Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“And?”
She stood up slowly and walked like she was in a trance to the sideboard in our dining room, and looked at the motorcycle helmet sitting there. The background was glossy black with stars, beautifully rendered, like the milky way, then a wash of color, and there, traveling through space and time, in all its power and glory, was the Tardis. I was actually surprised she hadn’t noticed it earlier.
She picked it up and held it in her hands.
“Please,” I said flatly, and she turned to look at me. “You and I both know, if you ride on the motorcycle with him, he will obey all speed limits and…he’ll wear a helmet.”
Her gaze was riveted on me.
“And of course, he got you one.”
“With the Tardis on it,” she murmured. “Because he knows it’s my favorite show. Ever.”
“Both sides,” I pointed out. It’s a work of art.”
“It certainly is,” she agreed, then took a shaky breath and carried it over to the couch and sat down.
I turned to Aja. “You realize if my children get their lives sorted out, I can go on a birthday trip with my husband all alone at the end of this month.”
She smiled at me. “You do realize that the real issue is, Hannah is the lone woman in a forest of incredibly willful, strong men. You, Sam––”
“Me?”
“Please, I see you,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “You’re the chess master moving things around on the board for everyone’s best.”
“That’s kind of you.”
“It’s the truth. But again, you, Sam, Kola, Aaron, even Dane and George. She's got a lot of testosterone to hold her own against, and sometimes, to make herself seen and heard, she has to throw dynamite in the water.”
“That’s because she doesn't have your grace yet, because she’s so young.”
“Thank you, that’s a lovely compliment.”
“Well, I see you too.”
“Don’t worry about Hannah, she’ll get where she needs to be, she's just not done cooking yet. But she will be because her core is iron, and you and I both know that Jake loves her, and someday, hopefully sooner than later, she will understand him better. Because she’ll see he loves her as fiercely as the others do, only it’s more for him, because he isn’t in any way obligated to stick around. Yet he does because he’s Jake, and his softness compared to everyone else is what makes him so fantastic. Because he’s surrounded by all the same strong-willed men, but through all that battering, the core of him remains gentle. That’s why everyone gravitates to him, the soft squishy center.”
I smiled at her.
“What?”
“That’s all very perceptive.”
“Well, we share this space together, you and I. Our two families are actually one, and I see all the people just as clearly as you do.”
I nodded. “I feel like we should be drinking something better than this, don’t you?”
It was funny how she almost spit out her tea. “Yes, bring on the wine.”
So I got up to get us some.
Jake got home the following morning around eight thirty. I was up having coffee, cleaning up the dishes from the breakfast I had made Sam an hour earlier, when he came through the back door. He looked exhausted, but with more spark than he’d had in a while, courtesy, I knew, of simply hugging Kola and Harper the day before.
“Morning, Mr. Har––”
“Good morning,” I whispered back.
“Why?” he asked softly.
I pointed over to the couch, where Hannah was asleep, still clutching her helmet.
He took a breath, went to the kitchen table, and quietly put down his work belt and his lunchbox, and in his socked feet, as he’d left his work boots at the back door, he walked over and knelt down in front of her.
The same way Sam knew, even when he was asleep, that I was there, Hannah knew and slowly opened her eyes.
“Hi,” he husked.
She reached for him, fisting her hand in his shirt and tugging.
He resisted. “I’m all dirty.”
“Well, I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
He grinned at her.
“Are you covered in fiberglass like that one time?”
“I am not,” he teased. “Just dirt and dust.”
“Which is gross, because you told me what’s in dust,” she reminded him.
He was all-out smiling now.
“This is my helmet?”
“Nobody else’s.”
“It’s very pretty.”
“I know you’re mad about the bike but––”
“I’m scared about you on the bike, but I’m through doing your thinking for you, so––”
“No you’re not,” he called her out.
She took a breath. “But you hate it.”
“No. I would tell you if I did—and have.”
“Yes.”
“Then we can safely say if it’s a problem, I’ll let you know.”
“Well, my issue with the bike is Illinois not having a helmet law.”
“Yes, but when you’re with me, I’ll wear one.”
“And when I’m not, I’ll take heart.”
He smiled at her. “I’ll wear it all the time.”
Deep sigh from her. “Good.”
“And?”
“And I want a baby,” she told him.