Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
“Umm,” Tarrant said upon our arrival. “You have a baby.”
“Atlas’s son, Forest,” I explained. “He’s my ride or die.”
Tarrant waved at Forest, who like usual, clung to me like he was afraid I’d be taken away from him.
“Forest,” I said to the little boy. “This is my brother, Tarrant.”
“Ant?” he asked.
“Ant is good,” Tarrant waved. “That’s my sister.”
Forest looked between the two of us, eyes a lot more welcoming now.
“Is Everest inside?” I asked.
“With Dad, yes.” He nodded. “I was sent out here to warn you that he’s a little angry with you.”
“What? Me?” I gasped, pointing at myself.
“Yeah,” he gave me a funny smile. “We told him why you were in Dallas, and he was not happy at all. He thinks you need to leave Sage to her own bullshit and come back.”
I snorted. “I guess I’ll have to tell him why I’m still there then.”
We walked inside, and when we arrived at Dad’s room, a familiar voice that didn’t belong to my brothers filled the room.
A wide smile on my face, I pushed through the door to find my second cousin, Coke Solomon, in the room.
“Well hello there, stranger.” Coke grinned.
I waved but turned to the man of the hour.
“Dad,” I whispered, voice cracking.
He held his hands open wide, and I all but fell into them.
Dad wrapped his arms around both me and Forest, pulling us both in tight.
Gosh, these arms.
These arms were what protected me for my entire life.
I’d missed being in them.
“I’ve missed you, Daddy,” I whispered.
Dad was fully aware, when he was himself, what he was like when he wasn’t himself.
He felt awful about it, and I felt awful that he felt awful about it.
“Hey, my favorite baby,” he rumbled.
The sound of his voice made my throat tight.
I came to check on my dad often, but it was like having your heart break over and over when you showed up and he couldn’t remember who you were.
“And who are you?” Dad asked.
I smiled at that and pulled away, my free hand that wasn’t holding Forest up going to his thigh.
“This,” I said, “is Forest. Forest, I’d like you to meet my daddy, Emmanuel.”
“Emman.” He held out his hand, and I burst out laughing.
Dad took the boy’s hand and said, “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Ice to meet,” he agreed, smiling that perfect Carter smile.
“The last time I was aware, you didn’t have a kid.” He looked horrified.
I patted my dad’s shoulder saying, “He’s not mine, no. He’s the man I’m seeing’s son.”
“The man you’re seeing?” His bushy eyebrows rose.
“Uhh,” I hesitated, but Tarrant spoke over me. “She’s seeing a police officer for Dallas Police Department.”
“Dangerous profession,” he mused. “Do you love him?”
“She’s still in Dallas, where Sage is, because of him,” Everest admitted.
I scrunched my nose at him, causing him to chuckle.
Everyone took a seat, and the five of us talked while Forest explored my father’s room.
Since sometimes my father didn’t know where he was, it was painted a lot like his old bedroom at our original home—a home we’d sold after Mom passed away.
Forest was fiddling with a couple of golf balls Dad had in a cup in the corner right next to a putter and a small putting green.
I turned back to Coke and grinned. “How’s your wife?”
“Cora’s doing well. She’s on vacation at the beach with the kids right now, so I’m here getting a few odds and ends done,” he admitted.
“Why didn’t you go with them?” Dad demanded.
Coke shrugged. “The kids wanted to bring their friends, and Cora’s there with family. Not that I wouldn’t have gone—had I been invited mind you—but I had a lot of stuff to do here, and it’ll go a whole hell of a lot faster if the house isn’t occupied when I do it.”
Dad chuckled. “I feel that in my soul. There was the time that I decided that both bathrooms needed to be done at once. Except I didn’t much think about what would happen if they all needed to go at the same time. And so we had five people going in one bathroom at once in my shop. I have never heard so much fighting as I did that summer.”
“That’s because your sons took two-hour shi—uhh—poops,” I grumbled. “And I had to go, and they were like ‘it’s like a marker’ and ‘I can’t stop’ and ‘sorry but poop is still actively coming out of my butt.’”
Dad and Coke burst out laughing.
Everest and Tarrant shrugged, still as apologetic now as they were then.
“Goal!” Forest giggled.
We all looked to see him throw a second golf ball toward the hole.
This one missed entirely and skidded across the floor.
“He’s cute,” Coke said. “I miss my babies being that small.”
Forest swung the club, missed the ball completely, and took out a water bottle on the coffee table near my dad.