Page 29 of Seein’ Red

“First off,” she snaps, voice dripping with disdain, “I was not going to sleep with him. Second, even if I was, it’s not any of your damn business. You are not my boyfriend. All you are is a repeated bad decision.”

“Can’t be that bad; you’ve been doing me for a decade at this point, Princess.”

“Thanks for pointing out my own stupidity, Nash. Like I really needed the reminder in this moment.”

I suck in a breath, holding myself back. From what—I don’t know. I can’t tell if I want to scream, throw something, or kiss her until we both can’t breathe. Maybe all three. What I do know is that no one else on this planet is capable of making me feel this way.

“Third,” she declares. “I didn’t know then. Hell, I still don’t fully know now. I haven’t taken a test.”

A test. Right. That would be a good thing.

“Then let’s go get one.”

Willa scoffs, grabbing a throw pillow off the bed and throwing it at me. “I know you’re a man, so you’re naturally a bit dense, but obtuse is not a good look on you.”

“That’s what you’re resorting to?” I quip, unable to help myself. Goading Willa is what I do best, and one of my favorite pastimes. “Insulting me with math vocabulary?”

“Arrrrgggh!” She steps forward, trying to lunge at me, but the bed is in the way. Thankfully. “Let me spell it out for you. Despite what you think, it’s not as easy as just walking into Hickory Hills Drugs and making a purchase. Even if it was open on Sunday, which it’s not, I can’t exactly stroll in there and buy a pregnancy test. Mr. Hovland will have Mrs. Burch and Mrs. Chamberlain on the line before he’s done ringing up the purchase.”

Willa has a point. Few things in this town travel as fast as good gossip. As backward as it is, an unwed woman buying a pregnancy test in our small, rural town, easily takes billing for good gossip. Only thing that could outrank it is a cheating scandal. Willa Hayes, town darling and beauty queen being that unwed woman? Might as well mark that parcel with express delivery.

“Fine. Put your shoes back on. We’ll go to Tifton.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. Besides, I don’t have time.”

“Not if you keep arguing with me like this!”

“I have Sunday dinner in two hours. And I am not going to explain to Auggie and Miss Belle that I’m late because I had to go to Tifton with you to buy a pee stick!”

I glance at my watch again, this time actually registering the time. It’s later than I thought. Which means we both have to be someplace for dinner soon. Willa with her whole family—Miss Belle, Auggie, and her six older brothers, Gus, Milo, Huxley, Jace, Anton, and Ewan, all of whom she runs Hayes Industries with—and then me with mine. Could we make it to Tifton and back in time? Probably. But if there’s traffic or an accident, we’d be screwed.

No one will think twice if I’m late. If she is, well, that’s not something I want to have to answer to.

“We’ll go tomorrow then. First thing.”

“There is no we.” Her words are short, clipped, spaced out so each one hangs in the air like a balloon.

“You’re not doing this alone, Willa. We’re in this together. You and me against the world, just like when we were younger.”

Willa eyes soften, her whole body easing for a second. But only a second. It’s as if the memory of what we used to be flashed before her eyes and then disappeared just as quickly.

“That’s not who we are anymore. There is no we. Don’t fight me on this.”

My heart squeezes at her words, fighting the anger and possessiveness still flowing through me. I can’t let her shut me out. I won’t let her.

“I’m not afraid of a fight. Especially one with you.”

Willa doesn’t move, and neither do I. Both of us stand like statues, the silence surrounding us thickening with each tick of the clock. It’s as if both of us are afraid to move—scared to make the first move, knowing that whatever it is, it’ll be explosive.

Because that’s what Willa and I are together—explosive.

I shift my weight, preparing to stay here all night, waiting on Willa’s resolve to break. She shows no signs of wavering though, and the fear that I might lose completely starts to creep in. I have to do something.

Three large steps and I’m standing in front of her. Her anger is still so absolute that it would take an ax to cut through it.

“You’re scared; I get it. This freaks me out too.”

Willa grits her teeth, hissing at me. “I’m not scared.”