Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“But back to the bigger problem,” she said. “Readers are going to miss out on more funny stories when Addie and Sutton go into labor. Like last week, when she mentioned how Addie got stuck in Mom’s car and couldn’t get out.”
Laughing, I said, “That was funny.”
“Wait,” Harlee said as she sat down in the oversized chair she loved so much. I’d often find her curled up in it with a book, a blanket, and a glass of wine. “I thought you guys hated Ms. Seaside writing about you, and now you want her to write about you? And worse yet, the babies?”
Palmer waved her hand at me. “Please, she would never say an ill word about those babies.”
I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
The doorbell rang, and Palmer rushed to answer it. Sutton waddled in with her swollen belly.
She took a few deep breaths, then looked around the room at each of us before she said, “Ms. Seaside is no more!”
“I know!” Palmer replied.
Sutton’s expression was a mix of sadness and anger. “This means she won’t write about the babies!”
The door flew open and in walked Addie, with Gannon helping her. I swore, she was even bigger than Sutton.
“She quit! That bitch quit right before the babies are born!”
Gannon looked exhausted. Poor Brody limped in behind them.
“Sutton, you forgot your breakfast tacos.”
I sliced my hand through my hair as I looked at Harlee, who simply smiled and shrugged.
“Women confuse the hell out of me,” I mumbled.
There was nothing better than fall in Maine. The trees started to turn, the wind got cooler, and the smell of baked apples seemed to fill the air everywhere you went. It had to be my favorite time of year, no doubt about it. This year, the crisp temperatures were welcome after a particularly hot summer. And man, oh man, were the fish currently biting.
I only had a few more weeks before the season ended, and we were fully booked. After the summer fishing camp Harlee and I had hosted in August, we’d had an influx of people signing up for charters, a lot of them families. It was the best season yet, and I knew it was all because of Harlee.
“This is so stunning. I can’t believe it’s ours!” Harlee said softly as we both stood in the massive front yard of the house we’d recently closed on. We’d sold both of our houses and had moved into the guesthouse behind Harlee’s folks’ place until we’d found a home of our own. A place where we could make new memories and grow old together. A place where we could raise our kids, which we’d started to talk about more and more. We’d thought we wanted to wait, but it quickly became clear that a baby was the only thing missing from our world.
I watched Harlee stretch her arms out and spin. “It’s going to be a beautiful place to raise a family!” She stopped spinning and looked at me. Those big blue eyes were sparkling, and she wore a smile so wide, it made me smile in return.
The house was located on its own peninsula on Seaside Cove. The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath house was originally owned by Captain Jerald S. Pendleton. It was the typical old Maine cape that had been completely updated, which was great for us. The view was amazing, as the peninsula sat on the banks of the Penobscot River right before it opened up into the bay.
The best part: It sat on seven acres of land. Of course, the best part for Harlee was the history behind the old home. Built in 1800, it had only been owned by three different families and had survived plenty of storms, and even a few hurricanes. She’d already done extensive research on the house and the story behind it. My little history buff.
A bell rang in the distance, and we both turned to see the twelve-week-old German Shorthair Pointer we’d adopted only a few days ago come racing toward us. We knew he’d need plenty of room to run, so this would be the perfect place for him too.
Harlee grinned from ear to ear as Moose went running by, only taking a moment to bark before he continued on. “I think he gives it his bark of approval.”
I laughed. “I think so.”
“Oh, Brax, can you imagine the parties we can have here?” She gasped, then did a weird little hop. “We could do a haunted tractor ride all through the island for the kids! Maybe we can have a fundraiser for the elementary school’s art program. Palmer would love that!”
I nodded and reached for her. Taking her hand, I drew her in close and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Are you happy, Harlee?”
She brought her hand up to my cheek as she looked deeply into my eyes. “I’ve never been this happy in my entire life.” Reaching up onto her toes, she sealed her mouth over mine, and we soon got lost in each other.