Waiting for Willa (Big Sky, #3)(12)

Noah nods, then tosses his shovel in the back of his truck after he finishes the last pass down my walkway.

“I’ll be right there,” Max says to him, then turns to me. “Here is the key fob. You can toss it into your purse and forget about it. You don’t need it out to drive the car.”

“That’s a Range Rover,” I inform him with a frown.

“Would you prefer the Mercedes?” he asks. “I can switch them out today if so.”

“No. No, that’s not it at all.” Good God, I’d be even more nervous to drive that car. “This is a Range Rover SUV, Max.”

He glances at the vehicle, then back at me with a frown. “Yeah?”

“Never mind,” I reply, shaking my head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Thank you for loaning it to me.”

I’m not about to admit to him that driving a car that cost him six figures intimidates the hell out of me. I silently hope and pray that my SUV will be ready quickly.

“Anytime,” he says with that charming smile. “Keep it as long as you need it. Do you want me to go over anything with you?”

“I’ve been driving for a long time,” I remind him, making him laugh.

“Yeah, but every vehicle is different. I can show you some things.”

“I’ll be fine,” I insist and see Noah glance at us from inside his truck. “Besides, it looks like Noah needs to get a move on.”

“Just call if you need anything,” Max says before leaning in to kiss my cheek, setting my body on fire.

Holy Moses, that hasn’t happened in a long time.

“Wait!” Alex yells as he runs outside, two different boots on his feet, and no coat on. “I didn’t get to say hi yet.”

“Well, good morning to you,” Max says and ruffles Alex’s hair. “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, yeah,” he says with a nod. “I could help shovel.”

I smile at my sweet son. He’s always been so ready to jump in and help. He’s kind and gracious.

“Noah and I had it covered this time,” Max replies with a nod. “But I’ll take you up on that next time.”

“Cool,” Alex says with a smile. “I even have my own shovel.”

“It’s cold out here,” I remind my son, but lean in and kiss his head, breathing in his clean scent. “And we have to get going soon. Did you finish your breakfast?”

“Yeah,” he says with a nod. “I’m ready to go.”

“We need to fix your boot situation, and you need a coat,” I inform him with a laugh. “Thanks again, Max. I’ll let you know when I hear from the garage.”

“No problem. See you later, Alex.”

“Bye!” Alex waves and hurries back inside, slamming the door behind him.

“See you, Wills,” Max says with a wink.

“Bye, Max.” I wave and follow my son into the house to find that while he did finish his breakfast, he also dumped his backpack on the floor. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just reorganizing things really quick.”

“Alex, we don’t have time for this. Get everything back into your bag and find your matching boot.”

“Which one?”

“Either one.” I take a deep breath and remind myself that I’ll look back on these moments one day and miss them.

Why are mornings always such a battle?

“You have four minutes,” I inform Alex as I tidy up the last of the breakfast mess, pull on my own boots, and fill my favorite travel mug with fresh coffee.

It says Girl Boss on the side and was a gift from Jenna, who has a thing for fun mugs.

“Can I have a drink on the way?” Alex asks, watching me put the lid on my mug.

“Sure,” I reply. “If you can get yourself together in two minutes.”

“I can!” He rushes off, and I pull a disposable cup out of the pantry, brew a cup of hot chocolate in the Keurig, and add some marshmallows to the top before securing the lid. I set it aside to let it cool.

“I do believe we’re on time for once,” I inform Alex with a smile as we walk out into the snow. I lock the door behind us, and we climb into Max’s fancy car.

“Wow, this is super rad,” Alex says with a grin. “Max has cool cars.”

“Yes, he does,” I mutter as I search for the ignition. Max mentioned it’s a push-button start, and I find the ignition switch by the steering wheel.

The car roars to life, and I smile back at my kiddo. “It has vroom.”

Alex is playing with his eyetooth.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s loose,” he says.

Good. That one has been stubborn. “Don’t mess with it too much. I don’t want it to fall out and have you bleed all over Max’s car.”

Alex giggles, and I reach over to adjust the mirrors, but the side ones are folded in.

“Hmm, how do I get the mirrors out?” I frown, but can’t find the button. It’s not in the place it should be. So, I abandon the mirrors and plan to just use the rear-view and be extra cautious.

But then I go to put the car in gear, and there is no gear shift.

None.