Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
She stomped to my bedroom to get dressed. I stayed where I was in the hall with my fingers pressed to my temple as she spewed curses at me.
I didn’t really hear a word after that. Instead, I was thinking about going home. A place I’d avoided for years. All I could remember was the last time I’d spoken to my mother and how she’d begged me to come home. I’d thought I had forever, when in reality time had been my silent enemy. Fate had stolen her from this world, robbing me of a goodbye.
She’d been everything to me—my rock, my confidante, my cheerleader, and my mother. There was nothing in the world I wouldn’t have done for her except coming home the one time she’d asked. It haunted me. For that reason, I hadn’t been back. If I couldn’t go home for her, how the hell could I go for anyone else? But it wasn’t fair to leave my brother to deal with my father alone.
The crack of the door slamming on its hinges gave me reason to look up. The silence was still deafening, sending me back into my thoughts. As much as I knew my mother would expect me to go home, it didn’t make it any easier.
My phone rang, and it was then I realized it was in my hand. Nate’s name flashed on the screen.
“Brother,” I said into the phone after answering it.
I was waiting for him to tell me about how Dad was faring in the house now that it had been renovated. It was habitable again. Nate had said he’d changed the place, and honestly, that had given me the courage to go home. Seeing the house how Mom had left it would have been too hard.
Before he could speak, my phone signaled another incoming call. It was a client I needed to speak to.
“Nate. I have to call you back.” I walked toward my office.
“No. We need to talk now,” he said.
“You aren’t my only client.”
“No. I’m your brother, and your daughter is sitting in the living room.”
“What?” I might have stumbled a step because my brother wasn’t a jokester.
“You need to get to Mason Creek today.”
I stared at the phone for a long time. I’d taken Dad’s advice and had been damn careful about making sure those words were never uttered. Until now.
TWO
Sunshine
The antique brush made of silver was likely as beautiful as the day it had been constructed. More importantly, it gave comfort to Mrs. Bartlett as I drew the bristles across her almost white hair.
“Have I ever told you about my daughter?” Mrs. Bartlett asked.
She had, but dementia was a cruel disease. “Tell me more,” I said.
And she began a familiar story that brought comfort to not only her, but me, too. If my mom still lived, I hoped she would speak of me with the same admiration that Mrs. Bartlett spoke of her daughter.
Just as a smile grew bigger on my face, I spotted my supervisor in the doorway wearing a disapproving frown. It was a good thing I was standing behind my charge because she didn’t see my lips thin into a straight line.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Bartlett, but I have to go.” I patted her shoulder. As her gaze shifted to the door, she covered my hand with hers as if she understood. Part of me hoped she did, and the other part hoped she didn’t. I didn’t want her to know how uncaring management was in the place she now called home.
“Don’t worry, dear. My daughter is coming,” Mrs. Bartlett said as I made my way out of the room.
“I can’t wait to meet her,” I said over my shoulder and gave her the remnants of the smile I had left.
Once I cleared the door, my supervisor hustled me out of view of Mrs. Bartlett. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Visiting with Mrs. Bartlett,” I said, my tone edged with anger.
“We don’t pay you to visit with the patients.”
I’d heard this before. “You don’t. I’m off. This is my time.”
Her mouth opened for a second before she spoke. I knew she was trying to figure out how to tell me I was still wrong when I was right. “That’s even worse. You are a walking liability. Our insurance won’t see the difference between you working or not. If anything happens, we will be on the hook. You need to leave at once.”
She folded her arms, and I swallowed all my harsh thoughts. Mom had warned me about people like her. They suck all the energy out of the world with their bad attitudes. I strode away when I spotted a coworker flagging me to follow her into the break room. When the door closed behind me, Heidi held up a paper with words.
“What’s that?” I asked.