LITMIR.BIZ

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guardian of Willow’s children.

      But they weren’t friends, not anymore. And Savvy had never felt the pain of that loss more than now.

      What was she supposed to do with a teenager and six-year-old twins? She’d always adored Willow’s kids, when they visited sporadically to take advantage of her proximity to the beach. But raising them? Savvy knew nothing about bringing up children, and she sure couldn’t pull from her own childhood to know what to do. Her own mom had abandoned ship as soon as Savvy was born. What if Savvy inherited her motherly instincts?

      Checking the mirror as she started up Willow’s driveway, she saw that Brodie hadn’t given up on his pursuit. Not that she had expected him to. Brodie Evans never backed down from a challenge.

      As if knowing Savvy was near, Mandy walked around the side of Willow’s ancient trailer. She had her brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail and wore a black sleeveless sweater, jeans and boots. Savvy thought of the clothes she’d brought from Florida. Not one sweater in the lot. She was as prepared for north Alabama weather as she was to take care of Dylan, Rose and Daisy.

      Or as she was to take on the all-encompassing male bearing down on her truck.

      “God, help me,” she muttered, parking next to Willow’s old baby-blue minivan and, frankly, feeling a bit surprised that she’d asked Him for help. She hadn’t had anything to do with God since she’d left this town; why would He help her now?

      He’d certainly never done anything to support her before.

      Mandy neared the truck and gave Savvy a soft smile as she climbed out. Savvy hadn’t been overly close to Mandy when they were in school, but she was the kind of girl everyone knew and liked. And Mandy hadn’t dated anyone in high school, so Savvy had never gone after her boyfriend and attempted to break up their relationship.

      The way she had for most every other girl at Claremont High.

      She’d earned her reputation, that was for sure. And from the looks she received at the square today, the town hadn’t forgotten. But thankfully, Mandy didn’t let that stop her from offering friendship. Then again, her husband was the youth minister at the church, so maybe offering friendship to the wild child was a requirement.

      In any case, Mandy and Willow had apparently become close, and Savvy was glad for that. Willow, like Savvy, didn’t have many friends.

      “Rose and Daisy are playing on the swing set with Kaden out back. I heard your truck,” Mandy said, explaining why she’d walked to the front of the trailer and left the kids. Her son, Kaden, had been with her last night, too. He was eight, only two years older than the twins, but Rose and Daisy obviously looked up to the boy. Kaden had brought several books and read them stories before bed. It would have been nice if Dylan had wanted to read to his sisters, but he’d been in his room and had only come out to eat and shower.

      “I appreciate you watching them until I could get here.”

      The slamming of another door and then heavy footsteps behind her indicated Brodie had also exited his truck and now stood close enough that Savvy could feel solid, masculine warmth against her side.

      “Brodie,” Mandy said, directing her voice to that very spot and affirming Savvy’s suspicion that he stood near, close enough to sense, and close enough to touch.

      Savvy stuffed her hands in her pockets to keep from even accidentally touching the man who’d shattered her friend’s heart.

      “I tried to reach you last week to tell you about Willow,” Mandy continued. “I called your office at the college, but I didn’t get an answer, and I didn’t feel it was the kind of message I should leave on your machine.”

      * * *

      Brodie had undoubtedly been at the hospital in Knoxville when Mandy had called. “I appreciate you trying,” he said, still shocked by the news of Willow’s death.

      “I remember how close the three of you were,” Mandy remarked. “Y’all were practically inseparable when we were all in school.”

      Savvy coughed, and Brodie suspected it was fake, a way to get Mandy to stop talking so she could change the subject. They might have been apart for a decade and a half, but he still remembered Savvy’s tactics. “You mentioned the girls are out back,” she said, proving him right. “Where’s Dylan? Is he inside?”

      Mandy shook her head. “He’s gone for a walk.”

      “By himself?”

      Mandy smiled. “He’s thirteen,” she said simply.

      “Right. Of course he can take a walk by himself. I’m going to have to remember that he’s a teenager now.”

      Brodie thought about what she had ahead of her, raising a teenage boy. Adolescence. Hormones. Anger. Girls. She wouldn’t like dealing with that last one, but even though it’d been twenty years, Brodie remembered what it felt like to be thirteen.

      “Dylan had been having a difficult time before his mom died,” Mandy explained. “Willow asked if Daniel could help him, since he’s the youth minister at the church.”

      “Help him how?” Savvy asked.

      “Tutoring him in school, primarily,” Mandy said. “And also being there as a male figure in his life. He hasn’t had anyone but Willow, since she didn’t have a relationship with her parents anymore. No dad, no granddad in the picture. Kind of tough for a teenage boy.”

      Brodie cleared his throat. “She asked about me tutoring him, too,” he said, pulling Willow’s letter from his pocket. This time, he noticed Savvy staring at his address in Willow’s swirling handwriting. “That’s why I wanted to find her today, to let her know I wanted to help her son.”

      “You said you wanted to apologize,” Savvy reminded him.

      “I wanted to do that, too,” he said, flexing his jaw.

      Most people, particularly his athletes, were intimidated by his size, or his deep voice, or maybe even the way he looked at them.

      But Savvy clearly wasn’t intimidated. She was irritated. And Brodie suspected he knew why. She didn’t like having him here, standing beside her, reminding her of the relationship that they’d once had and the way it had ended.

      Because of him.

      But Brodie had made a promise to God and to himself that he’d help Willow’s son, and he wasn’t going to break that promise. “I’m guessing Daniel is your husband,” he said, refusing to look at Savvy and focusing totally on Mandy. “Is he going to tutor Dylan?”

      “He told Willow he could help out, but he wasn’t available as often as she wanted because of his obligations at the church,” Mandy explained. “She wanted someone daily, or at least every other day. Willow had been trying to help Dylan and the girls herself, but she’d recently realized that they still weren’t progressing quickly enough and that she needed help.”

      Brodie remembered Willow struggling in school. It hadn’t come easy for her. Apparently, it didn’t come easy for her children, either.

      “Do you know of anyone who tutors daily around here?” Savvy asked her friend.

      Mandy shook her head. “No.” Then she looked to Brodie. “You said she contacted you about helping Dylan?”

      “She wrote to me. I tried to call her and let her know I could tutor him, but I couldn’t reach her. So I decided to come find her and let her know that I wanted to help.” This time, before Savvy could prompt him, he added, “And I needed to apologize for treating her badly the last time I saw her.”

      He didn’t miss the slight grunt from Savvy at his answer.

      “Do you want me to ask around and see if I can find any tutors that could work with Dylan daily?” Mandy asked, looking at Savvy, but then adding to Brodie, “Or did you still want to work with him?”

      “Yes,

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