Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“Yeah, Josephine, or JoJo as most of us call her. She’s almost two, the light of Jameson’s eyes and probably the one reason he hasn’t worked himself into the ground.” Shaun’s best friend Matthew and Jameson are years older than me. I was an oops baby. They thought our mom was going through menopause when yikes, it was a pregnancy instead.
“She’s beautiful. Do you think he’d be opposed if I played with her?” She’s sitting on the floor, quietly playing by herself, and my heart aches for the little girl who will no longer have her mother.
“Go. I know it’s killing you not to. If Jameson has a problem, he’ll have no problem letting it be known.” I pull up my dress that seems to be drooping down with every slight movement I make. My borrowed black dress ready to cause a boob slip—talk about making a lasting impression. Unbeknownst to me when I landed back in Lane County, I’d need a dress. None of mine fit due to losing entirely too much weight because of the stress of the divorce. Thankfully, my mom and I are similar sizes, except Mom has boobs, while I’m part of the itty-bitty titty committee. That’s okay because I’d much rather have an ass than having to deal with bras, tops, and dresses popping open.
“Alright, you know where I’ll be.” My feet move toward the little girl while I feel like a sea of people have their eyes on me even though they more than likely don’t. A long time ago, something like people watching me wouldn’t have bothered me. That was a lifetime ago. Back when I was younger, I didn’t have a care in the world. If there were younger children around, that’s where you’d find me. It helped when I needed a job as a teenager. Being a babysitter in our small town meant I was always busy on the weekends. Some teens my age thought it was a horrible job. They had no idea all you had to do was tire them out, feed them, and make sure they were ready for bed at their bed time. Then you’d have the rest of the night for yourself to watch television, scroll on your phone, and get paid a decent amount where you didn’t have to deal with many people. It carried on through my years as a photographer, offering mini session with infants well into childhood.
“Can I play with you?” I ask Josephine, dropping to my knees, watching the skirt in order not to flash anyone.
“Pwease,” she says with enthusiasm.
“I’d love to. My name is Kody. What’s yours?” I question, already knowing the answer.
“Josephine,” she says with a lisp, “or JoJo.” She points to herself. A smile is plastered on her face. I’m taken aback because Josephine is the spitting image of Jameson.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I don’t offer my hand to shake hers. No toddler is going to want to do that anyways. They’re more interested in playing and talking than being Miss Manners. “What’s your favorite thing to play with?” She’s currently playing with baby dolls, picking one up, tearing the dress off, and doing the same to the next until all of them are naked. I’d chuckle if we weren’t in a crowded room.
“Babies dolls, pwuzzles.” She pauses, her little tongue coming out to think about something else to say. “Toons!” she says so loudly, the attention I thought was on me earlier is now on me and Josephine completely. My head turns on a swivel, and when they meet a certain set of crystal-blue eyes, well, there’s no denying where Josephine gets her eyes from because my gaze is locked with Jameson Evans’. The only problem with his sharp, keen eyes on mine is that I’m not sure what I really see staring back at me. All I know is a shiver courses through my body. I’ll have to overanalyze it later. Josephine’s hand covers mine, and I’m pulled back into playing with Jameson’s little girl.
3
JAMESON
I stood around and listened to condolences for Emma, one eye on Josephine as Kody played with her throughout most of the wake. It wasn’t until I saw my little girl yawn four times in mere minutes that I intervened. I thanked Kody with a head nod, my hands went out to Josephine, scooped her up in my arms, and I took her into the bedroom my parents keep for her at their house. When I came back out of the back room after securely placing Josephine in the bed with guard rails, I knew without a visual that Kody was gone.
“Why don’t you keep her here tonight? And you can stay here, too,” my mom says quietly once everyone has left. The only people here now are our immediate family. Matthew and Lacey are helping clean up the food, trash, and whatever else was left behind. Dad is standing beside Mom, shaking his head because he already knows I’m not going to let that happen. Not tonight, at least. Probably not for a long while either.