Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
“But you…” she starts.
I clench my eyes shut. Before I would have promised her the world without even thinking. I can still promise it to her, but it causes a pain in my chest when I say it. “I’ve told you all along, Carrie. I will always be here for you. Always. If you need me… I’m there.”
Carrie sighs loudly into the phone. “Thank you, sis. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“I love you too,” I tell her. We talk for a few minutes until Philip gets home. I’m glad that she didn’t ask me about Vegas or my trip with Ford again. I’m not ready to talk about it. Probably because I’m not ready to admit just how much he’s come to mean to me. Everything is up in the air and uncertain. Now is not a good time to be falling in love.
Ford
I sit out of the way at the counter in my kitchen.
Ollie and Lily don’t need me. Heck, there’s a hundred other things I could be doing, but nothing could drag me out of this room right now.
Lily showed up right on time, her arms weighed down with grocery bags. I gave her the recipe for Granny’s icing earlier today, and it looks like she took this whole cupcake baking thing to heart.
The laughter between Ollie and Lily is heartwarming to hear. They are both smiling ear to ear as they work, and even though I want to jump in and be a part of it, Ollie needs this, and so I sit here and watch them.
Lily just finished making the icing, and she gets a spoon out of the drawer, puts a heaping of the icing on it, and holds it up to Ollie. “You have to try it. If it’s not right, just tell me, and we can try it again.”
She looks worried as Ollie takes the spoon and looks at it. He’s taking her request to heart and makes a big deal of smelling it and then taking a small lick of it.
I swear Lily is holding her breath until Ollie’s eyes light up. “It’s perfect. Oh Lily, it tastes just like Granny’s.”
He no sooner sets the spoon down then he bursts into tears. Lily’s eyes get as wide as saucers as Ollie dives off the chair he’s standing on and flings himself into her arms. She catches him and holds on to him as he sobs against her chest.
I’m out of my chair and across the room in an instant. “Ollie, you okay, buddy?”
He starts to sniff. Lily is rubbing his back, cooing to him that everything is okay.
Finally, when he starts to calm down, he lifts his head, sniffing. “I know I shouldn’t cry, Dad—”
Lily lifts him up higher on her waist. She’s a tiny thing, and I know he’s too big for her to hold, but when I try to take him, she holds him tighter. She sets him up on the counter and stands in front of him. “It’s okay to cry, Ollie. Are you missing your granny?”
He nods as Lily wipes his eyes and then his nose. “Do you know that even now, I cry when I’m missing my mom and dad?”
Ollie’s eyes go round. “You do?”
Lily nods and looks over at me. “Do you know that your dad is sad sometimes and misses Granny? He cries too, Ollie.”
Ollie doesn’t believe her and looks at me. “No way. Do you, Dad?”
I nod and walk closer to them, putting one hand on Ollie’s back and the other on Lily’s back. “Yeah, I do, son. I miss Granny too. But you know what helps me when I miss her?”
He shakes his head. “No, what?”
“Talking about her. Looking at pictures of her. Baking cupcakes that she always liked to make for you. That’s how we can keep her with us, Oll. That’s how we can remember her. She loved you so much, and I’m sure she’s looking down on you right now, wishing she could hug you and tell you that everything’s going to be okay.”
He looks at Lily. “You believe that, Lily?”
She nods instantly. “Oh, definitely. There’s no doubt about it. I’d say she’s happy that you wanted to continue the tradition of making cupcakes for your birthday. And she’ll be happy tomorrow to know that your dad is bringing them to your school party.”
He nods, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Now's not the time to get on him about hygiene, so I let it go. “That’s right, buddy. And from now on, any time you feel sad or you want to talk about Granny, we can. I know Uncle Lucas, Beau, Huddy, and Austin would love to too. Anytime you want to talk about Granny, I’ll listen, okay?”
“Okay.”
I run my hand through Ollie’s hair. “We have to let the cupcakes cool before we ice them. What do you think about going to get that present we got for Lily?”