by Ali Vali
“Hot pink, then?” Willow asked with an evil grin.
“You can go right ahead and tear that color out of that book and burn it with the poster. Get on with it and try not to corrupt her.” She stuck her hands in her pockets and sat in the dining room.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Her mom fanned her fingers across her chest and batted her eyes.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” That made Willow laugh again. The afternoon was making her warm in places that she needed to keep cold.
* * *
“I take it you and Tucker know each other,” Stella said as they walked into the kitchen after deciding on the paint color.
Willow was a workaholic, but in her downtime she really enjoyed cooking, and this was the largest kitchen she’d ever been in. “We met when I was working for Suntrust. I was the engineer in charge of the rig Delacroix partnered on with us.”
“That’s not the whole story.” Stella started opening cabinets and making tsk noises. “You don’t drink heavily, do you?”
“No, ma’am, and there’s not much more to the story aside from the work aspect.” She walked to the professional gas stove and touched the knobs. It reminded her of the one in Tucker’s old place, and what she could do with this one now that they had Grady to feed. Eventually, the kid would want more than strained peas out of a jar.
“Uh-huh.”
It’d been years since she’d had a conversation with her mother, but it appeared that motherhood came with special psychic powers. Right now, she felt like her mind was an open window and Stella could see every one of her thoughts.
“There’s more to it than that, but we’ll talk about it eventually. It’ll be cathartic for you as well as payback for thinking I was the housekeeper.”
“Would you mind giving me a few days?” It didn’t take her long to understand why Monique had wanted Stella in Grady’s life. This woman exuded strength, and she seemed to genuinely care about those she loved. “Life’s been like a pummeling lately, and I feel like a prizefighter on the losing side.” It was strange to confide in a stranger about her feelings, but she was close to overflowing.
Stella stopped and looked at her seriously. “Your sister was a wonderful woman, and I’m so glad Bart and I got to meet her. It was easy to see why Jim Bob fell for her, and she explained why we’re only now hearing about Grady.”
The way Stella sighed meant she was feeling something, but Willow was at a loss as to what. “Would you mind sharing what she said? I still don’t really understand.” The realization that she was more than a little self-absorbed in her life was the other thing beating against her soul. All this time she thought Monique had been happy with just her and Grady, but it was like she was in search of family that was more than Jim Bob and their son.
“From her vivid description of you, it sounds like you and I are alike. I would’ve put my foot down when it came to my boy and the choices he made. She explained what she was thinking when it came to slowing the process down, so I wouldn’t be upset with him. But you didn’t agree with her, and I totally understand that. There wasn’t really a right side in this argument.” Stella smiled.
For some reason, it made Willow start crying.
“Oh no, sweetie.” Stella put her arms around her and she immediately noticed how good Tucker’s mom smelled, and how wonderful she felt. “Being different isn’t a bad thing. Who we are as individuals is not only what makes life a wonderful thing, but gives us the power to annoy the hell out of people.”
“Did she say anything else about me, other than me not giving a crap about her choices?” Maybe Monique left something behind aside from some letter Willow couldn’t read yet.
“She did, but it wasn’t anything bad. We spent some time together so we could talk, and she could ask something only a mother would’ve thought of.”
She waited for Stella to say something but she just stood there and held her. “You’re not going to tell me?” This family was full of obnoxiously stubborn people, and this was their queen. “Seriously?”
“She was right about you,” Stella said, patting her back before releasing her. “You’re quick on the draw, and even quicker to fire. Geez, life is way too short to be so mad all the time.”
The dismissive tone made Willow take a breath. “You don’t understand. I lost my sister.”
“You’re right.” Stella’s voice lowered to an icy calm. “I lost my son. He was in his fifties with so much to live for, but the age didn’t matter. He was still my little boy. Take stock of where you are—if not, Grady won’t get your all.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right. The only thing I’ve learned lately is that I’m not as strong as I thought I was, and I’m really not handling anything in life well at all.”
She heard Grady’s sweet little babbling. That made her start crying again because as hard as it was to grasp, Grady was the only real family she had left. That truth made her feel so very alone.
“Pop, why don’t you take Grady outside and show him the pool.” Tucker handed the baby to her father, and Stella went with him with one last quick glance at Willow. “This isn’t something either of us wanted, but we’re here—together.”
She had to laugh despite the tears. “Are you some kind of prophet who specializes in stating the obvious?” She didn’t pull away when Tucker put her arms around her. This was definitely a different feel from when Stella did it, but still very nice. “Because it’s obvious that we’re here together.”
“Were you this much of a smart-ass when we met?”
“I wasn’t thinking straight when we met, so don’t gauge anything about me by that.”
“Thinking straight was the last thing you were doing,” Tucker said.
“You were a little nuts yourself.”
“True, and I don’t know about you, but that seems like a million years ago.”
She rested her head on Tucker’s shoulder. Her body was a total traitor, but it wasn’t moving, so she stayed where she was. “That’s exactly what it feels like.”
“Can I talk to you about something?”
“What now?” She clung to Tucker, not needing any more bad news.
“It’s nothing bad, but something we’ve got coming up. I’d like you to consider placing Monique in our family crypt. She didn’t get a chance to officially become part of our family, but a marriage certificate isn’t the only thing we should consider here.”
“What should we consider?” Tucker’s request was sweet and incredibly thoughtful.
“That Grady’s parents should be together, and they deserve to be. That’s the last gift we can give them, and when he’s older, it’ll be nicer for him if he sees that his mother is where she belongs and not alone.”
“Thank you, Tucker. I think Monique would’ve liked that.”
“You knew her best.”
That wasn’t true, and it stung. “Maybe not, but I’m learning as I go.”
Chapter Fifteen
A week passed before they arranged Monique’s funeral, and it was a much smaller affair than Jim Bob’s, but Bishop Andy presided over it as a favor to Tucker and went with them to the cemetery. The person who seemed to give Willow the most comfort was Stella, and Tucker left her to it as she and her father hung back with Grady even though she wanted nothing more than to hold Willow until the pain went away. She wanted to be the one she turned to.
“Thank you, Mrs. Delacroix,” Willow said. Tucker’s mom held her hand and cried from beginning to end.
“Call me Stella, and you can count on us. You might feel alone, angry, and confused, but you’re not on your own. You have us, and right now you need a break, so get going.”
Tucker held the baby and waited for Willow to let Stella go. “Are you ready?” she asked when Willow finally joined her.
“Where are we going?” Willow stood with her but stepped away when Jefferson came up with his family. He’d been as torn up as Willow the whole day. “Thanks for everything, Jefferson.”
> “Let me know if you need anything, especially if it comes to this one.” He kissed the baby’s head.
Tucker didn’t say anything, but she did her best to glare. No matter what either Jim Bob or Monique wrote, at the center of all the ridiculousness was Jefferson, and she had a hard time believing he didn’t do a little shepherding along the way. That his sage advice had landed her here wasn’t something she’d be forgetting soon.
They left right after that and headed for Willow’s place. The cohabitation had begun two days before and her back was killing her from sleeping on the sofa. Willow’s house was cute, but a two-bedroom wasn’t ideal for two people who didn’t sleep together if there was a kid in one bedroom.
“Where are we going,” Willow asked, “so I’ll know what to bring?”
“Pack for a long weekend of casual.” She got her bag and the one she put together for Grady and dropped them by the door.
“We’re going to the beach? That’d be great.”
“Think fishing clothes.”
“I don’t fish.”
“There’s no time like now to start, since Grady and I will be doing plenty of it in the future. If you decide to come with us, you’ll need to love fishing. There’s no whining on the boat.”
Willow followed her to Grady’s room where she changed him quickly. “What if he doesn’t like to fish? He could grow up to love reading, or maybe the piano.”
She’d never wanted kids, but all these miniature clothes were a perk. She put the tiniest fishing shirt and cargo shorts on him. Who knew stuff came that small? “God forbid, woman, bite your tongue. He’s a Delacroix, so of course he’ll like to fish and be rough-and-tumble. It’s in his DNA.”
“Tell me you’re kidding.” Willow put her hands on her hips, and it was easy to remember all the things she found attractive, not to mention sexy, about her. That particular line seemed to be her favorite, repeated in a way that conveyed so much more than the four words. “We’re not raising him to be some alpha male idiot. Go ahead and get that notion out of your head right now.”
“We’re also not raising him to have his lunch money stolen every day. For your information, I love to read and fish and fight, and I turned out just fine.”
“The jury’s still out on that.” Willow smiled before turning around and leaving the room. “I’ll be a few minutes.”
“We’re leaving in five.”
“We’re leaving when I’m done, so sit and talk about The Old Man and the Sea.”
They’d decided to leave the dining room empty for Grady and all the toys, a majority of which he was still too young to play with, but Jim Bob had gotten him anyway. She sat on the floor with him and laughed as he banged a small xylophone with the plastic hammer. That Grady would be a rough-and-tumble kid was a given, but it’d be fun to watch Willow try to temper that with piano lessons and probably ballet.
“Are you ready?” Willow caught her making funny noises as she rolled a truck around Grady’s legs. “Thanks for thinking of this today. I need a change of scenery to get my head cleared of all the depressing thoughts.”
“That acute pain you’re in that makes it seem like you can’t breathe does loosen up some after a few weeks. At least to the point where you can think of getting out of bed without crying.” She stood, scooped Grady up, and handed him over. “You take this guy, and I’ll get our bags in the car.”
“Where are we going?” Willow turned when she didn’t answer and caught her staring at her ass in the white shorts that certainly made you want to look. She was alive, not blind, and couldn’t be blamed for staring. That she got a smile instead of a lecture meant that maybe they were making more progress. Either that or Willow was planning to poison her when she least expected it.
“We have a family fishing camp at the end of the road in Montegut. It’s quiet, where the boat is moored, and I think you’ll like it.” She loaded them into the Yukon XL—complete with new car seat for Grady—she kept for trips down the bayou, since it was a bear to park in town.
“Camp? It has running water, right?” The way Willow froze in place made her want to wager whether she’d come at all.
“If you use the pump, it sure does.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Willow moved but sat in the back to keep Grady company.
“It’s supposed to be about connecting with nature, not the internet. Don’t worry, you’ll live.”
They drove in relative silence until they reached the grocery ten miles from their destination, where she got out and picked up some wine since she’d forgotten to put it in her order. For a local place that wasn’t very large, it had a good selection of wine and liquor as well as specialty prime cut meats. The fishing camps out here were a little on the extravagant side.
“We delivered everything this morning, Tucker,” the owner said, taking the cash she handed over. “I’m around if you need anything else. Just call me.”
“If you don’t hear from me by Sunday, come see if I’m still breathing.” He laughed with her, but she wasn’t completely joking.
“There’s a lot of water around here,” Willow said when she got back in. “Doesn’t it make you nervous? Especially if we’re bringing Grady here often.”
“Trust me, Willow, between this and the pool at home, we’re going to sign Grady up for swimming lessons as well as teach him to respect the water.” She slowed and pointed to the right where a flock of pelicans was perched on a log. “He’ll always be safe with me, I promise.”
“I know he will be.” Willow gave her a quick smile and then turned away. “I guess I always fly over this—I had no idea how hemmed in everything looks because of the water.”
“I come here to fish, but a lot of these folks work for us, and this is their home. It’s disappearing at an alarming rate, so Jim Bob and I started working on conservation efforts long before it became the buzzword it is now. We also run the business taking care so we don’t add to the problem. It’s not cost effective, but I’d like Grady’s grandchildren to learn to fish here.”
She stopped at the gate blocking the road, unlocked it, and swung it open. The state highway had ended a half mile behind them, but they’d put in a boat ramp just beyond the road’s end for the locals, so they could still use the canal Jim Bob had dredged to get the boat out to blue water. This was the point where the true yard began and the gate kept the curious out, at least with their vehicles.
“So I agree,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of water, but we’ll be okay.”
“It’s beautiful.” Willow was staring out at the marshland that was full of blooming lilies. “Where’s the house?”
“Close to the end. There’s the land the camp’s on, then a bit more of this on the other side of the canal, and the dock.” They drove another mile before the place came into view, and the large Acadian style home made her instantly relax. They’d had so many good times here since they’d purchased it together, and the memory of Jim Bob’s kids running around the yard and fishing off the dock were ones she wanted to recreate with Grady.
“No running water, huh?” Willow spoke drolly and it made her laugh. “Did Monique ever come here?”
“I don’t know, but maybe there’s some evidence somewhere in the house. I haven’t been back since Jimbo’s funeral, so I can’t answer that.” She wasn’t about to admit what kind of funeral yet, on the off-chance Willow would use it against her in court. “I’ll have to show you one of the neat features of this place.”
“You still use the word neat?”
She opened Willow’s door, then went around and freed Grady. “I do, as well as some other rusty words like shenanigans. You can blame my reading habits when I’m not doing mindless things like fishing.”
The front door opened, and Syd walked out. She’d told Syd she was coming here after the funeral and with whom, but there was no reason for her to be here. There wasn’t a ready explanation for the fishing shorts she had on either, but she enjoyed the view. Syd was a beautiful wom
an, and her body was proof that not only was there a God, but they were a benevolent being. She hadn’t fantasized about Syd naked as often as she probably should have, but it was real hard not to when she was dressed like this.
“Hey,” she said, and Willow completely lost her smile. “You’re a surprise.”
“I thought I’d help out and put away all the stuff that was delivered. You want me to stay and make dinner?” Syd came down and made her way over to the baby, and that move triggered a dark cloud with killer lightning over Willow’s head. If she actually had the power to summon bad weather, Tucker was sure Syd would be flying out to sea in the funnel of an EF5 tornado. “Man, Tuck, he looks exactly like you. You must have been a gorgeous baby.”
“Syd, meet Grady Delacroix. He belongs to Jim Bob and Monique.” Grady lowered his head to her shoulder as if he was suddenly shy, but he did smile and blink at Syd.
“He’s the cutest thing ever.”
“He’s probably wet,” Willow said, taking the baby and going up the stairs. The way she looked back at her was like a dare for her to stay in the yard. Picking wrong would surely come with some kind of stiff penalty, and she wasn’t in the mood to test Willow’s need to carry through any kind of threat.
“I think we got this, Syd, but thanks for doing all that.”
“Try the room next to yours if he’s wet. See you Monday, and have fun with Ms. Prickly Pear.” Thankfully Syd whispered the last part, saving her from Willow’s wrath.
“Let me show you around,” Tucker said to Willow as she took the diaper bag from her and opened the door.
“Are you sure she’s not your girlfriend?”
She wanted to say yes just to fuck with Willow, but she also wanted not to spend the next hour getting her tonsils back in their normal position when Willow punched her in the throat. “Just my assistant and friend. She was only being nice and making sure some stuff I ordered got here okay.”
