Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 97053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
I lean my head on his shoulder. “That sounds so sad.”
“I don’t have a therapy bill for it. Life’s different in New York for a kid. That’s all.”
I’d take another six years as a strawberry over staying in my bedroom on Halloween. “Halloween is huge in Star Falls. Everyone goes down to the park and the diner sets up a barbeque. Usually there’s a band playing.”
“What about trick-or-treating?” he asks.
“The kids do that first and then we all head down about six.” I try to think if I’ve ever seen a flyer or any ad for it. “It’s kinda just become a tradition.”
“Sounds nice,” he says.
I want to say he can come to this year’s Halloween—it’s only a couple of weeks away, but I don’t want to dip my toe into talk about the future. If I do, I might burst this bubble that we’re in.
“My toes are numb,” Jack says grimly. “I actually think they might have fallen off.”
I laugh. “Oh, Jack. You’re such a New Yorker.”
He pulls his legs out of the water and stands. “Guilty as charged.” He pulls me up and I lead him over to the start of the creek, where the water from the pool gently runs over rocks and stones on its way to wherever it’s going.
“You have to try and find the sparkly stones,” I instruct him. “I actually have found some beautiful ones over the years. I have quite the collection. I even thought about doing a geology course there for a minute.”
Jack follows me as I move from rock to rock, peering at the bed of the creek.
“I’ve got quite the eagle eye, or so I’m told,” I say.
“Tell me about the course you applied for,” he says.
“I get college credit for it,” I say, and then I realize I’m being defensive. Jack’s not asking me to justify why I’m taking it. He’s interested. In me. “I got my high school diploma by correspondence. I didn’t graduate with my class because of Mom.” I spot a sparkle of something submerged in the silt of the creek bed and bend to uncover it. When I pull out the stone, I realize it must have been the glint of the sun making it appear nicer than it was, and I drop it back into the water with a plop.
“I’m sorry,” Jack says.
“Don’t be. I only graduated recently. I didn’t bother for years, and then I did a short horticultural class and hated it, and sent it to Bray. He’s the farmer. I’m not that girl. But I’d gotten an itch, so I decided I wanted to get my high school diploma. I finished that this summer. I found it nice to have something other than the farm. You know?”
He nods, listening intently, his expression serious.
“So I wanted to have something else. Study something else. So I’m starting an American History class. We’ll see how that goes.”
“That’s amazing, Iris.”
I turn to find Jack looking at me like he’s just found one of the dazzling stones that hide in the creek bed under our feet.
“I’ll probably fail it or scrape by, because of my responsibilities to the farm.”
“I doubt you’ll scrape by. I bet you fly.” He grins at me, and I can’t help but smile back. I step toward him onto the creek bed and he steps off the stones onto the shingle to stand opposite me. The cold water rushes around our feet as Jack wraps his arms around me and presses his lips to mine.
He pulls back and our foreheads rest against each other’s. “You’ve dealt with so much in your life, yet you haven’t let it tarnish your spirit. You’re still marveling at the moonlight’s reflection, searching for the sparkling rocks among the silt of the creek bed. You’re such a special woman, Iris. I don’t think you have any idea.”
My cheeks heat, and Jack cups my face. I lift my head slightly, impatient for his kiss. I don’t have to wait long. His soft lips press against me and his tongue pushes through to find mine. He kisses me like he can’t not kiss me. Like kissing me gives him energy, life, purpose.
My body begins to buzz. I don’t know what it is, but when Jack touches me, my entire body seems to change. Like he affects every cell. I’ve never known my body to react in the way it does when Jack’s near me. I can’t imagine it ever will again.
I know Jack’s special. I know what we share together is more than anything I could have ever imagined. And even though I’m not sure how I’ll exist without him, I’ll be forever grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to know this special man.
TWENTY
Jack
I pull up in front of Wilde’s Farm late on Saturday afternoon. I know that Iris, Bray, and their father finish at the farm at three on Saturdays. So by now, they should have finished up and have had time to decompress. I’ve got an idea, and I want them in the right frame of mind for it.