Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
His birthday also marked another celebration of sorts because he’d be sleeping in his own bed again that weekend, and he was going back to work on Monday, on a part-time basis. Though he’d admit to feeling melancholy about it. They had become like a family unit, eating dinner together and taking evening strolls around the neighborhood. Though it was more him and Audrey because she really enjoyed it, and he promised to take her on a mini hike at the peak of the fall leaves.
Sam liked to perch himself on the porch with one nonfiction book or another until they returned from their walk around the block, and most nights Emerson stayed with him. Rhys normally found Emerson with his legs sprawled on the top step, and looking down at his phone.
Seeing him waiting there always made his heart flutter, probably because Emerson felt like home and not because he was a devastatingly handsome man with wavy, cinnamon hair that matched those freckles dotting his cheeks. Straight man, he reminded himself.
And, of course, he truly appreciated all Emerson had done for him. Rhys still felt guilty for using the parents’ master, but he’d begun to see a change in Emerson. He was more relaxed as he easily slipped beneath the covers to watch a video or TV show, and the other day, when Emerson got back from work and found the kids with their homework spread out on the king-size bed, Rhys noted the contentment on his face.
Once they finished their cake and ice cream, he could tell Sam was bursting at the seams.
“What is going on with you?” he asked in an amused tone.
“Sam is anxious to get to the gifts,” Emerson replied, giving him a knowing look.
“By all means, let’s do it,” he said as he stacked the empty dishes in the center of the table, a routine he’d gotten accustomed to the longer he stayed with them. “You didn’t have to buy me anything, but I’m not gonna complain.”
As Emerson carried the plates to the sink, Sam reached for a medium-sized box on the floor. Rhys could tell he’d wrapped it himself because the creases and tape were slapdash, but it only made Rhys appreciate it more.
“This is for you,” Sam said, and Rhys noted how his fingers trembled with excitement.
Emerson and Audrey gathered around as he ripped off the paper and noted the photo on the box. “Wow, a butterfly kit,” he said, trying to convey how heartened he was by the gesture. Sam had obviously recalled the ladybug gift Rhys had gotten him the first birthday after his parents’ passing. He had certainly kept up the geranium garden for them every year. And damn, now Rhys was so freaking grateful he remembered too.
See, it could’ve been so much worse.
“This is really awesome. Thank you.”
“The caterpillar larvae will feed off the sugar water and fruit we supply,” he pointed out as Rhys withdrew the netting that housed them, which looked like a small circular tent. “We can add some twigs or leaves too. They’ll hang upside down and build their chrysalises.”
“Check this out, Audrey.” Rhys leaned closer to the black and gold striped creatures as Audrey scrunched her nose but stayed quiet. She hated creepy crawlies but had matured enough to know when to keep her mouth shut. Well, mostly.
But somehow, she sensed this gift was important to Sam—and now it had become important to Rhys too.
“I thought we could keep the habitat in the sunroom and watch them transform into butterflies in a few weeks, then figure out where to let them loose.”
“Sam,” Emerson piped in, “Rhys will be moving back across the street this weeken—”
“I’d love to keep it here and come back over to check on them,” Rhys interjected. “Is that okay?”
“It’s perfect,” Audrey said as a small smile lifted the corners of Emerson’s mouth. And fuck, he realized just how much he wanted to keep that connection with the Rose family. His family.
“Will you still eat dinner with us?” Sam asked in an earnest tone.
“Sure, as long as I’m not working or have any other plans,” he replied, imagining what his life might look like from here on out. It felt like months since he’d had his own routine instead of weeks. But he couldn’t admit that he looked forward to it. Not yet. “Besides, I can’t subject you to Emerson’s cooking every night.”
“Hey!” Emerson scoffed. “I’ve gotten better, haven’t I?”
Rhys and the kids let his question dangle there for a long instant, as if they had developed the perfect comedic timing, before dissolving into laughter.
“You ass,” Emerson said under his breath.
Rhys opened a set of rubber bracelets from Audrey with the words hope and believe on them and a new shaving kit from Emerson that matched the one he’d used on Rhys that one night, and then they went on a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. They stopped to talk to Mrs. Fischer about her pretty sunflowers, which had grown taller seemingly overnight, and Sam asked her about the correct conditions to plant them, possibly for his own garden next year.