Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Unable to speak, she nodded. “I just need a minute,” she whispered, and to her humiliation and shock, she fled the room.
* * *
Harrison stared after Winter then turned to his unexpected visitors, reminding himself he loved his family dearly. “What just happened?”
They looked at him in silence until Jade spoke up. “Nothing, honestly. Zach and I were… bickering about food. Mom was cooking and telling us to behave. I think we overwhelmed Winter,” Jade said, her expression worried.
Zach glanced at him. “I didn’t think anything of it. I walked in just as Winter asked if she could help in the kitchen.”
“I said Mom likes to do it all, and she’d get used to it,” Jade picked up the story as her husband, Knox, slipped an arm around her waist.
The words getting used to it had probably panicked Winter, who didn’t believe she’d be part of his family as anything other than his baby’s mother. Shit, he thought.
“Then Winter said something about only being here because…” Jade’s words trailed off.
“I didn’t let her finish,” Zach said. “I jumped in and explained she had a stalker issue.” He shrugged. “Again, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Harrison groaned. And he’d been right. She’d been overwhelmed, yes, but had also felt alone.
“I think she panicked for some reason,” Jade said. “She was breathing heavily and let’s face it, I recognize the signs.”
Harrison nodded and groaned. His sister had grown up with stress and panic attacks after their mother had abandoned them along with other, more complicated, reasons. And she’d nailed Winter’s reaction.
“Winter grew up an only child. A very independent only child,” he explained, planning to only give his family the bare basics and not overstep Winter’s boundaries. “But Jade has a point. As a whole, we’re a lot.” He looked at his father, Michael and raised his eyebrows. “And I still don’t know why you’re here today and didn’t wait for the weekend?”
Harrison had asked already. His father had insisted he would explain later.
“Let’s wait for Asher and Nikki,” Michael said again. “I want to tell you all together. The boys are away at college and Layla stayed at a friend’s so she didn’t miss school. We’ll give them the news when we get home.”
Resigned, Harrison glanced at Serenity. “Is breakfast ready?”
She nodded.
“Okay. Let me go get Winter and we can eat.” He needed to make sure she understood some things about them and his big, crazy family.
* * *
As soon as Winter calmed down, she regretted running from the kitchen and leaving herself open to discussion behind her back. She wasn’t typically a coward, but she’d never had a true panic attack before, either. She’d put a glass of water by her bedside and took a long sip, then walked to the window that overlooked a lush yard with a pool. One that would get covered for the snowy season soon.
She heard Harrison’s footsteps and then felt his heat against her back.
His strong palms came to rest on her shoulders. “They’re overwhelming.” He obviously spoke about his family.
“They’re amazing. There are just a lot of them,” she murmured. “And this isn’t everyone. Plus, my mom was a working mom. She didn’t make us breakfast. She took us to a diner for a special splurge.”
“Serenity started out as the nanny,” he said. “Besides, every parent is different. Not better or worse.”
She swallowed hard. The lump in her throat had returned. “I miss her.”
He shifted his hands and rubbed his thumbs against her neck. “I know. When my mom walked out, I kept waiting for her to come back. I prayed every night and kept asking my brothers when. When was Mom coming home? Why did she leave? Even if they knew, what could they tell a six-year-old?”
She tipped her head back and rested against his chest. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah, well, after she… died, I was having a hard time at school because I was into theater and the other guys made fun of me. I was depressed, and I admitted to Asher I was scared I’d do what my mother did.”
She sucked in a startled breath.
“It was just a kid thing. I didn’t ever contemplate suicide, I was just freaked out by what Mom… what happened. Asher didn’t know that Jade was sitting in a huge chair, reading. We couldn’t see her. And he said it only happened to girls. He was a kid, too. He just wanted to calm me down.”
She closed her eyes. “Oh, no.”
From behind her, she felt his nod. “Jade had her first migraine headache that night. I think the panic attacks started later. My point is, there are a lot of us, but we are an understanding bunch.”
Her heart broke for a young Jade who’d lost her mother and believed such wrong information for what had probably been way too long. “I like your family. They’re good people and they’ve been so kind. But I’m not one of them and when Jade said I’d get used to it… meaning them… I—”