Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Maddie’s eyes widen. “What did you do?”
“I got my ass back in the truck and got the hell out of there.”
I chuckle, watching my father tell my daughter the story.
It’s been the same tale since I can remember, varying very little over the years. Dad is full of stories like this, and I grew up wondering if he was full of shit or if he’d had the most exciting life ever. Looking back, it’s probably something in the middle.
Dad groans as he pushes off the tree, stutter-stepping a bit before he finds his balance. My heart leaps, and I reach for him. He swats my hand away.
“You okay?” I ask.
“I’m fine. You fucking okay?”
Maddie looks at me. I shake my head at her to leave it be.
“Come on,” he says, plodding deeper into the woods with his walking stick. “The big patch is back here.”
“Pops, Dad and I can go back and get them, if you want.”
Dad stops and looks at me over his shoulder, warning me not to go along with my child. “Your dad will miss all the good ones. Trust me.” He holds my gaze and then starts walking again.
I keep a few steps back from them to watch Dad’s gait. There’s something slightly off, but I can’t make it out exactly. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.
“You got a knife on ya, Jack?” Dad asks.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Gimme it.”
He holds his palm to the side. I take my pocketknife out of my jeans and lay it in his hand.
Dad ambles to a giant oak and taps it with the butt of the knife. “Here it is.”
Maddie touches the scarred wood with a heart around it. “What is this? H and R. M and R?” Her fingers trail down the bark, reading the last name. “‘Jack’?” She looks at me over her shoulder and smiles. “Is this you?”
“How many other Jacks do you know?” Dad asks. “Of course it’s him.”
I shake my head. “H and R—Harvey Reed. M and R—Myra Reed.”
Dad offers her the knife. “Go on. Add your mark.”
Maddie takes the handle and steps to the tree.
“Be careful,” I say.
Dad sighs. “Will you let the girl live a little?”
Maddie giggles.
“What’s gotten into you, Dad?” I ask, chuckling.
“I’m trying to make a memory here, but you’re butting in.”
I hold up my hands. “Sorry. Go on.”
Maddie holds the knife up to the tree. “Just press the tip against it?”
“Just like this.” Dad holds her hand and helps her create an M. “See?”
Maddie smiles. “I have to write Maddie, though. An M could be Michael, and he’s not bringing Ava out here one day and acting like this was him.”
“I’m sure that’s what he would be wanting to do with Ava out here,” Dad says.
Maddie’s eyes go wide, and she looks at me, waiting for my response.
“I got nothing,” I say. “I give up.”
Maddie giggles again and goes back to work on her name. Dad grabs a seat on a fallen tree.
My chest tightens as I watch him struggle for a breath. His cheeks are red, and a bead of sweat lines his forehead.
He’s too old for this. Will he be able to walk out? How would I get him help if he can’t make it back to the truck?
I take my phone out of my pocket. No service. Great.
Dad lifts a hand off a knee and points vaguely across the forest. “See those berries? Go pick ’em.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, heading off in the general direction of his gesture.
“How long ago did you and Grandma carve your names in this tree?” Maddie asks, still in earshot.
“Oh, hell. A long time ago.”
“I wish I could’ve met her.”
Dad exhales. “I wish you could’ve too. Your grandma wouldn’t know what to do with you and Michael. You couldn’t fit her head in the doorway she’d be so proud.”
I pluck the ripened berries off the bush and drop them into my bucket.
“What was she like, Pops?” Maddie asks.
“Myra?” He gazes into the distance. “She was a good woman. Smart. A hard worker. As pretty as a picture.”
Maddie grins, starting to work on the R in Reed.
“Your grandma was a catch,” Dad says. “I had to work solid for a month to get her to go out with me. Then she turned me down twice when I asked her to marry me.”
“She did?” I ask. News to me.
“Hell yes, she did.” He chuckles. “I didn’t have a damn thing to offer her, and she could’ve had anyone she wanted in a five-county radius. I didn’t have a penny to my name. What would she want in a man like me?”
“Well, you’re awfully handsome,” Maddie says.
Dad smiles. “Yes, I am.”
I snort. “And humble.”
“But I finally got her to say yes,” he says, stretching his legs out in front of him. “I promised her she’d never want for anything. I’d make sure she had everything she could ever need. And I did.”