Three Willows {Harry Styles - One Direction Fan Fic}

Chapter 13:

A/N: sorry guys wattpad has gone all weird on me. I deleted the chapter posted earlier until I had more time to fix the formatting. Hopefully this update will be sans the bugs.

WARNING: Contains Mature Content.

Kat looked down at the shadow the helicopter was making as it sped across the plains while Louis and Zayn chatted back and forth over the intercom. One moment it was elongated on flat ground, the next it disappeared as they passed over a ravine. Her pen was now idle in her hand, the estimated count of head recorded next to the geographical markers corresponding to the map.

At first glance, the year looked to have been kind to her. Numbers seemed to be up and if the stook presented well on physical inspection, she could make a lot of money this muster. Of course with a property the size of Three Willows, they had a couple more days of this before they knew for sure what numbers they were looking at, but if everything went the same way it could be a huge yield.

She smiled ruefully thinking, Isn’t it always the way. Professionally everything seemed to be falling in place. Even without her father’s guidance. Though, personally she had faced the hardest year of her life.

Looking at the back of Louis’ head during the count was something she was used to now, but the empty seat beside her had left her fighting tears as they initially made their way over the property. It had been the seat Tommy had taken in recent years.

He’d be proud of her. Of that she was sure.

Zayn’s laughter brought her out of her thoughts. After breakfast he had made himself scarce, advising both she and Louis that he would meet them at the helipad in thirty minutes.

This left her with Louis to mull over what had happened after he’d gone to bed the previous night. Louis shrugged it off as something that she shouldn’t be surprised about. That she should be well aware of the fact that Zayn’s feelings hadn’t changed. That they were the same as they had always been.

Kat new Louis was right and she also knew that she and Zayn not being together was on her. He’d always been upfront. He wanted to be with her at Three Willows, but to also take on additional work if it presented itself to him.

That was the part that Kat had struggled with. She didn’t want Zayn leaving her for long periods. It wasn’t because she didn’t trust him. She just didn’t understand how he could possibly want to be apart from her. Having lost her mother at such a young age, and now her father, she wanted those close to her to stay that way. To make the most of everyday together.

After Tommy had died, she’d thought that he was back to stay. Neither of them had said it, but after those few days at Paterson’s she truly believed that he would help her run Three Willows. Step in and help carry the burden she was surely to feel as everything fell on her head.

And to begin with he had. He was her constant. He was her champion when she had a breakdown and didn’t want to continue without Tommy. He was the person who she laughed with over a couple of drinks of an evening. He was the person who told Louis and Liam to back off when she wasn’t as attentive as she maybe should have been. Zayn had been her buffer from the world on days where she didn’t want to face it.

It was Zayn who lay beside her in the dead of night and cradled her. Muffling her sobs with his chest. Zayn was the one who would wipe her eyes and reassure her that everything would be fine, she just needed to give it time. Zayn had been the one who would tenderly peel her clothing from her and make love to her as if he worshiped her. It was Zayn who she woke to every morning. Who lay with her as they discussed the day ahead, his arms wrapped around her tightly.