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After we fired Tiffany for attempting to blackmail first a client, then us, she disappeared. I heard she had family out west, and she went home. She doesn’t know how lucky she is right now.
I’ve only had one kitten. I will only ever have one kitten. Willow. She’s ours.
Ours.
Not mine, not his.
Ours.
I stop talking at the thought and nod to Alex to take over.
I have my own demons to sort out at the moment.
Alex asks her about her business and I’m momentarily thankful he’s taking a break from all of the revelations that are hitting me all at once.
Their voices grow muffled as I mentally list every obstacle in my head, weighing pros and cons.
I want her. My demons want her, and taking Willow together solves everything.
We are in a position to offer her the life she should have now. We are no longer the boys from across the tracks headed for dead end lives. We own the tracks and everything else within blocks of here.
We are what Willow needs. We are what she deserves, and she’s not walking out of here without understanding this. I glance at my friend and I’m positive he will feel the same way, but don’t have time to discuss it with him, so he’ll either be on board or I’ll step up alone.
As I watch them talk about her daughter, their words become white noise, drowned out by the sound of blood pumping through my ears at the thought that I have everything I want sitting in front of me.
I know Alex does too.
He never set her aside like she thinks we did.
Each day on her way to work, she passes by our club at 7:20 am. It’s no coincidence that Alex is here by 7:15, and seated in the same chair with a clear line of sight to the street to watch her go by as he sips his morning coffee.
Every day.
For years.
The fucker doesn’t even need to be here until nine at the earliest.
My patience abandons me, and I clear my throat, ready to direct this conversation.
“Willow.” Both sets of eyes turn toward me and I let go of my anger toward Dale and Tiffany. I’ll deal with both of them later.
“Yes, Shane.” She has no idea how badly I’ve wanted to hear those words come out of her mouth, but for entirely different reasons.
“You need to know, I never called her Kitten. I’ve only ever had one kitten, and I miss her.” I’ve stunned Alex into silence and he props his forearm on his thigh, bracing his weight to the side and rubbing his fingers together while he waits to hear where this is going.
Willow relaxes her shoulders as she smiles sadly.
“I miss you too. Both of you. I am so sorry, Shane—Alex. I was thinking, while I waited for you, that I can sign you on as business partners,”—she switches gears when I drop the expression on my face into shock at what she’s suggesting—“or even owners if you’d like. I’ll work hard to get my—our—your business back to making money. I’ll pay it all back.” This is the Willow I remember and I hate myself for letting her go.
“No, Willow.” I stop her. She’s not even close to what I want. “It’s your business. You’ll keep it, and continue to make it the neighborhood success it is. We’re both so proud of you.”
Her smile melts my heart. She’s genuinely affected by our praise and our opinion matters to her.
As quickly as it came, her happiness fades into uncertainty when her eyebrows knit together.
“Then how? How can I fix this?” Now she’s asking the right question and I’m not going to sugar coat it.
“We want ownership of you.”
