Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
A hot tear rolled down my cheek, and I picked up the letter, written in her neat, feminine script.
Liam,
As you can see, it’s a boy. His heartbeat was once again very strong. He has all ten fingers and toes. He moves a lot, and I might be in for it when he’s big enough for me to feel the kicking. But he will be worth it.
Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you. For him. There will never be a greater gift that I receive on this earth. We might not have meant to create him, but I believe he was meant to save me.
I was lost and lacked direction.
He has given me a reason to find both.
You and I both know that me staying here until he was born wasn’t for the best. It was kind of you to offer, and I stayed because I wanted to be with you. I wanted things you’d told me I couldn’t have. That we would never have. But I stayed, believing I could make you fall in love with me. I realize that you can’t make a heart love someone. It either does or doesn’t.
I sent out a few résumés last week, and today, I received a call. I was offered a job. It pays well, there is a chance for promotion, I’ll have normal hours, and I’ll have health insurance.
It’s time for me to make myself worthy to be our son’s mom. I want him to be proud to call me his mother. I don’t want to be an embarrassment. I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime. I might not be there yet, but I will be. My new life starts now.
As for what happened with Madeline, it was something I needed. I had made up in my head all these fantasies and believed them because I wanted them. That was a wake-up call that we should both be thankful I got.
We have twenty weeks to work out the details before our son arrives. I need some time first without meeting in person or communicating at all. Until I can heal and I’m ready to face the future.
I do not intend to keep you away from our son. I will share him with you. Every kid needs their father. I know that all too well.
But for now, I’m not going to share details about my new job or where I am living. It will give me time to get my feet on the ground. Once I am ready, I’ll contact you so we can discuss an arrangement that will work best for him. That’s all that matters now. Giving him a happy life full of love.
I’m sure you understand and perhaps you’re even relieved.
Liberty
The letter fell from my hand and fluttered slowly to the floor. I stared out the window, not moving for several minutes. When the reality of what I’d done finally sank in, I picked up the glass bowl, filled with fresh fruit, sitting beside the neatly placed keys, and smashed it against the wall while a wail that barely encompassed half of what I was feeling echoed off the walls of my house.
39
Liberty
Buyer for a local garden center—that was the description for the job I had applied for. Out of all the jobs, this was the one I did for fun. I didn’t expect to ever hear from them. Other than my love for plants and flowers, I had no experience. It had been a very emotional day for me, so when they’d called, I had taken it, no questions asked.
Now standing in the one-bedroom apartment that had come with the job, I realized I might have made a mistake.
The paperwork that had been left for me to sign and bring into the office tomorrow said the salary was seventy thousand dollars a year. I’d thought I was applying for an hourly job that was hopefully close to twenty dollars an hour. This was clearly meant for someone who had a degree or extensive experience that I did not have.
They must have gotten the applications mixed up.
It was dark outside, and I didn’t want to call the contact person listed on the paper this late.
I had planned to stay in a motel until I found somewhere to live, so the email they had sent with the directions to the apartment that was ready for me to move into was shocking. Out of curiosity, I came to check it out, expecting perhaps a tiny room with a toilet and shower in the back of a storage house where the plants were kept.
Not this.
Yep, there had been a major mix-up. When I told them they’d hired Liberty, the bartender with no college degree, I’d be sent packing. I had known this was too good to be true. A job buying plants for a garden center. When had life ever started handing me favors? Never—that was when.