Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Do you want my advice?”
“Mom, you got hit by a car not long ago. You’re in the hospital with a couple of broken legs. I don’t know if I should take your advice.”
“Move back home. Take some time to find your feet. You mentioned the whole food blogging thing. Try that out.”
“I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not very good at the whole computer stuff.”
“Then hire someone, or better yet, just take a bunch of pictures and see what happens. It can’t be as bad as working in a restaurant with a guy who orders you to date him, and leaves you feeling so uncomfortable. You’re my daughter, and I’m not having you treated any way you don’t want to.”
“Thank you, Mom,” she said.
“You’re always welcome at home, and I know I’d love to have you around.”
“You need someone to take care of you for the next couple of months. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll go and pack up my apartment, hand over the keys, and return home feeling like a failure.”
Lily lightly tapped her arm. “You are not a failure, far from it, and I won’t accept you calling yourself that. You’re my daughter. You’re a chef. Be proud of who you are.”
Chloe rested her head on Lily’s shoulder. “Love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, honey.”
“When I got the call, I was so scared. I thought I’d lost you.”
“It’s going to take more than a fast car to take me on. Believe me.”
She stayed with her head resting against her mother’s shoulder for some time. Lily ran her fingers through her hair, and Chloe allowed all the day’s stresses to just evaporate into the air.
She forgot all about them, and stayed completely calm.
It wasn’t a failure coming home without a job or any career prospects.
“Mom, how do you feel about Eagle?” she asked.
The one part of her guilt when it came to the incident five years ago was Eagle and Lily. They were so good together, and if Alfie wanted her help to fix it, she was more than willing to do whatever it took to bring the two together.
“Chloe, I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work.”
She lifted her head and looked at her mother. Lily’s fingers played with the blanket. “Why isn’t it?”
“Eagle and I, it ran its course, and there’s no way for us to get back what we lost. I told you, I couldn’t be with someone whose son planned to do that.”
“If I can forgive Alfie, you’d consider Eagle again?” Chloe asked, tilting her head to the side.
Lily stared at her, waiting. “Why do I feel like I’m about to be manipulated here?”
“Think about it, Mom, it’s what you said. If I can find it in my heart to forgive Alfie for what happened, in theory, you can also forgive Eagle and maybe go out on a date with him, or something. You could at least tell Eagle to start treating his son like a human being and not scum.”
“I’ve got two broken legs, and I … I’ve always hated the way Eagle is with Alfie. I never felt it was my place to tell him otherwise. I’m not his mother, and well, Eagle is his father. I don’t know. I’ve made so many mistakes.”
“Not right now, obviously. I’m talking about in the future. To give you guys another chance, what do you think?”
“I think I’m getting way too old to negotiate this.”
“Mom, you’re forty-three, and women are still having babies at your age. You’re not that old.”
“Everything is heading south,” Lily said, her face flaming. “You don’t think I see the women who hang around the club? I do.”
“None of them will ever compare to you, Mom.” Chloe put her hand on her mother’s. “You’ve always had Eagle’s attention, even when you were a married woman.”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe if … forget about it.”
“Come on, Mom, tell me.”
“If you and Alfie were to attempt to give it a shot.”
“That’s a huge step up from forgiving. Dating is, like, spending a lot more time with each other, and getting used to our spaces, and making it all personal.”
“You’re home, maybe give it a shot.”
“What happened to never coming back to town again?”
“I didn’t think you’d want to come back, and besides, you’ve got the reason you need. You did nothing wrong, and I guess this is something I’ve been thinking about, Chloe. You ran away, and I let you. I myself didn’t fight, and what I’ve come to realize, we should have. We didn’t do anything wrong. Neither of us did. The wrong was done to you—and to Alfie. Alfie told me about Daniel and how he got into a fight with him. I watched him destroy the tape as well, Chloe.” Lily took hold of her hands. “You shouldn’t have to run away. You’ve done nothing wrong in your entire life.”