Chapter Seventeen

AFTER A SHORT DEBATE over car seat logistics, Willow handed her mother her keys and loaded AJ and the diaper bag into the backseat. She waved off her visitors, then turned to Noah. “It’s a little after seven in Germany. I’d like to get this phone call off my plate before I do anything else. Would you mind holding my hand?”

“I’ll be happy to. You want to sit on the swing?”

“I would love that.”

The call proved infinitely easier than Willow anticipated. Between Aunt Helen’s call and hers, Damon Randall had done some investigating of his own. He had discovered that his sister had a child when she died. He had already hired a private investigator in Tennessee to track the baby’s whereabouts.

He and his wife very much wanted custody of AJ.

Willow explained about Maggie and her own connection to AJ’s father. Damon Randall was quiet for a moment, then said, “I think my sister’s son is a lucky boy to have you in his life.”

Their hands clasped, Noah lifted her hand to his and kissed it.

After discussing various possibilities, Willow and Damon Randall settled on a plan whereby he and his wife would visit Lake in the Clouds at their first opportunity, which would be ten days from now. Emma’s birthday, Willow noted. They would spend some time with AJ and formulate a plan for moving forward once the Randalls returned to the States permanently in August, including how to break the news to Maggie.

Damon was prepared to fight for custody if necessary. Willow had every hope that it could be avoided. He promised that he’d make sure that AJ remained close to Maggie and to his half siblings, too, if that’s what Willow wanted. He sounded sincere, and she hoped that she could believe him. From what her aunt Helen had discovered about Damon Randall, Willow thought that she could.

When the call ended, Willow exhaled deeply, and the weight of Granite Mountain lifted from her shoulders. “Well, this has been quite the morning.”

“No lie, that.”

“You know what I’d like to do?”

He brushed a curl off her shoulder. “Tell me.”

“It’s a lovely day. I haven’t been up to Inspiration Point since last summer. I’d like to go up there and hike to the waterfall. And you’ve never taken me for a ride on that motorcycle you have in the garage.”

“Well, Willow Eldridge. I didn’t know you’re a biker chick.”

“Stick around, Noah Tannehill,” she teased. “You might be surprised by what you learn.” Had she not happened to be watching him closely, she would have missed the shadow that flashed across his eyes.

She started to call him on it then and there, but like she’d said, it had been quite a day. She wanted the motorcycle ride and the hike. She wanted to exercise and commune with nature and forget about her worries and concerns. She needed to do some self-care that her mother had advised her about earlier. Whatever Noah had on his mind could keep.

His bike was a Honda cruiser. It had been his primary mode of transportation in Denver until he’d seen one too many accidents as a first responder. At that point, he’d brought it to the cabin. He gave her a thorough safety lecture and carefully fitted her with an extra helmet he had in his garage before they headed out.

The drive up to Inspiration Point was one switchback after another, filled with magnificent views. While the helmet prevented her from experiencing the wind in her hair, she counted the opportunity to snuggle close against the driver’s back as a fair trade-off. Shortly before they were to reach the official entrance to Inspiration Point, he veered off of the road and entered a gate marked with the Triple T Ranch logo. This was a route Willow had never traveled.

They rode on a dirt-packed trail for another five minutes before he parked at the edge of an aspen grove. He grabbed a pack from the bike’s storage compartment saying, “Gage showed me this route to the falls. It’s an easy hike and the views are spectacular.”

Noah wasn’t kidding. By the time they settled down for their picnic lunch near where the waterfall roared and sunlight painted rainbows in the mist, she was relaxed and filled with peace.

However, Noah looked like he was sitting on an anthill. Willow thought she might have figured out why.

Might as well get this over with, too. Can’t deal with a problem until you know what you’re facing.

Waiting until he’d finished his sandwich, she asked, “So, when are you going back to work?”

Noah coughed and choked. He grabbed his water bottle and took a long sip. “Okay. Wow. Well, I only decided that this morning.”

Her stomach sank. But at least now she knew for sure.

“I don’t want you to think I’ve been keeping it from you. Hasn’t been much of an opportunity to discuss it. I wanted to explain, especially after last night. Last night meant something to me.”

“It meant something to me, too, Noah.” And she wouldn’t cry because he was leaving. She simply would not cry.

Noah continued. “I don’t want you to think I’m a love-’em-and-leave-’em type of guy, because that’s the last thing I want to do. I don’t want to leave you.”

Her eyes widened in a combination of surprise and uncertainty. What does he mean by that?

He held up his hand. “No, I’m not asking you to move with me. That wouldn’t be fair to you or the kids.” His mouth twisted ruefully, and he added, “Or your mom.”

“She would kill us both.”

“No. Your aunt would get me first.” He rose to his feet and held his hand out to her. “Walk with me?”

Willow let him pull her up. As they walked hand in hand, he guided her to a spot away from the waterfall where the sound rushed rather than roared. He lifted her onto a boulder, so they were at eye level. She could smell the fragrance of spruce trees in the air.

Noah stared solemnly into her eyes. “Willow, here’s the deal. I’m in this. I have serious feelings for you. I have never been in love before, and we haven’t known each other for that long, so I hesitate to leap out and throw down a declaration of love. I’ve never said those words to a woman.”

Her heart had warmed and begun to pound. He looked so serious, so sincere, almost scared. That’s okay. Let this scare him. He should be afraid. Love is too important to treat lightly.

So, she clarified. “Not even to your high school girlfriends?”

“Nope. Look, I know for a fact that I’ve never felt anything like this for another woman. I know I would love for you and Drew and Emma to be my family. But I can’t ask that of you. Not now. Not yet. Because I have this other thing I need to deal with before I can commit myself to you. I have to know who I am before I can offer myself.”

“Okay.”

“I have to go back to work.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “I have to face the fire first.”

“You have to face your demons.”

“You understand,” he said, relief in his tone.

“Probably not, because I’m not a firefighter. I’ll listen if you want to tell me.”

He spoke for twenty minutes, almost without a break. He told her why he made the decision that he’d made and why he wouldn’t ask anything of her. A few times during the telling, Willow teared up. Could this day get any more emotional?

Yet she understood his reasoning. She supported his rationale. More than anything, she appreciated his honesty.

When he finally ran out of words, she leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re cool with it?”

“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel. Like I said earlier, it’s been quite a day. So back to my original question. When do you plan to leave?”

“I don’t know. I could go tomorrow, or I could wait a month. I could stay the summer. I could leave now and return for the Christmas-in-July event and the election-night party in August. I’m definitely going to be here for your mother’s birthday. That’s a party I don’t want to miss. But I’ll be honest—I worry that if I stay much longer, I’ll never leave. In the long run, that wouldn’t be good.”

“Stay for Emma’s birthday and then go,” she suggested. “It’s ten days from now. You’d be here to meet Damon Randall that way, and I would appreciate that. Plus, Emma would be sad if you missed her big day.”

“Yeah.” He filled his lungs with air, then blew out a heavy breath. “You ready to hike back to the bike?”

“Almost. There’s something I want to say first. Noah, I have been in love before. I do know what love is. You go to Denver, and you face your demons, and then you come back to me and mine. I love you. We love you. When you are ready, you come back to the Hideaway, and we will welcome you home. We will be your home.”

The morning of Emma’s birthday dawned bright with a cloudless blue sky, although afternoon thunderstorms were forecasted. Rain wouldn’t spoil the fun, because Willow had booked a party room at Cloudy Day Fun Time, the indoor amusement park in downtown Lake in the Clouds.

A former variety store on the town square, Cloudy Day was birthday-party central for the twelve-and-under crowd in Lake in the Clouds. It had bounce houses, indoor zip lines, and ball pits for the little ones. If kids didn’t wear themselves out during the two-hour playtime before moving to the party room for the cake and presents, they weren’t trying.

Noah thought it was a good choice. The distraction was necessary for the Eldridge kids. They’d taken the news that AJ would be leaving at the end of the summer with his uncle Damon, whom they’d met over Zoom, relatively well. But they weren’t at all happy to learn that Noah planned to leave Lake in the Clouds tomorrow. He was scheduled to return to work the following Monday at his old station in Denver.

He couldn’t say he was any happier than Drew and Emma.

He honestly didn’t know if he could do the job.

His situation wasn’t unique. Protocols existed for easing firefighters back into the usual rotation on a timeline they could successfully manage. It may take him a week. It may take him a year. Maybe he’d never have the strength to curb his monsters.

No way to know until he tried.

Wanting to spend some quality time with Willow’s children before he left town, Noah had invited the birthday girl and Drew to a breakfast picnic, after which they’d go fishing at their favorite spot beside the creek. He’d consulted with Willow and chose Froot Loops for the menu.

He tried not to be too disappointed that Emma seemed more excited about the breakfast cereal than the new furniture he’d made for her dollhouse. However, when he brought out the barn he’d made to expand her dollhouse footprint along with the horses he’d carved, everything changed.

“I love them! Thank you, Mr. Noah!” She threw her arms around Noah’s neck and hugged him hard. “I’m gonna miss you so much. I don’t want you to move back to Denver.”

“Me, either,” said Drew with a mouth full of cereal. He swallowed, wiped his mouth with the collar of his T-shirt, and added, “I know you need to be a hero, but why can’t you be a hero here in Lake in the Clouds? You’re already a hero here.”

“He’s right.” Emma gazed up at Noah and declared, “You’re my hero.”

Drew’s eyes flashed with stubbornness. “No, he’s mine! He saved me the day I got lost in the woods, and I thought I found Santa’s workshop.”

“Well, he saved me that time I heard a monster in my closet,” Emma fired back, folding her arms. “He searched everything and chased it away so that I could go to sleep! So he’s my hero, too!”

“Okay, but what about the time…”

While Drew and Emma squabbled, Noah played with Marigold and the puppies who had crashed the party. He could have told the kids to stop their bickering, but frankly, he liked hearing about his superhero status.

Eventually though, Drew made Emma cry, so Noah sent the boy back to the house for a ten-minute party time-out. Then he distracted Emma from her tears by offering to play horses with her.

The boy was back out exactly ten minutes later with a peace offering for his sister—a plan to build a corral fence for her horses using Popsicle sticks and glue. Emma was delighted by the idea. The three of them then discussed other items they could add to her growing dollhouse estate while they, along with the dogs, hiked through the forest to the fishing spot on the creek. Noah had stashed their fishing supplies there first thing this morning.

Unfortunately, the fish weren’t cooperating, and soon the children abandoned their poles to hunt for rocks the appropriate size and shape for skipping. Noah sat with his back against a tree, watching them play, idly scratching Thor behind the ears while Marigold and Anna dozed at his feet. Noah’s mood was bittersweet. He’d enjoyed this morning. He was going to miss Drew and Emma badly.

Wonder if he could talk Willow into bringing them to Denver for a visit? It’d be fun to show them around the firehouse. He’d run the idea by her before he left.

Noah gave Drew permission to wade into a shallow section of the creek to fetch a perfect skipping stone that he’d spied. The boy sat and removed his shoes, while Emma abandoned rock hunting in favor of picking up pine cones. Just as Drew prepared to step into the water, Noah noticed Marigold’s head come up and her ears go forward. She’d alerted on something.

Immediately, so did Noah.

Something was wrong. Noah didn’t know what. He didn’t know how he knew it. He simply knew that he knew it. He rolled to his feet. “C’mon, kids. We need to go back to the house.”

“Why?” Drew asked, a whine in his voice.

Emma’s bottom lip trembled. “Is my party over already?”

“We can come back. I just want to check on your mom.”

At that, the children shared a worried look. Drew reached for a shoe, and Marigold whined and took off. Noah muttered a curse beneath his breath. He scooped Emma into his arms and began to run, calling over his shoulder, “Drew. With me. Now!”

“Okay. Okay. Okay.”

They had picnicked a good hundred yards away from the house. Noah had been a kicker rather than a wide receiver, so sprinting for the goal wasn’t his forte—especially not on a leg held together with pins and rods. Nevertheless, he ran as if the hounds of hell were chasing him. Or, more accurately, redemption’s gates stood ahead of him, drifting shut.

Standing at her kitchen counter, Willow poured a second cup of coffee and thought of her day ahead: introduce AJ to his aunt and uncle at ten, Emma’s party at noon, sign the contract for the land across the street at four, then one last family dinner for Noah before he headed to Denver. Good lord. She was exhausted just thinking about it. Exhausted and, if she were being honest, a little sad.

They were all feeling a little melancholy about his departure, and she was glad her children got to spend this last special morning with Noah. They loved him. And, she knew, he loved them too. Just like she knew Noah had to go to Denver. He’d go, and he’d fight his fires. He’d do what he needed to, and then he’d return to her. She believed that. She had to believe that.

She moved into the living room and took out a wooden puzzle to occupy AJ while she turned her attention to assembling party bags. Willow enjoyed this particular activity. She and Emma had spent some good mother-daughter time choosing the trinkets and games to put inside the bags. Then they’d spent more time decorating the bags. Emma felt a little bad about not being here to make the final preparations, but Willow had assured her that the time spent with Noah was important, too.

With the favor bags ready to go, Willow had placed them in a plastic tote containing other party supplies and was mentally reviewing her schedule when AJ asked, “Mama. Play with me?”

She’d given up on any attempt to correct him about calling her Mama. Glancing at her watch, she decided she had twenty minutes to spare. “What do you want to play?”

“Cars.”

“Sure. I’ll play cars with you.” They had a simple Hot Wheels track and about a dozen cars that had provided many hours of fun for both of her children. She sat down on the floor in the great room and helped him set up the racetrack. Soon, die-cast cars began to fly.

She and AJ had been playing for about ten minutes when Willow heard an ungodly crash outside. What the heck? She made her way to the living room window, expecting to see a tree fallen in the yard. She hoped it hadn’t caused any damage. That was the last thing Noah needed to worry about before he left.

A glance outside didn’t reveal anything amiss, when she heard another sound—this time more like a crackling pop—and she couldn’t begin to guess what it could be. A lightning strike? But the sky was cloudless and brilliantly blue as far as the eye could see. Yet something made the hair on the back of her neck prickle. She moved away from the window and picked up AJ, saying, “Let’s go check on your brother and sister.”

Closer to the front door than the back, she opened it.

Was that smoke? Oh God. That’s smoke. Where’s it coming from?

Even as she asked the question, she knew. The workshop.

Still carrying AJ, she dashed around the side of the house.

Her first sight of the workshop stopped her cold. The building was totally engulfed. Walls. Roof. Oh God. What do I do? Even as she tried to form a plan, a boom sounded. A window exploded outward.

“What do I do?” She tried to think. Fire flow. What had Noah taught them about fire flow? He’d taught Drew! Drew would know. Thank heavens Drew was with Noah. Surely he’d still be with Noah. Drew had a tendency to go off on his own, but he’d stick by Noah’s side. Wouldn’t he? The boy was obsessed with Noah’s workshop, but he wouldn’t have sneaked in there today. Not today.

“Drew!” Willow called as she rounded the corner of the workshop, her prayerful gaze searching the window and the space beneath it. Nothing. Even as terror gripped her, she suddenly knew she was no longer alone. She turned around. Noah. Noah, with Emma in his arms and Marigold at his feet, running hard.

Drew wasn’t with them.

Willow’s heart dropped and despair rose within her. She extended her arm toward the burning building and cried, “Where’s Drew? Why isn’t he with you? Where is my baby?”

And suddenly, Noah was there by her side, wrapping his arms around her. “He’s okay, love. He’s with me. He’s right behind me. He’s okay.”

Afraid she hadn’t heard him right, she repeated, “He’s okay? He’s not hurt? He’s not burned?”

Noah shook his head. “He’ll be right here. He took his shoes off to go wading, so he had to put them back on. I didn’t wait for him, but I heard him following us.”

“Oh. Oh, thank God. Thank God.” Just then, she heard her son’s little voice calling from the forest, “Mama! Mama! Mama!”

Her knees went weak, and she started to sink to the ground. Noah caught her. “C’mon, love. We need to scoot back a bit.”

Noah moved the group to a spot he considered safe and summoned Lake in the Cloud’s volunteer fire department with a 911 call. He was still on the phone when Drew skidded to a stop next to Willow, his eyes round with worry. “Oh, this is horrible. Nobody was inside, were they? Nobody was hurt or killed?”

“No, thank God,” Willow assured him.

Drew clapped both hands on top of his head. “It’s still a terrible thing, though, right?”

Willow heard a note in his voice that put her on alert. This was the boy who survived the auto accident that killed his father. This was the boy who flipped out when he believed he’d watched a campmate drown last summer. Her son was fragile. He loved that workshop. Santa’s workshop. She needed to be careful with him. He’d come so far. She didn’t want to trip him back into a cycle of broken bones and stitches.

“Yes, honey, it is a terrible thing, but it’s a blessing because no one was hurt.”

Having finished his call, Noah said, “That’s right, buddy. Nothing is lost that can’t be replaced. That’s a good thing.”

“But it’s still a bad thing. A terrible thing. Right? Your apartment burned up! Your tools burned up! All our dollhouses are toast! That’s awful!” He all but screamed the final word. “Right? ”

“It’s awful, yes, but—”

“Thank goodness!” Drew exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting.”

“For a fire?” Noah asked, his confusion evident.

“For a bad thing. I’ve been so scared. Bad things always come in threes. Daddy died and Grampy is really sick and this is a terrible thing, so it’s number three. But nobody got killed or hurt! And you can build a new workshop that’s even better because you’re a great builder, Mr. Noah. So this is the best bad thing that could happen. Everything is good now. Right? I can quit worrying!”

“You’ve been worrying,” Willow repeated softly.

“Yes! But also, I was anxious for the good things. Because after you’re finished with the bad things that come in threes, you have good things that come in threes. Now we’ll have three good things. Right, Noah?”

“Sounds good to me.” Noah met Willow’s gaze, and he gave her a look she couldn’t quite read.

The fire trucks and ambulance arrived at that point, followed quickly by Helen and then her mother. Gage showed up not long after Willow’s family. Noah explained to all that, based on the evidence he could see, he believed the source of the fire was electrical in nature. “I think the investigators will find the fire simmered in the north wall for a while and traveled through the wall before breaking through to the attic. It could have been a short. It could have been a faulty outlet. I had the electrician out two weeks ago to replace some old wiring. Could have been he got some bad parts.”

Ten o’clock rolled around while things were still in chaos. Willow liked Damon and Lisa Randall right from the first. Luckily, AJ did, too, and he was happy to go off with them to the public park with plans to meet at Cloudy Day Fun Time at noon for Emma’s party.

Helen, God bless her, put herself in charge of the dogs, loading them all up and taking them over to Raindrop Lodge for the day. Drew was fascinated by all the activities of the firefighters. Speaking to Noah, Gage said, “I know that you could give him more professional answers to his questions, but it appears his mother needs your attention more than Drew. Why don’t you let me watch him watch the firefighters? You see to your lady.”

“Excellent idea,” Genevieve agreed. “Why don’t I oversee Emma’s bath and help her get ready for the party?”

Willow wasn’t prepared to argue with any of them. Her mother and daughter disappeared upstairs, leaving Willow and Noah alone. “How about some swing time?” he asked, taking her hand. He led her around to the front of the house, facing away from the remnants of his workshop.

They no sooner settled on the porch than the rain arrived earlier than forecast. “There’s a blessing,” Noah said. He draped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight against him.

“If only it had come two hours earlier.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t change a thing, Willow.”

She drew back and questioned his sanity with a look. He grinned boyishly, and his eyes began to dance. “What?” she asked. “Are you going to score some insurance bonanza from a total loss of your barndo?”

“I’m hoping… planning… to score something a lot more valuable. Three good things. Emma.” He leaned in and gave Willow a quick kiss. “Drew.” Another quick kiss. “And you.”

This kiss wasn’t quick at all.

When he finally pulled away, Willow’s head was spinning, and her heart was thudding so hard she feared it might explode from her chest like the window had from the fire.

Fire.

“What about Denver?”

“I’m not going.”

“Because the workshop burned?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand. You didn’t fight that fire. You didn’t go into the burning building.”

“You’re right. I didn’t. But I could have. I saw the structure on fire before I saw you. Before I saw AJ. I knew that I could go in. That’s all I needed. I know that if I need to, I can. Drew was right. This fire was the best bad thing that ever happened. I love you, Willow Eldridge. I love your children. Will you marry me and let me stay home?”

Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “We’ll have to change the name of the place. The Tannehill family won’t be hiding away from anything or anyone.”

“Good point. How do you feel about the Love Shack?” At her response, he added, “Do you want your eyes to get stuck in the back of your head, Willow? I would have thought your mother would have warned you about that.”

Then, he kissed her so completely that Willow forgot what else she intended to say.

Except for yes.