Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
I might never have had a chance to meet her, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t feel her presence in this place every damn day. I wish that she could have been around long enough to see what we were making here, maybe even to take advantage of it herself, but, with the stories Lucy and Cade tell me about her, sometimes, it feels as though she is.
I hear footsteps on the stairs, and Lucy and I glance around to see Cade leaning in the doorway, his leather satchel tossed over one shoulder, full of vegetables fresh from the garden that he is taking down to town to sell.
I have done my best to pull my weight in the gardens, but God knows I haven’t exactly got a green thumb. Cade keeps telling me I’ll get better at it, and I keep telling him that if I haven’t by now, I doubt I ever will. Still, he believes in me. And the vote of confidence is everything I need right now.
He lets out a low whistle through his teeth as he steps in, wrapping his arms around me from behind and pulling me against him warmly.
"Lookin’ pretty damn good," he remarks. "You girls have done a good job..."
"You say it like you ever doubted us," I shoot back, and he laughs, dropping a kiss on the side of my neck.
"Never let it be said," he replies. "You want to come to town with me? It’s a pretty day out..."
"Yeah, that sounds lovely," I reply, and I glance over at Lucy. "That okay with you, Luce?”
"If it means that I don’t have to watch you all over each other," she replies, waving her hand. "The sooner the better, I say."
I laugh. Lucy, for all that she teases us about how mushy we are with each other, has been the first in line to celebrate our newfound relationship, and I know she’s only joshing.
"Then we’ll leave you to it," I reply, and I slip my hand into his. "You ready?”
"Whenever you are," he replies, as he winds his fingers around mine and gives my hand a squeeze. And, with that, the two of us head for the door, making our way downstairs and out into the warm sunshine beyond.
For a moment, when the sun hits my face, I am reminded of the day I arrived here. My car on the side of the road, struggling to find a signal, feeling like I was lost with no way out. And, while I sure as hell might have had no idea where I stood when I got to this place, to this time – I can see now that it’s where I belong.
With him, with my new family, in my new home, turning my skills to a whole new set of possibilities.
He draws my hand to his mouth and drops a kiss against it as we hit the road, the sunlight picking out our way ahead of us. And, though he doesn’t say anything, I know exactly what he’s thinking.
That soon enough, we’ll be walking our child down this same path. A new generation to welcome into the world, a new start.
The start of the rest of my life, right here, at his side.