Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
I gave her a few minutes, allowing the comfortable silence to fill the air. Combined with the soft summer breeze it felt perfect. Quinn knelt there whispering to the stone, as if it was meant just for Nana’s ears. And that was okay. I didn’t need to know what she said to understand the gist of it. She brushed her hand across their names, a sweet sign of how much they’d meant to her. Finally she straightened and turned to face me.
“I did something…” I cleared my throat.
“I bet you did,” she said, wiping away a stray tear.
I expected her sass to come back after such an intense moment. She clearly had no idea what I was about to tell her. I hoped that she read into my meaning and that she understood.
“So, it doesn’t happen often but the plot next to them and the one behind them became available. Maybe it was some error in the system, but nonetheless I purchased them.” Quinn didn’t say anything, just blinked up at me, her pupils huge, eyes filling with tears. “This one, closest to the bench right there, I reserved it in your name. Paid in full.”
She kept staring.
“Uh, and the other one I kept in mine.” When she still didn’t respond I continued. “You’ll always be near them, babygirl. You won’t ever have to be alone.”
Her knees buckled and I caught her. She buried her head in my chest, wailing. I had a feeling that she hadn’t properly grieved. That she’d squashed the pit of sadness down as far as it would go and continued on her daily grind without giving it a name. I held Quinn to me, smoothing her hair, and whispering softly. I didn’t push her to speak, didn’t pressure her to be quiet. I gave her space to cry. Watching her crumble brought tears to my eyes, and I didn’t wipe them away.
After a while, her sobs broke into gentle hiccups. I lifted her into my arms and sat us on the bench, pulling her into my lap. Quinn found a tissue in her denim jacket pocket and dried my eyes then her own.
She leaned her head on my chest and glanced up at me. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m sure your mouth will think of something,” I said half teasing.
“I think that I’ll give you a list of approved date ideas from now on, Daddy.”
“Oh, yeah? I look forward to that.” I tapped her nose with my index finger. “You don’t have to say anything, spitfire. I saw an opportunity and took it. I didn’t want you to worry about the inevitable, and though I don’t ever want to be the one sitting on this bench alone–”
She kissed me, silencing the rest of my statement immediately. She kissed me like I was her everything. Her Daddy. Her protector. The one who came back for her. The one who swore he wouldn’t leave her again. I’d regretted a lot of things, but I would never regret this decision.
“Hush, Daddy,” she finally said, breaking away first. “You’ve given me something so precious that I don’t even have words. Thank you, Callum. Thank you for doing this.”
“Anything for you, Quinn.”
“I haven’t been out here, you know? Not since Nana was buried. I wanted to… but… it felt like if I didn’t see her name on the stone that I could keep pretending she’d come back. It was stupid.”
“How we deal with grief is never stupid, babygirl. It’s not a great plan to pretend it didn’t happen, but I didn’t mean to push you to face something you weren’t ready for.”
“No, no, it wasn’t like that. I was paying attention when you pulled in. I could have asked Mickie or Bonnie to come out here with me, and they would have. I wasn’t ready then. But today was different.”
“How so?”
“Well, my first thought wasn’t to argue this morning when you told me to stay away from the barn. In a short amount of time I’ve accepted your authority regarding the ranch. Regarding us. With you by my side, I could do it.”
Her trust in me already brought me a strong sense of peace. Becoming her rock to lean on, something I’d grown up witnessing with Nana and Tuts adding another helping. I brushed a piece of her hair out of her face. “Tell Nana and Tuts goodbye. Then we’ll go to Creekside Diner before we head home.”
“Much better pick for a date,” she said saucily as she slid off my lap.
“There’s my little spitfire sprinkling sass back into her words. Come on, sweetheart.” I stood and held out my hand. She laced her fingers in mine. We stopped at the gravestone.
“I’m sure you missed her, Tuts. I’m glad she’s with you now. Also, you were right, Nana. He came back. And I promise I’ll always take care of him.” She blew kisses into the wind.