Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 70629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
"So you don’t hurt her?" she asks softly. “I don’t want to hurt her."
I walk over to her and squat down. “It doesn’t hurt her, sweetheart. I’m going to put you on the horse and then get on behind you."
I pick her up, and she opens her legs, sitting on the horse. "Hold on right here,” I say, and she nods her head, grabbing the rein in her little hand.
I walk with the horse outside and see that Quinn is there with his daughter. “See them." I point at Quinn. “I’m going to get on like him."
"Okay,” she says. I put my foot in the stirrup and sit on the horse behind her. She leans forward to whisper in the horse’s ear. “It’s okay." I put my arms around her, holding her in. She leans into my chest, and I smell the strawberry in her shampoo.
I move the horse toward Quinn. “Want to go to the trail?" I ask, and he nods his head. I look over at Hazel and see her standing there looking at us.
I motion with my head, and she just nods but doesn’t say anything. Her eyes are on both of us. "So what’s your name?" I ask as we follow Quinn as we go through the little trail that Ethan made when he had Gabriel.
"Sofia,” she says proudly. “Sofia Bernadette."
"That’s the perfect name,” I say. “I used to be friends with your mom."
"You work at the office, too?" she asks, and I laugh, shaking my head.
"No," I say to her. “When she was little,” I say.
"Did you know Pops?" she asks, looking up at me.
"Yeah, he was the best,” I say.
"He had a tractor," she tells me. “It doesn’t work."
"Did you ever ride on the tractor?" I ask, and she shakes her head.
"No, because it’s broken," she tells me matter-of-factly. “And now Momma said it’s ready for the junkyard. I have a picture in my bedroom at my house."
"Do you?" I ask, and she nods.
"It’s in my room. Not the one here." Her voice has to be the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard. "Now I sleep in Mommy’s bed."
"I used to throw rocks at her window,” I say, and she looks up at me. “Not big rocks. Ones just so she could come and talk to me.”
“Why didn’t you use the phone?” she asks, and I laugh.
"I don’t know." She looks ahead. “You want to go fast?" I ask. Her eyes light up, and she tries not to smile, making me laugh. She is very much her mother’s daughter, and I wonder if she knows her father, my chest getting a little twinge. "Okay,” I say, putting an arm around her stomach and holding the reins in my free hand. I get the horse to trot just a touch faster, causing her hair to fly everywhere.
But the sound of her laughter is everything, and she holds on as tight as she can. "Faster, Uncle Reed,” she says, and I laugh because she is copying Tucker. We finally get back to the barn, and she looks up. “That was so much fun,” she says, looking over at Tucker who stands in the barn with Mayson.
"I’m going to get down first,” I say, and she nods while I get down. I look up, holding out my arm, and she reaches for me, and I put her down.
"Thank you, Uncle Reed,” she says, and Tucker comes over.
"It was my pleasure,” I say, and she looks at Tucker.
"Did you see me?" she asks. “He went fast."
"My dad can go fast also," Tucker says, and I shake my head. I look over as I take off the saddle from the horse.
"Not as fast as Reed,” she says, and he turns, running back to Mayson to ask him if he is faster than me.
I look over at Sofia, who stands there with her hip cocked. “Sofia,” I call her name, and she looks over at me. I can’t even try not to laugh at her. “Today was fun."
She nods her head at me. “I’m going to see my mom." She starts to run, then stops and turns back. “Thank you, Reed,” she says, and when I smile at her, she smirks back at me. My whole body goes stiff, and everything in me screams. I’m about to take a step toward her when my grandfather comes to me.
"Hey," he says, and I look over at him and then look back over to see Hazel taking Sofia in her arms. "Did you finish?"
"Um, yeah," I say, my head spinning at this point. Did I just imagine it?
"Did you do both?" he asks, and I turn back and look at him with a confused look on my face. "Did you do the flower bed in the front and the back?"
"Yeah," I tell him. Before coming to the barbecue, my grandfather called and summoned me to his house. I thought I was coming to help set up for the barbecue. What I wasn’t prepared for was my father and Quinn waiting for me. I got in the truck without asking questions, but as soon as we pulled up to Hazel’s, I was informed we needed to fix the flower bed. "Nothing left in the front."