Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Liam motioned like he was zipping his lips. He glanced over to Cadie, who was holding a sleeping Winnie. “I should get her home. Thanks for letting me crash, guys. It’s been nice to sit and chat. Hopefully, I can talk Hope into coming out soon.”
“If you do, let us know. Maybe we can plan a dinner or something,” Cadie stated.
Nodding, Liam said, “I think she’d like that.”
As he took Winnie from Cadie, Aurora asked if he needed any help.
“If you wouldn’t mind helping me get this sleepy girl’s coat on.”
Aurora quickly got to work and put Winnie’s coat on like it was something she did every day.
“Thanks,” Liam said, giving Aurora a polite smile. “I’ll see you around.”
She nodded. “Tell Hope I’ll call her later.”
Glancing at the rest of us, Liam held up a hand while Aurora put the still-sleeping Winnie in her stroller. “Bye, guys, thanks again for having us.”
Everyone offered their goodbyes and well wishes for Hope. When Liam walked out the door, all eyes went to Aurora.
“What? Why are you all looking at me like that?” she asked.
“Is Hope really doing better?” Harper asked. “She started taking my phone calls but refuses to talk about herself at all. She sounds good, and when I asked about stopping by, she said soon.”
Cadie nodded. “That’s what she said to me as well.”
Aurora shrugged. “I haven’t been over there in a month or so now. At least, not inside. I still drop off food sometimes but never go in. And we still talk on the phone, but not for long. Mainly just me checking in to see if she needs anything.”
“What’s going on?” Kian asked. “I would think she’d be thankful you were helping out like you have been.”
Her cheeks turned red as she dropped back into her seat. She sighed and looked at Cadie, Harper, and Brystol. “The girls already know about this, but a while back, she kind of accused me of overstepping with Winnie. And then Liam told Nathan that Hope was getting jealous of how much time I was spending with her daughter. The last thing I want is for her to feel that way, so I backed off. I still help Cadie with the meal train and such, but I thought it best to take a break.”
“I can understand why you’d do that,” Brystol said. “But I think what you’ve been doing is lovely, Aurora, helping them so much. I’m sure Hope is just tired and overwhelmed and doesn’t have any ill feelings toward you.”
Aurora gave a weak smile. “I hope not.”
“Brystol?”
I looked behind me to see Evelyn standing a few feet away with a pizza box in her hands.
“Evelyn,” Brystol said, standing and making her way over to her friend. She kissed her on the cheek. “Picking up pizza for you and Denny?”
Evelyn nodded, looked around the table, then back to Brystol. “How was the race?”
Beaming, Brystol replied, “I came in fourth.”
With a smile that seemed genuine, Evelyn replied, “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. Gavin and I could stop by to tell you about it, if you’re free this evening.”
Evelyn’s face lit up. “Sure! That would be great. We’ll be home all evening, so stop by anytime.”
Brystol nodded. “Okay, I’ll text before we head over.”
“Great, talk to you then,” Evelyn said. “Enjoy your day, everyone.”
A round of goodbyes rang out, and Evelyn quickly exited Slice, Slice, Baby.
“That felt weird,” Aurora stated.
Brystol exhaled. “Yeah. We had a bit of a…fight…I guess you could say.”
Cadie put a hand over Brystol’s. “You’ll get it all worked out, and everything will be fine. You’re almost at thirteen weeks, right?”
“Yeah. I think I’ll just tell her tonight she can go ahead and tell people. Maybe that will ease things between us, if she can start to tell her parents and family and such.”
Harper reached over, and she placed her hand on top of Cadie’s. “You’re a good friend, Brystol.”
Trying to smile but failing to do so, Brystol slowly shook her head. “I’m not so sure about that.”
I pushed open the door to Memory Lane Toys and smiled when I saw the crowd. I knew how much this time of year meant to businesses like Brystol’s, and I was thrilled that she’d been busy these last few weeks. But today was the day after Thanksgiving, and the toy store was packed.
I was also glad that Brystol and Evelyn worked things out a couple weeks ago. She’d given Evelyn her blessing to tell her friends and family. Word got around quickly, and Brystol had a lot of people stopping by the store simply to say they thought she was doing a wonderful thing.
Making my way through the crowd, I saw Brystol talking to an older couple as they stood in front of the Lego kits.
“So you think our little Malcolm will like this set?” the older woman asked the man I assumed was her husband, who nodded. “We haven’t been able to find this particular one back home,” she said to Brystol. “We no longer have toy stores, which is a shame.”