Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18241 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 91(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18241 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 91(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
MATTHEW
Five Years Later
Sadie, our only child, for now, blows bubbles in front of Jim’s face. He accidentally inhales some of them and sneezes, making Sadie laugh loudly. Dan stands behind them, a huge smile on her face but ready to swoop in anytime.
It’s Sadie’s fifth birthday, and we’re celebrating in Jim’s backyard. It’s the first time we’ve invited some of our neighbors and friends because we usually just have a family lunch or dinner. The cabin is too far for some of them, so Jim’s is the perfect place for the small party.
Milo, my best friend since second grade, claps my back and offers me a bottle of beer. I raise a brow at him. “Really? This is a children’s party.”
“I’m sorry, but the only word I hear is ‘party’. Besides, Dani wouldn’t mind. She’s always been cool.”
“Yes, she is.”
Milo’s foot taps against the Bermuda grass. He opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, closes it again. I elbow him in the stomach. “Spill it. You’re the worst at keeping secrets. You know that, right?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a harsh exhale. “I saw you that day.”
“What do you mean?”
“The storm. I got worried, so I went to check up on you. Then, I saw you on the terrace.”
I’m in his face so fast, he almost falls backward. “Did you look at my wife?”
Milo’s eyes are wide. “Jesus, no. I saw you naked and hightailed out of there. I figured you looked more than okay and obviously didn’t need any help.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I thought it wasn’t Dani at first. I thought you finally moved on and found someone. Then, she talked about being in your cabin in the storm, so … I put two and two together.”
“Or you could’ve just asked,” I mumble. “Forget you saw anything.”
“I saw your ass and nothing else. And you don’t have to tell me twice, you know. If I could bleach my brain, I would.”
Milo and I watch in stunned silence as a boy Sadie’s age comes bounding to her and pokes her with a toy sword. She stops him with a glare and says, “Stop. Go away and leave me alone.”
The boy’s smile fades, and he runs in search of his mother.
Milo laughs softly. “Remember when you told me how much you hated the town gossip, Lydia?”
“Yeah. She’s been managing that grocery for, what, twenty to thirty years? And she thinks she has a say in my life. I go there for oranges, and she’ll interrogate me for an hour or so.” I take a long swallow of my apple juice and sigh. “A week after I proposed, she badgered Dan into having a dozen kids because, according to her, ‘That’s the way it is in a town as small as ours.’ So no, I’m not her biggest fan.”
“To be fair, she does that to everyone. Meddling is her middle name. She once advised me to buy rolled oats instead of instant ones just because she heard me buying castor oil at the pharmacy. She even asked about my bowels in a voice everyone in the grocery store could hear.”
“Jesus. Why are we talking about her again?”
Milo turns to face me fully, his face lighting up with excitement, like he’s about to share the juiciest gossip he’s ever heard. “The other day, Mom asked me to buy ingredients for her mac and cheese, right? Well, Sadie and Dani were in front of me at the counter. Lydia comes from out of nowhere and tells Dani, ‘It’s always odd to me why you and your husband insist on living in the mountains, Danika. I never get the appeal. What do you like about it?’”
I’m still seething at the way she messes with my wife and child when Milo adds, “Dani didn’t even get a chance to answer. Sadie, my sweet, lovely favorite Sadie, looked her straight in the eye and said, ‘Less people.’”
“Did she, really?”