days since the break in and the guys and the girls are back at our house again. Willow insists on trying to keep things as normal as possible, which meant keeping the quilting date that the girls had planned. Right now, she’s teaching them some quilting tricks and tips in the living room, while the guys and I are in my office.
It’s been pretty quiet over the last few days, but Willow and I both said we have a feeling that this isn’t over. From what I know about her uncle and the bit of research that Phoenix did, I have to agree.
‘Jana was asking in town if they’ve heard anything or if anything has been leaked about Willow’s uncle. So far, it’s been quiet, so at least the cops are keeping this on the down low,’ Cole says.
Since Jana used to live in town and managed a grocery store in the café, she’s a great resource. She also runs the community garden, which has now been moved to their property. If anyone has solid connections in town, it’s her.
“Right now, I’m relieved that things are quiet,” I say.
‘Just because it’s been quiet, don’t let your guard down. That was my mistake.’ Cash says, and I know he’s talking about when his wife’s mom kidnapped her. There had been signs, and they knew her mom was in town but once things got quiet, they relaxed and that’s when her mom swooped in.
In that rescue mission to save Hope, we all banded together. Also, it’s what brought Cole into our group as well.
‘I remember. But I have no intention of letting my guard down anytime soon. From what I know about her uncle, he’s going to play the long game. I would bet that he’s going to wait for us to let our guard down.’ I say, and the men agree.
Wrapping up our meeting, we go to the living room. Sitting down, we talk and watch the girls.
When giggles erupt from the girls across the room, I turn to watch Willow. She’s got a huge smile lighting up her face, which causes me to smile too. I absolutely love it when she’s happy. Even with everything going on, seeing her smile makes everything completely worth it.
I turn back to the guys, and they’re all wearing matching grins on their faces and watching their girls across the room. There’s no doubt these are my people. We are absolutely content to sit here and be in the same space as our women as they do what they love.
When the phone rings, the whole room freezes, and everyone looks at me. Sending up a silent prayer, I hope that it’s Willow’s friend that she’s been waiting for a phone call from and not bad news.
‘Hello,’ I answer. Unfortunately, it’s not a female voice that greets me, it’s Jaspers.
‘Hey man, I hate to make this phone call, but Emma just came in from town saying that there was some female down there asking around about Willow.’
As he talks, I wave Willow over to me, and she comes to my side without hesitating.
‘Can you describe this woman who was asking about Willow?’ I ask and Willow’s eyes go wide. I can see the panic written all over her face, so I wrap my arm around her and pull her to my side, letting her know I’m not going anywhere.
‘When she told Emma that she was her aunt, Emma told her where to find you. Knowing how you don’t like people just showing up on your doorstep, I thought I should give you a heads up.’
Willow trembles in my arms, and I’ve never wanted to physically injure a woman more than I do Emma right now. Who gives an address to a complete stranger?
‘Thanks, Jasper, I appreciate it.’
I end the call with him, and I turn to the guys, who I’m grateful are now still here.
‘Apparently, Emma told some strange woman in town claiming to be Willow’s aunt where to find her up here on the mountain,’ I tell them.
‘Emma, the sister to the ranchers you work with?’ Axel asks.
‘Yep, that was her brother calling to let me know.’
‘Seeing this would be the aunt that is married to the uncle that we’re having issues with?’ Phoenix asks.
It doesn’t escape me that he assumes that our problem is his problem, just like that. No questions asked.
‘Yes, the only aunt I have is my dad’s sister,’ Willow says shakily.
‘Well, at least we now know she’s in town. Let’s assume your uncle would be with her,’ Cole says, and we all agree.
‘It’s the perfect cover. Women aren’t seen as threatening as men, so it makes sense to have her going around asking about you,’ I say mostly thinking out loud.
No sooner do I finish my sentence, than there’s a knock on the door. From the outside looking in, you’d swear we had this planned and choreographed.
Axel takes Willow’s hand and walks her back over to the other women. Then the men put themselves between the door and the girls. I grab my gun as I get ready to answer the door.
Looking around, everybody nods, and I open the door. Expecting to find her aunt on the other side, instead it’s a man. Instantly, I know this is her uncle, without ever having met him or seen a photo of him before.
‘I’m her uncle and am here to see Willow. We’ve been worried about her since her dad’s funeral. The way she up and disappeared, she’s obviously not stable.’ The man in front of me says this without even offering me his name or asking mine.
So, he’s going to play the she’s unstable game to make it seem like any of her decisions or anything she says isn’t worth a damn. Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. I can tell the moment the men step up behind me because her uncle’s eyes go wide for a fraction of a moment before he regains his composure. Without a doubt, I know they want to get a good look at him and know who we are dealing with.
‘More like you’re worried about her opening her mouth and telling everyone what you did to her,’ I say. In that moment, he realizes I know what happened and his entire demeanor changes.
‘That girl is mentally unstable and has no idea what she’s talking about. She needs to be at home with her family,’ he says in a tone that I’m sure is meant to scare some people.
‘Not only is she perfectly stable, but she’s my wife, and I am her family. She will be staying here, and you will be leaving her alone. This is your one and only warning. If you step foot on my property again, I will put a bullet between your eyes. See these men here with me? They live all over this mountain and you accidentally step foot on one of their properties, they’ll do the same thing,’ I tell him without losing eye contact.
Then Axel steps forward and stands right next to me. I’m a tall man at over six feet tall, but Axel is pushing seven feet. If you don’t know him, he can look to be one scary son of a bitch, even though he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. But he also knows when to use his size to his advantage, like right now.
The moment Axel steps up to my side, her uncle takes a step backwards. Fight back a smile, all I can think is how cowardly this man truly is.
As I raise my gun, point it directly at him, and cocked the trigger, I growl, ‘Now get off my property.”
