Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
She nods wordlessly, tears streaming down her face.
"I need to hear you say it, Hattie baby," I whisper. "Tell me that you'll be mine forever."
"Yes," she sobs.
Who knew you could contain the entire universe in one tiny little word? I didn't until this very moment, but mine is right there, quivering on her lips.
I choke out a breath, slipping the ring onto her finger.
She blinks at it and then at me, and then she dives for me, flinging herself against my chest like the beautiful storm she is. I catch her, wrapping myself around her.
"You s-still aren't the boss of me," she sobs, smiling and laughing and crying all at once.
"Wouldn't dream of it," I breathe, pressing my lips to hers in a hard kiss. "I just want to be the man lucky enough to stand at your side, butterfly."
The rest of the morning is a dream.
Ma disappears with Hattie for a while. When I try to follow, they both tell me to go find something else to do. God only knows what they're doing, but when it's time to go, Hattie is smiling bigger than ever.
"I love your family," she whispers as I help her into the truck.
"They love you too, butterfly."
She beams at me, the brightest smile I've ever seen from her. It's still firmly in place when we get to the airport. It wavers slightly when she spots Tye.
"It's okay," I murmur, leading her forward to greet him.
He scrutinizes her expression, and then his gaze falls to the ring. Something drifts through his eyes that I can't read. But he doesn't hit me. Instead, he swallows, pulling his sister into a big hug.
"Tye!" she sobs, clinging to him like a little koala.
"Are you happy, Half Pint?" he asks.
"So h-happy."
"Then I'm happy for you," he whispers, his mouth close to her ear. "You deserve someone who looks at you like he does. You deserve to know that you're perfect. Don't ever forget that."
She cries into his chest for a moment before pulling herself together. "Promise you aren't going to fight anymore?"
"Promise, baby sister," he says, holding his pinky out for her to hook hers through.
As soon as she does, it's like the final weight falls from her shoulders. The last lines of worry vanish from her expression. Her body relaxes.
She shines like a fucking star.
Epilogue
Hattie
Six Years Later
"Daddy, I hab a question."
"Fire away, baby girl," Sidney rumbles to our daughter, Alice. He's supposed to be getting her ready for bed. But Sidney is a big pushover. Alice always has questions at bedtime. And her daddy will spend an hour answering every single one she thinks up, just to delay closing her little eyes.
I was the same way when I was little. And my dad was just like Sidney, answering every single question.
I linger outside her door, listening.
"You hab parents, and I hab parents," she says. "How come Mommy and Uncle Tye and Bwiggs and Harlan doesn't hab any parents?"
"They do, baby girl," Sidney murmurs. "Remember us telling you about your grandpa in heaven?"
"Yeah…"
"He was their dad."
"Oh," she whispers. "Is their mommy in heaven, too?"
My heart clenches.
"No, sweetheart," Sidney says, his voice gentle. "Your grandma is still alive."
"How come we don't see her?" Alice asks, her soft voice rife with curiosity.
Sidney is quiet for a moment. "You know how your mama is the best mama in the whole world?" he asks. "Well, her mom wasn't. She made your mom and your uncles sad. So they put her in timeout until she learns to do better and not make your mama sad."
"Oh," Alice whispers. "Will I eber meet her?"
"Maybe someday," Sidney murmurs. "But not until she learns to say that she's sorry, baby girl. We don't want your mama to be sad. She deserves to be happy."
"I wanna make Mommy happy," Alice says.
"You want to know a secret?" Sidney asks her.
"What?"
"You make your Mommy very happy already," he whispers to our daughter. "You and your baby brother are her world, Alice. She loves you with her whole heart."
I cover my mouth with my fingers, trying to stifle a quiet sob. He's telling her the truth. Alice and Drew are my world. They're the biggest gifts I've ever been given. But Sidney? God, this man is my universe.
There hasn't been a single day since I walked away from my mother where I've missed her or wanted her back in my life. But there have been hundreds of days when I've felt more worthy, more loved, and more beautiful than ever. That's because of Sidney. It's because he worships the ground I walk on and makes no secret of it.
People still sometimes say that we don't fit, but it's not really an insult anymore. Sidney never let them get away with that, not for a single second. They say it with smiles, like our love story gives them hope for their own.