“He said up!”
Willa nodded. “He likes up and no. A lot.”
When I didn’t pick him up right away, Willa stepped closer.
“Is everything okay, Aiden?” she asked with a concerned look on her face.
“Yes. Everything’s fine. Should we go to the next table?” I reached down and picked up Ben.
She nodded. “I can take him if…”
“I’ve got him,” I said, holding Ben to me. Willa smiled and then turned and headed to the next table. We spent the next twenty minutes visiting all the set-up tables. Ben enjoyed each one, and I was shocked by how smart he was for only being one. I wanted to ask Willa if she had all these toys at home for him. How did he know so much? And why was I suddenly consumed with wanting to know everything about this little boy?
A bell dinged, and a group of children cheered.
“There’s Connor with Lilly,” Willa said as she led us through a sea of parents, grandparents, and kids. “Connor!” she shouted over the noise.
“Aunt Willa!” a little girl cried out as she dashed over.
Willa bent down and swept the little girl up in her arms and began kissing her, just like she’d done with Ben. Finally, she turned toward me. “Lilly, this is Aiden. He’s friends with me and Uncle Hunter.”
The little girl blushed and buried her face in Willa’s shoulder.
“Holy sh—” Connor quickly stopped himself as he walked up to me and held out his hand.
Smiling, I whispered, “Nice save.”
“Aiden, man, it’s good to see you, dude.”
We shook hands and Connor looked at Ben in my arms. “Wow. Ben hardly lets me hold him. You must have made an impression on the little guy.”
I shrugged. “How have you been? Hunter told me you own an electrical company.”
He nodded. “I do. It’s been a long haul to get my own company, but I’m slowly but surely getting there.”
“Do you do any work for my grandfather?” I asked.
Connor smiled. “I do, as a matter of fact. Carl was one of the first folks to give me a real shot, and I won’t ever forget that.”
It was my turn to nod. “Good, I’m glad to hear that.”
Connor took a step closer to me. “Hey, I haven’t ever said it, but thanks for your service, man.”
I felt a warmth pool in my chest as I shook his hand. “Thank you, Connor. That means a lot to me.”
He smiled and gave me a quick nod.
“Okay, everyone find your spots, it’s story time!” Greer said as she motioned for the crowd to come into an area in the back of the bookstore. A small little stage held two chairs and a table in the middle.
“Looks like we didn’t get here soon enough,” Willa said.
“It’s okay, I can put Ben on my shoulders,” I said, glancing behind me to see if I’d be blocking anyone.
Willa laughed. “Lord, he’s going to pull your hair out.”
I shrugged and then lifted Ben up and set him on my shoulders. Sure enough, he started yanking on my hair.
“Our last book is I Love You Just the Same, by Erica Wolf,” Greer said as a hush fell over the room. I had to admit I was surprised this many kids kept quiet, considering a lot of them were not that much older than Ben. I glanced up to see if Ben was paying attention to Greer reading, and he was enthralled. I looked over at Willa who was watching Greer.
I thought back to when Willa first arrived at the bookstore and had let Greer think that we were together. There was clearly tension been between the two of them. Had Willa actually been jealous? The thought made my chest tighten slightly.
Once story time was over, parents quickly gathered up their kids and hightailed it out of the bookstore as fast as they could. I found myself being stopped by several people I had gone to school with. I was honestly stunned by the amount of people who still lived in Boggy Creek. Most welcomed me home and thanked me for my service. I lost count of how many people asked me to lunch or coffee to catch up.
Soon, the bookstore was nearly cleared out. Willa had been stopped by another mom who was talking to her about some play group thing, and I could tell that Willa wanted to be anywhere but there.
Greer had begun cleaning up as she said goodbye to the folks who were leaving. I walked over and asked, “I thought you said you had people to help.”
She laughed. “Setting up, yes, but they couldn’t work this afternoon. Normally I have two girls who help out, but the high school is having a play tonight, and both girls needed to be there to help set up for it. It’s not a big deal, I’ve done it before.”