, but before leaving Beau, I say, “You’re not too late. Trust me when I say that if you seriously want a chance, you’ve got it. I want both of you to be happy.” I pat his arm. “I’m rooting for you.”

Beau stares at me, and I slide past him and rejoin Everett and Lila.

Everett seems grumpier than usual as I settle into my chair. Lila doesn’t seem to notice, too occupied by the colouring Boyd must have given her.

“I heard we’re still trying to decide on what to eat,” I say, and Lila nods.

“I want what you’re having.”

“Really?” I ask, and she nods again. “How about we each get our own thing and then we share?” I offer, and she gives it a thought, tilting her head and sticking her tongue between her lips before she finally looks up at me.

“Okay.”

I pull the menu over and ask, “What do you want?”

Lila doesn’t stop colouring, and I look up, feeling Everett’s eyes on me. He hasn’t said anything since I rejoined them, but the way he’s looking at me right now has my skin feeling like it’s on fire.

“Do they have chicken strips?” she asks.

“Yup. They’re really good. Would you share a burger with me?”

Lila nods, and I flag Boyd, who nods and finishes what he’s doing before taking our orders.

We hand him the menus, and he leaves. Everett continues to brood while I talk to Lila about her colouring.

After a few minutes, someone slides into the chair beside me, and I look over and grin as I notice it’s Brinley.

“I heard you were here,” she says, and I shake my head.

“Who?”

“Colby and Felicity were in and mentioned something to Ryder who mentioned it to Colton who said something to me when I was in the grocery store.”

“I swear those boys are nosier than some of the old ladies in this town.” Brin laughs, and I turn to Lila. “Lila, this is my best friend Brinley. Brin, this adorable little one is Lila.”

Brin says, “Hi,” but Lila doesn’t respond, leaning closer to me. Brin takes that opportunity to change her focus to Everett.

She extends her hand and says, “That must make you Chief Grump.”

Everett raises a brow, and Lila laughs, saying, “You’re funny.” I bite my lip to hold back my smile.

Brinley beams. “Sorry, Chief Everett Lawson. I’m Brinley Rivers”

Everett shakes her hand but doesn’t say anything.

“The rumours are true. A real grump,” she says, and I nudge her. “Just speaking the truth. How she managed to wear you down that night is a complete surprise to me.”

This time, I kick her under the table, and she grins at me.

“Aspen and Lennon said they’ll both be ready to leave at four so we can head to West Bridgejaw. I’m on driving duty, so they’re gonna meet at my place and then we can pick you up.”

“I can meet at your place,” I say.

“Whatever you want.” She shrugs. “I’m going to head home and finish a few things, but I’ll see you in a couple hours.” I nod, and she kisses my cheek. “It was nice to meet you, Lila.” She turns to Everett next and nods. “Everett.”

He nods back, and she leaves.

I shake my head at Everett. “Letting the town think you’re a grump,” I muse.

“I am.”

“Not always,” I say.

He leans forward on his arms. “Very few people get to see past the outside, North. I don’t care what people think. They could call me all the names in the book behind my back and none of it would bother me. Very few people matter enough to me for their opinion to be of consequence.”

The way he holds eye contact with me has me wondering if I’m one of those few people.

I push the thought away and nod just as our food is delivered.

I cut my burger in half and then one of the half’s in half again and place it on Lila’s plate.

We eat in relative silence. Lila’s completely occupied with her food, and I have no idea what to say.

Everett obviously has thoughts, but he’s keeping those locked down as his eyes flick to me every so often.

He pays the bill, and we make the drive home. I rush into my room, needing space, and throw a few things into an overnight bag.