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)
“Cowboy!” she yells for my father. “They’re here.” My father comes out of the house. The minute I put the car in park, the back door springs open. “There she is,” my father says. “Princess Sofia.”
“See, Momma,” she says. “Told you I’m a princess.”
It takes about fifteen minutes for Hazel to be okay enough to walk away. After my mother shows Sofia her special room, she turns to me. “She’s never coming back to Pops’ house.”
When we walk out of the house, I want to grab her hand when our fingers graze each other’s. Sofia doesn’t even come and say goodbye to us, and Hazel keeps looking out the window.
The parking lot is almost empty when we get there, which is typical for Wednesday night, but I spot my sister’s truck and my cousins’. Getting out of the truck, I wait for her as we walk to the bar. “It’s funny," she says, looking at me. “It’s changed"—she looks around—“yet feels the same." She pulls open the door, and you can see the changes right away. “God, I used to hate this place on Saturday nights,” she says, pointing at where the pool tables are. “People would spill so much shit back there."
"I know," I groan. “Who do you think used to mop it?"
"Who do you think mopped it when you left?" she counters, and I look at her. "Christopher was always ‘busy.’" She makes air quotes when she says busy.
I look around and see that everyone is sitting at the table in front of the bar. Asher sits on the stool with Amelia beside him, right next to Chelsea, sitting next to Mayson. His hand is on Chelsea's leg, just in case people don’t see the ring on her finger.
"Look at what the cat dragged in," my sister says from behind the bar. Besides my parents, she is the only one who knows since she lives in the house, and my mother had to explain why she was renovating a room for a child. "What can I get you, Hazel?" She smiles at her.
"Um …" She looks at her. “Water."
"Why?" Amelia says, turning on her stool. Her stomach is sticking out. “Have a glass of wine or a shot of whiskey."
Chelsea picks up her beer and brings it to her lips. “I had to take one for the team also."
"I’ll have a glass of white wine,” she says and then looks at me. “I don’t drink."
"Sip it," I mumble under my breath, grabbing two stools and sitting with them.
Harlow comes over and puts her wine down on a coaster and then hands me a beer. "I’ll put it on your tab."
"No tab," Amelia says. “We don’t know when he’s going to leave town."
I laugh, picking up the beer now. “Not anytime soon," I tell them, taking a pull. “I’m out,” I say, and they look at me in shock. “It was time."
"You know when you know," Mayson says, holding up his beer to me in a salute.
"What are you going to do now?" Amelia asks as she rubs her stomach.
"I haven’t decided yet,” I say to them. Technically, it’s the truth, but I leave out that I don’t know what I’m going to do since Hazel hasn’t told me what her plans are. I keep thinking that she will stay, but I’m not going to be the one to pressure her.
"Well, it’s good to have you home," Amelia says and then winces. “I swear these contractions."
"They are the worst," Hazel says. “I had Braxton Hicks with Sofia for seven weeks."
"What are Braxton Hicks?" I ask, worried she was in pain for seven weeks.
"It’s when you get a contraction, but it’s not real," she says, but I still don’t understand it. "Your body is getting ready for the real thing, so it’s like a practice run."
"With Tucker, I had back pains, and I kinda knew they were contractions, but I didn’t think it would go downhill so fast," Chelsea says, then looks at Mayson. “Then my water broke." Mayson’s head shakes, making Chelsea laugh. “It’s fine. He’s healthy."
"She almost gave birth in the elevator," Mayson pipes in. “I thought I was going to die."
"You thought you were going to die?" Chelsea says. “Try squeezing a watermelon out of your …" The men groan, and I grimace and hold my junk.
"I don’t know why this baby isn’t coming out," Amelia says. “I’ve tried everything. Spicy food. Walks, raspberry tea, sex."
"Amelia," Asher says to her.
"You don’t think they know we have sex?" She points at her stomach. “Exhibit A." It makes us all laugh.
"How was your labor?" Amelia looks at Hazel.
"It was almost sixteen hours,” she says, and the girls gasp. “After hour fourteen, I got a fever." My mouth goes dry suddenly. “I don’t remember much after that, but it took me thirty-nine minutes to push her out."