Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Not great.” I glanced at myself in the mirror as I groaned, “I have nothing to wear.”
“You look beautiful, Tal.” Mom stepped further into the room. “But then, you always do.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“I’m not. You really do look beautiful.”
“So, you think the sweater is okay?”
“I think it’s perfect, not that it really matters. Holt was never the kind to care about what you were wearing.”
“I just want things to go well.”
“I know you do, and I’m sure they will. You just have to be patient and give him time to process it all.”
I was still upset with her for lying to me, but she was my mother. She was the one I’d always turned to for things like this, so it was out of instinct that I told her, “I really hope you’re right because I don’t think I could stand to lose him again.”
“Just tell him the truth and hope for the best. That’s all you can do.”
“You’re right.” I glanced over at the clock, and when I saw the time, I gasped, “I better get going. Are you sure you’re okay with watching Ford?”
“Of course.” She smiled. “We’re going to go downstairs and have some dinner with Rooks, and then we’ll watch a movie or something.”
“Okay. Just be careful, and if anything seems off…”
“I know. I know.” She gave me a pat. “We’ll be fine. Now, off you go.”
“Okay. Okay. I’m going.”
I grabbed my purse, and after telling Ford goodbye, I rushed downstairs and out to my car. I put in Holt’s address, and then, I was on my way. I was a bundle of nerves, but not in bad way. No matter what the outcome, I was ready to sort things out with him.
It had been too long.
Too much wasted time.
Good, bad, or ugly, it was time to move forward.
I’d barely made it halfway up his drive when I spotted a big white dog with a thick, fluffy coat and a little gray and white goat wearing a pink collar with a tiny bell. They walked close together like they were old friends. I couldn’t help but smile despite the knot twisting in my stomach.
My chest tightened when I glanced past them and over to the little white farmhouse. It was a three- or four-bedroom home with a wraparound porch and oversized swing. And it had a big back yard with a barn off to the side.
I couldn’t believe it.
It was the house I’d told Holt I wanted when we were kids. He’d not only remembered everything I’d told him I wanted, but he’d made my dream a reality. He hadn’t given up on us. If only, I had done the same. But maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for us yet.
11
SEVEN
“You have a goat.”
“Yeah, her name is Mable.”
“And the dog?”
“Percy.”
“Any cows?”
“Not yet.” Damn. Why did she have to look so damn beautiful? Just being next to her made it difficult to breathe, much less to think. It made me almost forget how angry I was with her. I’d been tied up in knots since she pulled up in the driveway, and I couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m not really interested in talking about cows and goats, Tal.”
“I know. I just don’t know where to start.”
“How ‘bout you start with Ford?” I sounded angrier than I’d intended as I snapped, “I’d really like to know why the hell you never told me about him.”
“Okay.” She let out a breath, then started, “First, you should know that he wasn’t planned. I didn’t even know I was pregnant until months after I got to Paris.” There was no missing the turmoil in her eyes as she said, “I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to tell you right away, but Dad made it difficult.”
“How so?” I pushed.
She leaned back on the swing and sighed. “He monitored my phone calls and emails, and he warned me time and time again that I wasn’t to reach out to you or there would be consequences.”
“For you or me?”
“Both, but I wasn’t worried about me,” she answered without hesitation. “I didn’t care if he cut me off or made me leave art school. I could’ve figured things out, but when it came to you… I didn’t know how far he was willing to go and couldn’t take the chance.”
“And how long did you buy into his bullshit?”
Her silence was answer enough.
My jaw tightened as I let out a slow, measured breath, trying to temper the frustration building inside me. “Answer me, Tal.”
“Ford was almost two.” She lowered her head and toyed with the hem of her shirt. “I was still scared, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to see you and tell you in person about Ford, so I started trying to find you. That’s when they told me you were...”