Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Tonight there seems so much at stake.
The doorbell goes and as I stalk toward the entrance hall, I can’t help but remember the first time I met Eira. She was covered in mud and, I thought, the very last person I was looking for.
How wrong I was.
I open the door, but there’s no one there.
“Hello?” I call.
“Here!” She appears from behind the hedge in front of my house. “I just found a bumble bee on your pathway and put him somewhere safer.”
“Of course you did,” I say. “Rescuer of animals and people.”
She steps toward me in a long blue skirt and a white t-shirt, looking effortlessly cool and sexy in that way only she can. “Did I rescue someone?” she asks.
I can’t do anything but smile at her. She looks so beautiful. Her hair hits her waist and her skin seems to shine.
“I bought something for Guinevere,” she says, holding up a gift bag. “A towel. With her initials on it.”
“Oh, thanks,” I say, taking the bag from her. “Shall I open it?”
She shrugs. “Later. Let’s walk.”
I drop the bag into the house and lock the door. We head in the direction of Hampstead village.
“So, Guinevere’s initials are GCC, right?” she asks.
“Right,” I say, “Guinevere Carole Cove.”
“And my sister’s scholarship is the GCC scholarship. Turns out there are scant details about that scholarship, apart from the fact it’s available for ten years and the criteria for consideration is that students have to have lost both their parents in order to be eligible.”
There’s no point in denying it. She’s put all the pieces together. “It was a thank-you,” I say. I knew Eira wouldn’t have accepted money for Eddie’s education if I offered it upfront. A scholarship for her sister seemed the easiest way to repay her in some way, and it had taken little effort from me. A phone call. A bank transfer. The university handled the rest.
The only sticking point had been timeframes. I wanted to make sure Eddie knew about her scholarship immediately and had the money within seven days. I wanted to relieve Eira’s financial burden as soon as possible. Once the university realized I wouldn’t change my mind, everything else slotted into place.
“For what?” she asks, pausing in the middle of the pavement.
“For taking Guinevere to the hospital. For taking such good care of her.”
“That’s my job. And it was viral meningitis anyway. She was fine.”
“No one knew it was viral at the time. If it had been bacterial, she would have been in hospital before it progressed. You would have saved her life.”
“It’s a lot of money.”
“Guinevere’s health is priceless to me.”
She reaches up and smooths her fingers over my brow. “I love hearing how much you love her.”
She doesn’t need to say what she’s thinking: that it wasn’t always like this. My bond with Guinevere has grown over the last weeks until it’s the most secure, unbreakable thing in my life. It’s as if she’s been a part of me since forever.
“She’ll be three months on Tuesday,” I say.
“So big already.”
“She’s grown up so much. I’m not sure how I’m going to handle her getting bigger.”
Eira slips her hand in mine and we keep walking. “You will,” she says. “You will.”
“Are you going to tell me about you? What you’ve been doing? Are you working?”
She smiles up at me. “Let’s sit and talk.”
We’ve arrived outside a restaurant with black and white awnings. Eira pulls me inside.
Once we’re seated and have ordered some drinks, she leans across the table. “I’m going to be honest with you,” she says. “I think you’re great.”
It’s like I feel cupid’s arrow piercing my skin. She’s so adorable.
“I think you’re great too,” I reply. “More than great.” I don’t want to scare her off, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone—never felt as if someone gets me like Eira does. The things my brothers tease me about are the same things she thinks are the best parts of me. It feels like no matter what I do, she’ll look up at me with her hopeful eyes and I’ll know that everything is going to be okay.
“You were right when you said I put everyone else first. My identity has been caught up in caring for others, so when that was stripped away, I didn’t quite know who I was. Even though it’s tiring, it’s nice to be needed.”
I need you, I think.
“I’m sorry if giving Eddie the scholarship took something away from you. That wasn’t my intention.”
She grabs my hand across the table and I revel in the softness of her. “It did quite the opposite. Eddie being independent of me and being able to stand on her own two feet is the best gift you could have given her. Or me.” She lets out a small laugh. “And it happened at just the right time.”