Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 27485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
They moved, Banks advancing on him and then him on her, their steps flitting across the mat as they circled each other. One hand knocked away a fist before the other came in and pushed away another.
I couldn’t follow what each of them were even doing, they were moving so fast. Arm up, wrist hitting wrist, and then the kicks flying through the air only to be defended.
It was like a dance.
My heart pounded as I watched a smile cross my father’s face, my breath stopping for a moment, and then…
He stumbled back a couple of steps, she came in with another punch, and he caught her wrists just in time, stopping her.
He smiled, Banks frozen, as hard breaths filled the room and she stared at my dad.
Jesus. He’d stopped first. She’d worn him out.
I covered my smile with my hand, pride swelling my heart. Soon, Mads and Jett would be just like that, and while I’d never anticipated danger in our future, I knew it was possible. I breathed easier, knowing my family was at least a little prepared for anything that might come.
But not tonight. Tonight was for partying.
Releasing her, he straightened and walked up to her, taking her shoulders. They hadn’t acknowledged my presence, but my father probably knew I was here.
Her body moved up and down as she tried to catch her breath.
He gazed down. “Good,” he said in a gentle voice.
She stared up at him, but then I saw her head drop and her jaw flex.
“Now go have fun tonight,” he told her.
I pushed myself off the wall and walked over to Banks as she turned and met my eyes. Tears hung in hers, and she quickly looked away as my father headed out the way I came in, nodding as he passed me.
Tipping her chin up, I looked down at her beautiful face, glowing with a light layer of sweat and her green eyes glistening.
She glanced after my father, Jett passing him in the rock garden and giving her grandfather a salute as he passed. He returned the gesture.
“You’re very lucky, you know?” Banks said, her voice shaking. “He’s proud of you.”
I touched her face.
“You’re so lucky,” she said again, and I could hear the crack in her voice.
Bringing her in, I kissed her forehead as she shook with more tears.
“He’s proud of you, too,” I whispered.
Taking her in my arms, I held her tightly, hating all the memories she didn’t have. How she’d suffered without parents, and how much I’d taken for granted. My father was never particularly warm, but he was far from Evans Crist or Gabriel fucking Torrance. He was a good man, and she was more than thirty years old before she got to know what a real father felt like.
“He’s so proud of you, baby,” I told her again.
Warm or not, my father was never not here for any of us. We were all lucky.
Jett approached, her arms wrapping around us—as far as she could reach anyway—and joined in on the hug. I chuckled, holding my girls.
After a moment, Banks dried her eyes and drew in a deep breath, pulling back a little.
She looked down at our daughter. “Help me with my makeup?” she asked.
But I stopped them right there, telling Jett instead, “Actually, go ask Grandma how to repot a chestnut,” I said. “I need to help Mommy with her shower first.”
“Kai…” Banks chided.
What? I gaped at her. What were grandparents for anyway?
“Aren’t you cold?” Banks slipped her arms around mine, hugging me for warmth.
I inhaled the crisp, evening air and blew out the steam, taking in the snow hanging on the evergreens and the bare, black branches of the maples stretching up into the night sky.
“I love it,” I told her, listening as we stood outside my parents’ house an hour later. “Everything is so quiet.”
I looked down at her, admiring how it barely took her any time at all to get dressed. Her red strapless gown glittered, stunning with her dark hair curled and pinned to the side at the nape of her neck. She was gorgeous.
She and Jett had both decorated their faces, looking like cute clowns with white diamond shapes over their eyes and jewels glued to the points.
I threw the black cloak around her and tied it as she dug into the inside pocket and pulled on her gloves.
“The cold slows the spread of molecules,” I explained. “Less pollution. The air is so clean.”
And quiet. I loved winter the most for that reason. The stars peeked out through the clouds, and you could hear water in the distance, although there was no water nearby. The frozen blanket over the land in the stark night silenced the world so much, you could hear things you normally couldn’t.
It was haunting.
“Snow’s coming,” she told me. “We better hurry.”