Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 121210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
“You’re a boss bitch, aren’t you?”
She laughs at that. “I am. And so are you.”
“I am?”
“You own this coffee shop. That’s definitely boss bitch shit.”
“That’s right!” I exclaim and hold out my arms, looking around CAFFEINE with a smile. “I run this bitch because I’m a boss bitch.”
“Damn straight.”
“Windy, my grandma woulda loved to see this place. She would be so happies I started it. She was always pushing me and pushing me! Get outta that comfort zone!”
“She would definitely be proud.” Her smile is soft like butter, and after staring at her pretty eyes and her perfect skin for a minute or so, I realize her name isn’t Windy at all.
“Your name isn’t Windy, is it?”
She shakes her head, and a little laugh leaves her lips. “Breezy.”
“Breeeezy!” I clap my hands. “I was so close.”
“Not really, but that’s okay.”
“Did you know my grandma?”
She smiles. “I wish I’d known her better—that I’d taken the time to be here more before now. But from what I know of her, she was awesome.”
“She was awesome. Pretty much the best.” God, I miss her. I miss her so much some days I still find it hard to breathe.
Breezy smiles. “And I know she thought the same of you. Rose loved you, Josie.”
“She loved Clay too,” I tell her. “Wanted me to marry him. I did. But it was the same day she had her stroke.” I lean my head back to look at the ceiling. “She was all alone when she had her stroke because I was on my mooning in the woods with Clay. I hope she wasn’t scared.”
“I don’t think she was scared, Josie.” A hand covers mine, and I look down to find that it’s Breezy’s. “And I definitely don’t think she was mad at you for not being there, you know? Women like her want to see their granddaughters live their lives. They want them happy and fulfilled.”
I was definitely happy and fulfilled with Clay. Until I wasn’t.
I keep staring at Breezy’s hand. “I didn’t get to tell her that Clay and I eloped. She didn’t know he was my husband. I mean, I said it to her when she was in the hospital, but she wasn’t aware of anything then.”
“She knew,” Breezy assures me. “She might not have been able to tell you she knew, but she knew.”
“You think so?”
She nods. “When someone is dying, their hearing is the last to go. So, whatever you told her in those final moments, she heard you.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve had a number of conversations with Charlie, Summer’s nurse, recently,” she says, and she looks so sad that I want to hug her. “Charlie has worked with a lot of hospice patients, and she says even if it doesn’t seem like the patient can hear you, they can.”
My lip quivers as I think of the sweet little girl I fell in love with the day Bennett showed up with her in the bar. “I’m gonna miss her so much.” I think of all the time I’ve lost out on with her because of the rift between Clay and me, and my voice softens. “I’ve already missed so much.”
Breezy’s lips turn down in the saddest frown. “Me too.”
“I remember when Ben brought her to Red Bridge. She was just a tiny baby. So cute. So sweet.” I squeeze Breezy’s hand. “I helped Clay and Ben take care of her. They were so damn clueless.”
She laughs at that, a few tears falling down her face in great opposition. “Ben loves that girl more than anything in this world.”
I nod. “He does.”
“I hope he’s going to be okay,” she says. “He has a history of going a little off the rails.”
“We’re gonna make sure he’s okay. Me and you and Norah and Clay. We’re gonna make sure.”
“We will, won’t we?”
“We will.” I tap her hand.
“Norah loves Ben. So much. She loves Summer too. She’ll be there. And if there’s one thing that Clay is, it’s a good man. Prolly the best man. He’ll make sure his best dude is okay. He’ll be there. He’s good that way.” I lift my hand to scrub it down my face. “It’s prolly why I’m still in loves with him, you know?”
Breezy tilts her head to the side a little. “I didn’t realize you still loved him.”
“Never stopped.” I blow out a breath, and it makes my lips tickle from the vibrations. “It sucks.”
“Why did you divorce him?” she asks, but then adds, “Or, at least, try to divorce him?”
“We’re still married,” I blurt out. “How fucked is that? We’re supposed to be not married, but we’re married. He’s still my husband. I’m still Clay’s wife!”
“I can imagine that was a shock today, finding that out.”
“Just about passed out from it.”
“You tried to strangle him too,” she teases, and I cringe.