Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
“We gotta have the grace,” Juni piped in. “My Motorcycle Dad said he sure is happy for it, too, because he’s not even close to perfect, not one little bit. You can ask my mom.”
A giggle ripped from me as emotion crested from Eden, and we shared a look, her smile so soft as she looked at the sight of the kids in her kitchen.
At this incredible family.
I’d made the decision not to let my own grief stand in my way any longer.
It was there.
Of course, it was.
It would always be.
I would forever miss my parents. My Bobby.
The man who was supposed to be my everything.
But I guessed I finally, truly felt a part of this close-knit group.
Saw their love for what it was.
Auntie Tessa wasn’t just a flippant nickname.
It was who I was to them.
Baby Kate screeched while Eden ran a washcloth over her face. “That’s right, we work hard, we have grace, and we show love the best that we can.”
“Ah, I see someone else who is smart.” I winked at her, and she laughed a little just as the doorbell rang.
“Here, can you take her a second so I can get that?” She passed Baby Kate off to me without waiting for a response.
“Always, and of course. I love my Baby Kate, don’t I, sweet girl?” I lifted her high, and she curled into this adorable baby ball, giggling and throwing her little arms as I brought her down and blew a raspberry on her cheek.
She squealed then got a fistful of my hair.
“You better watch it, Auntie, she’s dangerous. I got a bald spot. Dad said I’m gonna be lucky if it even grows back.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think you have to worry too much, buddy.”
“Oh, I’m worried, all right.”
Affection wound me tight as I brought Kate to my chest, bouncing her around, grinning when Eden came back around the corner, carrying a box wrapped in thick, brown paper and twined with matching ribbon.
A card was tucked under it.
“Oh, a prezzie,” I sang, drawing it out, wondering what Trent had gotten her this time.
The man was kinda obsessed, but I wasn’t about to complain that he was spoiling my bestie. She deserved it.
Her expression was somber. “Not for me.”
A frown curled my brow when she held it out for me to take, and we awkwardly traded, Eden taking Baby Kate while she passed me the box.
I didn’t know if it was anxiety or hope or anger that lit inside me. But it was bright and kinda blinding, and I was having a really hard time keeping from hyperventilating.
Because I saw the handwriting on the card that simply read Tessa.
Handwriting I now knew as well as my own.
Milo’s.
I just stood there, staring at it.
“Well, are you gonna open it, or what?” Juniper asked, pulling me out of my stupor.
Was I?
Did I even want to know what was inside?
I glanced at Eden.
She angled her head. “Open it.”
I sank down onto a chair, and with shaky hands, I pulled the envelope from under the ribbon, close to frantic as I freed the flap.
I pulled out a flat card plus a folded piece of paper that fell onto my lap.
My heart was in my throat as I stared at the hand-painted image.
As I stared at a lake that was so familiar, the same as was painted on Remy and Scout’s walls.
Though in this one, the sun stood prominent, front and center.
I tried to gulp around the emotion as I set it aside and picked up the letter, carefully unfolding it, both terrified and desperate to see what he’d said.
My eyes traced that same bold handwriting that had been on the envelope.
Tessa,
I’ve been a man who’s hid behind my mistakes for a long, long time, and it’s time that ended. Maybe I’m a coward for trying to reach you this way, but what I’ve got to say is really important, and I find myself at a loss for words when I’m looking at you. Unable to form a full, rational thought because you steal my breath and every thought in my mind, so I thought it would be best to get it out this way.
See, you stole my heart, too.
You stole it when I thought I didn’t have it to give. When it wasn’t whole. When it was in pieces.
You stole it anyway, because I think from the moment I saw you, it belonged to you.
And when you loved me back? I thought maybe I could get a second chance. That there might be redemption for a man like me, even though that dark spot inside me warned that I was being a fool. That I had no right. That my heart wasn’t mine to give, and I’d committed too many crimes to deserve all that you are.
I thought I saw the culmination of it that night when I stepped into that basement to the horrible reality that you had gotten caught up in my past.