Page 46 of Jay Bird

Willow groaned. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. I can’t help it.”

He laughed. “No apologizing for thanking me. That defeats the whole purpose.”

“Then stop counting.”

“I can’t. We’re too far in.”

Willow shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

Across from them, Lily raised her little fork. “Jay!”

“See?” Jay Bird nodded toward her. “She likes me.”

“She’s two. She also likes eating Goldfish crackers she finds under furniture.”

“Still counts,” he smirked.

Willow laughed and took another bite of pancake. Damn, they were actually good. She had expected a man who owned one end table to be incapable of anything beyond cereal, yet apparently Jay Bird had hidden talents.

She remembered what he had told her last night. “Derek and his friend are coming today, right?”

Jay Bird nodded. “Yep. They’ll be here in about an hour.”

Willow’s stomach tightened slightly.

“Remember, they’re not here to interrogate you,” he said. “Tink found some information. They’ll explain it, you decide what you’re comfortable doing with it, and we go from there.”

Willow nodded. “Okay.”

She took another bite and glanced across the table.

Jay Bird was helping Lily spear a strawberry with her little plastic fork, patiently guiding her hand while Lily giggled at their combined effort.

She quickly returned her attention to her plate. In an hour, she would find out what remained of the life she had lost three years ago.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Willow was beginning to think Navy SEALs only came in one size.

She sat at the kitchen table with Jay Bird, Derek, and Tink.

Derek was tall and broad-shouldered, with the kind of commanding presence that made it easy to understand why men like Jay Bird followed his orders. Tink was even bigger, which Willow hadn’t thought possible until she had met him. He looked like the sort of man who could pick up one end of Jay Bird’s SUV with one hand.

Three weeks ago, Willow would’ve taken one look at the two unfamiliar men and immediately searched for the closest exit.

Part of her had done exactly that today. She had noticed their size first, then immediately started reading everything else about them without even meaning to. She checked their hands, the way they held themselves, their positions in the room, how close they stood to her, and whether either man was unintentionally blocking her path to Lily.

She hated that her mind still worked that way, automatically assessing every man she met as a potential threat before allowing herself to see anything else.

But neither Derek nor Tink had seemed offended by her caution. Actually, Willow had a feeling they had expected it.

Derek had offered her a brief handshake and nothing more. Tink had done the same, keeping several feet between them afterward instead of stepping farther into her space.

Jay Bird had quietly positioned himself between her and the two men during those first few minutes. He hadn’t made a production of it. He hadn’t asked whether she was afraid or announced that he was trying to protect her. He had just stayed close, talking to Derek and Tink while giving Willow enough time to decide for herself that neither man posed a threat.

Now the four of them sat around the kitchen table while Lily occupied the living room a few yards away. She had been wary of Derek and Tink at first, immediately moving closer to Willow when they had arrived. But once she had determined neither stranger planned to bother her, she had returned to the coloring book she had been working on earlier.

Ellie sat beside her, her tablet playing quietly in the background. And every few minutes Willow glanced over just to reassure herself that her daughter was still there.