Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“He didn’t go to Canada to see his brother the way Ransom did,” Ayana says softly. “He did that when we were together, and I thought he’d left in the middle of the night. I was so mad when he got back, but he did it to get his head on straight. He didn’t think I’d even notice he was gone. We’re not sure if Lennox is doing the same thing because he’s not in Canada. We already phoned Alden to check.”
“I…I don’t know what to say.” I clench my hands between my knees so hard that my fingers lose their healthy pink color and turn a near white. “I wanted to think anything was possible, but maybe it’s not.”
“Pigs can’t learn how to fly, and cat-icorns aren’t real. Dogs don’t speak human language, and assholes are always going to be assholes, but I do know that most other things are indeed possible,” Lennox’s granny says with such conviction that I raise my head and feel almost instantly reassured. I feel like I can breathe again. “Anything is possible where I’m concerned, and I’ll find him. You can bet on that. Just because I haven’t yet doesn’t mean I won’t. He can only evade me for so long. He’ll give me a blip because he knows I’m looking and worrying, and then he’ll stay there. Either he’ll come back here on his own, or we’ll go and find him.”
“I’ll go!”
“What?” Ayana yelps. “Alone?”
“Gawmwahahhbrrrrrr,” Maya babbles, sounding about as serious as a baby can. Even she doesn’t think it’s a good idea.
“I’m going,” I state firmly, even though my insides are cramped and compressed like I’ve been shoved into a tiny little box that my long limbs don’t nearly fit in. “Alone if I can. I need to find him. I need to show him that he’s not alone. I’m a fighter too.”
“That’s the spirit,” Lennox’s granny chuckles. “I like pluck. You’re plucky too. Like Ayana and Azalea. My boys have chosen well.”
“You kind of interfered a little on a few of those fronts,” Ayana insists.
There’s a shrug from the driver’s seat. “I might have. But just look at how that turned out. Sometimes a person knows when a person close to them needs more than a shove in the right direction.”
“Except, in my case, it was sort of in the wrong direction,” I said dryly.
“Alright, so I might have shoved in one direction or another, but it all worked out.” Lennox’s granny’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. “Lennox sometimes needs to go off on his own. Usually, it’s when he has a decision to make or when he has to sort through things, but also because he’s not an impulsive person and doesn’t like to even think about saying things he can’t take back when he’s not sure he wants to say them in the first place, good or bad. You’re Lennox’s first real relationship, and whether he realizes it or not, his first real love.”
There it is. The L-bomb. Ayana chokes while I gasp, Maya gurgles, and Lennox’s granny cackles.
“Surprised?” she asks. “He’s falling harder than you’d ever believe. That’s where the trouble is coming from. The rest of us might have seen it coming, but Lennox’s heart has been blind for a long time. You two are perfect for each other. I’ve known that since the swan boat ride. I’ve done a lot of subtle things to push you two together, and I’m glad we’re here now. Lennox isn’t like most people, though. He’s stubborn, and he’s still smarting on the inside over what happened to him as a child. He’s always going to be smarting that way.”
“He told me he could never live a normal life. That he could never just settle down and do what Ransom and Alden are doing. He doesn’t want to retire, and he’s afraid of asking me to join him in that. He’s afraid he’s going to tear me away from everything I know and love.”
Lennox’s granny doesn’t look at all surprised. She keeps studying me in the rearview mirror, which is kind of scary because we’re still driving. As if she can read my mind—and I wouldn’t put it past her—she pulls over on the side of the road and shoves the gear shift to park. Then, she cranks her head around and studies me.
“And are you? Are you ready to give all that up? You wouldn’t have to entirely, but it would be quite a change. You’d have to be one person for your family and the people who know you and another person entirely when you’re with us. You’d have to tell your family you’re moving to Europe for more schooling or to chase a dream job or something. They probably don’t know about Lennox, and that’s for the best. You could slowly introduce him later. The point is, you wouldn’t see much of the people you love from here on out until we either stop what we’re doing or Lennox changes his mind about retiring. You could message them. I would set that up, even video chat. But in-person stuff? It would be much fewer and further between.”