Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
No time to leave the only place you’ve ever called home.
“You are all so brave.” To have to make such life-changing decisions so quickly must have been so hard. I’m so proud of them all. But especially Kitty and Lydia. They’ve had no chance to adjust.
“You’re the brave one,” Lydia said. “If you hadn’t gotten away first, I’m not sure any of us would have ever left. Mom hated you for leaving. She wanted us to hate you too. And even though I tried, I couldn’t feel anything but . . . happy for you. Happy you’d been able to break free.”
“I was jealous,” Kitty says. “Horribly jealous. I think I hated you a little. I’m sorry.”
I shake my head, stand, and squeeze in next to her and Lydia. This feels more normal. Being on top of each other. “Don’t be sorry. It’s completely understandable. There’s going to be a lot of feelings to work through for all of us for a long time. But now we can all start building a life for ourselves.”
“We bought suitcases with the money you sent through to Marion,” Kitty says. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay,” I say. “So you didn’t have to leave anything?”
“Nothing important,” Marion says. “I’d been sorting through my stuff for a while now. I knew I was going to go.”
“I’m not sure how much sentimental stuff I want to keep,” Lydia says. “I’m not sure how much of the trailer park I want to remember.”
“You don’t need to make any quick decisions. You’ll all have more space than you’re used to. But I’ve made sure your rooms are all next to each other in the staff accommodation,” I say.
Marion’s eyes go wide. “We get our own rooms?”
I smile. For a second, I thought she was going to ask to stay with us. All she wants is her own room in the staff accommodation.
“You sure do. It’s a shared kitchen, but your own bedroom and bathroom.”
“Our own bathroom? Like one each?” Kitty asks, and when I nod, she bursts into giggles like she just won the lottery.
Byron offered to have them all stay with us, but I said no. I want my sisters to find their own strength. I want them to find their own path through life. I’ll be here to help them all I can. But they need to learn to stand on their own two feet. Staying with Byron and me would just stop that. Or make it harder. They’re used to being dependent on Mom. I don’t want them to feel dependent on me. I want them to find their wings and fly. The Colorado skies are full of magic.
BONUS CHAPTER
Byron
The best thing about being wealthy is the freedom it brings. Freedom to live between New York and Colorado. To have the best of both worlds. The freedom to have my wife by my side. And the freedom I can provide for other people. Lydia, Kitty and Marion all now live in New York—more specifically, Brooklyn.
“They okay?” I ask as Rosey comes in to my office from the living room, where she’s been speaking to her sisters on speaker.
They share an apartment. Marion started living with us in New York. It was Rosey who suggested that they have somewhere separate from us when Lydia and Kitty were about to escape Oregon. She felt that as adults, they should learn to make their own decisions and set their own boundaries—none of which they were able to do when they were living with their mother.
“Yeah, I think Kitty is going to spend her entire paycheck on sneakers this month. I’ve tried to get her to fill in a budgeting spreadsheet, but she’s unenthusiastic.” She grins at me. “But it’s good, right? I think she needs to enjoy the freedom being able to keep the money she earns. Then she can figure out the budgeting bit.”
“You can’t control it.” I round my hands over her ass, before she takes a seat on my lap.
“And I don’t want to,” she says. “I want them to learn themselves. Marion managed it.” Marion has been studying solidly since she started Columbia. She’s made the Dean’s list three semesters in a row. Marion knows she was thrown a rope and doesn’t want to miss her opportunity. There’s a lot to admire about her.
“What you looking at?” she asks me, nodding toward my computer screen.
“Plans for Star Falls.”
“Show me.” She’s enthusiastic and it fills my chest with relief. She’s grown to enjoy New York, more than I ever thought she would. But I’m relieved that she still thinks of Star Falls as home. Over the past year, I’ve grown to feel the same. Not that New York isn’t home, but I need both places to feed my soul. The hustle of New York. The peace and familiarity of Star Falls. I’m an equal part of both and somehow Rosey is made the same way.