L o e loyalty over every.., p.1
What It Takes (Windy Harbor Series Book 2), page 1
WHAT IT TAKES
THE WINDY HARBOR SERIES
BOOK 2
WILLOW ASTER
CONTENTS
Note to Readers
Content Warnings
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue
Coming Soon
Acknowledgments
Also by Willow Aster
Follow Me
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Willow Aster
www.willowaster.com
Copyright © 2026 by Willow Aster
ISBN-13: 978-1-964527-10-9
Cover by Kira Sabin
Photo by Wander Aguiar Photography
Map by Kira Sabin
Edited by Bill Siever and Christine Estevez
Formatted by Natalie Burtner
NOTE TO READERS
*A list of content warnings are on the next page, so skip that page if you’d rather not see them.*
CONTENT WARNINGS
The content warnings for What It Takes are sexual content, profanity, cancer diagnosis and treatment, loss of parent in the past.
PROLOGUE
THE DAY WE ME
JULIANA
Past: Juju, age 5, Camden, age 7
I held the plate with both hands, but it was still wobbly. So heavy. My fingers hurt a little, but I could see the stand Daddy helped me make, and I wasn’t far. I needed to get there before the tablecloth blew away. The paper sign that said “Cookies” was crooked, but it was okay. I thought I’d done a good job.
I took one slow step. And another.
Then…oh no, oh no.
The plate tilted and then crashed. Cookies fell in the grass, and a couple even rolled under the bush.
I froze. My eyes watered and my nose burned. I wanted to cry really bad. I’d worked so hard on those cookies. I stirred the dough with the big wooden spoon all by myself. Mommy let me use the oven with the timer and her oven mitts and even let me take the cookies out of the oven. They were supposed to be perfect for my first cookie stand in our new neighborhood.
Now they were ruined.
Before I had time to be too upset, tires squeaked on the sidewalk. A boy on a blue bike hopped off and tossed his bike on the grass. He had dark hair, and his eyes were bluer than his bike. He crouched down next to me.
“Are those the cookies for that stand over there?” he asked.
I nodded.
He started picking up cookies, brushing the grass off with his fingers. I watched as he held one up.
“Thirty-second rule. It’s still good,” he said and popped it in his mouth.
“Hey!” I said, forgetting that I wanted to cry. “My mom says that’s not true.”
His eyes widened. “Well, that’s what we do at my house, and I’m not dead yet.”
He laughed and then chewed the cookie, his face turning serious, and then a slow smile spread across his face. “Wow. These are really good. Did your mom make them?”
I straightened. “No, I made them. That’ll be fifty cents.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“I’m Camden,” he said, stacking the cookies back on the plate. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter.
“Does this work? Since I saved the cookies and all.” He laughed.
“You can just keep it,” I said. “Thanks for saving them.”
“Thanks! And…you’re welcome.” He grinned.
He carried the plate to the stand and I followed, hurriedly dusting off a few strands of grass from the cookies.
“I’m seven,” he said. “I make pancakes and scrambled eggs. And Dad says my grilled hamburgers are better than his.”
I grin. “I’m Juju. I’m five.”
Camden blinked. “Oh. Five.”
My head tilted. “What?”
He scratched the back of his neck. “My little sister’s five. She still thinks unicorns are real, and she named her goldfish Ariel.”
I frowned. I loved Ariel. And unicorns.
“Juju!” Jackson called.
“I’m at the cookie stand,” I yelled back. To Camden, I said, “That’s my brother. He’s seven too. We like to ride bikes, and we play video games together every day. We climb trees…go swimming…”
I wanted Camden to know I was just as good a bike rider and video game player as my brother. And I didn’t just sit inside with my Barbies, but I really liked them too. Well, maybe I wasn’t as good as Jackson at all the bikes and games and tree stuff…I also couldn’t do flips in the water like he could, but I bet I could soon.
“Cool,” Camden said, and I got this warm feeling in my chest.
He showed me where his house was, and I showed him mine.
“That’s why the cookie stand is here, right?” he said.
“Oh. Right,” I said, my face feeling hot.
“And my brothers and I saw you moving in last week.” He grinned and I relaxed.
“You have brothers too?”
“I have three brothers and one sister.”
I wasn’t sure I’d want more than one brother. Jackson was enough for me. I wouldn’t mind a sister, though.
Jackson came around the side of the house, bouncing his basketball. He stopped when he saw Camden and me.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” Camden said.
“This is Camden,” I said. “He lives over there.” I pointed at his house.
“I like basketball,” Camden said.
Jackson lit up. “Yeah? Wanna play?” He motioned toward the hoop near the garage.
“Yeah!” Camden said.
And they took off.
I stared after them and kicked a rock. I liked basketball too, but they didn’t even ask if I wanted to play. I kicked the rock all the way to my cookie stand and sat down on the chair, looking down the street to see if anyone was around who might want a cookie.
I sat there forever. And no one came. I was about to give up when a girl came running out of Camden’s house. Her hair was like mine—bright and yellow. It was in a ponytail and it swished when she ran. When she saw me, she gave me a wide grin and ran over.
“Hi!” she said. “You’re our new neighbor!”
“Yes!” I couldn’t help but be excited because she looked so happy to see me.
She gasped when she looked down and saw the plate. “You have cookies!”
I handed her one without caring if she paid for it or not. She bit into it and her eyes got wide.
“Mmm! These are good.” She chewed a little more. “I’m Marigold, but everyone calls me Goldie.” She looked over my shoulder at Camden and Jackson playing. “That’s my brother, and I have three other brothers too.” She wrinkled her nose. “I wish there was another girl in there somewhere, but they’re pretty nice too. Tully is my twin, Dylan is my little brother, and Noah is the oldest.”
“Wow. A twin. My grandpa is a twin! Is it sad having the same birthday?”
She shook her head. “No, because Mom and Dad make it special for both of us. There are lots of twins at school, you’ll see.” Her head tilted. “You didn’t tell me your name.”
I grinned. “My name is Juliana, but everyone calls me Juju.”
“We both have nicknames!” she said, laughing. “Do you like unicorns?”
“I love them!” I said so fast.
“Me too. My room is all unicorns. And Ariel. Do you like Ariel?”
“Your brother said you liked unicorns and Ariel.” I nodded. “I do too. Ariel is the best princess. She sings the best songs.”
Goldie smiled so big. “You should come over to my house, and we can watch Ariel with my unicorns.”
“I can’t wait!”
Maybe Camden didn’t think being five was cool, but Goldie was the coolest five-year-old I’d ever met.
CHAPTER ONE
GRAND OPENING
CAMDEN
Present
It’s a great day to be alive.
I’m completely stressed, running on fumes, and don’t see sleep in my future for a long time, but it’s the opening day of Elm & Echo, my new restaurant.
You only get one opening day.
My brain won’t shut off. I went to bed at 2:30 and woke up at 4:30, my thoughts in a whirlwind. I’ve gone over every possible worst-case scenario in my mind and am hopefully equipped for whatever goes wrong.
Because something will definitely go wrong.
I moved back home to Minnesota recently. I wasn’t sure I’d ever live here again—not because I don’t love it, but because I’d found my place in Colorado. The restaurant I opened there is still thriving, but when I found out my dad had cancer and wanted my siblings and me to help him do an overhaul of the run-down resort next to our lake home, I got serious about making the move to be with my family. He’s thinking about the legacy he wants to leave behind, and I’m thinking about being near him. I don’t want to miss a single day with him.
Which is why, as soon as he texts his standard good morning to the family, I jump on it and pull up a separate thread with just the two of us.
Are you up for coffee this morning? Get our day started out right before the craziness begins?
Dad
I’m always up for coffee with you, son.
I’m at the restaurant already, but I can come back to the house. Or do you feel like getting out? I can have coffee ready at the restaurant in five minutes.
Dad
Choices, choices. Actually, I have a craving for one of Juju’s scones. You up for going to the Kitty-Corner Cafe?
I groan internally. Juliana Fair, best friend to my sister Goldie, and the sister of my best friend Jackson, knows how to get under my skin. She owns the cafe in town, and it’s excellent. The girl has been a phenomenal cook since the day I met her as a kid and ate her homemade chocolate chip cookies.
As a chef, I’m particular about all things food, but Juju has only gotten more skilled as the years have gone by. No one can cook like her.
We may butt heads, but I know an amazing scone when I taste one…and the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had.
And I can’t say no to my dad.
I’ll swing by to pick you up in twenty. Sound good?
Dad
Sounds perfect.
The Kitty-Corner Cafe is bustling when Dad and I walk in. The place is great, overflowing with charm. Juliana Fair stands behind the counter, looking all kinds of beautiful. Yes, as much as she can annoy me, I still think she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, which probably only serves to annoy me further. Long blonde hair, vivid green eyes, and pink lips, all a deceptive disguise for the venom this girl can spew.
At least when it comes to me.
There have been times over the course of our twenty-one-year history—we met when I was seven and she was five—when we’ve had a peace treaty between the two of us. The first day was such an example. I saved the day by salvaging the cookies that had fallen, and she looked at me like I was her knight in shining armor.
It all went downhill from there.
Today, she shoots me a withering glare and says, “I thought I wouldn’t have to see you for a few more hours.”
To which I say, “Today is your lucky day.”
She rolls her eyes and continues helping Sandy, one of the locals, who looks back at my dad with interest.
“Everett, how are you?” she says. “How is that hotdish I sent over this week?”
My dad swallows hard and makes a point of not looking at me because he knows if he does, it’s over. We won’t be able to keep a straight face.
“Thanks again for that hotdish, Sandy. So thoughtful of you.”
That hotdish is fucking awful. It’s hard to make Tater Tot hotdish taste bad, but Sandy succeeds every time.
She beams at Dad, and I quietly chuckle next to him. My dad, ever the diplomat. When it’s our turn at the counter, Juju gives Dad her warmest smile. That’s the thing about her. I know she’s capable of being kind, friendly, and even sweet, but with me, ninety percent of the time, she pulls out the rotten.
We won’t think about the other ten percent.
I think she enjoys keeping me on a never-ending roller coaster.
“You’re looking great this morning, Everett,” she says. “What can I get for you?”
“And you’re looking lovely this morning, Miss Juliana,” he says. “I woke up thinking about your scones. And I’ll have your light roast as well.”
“Coming right up,” she says.
“Uh, I didn’t order yet,” I say when she walks off to get my dad’s order ready.
“Haven’t you asked enough of me today?” she snaps.
I shake my head. “Really, Juju? Are we really gonna do this?”
She slams the plate down, and the scone almost falls off as she moves to pour my dad a cup of coffee.
“Sorry about that, Everett,” she says.
“It’s okay.” He waves it off and grins, and she turns her attention to me.
“I don’t know, Camden. I’m surprised you want any of my baked goods for your perfect restaurant, when it wasn’t that long ago that you said Caribou’s coffee is better.”
I groan. “This again? Your specialty is baked goods. You don’t have to have coffee down too.”
She slides the coffee toward my dad and crosses her arms as she stares at me.
“My coffee is freaking delicious,” she says, “and you know it.”
“Well, I would prefer to deal with your bear claws, since that’s all you seem to show me anyway.”
She sputters, and I think maybe she growls too. I grin. I’d forgotten how fun she is to turn sideways.
She puts a bear claw on a plate and slams it in front of me.
“And a cup of your light roast too, please.”
If fumes could come out of her head, I think they would be right now.
“Unbelievable,” she says.
My dad is chuckling when we sit at the corner table.
“Why do you have to pick on that girl?” he says. “She’s like family to us, and she has idolized you since the day you met.”
I frown. “Juju. You’re talking about Juliana? You’re mistaken. We are like fire and ice. She hates me.”
“Ah, son, for someone so smart, you sure can be dumb sometimes. Besides that, this little attitude you have when she’s around, it’s like you’re a different person. As Goldie says, you’re the nice one in the family.”
I chuckle. “I don’t know where Goldie gets that.”
“She gets that because until she met Milo, she was also the sweet one, but he seemed to bring out the worst in her, the way Juju brings out the worst in you. I wonder what that’s about. And look at where Goldie and Milo ended up.” His grin widens.
“Don’t start,” I groan. “I haven’t been in Windy Harbor a month and you’re already matchmaking. You and Mom always had so much to say about me and Juju.”
We both smile wistfully, thinking about my mom. I miss her every damn day.
I clear my throat. “Juju and I are not gonna happen. Did you see the way she flung that bear claw at me? She wished it was my balls on that plate.”
I hear a gasp next to us, and Beverly and Carol are staring at us with wide eyes.
“Pardon my language,” I say apologetically.
Beverly titters, and my dad is trying not to laugh when I look at him again.
“See what I mean?” he says under his breath. “Tully and Dylan…and even Noah, wouldn’t have apologized.”
I laugh. “Just because they’re assholes doesn’t make me the nice one.”
He just looks at me like Come on now, and I grin as I enjoy my bear claw.
It’s a fucking spectacular bear claw.
Before we leave, I tap on the counter, and Juju jumps. Her expression quickly turns from pleasant to volcanic.
“Please be on time with the desserts, Juliana. Today’s a big day for me.”
“I run my own business, Camden. I know how to be a professional.”
I tilt my head and smile. “Great. Shouldn’t be a problem then.”
A few hours later, everything is in place. The tables are set. The sauces are ready. Everything is primed, and the staff are all in place. There’s a level of high anticipation in the air.
