Authors: Alexis Lauren
The girls got out of the hot tub and dried off and met the guys in the kitchen. Willow told Brody that she had called some movers in New York and they were going to pack their stuff up on Monday and drive it down here. She had also called an auction house to set up an estate sale for her mother's stuff, but that they had to go over and get everything they wanted out of her house before the auctioneers got there. They were going to meet a realtor the next day to put the house on the market.
Micah spoke up then and asked how much Willow was going to sell the house for. "I really hadn't thought about it. I was going to wait to see what the realtor thought it was worth since I don't know what the property value is around here. I know what Mom paid for it, but she also made some improvements, so we need to factor those in. Why?" Willow asked.
"Well, I was just thinking that Sierra and I might like to buy it." Micah said, looking at Sierra to see what she thought.
"Wow, that's a great idea Micah. I hadn't even thought of it. We'll be able to get a really good price on it since I own half of it anyways, right Willow?" Sierra asked.
"Yeah, that's true. It would be a perfect house for you two. Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Micah nodded. "Well, how about you give me half of what my mom paid for it to buy me out?" Willow suggested.
"You've got a deal Willow." Micah said, then turned to Sierra and said, "And we've got our own house!" Sierra threw her arms around Micah and kissed him hard.
Everyone started laughing when Sierra started to babble on and on about what she wanted to do to the house. Sierra was finally starting to become happy again.
Later that day, the four of them went over to Lauren's house to start cleaning it out. They brought Stella and Maggie to help also. Stella and Maggie started in the kitchen, Brody and Micah went to the garage, and Willow and Sierra went to Lauren's bedroom.
Willow and Sierra went through Lauren's clothes making four piles. One for Sierra, one for Willow, one for Goodwill, and one for garbage. All of Lauren's undergarments went immediately into the garbage pile. Some of her business suits and formal wear went into Willow's pile, while Sierra's pile remained empty.
"None of this stuff fits me. Your mom was too little!" Sierra whined. She ended up finding some purses in the closet that she was crazy about and put those in her pile. Everything else went to Goodwill. Brody and Micah brought up boxes and filled them according to what pile they were in and labeled them. They carried them downstairs and put them in the garage.
Willow started cleaning out the nightstand beside her mom's bed and screamed. Sierra ran over to her to see what happened, and Micah and Brody ran back up the stairs. Everyone looked at Willow and asked if she was ok. She reached into the drawer and pulled out a box of condoms. She held them up at the corner by two fingers, and held them as far from her body as she could. She had a look of disgust on her face that caused Micah, Brody and Sierra to burst out laughing.
"I can't believe my mom was having sex and using condoms!" Willow shouted. She threw the condoms into a garbage bag and watched as everyone laughed at her. "Come on guys, you know that was gross. What if they were your mothers'?" Willow asked. Brody immediately stopped laughing and turned a little green. That caused Willow to start laughing which made Brody laugh again. Finally everyone regained their composure and went back to work. Willow opened the next drawer and swore.
"What the fuck are you doing to me mother?" She said as she looked to the ceiling. "Someone get me some gloves or something." Willow said. Brody went over to her to see what was wrong now. He looked into the drawer and found a vibrator, a Playgirl, and motion lotion. As hard as he tried to keep a straight face, he just couldn't do it. He fell over laughing again as the others came over to see what it was.
"Man, she's been dead for almost a week and she's still keeping us in stitches." Micah said. "I always knew your mom was a little freaky Willow." Micah teased. Willow smacked his arm.
"Ok, anyone got gloves? I'm not touching that thing." Willow said.
"Hey, do you think we can get something like that?" Brody asked Willow. "You wear me out sometimes." He joked. Willow's face got red and she punched his arm. "Ok, ok. Keep abusing me then!"
Micah got an empty garbage bag and put it over his hand. He picked up the vibrator, the magazine, and motion lotion and threw them into another garbage bag.
"Ok, I'm done going through these drawers. I don't think I can handle finding anything else." Willow said and walked into the bathroom.
At the end of the night, all they had left was the study and the living room to go through. They also had to decide who got what furniture, and what was going to be sold. They decided to wait and go through the rest in the morning after a good night's sleep.
The next day, Brody, Micah, Willow, and Sierra went back to Lauren's and finished cleaning. The divided up the furniture and set aside the stuff they were going to sell. Micah packed his truck with stuff to bring to Goodwill and Brody packed a trailer with stuff to bring back to his house for him and Willow. Little by little, Willow was beginning to feel at peace with her mother's death.
Chapter 15 Always in my Heart
Monday morning, everyone returned to work. No one was surprised when Willow announced that she and Sierra would be running the company, and that Brody was now a part owner. There were a few older architects that seemed resentful that people so young were now running the company. Willow sensed this and told everyone that if they were uncomfortable with the new management, then they were free to leave and would get their positive recommendations for new jobs. No one took Willow up on her offer.
The rest of the day was spent with Willow, Sierra, and Brody redesigning the offices to give both Willow and Sierra new office space. Willow would need a big office because Brody would be sharing her office with her when he wasn't working in the Think Tank.
They also divided up duties, giving Sierra most of the publicity type of work, since that was what she was most interested in. It would give Sierra the opportunity to go out and meet people, make new contacts, and travel. She felt that she would thrive in this atmosphere, and still do some interior design when time allowed.
Willow would spend most of the time managing the employees and keeping the clients happy. She still wanted to design, but they all agreed that she would only do big projects and special requests.
Brody would spend most of his time designing, but will help out in any other area needed. Since his popularity was growing, he would be taking most of the larger residential projects and leave the smaller ones to his associates.
Willow felt like they had accomplished a lot that day and was happy with the way things were turning out. She beamed with pride when the electricians installed the new sign in front of the offices that read "Fox Harris & Lockheart Designs". Everything was finally falling into place.
*****
Later that week, Micah and Sierra began moving their things to their new house. Willow and Sierra's belongings had finally arrived from New York. Willow kept the stuff that was in her bedroom, but the community property that her and Sierra had shared while living together mostly went to Sierra. Brody had everything that they needed, and since Sierra and Micah were just starting out at their house, Willow figured that Sierra needed that stuff more than her and Brody did.
As Willow went through boxes, she started to become depressed. It really hit her hard that she was never going to live in New York again. Looking at everything from New York, Willow started to doubt her decision to stay in Texas.
Brody sensed Willow's apprehension and decided to take her on a date in the city. They started out early Saturday afternoon to head to the city for a nice lunch at a fancy restaurant. After that, they went shopping at a huge mall. After the mall, they ended up playing games in an arcade, which led to dinner. After dinner, Brody took Willow to a baseball stadium. Willow looked at Brody with confusion in her eyes and Brody handed her a pair of tickets.
Willow looked at the tickets and her eyes got wide. "I know we aren't in New York, but I want to bring New York to you. I know I have to do it little by little, but you need to understand that just because you aren't in New York anymore, it doesn't mean that you have to leave everything behind." Brody said. "Taking you to a Yankees game is just the start darling. I promise to keep New York alive in your heart."
Willow was speechless as he led her into the stadium. She knew at that point, that even though she was no longer in New York, that everything was going to be ok. There were other ways to experience the things she missed most, and thanks to Brody, she finally realized that. Besides, she could always go back and visit whenever she felt the need.
As she held Brody's hand, she knew that she had found her soul mate and that he really would do everything he could to make her happy. She hoped that she could do the same for him.
*****
The next weekend, Brody's family threw an engagement party for Willow and Brody. Willow got to meet the rest of Brody's family, and more of his friends that hadn't been by their house yet. Willow had a great time, and was really excited to start planning the wedding.
Maggie was going to help Willow plan everything. She had a lot of suggestions when it came to location, caterers, and photographers. The excitement bubbled from Maggie when she started talking about it.
During the party, Brody pulled Willow aside into one of the bedrooms. Concern for his fiancée was etched onto his face when she looked at him. "Is everything ok Brody?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just worried about you. Is my mom driving you nuts? If you want, I'll tell her to butt out. I don't want you to feel like she's taking over or interfering."
"Oh, is that all?" Willow asked. Brody nodded his head. "Honey, I am so happy that your mom is taking such an interest and is helping me out. I don't know what I'd do without her. Besides, I think she feels like she has to play the role of both mothers since mine is gone. Please don't ask her to butt out. I am really enjoying spending the time with her, and I don't think I could get through the planning without her."
A smile spread across Brody's face. "I am so happy that you are getting along with my mom. She loves you so much, you know. Just don't let her take over completely."
"I know. She is listening to my ideas too. She just offers suggestions when I need them. Most of what she's helping me out with is experience. I don't know who is good at what around here, so that's where she comes in most of the time. And you know what, I love her too." Willow said and gave Brody a kiss on his cheek.
"Well, you better save some stuff for me to do too. I want to help as much as I can, as long as you trust my ideas."
Willow threw her arms around Brody's neck and began kissing him. "That makes me so happy to hear. Most guys just tell the girl to do all the work, then they just show up. You really are the best!" She said and began kissing him again.
Brody moaned and let his hands roam over his fiancée’s body as he deepened the kiss. He couldn't seem to get enough of touching or kissing her. He wasn't sure how he had survived without her before he met her.
Willow broke away from Brody and said, "Come on, we need to get back to the party. Someone is bound to miss us."
Brody groaned. "Not yet. No one will miss us, we'll make it quick. I promise!"
Willow laughed and said, "Come on, we really need to get back out there." She walked over to the door and put her hand on the door knob.
Brody flew over to her and grabbed her wrist. He lightly pushed her against the door and put his hands on either side of her. He lowered his lips to Willow's neck and began kissing her in all her favorite spots. Willow moaned as Brody reached down and locked the door.
"You better make this quick, we don't need anyone to know." Willow said breathlessly.
"Oh, don't worry about that, I don't think I'll last long at all. You have me too worked up, looking so hot and irresistible in that dress. Just watching all the guys drool over you out there…I have to have you now." Brody said while he was lifting the hem of Willow's dress to her waist. He undid his pants and let them drop to his ankles.
Brody picked Willow up and wrapped her legs around his waist and slid his throbbing member into her. He took her against the door, and soon they both reached their climaxes.
"God, why can't I control myself around you?" Brody asked as he pulled up his pants.
"Must be my irresistible charm." Willow joked as she smoothed out her dress. "Where's the nearest restroom?"
"It's the next door on the left. I'll meet you back by the bar, ok?"
"You got it. I'll be right there. I just need to fix myself up a little." Willow said and then gave Brody a quick kiss. She opened the door and went towards the bathroom while he turned the other way to head back to the party.
When he got to the bar, he ordered two glasses of champagne from the hired bartender. He turned when he felt a small hand on his shoulder.
"Nice shade of lipstick brother." Brighton teased. "Can't keep your lips off your fiancée during your engagement party?" She asked.
"You know little sister, one of these days you're going to fall head over heels and you'll understand." Brody told her.
Willow joined them at that moment, still looking flushed from their escape to the bedroom. Brody looked at her with his eyes full of love. Willow saw the offending lipstick on his lips, face, and neck and asked the bartender for a napkin. "Looks like you should have gone to the bathroom to clean up too." Willow said as she started to clean the lipstick off of him.
"You know what, I think there was a little more going on in there than just some innocent kisses, wasn't there?" Brighton asked, seeing the flushed skin of Willow.