Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“I know. I think that every time I’m here.” Fighting back tears, I was desperate to switch gears. I pulled in a breath and pointed to a corner. “You can load those old suitcases.”
“Sure…” he muttered before walking away.
A few minutes later, I came across a framed wedding photo of my parents. It used to hang in our living room. The quality wasn’t great, and the background generic, but I remembered thinking my mother was the most beautiful bride I’d ever seen in her long-sleeve lace gown. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been staring at it when Evan came up behind me.
“You can’t get rid of that.”
I looked up at him. “I should break into my father’s house and hang it in his living room while he’s sleeping.”
“I’ll help you, if you want to. We’ll ride at dawn.”
“I’m just kidding.”
“I wasn’t.” He winked. “Here…” He took it from me, reached for some bubble wrap, and carefully placed a few layers around the photo. “I’ll bring this back to our house. That way you can take your time deciding what to do with it.”
I looked at him blankly and attempted a smile. Did he realize he’d said our house? I warned myself not to read into it. He hadn’t meant it literally. Our probably referred to him and Effie. The house reference, though, reminded me of the email I’d received from the property management company last night. “Why did you refund my money?” I asked him.
“What do you mean, why? You shouldn’t have to pay to stay at my place when you thought you’d have the house to yourself.”
“Yeah, but I owe you something for it. I can’t just stay there for free. I felt better thinking I was paying.”
“Why? So it didn’t seem like I was doing you a favor?”
“Well…yeah.”
“Chloe…” He sighed. “I’m not gonna take your money. And if I haven’t made it clear enough before, you’re welcome to stay as long as you need to. I wish I could leave to give you the space you wanted, but as you know, there aren’t a lot of options here in town. My new house is in no state right now for us to return.”
“What are you having done to it?”
“A lot. New floors, updating the kitchen, and putting a swing set in the yard.”
“Nice.” I smiled. “Effie will love that.”
“Gotta do what I can to make her happy. I can’t control everything, unfortunately.”
I decided to say something I’d been meaning to. “You’re a good dad, Evan. Like, a really good dad. You should be very proud of yourself.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I hoped my words resonated, that he believed them and didn’t think I was blowing smoke up his ass.
“Thank you,” he muttered before gathering some chairs and heading for the door.
After another hour, we’d made a massive dent in the larger items. We were short on time, though, so Evan dropped me off at the house first because the donation place was closer to Effie’s school. He told me he wouldn’t need my help unloading everything there.
I knew he had to take Effie to dance class after, so I looked forward to having the house to myself for an hour or so and thought I’d take a shower before they got back.
But after he dropped me off and drove away, I quickly realized a calm afternoon was not in store for me. There was a strange woman standing in the kitchen when I entered.
She looked me up and down. “Who are you?”
“I’m Chloe. Who are you?”
She straightened. “Naomi. Evan’s girlfriend.”
Chapter 9
* * *
EVAN
I set up my laptop in the room outside Effie’s dance class. It had a large window so parents could see their kids practicing without getting in the way. There was a vending machine nearby and a coffee maker. I’d typically use this time to brew an afternoon coffee and catch up on emails while also appreciating glimpses of my little girl dancing away.
But today, all I wanted to do was sit and decompress without Effie sensing that something was off. The storage unit visit with Chloe had taken more of a mental toll than I’d thought it would. It had really solidified that the Cavanaughs—the strong family unit who’d once rescued me from the depths of despair—had been reduced to a small room of material things. It felt like another loss, though I could hardly make this situation about myself. But I’d had my head in the sand for far too long. I wouldn’t dare tell Chloe how down I felt after this afternoon. She was going through enough right now.
My phone rang, jolting me out of my thoughts.
Naomi.
I picked up. “Hey, I’m—”
“I just met Chloe,” she snapped.
What? My eyes widened. “You’re here? I thought you were in Minneapolis until the end of the week.”