Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 137144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“You don’t need to feel guilty because Harvey took really good care of me. He’s the best person I know.”
“Why’d you leave him then?”
That was a good question. Why would she leave someone like Harvey? Then she remembered. . .
“Because the very best person I know also deserves the very best in life. His sister was right. I wasn’t going to fit into his life. He needs somebody stronger who doesn’t need so much care and attention. He’s already had to spend so much time taking care of me. And he didn’t think I was strong enough to meet his family. Well, his sisters. I’ve met both of his brothers and his grandfather.”
“Yeah, what are they like?” Clem asked.
“Well, his oldest brother is very cold, but he’s got a real soft spot for women. His youngest brother is fun and clever. And his grandfather, well, he’s a grumpy old man.”
“I love grumpy old men,” Clem said. “They’re the best.”
“Jaret doesn’t seem very grouchy.”
“Did you not just hear him grouching about Piggy-Wiggy and her presents for him? He can be grouchy, although not as grouchy as some of his brothers. West Malone, now he’s a grump.”
“Do you get along with all this family?” Lily asked.
“Yeah, they’re great. The Malones are tight, a bit crazy. Some of them are completely wild. I appreciate that.”
Yeah, it sounded like Clem would fit right in.
“I’m glad, Clem. I’m glad you found happiness.”
“Sounds like you could have had that too with Harvey,” Clem said.
Lily shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about Harvey anymore.” It hurt too much. She was doing the right thing for Harvey. Even if it felt like the last thing she wanted to do. “I want to try swinging on the tire. Do you think I can?”
“Sure,” Clem said. “Go for it. Just pull it back here. Yep, like I used to do, and now put your legs through. You got it. I’ll hold it for you. Now go.” Clem gave her a push, and Lily held on tight as she sat in the tire. For a start, fear made her heart pound and her stomach dropped, but then the excitement caught her.
She let out a small scream before laughing. “Oh my God, this is so much fun!”
She felt so free.
As though nothing was going to get to her while she was flying through the air.
All of her worries were just drifting away . . .
Free.
Unfortunately, that couldn’t last forever.
39
“Today’s Sunday,” Clem announced as she walked over to the chicken coop where Lily was currently collecting eggs.
Yep.
Collecting eggs.
Lily had never thought that she would be somebody who would collect eggs and do it gladly. Turns out, there were a lot of things that she actually enjoyed doing that she never thought she would.
Feeding animals. Collecting eggs. Wallpapering, which she was surprisingly good at. Filling up water troughs. Mucking out stalls.
Yeah, that last one she definitely didn’t like. She was sure that nobody could ever like that, right?
And, to be honest, the one time she’d tried to do it, Jaret had come along, given her a look, and shooed her away with a stern admonishment not to come back and try this again.
So she’d decided to listen to him.
She’d been here four nights now. In the beginning, she’d done these things in order to pay Clem and Jaret back for letting her stay here. But at some stage, she’d actually started to enjoy herself. She was getting up in the morning with a smile on her face, and going to bed at night with her muscles aching and her stomach full of food.
There was something about being here, working outdoors, that just made her feel so good. It filled her soul. And it was helping to heal her.
There was only one thing missing.
Harvey.
God, she missed him so much it was an ache. She thought she might have started thinking about him less by now, but if anything, it was getting worse. Lily thought about him from the moment she woke up until she closed her eyes.
It was difficult to sleep without his arms around her. It was hard to get through the day without a hug from him. Or seeing one of his smiles.
Lily wished he could see her now. Would he be surprised by how much she’d changed? She was surprised by how good she felt. Yeah, sometimes she still had nightmares. Sometimes bad thoughts came to her, but keeping busy was helping a lot. Being outside was helping, and so was being with Clem.
Clem was now staring at her expectantly.
“Is there something special about a Sunday?” she asked. “Am I not supposed to be doing this?”
“No, you can do that if you want, but it’s Sunday lunch day.”
She said that as though Lily should know what she was talking about. “Sunday lunch day?”