Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
“Kat, I’m sorry. I know you hate me.”
My stomach hurts having this conversation. I hate that I have caused her so much pain.
“I don’t hate you,” she declares. “I could never hate you. But I can be mad at you. I want to forgive you.”
I lean my head back on a stack of cushions and stare up at the ceiling. “Tell me what to do, Kat. I want to make things right with you. I want to be there for you and the baby.”
“Call Dean and apologize. You can say sorry to me all you want, but without telling the person you hurt most, it doesn’t mean a thing.”
“Fine, I’ll call Dean.”
“He has off on Friday. Call him then.”
“How are you feeling? Is the baby okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she sighs. “A little tired. And sick. The morning sickness is kind of kicking my ass. I practically live in the bathroom.”
“I can come home and help out.”
“No, that’s okay. I’m moving soon. I told Dean I would live with him.”
“I’m happy if you’re happy, Kat. But promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t do what mom did. You need to have your own life and your own career. She gave up everything to raise us.”
“Mom didn’t regret it,” she challenges.
“I know she didn’t, but just promise me, okay?”
Before my mom died, she asked me to watch over my brothers and sister. She made me promise her that I wouldn’t let Kat repeat her past. Our mom was a partner in a successful law firm when she met our dad. They had a whirlwind romance that swept both of them off their feet. Within a few short months, they were married. I came along not long after. My mom gave up everything to be with my dad. He became her world, and when she got sick, my dad couldn’t handle the thought of losing her.
Instead of being there for her, for all of us, he stayed away. I’m close to my dad, but that’s one thing I will never forgive him for. It’s hard to forget the years I spent at my mother’s bedside while I watched her slowly die. And it’s even harder to forget that my dad left two teenagers to raise his children. He forgot about all of us, throwing himself into hockey more than ever.
“After I have the baby,” Kat says, “I plan to look for an internship in Philly. I’m not giving up on my dreams. Mom wouldn’t want that, and I don’t either.”
"As long as we're on the same page."
"Just so you know, I didn't see Dean in secret," she says. "We kissed at a party at the end of senior year. It was a dare. And after we kissed, it was impossible to go back to being friends."
It’s hard to imagine my little sister as a woman who is months away from having a baby. In my mind, she will always be the tomboy with scrapes all over her knees from playing hockey without pads. The little girl who wrapped her tiny fingers around mine and begged me to play hockey with her.
Our dad taught her the basics, the same as he did with the rest of us, but Kat was different. She was the only girl in a house full of boys. We did our best to treat her like a girl. Except Kat wanted nothing more than to be one of the guys. So, it was no surprise when she brought Dean home, claiming he was her best friend from college.
“If he breaks your heart—”
“You’ll break his face,” she finishes with laughter in her voice.
“I’ll break more than his face. Consider him a dead man.”
“Dean is one of the good ones,” she says with confidence.
I groan at the final score that pops up on my television screen. “This blows.”
“I assume you’re watching the game.”
“Yeah. My guys are playing like shit. All of this is my fault.”
“There’s nothing you can do about it,” she counters. “So, don’t beat yourself up. Focus on getting better instead of worrying about all of the things you could have done differently.”
“You sound like Austin.”
She chuckles. “Where do you think I get it from? He’s the most levelheaded of all of us. Austin has been a big help lately. He took me to my doctor appointment yesterday. He’s excited about the baby. He can’t wait to be an uncle.”
“Me, too.”
“You don’t seem like it.”
“I’m still getting used to the fact you’re pregnant. But I’m excited about being an uncle. I always knew it would happen, just not so soon.”
“Hey, Denny,” she groans. “Dean is clicking in on the other line. Can I talk to you later?”
“Yeah. Go ahead. I’ll see you soon.”
She says her final goodbye, and then the line goes dead. I have to fix all of the shit I have broken. According to Dr. Devine, that change has to start with me, and I’m not looking forward to it.