by Ali Vali
“Are you going to make me beg? I might smash one of your fancy flamingo glasses in protest if you do.”
Stella laughed and it sounded like it came from her belly. “My mother-in-law gave us those as a wedding gift. It was her way of telling me not to take life too seriously. That, or she thought I was flighty and needed a spirit animal. It’s a complete tossup.”
“And the advice?”
“We’ll get to that, so focus on the pool or something to start learning patience. You’re going to need loads of it in the coming years.” Stella handed her glass to her. “I met Bart in college, and boy, was he full of himself. It wasn’t sexy or charming and I told him to fuck off.”
It was her turn to laugh and Stella joined her. “You must’ve come around.”
“There had to be some training involved and plenty of dates, but eventually we found our groove. At first it was the business where Bart valued my input, and then in raising a family, with a big pause in between kids.” Stella smiled serenely as she spoke and Willow was hit with a pang of jealousy. That connection to someone you loved was something she’d never considered, but what a wonder it would be to have.
“I hope your advice isn’t to date either you or Mr. Bart.”
“My advice is to wake the fuck up before Syd starts reeling in the big fish. Or is it that you’re truly not interested in Tucker?” The silence suddenly became uncomfortable, and Stella nodded knowingly. “Consider this. You’re stuck for six years, and that’ll be hard enough, but imagine it with Syd in the house with you.”
It was time to talk. “I’m interested, but you should have the whole story.” The way Stella stared at her was disconcerting, but she made it through the tale of how she and Tucker had met, and fallen apart, without passing out from the heat of her embarrassment.
“Syd’s got the long game and you got the fast break.” That made them start laughing again. “Well, that was some story. Now tell me exactly what the problem is.”
“Wouldn’t it be wrong to get together only because of the baby?”
“Stop bullshitting me. That’s not it.”
Stella was a tough love kind of mother, but her honesty was refreshing. Willow relented. “I’m afraid. I don’t think I could stand any more loss.”
“Willow, you have to know Tucker found something she didn’t begin to realize she was looking for.”
“What?” She wanted to shake Stella to make her spit it out.
“We’ve gone around and around about her settling down, and she’s repeatedly, and rather emphatically, told me to buzz off. Then you came along and Grady came with you, and she’s found her place.” Stella held her hand and squeezed it. “I know my child, and I know what’s in her heart. I can see it in the way she looks at both of you. You’re what she’s needed for a long time, and together you’ll do for both your siblings what they’ve asked of you.”
“Raise Grady?”
“That’s part of it. The most important thing is you’ll raise Grady while giving him a roadmap of what to look for in a partner.” Stella’s eyes became glassy but her smile never faltered. “My boy was starting down that road, but it ended way too soon, and your sister wasn’t lucky either, and it’s time for you and Tucker to get to it. All you need is the courage to take what’s yours.”
“Do you think she wants to?” Willow had to ask, though the answer could be damaging.
“More than she wants to fish, and to a Delacroix there’s very little in life that’ll supersede that.”
It was true, and she knew it. She’d known it from the way Tucker held her, the way she looked at her. Hearing it from someone so close to her made it real. “Do you know where she might be?”
“I do, and I’ll tell you if you promise to come back for dinner with your family.”
She put her arms around Stella and hugged her, hoping she knew how much she appreciated the afternoon. “Thank you for this.”
“Eventually, I’d like to get rid of the evil mother-in-law reputation, so I’m trying extra hard for you to like me.”
“I already do, and eventually you’ll let me call you Mom.”
“What the hell, let’s get crazy and start now.” Stella kissed her again and pushed her out of the seat. “Walk through the back gate and follow the walking track to the left until you reach the duck pond. She’s probably teaching Grady the joy of watching clouds float by if they’ve run out of duck food.” The tall brick fence had a gate that backed onto Audubon Park.
So Tucker had been close to the house the whole time. This family was beautifully devious. “Is my face horrible?”
“You look like homemade sin, and the shorts make your ass look good. She’ll never notice you’ve been crying.”
“Liar.”
“Am not. Homemade sin isn’t a compliment.”
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Wish me luck.”
“You won’t need it. I’ve got faith in my kid to get it right.”
She nodded and raised her hands. “How about in me?”
“You’re here, aren’t you? If you need pointers and you came to the person who hardwired her, you have to be serious.”
“If you need to hear me say it, I am.” Willow took a deep breath and headed toward her family.
* * *
“You twist the hook around, like, ten times until you can thread the end of your line through the bottom of the loop, and then you pull. Once you clip the excess, you can haul in any fish, and the hook will set and your line won’t snap.” Tucker spoke to Grady as he sat against her legs, looking at her as if he could understand everything she was saying.
Willow stood close enough to listen in as well. Grady had an expression of total adoration on his face. Tucker kept up her fishing lesson as she threw out some duck food and the baby squealed when it attracted a flock of ducks to the edge of their blanket.
“Dada,” Grady said, throwing himself against her legs and slapping his hands down.
“I bet your dada misses you like crazy, buddy.” Tucker rubbed his back as he repeated the sound over and over again.
“Are you planning to go somewhere?”
Tucker turned and seemed surprised to see her. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“You said something about breakfast.”
“I did, but you didn’t sound interested.” Tucker smiled when she sat next to her and reached for Grady, who seemed happy to see her. “Is that what upset you?” Willow didn’t move away when Tucker touched the top of her cheek.
“Yes, waffles make me overly emotional.” The joke made Tucker chuckle and she seemed to let go of some of the anger from Willow’s rejection. “I know I’m not your favorite person right now, but can we start over?”
“Are you going to tell me why you’ve been crying?”
As sexy as Tucker was, she was also a compassionate soul, which of course was sexy as hell too. It was like a wheel that kept turning back to that sexy thing.
“It bothers me and Grady when you’re upset.”
“I’m like a teapot that Stella got to whistle.” She grabbed Tucker when she went to stand up. “No, it was a good thing. Sometimes you get wrapped up in your own stuff, and you need that one person in your life who’ll call you on it.”
“Okay, but let me know if you need rescuing from my mom. She’s a force of nature and you can get blown away if you give her free rein.”
“I’m planning to give her free rein because I need an ally to keep you in line.” She took Tucker’s hand and leaned against her. “After everything life has thrown at us, I’m blessed you’re still my friend.”
Tucker leaned against her too. “You think so, huh?”
“That’s my story, since you didn’t throw me in there with all your duck friends.” She pointed to the pond, then started shrieking when Tucker moved quickly and hauled her up and into her arms, heading for the water. “Tucker, I said I was sorry.”
“But did you mean it?” She and Tucker glanced
back to Grady who was rolling over to start crawling after them.
“Yes, damn it.”
“Ms. Vernon, we have a baby now, so we’re going to have to start working on your cursing.”
She wanted to make a quip about dirty mouths, but they weren’t ready for that yet. She still had some things to say. “Put me down and pack up. We’re having dinner at Mom’s.”
“That’s hours away.” Tucker actually sounded whiny. “But she knows we’re out here, so there’s no escaping her now.”
“She said you’d act like this and gave me permission to spank you.” The way Tucker looked at her warmed her from her hair down to her feet, and it made her shiver. It might take some time to get back to where they started, but it was time to start defusing the Syd effect. “And believe me, that rule will apply to more than spending time with your parents.”
Tucker stopped getting all their duck excursion stuff together and stepped closer to her, and she was thrilled this wasn’t going to take as long as she expected. She didn’t think about it as Tucker bent and kissed her cheek before hugging her.
The warmth that always seem to infuse Tucker gave her a sense of belonging. “You don’t have to be tethered to me all the time, but I think it’ll be good for Grady if we do that every so often.”
Maybe she was totally misreading this, and they weren’t headed in the direction she was sure she wanted and was putting at the top of her letter to Santa. If she was losing out to Syd and her ridiculously sexy everything, she was locking Tucker in the house until she came to her senses.
“What if I want to be tethered to you all the time?” She was in a hurry to get back to Stella and another strategy-slash-therapy session.
“Then I’d say you’re the idea person in this relationship.”
They decided to leave Tucker’s car, and they walked back, with Willow holding Grady and Tucker carrying everything else. Dinner was rescheduled to a late lunch, and Willow listened to everything Stella told her as to what her next move should be, as they cleared the dishes in the kitchen together.
“Did you tell her yet?” Stella asked.
“What, exactly?”
“Don’t be coy now. You slept with her on the first date, so speed isn’t exactly your problem.”
She laughed and nodded. “You’re right and we’re headed in the right direction. Would you mind if we left a little early and got to the rest of what we need to talk about?”
“For the love of all that’s holy, get out of here, and put a choke hold on her if you have to.”
“Tucker,” she called out, and she smiled when Tucker popped up like a cork. “Time to go home.” And that she meant with all her heart.
Chapter Nineteen
It was still early when they left Tucker’s parents’ place, and Tucker wanted to keep enjoying the day without bloodshed since Willow’s house seemed to be a spot where they couldn’t manage to get along. If they had a chance at making this work, Tucker was going to have to learn to give in at the one place she’d only ever shared the power with one other person.
“Want to take a ride and show Grady the office? You need to see it too, now that you’re a Delacroix employee.” They dropped Willow’s car at the house.
“Who should I see about that, by the way?”
St. Charles was crowded with tourists, and the afternoon was one of those perfect non-humid days, but all she could concentrate on was Willow dragging her fingertips along her forearm.
“Once I get the sitter all sorted out, I’d like to go back to work.”
“Trout put all that together for you, so they’ll mail your checks until you tell them otherwise.” This was nuts. She’d dated beautiful women before, but the feel of Willow’s fingers on her skin was making her nipples painfully hard. The topper was she didn’t think Willow realized she was doing it and didn’t seem at all that affected by it. “And Mom volunteered to take care of Grady.”
“She told me that and assured me that she’d raised you and Jim Bob without being committed to an asylum, so she was more than capable.” Willow slid her hand down until their fingers were intertwined. “I’m all for it if you agree.”
“Considering she threatened me with bodily harm if something happens to him if we leave him with, and I quote”—she made an air quote but didn’t let go of Willow’s hand—“anyone who beats him with a spatula. It’s something she saw on Dateline and it’s tainted her view of sitters.”
She waved to the parking attendant, drove to her assigned spot by the elevator, and waited to see if Willow would notice the plaque next to hers. “I’m becoming a desk jockey?” Willow asked, after staring at it before turning her gaze to her.
The way Willow slowly smiled made her want to kiss her. “Not exactly, but you needed a spot for when you’re here. It’s a way for me to check up on whether you’re leaving early.”
“I have fishing to do, so yeah, I’ll be leaving early.”
The stroller seemed to make Grady content, so they loaded him up and took the elevator to the top. She led Willow to her office first, to pick up some files she needed for the executive manager’s meeting the next morning and didn’t stop her from looking around. “I tried to think of where you’d best fit in, and I think I came up with the best solution.”
“I don’t care how mad at me you are, I’m not joining the janitorial crew.”
“I’m not mad at you, but give me some time and that might change.” She released Grady and held him over her head, tossing him a few times. “Want to show Mama her new space?”
“When are you going to learn?” Willow shook her head when the jostling made Grady throw up on her face. “Your brother never did either, so don’t feel bad, and don’t open your mouth whatever you do.”
Willow stood outside the bathroom as Tucker showered with Grady to get rid of the smell that was making her queasy. “Hey, can you grab Grady and dry him off?” Being naked in her private shower with Grady and having Willow come in wasn’t a scenario she could’ve dreamed up in any world. “Thanks,” she said, when Willow stared a moment too long.
“No problem. Can I get you anything else?”
“There’s some company shirts in the closet by the door, if you don’t mind.” She took her time getting dressed, liking the way Willow kept taking peeks.
“Do you want to grab the stroller if we’re heading down?”
“Don’t you want to see your office?”
“I do, but I doubt it’s up here.” Willow went to grab the baby, but Tucker took her hand instead.
“You’d be wrong, and like with the house, feel free to change whatever you like.”
“Please tell me you didn’t move anyone to make room for me. That wouldn’t be a great way to start a new job.” They stopped at her doorway and she shook her head.
“There was an opening up here, and he’s probably laughing his ass off that it’s you who’s getting it next.”
“Oh, Tucker, no.” Willow appeared stricken when she realized who she meant.
The office was actually larger than hers and the big marlin hanging over the desk was one of Jim Bob’s most prized possessions. She frowned when she saw Syd hadn’t cleaned the desk like she’d asked, but she could take care of that now. She’d avoided coming in here much but this felt right.
“Sit with me a minute,” Willow said, tugging her to the couch Jim Bob used for napping. “You’re incredibly sweet, but I can’t take his office. If anything, I think he’d haunt me.”
“Mom is going to take care of Grady, but I thought we could put a playpen in here and bring him with us sometimes.” She pointed to the spot next to the desk. “And I found something in the top drawer when I came in here to see if there was anything I needed to address. The receipt for it and the frame were from a week before he died.”
Willow placed Grady on the floor and followed her. She’d put the picture in the frame and placed it on the corner of the desk. It had to have been from the hospital when Grady was born, and
Jim Bob appeared thrilled as he held him, with Monique at his side.
“I took this,” Willow said, touching their faces.
“I figured.” She handed over the note Monique had written. So you can remember the happiest day ever.
Under that Jim Bob had written something, as if he intended to give the note back. I’ll never forget, but there’s plenty more to come for our little miracle.
“If I cry any more, I’m going to become dehydrated.”
“I thought you could leave it there and Grady will appreciate it when he forces us to retire and takes the joint over.”
Willow put the picture back and placed the note underneath it. “I’ll put the note in the frame later, but thank you for all this. You really have gone beyond what I was expecting.”
She was about to disagree when Willow went up on her toes and kissed her cheek. She’d done that before, but this time she’d come really close to her mouth. So close, but not close enough. “Want to head back? It’s almost bedtime.”
Tucker spoke softly as if she didn’t want to break the spell, and Willow couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. But it was okay, since Tucker seemed to be staring at hers. “Let’s go, and you can tell me what you had in mind for me to do.”
“For you to do?” The stammer in Tucker’s voice made Willow wonder if Stella had been pouring everyone spiked iced tea, because Tucker certainly didn’t sound like herself.
“My job here, I mean.” She almost started laughing when Tucker blushed, her thoughts clearly not work-related. Once their night was done, she’d have to send Stella a thank-you text for her tip—touching a lot and acting like she wasn’t doing it. “We don’t have to talk about it now, though.”
“We can,” Tucker said, like she didn’t want her to move away.
“We could, but right now you have a hot date.” Stella’s other advice was making things sound sexual even when they weren’t.
“I do?” Tucker’s hands landed on her hips and she smiled.
“You do, and he’s in the mood for vegetable medley with chicken. You need some spoon practice, so let’s go.” Keeping a straight face through this whole process was going to be her biggest problem, but patience was the key. She was twisting her line around her hook and waiting for the right opportunity to thread it and pull. When she caught her big fish she didn’t want her to get away.
