Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Lynnea stepped forward. Reid crouched to hug the young child. “You are so pretty.”
“So are you,” Reid said as she touched the replica of her dress. “Do you remember what to do?”
Lynnea nodded. Reid kissed her, and Lynnea made her way to the aisle. Everyone oohed when she started dropping more cherry blossoms onto the ground. When she got to the end of the aisle, instead of standing next to her mom and sister, she stood with Grayson, tucking herself around his leg. Their bond was unbreakable.
The music shifted, and Luther reached for his daughter. “I’m only loaning you to him,” he told her. “You’re still my baby girl.”
“Always, Daddy.”
After the reception, Grayson, Reid, and Nadia took the girls to a private room. On the table sat two boxes, wrapped with a giant red bow.
“Why do we get presents?” Gemma asked.
“It’s a party,” Grayson told her. “Everyone gets something.” He wasn’t wrong. All the guests would go home with some sort of gift or party favor representing the bride and groom.
The girls approached the table, each taking the box with her name on it. Gemma opened hers slowly, while Hurricane Lynnea tore into her package.
“A bear!” Lynnea said happily.
“Press his hand,” Nadia told her.
Grayson sat on the ground next to them. He helped Gemma take hers out of the box and showed her where to press.
“It’s not doing anything.”
“Oh,” Grayson said as if he’d forgotten to tell them. “Put your ear to his chest.”
Lynnea did, but Gemma eyed him warily and shook her head. “I know what this is.”
“Yeah?” Grayson asked.
She nodded. “Maybe I don’t want this.”
“It’s okay if you don’t,” he told her. “You can keep it in the box. Save it for later.”
“Why does my bear have a heartbeat?” Lynnea asked.
“It’s Daddy’s,” Gemma said as she fought back tears. “You can listen to his heart whenever you want now.”
“Oh.” Lynnea pressed the button again and put her ear on the bear. She smiled from ear to ear.
“Why are you giving these to us?”
Grayson’s eyes watered. Reid came over and put her hand on his shoulder, while Nadia went to her oldest.
“Sweetie,” Nadia said smoothly. She reached for Lynnea and held her as well. “Do you remember walking down the hall with your daddy, and all those people were there?”
Gemma nodded.
“When your daddy died, he was so strong and healthy, he had a chance to help others, even though he was no longer going to be with us. He gave others the gift of life. He lives on in others out there.”
Gemma looked at the bear, then her mother, and finally at Grayson. With her eyes full of tears, she asked, “Do you have my daddy’s heart?”
Grayson nodded as he wept.
“Why did you give us the bears, then?”
“What do you mean?” Grayson asked.
Gemma shrugged. “I guess what I’m asking is, Why do we need a bear when we have the real thing right there?” She pointed at Grayson’s chest.
“No thanks.” She put the bear back in the box, much to everyone’s surprise, and then crawled into Grayson’s lap. Lynnea did the same, although Reid was sure Lynnea had no idea why. “This is much better.”
Reid agreed. Hearing the real thing was much, much better.