Waiting for Willa Read online

  Table of Contents

  Waiting for Willa

  About Kristen Proby

  Other Books by Kristen Proby

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  Soaring with Fallon

  About Kristen Proby

  Other Books by Kristen Proby

  WAITING FOR WILLA

  A Big Sky Novel

  Kristen Proby

  Copyright © 2019 by Kristen Proby

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect are appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover Art:Photography by: Sara Eirew Photographer

  Cover and Formatting Design: Uplifting Designs

  ISBN: 978-1-63350-040-2

  For Kirby

  About Kristen Proby

  Kristen was born and raised in a small resort town in her beloved Montana. In her mid-twenties, she decided to stretch her wings and move to the Pacific Northwest, where she made her home for more than a dozen years.

  During that time, Kristen wrote many romance novels and joined organizations such as RWA and other small writing groups. She spent countless hours in workshops, and more mornings than she can count up before the dawn so she could write before going to work. She submitted many manuscripts to agents and editors alike, but was always told no. In the summer of 2012, the self-publishing scene was new and thriving, and Kristen had one goal: to publish just one book. It was something she longed to cross off of her bucket list.

  Not only did she publish one book, she’s since published more than thirty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series, and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion and Romancing Manhattan Series.

  Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana with their adorable pug and two cats.

  Website

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Goodreads

  Other Books by Kristen Proby

  The Big Sky Series

  Charming Hannah

  Kissing Jenna

  Waiting for Willa

  The Fusion Series

  Listen To Me

  Close To You

  Blush For Me

  The Beauty of Us

  Savor You

  The Boudreaux Series

  Easy Love

  Easy Charm

  Easy Melody

  Easy Kisses

  Easy Magic

  Easy Fortune

  Easy Nights

  The With Me In Seattle Series

  Come Away With Me

  Under the Mistletoe With Me

  Fight With Me

  Play With Me

  Rock With Me

  Safe With Me

  Tied With Me

  Breathe With Me

  Forever With Me

  Stay With Me

  Indulge With Me

  Love With Me

  The Love Under the Big Sky Series

  Loving Cara

  Seducing Lauren

  Falling For Jillian

  Saving Grace

  From 1001 Dark Nights

  Easy With You

  Easy For Keeps

  No Reservations

  Wonder With Me - Coming Soon

  The Romancing Manhattan Series

  All the Way

  All it Takes

  Prologue

  Eight Years Ago…

  ~Willa~

  IT DIDN’T KILL ME.

  The worst possible thing that can happen to a person has happened to me, and I’m only twenty-two years old.

  I don’t feel the bitter Montana cold. I don’t hear the words the minister whose name I only learned yesterday is saying. I’m numb, staring straight ahead at the rich mahogany that I insisted on.

  If he’s going to be in there for the rest of eternity, I want it to be nice, even if I can’t afford it.

  I’ll figure it out.

  My mom asked me last night why we didn’t have life insurance, and I just laughed. For Christ’s sake, Debbie, what twenty-two-year-olds do you know with life insurance?

  I feel my lips tip up now at the thought, still staring at the gleaming wood in the sunlight, and hear, “Amen.”

  There’s shuffling around me. I’m hugged, patted, and people make sympathetic noises.

  I don’t care.

  “Willa.”

  I’ve been talked around for the past four days. I scowl as I walk to the casket and lay my hand on the cold wood. How is it possible that just four days ago he was here? Warm and whole, his strong arms wrapped around me, and now he’s just…gone.

  I’m a widow at twenty-two.

  “Willa.”

  It’s louder this time, which means I’m required to answer. I glance around, surprised to find that aside from Max Hull, I’m alone. Cars pull away, and the cemetery workers huddle about thirty yards away, trying to stay warm.

  “Hey,” Max says as he moves closer to me, but I shake my head, warning him to stay back. Max knows me well, maybe better than anyone besides Cary, but Cary’s gone now, so Max knows me the best, and he understands that I can’t be touched. He holds his hands up in surrender. “Willa, I just wanted to say—”

  “I don’t care,” I interrupt him and turn my eyes back to Cary’s casket. The flowers on top are red roses. The baby in my belly kicks and I rub my hand over the spot, reminded that I have to pull it together for this little one.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, but I shake my head.

  “Go away, Max.”

  “Willa.”

  I sigh and turn to look at him. God, he’s handsome. He’s the most handsome boy I’ve ever known.

  And he left me without looking back. Left Cary, his best friend in the world.

  “You’ve never been good at listening to me, Max, so I’m going to make this crystal-clear. I don’t give a shit that you’re sorry. You took him skiing, and you let him fall in that tree well. If you hadn’t come to town five years after leaving it, my husband would be alive right now. So, no, I don’t want to hear it. Go away.” I push my finger into his chest, driving my point home. “I don’t want anything to do with you.”

  He clenches his jaw, and his nostrils flare, but he doesn’t argue. He just nods once, turns on his heel, and walks away, and I’m finally alone with my husband.

  “I’m so damn mad,” I whisper, shaking my head and looking back at the expensive wood, the flowers, and the photo of my man sitting in front. “I’m pissed at you, Cary Monroe. You told me you’d never leave.”

  For the first time since the phone call I never thought I’d receive, I feel tears threaten, and I give i
n to them.

  “Everyone leaves,” I mutter as the first drop splashes down my cheek. “First Grandpa, then Max.” I swipe at my wet face. “Then Daddy. But you were always there, holding my hand. Smiling. ‘It’s gonna be okay, Wills,’ you said. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’”

  I sniff and shake my head.

  “You fucking lied to me, Cary. And I’m so mad at you. I would open this expensive-as-hell casket and slap your face if I could.”

  I eye it, considering it.

  “You know what I hate the most? That when Max picked you up that morning, I was irritated with you then, too. Because I wanted you to stay home and put the crib together, and you said you’d do it that afternoon. You’d have Max help.”

  A sob escapes.

  “But now, you won’t do that. And our son won’t ever know you.” I rub my belly again, comforted by the movement of the tiny child in my womb. “He won’t know how funny you were, or how good it feels when you hold him.”

  I swallow hard and take a deep breath, trying to get myself under control.

  “Actually, that’s not true. He’ll know you because I’ll tell him about you. But it won’t be the same.” I lay my hand on the casket again. “It won’t be the same at all. How am I supposed to do this without you?”

  Chapter One

  ~Willa~

  “MOM!” ALEXANDER CARY MONROE, the love and light of my life, squirms in excitement as I try to get his shirt buttoned up. Winter means it’s time for flannel, and flannel has buttons, and my eight-year-old doesn’t stand still for long. “Mom. Mom. Mom.”

  “I’m changing my name,” I inform him and wrestle him around so his back is pressed to my front. I quickly fasten the last three buttons. “My name is now officially, Penelope.”

  “Whatever, Mom,” he says with a giggle. “I need to have a serious conversation with you.”

  “Then stop trying to get away from me. We have to leave in three minutes, and you don’t have socks or shoes on.”

  My cell phone rings, and I blow out a breath of defeat.

  “It’s Nana!” he exclaims, accepting the call. “Hi, Nana. Yeah, I’m ready for school.”

  “Little liar,” I mumble as I sweep spilled cereal into my hand and throw it in the trash, then quickly wipe down the countertop and grab my purse. “Socks and shoes, Alex.”

  “I know, I’m excited for the weekend, too. I get to go to Miss Hannah’s wedding as Mom’s date. Yep. I got a new suit and everything. Uh-huh. Okay, here’s Mom. Love you, too.”

  “Socks and shoes, Alexander,” I instruct him, taking the phone. “Hi, Jean.”

  “Hello, darling. I know it’s always hectic in the morning, but I wanted to chat with Alex before the weekend got underway.”

  “You never have to apologize for calling,” I reply with a smile. Cary’s parents, Jean and Dan, have been so good to me over the past decade. They invited me into their family with open arms when I married their son, and they’ve been an important part of both Alex’s and my life since Cary passed. We couldn’t love them more. “Is everything okay?”

  “Oh, yes, we’re fit as fiddles.”

  “How is Arizona?”

  “Not as cold as Montana,” Jean says with a laugh, and I mouth “let’s go” to Alex. “Anyway, I love you guys. I was just checking in.”

  “We love you too, Nana,” I reply and toss my purse in the backseat next to Alex. “I’ll be sure to call Sunday evening.”

  “Bye, Willa.”

  “Bye.” I hang up and hurry into the car, make sure Alex is buckled up, and pull away from the house. I still live in the home that Cary and I bought when we found out that I was pregnant with Alex. I love it, but it’s a good fifteen minutes from town, and I usually take my son to school rather than put him on the bus. It’s extra time to chat with him in the mornings.

  He’s clearly a morning person.

  “Mom! My birthday is only two weeks away.”

  “I know. I was there.”

  “I have a list of things I want, but there’s really only one thing I need.”

  I cock an eyebrow and look at him in the rear-view. His brown hair, which I combed only twenty minutes ago, is already sticking up on the side. His dimples are deep as he smiles, and his brown eyes are full of joy.

  “What do you need?”

  “A puppy.”

  I smirk and pull onto the highway toward town.

  “Just hear me out, Mom,” he says. “I’m very responsible.”

  “Says the kid who I have to wrestle into clothes five minutes before we leave the house.”

  “I like my pajamas,” he says with a shrug. “But other than that, I’m responsible. I do my chores, and I clean my bedroom when you tell me to.”

  “You do those things,” I agree.

  “So, I’d be the perfect person to have a dog,” he says, his voice pleading. “I’ll make sure he goes outside, and you won’t have to clean up after him or feed him or anything.”

  Right. And if I believe that, I’m sure there’s some ocean-front property in Idaho I can invest in.

  “A dog is a huge commitment,” I remind him for the third time this week. Not because I’m trying to talk him out of it. No, I’ve already got the puppy picked out, and we will take a special trip on his birthday to pick it up. “If we get one, it will be part of our family for a very long time, Alex. You can’t just decide that you’ve lost interest and move on to something else.”

  “I would never do that, Mom,” he says, his voice serious. “A dog is a person that loves you no matter what. And we could train him to go with us to the shop.”

  “I don’t want dog hair on the merchandise,” I inform him, not willing to budge on this.

  “I can do this. I can be a good dog owner. And, my birthday is the perfect time.”

  “We’ll see. I haven’t decided what you’re getting for your birthday. I almost forgot it was coming.”

  I glance back to see him roll his eyes. “Whatever. You never forget anything.”

  I laugh as I turn into the drop-off line at school. “I love you, Bubba. Have a good day.”

  “Can I walk to the shop after school with Pierce?”

  Pierce is Alex’s new best friend, and he walks home from school.

  “Yes, but you come straight to the shop, you hear me?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Bye, Mom!”

  He slams the car door shut, and I watch him hurry to the teacher standing by the entrance, then gasp when I see that he’s wearing one white and one yellow sock.

  “At least he’s wearing socks,” I mutter as I wave and pull away. “Mother of the year, right here.”

  The school is only about four blocks from downtown Cunningham Falls so he won’t have far to walk. I love my town. I was born and raised here, and I always wanted to stay. A glamorous life in some city somewhere was never my dream.

  That was Max Hull’s dream, and that’s why it never worked out between us.

  I wanted to be here, in our sleepy town, with a husband and babies. I wanted a business. I wanted to be part of the PTA, the booster club, and I wanted to spearhead charity drives for the food bank.

  And I have and do all of those things, minus the husband.

  I pull into my parking space behind my store off the alley then gather my purse, coffee mug, and laptop, and make my way inside, disabling the alarm with just my pinky.

  I’m a mom. Performing tasks with my hands full is my superpower.

  I have two hours before I open, so I head up to my office and get busy taking inventory of the merchandise that was delivered yesterday, putting it on hangers and racks, ready for steaming.

  I’ll have Krista, my part-time help, steam the new clothes when she gets here this afternoon.

  Before I know it, my phone pings, alerting me that I’m only five minutes from opening time. So, I grab my mug of now-cold coffee and head downstairs. Once the door is unlocked, and the Open sign is lit, I pop a pod into the Keurig at the coffee station behin
d the lingerie and brew a fresh cup.

  Much to my surprise, Cary did have a life insurance policy. Apparently, he took it out after we found out that I was pregnant, and I’ve been diligent about where I’ve allocated the money. I socked some away for Alex’s college, made a lot of repairs and upgrades to our house, and I took a year off of work when my little Alex came so I could get my feet under me.

  Finally, about six months ago, I opened my own dress shop after working for someone else for way too long. Dress It Up is the other half of my heart. I carry smart, sexy, and beautiful clothes. Trendy pieces. Shoes that satisfy even the most discerning customer. And, yes, I serve coffee, wine in the evening, and when I’m feeling extra sassy, champagne.

  “Willa,” my best friend, Jenna, calls from the front of the shop. “Where are you?”

  “Getting coffee,” I call out. “Want one?”

  “No, thanks.”

  I weave my way through the racks and meet Jenna at the checkout counter in the middle of the store. “Hey. You look…frazzled.”

  “Crazy morning,” I reply and take a sip of coffee. “Alex was trying my patience.”

  “I think it’s his official job to do that,” she says with a smile. Jenna Hull is one of the sweetest people I know, and I’ve known her most of my life. Despite the history I have with her older brother, we have never let that get in the way of our love for each other.

  She’s also maybe the most gorgeous woman in the world, with classic Grace Kelly beauty. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Killer figure.

  If I didn’t love her so much, I’d hate her.

  And when she takes a drink from her to-go cup from Drips & Sips, her engagement ring sparkles.

  “How’s Christian?” I ask, still stunned that my best friend is engaged to the hottest actor on the planet.