Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Riggens, our son, came in with cake smeared all over his face, his three-year-old self uncaring.
He was also in his pajamas from last night, only they were half unzipped with several of his toys stored in his pants so he could have easy access.
He handed me his empty stick, and I immediately threw it into the trashcan that was closer to him than me.
“Work that bad?” I asked.
“Another organ donor came in,” he explained. “Died. Family wanted his organs harvested. And then went through an eighteen-hour surgery for a complicated brain tumor.”
“Ew,” I said as I reached for the rag on the corner of the counter that was wet enough to get the chocolate off of Riggens’s face.
He complained, of course, but I managed to wrangle him long enough to get him presentable.
“Riggens,” Chevy said. “You need to get changed. Grandpa is going to be here soon.”
Riggens loved his grandpa.
Every Tuesday night, Dad picked him up to take him to the park and out to eat.
And Riggens loved it.
Dad—it still felt surreal that I had a dad and could call him such—loved it even more.
He’d offered to take Haven on Thursdays, but Haven was still too young yet to be without her mommy for any length of time.
Sadly, when Haven was born, she adamantly refused to take anything but the boob.
And we’d tried everything.
Eventually, I’d decided that I would just take an extended leave of absence and stay with Haven until she was a year old and could be weaned.
It’d worked out well, and I hadn’t realized how much it’d completed me until I’d realized how happy I was to be there with my family every day.
Though, I missed the hell out of my husband.
Sometimes it felt like I was missing a limb when I was away from him for any length of time.
Chevy tore off another small hunk of cake and fed it to Haven, who happily gobbled it up.
Riggens came back into the room wearing his Wrangler jeans, a white t-shirt that said ‘Truth Tellers MC’ on it, and his motorcycle boots—a gift from his grandpa Cakes.
The doorbell rang, and Riggens went tearing off, fully expecting to see his grandpa there waiting for them.
Only, it wasn’t his grandpa, but the president of the Truth Tellers.
“Webber.” I smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“Came to see your worst half,” he said as he picked Riggens up and gave him a small squeeze.
Riggens wound his tiny arms around Webber’s neck and giggled.
I was about to close the door when Dad pulled up on his bike.
“Grandpa!” Riggens screeched.
Webber set Riggens down with a wince, rubbing at his ear as he did.
Riggens tore off in Dad’s direction, and he caught him before he could make it into the road.
Not that it would matter. We had this whole end section of the road secure with Claybornes.
“Webber, what’s up?” Chevy asked, coming out of the kitchen with Haven in his arms.
Haven squealed, and Webber reached for her.
Haven loved her some Webber.
Then again, she loved all of the Truth Tellers.
“Came to talk to you about a problem,” he said. “But I can spare a moment or two to get some lovin.’”
Chevy jerked his head toward the backyard just as Dad made his way inside.
He stopped to give me a kiss on my cheek before saying, “We seem to be missing a shoe.”
Cakes grabbed the shoe, the keys to my car, and headed out. But not before he got a kiss from his favorite granddaughter on the way.
Webber and Chevy headed out to the backyard with Haven, and I took the opportunity presented to me and went upstairs to go to sleep.
As I did, I passed all the memories we’d made over the years.
Riggens learning to swim in the lake.
Haven’s birth.
Riggens’s birth.
Dad’s marriage.
My graduation.
On and on the memories went until I got to the last one.
My marriage to Chevy.
It was us in the middle of a frozen field.
There were poinsettias all around us, and frost was literally collecting on Chevy’s beard when he dipped me in my strapless white dress.
His mouth was inches away from mine and we were both laughing.
It was my most favorite picture ever.
A smile was fully plastered on my face as I walked through my room, taking in all the things that Chevy’d gotten for me as of late.
A brand-new pair of tennis shoes.
A new bracelet sat next to my sink.
Absentmindedly I opened the drawer by his sink to shove all his junk into the drawer when a stack of papers caught my eye.
I pulled them out and frowned when I started to read.
PAID IN FULL was stamped on the papers, and I gasped.
My name, as well as my college’s name and the program’s cost were there for me to see in black and white.
Bold ink.
I read down to the bottom and tears filled my eyes.