Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“I make cookies,” Rhett replied, reaching up to scratch his nose.
“Oh yeah?”
“Sugar cookies.”
“I love sugar cookies.”
“No chips,” Rhett said with a yawn.
I chuckled. “Yeah, Gran always runs out of chocolate chips.”
“You guys ready to go?” Emilia asked, coming up behind me. She reached past my head to run her fingers through Rhett’s hair, and I instinctively pulled the scent of her into my lungs. Jesus, I needed to get my head right.
“All done with my mom?” I asked, tipping my head back to look at her.
“Yeah,” she said, walking over to the door to put her shoes on. “She just had some pictures she wanted to show me.”
“She’s got enough of ’em,” I replied, carrying Rhett with me as I got to my feet. “I’ll just carry him to the car.”
Emilia looked at me and then Rhett. “That works,” she said with a smile. “Then I don’t have to put his shoes back on.”
“You guys leaving?” my mom asked.
“Yep.” I turned to look at her. “Told Rhett to call you gran, huh?”
“He was getting kind of confused, I think,” she replied, glancing apologetically at Emilia. “Two grandmas, you know.”
“Gran’s perfect,” Emilia said quietly. “Thank you.”
Mom squeezed Emilia’s shoulder.
“We’ll get out of your hair before the horde descends,” I muttered.
Mom laughed. “No such luck. Dad’s on his way back from the club with Titus and Myla. You’re going to just miss them.”
“I’ll see him tomorrow,” I said as she hugged me and Rhett together.
“You should come over tomorrow while Michael’s at work,” my mom said to Emilia, leaning around me to look at her. “The kids will all be at school, and I’ll have the place to myself. We can talk to Charlie about that job.”
“Okay,” Emilia replied with a tight smile.
I followed her out of the house and helped her put Rhett in his car seat and minutes later, we were headed back toward my place.
“Your mom’s so nice,” Emilia said with a sigh, leaning her head back against the seat.
“You’re surprised by that?” I asked curiously.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. “Yeah. I guess.”
“She’s always been nice to you.”
“I know,” she replied. “I guess I just wasn’t really expecting it. Polite, yes. Nice, not so much.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I screwed you over,” Emilia said tiredly. “Because I got pregnant at eighteen, disappeared, and showed back up here with a two-year-old. Surprise!”
“She doesn’t hold grudges,” I lied.
Emilia looked at me skeptically. “Yes, she does.”
“Not against you, apparently.”
“I’m just grateful, I guess.” Emilia shrugged and grew quiet again.
“What would be the point in treatin’ you like shit?” I asked as we pulled up in front of the house. “You’re here. You’re Rhett’s mama. We’re family.”
“You’re right,” Emilia said with a halfhearted smile. “I should probably just lean into it, huh?”
“My parents aren’t like yours, Emilia,” I said quietly, glancing back at Rhett who was passed out in his seat. “They’re not gonna turn on you all of a sudden or freeze you out because you pissed them off.”
“I know that.”
“You piss them off, they’re gonna say somethin’ about it,” I continued. “You’ll know.”
“They must be mad at me,” she argued. “There’s no way that they’re just okay with how it all played out.”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to talk to them since you got here.”
“I just—” She flapped her hands awkwardly in her lap. “I just don’t want to get used to it if it’s going to change.”
“It’s not gonna change,” I replied, reaching out to stop her frantic gestures. “They’re not gonna cut you off or start treatin’ you like shit. That’s not their style.”
“But at some point, it’s going to all come out,” she whispered. “They’re going to say something.”
“Probably,” I replied seriously. “But that will be it. They’ll say somethin’ and give you the opportunity to answer whatever questions they have, and that will be it.”
“I can’t imagine it’ll be that simple,” she muttered.
“Christ, none of this is simple,” I replied, looking back at Rhett again. “But we’ll figure it out.”
I carried Rhett inside and upstairs, and the entire time he was completely limp in my arms. He got that from me. I could remember so many times in my childhood when I’d fallen asleep somewhere and woken up hours later in a completely different place. A few times, I’d fallen asleep at the clubhouse and woken up in my own bed at home, completely unaware of the car ride in between. I couldn’t remember when that had stopped—probably around the time when I’d grown too big for my parents to carry me.
I tucked Rhett into the guest bed and headed back downstairs to find Emilia searching through my fridge.
“Need help?” I asked, making her yelp in surprise.
“I’m starving,” she said sheepishly, turning to face me.
“You shoulda eaten breakfast at the restaurant,” I replied dryly, moving around her to the pantry. “You want a grilled cheese?”