Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 122219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
She smiled softly and shrugged. “I’m a little scared if I’m honest.”
“Scared of what?” Willow asked.
“What if I can’t do it as well as Mama? What if I’m not a good mother?” she quietly questioned. “I said the same thing to Alex, and he told me I was wrong, but those thoughts cross my mind sometimes. I just…I wish she was here to help me through this sometimes.”
I knew that feeling too well.
“I wish she was here, too. Over the weekend, that was my main wish.” Sadly enough, wishes like that never came true. Not in the way we’d hoped, at least.
“Oh, Ave. I can only imagine. I miss her so much—a lot more lately. You’d think it would get easier over time, but…” Yara shrugged. “Sometimes, it feels as if it only gets harder.”
“Tell me about it,” Willow murmured, growing somber.
My heart ached for my youngest sister. She never even got the chance to know our mother since Mama passed away during Willow’s birth.
Sometimes I wondered if that was why Willow always ran off on her adventures around the world. She constantly sought something that was missing. Unfortunately, a mother’s love couldn’t be found in other places. It couldn’t be replaced by other forms of comfort.
She didn’t talk about not being able to have a relationship with Mama, though. Truthfully, her saying “tell me about it” was the closest she’d ever come to speaking about our mother. Usually, she was quick to shift the conversation to something that didn’t involve Mama in any way, shape, or form.
“Willow…” I started.
She hopped up from the couch and clapped her hands together. “I have an idea!” She smiled brightly as if her heart wasn’t just broken from the conversation. That was the thing with Willow Kingsley; she covered her sadness with smiles and conversation shifts. Maybe I had more in common with my little sister than I thought.
“Let’s hear it,” I said.
“Two words. Puerto Rico!” she exclaimed, wiggling her hips with excitement. “I was going to go next week to meet up with this guy I matched with on a dating app—”
“I saw this same plot in a horror movie.” I sighed. I swear, my littlest sister gave me the highest level of stress from her travels.
“Anyway! I’m still going, but you girls should come with me! It will be a great three-month trip.”
“Three months?!” Yara and I blurted out in sync.
“You can’t go to Puerto Rico for three months with a stranger,” I scolded. “I forbid it.”
“Okay, Mom,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Besides, it wouldn’t only be to Puerto Rico. I’ll be going to Europe to meet with a few of my lovers there, too. But I want you two to join me.”
“Willow. I know this might come as a surprise to you, but I’ll be having a baby next month.”
“I know! I’ll be back in town for baby girl,” Willow agreed.
“Yes, but also, Avery and I have these things called jobs that kind of tie us down,” Yara explained.
Willow made a face. “That sounds awful.”
Trust me, it is.
“You really should consider getting one, maybe,” I mentioned. “It wouldn’t hurt for you to plant some roots.”
“What? Just for someone to come rip them up? No, thank you. I’d prefer to fly instead of staying grounded. Nothing good comes from being committed and grounded.”
I wanted to argue with her, but there I was without a home or husband.
My life had been uprooted within seventy-two hours.
“Does Daddy know you’re going to Puerto Rico with a stranger?” I asked.
“No, and he doesn’t need to know. Not yet, at least. You know how he is. He’d worry.”
“We all worry, Will,” I said, shaking my head. “I would tell you not to go, but I know that would just make you want to go more.”
She smiled. “At least you have a good idea of the person I am. If you change your mind, let me know.”
I rolled my shoulders back and stretched. “I won’t, but thank you for the offer. I have too much to figure out back here. Like where I’m going to live.”
“Oh, crap. I didn’t even think about that. You and Wesley lived together,” Yara stated.
“In his house. Yeah. So I’m a bit shit out of luck on that front. I have to figure that out sooner than later.”
“Oh gosh. Stay here! You can have Big Bird,” Willow offered. “I won’t be here anyway. This paradise can be all yours. Plus, having someone watching the place while I’m gone would be nice.”
I glanced around the bus and had a moment of hesitation. Then I realized it was the perfect solution for the in-between period of my life. Like I said, Willow’s place was highly impressive. I didn’t hate the idea of it at all, and it took extra stress off me to try to figure out a living arrangement.