Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 21964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
They took picnics and enjoyed some good food. Isaac could cook. He made these little pastries with bacon and eggs, and they were so delicious, just thinking about them was making her mouth water.
They’d been enjoying dinner at the diner, but today she mentioned that she needed to mow her lawn and do some of the gardening jobs. The forecast changed dramatically, and all the glorious sunshine they were due to get turned into rain. It was supposed to start tomorrow and last for a week. She didn’t know if the weatherman was accurate, but she wasn’t willing to risk it.
Her mother had always taken pride in having a beautiful front yard and garden. Lucy had spent the last six years keeping up the tradition, which included mowing, weeding, taking care of her mother’s flowers, and generally just maintaining it. She loved doing it as well. She liked to think her mother’s spirit would come and visit her in the birds that stopped by.
Her mother used to love watching the birds. Only when it was necessary did she put out birdseed, if it had been a harsh winter, or something like that. Most of the time, she kept several displays that gathered water, and allowed them to drink and take a bath. She kept up with the maintenance.
She remembered one summer, so hot, with no rain, and she didn’t have a choice but to add to the bowls for the wildlife. Her mother had loved wildlife, not just birds, but rabbits, dogs, and cats. Although, they had never gotten a pet. It was strange. She knew they always had every intention of getting a dog and a cat, but something always seemed to stop them.
“I know I didn’t have to do anything, but here’s the thing, Lucy. I wanted to, and if I don’t do it, then you’re going to have to, and I don’t want to see you doing any more than necessary.”
Lucy couldn’t help but fall a little more for him each time. The way he talked, the things he said, it was like he wanted to take care of her. She knew she should be screaming independence, that she could do all these things and didn’t need a man to tell her what to do, blah, blah, blah. But she loved that he wanted to take care of her. Call her a sucker, but she liked it when he opened her door for her, or helped her and held her hand. She didn’t want chivalry to die.
“I’ll get us some lemonade.”
“And we can fire up that grill. Get ourselves some steaks on the go.”
“Steaks?”
“I got some in the cooler in the back of my truck,” he said.
“Why didn’t you say anything? I could have put them in the fridge.”
He finished mowing her lawn, and she made her way toward the driveway and to the back of his truck. She opened the back door and saw that the cooler was not close to the door. She would have no choice but to climb inside to grab the cooler.
It’s okay, Lucy. You got this.
It should have been easy. Only, as she tried to take that first step, it was next to impossible to do so. She felt frozen in place.
All that replayed in her mind was opening the door, feeling so tired, and seeing Dave, the deputy sheriff of their small town. He looked so grim. She wasn’t sure why he was knocking on her door. Then she had seen a few other police officers, and they were not wearing the same uniform.
“Hey, hey,” Isaac said.
She hadn’t even heard him arrive, and before she knew what was happening, he had pulled her into his arms and was hugging her tightly.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest.
“It’s stupid,” Lucy said.
“No, it’s not. You go on inside. I’ll grab the steaks and fire up the grill.”
She wanted to argue with him, but the truth was, there was nothing she could say. She wasn’t even in the car that night, but since then, after seeing the damage and losing her parents, getting into a car was the most impossible thing for her. Without question, she turned back toward her home and went straight through the main front door, slamming it behind her.
She didn’t want to cry, because she wasn’t wearing waterproof mascara, and that little devil was going to run and ruin the small amount of makeup she had worn. Clenching her hands into fists, she took several deep breaths, and then opened her eyes.
She missed her parents. It was moments like this that made it so much harder to deal with.
Once she had composed herself, she stepped into the downstairs bathroom and chanced a glance at her reflection in the mirror. She looked normal. Just a little sad. Which was exactly how she felt, and there was no changing that.