Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
But the moment I set my glass down, the sadness that had been weighing on me throughout the day returned. I did my best to cover it up, but constantly felt like I was on the verge of tears. After dessert and coffee, I helped do the dishes, faked a huge yawn, and said I’d better get to bed since I planned to work the next day. Millie Rose was opening in exactly one week, and I wanted everything to be perfect. I hugged everyone goodbye, congratulated Winnie and Dex once more, wished everyone Merry Christmas, and headed for the front hall closet.
As I was buttoning up my coat, Felicity found me. “Hey,” she said, sticking her hands in her cardigan pockets. “You okay?”
“No.” I wound my scarf around my neck. “But I was hoping it wasn’t obvious.”
“It wasn’t,” she assured me. “I just know what’s going on. But you left Cloverleigh so fast last night, I didn’t get a chance to ask what happened. Did you talk to him?”
I nodded as I pulled on my hat. “Yes. And he gave me a diamond necklace.”
Felicity stretched her neck forward like a goose. “He did?”
“Yes.” Angrily, I yanked on my gloves. “It’s gorgeous.”
“But—but why?”
“I have no idea, Felicity!” I threw up my hands. “And when I asked him, he said, ‘You know why.’ Whatever that means.”
Felicity’s mouth opened, then she tucked in her lips and pressed them together. “I think it means . . . he loves you?”
“No, he doesn’t,” I said crossly. “If he loved me, he wouldn’t have let me go so easily.”
“But you said it was a mutual decision. It’s not like he abandoned you.”
“I know what I said, but it doesn’t feel that way, okay?” My eyes filled. “This is why. This is why I don’t date men who don’t need me. It’s too easy for them to walk away.”
My sister made a face. “I don’t know, Mills. It doesn’t seem like this was all that easy for him. He bought you a diamond necklace. Can’t you guys maybe . . . try again?”
“What’s the point?” I asked, drowning in the hopelessness of it all.
“Love?” she offered.
“But if he doesn’t love me enough to consider getting married or having kids, it doesn’t matter. I want a family.”
Felicity sighed. “Are you sure it’s out of the question? Did you actually have this conversation?”
“Not exactly,” I admitted, playing with a button on my coat. “I couldn’t bring myself to come out and ask him if he’d ever have the vasectomy reversed. It seemed like too much when we’ve only been seeing each other for a couple months.”
“So does a diamond necklace,” Felicity pointed out. “Compared to asking a question, that’s a lot.”
“I just can’t,” I insisted. “What if the answer is no? I’ll feel terrible and rejected. At least this way, it feels like a decision we made together.”
“Okay,” she said, giving me a hug. “It’s your life. I just hate seeing you so sad at such a happy time of year. And I know all the Winnie and Dex stuff must be hard.”
I hugged her back, grateful for the affection. “I’ll be okay. Eventually.”
CHAPTER 27
ZACH
I flew out to Idaho the day after Christmas.
I sent Mason and Lori an apology text, explaining that an emergency had arisen at work, and I was needed on a job and promising to come back soon. I thanked them for the gifts and said I planned to put the ultrasound photo on my fridge where I’d see it every day. I wasn’t sure I’d actually do it—did I really want that constant reminder of impending grandfatherhood?—but I hoped it would make them happy. I knew I was letting them down by leaving early. I felt even worse when I received no reply to my message.
After checking into a nondescript Twin Falls motel, I met up with Jackson at a place called The Anchor Bistro for a bite to eat. Over wings and nachos, Jackson went over the instructions with me for the job, which included providing the woman and her child with new identities.
“Give them this.” Across the table in our booth at the back, Jackson handed me a large yellow envelope, which I assumed had documents with their new names on them.
I put the envelope on the seat next to me. “Where are they now?”
“Sleeping. They were exhausted.” He took a drink of his coffee. “I’ve got them in a safe house, and it’s being watched.”
“How old is the kid?”
“Little. Maybe two or three.”
My protective instincts went into overdrive. “Are they being tracked?”
“I have to assume someone is trying. The woman—her name is Sophie—is scared and confused. Her husband was obviously involved in something he didn’t want her to know about, and we can’t provide her any details—we don’t even have them—but he took extensive measures to keep them safe.”