Willa Doon has always been shy. Her quiet demeanor was something she’s always embraced. That is, until Jackson Page moves to town. The one man she desperately wants to take notice struggles to remember her name. Year after year, Willa stands by, watching as the bartender slash playboy drowns his demons in beer and sex. Then one night, he shows up at her door, suddenly aware that the girl he’s seen around Lark Cove is now a beautiful woman. Except what he doesn’t remember is that this visit isn’t his first. They spent a night together once before. A night he’s forgotten, thanks to a bottle of tequila. A night that crushed a timid girl’s heart, and set a broken man on the path to heal them both.
“Oh.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“What, um . . .” Her fingers fiddled with the clip on the board. “What’s up?”
“You read my note?” She nodded. “I did.”
“Good.” That meant we could move on from the whole me-calling-her-by-the-wrong-name thing and get to the days where she wasn’t slamming doors in my face.
“Come to the bar and have dinner with me tonight.”
“Was that an invitation or a command?” I shrugged. “Does it matter?”
She frowned and I knew immediately that wasn’t the right thing to say. Without a word, she marched toward the building between the bunkhouses marked SHOWERS.
“Hey, wait!” I ran after her, but she was walking fast. “What about dinner?”
She didn’t answer. She just kept on marching all the way to the women’s side, disappearing inside without hesitation. Well, fuck. I guess my note hadn’t worked after all. I debated going inside the showers but didn’t want to terrify a young girl if Willa wasn’t alone. So with a grumble and a kick at the dirt, I went back toward the parking lot. I didn’t miss Hazel watching from a window in the lodge, laughing her ass off. At least I was entertaining her. She’d be in for another show soon, because I’d be back again tomorrow.
Devney is the USA Today bestselling author of the Jamison Valley series. She lives in Montana with her husband and two children. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her kids. She loves reading and, after consuming hundreds of books, decided to share her own stories. Devney loves hearing from readers! Connect with her on social media.
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