Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
I was still holding Nolan. Refusing to let him go. I cut a glance at River. Between the two of them, my heart swelled to overflowing.
“I’m better than I’ve been in a long, long time.” I saw no purpose in hiding it.
“That’s because she didn’t have any family, Uncle Otto, so she’s gotta be in ours because we got a lot of love around here,” Nolan said, so matter of fact, as if he didn’t wreck me a little more with each adorable word that dropped from his mouth. “Family’s just who you love most.”
Otto rumbled a satisfied sound. “Yeah, it sure is, isn’t it?”
He looked at River again, though this time, there was something emphatic in his expression. Trying to drive a point home that was invisible to me.
I didn’t know how much time had passed before Otto cleared his throat. “All right, I’ve got to get out of here.”
“What, you aren’t staying for dinner?” Raven pouted. I wondered if he had any idea that she was actually disappointed or if he believed she was only playing it up.
He curled an arm around her shoulder and tucked her close to his side. “Got plans. But don’t worry, baby sister, I’ll see you tomorrow at Kane’s.”
He planted a kiss to the top of her head.
She placed a hand on his chest as if to steady herself. I was pretty sure what she was steadying was her heart. “Can’t wait.”
“Whole crew is going to be there,” Otto said with a blaze in his blue eyes that he directed at River.
Nolan bounced in my arms, exuberance riding into his expression. “You know what that means, Miss Charleigh? My best friends Gage and Juni Bee are comin’ to see me! We’re gonna have a sleepover at Miss Liberty’s house and it’s going to be the most fun I ever had.”
“Wow. That sounds amazing.”
“The most amazing,” he said with a jut of his chin.
My heart squeezed again. Unsure how I’d been given this. Wondering if I could really truly be a part of it.
Wondering if I could really stay.
“All right, I’m out of here.” Otto came striding across the kitchen, so enormous I wasn’t sure how the room contained both him and River. He plucked Nolan out of my arms and swung him high, making the child shriek and giggle and clamber to get ahold of his head.
Otto was chuckling as he flipped him before he settled him onto his feet. “There…just to show you’ve got as good of moves as your auntie Raven.”
“Was it an eleven?” Nolan asked, his brows shooting for the sky.
Otto poked his belly before he looked back at Raven. “Just about, Little Dude, just about.”
He swung his attention to me and River.
“See you two tomorrow night.”
A surprised sound peeped out of me when he pulled me into a massive hug and leaned in close to my ear. “It’s really good that you’re here. Really fuckin’ good.”
Then he gave River a clap to the shoulder before he angled between us to head to the front door.
It rattled shut behind him.
Raven clapped her hands. “Let’s eat.”
FORTY-FIVE
CHARLEIGH
“Come on, Miss Charleigh, I gotta read you a story and then you gotta tuck me in because it’s already thirty minutes past my bedtime. Dad says I keep tryin’ to break the rules, but I really just need to have some fun. He’s gotta know that.”
Affection tugged at my spirit as Nolan hauled me upstairs. He climbed backward, jerking hard at my hand like I wasn’t capable of taking them on my own.
River climbed behind us. His aura battered against me with each step. That dark ferocity that rolled and whipped, though the grunt he released was tender as he said, “Yeah, that’s because you’d stay up the entire night if I didn’t have somethin’ to say about it.”
“He’s got a lot to say about everythin’, Miss Charleigh.” Nolan shook his head as if he couldn’t believe the audacity his father had at setting rules.
I couldn’t stop the ripple of a chuckle that crawled from the crevices of my spirit. Rising up from where all the pain had been trapped, but now it felt as if some of the pieces held there were being freed.
“I think your dad just wants to make sure you get a good night’s sleep so you have plenty of energy to play with your friends tomorrow.”
Through all of dinner, Nolan hadn’t stopped going on about Gage and Juni Bee coming to visit.
“Well, he does got a lot of smart ideas, too, and I try to get all the smart ideas like him, but sometimes I just make bad choices.” He cupped his free hand around his mouth and lowered his voice like it was a secret. “Like staying up way past my bedtime.”
From behind, a rumble echoed from River. It skated my skin like a caress. Like joy unfound. Purposed and right.