Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Braxton, a woman named Denise Cohen has reached out to Blackwood in search of you. She’s claiming to be your mother and would like a way to get ahold of you since all your social media and email is through us. Would you like me to give her your info?
-Easton
I stare at the screen, unsure what to think. The woman went years without reaching out, and now she wants to, what? Keep in touch? I’m not sure what she can possibly have to say after our last chat. I thought I made how I feel pretty damn clear. I can’t imagine anything she has to say will change my mind, but at the same time, the masochistic part of me wants to know.
Easton,
Yeah, that’s the woman who brought me into this world and then walked away... You can give her my personal email. Thanks.
I’m lifting free weights when my phone goes off with another email. This time, it’s from Denise. Not wanting to read this in the middle of the hotel gym, I go back to my room, take a quick shower, and then open it.
Braxton,
Thank you for allowing me to contact you. First, I would like to say I’m sorry. I know it’s years too late, but I am truly sorry for not fighting harder. I have no excuses except that I was wrong. I took the coward’s way out, and I will always regret not fighting harder. I could’ve contacted you so many times over the years, but I allowed my fear of rejection to stop me, and that’s completely on me.
I’m not writing you today to ask you to forgive me, but for Adam. You see, while my husband, Aaron, knew about you, offering many times to help me reach out, I never told our kids about you. I used to tell myself it was because it hurt too much, but the truth is, I didn’t want to have to admit what I did... I gave up my son. Because then my kids would ask questions, and my guilt couldn’t handle that.
After Adam found out about you, he was upset that he had a brother I never told him about. My hiding the truth about you hurt him, and I don’t know how to make that right. I know finding out about having siblings was a shock to you, but I just want you to know that if the day ever comes that you want to get to know them, I know they would love to, and it wouldn’t have to have anything to do with me. Although I hope we can talk some more one day, but I’ll leave that up to you...
She goes on to give me Adam’s contact info as well as hers and then signs it: With love, Denise.
My first thought is the kid only wants to get to know me because of who I am, but at the same time, I have an eighteen-year-old brother who isn’t at fault for what went down. Since I’m nowhere near ready to reach out to him, I store his info in my phone and then turn it off, needing to go for a walk so I don’t end up getting lost in the bottom of a bottle. I have no desire to email Denise back. She’s had years to reach out, so she can wait until I’m damn well ready to respond, if I ever do at all.
Right now, I only have one person I need to focus on: myself. Everybody else can fucking wait.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
KAYLEE
“I’m not sure what time I’ll be—”
“Cam!” Felix yells as the front door opens, and in walks Camden, dropping his bag onto the ground.
“Oh my God!” Layla gasps, springing to her feet and waddling her cute butt over to Camden. “You’re home early!”
“Only a day,” he says, wrapping his wife and stepson up in a hug. “The bus was having issues, so we ended up flying in instead.”
“I missed you so much.” She sighs into him, and he drops his arm around her shoulders as they walk back into the living room.
“I made up a new dance,” Felix tells him, not giving him a second to get inside and decompress. But if Camden is annoyed, he hides it well, smiling at Felix and giving him his attention, despite, I’m sure, wanting to give his attention to Layla.
“Well, c’mon and show us,” Camden says, dropping onto the couch with Layla still stuck to his side.
“Welcome home,” I say, standing and hooking my purse over my shoulder.
“You’re not leaving on my account...”
“No, I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Where?” he presses.
“Café Latte. If you want some alone time later, I can watch Felix for you guys.”
“Thanks,” Camden says. “Maybe another night. Tonight, I just want to be home with my family.”
Layla beams at him like he’s hung the moon while Felix starts up the song I’ve watched him dance to no less than a hundred times in the past week. As I walk out, quickly glancing back at them, I make a mental note to find a place as soon as I find a job. They might have said I can stay as long as I need to, but after Camden being gone for two months, and Layla about to give birth soon, they need this time alone, as a family. Which means it’s important I find a damn job.