Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 60933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“Always,” I assured him.
The expression on his face told me he respected me for that alone.
“Is she here?” a small voice asked as a tiny blonde with a head full of wild curls stepped out onto the porch.
Chance looked down at the girl. “Bella, this is your sister, Willa. Willa, this is Bella.”
The girl stared up at Willa, and I watched as Willa stepped closer to her, then squatted down to her level. “It’s really nice to meet you, Bella. I’ve heard so much about you from Chance.”
Bella gave her a small smile. “You don’t look like her,” she said as if she were relieved.
Willa glanced up at Chance, confused.
He cleared his throat and ruffled her blond curls. “I told you she didn’t,” he replied to the girl.
She smiled brighter then. “You smile pretty,” she then told Willa.
“Thank you,” Willa said. “So do you.”
Bella seemed pleased with that. “Her smile isn’t nice.”
“Whose?” Willa asked, glancing at Chance again but I could see the pain in her eyes. She knew and it was hurting her to think that Bella had suffered.
“Mother’s,” she replied.
I saw the glance that passed between Chance and Willa, and I knew there were more things that Willa didn’t know. But even from here I was understanding it, so I knew Willa was too. She’d lived it. This was going to be hard on her. Much harder than I had realized. She was already beating herself up about not knowing. The more demons that came out of the closet, the more Willa would take it as her fault.
“Let’s all go inside with Nonna,” Chance said, breaking the sudden tension.
The girl looked past Willa to meet my gaze. “Who is he?” she asked.
Willa stood up and turned to me. “That’s Gunner. He’s my boyfriend,” she told her, then held out her hand for me to come closer and take it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Bella,” I told her.
She gave me a shy smile, then ducked her head.
“He does that to most girls. It’s that pretty face of his,” Willa said, making Bella giggle.
Chance took Bella’s hand and led her back inside. Willa leaned against me just enough for me to feel it but not enough to be obvious. Her hand squeezed mine, and I squeezed back. This was a lot for her, and now she had more to learn. It was clear Chance was holding back the complete truth. Willa needed me and I would be whatever she needed. I wasn’t leaving her side. We would face whatever else was to come together.
Ms. Ames was putting food on the table, and the house smelled like fried chicken and biscuits. I’d loved both those things as a kid, and Ms. Ames made the best.
Her eyes lifted, and she met mine. “There’s my other boy,” she said, smiling. “Now y’all find a seat and let’s eat. Best talking is done around the dinner table.”
Willa moved to the table, and we took a seat while Bella kept her eyes on Willa as she chose the chair beside her. I glanced over at Chance, and the pleased look on his face said more than any words could. He had wanted his sisters to know each other. Their mother had done a lot of damage to all of them. Maybe more to the ones she’d kept.
“This looks amazing. Thank you, Nonna,” Chance said as he took his seat across from me and beside his grandmother.
“No need to thank me. I’ve been cooking for these two since they were babies. I miss not getting to do the same for you and Bella. I have a lot of time to make up for,” she told him, then patted his cheek before turning to Bella and asking her what she wanted to drink.
Willa stood up then. “Oh, let me help with the drinks,” she said.
“Sit! You’ve got things to take in, and, well, I want you to sit. At least for tonight,” Ms. Ames told her with a serious expression.
Willa sat back down slowly, and I squeezed her thigh, then left my hand there once she was seated beside me again. She had relaxed somewhat since we’d arrived. She turned her attention to Bella.
“Chance tells me you’re a great student. He said you were reading before you were four years old. That’s very impressive,” Willa said to her.
Bella lit up at the compliment. “Chance taught me to read. I love books. They tell the best stories,” she told Willa and glanced at me a moment to smile shyly.
Willa looked over at her brother. “He left out the part where he taught you to read.”
Chance shrugged. “She was a fast learner. I realized she was trying to read everything from cereal boxes to magazines mother left lying around. So I went and got a library card, and we began getting books each week.”