Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“And I’ve missed you guys. It’s been interesting, scary, fun, exciting. All the things.” She grabbed Leah’s hand, bringing it up to her lips. “But most of all, it’s been a dream come true.”
Helena had left about three years ago, dropping everything and deciding to backpack across the world. She had been dealing with some family issues, which may have caused the idea to blossom in the first place. She did seem much happier now than when I last saw her. Her hair glowed in brown waves down to her shoulders, and her smile only got bigger when Leah’s hand was in hers.
“Where’d you two meet?” I asked. I threw a glance over their shoulders, to the guesthouse with the blinds drawn and door shut tight. A stab of guilt twisted in my back.
I’m going to go knock that door down if he doesn’t come out in the next five minutes.
“We met in a hostel in Amsterdam. Leah’s actually from Georgia—can you believe she went to our same high school, Mia?”
“No freaking way.”
Leah nodded, throwing up the “Hawks fly high” hand signal— thumbs locked together and fingers wiggling. I knew it because I’d gone to the same high school.
“You two even look alike,” I noted, pointing between my mom and Leah, who both had the same dark red hair, almost in the exact same style, with similar smiles and noses, too.
“You know what?” Mia said. “I was going to say something but didn’t want to seem weird.”
Furonda, the volunteer, nodded her head and raised her hand in agreement.
“Wait, so what year did you graduate from Hillstone?”
“Hillstone? Oh, no, I went—” Before Leah could finish, Ashley came back out, looking disappointed. She shrugged.
“I tried getting her out here. Even carried her, but she jumped off and ran back inside. I don’t know what’s up with her.”
“Poor thing’s probably still so shaken up,” Helena said. “And how about River? Is the adoption still getting stalled?”
Damn, has anything good happened to us as a family recently?
River had actually been Helena’s foster child for a long while, but when it was clear she couldn’t care for him and after him spending time with us, it was clear what my moms planned on doing. They’d started the adoption process, and we all hoped to have a new brother before the year’s end. Once the threats started rolling in, that all changed. The Dove hadn’t just threatened the sanctuary, but we later found out that they threatened the adoption agency as well.
“He’s doing well—I talked to him this morning actually. They moved him to a foster home down in Savannah. It’s a drive, but we try to make it out as much as we can. He really wants to be here.” Mia’s words hitched. Mama reached over and rubbed mom’s back, kissing the side of her head.
“We’re hopeful,” Ashley said.
“As you should be. This will all end—”
“Rex!” I jumped up, apologizing to the crowd before running around Leah and Helena, going straight for Rex. He stood just outside the door to the guesthouse, his hair a mess and his face a rosy pink, the color matching his eyes.
I ran into his open arms, wrapping mine around his.
“I’m sorry for storming off like that.”
“No, what? Are you kidding me, it’s fine. Are you okay?” I put my hands on either side of his face, not really caring that we were still in full view of everyone back in the yard. I couldn’t imagine the pain Rex must have been feeling with such an intense violation of his personal privacy.
“I’ll be okay,” he said, artfully dodging the question.
“Rex, I will personally find whoever did this and throw them in a cage for the pain they’re causing.”
He smiled, a twisted, gnarled smile, but one nonetheless. “Theo’s still on it. Just… promise you won’t ever watch it, Benj.”
“I would never. I swear.” I leaned up and kissed him. “And anyone who is watching it is a dirty rotten pig that deserves to be shat on by a herd of flying elephants.”
“Flying elephants?”
“I get creative when I’m furious.”
“Ah, gotcha.”
Rex’s turn to kiss me. He smiled against my lips, his hands on my side.
“Besides,” I said, “I’ve got it all in full, glorious, Rex-alicious 4-D right here.”
All right, now I cared that we were in full view of everyone back in the yard.
“Let’s go inside,” I whispered. “Let’s just forget about the world. You and me, let’s order pizza, watch corny rom-coms, and fuck until we pass out.”
Rex’s eyes lit up. The worry that had been circling inside the blue depths seemed to be pushed away for a moment. He grinned and kissed me again.
“Give me two hours.”
That got a brow arch out of me. “Two, huh? Where are you going?” I asked, just now realizing he had keys in his hand.
“I, uhm, talked to my father.”