Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
She pulls out her phone. I give her my number, and she sends me a text right away.
561-334-7829: It’s Everleigh.
“That’s my number in case you need to get in touch with me about the deliveries,” she states as I store her number with her name.
“Do you know when they are letting her out of the hospital?” I ask, and she takes a big inhale.
“I might have to get handcuffs and cuff her to the bed,” she mumbles, and she isn’t wrong. Ms. Maddie is one of the hardest-working women I know. She works three hundred and sixty-four days a year, only taking off Christmas. She never takes off any days and, at most, takes off half the day on Sunday, but she hires a couple of people to help out. “From what the doctors say, depending on the results of today’s tests, it could be up to five days.”
I nod. “I’ll let you get back to work,” I tell her when the bell rings over the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She just nods at me as I get out of the way. The door opens, and two more people come in.
Making my way to the truck, I get home to see Brady has already gotten back from dropping off Wyatt. I get a kiss from him before I leave, a routine that now is Brady drops him off at school and I am the one who picks him up.
I run up the steps to the front door, walk in and spot the baseball bat at the side of the door with Wyatt’s bag under it. He has baseball practice tonight, so he’s going to need it. I also know Brady will put it in the truck as soon as he leaves this morning to go to work. One thing that started after court was Brady gave up the night shifts at the bar. He does two nights a week and that is it. Monday and Tuesday, the rest he’s home with us. Also, he fired me. That night he asked me to move in with him, he told me I was fired. I wanted to argue with him, but now that I have money coming in from Winston, I could afford to give up that job. However, I did miss it, especially since we worked side by side. But it’s so much better cooking dinner side by side with him, and then when Wyatt goes to bed, it’s just the two of us. Sitting on the couch, we share our day with each other, sharing little stories that we each have. He knows literally every single secret I have. He knows me inside and out, and I’ve never been happier to share my life with someone like I am with Brady. It’s the little kisses in the morning he softly gives me when he comes down, right before he starts making breakfast for me and Wyatt. To the little touches he does when I walk into the bar to discuss things with him. To the smile he gives me every time I catch him staring at me, or he catches me staring at him. He consumes me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. “Hello?” I call out when the door closes behind me, and I listen to hear where Brady is.
“In the bedroom!” he hollers back, and I jog up the steps, looking at all the frames we’ve hung on our walls in just five months. The family photos, one after another, show not only me but also Wyatt what family really is. I step into our bedroom, only to find him walking out of the closet with his shirt already off. My eyes sweep down his body as I bite my lower lip. “Hey,” he says, coming to me and bending his head to kiss my neck, “everything go okay?”
“No,” I reply. I shake my head as his head goes back, and his shoulders go square. The alarm is all over his face. It’s been five months of being almost drama-free. One thing is, after that day in court, Winston never showed up at our door. That is not to say he hasn’t shown his face in our lives, but it’s been a handful of times, and all of them were when he walked down Main Street with his latest obsession. Word going around is she’s carrying his child, and it’s the second coming of Christ, according to his parents. Also, he’s missed every single court-appointed visitation that was scheduled with Wyatt. We would show up and wait for an hour past the time, and even though Wyatt said he didn’t care, you saw on his face that it bothered him. It got to the point where he would retreat and not be himself for a couple of days. It went on twice more until Ryleigh scheduled a hearing to have Winston’s custody rights revoked, and the order was granted. If Winston wants to see Wyatt, he has to contact us and schedule supervised visits. Ryleigh sent a copy of the order to Mr. Belfast, and we have yet to receive a response from him or Winston. To be honest, Wyatt is better off without Winston in his life. Brady has not only spent more time with my son but he’s also been a much better father than Winston had ever been. “Ms. Maddie had a heart attack,” I fill him in, and his eyes go wide.