Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“Sheesh, you’d think Pen would still be in bed. She didn’t go to sleep until after one. What the hell is she doing up? It’s only seven,” he asks, looking at the clock on the wall.
“You know your sister,” I mutter, moving past them. Hunter has one more year of high school left, and then he’s off to Seattle, where he and Steven plan to get a place together. They were close while they were both living at home, and that bond has only gotten stronger over the years, and every time Hunter flies out to see Max, he bounces between Steven’s dorm and Max’s house.
Feeling something furry sliding between my feet, I look down and find Dime, who has obviously decided to get away from the chaos in the kitchen. Penny passed away a few years ago, and it took a long time before we were able to get another animal. We didn’t get another dog, but a big, fat tabby cat that Pen decided to name Dime, short for Diamond.
“I can’t even deal with this right now,” Zach growls, meeting me just outside the kitchen doorway.
“That bad?” I ask, peeking around him, then feel my eyes widen. The room is covered in hearts, giant and little hearts from all different kinds of paper, all hand-cut at some point. “That’s so sweet,” I whisper, and his eyes narrow.
“There is pink gunk everywhere.”
“Pink gunk?” I frown.
“Pink batter for heart-shaped pancakes,” he grumbles, and I smile.
“Pen,” Aubrey says, pushing us out of the way to get into the kitchen. “This is so beautiful.” She twirls around, taking in all the decorations, then walks to her sister, grabbing her up into a hug.
“I think the pancakes turned out more like Mickey Mouse than hearts,” Pen says, sounding disappointed, and Aubrey laughs then looks at me over her shoulder with tears in her eyes.
“Well, I love Mickey Mouse, so this is going to be one of the best parts of my day.”
“Oh, God, I’m going to cry,” I blurt, and hear both boys groan then feel Zach’s arms around me. I love my girls, and I’m going to miss having them both home. Even though Aubrey will only be next door. We never sold Zach’s house. We have made a killing off of renting it out over the years, and kept it for extra income, but when Aubrey told us her plans, we told her and Gabe they could have it. Honestly, we’re being greedy, wanting to have Aubrey close. We’re just lucky Gabe’s work allows him to stay in town.
“Bre, your mom will be here at ten, along with your hair dresser, so if you’re up, you should probably eat and shower,” Zach says, and I lean back to look up at him.
I can’t say that I like Tina, but she has been better since divorcing her ex two years ago. Before that, she was in and out of the kids’ lives. At first, I tried to make her see what she was giving up, but Zach had been right; it wasn’t my place to force her into being around. She had to figure it out on her own that she was losing her kids because of Thomas. Since her divorce, she has made more of an effort to be there when Steven and Aubrey have needed her, but they are still hesitant when it comes to her because of her past actions, but hopefully, with time, they will move past the disappointments and let downs, and rebuild their relationships with her.
“Right, since we’re all up, let’s eat, and then we can fight over the hot water, only Aubrey gets first dibs today,” I say, then move away from Zach and into the kitchen, where I find everything is covered in gunk, but I ignore that and focus on the fact the kids are around us, each of them happy and healthy, each of them becoming adults we are proud of. I just wish Samuel was here today. Years ago, Samuel reached out to us when he turned eighteen. Since then, we’ve talked to him on occasion, but have let him lead when it comes to the direction of our relationship. He talks to his siblings more than he talks to us, but just knowing how well he was raised and the kind of man he is, is enough for Zach and me to be content in our decision.
Feeling Zach’s hand on my back, I soak in the feeling of his touch as I come out of my thoughts.