The Butterfly Effect (Boggy Creek Valley 1)

She gave another shrug. “It’s just food for thought.”

Then she slipped out of the car and moved to the back to take out Ben’s car seat.

Willa took the carrier out. “He fell asleep.”

“Let me get it,” I said, taking it from her.

She gave me a sweet grin. “Thanks, he’s starting to get heavier the older he gets.”

With a wink, I motioned with my chin for her to walk ahead.

“Here are the keys,” I said, putting them into her outstretched hand when she came to a stop at the door of the office.

Once inside, I set Ben down on the sofa. I glanced around; not much had changed. My grandfather’s office only had two rooms. Three, if you counted the small kitchen area in the back where he kept a mini-fridge, a microwave, and a coffeepot that I swore was from 1970.

Granddad’s office was to the left, and the main waiting room was to the right, where you entered when you first came in. At least it had been updated with new furniture, as well as hardwood floors and a neutral paint scheme.

“Will he be okay there?” I asked, looking down at Ben.

Willa nodded. “Yes, he’s out like a light.”

I headed into Granddad’s office and sat down at his desk while Willa stood in the doorway, one eye on me, the other on Ben.

“Carl didn’t want to come down and show you around?” she asked.

“He wasn’t feeling very good this morning, so I told him I could figure it out on my own.”

“I’m sure he has faith in you.”

I nodded and looked at the schedule Granddad had on his calendar. Everything was handwritten. Nothing was on a computer. That was going to have to be the first thing that changed. I was pretty sure Betty, Granddad’s secretary, had a computer. She kept her office down at the stockyard along with Tim, who handled all the accounting, and Carol, who was in charge of making sure all necessary supplies were ordered.

Willa walked into the office and pulled up the blinds so she could see through the giant window that looked into the reception area. Then she turned a chair around and sat down. “Will Carl be retiring for good?”

I laughed. “Hell no. He’ll probably die in this office or on a construction site.”

A soft smile grew over Willa’s face. “Did you know O’Hara Construction is the third largest business in Boggy Creek Valley?”

I raised my brows as I leaned back in the chair. “Who are number one and two?”

“The city and the school district,” she replied.

“Huh. Well, I guess that’s good job security for me then,” I said with a wink.

I looked back down and made a note of any meetings or appointments I might need to attend to this week since Granddad decided to take some time off now that I was back in town. There was one for Wednesday with a Kathleen Daughtry. I pulled out my phone and typed in her name and the time of the meeting. Next to it was Tucker Miller’s name. Tucker was one of the foremen and pretty much second-in-command when it came to the business. Mom had mentioned more than once that Tucker had really helped out a lot since Granddad got sick. I made a mental note to thank him for stepping up.

“Looks like Tucker is meeting with someone on Wednesday. A Kathleen Daughtry.”

Willa sat forward. “Shut up!”

I lifted my head to look at her. “Who is she?”

Her eyes were wide with shock. “Who is she? Aiden, seriously? You don’t know who she is?”

I shook my head and said, “Why don’t you tell me.”

Willa stood and walked toward me, placed her hands flat on the desk, and leaned in. I tried like hell not to notice how it made her breasts push together—and tried even harder to ignore the fact that my cock went hard simply thinking about her breasts.

“She filmed a movie about a year ago, and they did some scenes around the valley. She fell in love with it here and bought fifty acres about ten miles outside of town. Rumor has it she wanted to build a house. I guess the rumors were true. And to think, she wants you to build it!”

Laughing, I said, “She doesn’t want me to build it. She wants to talk to O’Hara Construction.”

Willa rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“Well, I need to let Tucker know I’ll be attending this meeting.”

She pushed away from the desk. “Can I go? I’ve always wanted to meet her!”

I laughed. “How about you let me secure the deal first, then you can fangirl over her.”

A feigned look of shock moved over Willa’s face as she placed her hand on her heart. “Fangirl? Please, I have more control over myself than that. Just because she’s a Hollywood star doesn’t mean I’m going to beg her for an autograph. I’ll calmly ask her for one.”