Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
My mother caught my hand as I stood. “Forrest, I’m sorry about this past year. I’m sorry for being so hard on you. You did the right thing.”
“I didn’t… I messed everything up,” I said, not sure how she could call anything about the past year the right thing.
“Oh, honey,” she said, shaking her head, “I forgive you. I know I’ve been blinded by hurt and anger at your father. I couldn’t see clearly, but now I understand. And it’s okay. Maybe now you can forgive yourself.”
She raised an eyebrow, and I shook my head. “I don’t know how to make it up to her,” I said. “How to make it up to both of you.”
“You don’t need to.” She held out the letter. “Alan had plans and hope. We would have had so much fun.” A tear ran down her cheek. “Life is short, sweetheart. We know better than anyone. Don’t waste any more of it blaming yourself. You’ve done right, and you’ve done wrong. You’ve done a whole lot more right than wrong, so forgive yourself.”
Her words spread through me, a healing balm. “I wish I could have done things differently,” I said.
Her arms slid around my shoulders. “Well, you can’t. You can only go forward from here. I love you so much, Forrest. I’ve missed your father every day he’s been gone. But I’ll always have a piece of him in you, and that’s the greatest gift he ever gave me.”
I soaked in her love, her forgiveness.
“I have something for you,” she said. “Stay there.”
She disappeared into her closet, and what she held in her hand when she returned caught the light in a blaze of color. “You don’t have to use it, but that’s the ring your father gave me. And when you get around to proposing to Sterling, if you want…” She set it in my palm—a circle of gold topped by an emerald-cut diamond faceted so that it burned like fire.
I picked up the ring and held it to the light, hope surging in my heart. I looked at my mom over the ring. “We’re not there yet. I’m not sure she’s forgiven me.”
My mother smiled. “You worry too much. She’s a smart girl, and I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She’s not going to let a good thing get away. And you, my sweet boy, are the best. You don’t have to use it if you had something else in mind.”
All at once, I knew she was right. This was right. “Sterling will love it. Thanks.” I wrapped my arms around my mom in a tight hug, feeling so lucky. We’d lost my dad, cruelly and before his time, but all these years we’d had each other. And maybe, if I could pull it off, I’d have a future with the woman I loved.
I let my mom go and tucked the ring in my pocket.
“Go on,” she said. “Take your girl for a romantic walk. Who knows, maybe you’ll put that thing to use.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
STERLING
Forrest came out of his mother’s room with a smile on his face. He was lighter, as if he’d shed a weight I hadn’t known he was carrying.
“She needs a minute,” he said.
“I’m sure.” I couldn’t get my head around how she must feel. What a mindfuck this had to be. “It’s a lot to take in,” I said.
“Yeah. At least Emmett threw the idea at me yesterday, so I’ve had a chance to absorb the possibility. My mom didn’t think there was a chance when we brought it up. She’s reeling. But she texted Jerry. He’s on his way in.”
“Will that be weird?” I asked. “Him comforting her over her first husband?”
Forrest smiled. “Not really. Jerry’s never been jealous of my dad. He told me once that he’s sorry we lost him and grateful he got the chance to love my mom. He said life isn’t fair, but it’s the only one we’ve got, so we might as well make the best of it.”
“Wise man,” I commented. “Maybe I should start drinking kombucha and throwing pots.”
“You’re wise enough as you are,” Forrest said. He shoved his hand in his pocket and looked down at me for a long moment. “Do you want to go for a walk?”
“Are there really cliffs?” I asked. I had seen the ocean in the distance but hadn’t seen any cliffs through the trees.
“There really are,” he said. “They’re pretty cool, though we can’t get too close. Come on, I’ll show you.”
I followed Forrest out the kitchen door. He led me to a path I hadn’t noticed, winding between Emily’s garden and a chicken coop.
“I’m sorry there wasn’t any money,” he said as we followed the trail.
“I don’t care about the money,” I said. I’d said it before, and I meant it, but not like this. I looked up into his beautiful golden hazel eyes. “The money isn’t important. I can make my own money.”