Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“Oh, don’t go,” Taylor says. “I’m actually about to make breakfast.” She lifts the mixing bowl up for me to see. “Dad, come help.”
“On it,” Shane says, getting up and walking past me.
Since I know where their bathroom is and I suddenly have to go, I excuse myself. After going pee, I wash my hands and then attempt to clean up my face and fix my hair into a messy bun. Since I can’t do anything about my morning breath, I call it good and tell myself after we eat breakfast, I’ll make an excuse to leave before Taylor can convince me to stay.
But then I walk out to the kitchen, and Taylor stops what she’s doing to look at me.
“Guess who we’re going to see today,” she says in a singsong voice.
Before I can even attempt to guess, she reaches across the counter and grabs a book, holding it up. The look on my face must be filled with awe and shock because she smirks and nods slowly.
“Yep. She’s doing a signing in the city today, and I got two tickets to go.”
“What?” I gasp. “I’m so jealous.”
Because I haven’t been reading, I haven’t been keeping track of who’s signing and where. But the book she’s holding up is from my favorite author.
“You don’t have to be,” Taylor says with a laugh. “One of the tickets is for you.”
“What?” I say again. “How? You didn’t even know I’d be here.”
“I know, but it’s only one ticket per signed copy, so I got two so I could get you one. You mentioned it was your favorite book when you came over for dinner, so I planned to surprise you with a signed copy. Dad was going to wait in line with me.”
Oh, my heart.
Why do these two have to be so damn sweet? They’re seriously making it hard to keep them at arm’s length.
“But now, you’re here,” Taylor says happily. “So, you can come with us and meet her yourself.”
Damn it! Looks like I won’t be leaving after all … except …
“I’m going to need to shower and change,” I point out.
“We can swing by your place after we eat,” Shane chimes in. “Now, do you want one pancake or two?”
And just like that, I’ll be spending my day with Shane and his daughter. I was supposed to be working on pushing them away, yet somehow, they just keep on reeling me in closer.
FOURTEEN
Shane
“I seriously can’t believe I met Anna Peterson today,” Kinsley gushes. “And not only that, but I got a signed special edition and a picture with her.” She holds her book to her chest and leans against the bookshelf, her eyes filled with happiness.
I’ve learned from spending time with her the past few weeks that it’s hard for her to be genuinely happy. I can see it in glimpses here and there, but it’s rare that she lets the guilt completely melt away and simply enjoys the moment.
But every time I see her smile like this, it makes me want to do everything in my power to make her understand that it’s okay to be happy. That just because she’s smiling and laughing and enjoying her life doesn’t mean she no longer cares about what happened to her late husband and baby.
“And to think, when I woke up this morning, I was trying to plot how to escape you.” She winks playfully, and I chuckle.
“Speaking of which …” I glance at my daughter, who’s busy piling books into her basket, to make sure she’s out of hearing distance. “I know Taylor has quickly adopted you as her book bestie or whatever she calls it, but I promise, it’s okay to tell her no sometimes. She’ll live.”
The second the words are out of my mouth, I instantly regret them. “Fuck, I meant …”
I’m racking my brain, trying to think of a better way to word what I was trying to say, when Kinsley gives me a sad smile and says, “It’s okay. I know what you meant … and didn’t mean. People do it all the time, and I promise that despite being a bit messed up, I’m not that fragile.”
“I’m sorry,” I say anyway. “I can’t even imagine how hard it is for you. If I lost Taylor …” The mere thought of losing my daughter causes my heart to clench in my chest.
I don’t even know how the hell Kinsley gets up every morning and functions after losing not only her daughter, but her husband too. She might not realize it, but she’s so damn strong.
“It’s hard,” she says, “but the truth is, your daughter has helped me more than she knows. She got me reading again, something I hadn’t done since my entire life had changed, and hanging out with you two is the most I’ve gotten out since they died, aside from going to work and the occasional night out forced on me by my family.