Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
“OK,” my voice still sounds wobbly but not as badly as it was before.
“Are you hurt? How about Coco?” When I tell him we’re both fine other than being scared, he continues, “Can you put me on speakerphone and use the light from your phone to get out of your kitchen?”
I fumble with the phone but manage to turn it on speakerphone. I pick Coco up with shaking hands and find my shoes. I carry her out of the apartment. Downstairs, I realize the windows in my bakery have been blown out too.
“It’s really bad,” I tell him. “There’s so much damage.”
“As long as you and Coco aren’t hurt, we can rebuild everything else,” he reminds me. “All that matters is that my best girls are safe.”
Next, Barrett directs me to find the breaker box in the basement. To my disappointment, nothing happens when I flick the switches.
“Must be a tree on the line,” I mutter to myself. I’m surprised at how much calmer I’m feeling with Barrett’s soft voice in my ear.
He continues instructing me, giving me tasks to do like going back upstairs to find flashlights and candles. I manage to find enough light sources that my space is illuminated.
“They’re going to stop working,” I tell him. “The batteries are old.”
“They’ll hold for now, and I’m not going anywhere,” he reminds me. “I’m coming right for you.”
I wish he were beside me right now. But since he isn’t, I’m doing my best to be brave. I lock Coco in her travel crate so she can’t get hurt and do my best to clean up the glass.
After, I settle on my couch and listen to Barrett. He talks to me for hours as he travels, telling me about all the things we’re going to do when we’re married. He talks about the gardens we’ll plant in the backyard and the treehouse he’s going to build with our kids. He’s got our whole lives mapped out.
Just as my phone battery drops to five percent, I hear the rumble of a truck on the street below. “Are you here?”
“I’m pulling up,” he promises.
I race downstairs and fling open the door. The first ribbons of pink are beginning to show in the sky, promising the sunrise that’s soon to come.
Barrett hops out of the passenger seat of the truck, and I throw myself at him. His arms instantly go around me, pulling me close.
The calm I’ve been seeking all night fills me completely. I’m safe again. I’m safe because he’s here. He didn’t forget about me. He remembered me.
He presses a soft kiss to the top of my head. “Nothing could ever keep me from you. You’re my girl, and you’re never alone. No matter how dark the night or how long the storm, I will always come for you. I love you.”
I lift my head to stare up at him. “You love me.”
“Forever. You’ll forever be my girl, always loved by me,” he reassures me softly.
I blink back the sheen of moisture in my eyes. “You’re the love of my life. I can’t wait to spend our days doing all those things you told me about on the phone. I want to build a life together. I want forever with you, my big teddy bear.”
Chapter 13
Sadie
“That’s the last one,” Barrett tells me as he finishes driving the nail into the board over my window with a sure stroke.
A cellphone rings, and Zac silences the call without even glancing at it. Zac is Barrett’s brother. He drove him through the night so Barrett could stay on the phone with me. We were on speakerphone the whole time which means Zac heard everything.
But he greeted me with a kind smile the moment Barrett introduced us. He’s spent the morning helping the two of us board up the windows in the apartment and bakery.
“Are you getting back on the road now?” Barrett asks, setting the hammer down on the counter. The town has some clean up ahead of us, but nothing major. Zac can’t stay though because he’s supposed to be at a concert tonight.
“Yep, leaving in five,” he answers. He grabs the broom and sweeps up a few shards of glass that we missed earlier.
Barrett claps him on the back. “Thanks for the help. See you tomorrow.”
He shakes his head. “This is the only break in my schedule for the next two weeks. Stay with your girl. I’ll be fine on the road, singing my heart out. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky, and she’ll be out there in the crowd.”
“I really hope so,” I tell him and give him a hug before wishing him goodbye.
As soon as he’s gone, Barrett tips his head toward my apartment, and I follow him up the stairs. He gestures around my living room. “What’s going with us?”