Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Daddyyy!”
I stepped into her room, and a wide smile broke out across her face. “Good morning, pumpkin!”
She stood and held her arms out for me. I picked her up and swung her around. “Are you ready to start your day?”
Jumping, she replied, “Pwease!”
I walked over to Hope’s picture. “Say good morning to Mommy.”
“Hi, Mommy!”
She smiled and clapped her hands, then cupped my face. “Daddy! Pancakes!”
My heart, I swore, grew tenfold. She was happy this morning. Kids are incredibly resilient without the trappings of adulthood and the emotions of grief and guilt to weigh them down. My daughter was moving on, and it was high time I did the same thing.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I smiled. “That sounds yummy!”
I brought her over to the changing table, changed her diaper, and then put on a pink and white jumper that Opal had bought for her. She was still a tiny little thing, and the changing table still worked, but I wasn’t sure how much longer she would fit on there.
“Let’s go make some pancakes.”
As we left her room and headed down the stairs, my cell phone rang. It was Jeremy, one of the managers at The Muddled Moose.
“Hey, Jer, what’s going on?”
“I really hate to do this to you, Liam, but we have an issue.”
Walking into the kitchen, I turned the lights on and set Winnie down. She ran to the refrigerator and waited for me to open it so she could get a juice out.
“What kind of issue? More importantly, why are you even at work at this time of day?”
“Jason, the hotel manager, called me. The health department is here for an inspection.”
I stared at the phone. “That’s the issue? Why would he call you and not me?”
“I can’t answer that one. He told me that they want the owner of The Muddled Moose there.”
I sighed. “Why, though?”
“Apparently, they have an issue with the rooftop bar.”
Groaning, I dropped my head. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I need to find someone to watch Winnie.”
“I’ll let them know you’ll be there soon.”
“Another thing, tell them to call me and not you. If they want the owner, call the F. U. C. King owner!”
Jeremy laughed. “Will do.”
After hanging up with Jeremy, I pulled up Jake’s number.
“Morning, Liam.”
“Hi, Jake. I hate to ask you this, but is there any way you could come over and watch Winnie? Jeremy just called, and the health department is at the rooftop bar for some kind of inspection and wants to speak to me.
“I’m so sorry, Liam, Opal, and I aren’t in town. I thought you had the day off.”
“I do. I did. Um, it’s totally okay. Enjoy your day with Opal.”
“You’re sure? We’re about three-and-a-half hours away.”
Closing my eyes, I tried to make my voice sound unbothered. It wasn’t their fault that I hadn’t found anyone to watch Winnie for me yet.
“Honestly, it’s all good. Enjoy your day, Jake.”
After ending the call, I picked up Winnie. “How would you feel about getting pancakes at Daddy’s work?”
Her eyes lit up, and she nodded in agreement.
“Okay, let’s get your bag all packed up and we’ll get you those pancakes, pumpkin. Maybe Daddy can get Papa on the phone.”
My father was going to twist my balls off and shove them down my throat once I told him I still hadn’t found anyone to watch Winnie for me. That was one phone call I wasn’t looking forward to—but definitely one I was going to have to make.
Aurora
Turning the corner, I saw Liam walking into the Moose Village Hotel, pushing Winnie in her stroller. He looked frazzled and kept checking his phone. I frowned as I turned toward the hotel. Once I walked into the lobby, I saw him at the elevator. A part of me screamed to keep walking, but the other part saw the stressed look on his face.
“Liam?”
He spun around and smiled when he saw me. “Oh, um, hey. A-Aurora. It’s good to see you. I mean, I’ve been wanting to appoligize to you for um…”
He glanced around nervously and I did the same. If he was going to bring up that night right here and now, anyone could hear it.
“It’s fine,” I quickly said.
He swallowed hard and drew in a deep breath before he blurted out, “Did you talk to Nathan?”
Confused by the sudden change in topic, I frowned and asked, “Um, about what?”
It was his turn to frown. “I asked him to tell you hi and that Winnie and I would love to see you sometime.”
Glancing down, I smiled as Winnie chewed on the antler of the moose I had given her for Christmas. “Hi, Winnie.”
She waved but didn’t take the moose out of her mouth.
I looked back at Liam. “Oh, that…he did mention it, yes. I didn’t see you at The Green for the Father’s Day events this year. You haven’t missed it in the past so I was surprised to not see you there.”