CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT

Willow

My heart hammers in my chest as I catch my breath. My body is sore, deliciously so.

I can feel him everywhere.

“I’m going to get us cleaned up, then we’ll go to bed, okay?” Rowan whispers, leaning down and brushing his lips over my forehead.

“Okay,” I respond, flashing him a shy smile.

I watch him leave, fighting the excitement that surfaces at the memory of what just happened between us. I can hear him moving around in the bathroom, then he goes down the hall to the kitchen. He returns with two glasses of water, a wash cloth, and my purse.

He hands me a glass of water, setting the other on the night stand, and begins to gently wipe between my legs. He’s so sweet and tender, cleaning my skin like I’m something rare and priceless.

“I brought your purse in case you wanted your phone. But I want you to stay here with me tonight,” he says.

I smile at him and nod. After what we just shared, I can’t imagine leaving his side anytime soon. He helps me up from the bed and leads me into the bathroom. After rummaging around a bit, he finds a spare toothbrush, and we both get ready for bed, neither of us bothering with clothes.

We climb under the sheets, and Rowan wraps me in his arms, my back to his chest. He kisses behind my ear before settling in behind me. Within moments, I fall asleep with a smile.

I’m jolted awake by the sound of buzzing. It takes me a few minutes to get by bearings, but I soon realize the buzzing sound is coming from my purse. After checking to make sure Rowan is still asleep, I wiggle out of his hold and answer my phone, walking out of the bedroom as I do. The call is from an unknown number, but something tells me to answer it anyway.

“Hello?”

“Is this Ms. Shepherds?” a strange, tinny voice asks.

“It is. Who is this?” I respond slowly.

“I’m calling from Red Shield Security. We’ve received an alert that the alarm at 502 S. Main St. has been activated.”

The coffee shop. Ugh, that stupid alarm! Nora was supposed to call and ask them to come out and look at it; the thing is constantly going off for no reason. She must have forgotten with the excitement of planning Anti-Valentine’s Day.

“Ms. Nora Wilde is the shop manager. Did you call her?” I ask. As the manager, Nora’s name is above mine on the emergency call list.

“We did,” the caller confirms. “She did not answer.”

Right, she had said she planned to take a bath, then go to bed. She must not have heard her phone.

“Alright. Did you notify the police?”

“Yes, ma’am. There will be an officer there to meet you, but you’ll need to let them in.”

“Okay,” I say with a heavy sigh. This is the last thing I want to deal with tonight. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I debate waking Rowan, but I know he’s worn out from his trip, not to mention what we’d done after dinner. So, instead, I pull on my borrowed t-shirt and shorts, then take his car keys off the hook where he’d left them and slip out the door. I could walk to the shop, he lives so close, but it’s late, and I need to hurry. As I climb in the car, I text Rowan to let him know where I’ve gone in case he wakes up before I return.

When I arrive at the shop, the lights are out, and there is no officer in sight. Strange. The alarm company representative had said there would be an officer waiting. I don’t hear the sound of the alarm, either. I decide to go inside anyway and check things out. I keep my phone in my hand as I unlock the door and disable the alarm before flipping on the lights.

I look around the dining area, but don’t see anything amiss. I spin on my heel when I hear the sound of the bell over the door. My breath catches when I see a tall, broad man with salt and pepper hair, a bushy mustache, and mean eyes standing in front of the door.

Oh no!

God, please, no!

“Found you,” the man says.

My eyes fill up with tears as I meet his familiar dark eyes. Timothy Shepherds, my father’s younger brother and the reason I ran away from home after my father was arrested for scamming all those people out of their retirement funds.

“What do you want?” I ask, backing away, but the answer is obvious.

He’s here for the money he believes my father left me, except I don’t have it. I have no idea what my father did with the money he stole from all those poor people, but he didn’t leave it to me. He did have a gambling problem though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost it all in a poker game.

“Little Willow, did you not miss your dear old uncle?” he hisses, taking out a knife and waving it at me. The manic look in his eyes assures me that he is not going to hesitate to use it.

I back up and consider running into Nora’s office and locking myself in. He’s between me and the front door, I don’t think I can get around him.

I could hide and call the cops.

I run my hands through my hair as I consider my options. He’ll hurt me if he gets his hands on me, to punish my father if for no other reason. He won’t stop until I either give him the money I don’t even have, or I’m dead.

“Uncle Tim,” I try, but I know it’s hopeless. “I—I don’t have the money. You know that.”

“You’re lying,” he shouts, grabbing a chair and throwing it against the wall. “You and that thieving father of yours are dirty liars. I know he left you the money!”

“I don’t have the money! They cleared me off any dealings with Dad’s schemes. He is paying for his crimes. Can we please move on?”

My uncle’s eyes narrow to slits as he watches me with so much hate.

“You are just as selfish as your father, it’s no wonder your mother abandoned you two.”

I don’t let it show just how much his words hurt me. “Please…”

“This place,” he waves his arms around. “Is it yours?”

I watch in horror as he grabs another chair and throws it against the wall, breaking its leg. I take a step forward to stop him, but he waves his knife at me.

He kicks a table to the floor, his movements furious as he destroys whatever he can reach, trashing all the Anti-Valentine’s decorations everyone worked so hard on. All the black roses…

My heart stops when he walks toward the espresso machine.

It’s the most expensive piece of equipment in the shop. Nora explained once that it had been a gift to Rowan from his late grandfather to celebrate opening his first location. I would give my life before I let my uncle touch that.

Nora…Rowan, they will never forgive me for this.

I step forward before he can make his way around the counter and ignore his knife. I catch movement from the corner of my eye, but Tim must be distracted by me because he doesn’t notice the chair coming down on his head. I watch in horror as my uncle crumbles to the ground, and for a second, I think he must be dead until he groans.

I look up, and my teary eyes meet Rowan’s for a second before quickly looking away in shame. Tim didn’t make it to the espresso machine, but the rest of the shop is a mess.

I ruined everything.

My stomach cramps, and I fall to my knees, holding back a sob and cursing my decision to stay in this town and not move on like I’d planned.

Nora should have never given me a job. She should have never befriended me and given me a reason to stay.

And Rowan…

I feel strong arms circle my body, and I am drawn into a heavy chest. I’m weak to resist the comfort he’s offering.

“I’m sorry,” I sob into his arms. “I should have left before he found me.”

“It’s okay,” he soothes, running a hand down the back of my head and smoothing my hair. “I’ll take care of him, Willow.”

“But—”

“I don’t want you to worry about any of it. I believe you when you say you had nothing to do with your father’s crimes. I will take care of anyone who thinks they have any right to come after you,” he promises.

I push back from the hug to stare at him. Does this mean he knew about me the whole time?

“I—”

“You don’t need to run anymore, Willow.”

I drop my head to his chest and burrow into his warmth. “Nora is going to kill me for bringing trouble to her shop.”

“My sister is smart enough to have looked you up before she hired you. She cyberstalks everyone. What makes you think you are the exception?”

I chuckle in his arms, tucking my head in the crook of his neck and basking in his warmth.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper after a prolonged silence.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. I…you have me now. And Nora too. We love you.”

“We?” I ask, pushing back once again and staring into his gray eyes.

“I love you,” he whispers, his eyes not wavering from mine even for a second. “I love you, Willow Shepherds.”

“I love you too, Rowan,” I cry, hugging him, and this time, I don’t let go until the cops come to arrest my uncle.

I was wrong. Staying is the best decision I ever made.