Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Excitement filled every part of my body. I’d been longing to go for a hike since moving here but didn’t feel comfortable going alone. “I’ll be right back,” I said in a voice that was probably a little too excited.
Hadley jumped and yelled, “Yay!”
“We’ll pack up and meet you at my truck.”
“Okay, it won’t take me long,” I called out as I raced up to my place, more excited than I’d been in a long time.
Part of me wasn’t sure if it was because of the hike, or the company. Another part of me knew the answer though.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AIDEN - OUR PARK
Hadley and Emma giggled like two little girls as they explored. I was as conflicted as ever with my feelings as I watched the two of them. I knew Hadley loved having Emma in her life, and I knew it was important to have a female figure for her. She had my mother, of course, and Tammy. But the connection she was making with Emma was very different. Emma showered Hadley with the type of attention she needed.
Lisa had been an amazing mother until near the end, when she took out her fear and anger over the cancer on me and, sadly, sometimes Hadley. Still, even before the separation and her cancer, though she indulged our daughter, she wasn’t the adventurous type. She never went hiking or camping with us. The only outdoor activity she ever agreed to attend was a zoo or carnival.
Hadley was like me, she loved being outdoors. Loved going on wild adventures and could sit for hours waiting to see a moose walk out from the tree line to the water.
“You’ve seen a moose?” Emma asked, almost as if she’d read my mind.
“Yep! Daddy and I saw one together. You have to really look hard. They were indoduced back to the park.”
“Indoduced?” Emma asked, peeking over to me.
“Introduced.”
“Ahh,” she said, walking along next to Hadley. Their hands were interlocked, and Emma swung them just the slightest bit.
“We’re almost there! We’re almost there!” Hadley cried out.
“Well, we won’t see anything with how loud you’re being, young lady,” I warned.
Hadley slapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she whispered, then dragged Emma farther up the trail. When we got to the top, Emma sucked in a breath as she spun around in a circle and took in the view.
“Oh my. This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
“It is,” Hadley and I said at the same time.
“Daddy, put the blanket out!”
Emma looked at me and lifted a brow in question.
“Early dinner of cold fried chicken and biscuits.”
“Yum,” Emma said as she rubbed her stomach.
She helped me get the blanket all spread out while Hadley took care of the food. While we ate, she talked a mile a minute about everything, from what she wanted to be for Halloween to the winter carnival the church was putting on. She also made plans to show Emma the indoor swimming pool at the community center as soon as possible.
Emma and I chatted about Hadley taking swim lessons at the center, and when she mentioned piano lessons, I thought Hadley was going to explode with excitement.
By the time we made it back down the trail, packed up the truck, and headed home, Hadley was fast asleep.
“If I had an ounce of her energy, I could power an entire city,” Emma said while looking back at Hadley.
“I totally agree. This age is amazing but it’s a lot.” I smiled over at her but then asked the question I’d been thinking about all day. “May I ask you something personal?”
Emma tensed like she always did when you asked her something about her life before Estes Park. “Sure.”
“Why didn’t you ever have kids? With your ex-husband.”
Turning to face forward, Emma stared out the window as if lost in thought, silent in her seat. I realized I’d asked the wrong question.
“Never mind, you don’t have to answer me. It’s none of my business, and you’ve already said you want to put your past behind you. I’m sorry.”
Her hands wrung in her lap for a good three minutes. She slowly took in a breath before she spoke. “I was pregnant once, and I lost the baby when I was twenty-four weeks along.”
My stomach lurched. “I’m so sorry, Emma.”
She gave me a smile that seemed to say she was sorry for making me feel uncomfortable. I’d never met a woman like her before. I was the jackass for asking a question that was clearly painful, and she’s the one who gives me an apologetic smile.
“It’s okay. I know now there was a reason why it happened. Everything happens for a reason. I truly believe that.”
“Was it early on in your marriage?”
She looked away from me and out the window. “Yes, it was.”
I closed my eyes and cursed at myself internally.