Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry,” she whispers pressing her lips to mine.
“No apologies,” I tell her kissing her back. “This is behind you and the rearview is no more. Look ahead, baby girl. Whatever it is, you look ahead.”
In an instant, Dia is beside us chatting with her brother like she didn’t almost die. “Tell dad I’m okay. I’m with Busted.” She pauses. “BW, I know we’re gonna get shit for takin’ off. I’ll deal with all you hot headed alphas when I’m home. For now, I got shit to do here in Florida. Just tell Dad, I’m good so he can calm mom down. The rest of you will be fine ‘til we get back.” Dia pauses again, I assume BW is talking. “Busted’s tangled up with Emmalee right now. I don’t know about Maritza,” her voice halts as she lets out a sob.
That is Dia Crews. The danger is over and she’s taking in how bad things are and could have been. She’s also eating herself up with guilt about getting separated from Maritza and Hollis.
Emmalee stops our kiss and looks to me. “She’s gonna be okay,” I whisper as Dia takes in what BW is saying.
“Karma is with her. You know all this already, BW? How? Right okay. Hollis, is he okay?”
“I’ve caused a mess to your whole family,” Emmalee says dropping her head to my shoulder. “God, I’m so stupid. I should have known when my mother left, she intended to leave me behind. She didn’t even visit me in the hospital when I got shot in the head.”
“Baby girl, you are my family. This is our family. You haven’t done anything. It’s on him not you.”
She shakes her head as the tears fall down. “I knew better. Deep inside there was more to this than I was seeing. I just didn’t know what to do. And in the end, I made every wrong choice there is to make.
“Don’t do this Emmalee.”
Dia reaches over and gives Emmalee’s hand a squeeze. “Emmalee, you’ve been brave today. Brave as a Hellion’s ol’ lady. Don’t you take that away.”
She lifts her head to look at me. “Always brave, baby girl. You’re always brave.”
THIRTEEN
EMMALEE
Life lessons with Emma: Sometimes the dreams aren’t clear.
“I want to strangle you and hug you at the same time,” Diem says sitting in the chair across from me.
It’s good to be back in Haywood’s Landing, but if I’m being honest, it scares the shit out of me. I feel like I’ve changed too much. Do I fit in here again? How can I help these people understand, I never intended to hurt them.
Family is the core of everything. They know that and believe it too. I think that’s why everyone has been so kind to me as they have reached out. I did this for family. Right, wrong, or indifferent, my reasons behind everything I’ve done were in the name of the only family I had left. She’s gone and I don’t exactly know how to feel about it.
On one hand, she was my mother. My life-giver and she’s no more. Her life amounted to nothing. She mattered to no one beyond me. I can’t help but wonder how lonely it must have been to be her. No real connections in her whole existence left her sole focus to be money. I don’t ever want to be like her or my dad.
We’re at Wesson’s house and he’s on the couch beside me with an arm draped around my shoulders playing with the ends of my hair. We should talk about things, clear the air, but he hasn’t initiated that conversation and neither have I. What can I say? He is comforting, strong, and resilient. In all of this, he hasn’t shown me one ounce of bitterness, even though I repeatedly lied to him and hurt him. The man he is I will never find again in this lifetime. The pain he carries is one burden I wish to ease, if he will let me.
Diem and Colt came over once Wes gave the all clear. We took a few days in Florida together squaring things up from my life there. With all the tasks of having my mother cremated, cleaning out my room, and answering the questions we had to formally for the cops, there wasn’t true time for us. Upon our return to Haywood’s Landing, he allowed me to be here with him in a bubble for a couple of days telling everyone no to visiting. I’ve spoken to Diem. She has the truth now. While I know she’s wanting to be here the moment I walked in the door, this time to rest and reset has been necessary. I thank Wes for putting my needs above everything including his own. I’m ready now to live again and this time it be for me.