Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“No.” I shake my head and smile. “Loving you, it’s my dream come fucking true.”
Two Weeks Later
“Happy birthday, Sierra,” Lilah’s answers her phone putting it on speaker with a cheerful voice.
“Lilah.” Her voice breaks. “Lilah,” she sobs.
“Sierra,” Lilah says her name in almost a whisper, “what’s wrong?”
I move to stand by Lilah, “It’s a lie,” she blurts between sobs, trying to catch her breath. “It’s all a lie.”
“What is?”
“My life.” The words in a whisper, “I just found my adoption papers.”
Lilac gasps out, looking at me, “I’m on my way,” she states, disconnecting.
Forgotten Dreams
Epilogue
EMMETT
Seven and a half months later.
“She’s coming,” one of the new ranch hands says coming my way, the look on his face is one of shock and fear all mixed in one, “and she’s pissed.”
“Who is?” I look up from the clipboard with the names of the horses we are going to be rotating by the end of the week. He rushes past me and toward the stables out of view.
“Emmett,” I hear my name hissed and look up to see Lilah walking from the office. Actually, she’s waddling side to side. “Did you just tell Charlie today is my last day?” She puts her hands on her hips.
“No.” I shake my head, tossing the clipboard to the side and getting off of my desk. “I told him that yesterday, not today.”
Her look goes from annoyed to murderous all in one blink of an eye. “Why the hell would you do something like that?”
“Sweetheart, your due date is tomorrow.” I smile at her, putting my hands on her hips while moving hers out of the way. She moves her hands over to my forearms. “And you said you were working until the end of your pregnancy unless your water broke before.” I tilt my head to the side to kiss her lips. “Which is tomorrow.”
“Emmett, you can’t just go around making decisions for me,” she says softly and moves out of my reach. “I can continue working, since your child”—she puts her hand on her swollen stomach—“has no plans of ever leaving my uterus.”
“The doctor said when she or he is ready.” I stop talking when she holds up her hand.
“Emmett, I don’t want to hear it right now.” She puts her head back. “What am I going to do at home that I can’t do here?”
“Not be here, for one.” I look over and see Charlie coming in, trying hard not to laugh.
“Don’t blame me. I thought she knew she wasn’t going to be working anymore.”
“I never agre—” She suddenly stops talking and her eyes go big. “Oh my,” she yelps and I watch her look down at her stomach. “I think my water just broke.”
“You think?” I ask her looking at Charlie, who is standing here not sure what to do.
“Either my water broke, or I just peed all over myself,” she retorts and then closes her eyes as she breathes through her nose and then exhales through her mouth. “Okay, that, I think, for sure was a contraction.”
“Have you been having them for long?” Charlie asks her and she shrugs.
“I’ve been having back pain all night long, but I just thought that maybe the baby was on something. But this morning it moved to the front.” She moves her hands over her belly.
I look over at Charlie. “Are the bags packed?”
“At the front door,” I tell him, going to her and putting my arm around her. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Meet us where?” she asks me as I walk her out of the barn and toward my truck.
“Sweetheart,” I soothe softly and calmly, even though I’m secretly freaking the fuck out, “I think we should get you to the hospital.” I knew this was coming, practiced going to the hospital a couple of times by myself, just to make sure I had the best route. But now that it’s really happening, I’m feeling a lot more than I thought I would.
“But…” She shakes her head. “But—” She stops talking as she closes her eyes and starts the breathing exercise we learned in Lamaze class a couple of weeks ago. Something I wasn’t keen on doing, but for her I would do whatever she wanted.
“I think it’s time,” I tell her as she breathes through the contraction and then opens her eyes at me.
“I think maybe we should time the contractions before going to the hospital,” she replies to me as I usher her into the truck. “Don’t you think?”
“Sweetheart,” I repeat softly. “I have no fucking clue what we should do,” I answer her honestly, trying not to let her know that I’m secretly freaking the fuck out, “but I will feel a lot better when we get to the fucking hospital with people who know what they are doing.” I nod at her. “Yeah?”
“Okay.” She puts her hand on her stomach. “Lucy?”