Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
She’d been coming to this house to do her homework since the days when she’d still believed she’d have the letters MD after her name. When Damien was still a teenage heartthrob trying to make it big.
She’d never made it to med school. Never even got to college, but she tried not to live with regret. She’d done the right thing, helping her family when they needed her. She remembered the day she’d told Betsy that she’d be getting a job after graduation. Betsy, who had a PhD and had been teaching at Stanford when she met Howie, had looked as though she might cry. Tears had threatened to spill down Crystal’s face too. She’d worked so hard.
“But your scholarship…” Betsy had said sadly.
She’d shaken her head, trying to be brave. “We can’t afford for me to go to college. Even with that.” She didn’t admit, couldn’t admit, that her father had not only left the family, but seemed to have disappeared along with his promises to look after them all. She’d heard from a cousin that he’d been seen with another woman, that they’d left California together to start over. He’d decided to start over without a care for his responsibilities back home.
At least Damien had fulfilled his dreams. More than she could have imagined.
And now he was back. She shivered as she remembered the intensity on his face as he’d plucked and pressed his way through those new jazz jams. She loved how he could still surprise her, even after all these years. Surprise her and thrill her. She shook her head and felt her long hair drift across her shoulders. She’d curled it especially for the family breakfast, weirdly more self-conscious than she’d ever been at one of these casual but boisterous affairs. She wore a red sundress with flat sandals, and the big earrings she liked, these ones in silver and turquoise.
The front door was open in invitation and as Crystal entered the house, she smiled at how noisy it was already, each sibling talking over the other. She could make out Finn’s and Howie’s voices over the rest, their deep tones booming, and then the joyful yipping of dogs. Crystal laughed to herself as she made her way along the hall to the kitchen. The Davenports now had three dogs in their brood. Buster, the old family dog who belonged to Betsy and Howard. Erin’s rescue dog, Boswell, or Buzzy as he was known, who resembled a cockapoo with his shaggy toffee-colored hair and soulful eyes. And now Jay Malone had added a third dog to the mix, a scrappy little rescue named Nelson, because he “sang along” enthusiastically whenever a Willie Nelson song played.
Crystal walked into the kitchen so quietly no one noticed. The scents of freshly brewed coffee and sizzling bacon filled the air, mingling with the faint fragrance of wildflowers wafting in from the garden just outside. Most of the family were helping to prepare breakfast, the laughter and banter flowing as always. She grinned at the scene before her. Archer Davenport, one of the hottest young stars in Hollywood, scrambled eggs, while Herschel Greenfield, Mila’s astronaut boyfriend, sliced melon. The two were deep in conversation over the movie about Hersch’s dramatic life as an astronaut, which had just been greenlit. How adamant Jay Malone, Archer’s agent and Erin’s boyfriend, had been about that movie, convincing both Herschel and Archer to get on board. He’d been proved right. He really did have great instincts and a special knack for knowing what the public wanted.
He’d also turned out to be the man Erin wanted, as much as he’d wanted her. Crystal was still surprised at how happy those two made each other. She’d planned enough weddings to know that opposites most certainly did attract, but she really couldn’t think of two people in the entire world more different than Erin and Jay.
Erin stopped slicing tomatoes to throw her arms around Crystal. Tessa Taylor Davenport, Archer’s wife, was squeezing oranges for the fresh orange juice while Howie fried bacon and Finn fried potatoes. Nick Davenport was on toaster watch.
She could see Jay in the garden walking back and forth. He talked rapidly, gesticulating with his hands, no doubt negotiating a multimillion-dollar contract.
Crystal glanced around the room and was disappointed to see that Damien wasn’t here yet. Maybe he’d gone to his studio and lost track of time.
When Betsy spotted Crystal, her face opened up into a wide, genuine smile and she came straight over to pull her into a warm embrace. Crystal felt herself yield to the hug and inhaled the comforting scent of pancake batter lingering on Betsy’s apron. The Davenport matriarch had always treated her like another of her children.
“So good to see you, Crystal,” Betsy said.
On hearing her name, Howie abandoned his bacon and came forward to give her one of his famous bear hugs. “You don’t come around nearly often enough,” he complained. “We miss you.”