Chapter Five

NOAH HAD PUT THE task off for as long as possible, but his online order had been delayed. He was down to two cans of beans and half a loaf of bread. Even more serious, he was out of coffee. He had to go to the grocery store again.

After his last venture into town, he’d decided that the only thing worse than going to the post office in Lake in the Clouds was making a local grocery run.

A shopper had two stores from which to choose for groceries: a national chain store and a small mom-and-pop, been-there-forever type of place called simply the General Store. He preferred the anonymity of the chain store, but the mom-and-pop carried local and regional brands he’d come to love. So, for the Mocha Moose Morning Blend coffee beans and the Rocky Mountain Road ice cream made over in Eternity Springs, he’d brave nosy Nettie Parkin, who ran the register at the General Store.

The place closed at seven. Having learned by experience that Nettie was most inquisitive early in the day, he timed his arrival for six thirty. With his list in hand, he entered the store, grabbed a grocery cart, and headed for the produce. Potatoes. Onions. The tomatoes looked sorry, so he skipped those. He’d just tossed a handful of garlic bulbs into the cart when he heard an excited voice exclaim, “Mr. Tannehill! Hi, Mr. Tannehill! It’s me. Drew. Remember me? I haven’t seen you in so long!”

Noah looked up to see the boy, wearing sneakers, a coat, and Spider-Man pajamas, darting toward him.

“What are you buying, Mr. Tannehill? Is that garlic? My nana uses garlic when she makes lasagna. It’s awesome. She made it for us this week, and she has this little plastic roller thingy that you put the garlic inside and roll it and the peel comes right off the garlic. It’s way cool. Have you ever seen that? I think they should make one big enough for onions, but Nana says she’s never seen one of those. Maybe I’ll invent it when I grow up. What else are you buying? We’re buying Froot Loops instead of eggs for breakfast. Can you believe that? I ask and ask and ask and Mom never lets me have them, but this time I wore her down ’cause she’s so tired from getting ready for the wedding. Do you like Froot Loops?”

“Take a breath, kid.” Noah frowned down at Drew. “I don’t want you passing out and keeling over here in the bananas.”

Drew giggled. “I’m just excited to see you. I talk a lot when I’m excited.”

“I think you’re excited all the time.” Noah placed a bunch of bananas in his shopping cart. “So, your mom is getting married?”

“No. Not my mom. My uncle Jake. The wedding was gonna be in Texas but the building burned down so now they’re getting married here and having the party at my nana’s lodge. My mom is planning the party because it’s her job and Uncle Jake and Aunt Tess—she’ll be my aunt after the wedding—had to work. Want to come to the party? My mom told me I could invite a friend. It’s in five days. Will you come?”

Noah was taken aback. “I’m not your friend.”

“Oh.” The boy’s face fell. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the floor. “Okay.”

Noah felt like a heel. He hadn’t exactly been Mr. Cheerful for the past year, but he didn’t go around kicking puppies or children. Instead, he immediately attempted to backtrack. “I mean, I’m sure your mother meant a friend your own age.”

“I don’t have any friends my age in Lake in the Clouds. Not yet. I’m trying to make friends but it’s hard ’cause I’m homeschooled and Lake in the Clouds doesn’t have a co-op or pods for kids like me. Mom is sad about that. Once Little League starts next month, it will be better, and I’ll make lots of friends. Now all I have is my sister. She’s only four. Her birthday is soon, though.”

“Look, kid. I’ll be your friend, but I don’t need to go to any wedding reception.”

Noah’s words flipped Drew’s switch, and he brightened. “Since we’re friends, can I come over to your house and play? We can have playdates like I have with my nana. Will you let me help you make dollhouses? I really want to do that.”

“Hold on. Hold on. Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Noah wanted to abandon his grocery cart and head for the exit. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Your mom wasn’t very happy that you came over to my house the first time.”

“She’ll be happy when we ’splain it to her. You’ll see. I’ll go tell her now.” He darted toward the back of the store and disappeared around an endcap holding a selection of nuts.

Noah gave a quick retreat serious consideration. He could grab the bare necessities and head for the register. Or he could continue shopping and hope that Mrs. Eldridge would get control of her kid.

Based on how she’d stormed his fortress, she undoubtedly would try to rein in Drew. She’d been the quintessential mama bear protecting her child—all the while worrying that she was overprotecting him. He’d liked that about her. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t hurt anything for Noah to shift into speed-shopping mode.

He grabbed a couple stalks of broccoli, some carrots, and a bag of lettuce, then breezed by the bread and snagged a loaf. Now at the back of the store, he turned to roll past the meat cases, loading up on protein. He deliberately did not look down the aisles as he passed, doing his best to be a stealth shopper.

To no avail.

From behind him came Drew’s voice. “Mr. Tannehill!”

Noah closed his eyes and sighed.

“Mr. Tannehill! You’re still here. I’m so glad. I was worried when you weren’t by the bananas.”

A second little voice piped up. “Drew says you’ll help us because you’re his friend.”

Noah glanced over his shoulder to see a little girl in blond pigtails and pink pajamas staring up at him with big green eyes rounded with worry.

Oh hell. A little girl. I can’t deal with little girls. They reminded him of Maddie.

“Our mom is crying in the grocery store,” Drew said. “She only cries when she’s in her room or the bathtub and she thinks we can’t hear her, but she’s crying right now in the yogurt department. Anyone can see her, and she’ll hate that.”

Noah abandoned his cart without thought and started toward the children. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Drew moaned.

The girl piped up. “I told Mama that Mimi wants us to bring creamer for Grampy’s coffee. She looked at me, and then her eyes got wet, and she sat down on the floor and started crying.”

Noah put the clues together. “Mimi and Grampy are your grandparents?”

Both children nodded. Drew said, “They came to visit us. They’re going to Uncle Jake’s wedding, but they came early to help Mom with us because she is so busy getting everything ready. They just got here today.”

“Are they here in the store?” Noah asked, hoping help was at hand. The girl shook her head. Drew said, “No. They’re staying in one of the cabins at Raindrop Lodge where we live, and they were tired from the trip so they are going to watch TV and go to bed early.”

“Our mom put groceries in their cabin before they got here,” the girl added. “But she forgot that Grampy likes coffee creamer. So I told her and it made her cry!”

Drew bit his lower lip. “I tried to ask Mom what was wrong, but she just held up her hand. That means to wait and give her a minute. But she’s been sitting there for way more than a minute.”

“And we’re not supposed to sit on the floor in the grocery store,” the girl said, wrinkling her nose. “It’s gross.”

Drew nodded. “If the mean lady at the front sees her, I’m afraid of what will happen.”

Drew was talking about Nettie Parkin. Noah shared his concern. He headed for the dairy department, where, sure enough, he found Willow Eldridge sitting on the floor with her hands covering her face. Her shoulders shook. She was definitely crying.

“Um… ma’am? Willow?”

She ignored him. Noah didn’t like the sensation of looming above her, so despite the pain the action caused him, he went down on one knee. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, now. What can I do to help?”

A good ten seconds passed before she finally responded. “Watch my kids so I can have a safe nervous breakdown.”

“Can nervous breakdowns ever be safe?” Noah wondered aloud.

“I can’t have a dangerous one because of my kids.” Sighing heavily, she lifted her head and met his gaze.

It was a gut punch.

Noah hadn’t seen such misery in a woman’s eyes since Daniel’s wife, Cheryl, visited Noah in the hospital.

He wanted to wipe the look from her face, which was shocking for Noah to realize.

He hadn’t felt the urge to comfort a woman since Cheryl’s visit, either.

He felt it now, and that scared him spitless. “I recommend an axe.”

Willow gave him a blank look. “Pardon me?”

“Chopping firewood is a great way to release tension. Of course, it’s not exactly an after-dark activity.” And of course, the moment the words were out of his mouth, his mind went there. After-dark activity. Tangled sheets and sweat-slicked skin. His body responded to the thought.

Now? His libido picks now to return? After a year’s hiatus? While he’s kneeling on the old tile floor of the General Store? Sheesh.

Noah immediately attempted to recover. “Of course, there’s always bowling.”

She sputtered a laugh and swiped the tears from her cheeks. “Bowling.”

“Nothing like slinging a sixteen-pound bowling ball down the lane to work off steam. Although you should probably stick to twelve or thirteen pounds. The lanes in Lake in the Clouds are on the north end of town. On State Street. They’re open until ten.” Then, Noah did something he couldn’t begin to explain. He added, “You want to go?”

What did I just say?

Willow’s expression turned incredulous. “Bowling? Now?”

“I want to go bowling!” Drew exclaimed.

Just who is having the breakdown here?

“Are you better now, Mama?” Emma asked. “Did you get a boo-boo?”

Willow shifted her gaze away from Noah and toward her daughter. “I’m okay, honey. I’m sorry I worried you.”

Okay, he needed to recover and fast. Noah attempted to rise and do it gracefully, but he had to grab hold of the dairy case and wrench himself up. Damned if Willow didn’t pop up onto her feet and try to help him. Great. Just great.

A disembodied voice spoke over the General Store’s intercom system. “Attention, shoppers. The store will be closing in ten minutes. Please make your way to the checkout counter now.”

In the meantime, Drew was bouncing from one foot to another. “What about bowling? Are we going to go bowling with Mr. Tannehill? Please, Mom?”

Noah racked his brain for a way to ward off this nonsense in the wake of his runaway mouth. He couldn’t spend the next hour or, God forbid, two hours around this family. In the company of a preschool-aged girl. His nightmares that night would have nightmares.

Luckily, Willow tossed him a lifeline. “No. We can’t go bowling. You’re in your pajamas.”

Noah wasn’t about to point out that there really wasn’t much difference between a grocery store and a bowling alley where children’s fashion was concerned. Not in Lake in the Clouds, anyway.

Unfortunately, Drew did it for him. “Why is it okay for us to wear pj’s to the store but not the bowling alley?”

“Because I said so.”

Noah exhaled a silent sigh of relief. She’d rolled out the definitive mom response. He was safe. Now he needed to scurry back to his cart, grab coffee, and head for the checkout. Nettie didn’t abide stragglers at closing time.

“Nobody will care,” Drew said. “I’m not ready to go home yet. Besides, it’s too late to take Grampy’s creamer to him. He’ll be asleep. I think we should take it to him early in the morning and have breakfast with them. That’s a good idea, don’t you think, Mom?”

Emotion flickered through Willow’s eyes, though Noah couldn’t put a name to the type of emotion it was. Pain? Anger? Despair? It was there and gone so fast he couldn’t be sure. However, Noah’s stomach sank when she pursed her lips, shifted her gaze between her children, then lifted it to meet his.

Willow’s bright smile didn’t reach her eyes as she said, “Actually, I do think that’s a good idea, Drew. Thank you, Mr. Tannehill. We’d love to go bowling with you tonight.”

Noah reached for a Hail Mary, an excuse to withdraw the invitation. He came up blank. Well, he could fall back on being the crusty curmudgeon of Lake in the Clouds. Throw out a “never mind” and turn and walk away.

His gaze settled on the boy who had gone from shuffling foot to foot to hopping up and down in joy.

Sure, and kick a few kittens on your way out. Maybe run over a puppy or two on the drive home.

He was stuck. He was going bowling.

Well, gutter ball.

Willow set the bag containing cereal and powdered creamer into her floorboard, then buckled Emma into her car seat with fingers that trembled. Was she really taking her children to a bowling alley at bedtime? With a virtual stranger? Had she lost her mind?

Yes, very probably.

After the little surprise her mother-in-law had sprung a short time ago, who could blame her?

It had followed a perfectly lovely “welcome to Lake in the Clouds” dinner Willow and her children had hosted for Andy’s parents at the restaurant in the lodge. Then, while walking back to their cabins, Maggie had slipped her arm through Willow’s and intentionally slowed her down while the children ran ahead with Tom. Then, with her sweetest of smiles and soft Southern voice, she’d said, “Willow, dear, I have some difficult news to share. There is no easy way to do this, so I’m just going to lay it all out.”

Oh no! Willow braced herself to hear that one of them was ill.

Instead, Maggie lobbed a grenade. “It’s regarding Jenna Randall.”

Willow reeled backward in shock. Jenna Randall had been the Other Woman. Tom and Maggie knew? Andy told his parents about her? And they’d never let on to Willow that they knew?

More betrayal from Team Eldridge. Willow shuddered, suddenly wishing she’d brought more than a heavy sweater to keep her warm in the chilly nighttime mountain air. She was cold clear to the bone.

Willow had to clear her throat to ask, “You knew about Andy’s affair?”

“We learned about it a few months after we lost him. Jenna reached out to us and told us the whole sad story. Tom and I were shocked and disappointed, Willow. We raised our son better than that. However, there was a child involved. Our grandson. We’ve been involved in AJ’s life since he was born.”

A son.

Willow had known that Jenna was expecting Andy’s child. He’d told her himself when she confronted him after she’d spied him kissing a redhead at a company Christmas party. Coming on the heels of her own recent miscarriage, the news about his mistress’s pregnancy had cut Willow to the core.

Andy had been contrite. He’d claimed to want to stay in the marriage, but Willow had known it was over. There was no getting past this depth of a betrayal. Nevertheless, for her children’s sake, she’d taken a few days to think her decision through. She’d told him she was leaving him, and he’d gone out and killed himself by driving like a fool—and almost killed Drew in the process.

Another son. Drew and Emma had a brother. In a croaking voice, Willow asked, “His name is AJ?”

“Yes. Andrew John Randall. Named after his father, of course.”

Of course. Never mind that Andy already sired one son named Andrew John. Willow was halfway surprised Jenna wasn’t calling her son Drew also.

Willow had never wanted to know anything about Jenna Randall’s baby. The woman had yet to give birth when Willow had directed her lawyer to settle a portion of Andy’s life insurance money on the child after he was born. Then, she’d washed her hands of the entire situation. Or so she’d believed.

Sudden anger whipped through her. “Maggie, I understand why you have a tie to that boy, but it’s different for me and my family. If you and Jenna Randall are looking to establish some sort of sibling relationship between my children and AJ, this is not the time. Maybe when my kids are older and—”

Maggie interrupted. “She’s dead, Willow. Jenna Randall passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. Tom and I brought AJ to live with us.”

Whoa. Willow stopped short. Her thoughts were a whirlwind. That poor little boy has lost both his parents.

Maggie continued, “I’ve hired a nanny, and she’s staying around the clock while we are here in Colorado. AJ is still adjusting to his new home and needs the stability of being in his own bed each night right now. Otherwise, we’d have brought him so you could meet him.”

“Oh, no, Maggie.” Willow held up her hand, palm out. “Hold on just one minute. I need to process all of this. I’m not sure that my kids—”

The older woman interrupted again to deliver the second part of her one-two punch. “Remember that colonial down the street from us that you admired so much over the years? Well, we found out that the owners were about to put it up for sale, so we snapped it up for you. Our gift to you and the children. It’s time you brought them home to be raised as Eldridges, Willow, which is befitting of their heritage.”

Willow gaped at her mother-in-law. “Maggie, you bought a house for us? In Texas? Without asking me?”

“You love that house,” she defended. “We won’t force it on you if you don’t want it, but it wouldn’t have lasted a day in this market. We had to jump or miss our chance.”

A combination of anger and despair whipped through Willow. This was too much. Way too much, coming at her too fast. “I can’t do this now, Maggie. I am up to my eyeballs in wedding prep, and I do not have the mental bandwidth to add anything else to the mix. This discussion will have to keep until after Jake and Tess’s wedding.”

“It can’t wait. We must leave directly from your mother’s brunch on Sunday morning to catch our flight home. Our nanny has a commitment.”

So. Do. I. Willow knew it would do no good to scream at her mother-in-law, no matter how badly she wanted to do so. “I’ll think about it.”

Willow knew she wouldn’t move to a house down the street from the Eldridges and their newly expanded family, no matter how much she loved the home’s floor plan, but she wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t have the mental capacity to think the whole thing through at the moment. Plus, she’d need to take her mother’s wishes into consideration before she made any decision about where she, Drew, and Emma would make their permanent home. That meant she’d finally have to come clean with Mom. Ugh. “I’ll call you next week, Maggie. That’s the best I can do.”

Andy’s mother released an aggrieved sigh. “Well, I guess. All right.”

“And please, Maggie. Please don’t say anything about this to my mother while you’re here. The thought of the children and me moving to Texas will cause a shi—It will upset her. This is a special week for my brother and his bride; it wouldn’t be fair to them to disrupt that.”

“Very well.”

“I have your word?”

Maggie nodded. “Yes, Willow. I’m not unreasonable.”

That claim ended the conversation, and Maggie and Willow caught up with Tom and the children at Cabin 11, where the Eldridges were staying during their week in Lake in the Clouds. After saying their good nights, Willow escorted the children on toward Cabin 17.

She’d overseen bath time in a daze, her emotions a stew of shock, devastation, and anger. Then, needing a distraction and food for breakfast, Willow gathered up her children and escaped to the General Store.

Now, she still wasn’t ready to return to the ghosts of betrayals past that awaited her back at Raindrop Lodge. Neither did she want to think about houses and Texas. So what the heck? Forget about bedtime. Let’s go bowling! With a sexy, secretive stranger who was not Santa Claus.

Noah Tannehill. He’d been nice to her tonight.

A truck in the next row flashed its lights at her. Noah. She gave him a little wave, climbed into her vehicle, and started the engine. When he’d told her to follow him, she hadn’t argued. She’d been glad not to think about where she was going. She wanted to put her brain on cruise control.

She didn’t want to think about Maggie Eldridge or houses in Texas or toddlers named AJ. Andrew John.

I should have hired a nanny for the kids this week myself.

When Maggie and Tom Eldridge offered to come for the wedding a few days early in order to help with the children, Willow was pleased to accept. It was crunch time for the event. She had her hands full, as did her own mother. Having babysitters available should have made everything about this week more manageable. Instead, she had a crisis on her hands.

If Maggie spills these beans to Mom? Willow shuddered at the thought.

Drew tossed her a lifeline by interrupting her musings as she turned left out of the General Store parking lot. “Have I ever been bowling before, Mom? I don’t remember.”

“No. This will be your first time.”

“I can’t wait!”

Emma followed up with her most oft-used phrase. “Me, too!”

A sense of disembodiment gripped Willow as she followed Noah’s truck to State Street and turned right. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. It was so out of character for her.

Or was it really?

She was basically running away from a problem. That was right in her wheelhouse, wasn’t it? It’s what she’d been doing since Andy died, something she’d come to Lake in the Clouds having vowed to change.

“Yeah, well, change shmange. I’m not ready yet,” Willow muttered as she flipped on her signal and turned into the parking lot at Mountaineer Lanes.

Red, yellow, and white neon lights flashed, illuminating the angles and planes of Noah Tannehill’s face after he parked his truck and began to approach her vehicle. It gave him a devilish look. Willow also noted his limp and recalled how he’d struggled to stand at the grocery store. How in the world could he bowl?

The rumble of balls, crash of pins, and whir of a ball return greeted the foursome as they walked into Mountaineer Lanes. Drew’s eyes went round with wonder. Emma gasped with delight. Willow tried to recall the last time she’d gone bowling. Never with Andy. Too blue-collar of an activity for him. Maybe back in college on a girls’ night? Nevertheless, it had been a long time ago. Willow recalled enjoying the activity tremendously, but she’d seriously hated wearing rental bowling shoes.

“I wonder if they’d let the kids bowl in socks?” she mused.

Noah tipped his ear toward her, but she could tell he hadn’t heard her above the din. She pointed toward the children’s feet and raised her voice. “Shoes.”

“They can go in their socks. What size shall I get for you?”

“Could I wear my socks, too? I can’t tell you how much I despise wearing rental—” Willow broke off abruptly as Emma took off running.

“Auntie!” The girl exclaimed.

Willow glanced over toward lane number six, where Aunt Helen was packing a bowling ball into a bag. Spying Emma, her expression brightened. She called, “Hello, babycakes! What are you doing here?”

From that moment on, events spiraled out of Willow’s control. She introduced Noah to Aunt Helen, who had just returned from a trip to the South Pacific the previous day. “I’m shocked to see you here,” Willow said to her aunt. “I would have thought jet lag would have you laid flat.”

“It did all day yesterday and until about four o’clock this afternoon. I woke up wired, and it was my regular bowling night. I decided the exercise would do me good. We’ve just finished up. Come say hi to my friends. I’ve told them all about you, and they’ve been dying to meet you.”

Helen introduced Willow, the children, and Noah to Stella James, a retired teacher; Andrea Holt, the secretary at First Baptist Church; and Kim Murphy, a vice president at a local bank. The church secretary said, “I hear you’re doing a fabulous job with the wedding planning. The whole town is talking about it.”

“It’s been fun to work with new vendors. I think we’ll have a spectacular day on Saturday if the weather forecast holds.”

“I’m sure you will,” the banker declared. “Allow me to mention that if you decide to set up shop in Lake in the Clouds, I hope you’ll consider First Financial for your banking needs.”

“Oh, hush, Kim,” Stella chided. “We don’t mix bowling and business, remember?”

The women turned their curious gazes on Noah. But before anyone could attempt a third degree, Drew’s and Emma’s excitement got the better of them, and they dominated the conversation, babbling on about bowling and bawling and wearing pajamas in public.

After responding with enthusiasm to the children, Aunt Helen gave Willow a considering look, then darted a quick gaze toward Noah. She declared, “Well, it appears that much has happened during my absence. I’ll be anxious to hear all about it.”

Willow warned her with a stare. “Not now, Aunt Helen.”

“No, not now. You have a full plate, what with the wedding only a week away. You need to be sure and take care of yourself. You’re already looking a bit pinched around the eyes.”

“Gee, thanks,” Willow drawled.

“I call ’em like I see ’em. Tell you what—why don’t I take Emma and Drew off your hands for a bit? I’ll share my bowling expertise with the children, and you and Noah take some time to yourselves in the tavern.” She gave Noah a brilliant smile and added, “Have a beer on me. I run a tab.”

Before Willow quite knew how it happened or managed to mount a protest, Helen had spirited the children away. Within minutes, Drew and Emma rolled balls in a lane with bumpers in the gutters. Willow sat across from Noah in a booth inside the Let ’Em Fall Tavern, the bowling alley’s bar-and-grill, where she could observe her children from her seat.

“What will you have to drink?” Noah asked her.

For a moment, Willow simply stared at him blankly.

“A beer? Wine? A bottle of bourbon?”

She gave a little laugh. “I’m sorry. I’m a little discombobulated. What just happened out there?”

“I think we ran into a force of nature.”

“My aunt Helen. Yes, that’s a good way to describe her. She and my mother are a lot alike, although I will say that Mom is more subtle in her efforts. I’m sorry if you felt forced into forgoing time on the bowling lane.”

“Not hardly. I had no intention of bowling myself, anyway,” Noah said.

“You didn’t?”

“Not with this bum leg, no. So, a drink? I’m buying, though.”

Willow grinned. “You don’t allow strange women to buy you drinks?”

“Should I tell your aunt you referred to her as strange?”

“Whoa. You play dirty.” Immediately, she wanted to bite her tongue. Suggestive, there, Willow? You’re out of practice talking with handsome men.

“Darlin’, if you only knew,” he fired back automatically. His expression arrested as if he’d spoken as indiscreetly as she. After clearing his throat, he added, “So, um, what will you have?”

Okay, I’m going to pretend that never happened. “Beer, please. The Mountaineer lager.”

“Excellent choice.” He signaled the bartender and called, “Two of my usual, please, Jace.”

“Your usual,” Willow repeated. “So you’re a regular at the bowling alley, but you don’t bowl?”

“The microbrewer owns the bowling alley. I like the beer and prefer coming here over the brewery itself. People leave me alone.”

“Oh.” Then, letting curiosity get the better of her, she asked, “So, what happened to your leg?”

Noah frowned. “Kind of a personal question, isn’t it?”

“You saw me crying into the yogurt,” Willow said with a shrug. “That pretty much did away with my inhibitions.”

Willow looked away from his keen-eyed stare and focused on her children. Emma’s blond pigtails swayed as she rocked back and forth, watching her bowling ball roll slowly down the lane. Willow should get her phone out and take a picture or two of this first, but she had a personal rule about phones at the table.

She shifted her gaze back toward him, an apology on her tongue. He spoke before she could.

“I injured my leg in a fire,” he said in a tone and manner that declared the topic closed. He followed immediately with, “So why the tears?”

Well, guess she’d asked for that, hadn’t she? Willow was spared an immediate reply by the arrival of a server carrying two glasses of beer. After setting them on the table, he asked, “Anything to eat?”

“Not for me, thank you,” Willow said with a smile. “We’ve already had dinner.”

“Large pizza. The works,” Noah said.

“You must be hungry.” Willow hoped to distract him from the topic of her tears, so she plowed ahead with food talk. “Is the pizza here good? My mother orders from Pizza Planet, and it’s pretty good. My kiddos will eat pizza every day if I let them.”

“It’s excellent here, believe it or not. Drew and Emma might want some as an after-dinner snack. Why were you crying, Willow?”

So much for distraction. Willow slid her thumb along the side of the glass, scooping up a bead of condensation as she sought an explanation that wouldn’t bare her soul.

“Is something the matter with Drew?” Noah pressed.

“Drew?” Her head came up. “Why would you ask that?”

“When he asked me to come to your family wedding, he—”

“Whoa,” Willow said, interrupting. “He what?”

“He invited me to Uncle Jake’s wedding,” he replied, the faintest gleam of a twinkle in his golden eyes. “Your brother?”

Willow nodded, sitting back hard against the padded seat of the booth as he continued. “He said you told him he could bring a friend. Apparently, he considers me his only friend in Lake in the Clouds.”

That took Willow’s breath away. Her heart twisted. “Oh, Drew. He breaks my heart. Truly he does. I’ve been trying to help him find other children his age to befriend, but it’s been challenging. I should have signed him up for youth basketball, but the season had already started when we moved here, and I decided to wait for baseball. That starts next week.” She brushed at a crumb on the table, summoned her nerve, and asked, “Did you accept his invitation?”

“What?” Noah’s brows arched. “No, of course not. I’m a recluse, don’t you know? I don’t do weddings.”

Willow didn’t know whether to be relieved or insulted. “But you do bowling alleys?”

“A man needs his pizza. Nobody delivers all the way out to my place. You’re attempting to deflect. Talk to me about your meltdown. That seemed to be more than wedding jitters.”

She considered telling him it was none of his business, but that felt rude in light of the kindness he had shown her. She decided to share half the story. She told him about her in-laws’ arrival and the news Maggie had relayed about buying her a house.

“That’s some gift,” he responded. “Comes with some strings, I’ll bet.”

“Strings. Yarn. Rope. Chain. Spools and spools and spools of it.”

“You didn’t tell her to keep her house?”

“No. She literally just sprung this on me. The situation is more complicated than just a house. I need time to think everything through and speak to her with kindness. I know her heart is in the right place. They are my children’s grandparents, and they love Drew and Emma. I don’t want to alienate them. I think it’s important for children to have family in their lives.”

Had she not been watching him, she’d have missed the grimace that flashed across his face. A story there. Was Noah Tannehill a divorced father, perhaps?

His voice was rough as he added, “I know it’s tough to be a single parent.”

“Enough about me and my problems. Do you have children, Noah?”

“No.” He closed off then as sure as a submarine hatch. He picked up his beer, shifted in his seat, and watched the action on the bowling lanes. For reasons she couldn’t pinpoint, Willow wanted to cry again.

They sat without speaking for a few minutes, and the arrival of his pizza was a welcome distraction. “Try a piece,” he suggested.

Willow didn’t need a slice of pizza, but it did smell delicious, and eating would help get past this awkwardness, she hoped. “A little one, thanks.”

“Think Drew, Emma, and your aunt are ready for a pizza break?” Noah asked.

Willow shook her head. “Aunt Helen doesn’t eat pizza.”

“She’s a healthy eater?”

“Not necessarily.” Willow smiled crookedly. “You should see her pack away chicken-fried steak. No, her anti-pizza stance is somehow tied with an argument, bet, or combination of the two she had with one of her husbands. She swore she wouldn’t eat another piece of pizza the rest of her life, and as far as I know, she’s held to it.”

“Wow. That’s some dedication.”

“That’s my auntie. As far as the kids go, I can tell they’re having too much fun to want to stop.”

They observed the children for the next few minutes while they ate. Both kids appeared fascinated by the ball return. She grew concerned when Drew kept sticking his head in front of the return to peer into the void in anticipation of the ball’s arrival. “He’s going to get his head thunked if he keeps that up,” she fretted. “I’ve seen my aunt warn him twice.”

“He’ll learn.”

“The hard way,” she grumbled.

“Then he won’t forget.”

Willow sighed. “True. It’s just difficult to watch and not jump in. But he needs to learn to listen, and better he gets hit by a bowling ball than a car.”

Noah lifted his beer in a toast. “Famous words of mothers everywhere.”

At that very moment, a ball popped out from the return on the lane where the children were bowling and conked Drew on the nose. Both Willow and Noah winced as they watched the boy let out a squeal and hold his nose. Then Willow very determinedly turned away from the window and focused solely on Noah. “You’re right. The pizza is fabulous. I’ve wondered what to provide for the tear-down crew after the wedding. This will be perfect. Thank you for solving my problem.”

“You’re welcome. So, how is it that you’re planning your brother’s wedding instead of him and his bride?”

She shared the story of the New Year’s Eve destruction of their wedding venue and Willow’s reasons behind the move to Colorado. He asked her about her work as an event planner, and she told a couple of her more entertaining stories. She’d just launched into her favorite tale about a Nashville politician, a proposal, and a pickle factory when Drew and Emma rushed into the tavern, Aunt Helen on their heels.

“Mama. Mama. Mama.” Drew’s eyes glittered with excitement. “Guess what. Aunt Helen wants to have a sleepover at her house! Can we go, Mama? Please? Pretty please?”

Emma clapped her hands together. “I want to go, too, Mama. Say yes, please? Fast, because we have to be there for the cuckoo serenade, and then we’ll go right to bed.”

“Hold on. Hold on a minute.”

Willow glanced at her watch. It was twenty minutes to nine, already an hour past their bedtime. School wasn’t a problem because she’d worked ahead with Drew in anticipation of the wedding week, but they’d never stayed over at Aunt Helen’s before. She’d never invited them. “Auntie?”

Helen waved her hand dismissively. “It will be fun for us. Plus, it’ll give you a chance to have a little”—her gaze darted briefly toward Noah—“alone time before the wedding crunch begins.”

“But Maggie and Tom arrived today, and they’re planning to spend tomorrow with Drew and Emma.”

“Not a problem. I’m working a shift at the reception desk at the lodge tomorrow morning. I’ll bring Drew and Emma home before eight. In fact, we’ll stop at the bakery and bring breakfast for everyone. How about that? As I recall, the Eldridges aren’t super-early birds.”

Emma clasped her hands prayerfully and begged. “Please, Mama? Please? Auntie Helen has extra toothbrushes we can use.”

“And we’re already in our pj’s,” Drew pointed out.

“Hurry and decide, Mama. The serenade!”

Willow laughed. “Okay. Okay. Go. Go.”

The children gave her quick good-night kisses. Helen held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Keys, please. I’ll need to take your car because of the car seats.”

Willow reached into her handbag, withdrew her keys, removed the cabin key from the ring, and handed the rest over. The kids rushed toward the door, anxious to get to Helen’s before the top of the hour. “See you in the morning,” Helen said, following the kids. “Noah, I understand we’ll see you at the wedding on Saturday. Bye now.”

The wedding. Oh jeez. Willow called after her aunt. “Wait, I need your keys.”

“My car isn’t here. I rode with Stella. You’ll take her home, won’t you, Noah?” Without waiting for a response, Helen turned and followed the children, giving them a royal wave on the way out.

Willow was horrified, embarrassed all the way to her toes. “I can’t believe she just did that,” Willow murmured. She started to slide out of the booth to stand up. “I need to catch them. I am not on your way home, and that’s not—”

He reached out and took her arm, stopping her. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

“But—”

“Seriously. Settle down. It’s a nice night for a drive around the lake. So, what’s the serenade?”

She closed her eyes and released a laugh with only the slightest hint of hysteria. “Cuckoo clocks. Aunt Helen has a wall of cuckoo clocks in her condo.”

“A wall of them?”

“At my last count, an even dozen. She could have added more since my most recent visit.”

“That’s… interesting.”

“Go ahead and say it. We all do. It’s cuckoo. My aunt Helen is the most levelheaded, down-to-earth person otherwise, but when it comes to her clocks, she’s a child.”

“I think that’s kind of cool. I’m not sure I’d want to try to sleep at her home, but hobbies are good.”

“Like your dollhouses?”

He hesitated a long moment, then nodded. “Yeah.”

She wanted to ask him more. After Drew visited Noah’s home, her son talked nonstop about his experience. Willow had researched dollhouses as fire-instruction tools and incorporated the information into his lessons. Drew loved it. Willow was curious about Noah’s background.

He’d said he’d injured his leg in a fire. And those scars on his hands looked like burns. Had he been a firefighter? Drew thought so, but Noah certainly wasn’t talking. Not about dollhouses. Not about himself.

But at least he was talking about some things. And, apparently, taking her home.

Like, after a date.

Willow took an extra-large sip of her beer.

“You want another one?” Noah asked.

Willow saw that he still had two-thirds of his drink left. Embarrassment stained her cheeks and she smiled sheepishly. “No, thank you. I’m good. I should probably be heading home soon. I have a full day of wedding prep tomorrow.” She grabbed a napkin and wiped crumbs off the table. Following a moment’s silence, she added, “Noah, about the wedding…”

Noah raised his hand and gestured toward the bartender for the check. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to go.”

“Of course not.” Willow winced the moment the words emerged from her mouth. “Wait—that sounds horribly rude, and that’s not what I meant. Drew invited you, and if you’d like to attend, we’d love to have you. It’s going to be a fun party. When I said ‘of course not,’ I meant why would you want to come? You don’t know the bride and groom, and you barely know us. Although the food is going to be excellent. Maybe you’d like to come for the meal? That’s as good a reason as any. In fact—”

“You’re babbling, Willow,” Noah said.

“I am. I’m sorry. I’m nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?”

Because this feels a whole lot like a date, and the idea terrifies me.

Willow had tried getting back into the dating game after Andy died, but she’d quickly thrown in the towel. Dating had changed in the past decade, but not in a good way. She wasn’t ready to go down that road again. She might never be prepared. She didn’t trust her own judgment.

He has such gorgeous eyes.

Heaven help me. Willow gave a little laugh. “Why am I nervous? Oh, let me count the ways. I’m in charge of a party for two hundred people in a new venue with new vendors on Saturday. I said the food would be excellent, but honestly, I can’t be positive. The caterer has never served this big of a crowd before. Plus, my son and daughter will be the ring bearer and flower girl, and I’ve misplaced the pillow and basket. What kind of a wedding planner am I if I can’t keep up with my kids’ stuff?”

The bartender brought the check. While looking at it, Noah asked, “Is that why you were crying into the cottage cheese?”

“It was yogurt!” Willow insisted. “Get your dairy straight. And stop responding to everything I say with a question.”

“Do I do that?” He grinned when Willow balled up her napkin and threw it at him.

“You’re deflecting. My brothers tried the same thing with me. You’re the one who got me into this mess. You can at least make a little effort here. Tell me something about yourself, Mr. Mystery Man. I dare you.”