Chapter Fourteen
Willa stared through therain-blurred windshield at all the vehicles in her driveway. Was she ever going to be alone to think? One of the cars hadNew York plates, so it belonged to Abram’s housekeeper, Peg. Damn, she’d forgotten all about her moving in. And evenShelby was conspiring against her, since her sister’s minivan also sat in her cluttered driveway.
When had she lost control of her life?
“The real question, Willamina, is when are you going to take it back?” she muttered, her words drowned out by the wind and rain.
But it was the expensive-looking bright red SUV parked directly in front of her headlights, sporting temporary plates, that was really keeping Willa from going inside. Granted, she’d been at her factory for more than two hours with Cyrus’s brothers, but surely Sam hadn’t had time to go out and buy a car yet, had he?
Maybe she could sleep at her factory, just to get one night alone with her thoughts.Shelby was going to keep her up pastmidnight , asking her all about Abram’s home, his grandsons, and the funeral. Willa smiled. If that was Sam’s truck, thenShelby had already started the inquisition—after she’d given Sam a piece of her mind for shanghaiing her husband.
The kitchen door opened, and Jennifer stepped onto the porch, pulling on a rain slicker. “Auntie!” the girl called, skipping down the stairs. She ran limping up to the driver’s side of Willa’s truck. “Isn’t it beautiful!” she exclaimed when Willa rolled down her window.
“What? The storm? Get in here before you drown,” she said, motioning her to run around to the other side.
“No, let’s sit in my truck,” Jennifer said, running to the driver’s side of the SUV and climbing in. Willa rolled up her window, opened the door, and made a mad dash for the SUV. “Your truck!” she squealed, climbing into the passenger seat. She immediately slid back out. “It’s a leather interior. We’re going to get it all wet.”
“Get in here, Auntie,” Jen said with a laugh, grabbing Willa’s sleeve and pulling her back inside. She slid the key into the ignition, started it up, and immediately turned down the volume on the radio. “Isn’t this the greatest?” She flipped on the interior lights. “I just took my learner’s permit exam two days ago, but I haven’t tried driving it yet. It’s got satellite radio, navigation, and even a DVD player in the back.” She ran her hands lovingly over the steering wheel. “And it’s all mine,” she finished on a whisper.
“Oh, my God, Jen. It’s beautiful.” Willa turned in her seat to take it all in. “You could put an entire softball team in here.”
Jen shook her head. “When I get my license, I won’t be able to carry anyone who isn’t family for six months. Abram picked it out especially for me, because it was big and safe.” Her expression turned pained. “I’m sorry he died, Auntie. I really liked him, you know? He was a cool old guy.”
“They don’t make them any cooler,” Willa agreed. “And I’m glad you got to know him, Jen.” She chuckled so she wouldn’t tear up. “Whenever he was talking to me about you, he always referred to you as ‘that spitfire niece of yours,’” she said, dropping her voice to sound like Abram.
“He wrote me a letter,” Jen said. “I put it in my jewelry box, and I’m going to keep it forever. Abram told me to grab the world by the tail and give it a good shake every now and then, just to see what happens.”
Willa laughed, wiping her eyes.
“Look,” Jen said, pointing at the floor by her feet. “They put the gas petal on the left side, so I can use my left foot instead of my right, but everything else is the same. And when it comes time for me to trade it in, the pedal can be put back on the right side with hardly any trouble.” She looked over at Willa. “That was Emmett’s idea, Abram said in his letter. The two of them decided I could learn to use my left foot
just as easily as people learn to use their right foot for driving.”
“It’s perfect for you,” Willa agreed. “But I noticed the temporary plate isn’t handicapped. Do you have to wait until you register it to get one?”
Jen gaped at her. “I’m not getting one of those—they’re for handicapped people. I’ve been trying to get Mom to get rid of the one on our van for years.” She shot Willa a mischievous smile. “I’m getting a vanity plate that says CATCH ME. You know, as in ‘Catch me if you can’? Abram suggested it in his letter.”
Feeling about two inches tall, Willa gave her forehead a dramatic slap. “What was I thinking? Of course, you’ll get a vanity plate.”
They both jumped when somebody pounded on Jen’s window. “Mom said if you two don’t come in for supper, she’s not even saving you the wishbone,” Cody hollered through the window. He spun around and ran back to the house.
Jen shut off the truck. “I wish I could have thanked Abram personally. His letter also said Spencer was setting up an appointment for me inNew York City to be fitted for a special prosthesis so I can do sports and stuff.”
Willa patted her niece’s arm. “You’ll be thanking Abram every time you shake the world by its tail, Jen,”
she said with a laugh, opening her door.
Jen stopped her by grabbing her sleeve. “Um…Mom’s got some news for you, Auntie. She’s been worrying all week about telling you, so…well, try not to overreact, okay?”
The fine hairs on Willa’s neck rose in alarm. “What news?”
Jen opened her own door. “Mom will tell you. Just don’t take it personally, okay?” She scrunched up her pretty young face. “Like you usually do.”
She was out the door and running through the rain before Willa could ask what in hell she’d meant by that. “I’ll show you personal, you little brat,” she muttered, dashing for the house. “Let’s see how long it takes you to notice the ‘Don’t bother honking; I’m blond’ sticker I’m going to put on your fancy new bumper.”
Crammed to the gills with the best stuffing and gravy she’d ever eaten, Willa sat on the floor against her couch, her face bathed in firelight from the hearth, and fought to stay awake. “You fill my wineglass one more time, Shel, and I’m going to fall asleep right here.”
“Fine with me,”Shelby said, setting down the bottle and leaning against the couch next to her. “I wasn’t looking forward to sharing a bed with you, anyway.”
“The storm’s not that bad. Go home; whatever you have to tell me can wait until tomorrow. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in more than a week.”
“Um…my bed is in your barn, along with all my other worldly possessions.”
“Oh, my God,” Willa whispered. “You left Richard.”
“The timing was perfect, what with him being…out of the country. And I can’t very well kick Richard out of his family homestead, can I? So I packed up all our belongings, stored everything in your barn, and the three of us have moved in with you,” she finished with a smile.
“When did you decide to leave him?”
“I filed the divorce papers about a month ago.”
“And you’re only telling me now!”
Her sister became very busy swirling the wine in her glass. “I was afraid of how you’d react.”
“How I’d react how? ”
Shelbyleaned her shoulder against the couch to face her. “You have a very bad habit of thinking you’re somehow responsible for everything that happens to anyone you care about.” She shrugged. “You’ve been nagging me to leave him for years now, and I knew once I did, you’d find a way to blame yourself for my marriage breaking up. Then you’d feel guilty, and then you’d start trying to fix me , just like you try to fix everyone.”
“I do not!”
“Who marched over to school and gave Cody’s basketball coach hell last fall?”
“That jerk was only interested in winning. He’s supposed—”
“Without even telling me you were going to see him,”Shelby continued forcefully, cutting Willa off. “And who keeps visiting her ex-mother-in-law because she feels guilty for divorcing her son and his moving toMontana ?”