Page 30 of Jay Bird

The word caught Willow off guard, but she didn’t answer.

Lily rubbed one eye with her fist as Willow unbuckled her and lifted her from the car seat.

“Ellie.”

“I’ve got Ellie.”

Willow hooked the stuffed elephant under one arm before settling Lily against her hip.

Her daughter immediately slumped against her shoulder, already half-asleep. A moment later, she stirred just enough to lift her head and glance toward Jay Bird, who was still in the back of the SUV gathering grocery bags.

“Jay home?”

Willow smiled. “Yes. This is Jay’s house.”

Lily considered that through barely open eyes. “Jay, big house.”

A deep voice came from behind the SUV. “See? She appreciates it.”

Willow laughed. “She also ate yogurt with her fingers this morning. I wouldn’t put too much weight behind her opinions.”

Jay Bird appeared carrying several grocery bags in each hand. “Still counts.”

He led them to the front door and unlocked it, then stepped back instead of entering first.

Willow hesitated, but Jay Bird nodded toward the doorway.

“Go ahead.”

She stepped inside.

Behind her, Jay Bird said quietly, “Welcome home.”

She looked back at him, but he had already turned his attention to the security panel beside the door, as if nothing he had just said carried any weight at all. Willow stood there for a moment, feeling those two simple words settle painfully in her chest, unsure whether he truly hadn’t noticed, or if he had and was quietly giving her the space to not have to respond to them.

With Jay Bird, she was beginning to suspect either was possible.

He punched several numbers into the keypad.

“I’ll give you the code. You can arm or disarm it whenever you need.”

Willow nodded, a small sense of relief settling in as she did. She liked that. Having the code meant control, and control meant she could breathe a little easier.

She stepped farther into the house, and the inside matched the outside almost perfectly. It was beautiful and spacious, yet completely devoid of personality.

The entry opened directly into an enormous living area with high ceilings and an open floor plan stretching toward the kitchen. A massive leather sectional faced an equally massive television mounted on the wall. That was essentially the entire living room.

Jay Bird walked past carrying groceries, and Willow followed him toward the kitchen.

“Did you just move in recently?” she asked.

“Nope. I bought the place four years ago.”

Willow’s eyes widened. “Four years?”

“Yep.”

“You’ve lived here four years, and that’s all the furniture you own?”