into town. We have a few things to do but she seems a little uncomfortable and on edge today. When I told her about the cave, I picked up on something yesterday out by the lake. I wanted her to know that there is a safe place for her here if she ever needs it. But she got real quiet afterward, and I think she’s starting to suspect that I know something or suspect something but neither of us has brought it up. While I have no intention of bringing it up unless she does, the last thing I need is for her to think that she can’t trust me or that she gets too uncomfortable and decides not to stay. If she’s not here, I can’t help protect her.
I park my truck behind Jack’s shop because I know he won’t mind, and we walk down Main Street stopping at a few stores before she finds a dress she really likes for Cash’s wedding. As she casually takes in the town, we visit a few other stores
When she doesn’t think I’m looking, she’s hyperaware of her surroundings which only confirms my suspicions that she’s worried about something.
Our last stop for the day is to see Jack. I have a box of things for him in the back of my truck. Mostly some bows and arrows that I’ve made for hunting. The tourists seemed to eat that kind of stuff up when they visit so long as they keep buying, I’ll keep making them.
After I finish unloading the stuff for my truck, I see she’s talking to Jack with a big smile on her face.
‘You really think my quilts would do well here?’ she asks.
Jack gives me a nod acknowledging that I’m with them now.
‘Local handcrafted stuff does pretty well. I don’t see why I quilt wouldn’t either. You could bring one in, and we could put it up and test it and see how it goes.’
‘Oh, that would be great.’ Then her smile drops, and she looks over at me, ‘as long as that’s OK with you.’
‘Sweetheart, if that’s what you want to do, you’re more than welcome to it.’
That seems to stun her for just a moment before she breaks into a huge smile.
‘Just in case proper introductions were not done, Jack here owns the store.” Then I look to Jack, “This is Willow my soon-to-be wife.’ Willow’s eyes go wide when I introduced her that way. She may still have the choice to leave, but as far as I’m concerned, she’s going to be my wife. Even though Jack was here when I made the announcement that I had found my wife, he still looks a little shocked. Maybe he, much like my friends, didn’t believe me when I originally said it.
‘Jack here used to be a lawyer before he opened the shop. He still practices, but only takes on cases that he chooses. Though he’s worked with all of us that live up on the mountain with different things from contracts to probate.’
‘I also volunteer down at the local women’s shelter a few towns over,” Jack says. ”When I was practicing law, I had to defend whatever case the practice gave me, even if they were guilty of some horrific crime. It was my job to get them aquitted, and I didn’t enjoy getting the guilty off. So, I came down to Whiskey River for a weekend away to clear my head, and the shop was for sale. Before I went home, I had bought it and now I just take on cases where I know I’m truly helping someone and not helping the bad guy.’
Willow gives a polite smile but doesn’t say much, but I hope she understands that I plan to surround her with people that can help her with whatever her problem might be.I In time, maybe she’ll trust me enough to tell me what has her frightened. If she doesn’t reach out to me, hopefully, she’ll tell someone who can help her.
But I want her to know that there are plenty of ways that I can protect her, and I plan to do just that. She doesn’t say much afterward, but I’m assuming she’s just processing everything that was said. I’m not going to push her for an answer she’s not ready to give. So, I’m already trying to find a safe topic for the drive home as we go out to the car.
But once in the parking lot, she surprises me.
‘Jack seems like a nice guy, but the only experience I’ve ever had with lawyers is how they manipulate the system.’
It’s not much to go on, but it is insight into what is going on in her life.
‘Some for sure do. Maybe more than many people realize, but Jack isn’t one of them,” I say. He is one of the good guys and damn good at what he does. I wouldn’t even bring you around him if he wasn’t. He’s at a point now where he only helps people that truly need it, people that have been wronged or need help fighting against those crooked lawyers. They’re the ones that keep trying to manipulate. ‘
She nods her head and turns to look out the window. A million things run through my head. Has she been accused of something that she hasn’t done? I Is someone chasing after her or is she hiding?
For a brief moment, I think of contacting a friend down at the police station and having him look into her. Then I decide that if I’m going to want her to trust me, I have to give her the same trust and that means waiting until she’s wanting to talk.
