Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“You’re so good to me.” She wrapped her legs around my hips. My palms immediately cupped her fine ass. “You sexy beast. Now, let’s burn up some of this crazy energy.” She nodded toward the bedroom. “Or I’ll never get to sleep.”
I carried her to bed and fulfilled her wish. As she lay sleeping in my arms, I thought of us, Maggie, Esmé, my mother, and me living in a quiet town, soaking up the peaceful things, miles away from the memories I’d been tormented by for so many years.
It was a fresh start, a new beginning with limitless possibilities, and I’d never been happier in my life.
39
Two Years Later
Maggie
“Esmé Shaw, quit chasing the chickens. You’re scaring them. They’ll never lay any eggs if you don’t stop.” I watched her run around the yard while I sipped my coffee on the back porch.
Welcome to the terrible twos. That child. What was I gonna do with her? She was as stubborn as her father sometimes.
With the mention of live chickens turning into a child’s toy, it was pretty clear we’d made the move from New York City to Alabama.
I loved being near my mother and this sleepy town of Monroeville, full of lively characters and a Piggly Wiggly. God, how I missed that grocery store.
Lucas finished his book and was working on his second. His best friend, Barclay Hammond, published his first one, and it actually hit the New York Times bestseller list in fiction. I couldn’t have been prouder of Lucas for going after his dreams.
He made my childhood dreams come true too. I was the proud owner of twenty alpacas, the sweetest animals ever. We had farm tours every Wednesday afternoon and Saturday. Families came from all around the area to see the furry creatures. Everyone called them llamas, and I passed out sheets of paper explaining the difference between them and alpacas. I think alpacas would be more popular if their name was cuter and easier to pronounce.
“Need more coffee?” I asked Lilly, who was sitting next to me in her favorite rocking chair.
“I’m good,” she said, rocking back and forth. “Thank you, Maggie.”
Lilly truly was good, better than she’d been in the last twenty years. She still didn’t understand Lucas was her son, but you could see the love in her eyes for him. And that love came from the memories lost somewhere in her mind.
“Look. Look.” Esmé came running toward the porch, her blond hair flying in the air behind her. “I found a egg.”
She held out her hand and gave me a perfect brown egg. It was an improvement from the cracked shell and soupy, sticky mess she normally handed me.
“Miss Lilly, did you see?” Esmé asked.
“I did. Good job.” Lilly straightened Esmé’s cockeyed dress. “They’ll lay more if you stop spooking them.”
I almost told Esmé to listen to her grandmother. Maybe someday, something would click inside Lilly’s head and the memories would return. Until then, we held out hope.
The porch door swung open with a loud squeak. “What are my girls up to this morning?” Lucas asked, walking out onto the porch in a black suit with a light blue tie that matched his eyes.
When we left the city, I made him promise me he’d wear a suit one day a week. I wasn’t ready to let that sexy bastard live in only faded jeans, though he wore them incredibly well. He didn’t argue with me, so every Thursday, he put on his Wall Street uniform, looking just like the man I met in the coffee shop.
“I found a egg, Daddy.” Esmé bent her head back to see Lucas’s face.
“Let’s have it for breakfast tomorrow.” He swung Esmé into his arms. “What do you say?”
“Yes.” Esmé nodded, squirming out of his arms and back onto the porch, then down the steps and into the yard. I wanted to bottle up her energy, especially on lazy mornings like today.
“What do you say we have lunch down by the creek?” Lucas said, kissing me on the cheek. “Maybe some of your delicious chicken salad?”
“Only if you let me drink some wine with it.”
“Of course, Peaches.” He turned to his mother. “How is your morning, Lilly? Good, I hope.”
“Maggie is going to paint my nails today. I picked out a pink color.” Lilly smiled like she was living her best life, making my heart swell.
“You’ll look pretty in pink,” Lucas said to his mother.
“Oh, I saw Erin this morning on The Today Show, talking about her new movie. It opens this weekend. A romantic comedy. The trailer looked good.”
“She’s done well for herself,” Lucas said. “Once the promo is over, I hope she has time to come see Esmé.”
“Me too,” I agreed.