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)
My eyes seek out Josie in the crowd, and I find her standing beside Norah. Both of them are dressed in black, both of their faces a solemn reminder of why we’re all gathered here. Josie wraps her arm around Norah’s shoulder and whispers something to her, and I can’t stop myself from wondering how she’s doing. What she’s thinking. How she’s feeling.
I’m grateful for her that she and Norah have managed to rebuild their relationship. I know Grandma Rose would be so happy about that, but I also know how Josie tends to distract herself with everyone else’s feelings and emotions so she doesn’t have to feel. To grieve.
Every muscle inside my body wants to walk straight over to her and pull her into my arms. To hug her just as tight as I hugged her when we were in Summer’s bedroom, but I know now isn’t the time.
Now is the time for me to be there for Bennett. Just like Josie probably feels like now is the time for her to be there for Norah.
Reverend Bob nods toward us, his head bowed in reverence as he clutches the Bible to his chest. “It’s time,” he says, and Bennett inhales a shaky breath before squatting down to grasp the edge of Summer’s casket.
Sheriff Pete and I do the same, standing behind Bennett as we lift the casket and carry Summer over to her final resting place. Once we place it gently in the metal device that will lower it into the ground, both Pete and I stay beside the casket until Bennett finds the strength to let it go and head toward his seat.
His pain, his devastation, it’s visible in every deep line of his face. It’s evident in the way his shoulders sag forward as he walks over to take a seat beside Breezy in the front row and the feeble nature of his strong body.
Reverend Bob heads to the front, standing beside Summer’s casket, and I don’t hesitate to slide past Norah and Josie into an open space to stand in the front row across from Bennett and Breezy.
Sheriff Pete comes to a stop on my right, and Josie stands beside me on my left, her arm still wrapped around Norah’s shoulders.
I know Norah wants nothing more than to be holding Bennett’s hand—to be there to comfort him—but emotion has made him both stubborn and stupid, and there’s nothing any of us can do about it but wait.
I hope they’ll find their way back to each other. I hope that he doesn’t end up in the same place as I am—standing beside the woman I love without being able to be with her. It’s a fate so much worse than hell, and Bennett’s already there.
Reverend Bob clears his throat as he opens his Bible and begins to address the crowd. “Welcome, everyone. I’ll start by thanking you all for being here on this momentously difficult day. We’re here to pay our respects to sweet Summer Bishop, taken from our earthly world far too soon.”
My gaze settles on Bennett, and I swallow hard against the sadness in my throat when I see his head sink forward and his eyes move to the ground. Fuck, man, I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry.
“We are all suffering, but we must take solace in the fact that Summer is not,” Reverend Bob says. “Her impact will be felt by all of us for the rest of our lives. And for our time with her, we are thankful. Because in that time, we were privileged to learn the value of seeking and living in joy. Summer took her misfortune and turned it around, finding pleasure in the simplest of gestures. A cookout at the church, a wedding in the square, a day with friends at the town festival,” he continues, and his words are a beautiful but painful reminder of how much Summer meant to all of us.
How much she meant to Bennett and Breezy.
How much she meant to Josie and me.
How much she meant to Norah.
How much she meant to this whole damn town.
I can’t stop myself from reaching out to brush my fingers against Josie’s. I expect her to push my hand away. Ignore me. But I’m surprised when she does the opposite.
Her fingers brush mine until they wrap around my index finger with a tight squeeze. And we stay like that through the rest of Reverend Bob’s speech.
“Over the years, I’ve personally had the occasion to laugh with Summer more than a dozen times—even, I’ll admit, when my own mood was sour,” he says. “She was a vibrant embodiment of our most innocent happiness, and I will miss her most dearly. But I know heaven will welcome her with an open gate and even warmer arms, and I know that God—my compassionate, loving God—will give her an afterlife free of pain and full of happiness. An existence she more than earned.”