Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
When Missy told me that Dean knocked her up, I remember being devastated. It was wildly inappropriate since I was married, but I didn’t want Missy with Dean. It would have been different if it were someone else, just not my sister. I’d thought she was in love with him, but since the beginning, Missy has been up front. She never saw him as more than a friend. Not that it matters. I’m sure he hasn’t even thought about me.
But sometimes I like to imagine what would have happened if we had actually gotten to kiss in the back of that cop car.
I smile to myself, but then my smile falls when the local landscape comes into view. The hills of Tennessee are a sight to behold. There are songs written about how beautiful this place is. From where we stand, which I realized halfway here is one of our favorite outlooks, you can see the three crosses on the side of the mountain where a little old church sits. The trees look like waves tumbling along the mountains, and the air is so crisp.
Hot, but crisp.
Missy opens her bag and pulls out three white plates. I furrow my brows when she hands me one and a marker. She does the same to Sadie, and then she sits down with hers. I follow suit as she explains, “Write down everything you want to let go.”
“Let go?”
Sadie nods, tapping my plate with her marker. “You could write Stratfuck a million times if you like.”
I snort at her as she winks, and then I look down at my plate.
I do write Stratford’s name.
Then I write each year that he had of me, not including any years after I found out about the affair.
I write down the moments I made myself small for him.
The moments he made me cry.
The day I found out he had another family.
I almost write her name and his other children’s, but that feels wrong. While she may have known about me, she’s just as much of a victim as I am.
Then I write down yesterday’s date but make a note not to include the amazing accomplishment of Ash and Flint graduating.
It takes me longer to finish, but when I do, Sadie hands me a clear trash bag for the plate. Together, we stand, and then Missy grins as she jerks her chin to the rock. “Let’s smash it, ladies.”
I take the top of the bag and, with my sisters, bang the plates into the rocks. The pieces shatter, and as I watch them almost turn to dust from how hard I’m slamming the bag, I feel the pieces of my own soul come back together.
Tears flood my eyes as I turn to look out at the view, letting the bag drop from my fingers. I inhale deeply as I gaze into the stunning world before me, everything so lush and perfect, making me feel like I’m standing on top of the world.
I am free.
Sadie moves her hand into mine as Missy squeezes my other, and I don’t even recognize my voice when I ask, “Am I crazy for being thankful it all happened?” I’m met with silence, both their gazes on my face as they watch the tears spill down my cheeks. When they don’t answer, I continue. “I hate him for what he did to me, but I’m happy with how it ended. I stood my ground, I protected my boys and set them up for life. Yeah, it was at the cost of years of my life and happiness, but I still have my boys, and I have tomorrow to make it whatever I want it to be.”
“You have us,” Sadie adds.
“And you’re not crazy. You’re incredible,” Missy tells me, her voice thick with emotion. “And he didn’t deserve you.”
People always assume it was hard not having a mom growing up, but I didn’t need one, not when I had Missy and Sadie.
Sadie lets go of my hand and slaps hers together, the echo getting lost in the trees and valley before she yells, “Now, let’s go party!”
CHAPTER
NINE
Dean
Most days, I love living in a small town. Everyone knows everyone. When someone is in trouble, people step up to help, and I hardly ever pay for a coffee.
I tip my chin toward the table where the Belles sit in the middle of Noelle’s Nibbles, the town’s local coffee shop. Not only does Noelle, the owner, make sick-ass treats, she also makes the best coffee. Plus, it looks like Santa’s reindeer took a huge jolly dump in this place. It’s the middle of summer, yet I feel like I’m going to step outside and it’ll be snowing. That’s how good the ambiance and tasty treats that Noelle creates make you feel.
The Belles—Kitty Winthrop, Fable’s granny; Jett’s great-grandma, Bea; his grandma, Hazel; and his momma, Maggie—all sit together with a treat and a tea in front of them. I could tease them for being out past their bedtimes, but they did just buy me a coffee, so I’ll let them be. Noelle sends me a bright grin that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. I’ve known Noelle for a long time. Like everyone else, we grew up together, and after her parents passed ten years ago, I’ve tried to look after her. One glance and I know something is up.