Page 5 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

“I can take him. We have the time.” I couldn’t quite understand why she was so resistant to my help. It wasn’t like she had a lot of options.

When Willow didn’t respond right away, I feared I’d overstepped.

“It’s just that…” She let her voice drift off. “I don’t want Jasper to ruin your car,” she finally blurted out.

I frowned. I hadn’t expected that. “How would he ruin my car?”

Her eyes went wide. “You haven’t been around a lot of five-year-old boys, have you?

” She leaned in. “They are wild, and your car is expensive.” She shook her head.

“I can’t afford a hotel stay. Do you think I can afford to detail your entire car?

” She scoffed as she pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

“If that’s what’s holding you back, don’t worry about it.” I shrugged. “I’m not worried.” I leaned forward, trying to catch her gaze. “It’s just a car.”

She sighed before turning her attention to me. “Just a car.” She shook her head. “Maybe to you it’s just a car. But to me, it’s a month of income. I couldn’t afford to fix it if something happened.”

I was confused. Did she really think so little of me? Did she really think that I would go after a single mom for damages when I insisted that I drive them around? From the earnest look in her eyes, yes, that was exactly what she thought.

Wow. She didn’t know me at all.

The side of the road wasn’t the place to prove my intentions. I needed to get her and Jasper to safety first. I would table what she thought about me for another time. Right now, I needed to persuade her to come with me.

I glanced over to her car to see Jasper peering out the window at us.

I lifted my right hand with my elbow at a 90-degree angle and held my left hand out like it was resting on a Bible as I turned my attention back to her.

“I promise not to bill you for any damages made to my car from you or from Jasper.”

She slowly folded her arms across her chest as she studied me.

I could tell that she wanted to say no. That she wanted to run.

Again. But a resigned expression slowly passed over her face; she was beginning to accept that she had limited options.

It was either me and my car or showing up very late to Jasper’s school and the diner.

And from what I knew about Willow, she hated to be late.

When she finally sighed, I celebrated inside.

“Fine. You promise I won’t be held responsible for anything Jasper may do to your car?”

I held her gaze. “I promise.”

She studied me for a moment before she nodded. “Okay.”

She didn’t say anything more as she headed to her car and opened the passenger door. Seconds later, the back door opened, and Jasper sprinted over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and began jumping up and down.

“Mommy told me that we get to ride in your Batman car!” He cheered.

“Yeah, you do,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I should hug him back, so I settled on patting his head.

He pulled back and raised his fists in the air. “I’m so excited.”

I nodded. “Me too.”

Willow emerged from behind the passenger door with their two duffel bags. “Jasper, give Cole some space.” Her cheeks were flushed, so I stepped forward to take the bags just in case she was struggling with their weight.

I could feel her hesitation, but she didn’t say anything. She allowed me to take them from her without a fight. I took that as a win. With the duffel bag straps pulled onto my shoulder, I nodded toward my car. Willow grabbed Jasper’s hand and followed after me.

I let Willow help Jasper get situated in the back seat while I made my way to the trunk.

After the duffel bags were deposited, I slammed the trunk closed and headed to the driver’s door.

For some strange reason, I was nervous all over again.

I’d fought off nerves the other night when I led Willow to my rental.

Now, those nerves were back as the realization that she was going to get into my car hit me like a ton of bricks.

I wasn’t nervous for her safety—I was an excellent driver.

I was nervous…to be around her. She’d made it clear since the moment I stepped into the diner that she wanted nothing to do with me.

I’d heard her on numerous occasions whispering about me to the staff as she stared at me like she was plotting a way to take me down.

Even though I knew she hated me, I felt drawn to her.

I wanted to be in her presence. It was a strange reaction and one that I was struggling to understand.

Even now my heart was pounding as I pulled open the driver’s door and dropped down onto the seat.

Once my seat belt was buckled, I turned to look at Willow, who was sitting stiff as a board next to me.

Her hands were on her knees and her gaze was focused out the windshield.

“Everything okay?” I asked as I pressed on the brake and shifted my car into first gear. I peered over my shoulder and studied the traffic flow.

“Yeah. I’m—we’re fine.”

I could hear Jasper’s excited noises behind me. I twisted a bit more so I could peek back at him. He was staring at the interior of the car with his eyes wide and his lips parted.

Every so often he whispered, “Wow.”

This kid was pretty awesome.

Once I was safely on the road, I settled back into my seat with my wrist resting on the steering wheel.

I glanced back at Jasper through the rearview mirror to see that he had settled in as well.

He was leaning against the door’s armrest so he could stare out the window.

The only person who hadn’t relaxed was Willow.

She hadn’t moved an inch. She was stressed, and I was curious as to why. Did she really dislike me that much?

“There’s some pancakes and eggs in the container back there if you want something to eat, Jasper,” I said, flicking my gaze up to the rearview mirror to make sure he heard.

He glanced around. After wiggling a bit so he could reach, he grabbed the container and set it on his lap.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to let him eat in your car?” Willow’s voice was quiet and panicked. I could feel her gaze as it bored into me.

I glanced over at her before I focused back onto the road. “It’ll be fine. Leather can be cleaned.” I slowed as the stoplight turned from yellow to red.

My response didn’t do anything to dissuade Willow’s stress. Instead, she just sighed as she glanced out the window. I peeked back at Jasper to see that he’d rolled up a pancake and was happily eating it.

“There’s enough food for you, too. If you want some,” I said as I glanced over at her before returning my attention to the light.

“I’m not hungry.” Her arms were folded across her chest, and she didn’t bother to look over at me. Instead, she kept her gaze straight ahead.

There was no reason this reaction should surprise me.

After all, she never hid her distain for me in the past. She’d made it apparent that she didn’t like me from the moment I stepped into the diner.

But for some asinine reason, her cool reaction was bothering me.

We didn’t have to be buddy-buddy, but we could be cordial, right?

“Do you have Jasper’s school’s address?” I asked, deciding to avoid personal topics and just stick to the task at hand.

“Um, yeah,” she said as she opened her purse and pulled out her phone.

She rattled off the address, and I asked my car’s GPS to start the route. Ten minutes later, I was pulling up to the entrance of Jasper’s school.

“I have to walk him in,” Willow said as she moved to unbuckle her seatbelt.

Jasper was already out of the car and onto the sidewalk by the time she’d exited. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I stayed and waited for Willow to return. I got quite a few curious glances from people coming and going. Their gaze would land on my car before they peered into the windshield.

When Willow finally emerged, she had her head down as she hurried over to the passenger door and pulled it open. “Can we go?” she asked before she even had the door shut.

“Sure,” I said, waiting for her to buckle up before I drove off. The click of the tongue engaging filled the silence between us.

“Let’s go,” she whispered as she sat back in her seat like she was trying to hide herself.

When we were back on the road, I glanced over at her. “It’s safe now. No one can see you.” Instead of dancing around her embarrassment, I decided to address it head-on. Besides, her reaction felt like a good ol’ karate chop to my ego.

Her cheeks flushed as she glanced over at me.

“I didn’t realize it was that embarrassing to be seen with me.” I knew I shouldn’t say anything, but I was offended. If this were Miami, women would be lining up for a chance to get photographed with me by the paparazzi.

She cleared her throat as she smoothed her slacks over her thighs.

“It didn’t look good, me showing up in your car.

” She peeked over at me. “People in this town talk. If we’re seen together before nine in the morning, they’ll assume we…

” She glanced behind her toward the back seat before she leaned closer to me like she was scared someone was going to overhear her. “We were together the night before.”

Ah. One of the curses of living in a small town. In Miami, no one cared who you came and went with.

“And you think people are going to assume we were…together?” I asked, flicking my gaze in her direction before I turned down Main Street.

“Yes. And I really”—she blew out her breath—“ really don’t need people talking. Not when I’m already such a mess.”

I couldn’t fault her for wanting to stay off the gossip train. I didn’t have any personal experience with it here in Harmony, but I was certain it was alive and well.

I slowed and took a left. The diner was just down the road on the right.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I didn’t mean to make things uncomfortable for her. “I’ll be more aware next time.”

Willow nodded. “I appreciate that.”

When I got to the diner, I pulled into my normal parking spot and turned off the engine. Willow was just like Jasper. She was out of the car and slamming the door before I’d even unbuckled.

I figured she’d already gone inside, but she appeared next to me just as I shut the car door.

“There won’t be a next time,” she blurted out.

I turned to face her. “What?” I asked.

Her cheeks were bright pink and her eyes were wild when she finally glanced up to meet my gaze. “In the car, you said that you’d be more aware next time.” She sighed. “There won’t be a next time.” Her voice was desperate as she studied me, like she needed me to agree.

The last thing I wanted to do was upset her. If she wanted me to stay away, I would oblige. I wasn’t here to make friends, but I also didn’t want to make enemies.

I raised my hands and nodded. “Okay. There won’t be a next time.”

Willow held my gaze for a moment before she nodded, turned on her heel, and marched toward the diner, leaving me behind in the parking lot. I watched her retreat, wondering what the heck I’d done to that woman.