Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
I explain what happened with the birds, and Grace laughs as she hugs Jack a little tighter. “Are you ready to look for the birds now?”
“Yeah,” Jack answers quickly.
“Okay, we’ll go and find more birds, but you have to stop crying, okay?”
Jack nods as Grace grabs a Kleenex from her bag and wipes his face. It’s like magic. Other than the red eyes, Jack looks as sunny as this afternoon; no clouds in sight.
Jack waddles along the path that winds around the park as I push the empty stroller. His little head swivels around as he searches for the promised birds, but soon he’s distracted by squirrels and rabbits instead.
“He can be a handful,” Grace says apologetically as we watch him squat close to the ground, talking to a cautious bunny. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone with him.”
Anger glows in my chest, but I try to stay calm. I know my immediate reaction isn’t logical. “He’s my son too, Grace.”
Surprise registers in her eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. Of course he’s your son. I just . . . I’m not used to . . . I don’t know . . . sharing responsibility with someone, I guess. Sorry.”
Guilt clenches my stomach at the realization that Grace isn’t trying to put some distance between Jack and me. She’s trying her best too.
I check that Jack has his back to us and put my arm around Grace’s shoulders, squeezing her upper arm. We’ve agreed to keep physical contact to a minimum around Jack until he gets used to just having me around. “Stop apologizing. Things are changing, and that takes some time to get used to. For both of us.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry.”
I grin.
“I just did it again, didn’t I?” Grace joins me in laughter.
Grace
“Where do you think you’re going?” Matteo asks when I enter the house and walk down the hallway instead of joining him on the couch in the living room.
“To the shower,” I yell out as I open my bedroom door to grab my clothes, picking something stain-free and decently cute. “Jack’s playing with Skippy now, but he could get cranky at any time and ask Lily to take him home.”
With a pair of black yoga pants and a tank top in my hands, I rush toward the bathroom, only to find Matteo standing in the doorway, leaning against the wooden frame with his arms crossed over his solid chest. He smirks, his stance relaxed although he’s so big there may as well be a brick wall blocking my path.
“Uh, excuse me.”
Matteo shakes his head. “That’s not the password.”
“What is this, a speakeasy?” A smile plays on my lips even though I know Jack could come home at any time, and I need to be quick. Like I told Matteo before taking Jack to Lily’s house next door, he likes to play there after coming back from the park, giving me time to unwind some.
“You said it could be hours until Jack comes home.”
“I also said it could be five minutes,” I remind him.
“Lily has a key, doesn’t she?”
I nod.
“And she knows how to look after Jack for a while, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, but I already feel bad about asking her to watch Jack so often.” Jack’s my responsibility, and loading him off on someone else—even if that someone is Lily—makes me feel like a bad mom.
The skin around Matteo’s eyes crinkles as he touches my face. “You should let people help you, kitten. I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of doing everything yourself, but you should give yourself a break every once in a while. Having a well-rested mom can only be good for Jack.”
His words brush over me like a gentle caress. I’ll admit it – it’s been a while since I even thought about myself.
When I’m not busy with Jack or errands, I’m trying to get my design business off the ground. Even though I have some money saved up, it’ll run out eventually. I need to make sure I can stand on my own two feet while carrying Jack at the same time.
Is my exhaustion so obvious? Lily tells me all the time that she doesn’t mind taking Jack off my hands. She lives alone, and she says Jack makes the house feel lively. Maybe she’s not just being nice. Maybe she actually means it.
“The password is ‘Yes, Sir,’” Matteo says, snapping me back to the present. He’s just a breath away now, his chest so close I can almost hear his regular heartbeat. “As in, I tell you what to do, and whatever it is, the correct answer is ‘Yes, Sir.’”
“Matteo, I don’t think this is the right time.”
He raises a thick eyebrow. In one smooth move, he grabs my wrists and pulls me into the bathroom. The tiled floor feels cold under my bare feet as he pins me against the wall, his muscled arms like a sturdy cage around me. My heart thuds in my chest as he says, “Wrong answer. I’ll have to punish you for that. Now, if you’re in that much of a rush, don’t you have to take your clothes off?”