Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“Heather’s here,” Zuri announces, getting to her feet, waving her arms over her head. Looking in the direction she is, I see her friend, whom she sat next to the first day of school, walking with a boy Cooper’s age, probably her brother, and who I’m guessing are her parents behind the two of them. After saying something to the man and woman over her shoulder, she leaves them behind and runs our way, then bounds up the bleachers to Zuri.
“You’re here,” Heather shouts hugging Zuri like she’s surprised to see her and the two of them hadn’t spoken a few minutes before we left the house about meeting up. “Do you want to come sit with me and my parents?” she asks when she lets Zuri go and Zuri looks at me.
“That’s fine,” I tell her, and she leans down to give me a tight hug.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” I laugh.
“Is this your mom?” Heather asks, and I notice tension fill Zuri’s small frame before she shakes it off.
“Yes.”
“Cool.” Heather smiles at me. “Nice to meet you, Zuri’s mom.”
“You too, Heather,” I say quietly while I try to process what I’m feeling. Since she was born, I’ve had a connection with Zuri that was different from what I have with Harmony and Willow. Different than being just sisters.
Maybe it’s because she was a helpless baby the first time I held her in my arms, but I’ve never really felt like she was my sister, it’s always felt like our bond was deeper than that. And although I’m sure it’s the same for her after everything that has happened, I worry that her reason for telling someone I’m her mom might not be exactly healthy. It’s going to have to be something I talk to her about when we are alone. It’s also something I don’t want to talk to her about because I don’t want her to think I dislike the idea and am upset about it. I guess I just want to know she’s doing it for the right reasons; then again, I don’t even know what the right reasons are.
“I’ll be back,” Zuri cuts into my thoughts and I watch her walk down the bleacher to Heather’s parents. When the girls reach them, Heather introduce Zuri then motions to me and both her parents look back my way and wave, I wave back.
“Are you okay?” Gigi asks me softly, and I turn to look at her.
“Yeah,” I smile at her, and she pats my leg, then lifts it to wave. I turn to see who she’s waving at and watch a very pretty, very tall, willowy blonde woman who looks like an older version of Billie coming up the bleachers towards us with an even taller blonde man at her side.
“Hey, honey.” Gigi gets up to give the woman a hug before she turns to me. “Kristy, Aaron, this is Nalia. She’s a friend of Logan’s.” She takes a seat as she continues, not noticing what I do, that Kristy’s whole body has jerked back in surprise. “Kristy is Cooper and Billie’s mom, and Aaron is her boyfriend.”
“Nice to meet you guys,” I tell the two of them.
“Umm, you too,” Kristy murmurs while Aaron takes a seat on the bench below us with his phone, mumbling hi. “Have you seen Billie?” Kristy asks Gigi.
“Not yet, honey,” Gigi tells her, and Kristy’s face falls.
“She said she was going to find her friends when we got here,” I tell Kristy, and she focuses on me. “That was probably fifteen minutes ago.”
“Thanks,” she whispers before taking a seat next to Aaron and turning her back to me.
A few minutes later, Harmony and her husband Harlen appear at the end of the trail leading up to the fields, pulling Ava and Lillian in a wagon and I watch Zuri run up to greet them with Heather in tow. As Zuri gives hugs to the girls, I get up and tell Gigi that I’ll be back then make my way down the steps to meet them.
Once I reach my sister, I give her a hug and quickly whisper in her ear. “The woman in the dress I’m sitting with is Logan’s mom, and the woman sitting with the man on the bench beneath her is his kids’ mom and her boyfriend.”
“Got it,” she whispers back, then lets me go and wraps her arm around Zuri, who has leaned into her. “Hey, kiddo.”
“Hey.” Zuri smiles at her then reaches up to give Harlen a high five when he holds his hand up.
“Thanks for bringing them,” I tell Harlen, giving him a one-armed hug.
“I figured you might need the backup since your sister has been on one about the guy you’re dating,” he says under his breath, and I sigh.
“Thanks, and I’m not dating him.” I mutter and he grins.