Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Epilogue One
Caleb
Five months later
The doorbell rings as soon as I walk out of my bedroom and slip on my suit jacket. “Come in!” I shout, and the door opens, and my parents walk in. My father is wearing a blue suit, while my mother wears a satin dress that goes just past her knees.
“Are you ready?” my father asks, following my mother in as she looks up at me with a big smile.
“You look so handsome,” she compliments me when I get to the bottom step, pulling out my sleeves from my black suit jacket, “just like your dad.” She leans into him, and he wraps an arm around her shoulders.
“You look beautiful, Mom.” I kiss her cheek.
“If we don’t leave now, we might be late.” My father looks at his watch. “Or at least late in Sierra’s mind, and she has enough to worry about today.”
“Then let’s go,” I urge, walking to the front door, following my parents. My father opens it, and my mother stops as she looks over.
“You know what this house is missing?” She steps outside, looking over her shoulder.
“If you say kids”—I close the door behind me before turning and locking it—“I’m going to tell you that you have to take it up with Sierra.”
“No, not kids.” She walks down the two steps toward the walkway. “Even though that would be lovely.” I nod, following them as I tighten the tie around my neck. “A dog.”
“Mom.” I stop in my tracks. “I like the kid idea more.”
“You always had dogs growing up.” She looks over at me while my father opens her car door.
“Yeah, and you know what sucked about all of that?” I open the back door of the car. “Saying goodbye to them.”
“So dramatic.” She rolls her eyes at him. “You can’t have kids without a dog. That’s just cruel.”
I slam the door as she looks over her shoulder while she reaches one hand for the seat belt. “Brewsky was your shadow from when you were five until you were seventeen.”
“Mom, I love you”—I stop when my father gets in—“but can we not talk about this today? There is enough going on without bringing up a dog and children.”
“It’s the circle of life, Caleb.” She turns back to face the front. “You have to give us grandchildren.”
“Again, talk to Sierra.”
“I can’t talk to her today,” my mother huffs out. “She’s already going through it.”
I pull out my phone and send her a message to give her a heads-up.
Me: My mother wants us to get a dog. The answer is no.
I press send, not thinking she has much time to get back to me with her doing her hair and makeup for today. But I’m shocked when I see the gray bubble pop up with the three dots.
Sierra: Why can’t we get a dog? I want a dog.
I look up, ignoring the conversation my parents are having in front of me when I answer her.
Me: We can’t get a dog because when they die, it’s traumatic, and our kids don’t need to go through that.
Sierra: Wow, instead of thinking how amazing the experience would be for the children with a dog, you just go to the bad part of it.
Me: Yes, I’ve lived through it, and it sucks.
Sierra: We’re getting a dog.
Me: Aren’t you busy doing other things? You have time to argue with me about a dog?
Sierra: I always, always make time to argue with you. It’s my favorite pastime.
Me: That’s because you want to get in my pants.
Sierra: Like that’s hard.
Me: I’m getting hard thinking about it.
Sierra: Got to go. Love you.
Me: See you soon.
I put the phone in the inside pocket of my suit jacket and look out the window. It’s been five months since that fateful day. I want to say it was uneventful, but the roller coaster that came after was something straight out of a movie. The first thing that happened is Sonia rushed to the hospital but was escorted right out when Fiona called security on her, and then told both her and her mother—in no uncertain terms—they were both dead to her. She would never, ever forgive them for taking Sierra away from her. Never.
The second thing that happened was her uncle Peter pleading not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. They went through all the steps, and in the end, they found he knew exactly what he was doing. He’s being held without bail since he purchased a plane ticket to the Bahamas while he was being held for attempted murder.
The third thing that happened was we found out Sierra was worth millions, like tens of millions, from her great-grandparents as the firstborn grandchild. She wanted to refuse the money, but her mother said it was the least of what they owed her.
“I can’t believe they’re getting married,” my father says as I look out the window. We are on our way to Fiona and Carl’s wedding. It’s still strange to say, but when you are with them, you can feel the love pouring out of them. The minute she was discharged from the hospital, he took her home to his house, and she never left.