Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Rhett was excitedly thrumming his feet against the seat and I didn’t have the heart to stop him. He kept up a steady stream of chatter all the way to Grease and Callie’s house. He asked about food, if he could have juice, if he could play outside. He talked about trucks, pointed out a random motorcycle, pulled at his seat belt.
By the time we pulled into the driveway of the familiar house, Michael’s face was slack with sheer astonishment at the number of mismatched words Rhett had packed into a ten-minute drive, and I was trying to keep from bursting into laughter.
“I’m not sure what you did while I was sleeping, but you must have broken the dam,” I murmured as I followed him out of the truck.
“All I did was have him help me put some shit away in the garage,” he whispered back.
“You found the key,” I joked, rounding the hood of the truck. “If you want him to break out of his shell, ask him for help.”
“Good to know.”
“Out,” Rhett ordered as I opened his door.
“I’m working on it,” I said, putting a hand on his knee to stop his fidgeting. “Good gravy, you’re like a grasshopper today.”
“Not grasshoppa. I’m Rhett.”
“You’re jumping around like one.”
“I’m a boy,” he argued.
“Actually, you’re the best boy,” I corrected, helping him out of his seat. “My favorite boy in the entire universe.”
“Go?” he asked as I set him on his feet.
“Really?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips.
“Best mama,” he replied quickly. “Go?”
“I guess,” I huffed jokingly.
My pride was soothed as he grabbed ahold of my hand before walking toward Michael.
“You ready?” Michael asked Rhett. “Not sure who’s gonna be here. There might be a lot of people.”
“Ready,” Rhett said with a smile. He reached out to hold Michael’s hand and my stomach did a little swoop as we walked toward the front door that way.
“I thought I saw your truck,” Michael’s grandma called as she threw the front door open.
“Ooh, Grandma pretty,” Rhett murmured to me, making my lips twitch.
He wasn’t wrong. While Heather looked like she could still be running her kids to preschool, Callie looked like she’d be the one stuffing them with candy and sending them home. She was round and soft and beautiful, her black hair shot with silver, laugh lines around her eyes and mouth.
“Hey Grams,” Michael said, smiling proudly. “This is Rhett.”
“Like, Gone with the Wind,” she said, bending down to meet Rhett’s eyes. “I approve.”
“Hi,” Rhett said shyly.
“Even if it’s problematic,” I muttered, glancing at Michael. He laughed under his breath. It was a subject I’d bored him with at least a hundred times when we were in high school.
“Sometimes the best literature is a bit problematic,” Callie murmured seriously. “Your mama understands that.”
“Yeah,” Rhett said, leaning against my leg.
“She always was smart,” Callie said as she straightened. “Hello, Emmy Lou.”
“Hey, Grams,” I replied, the words getting caught in my throat. They came out like a croak as my eyes watered.
“Oh, honey,” she said, stepping forward to pull me into a hug. “Look at that beautiful boy you made.”
I took in the scent of her and the feel of her hair against my cheek and closed my eyes, holding on for dear life. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.”
“I’m just glad you’re here now,” she whispered back, running her hand through the back of my hair.
“I missed you,” I sniffled, trying and failing to get myself together.
“We missed you, too,” she said, giving me a squeeze.
While Michael’s parents’ house had always felt like home, secure and safe and steady—Michael’s grandparents’ house felt like a warm hug. It was the place you went when you needed to be loved on, where you went to escape, where you went when you screwed up. It was the net that caught you when you fell.
Callie was the net that caught you when you fell. No recriminations. No lectures. She was the epitome of unconditional love.
“Startin’ to rain again,” Michael said softly. “Let’s get inside.”
“Well, look at us,” Callie said, wiping at her own cheeks as she pulled away. “Just a couple of crybabies.”
Rhett watched me closely as we headed inside, but whatever questions he had, he kept to himself. I wasn’t even sure if I could answer him. Someday, when he’d screwed up and was afraid to come home, he’d understand the magic of Callie and why my cheeks were wet.
“They’re here, Asa!”
“I can see that, Calliope,” Michael’s grandpa said in amusement from right inside the door. “No need to yell.”
“Shit,” she yelped before laughing. “Where the hell did you come from?”
“I live here,” he teased, smacking her ass lightly as she led us into the house. “Whoa, you must be Rhett.”
Rhett stared up at the big man, wide-eyed, his hand clutching mine.