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“Go home, Jesse!” she cries out before sympathy fills her eyes. “Please just go.”
Seth’s gaze bores a hole in the side of my face as I lock eyes with Pippa’s, warring with her in silence. Bit by bit her gaze softens until I think I’ve got her. “Pippa—”
“No, Jesse!” Willow’s surprisingly powerful voice booms from the doorway, instantly drawing my attention.
My heart sparks at the sight of her, and the world around me fades away. At least, until I register the anger in her eyes. Eyes that, even filled with loathing, have me locked in a chokehold.
“Willow?”
“No, Jesse,” she repeats, only softer this time, her beautiful soul pleading with me to listen.
And this time I do.
Because everything I’ve done has been forher, and I’m not about to stop that now.
“I meant what I said up there, Willow,” I tell her, without saying the private words out loud, hoping she'll understand. And from the small nod she gives me, I know that she does.
I fucking love her.
“I need you to leave," she says anyway. "And I don’t just mean the hospital. I need you to go back to San Francisco. Back to your life. And leave me alone.”
Jesus. That’s like a bullet to the heart.“Willow—”
“Please,” she begs. “I’m not ready and I want you to respect that.”
She turns and hobbles inside without even a backward glance, and then all eyes are on me. I stay strong under the scrutiny, but inside it feels like my heart’s been smashed into a million pieces. The last thing I want to do is walk away. I want to storm inside and demand that she forgive me. I want to fall to my knees and beg her to talk to me because she doesn’t know all the facts.
But I can’t do that because I can’t tell her all the facts, or any of them. And it’s tearing me apart.
“Let’s go,” I say, turning to Seth as I ignore all the unspoken questions aimed my way.
I know when to accept defeat, but as I said the last time I walked away… I’ll be back.
***
I make Seth drive back into Hepburn Falls before we head to the airport, even though it’s out of our way. I need to see Tate before I go. I have to know he’s not going to cause any trouble for Willow.
When we arrive, I keep an eye out for his motorcycle, and find it exactly where I assumed it would be…parked across from the bar. Relief fills me knowing I’m not going to have to search for long, but the instant I see him, my blood boils. Tate’s hovering outside, in a heated discussion with Alex, and even though it's dark, I can tell neither of them look happy.
“Pull in here. I’ll just be a minute,” I say as I unbuckle my seat belt, jumping out of the car as soon as Seth comes to a stop.
Alex is the first to notice me, and his angry expression quickly morphs into one of cocky intrigue. “Hockey man, to what do we owe the pleasure?” he says with a smirk as I picture my fist connecting with his jaw.
Tate spins around to face me, his eyes widening briefly before he schools his features. “You should be long gone, Jesse. Don’t you have a grand life in another state?”
My brow furrows at the sudden change in his attitude, but I stand tall. “Don’t you? Why are you still here?” I ask, now looking at both of them.
Tate laughs. “I’m from here, remember? Or did that information slip your mind?”
How could it slip my mind—the guilt of that still eats away at me—but right now, it’s concerning.
“When are you going back to Seattle?” I say, ignoring his question.
Alex steps forward but Tate throws his hand out, stopping him from getting too close. “We’ll leave when we’re ready,” Alex says at the same time Tate grunts, “tomorrow,” putting my mind at ease. A little.
“Good.” I nod. “Then we’ll all be gone and this can be over.”
“What can be over?” Alex asks, his brows raised in question. “Do tell me what’s had the two of you so worked up this week. Tate was all for me talking to Willow, but now he’s changed his tune. Anyone want to fill me in?”
