Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“Makes sense, that’s where I’ve been all day.” When Everest smirked, he reminded me so much of his mother that my heart squeezed.
“Smartass.”
“Learned from the best, remember that,” he said and flashed an adorable smile that made me smile in return. He dropped a stack of mail on the table. “Ran into the mail lady when I was over at Derek’s. Said to tell you hello, and send her regards to your parents.”
I nodded. That was a common refrain in the months since we arrived in Carson Creek. “Helen Franklin has been delivering mail since I was a kid.”
“The late nineteen hundreds, then?”
My eyes went wide with mock indignation. “You’re grounded until you’re thirty.”
He laughed, all the way upstairs and into his bedroom. He was lucky he was so cute and loveable, or else he really would be grounded for reminding me of my age.
I didn’t feel like a woman knocking on the door of forty-five, which meant I wasn’t. Right? Yeah because a young woman spent all of her free time focusing on work, paying bills and considered a fun night one where she had wine with dinner, right?
“Now I know I’m spending too much time in my own head.” I reached for the stack of mail, going through each envelope to confirm that they were all, in fact, bills. Most of them were. There was a reminder from the middle school about the registration period for new students, a flyer about fireworks at the fairground, and then an envelope with the name of a law firm on it.
I opened it quickly wondering what it could be. I didn’t know any lawyers, not personally anyway, beyond the ones who’d helped me navigate each divorce, and the one who’d read out Nicola’s will to me a few weeks after her death, so my interest was piqued. My gaze bounced over the words once. Twice. And then three more times just to be sure I’d read what I thought I had, certain my brain was misfiring, because there was no in hell Nicola’s parents could threaten to take custody of Everest.
“Those son of bitches!” They hadn’t given one damn about Nicola for most of her life, forcing her to struggle through college because she’d chosen a major they deemed frivolous. They hadn’t attended our college graduation, or Nicola’s master’s degree graduation, hadn’t invited her home for the holidays either. And their worst sin of all, was that they offered not one dime of help, not one kind word when she’d fallen pregnant outside the confines of marriage. It had been me and Nicola from the age of eighteen, eating ramen and dreaming of life beyond the bounds of our lives. I had a scholarship, so we shared my meal plan and any extra money remaining to splurge on cheap items like ramen noodles and sandwich fixings.
I was her family, not them. They never gave one damn about their sweet grandson until this moment, and even now I was sure it had more to do with how they believed he was being raised than any real desire to have him around. My fury rose and I stomped out the back door, pacing the width of the house on the thick grass to work off some of my energy and rage.
What in the hell would I do now? A legal battle required money, and would deplete what was still left of my savings before I had the chance to replenish the accounts. And the best part of all? They were looking to use my single status against me. “Bastards!” I paced and paced until some of the fury had burned off and my mind settled.
I could do this, and I would. Fight for Everest? There was no other option. I would fight those hateful zealots with everything I had, and I would win.
“Is this your way of leaving all the chicken for me? I’ll save you a piece of corn,” Everest called out the back door, smile so wide I could hear it in his voice.
Yep, there wasn’t even a question about fighting for the kid. He was mine. Had been from the moment I held him in my arms. “Eat all the chicken and you’ll be eating boiled spinach for the next four meals.”
“Oh, that’s mean,” he called out, but when I stomped up the steps his smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not ready to talk about it yet, but I’m fine. We’re fine and good, I promise.”
“Okay,” he said and held the back door open for me. “You sure?”
I nodded absently, and distracted myself with the act of washing my hands while I answered. “I got some unexpected news, that’s all.” I turned in search of the kitchen towel and froze at the sight of a very unwelcome and uninvited guest. “What are you doing here?”