Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Emma May flings open the door. She looks different than the last time we talked. Yeah, I’ve caught glimpses of her around town. But now that I’m actually looking at her, I can see the evidence of time on her face. It’s a little more lined than before, and her hair in its familiar braid down her back is now completely silver. She peers up at me from behind bifocals, blinking like an owl that doesn’t quite believe what she’s seeing.
A lump forms in my throat the sight of this amazing woman. Still, I manage to croak out, “Hi, Mama. I’m home.”
She bursts into tears and throws herself at me. She buries her head in my flannel and sobs so hard that her entire frame shakes.
I wish I hadn’t waited so long. Maybe this wouldn’t hurt her so much if I’d just told her when I was in town. “It’s OK. I’m here now. I’m safe.”
When she finally has cried herself out, she pulls back. I see the tear tracks on her face and the smudges on her bifocals. Guilt slices through me. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She ushers me inside, reaching for a decorative tea towel to clean her face with.
“For staying away so long,” I manage to squeeze out around the lump. Didn’t realize how hard today would be, how much I’d want to run back to my cabin and disappear inside of it. Life on the mountain is harder in a lot of ways. I don’t have modern conveniences like pumpkin spice lattes and those delicious desserts from Courage Cookies.
But it’s also easier in that there are no people. No messy emotions. Nothing to make me think about how as much as I pretend to be a loner, I’m part of a big family. Everyone in Courage is family, and I haven’t been acting like it.
She puts the electric kettle on, the cheerful teal color has started to fade and chip. I bought it for her for her birthday one year. She’s used it every day since. “I’m just happy you’re back.”
I stand awkwardly, not sure what to do or say. This place still looks exactly like I remember it. She hasn’t changed anything in years, and I doubt she’s about to start redecorating now. “I’m trying to…find my way.”
“You’re home. That’s all that matters to me.” She moves around the kitchen, her house slippers making the familiar flap against the worn linoleum. I missed that sound. I remember listening to as a teenager as I fell asleep. She’d be up, pacing the floors and waiting for my other brothers to get in for their curfew. I asked her about it once and she told me that when your kids get to be a certain age, the only things left to do are pace and pray.
“I’ve been here a while, living in a cabin in the mountains,” I admit. “I didn’t feel like I was home until just recently.”
“Now you do?” There’s no mistaking the hope in her tone.
I feel myself smiling easily. I do that more since I’ve met Sophie. There’s just something about being with her that makes me smile. She lights up my life. I didn’t even realize I was sitting in darkness until she burst in like sunshine after years of rain. “I met a girl. She’s my whole world.”
An odd expression crosses my mom’s face. I have the feeling there’s something she wants to tell me. It’s the same look she would get around Christmas and my birthday, a secret she’s been keeping to herself for too long is dancing on the tip of her tongue.
Before I can ask her what it is, her phone buzzes on the kitchen counter. She frowns and picks it up. She listens for a moment before she turns off the kettles. “I’m on my way.”
“What’s happening?” I push to my feet. We haven’t talked in years. I know she wouldn’t be leaving unless this were important.
“Another cowboy’s wife went into labor. I’m on babysitting duty for now. But there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Tell me tonight. I’ll be at the autumn festival tonight. You can meet my girl then,” I promise, dropping a kiss to her weathered cheek.
After meeting with mom, I spend the day on the mountain working around my cabin. Sophie was gone by the time I arrived home. She left a note to let me know she’s hanging out with Mallory from Sew Cute. She said there was something she wanted to talk to me about later, but there was a smiley face by it, so I’m guessing it’s good news.
At ten minutes to six, I knock on my cabin door with flowers in my hand.
Sophie opens the door, flushing bright red. “You don’t have to ring the bell at your own place.”
“This is how a man shows up on the first date with his future wife.” I hold out the bouquet of orange and red mums, her favorite flowers.