Southern Heat (Southern 6)

"It is all yours,” I say. “We can go down to the bank, and you can open an account."

She nods her head. “I don’t know if I can ever repay you,” she says softly, and I tilt my head to the side. “For everything you’ve given me."

I smile at her. “I’m glad I’m the first one to give you that,” I say, wanting to take her in my arms and kiss the top of her head. “I have to go and talk to Amelia,” I say, and she nods.

Walking out, I stop when I get three feet away from her and let out a deep breath. Turning, I look at her as she stands in the middle of the stall looking at the envelope she’s holding in her hand. “You’ve given me life,” I say softly. “You’ve given me a life."

Chapter 24

Willow

I stand in the middle of the stall with the white envelope in my hand containing the check of six hundred dollars in my hand. In my name. For work that I didn’t even know I was doing.

The past week has been a dream come true for me. Waking up every morning, I’m eager to start the day and itching to get up and get to the barn where my joy waits for me. The nights have been smooth sailing with no nightmares. No dreams of darkness, but instead of green trees and my girl Hope.

It’s not to say that I was free. Oh no, those fears are ingrained in me. Fear that it would be taken away from me in the middle of the night. Fear that I’ll wake up and everyone will know the whole truth about me. Fear that when I look into Quinn’s eyes, there won’t be the light in it, but instead hatred. So, I kept my bag tucked away close to the bed. A bed that I slept in every single night but refused to get under the covers. Just like the closet full of clothes all waiting for me, yet I stick to two pairs of jeans. I wear one during the day and one at night to sleep in.

I walk out of the stall and look down the pathway seeing a couple of people I’ve met this week. People who had no idea I was a broken woman. People who accepted me with a smile and a nod. People who come in every single morning and say good morning. None of them looking at me differently because of who I was or where I came from. To them, I am just Willow, the girl who mucks out the stalls for fun. Who talks to the horses and brings them water and food. To them, I’m just Willow, and I’ve never been just Willow.

I walk out of the stall and head over to Hope’s stall. “Did you eat?" I ask, and I walk to her and hug her neck. “I love you, pretty girl,” I say with tears in my eyes. Tears because that is the first time in my life that I said those words out loud. Tears because I know what it’s like to love someone for the first time in my life. My heart hammers in my chest so hard that I think I’m going to have a panic attack. I start to pant out, and Hope must feel it because she moves her head and I look into her eyes. "Look at us,” I say, laughing while I use the back of my hand to wipe away my tears. “Two broken souls finding love." I laugh at the irony of it.

"Hey," Amelia says, sticking her head into the stall. “Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say softly. “Just a bit—"

"Overwhelmed." She finishes the sentence for me. “I get it."

I look at her and shake my head. “You are the most put-together person I have ever met,” I say. She has uprooted her life to move into Quinn’s house for me. She has two jobs, and I think she sleeps less than I do.

"It’s smoke and mirrors,” she says. “I’m burning the candle at both ends, as my grandmother says, and I’m feeling it starting to catch up to me."

"Can I help?" I ask, and she smiles at me.

"Not unless you can make more hours to the day," she jokes, and if I could, I would make it happen for her. "You have a doctor's appointment today."

"Oh, shit,” I say, putting my hand to my head. “I forgot."

"Quinn is waiting for you in the office,” she says, and I nod at her.

"I’ll be right there,” I say, and she turns to walk away.

"Okay, I’m going to leave for a bit," I tell Hope. “Hopefully, they take this sling off today." I smile at her and walk out, clicking the doors closed.

Walking toward the office, I see Quinn sitting in the chair while he’s on his phone. He looks up at me and smiles when he sees me, and my heart stops beating in my chest. It does that every single time he looks at me or talks to me. Or we sit on the swing at night after supper, and our hands are close to each other. "Are you ready?" he asks, and I just nod at him. "Call me if there is anything,” he says to Amelia.