Chapter Nine - Ward

A few days after the festival, Ward paced the creaky wood floor of his cottage, phone to his ear.

If Will didn’t pick up, he wasn’t sure what he would do. 

He felt like his heart was catching on fire, and his bones were trying to erupt out of his body. 

“Will Sullivan,” his son’s familiar voice called out on the other end. 

“Son,” Ward said, feeling intense relief. 

“Hey Dad,” Will said, his voice sounding less hearty, and more like himself. “What’s up?”

“I think I need some advice,” Ward told him gruffly. 

“Wow,” Will said. 

“What?” Ward asked him, feeling cagey. 

“It’s just that my whole life, whenever I need advice, I call you,” Will told him. “It feels kind of good to be on the other end of the call.”

Pride in his son, and gratitude for their relationship, took the edge of Ward’s despair almost instantly. 

“I don’t know what you’ll make of this,” he said carefully. “But there’s a woman in town, a really nice lady.”

“Whoo boy,” Will said appreciatively. “It’s about time.”

Thank God, Ward thought to himself. Thank God for giving me a son who feels no jealousy, and only wants me to be happy.

“I’ve had my eye on her a while,” he said. 

“How long is a while?” Will asked, sounding fascinated. 

“Never you mind,” Ward told him. “Anyway, I got to talking to her at a dinner party the other night. Then we went for a walk in town.”

“Nice, Dad,” Will said. 

“And then we went to the Winter Wonderland Festival,” he said. 

“Oh, I used to love that,” Will crowed. “Do they still have the book sale, and the hamburgers?”

“Sure do,” Ward said. 

“So, did you guys have a good time?” Will asked. 

“We had an amazing time,” Ward told him, thinking back to Trudy’s smiles and laughter, and especially the fire in her green eyes when she opened the book to see his name in it. 

“So what’s wrong?” Will asked. 

“She was married before,” Ward said. “To a good man.”

“You were married before, too,” Will reminded him.

“It’s not the same,” Ward said wearily. “She and her husband were madly in love, and he died.”

“Oh, wow,” Will said. “So it’s complicated.”

“It is,” Ward said. “I like her so much. And I think she likes me, too. But she doesn’t want to like me.”

“Hmm,” Will said, allowing his father’s words to hang in the air. 

“Anyway, after the festival, when I brought her back to the inn, she seemed like she wanted me to kiss her,” he said. “But I didn’t.”

“Wait, she doesn’t live in Trinity Falls?” Will asked. 

“Of course she does,” Ward said. 

“You just said you dropped her off at the inn, and—wait, wait, wait, wait,” Will said. “Is it Trudy Williams?”

“Yes,” Ward said, bracing himself. 

Trudy was a good woman, and everyone knew it. But that didn’t mean Will would think they were a good match.

“Oh, I had such a crush on her when I was a kid,” Will said, a smile in his voice. “She’s so pretty, and she’s always smiling. Does she still wear her hair long?”

“Yes,” Ward chuckled. “And when did you get to have a crush on her?”

“We took an annual trip to the founders’ houses in elementary school,” Will told him. “The inn was always on the list, and Mrs. Williams made cookies for us, and told us stories. The cookies probably had a lot to do with it.”

“That sounds like Trudy,” Ward said fondly. 

​“So wait,” Will said. “You took Trudy Williams to the festival, drove her home, and it looked like she wanted a kiss, but you didn’t kiss her?”

“Yes,” Ward said, feeling miserable. “I knew she wanted me to in the moment, but I was afraid she would regret it after, and I’d lose her friendship. So I just hightailed it out of there, like a thief in the night. But when I looked in the rearview mirror, I saw she was still just standing in front of her own front door, looking like a puppy that lost its chew toy.”

“Wow,” Will said. 

“Did I mess it up so bad that it can’t be fixed?” Ward asked him.
 
“Dad, you and I are no good at this stuff,” Will said after a moment. “And it’s because we know each other so well that we don’t have to say much to know what the other is thinking.”

“Mm,” Ward hummed appreciatively. 

“But we can’t assume it’s the same with women,” Will said. “And I’m not just talking about you. I may have messed things up with Brittany, but that’s a talk for another day.”

“What?” Ward asked. 

Brittany was Will’s fiancée, and they were on their dream trip to Paris. Will worrying about her was far more important than Ward pining away for Trudy Williams, which, apparently ran in the family.

“I don’t want to talk about that right now, Dad,” Will said. “I want to talk about you. This is important. I’m going to tell you exactly what you need to do.”

Ward listened intently, feeling all the more determined to make things right with Trudy. After all, Will was onboard now.
​ 
And Ward would never, ever disappoint his boy.

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