Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
They named the babies after Dad and Laurelin.
What a way to showcase love through generations.
“And how’s Mama doing?” Laurelin asked.
Nathan’s eyes released his tears as he smiled. “A fucking trooper. You should’ve seen it. She handled it so well. She’s…everything. She’s fucking everything.”
All of Nathan’s brothers headed over to him and pulled him into hugs and congratulated him. Yara and I did the same, along with Laurelin and Dad. As I glanced around the room, there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen. Including Theo, who stood back a little as he took everything in.
I walked over to him and nudged him in the arm. “Is that water in your eyes or allergies?”
He sniffled slightly and cleared his throat, wiping at his eyes. “It’s just nice, that’s all. To see a family who’s so…close. I had that with my grandparents and with Jensen, but you all have so much of it. That’s nice. I bet your holidays are amazing.”
“They are my favorite reasons to come back home.”
“I hope you never forget how lucky you are.”
Oh, Theodore…
My gentle giant.
We all took turns to see Avery. Since the babies were in the NICU, we wouldn’t be able to visit them for a while, but I was so grateful to see my sister. As Yara and I walked in with balloons and flowers, Avery smiled our way.
“Hey there, superstar,” I said, setting the flowers on a table. I then walked over to the left side of her bed, and Yara moved to Avery’s right side. We both placed our heads against her shoulders. I combed the hair out of her face. She looked exhausted but happy. “I’m so proud of you, Ave.”
“You did it,” Yara said. “You brought two babies into this world.”
Avery sniffled a little and closed her eyes. “I was so scared.”
“I know you were, babe. But it turns out you can still do hard things when you’re scared.” I kissed her forehead.
“I know it’s silly, but… I just wish…” Avery sighed. She shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly, and her words faded away.
Yara and I both knew what she’d wished, though. Because I’d been thinking it since the day I took my first breath.
I wished Mom were there, too.
Yara smiled, holding back her own emotions for a moment before her tears started falling. “Sterling and Riley are going to feel her love in everything you do, big sister. I promise. And even more…you have her smile. So they’ll see her every single day when you smile at them.”
“And maybe Auntie Willow can stick around a little because she has Mama’s eyes,” Avery said as she yawned.
I kissed her forehead. “It’s been a long day. You get some rest. We’ll come back tomorrow to check on you.”
“Okay, thank you.” Avery yawned again. “Yara, if Alex wants to make me a medium steak and some sushi rolls, I wouldn’t hate him for that.”
“Noted.”
We kissed our sister good night, then walked out to find Theo and Alex waiting for us. I said good night to Yara and Alex, telling them I’d stop by tomorrow to hang out with Teresa a little.
Once all goodbyes were said, Theo glanced at his watch. “So what’s there to do on a Saturday night in Honey Creek, Illinois?”
I grinned and rubbed my hands together. “Boy, oh boy, there’s so much I could show you. What do you want to see?”
“All the places that made you…you.”
CHAPTER 35
Theo
She showed me everything.
She took me to Main Street and showed me where she walked into a mailbox and lost her first tooth. She showed me Yara’s doggy daycare, The Pup Around the Corner, and Alex’s restaurant across the street. She took me down Presley Road, the street where she had her first kiss and then instantly threw up from it because she was young and thought kissing was gross.
She took me to her childhood house and showed me the window she broke when she tried to sneak out. I saw every building her father built—which was a lot. We went to Alex’s restaurant for dinner, and I ate everything that sounded delicious—which was a lot. And Willow kept talking, and I listened to every single word—which were a lot.
I loved that, though.
I loved how she talked.
I loved how she walked.
I loved…her.
Holy shit…this oddball, silly woman who randomly showed up naked in my lake one night because she was howling at the moon was now sitting across from me talking about how explosive ants explode or some weird shit, and I was hopelessly, desperately, wholeheartedly in deep, sickening, maddening love with her.
I silently prayed to God that Willow Kingsley would forever give me all her words.
Every single word.
Every single syllable.
Because I loved her.
Pishit.
CHAPTER 36
Willow
When we finished dinner at Alex’s restaurant, I told him we should stop by the popcorn shop to have dessert. After an argument about whether popcorn was a dessert—it totally was—we ended up stopping at the popcorn shop and the ice cream parlor.