Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68369 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68369 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“I remember that.” Ryan nodded. “He also introduced me to using whipped cream. Just a spoon of it—it’s damn good on a cold day.”
“That’s almost the same as what I’m doing,” I said.
Darius inclined his head. “Almost, if we ignore the truth.”
I smashed my lips together.
“Now you know you’re family, Leighton,” Gray said with a smirk. “It’s always three or more against one over some insignificant crap.”
That immediately earned him arguments from the three brothers, who turned on him next, and Gray just laughed through a groan and said, “And now it’s my turn. Of-fucking-course. Bring it, you old fucks.”
I grinned.
Bo pulled me back against his side, rested his arm down my front, and kissed the side of my head.
“No reason to be nervous anymore, pup,” he murmured in my ear.
I shivered and hugged his arm to me. It was so freaking bizarre, all of this. I had family.
Something bleak within me was disappearing, a pit of loneliness was being replaced by hope, and the sucking void that sometimes gave me stomachaches was slowly becoming smaller too. Together, those sensations changed my perspective in the blink of an eye, and I decided right then and there to do my best never to dwell on time lost or the circumstances that’d kept us apart until now.
Maybe lingering bitterness and anger would resurface every now and then—but bottom line, I didn’t wanna waste my precious time on the past.
“Leighton,” Darius said, nodding toward the hallway. “Ma wants somethin’.”
Oh. I untangled myself from Bo’s arms and got up. “Please adopt better taste in coffee until I get back.”
Ryan didn’t miss a beat. “That’s rich comin’ from someone who doesn’t know the taste of coffee to begin with.”
I rolled my eyes and went down the hall. Dammit, I should’ve had a quick comeback for that, but I just didn’t.
Mary was waiting outside my door, and her smile grew warmer as I approached.
“Can I do something, ma’am?” I asked.
“Oh—well, since you asked… You could start warming up to the idea of calling me Nana or Grandma, but you take your time, honey.” She didn’t let me process that tidbit before she moved on. “Willow would like to see you, if that’s all right. Did Ryan tell you she’s nonverbal in uncomfortable situations? At least, around people she doesn’t know well, I should add.”
I nodded hesitantly, the terms Nana and Grandma going on a loop in my brain. “Yes, ma’am.”
She nodded too and gestured for me to go in. “Wonderful. Just let her lead. She’s prepared some notes for you. I’d give you a heads-up if I knew what they were about, but that girl can be secretive sometimes.”
Hold on now, I thought I was done being nervous. But just like that, my stomach churned with unease. Willow and my dad had clearly shared a special bond, and I didn’t know how this was gonna unfold.
I mustered a weak smile and opened the door, right on time to see James get up off the couch where Willow was seated.
“I’ll let him know right now, sweetheart,” he said.
She nodded stiffly and didn’t look my way.
James came over and clasped his hands behind his back. “If she puts on her headphones at any point, she just needs a minute or two to gather her thoughts. But if it takes longer than that, come get her mother or me.”
“Of course, sir.” I nodded once.
He smiled and gave my arm a squeeze on the way out.
Without facing me, Willow gestured for me to sit on the bed across from her, so I did as instructed and hoped she’d warm up to me eventually.
She was holding a notepad, a larger one, and she clutched it to her chest as I sat down across from her.
Compared to the biological Quinns, Willow stood out with very dark hair, pale skin, and green eyes. She was also much shorter and much younger. Her cargo pants looked baggier and way softer than normal utility pants. I didn’t know what that top was called, but it fit fairly tight, and it had long sleeves and a wide neck.
She made eye contact for the briefest moment before she turned the notepad in her hands and showed me the first note.
I appreciated her handwriting was easy to read, and the words weren’t too small either.
1.) I’m sorry if I come across as cold. I’m very overwhelmed.
2.) Save your questions for the end.
I nodded dutifully and swallowed my nerves. “I understand.”
She nodded once too, and she tore off the first note to reveal the second.
I love my brothers and sister equally, but Jake was my first friend. He listened to me even when I didn’t speak. He was the first to understand my language. We could spend a whole day together barely saying a word. Or he talked. He’d make me laugh with corny jokes. He recharged my batteries with his presence, and I miss him every day.