Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 96512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“I get it. But this could be a job, too.”
She lets out a half laugh. “Yeah, but it’s not paying me a monthly salary like the one I get at the school, and I don’t have a ton to fall back on. Or really anything other than what I got from the Colorado Club, which I’m saving most of for Riley’s college.”
She’s such a good mom. She could take this opportunity for herself, but she wants to keep it for her kid instead.
“I get it. It’s a tough decision. You’re either willing to bet on yourself or you’re not.”
“From the guy who came into town on a helicopter.”
“I didn’t always have money, Juniper. But I knew what I wanted and I went for it.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t have a kid at the time. Or a mortgage payment.”
I can’t argue with what she’s saying. I don’t know what it’s like to be responsible for another human being. Priorities must shift. And maybe it makes you less willing to gamble.
“I have a proposition for you,” I say. “I’m going to have to go back to New York for a couple of days. I need to have a couple of conversations with people face-to-face. Why don’t you come with me? Bring Riley. We can go to the Met and the MoMA. And you can meet up with Grace and maybe have a few meetings with agents.”
She starts to shake her head, but I can’t let her give up.
“You’ll just gather information. Then you can make a more informed decision. There might be answers to your concerns that you’re not even aware of.”
“I can’t, Fisher. You say bring Riley, but what’s she going to do while I meet with Grace and agents? Having a kid is the best thing in the world, but from the day you give birth, it means they come first. Before my ambition. Before my choices. Before my life.”
“Riley can stay with me at my offices. Or we can bring your mom.”
She splutters out a laugh. “My mom would not go to New York City. Hell, she won’t go to Denver. It’s not happening.”
“Then let’s find a sitter if you don’t think she’d want to stay with me.”
“I think she’d want to stay with you a little too much. It’s another reason I can’t go. If we go away together, she’s going to become attached. To you. Hell, I’m going to get even more attached. And then the next time you fly out to New York City, you’ll stay there. And I’ll still be sitting here on my porch, and Riley will be snoring in bed. I can handle that. But Riley? Her father moved to Florida. I don’t want her to get attached to another man who lives across the country. It’s too much for her.”
I’m out of arguments. I wouldn’t want to do anything that’s going to hurt or upset Riley. I understand what Juniper’s saying but it kills me to see so much talent stay in Star Falls.
I take a swig of my drink. “I’m sorry if I pushed too much.”
She slides her hand onto my knee. “I like that you did. It makes me feel…” She shakes her head, like she doesn’t want to say. “I like it.”
“Finish that thought?” I say, and I turn to her. “It makes you feel…?”
She smiles and looks up at me under her lashes. “I was going to say ‘important,’ to you at least.”
My stomach lifts in my chest, and I cup my hand around her neck and pull her in for a kiss. She doesn’t even see how special she is. And she is important. To me. More important than I should have let her become, given I’m leaving Star Falls for good in just a few weeks.
Maybe part of the reason I’ve been pushing so hard is because if Juniper was in New York, I’d be able to see her after Vivian has stopped recording. After I’ve gone back to New York. In real life.
I deepen our kiss and pull her closer. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anybody, and I know I’m not going to want to give her up when I go back to New York.
TWENTY-THREE
Fisher
I expected New York to feel different when I came back from Star Falls, but as a cab hoots its horn at me as I walk over a pedestrian crossing that’s on green, I’m faced with the reality that New York is just the same as it ever was. Like it’s been on pause while I’ve been away and someone hit play when I touched down at LaGuardia.
I’m meeting Benny, the manager of The Homecoming Kings, at an Irish bar in Greenwich Village. I’ve not seen him in a couple of months, which is unusual. He’s based in New York and we’d usually grab a drink most months. He’s been busy. I’ve been in Colorado.