Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Lordy, it hurts so badly.
I miss him deeply, but I know nothing will ever come of it.
It can’t. It was one night.
One night I’ll hold in my heart forever, but I gotta move on.
I swallow, my heart aching as I say, “I think dinner at your house would be fun.”
The smile that fills his face doesn’t leave me breathless, but I smile back just the same.
The words that have just left my mouth don’t feel right. I know I don’t believe them in the slightest, and I may just as well call him Denis to the second power, because once more, I’m listening to my mind instead of my heart.
But how can I listen to my heart when I haven’t had it since Nashville?
Chapter Eleven
Dart
Another month later…
Celeste sits on my shoulders, putting my hair in different ponytails while Paw Patrol plays on the TV, and Raine lies in my lap, holding her feet and rocking back and forth.
“Sissy, look,” Celeste cheers, but her sister doesn’t even know what is going on. Raine’s too engrossed in these weird-ass dogs. And I still don’t know why there is a group of cats if the show is called Paw Patrol…well, I guess cats do have paws. But why is the mayor mean? He’s the damn mayor!
I hate this show.
“Dart, you pretty,” Celeste says then, and I laugh ’cause I’m sure I am anything but pretty. Laughter fills the room as I glance over at the girls’ parents. Jaylin and Kirby Litman sit on the love seat, limbs tangled as they look through a baby name book. Finally, we have a boy coming. I was damn sure it would be a girl again since apparently Kirby shoots nothing but girls, but thankfully, it’s a boy. Jaylin snaps a photo of me, and I’m sure that’ll be brought up at practice tomorrow.
“Thanks, Celeste,” I gush as I tickle her toes. She laughs happily as Raine looks up at me, her dark eyes full of wonder and looking just like her momma. Her black curls are wild and shiny, just like Jaylin’s. I tickle her thigh, and she giggles before turning her attention back to the TV. A text sounds on my phone, and I glance down to see it’s my mom, asking for money.
I groan loudly as Jaylin asks, “Do I need to take them?”
“No,” I say simply, ignoring my phone. “My mom is asking for money again.”
Kirby rolls his eyes as Jaylin gives me a gloomy look. “I’m sorry.”
“Why doesn’t she just move here or at least let you take Sabine?” Kirby asks, annoyed by now. They know all about my family woes.
I shrug. “I don’t know. She’s driving me crazy. She and that dude broke up, and now I’m paying her rent every month.”
“Don’t,” Jaylin urges me. “You don’t owe her anything.”
“But if I don’t, she will keep Sabine from me,” I tell them, picking up Raine and cuddling her to my chest. I kiss her temple, enjoying the sweet lavender smell of her. “And I can’t have that.”
“But she knows that, and that’s why she does this,” Jaylin reminds me, and I know she’s right.
“What do I do, then?”
“I mean, I’ll represent you to get custody of Sabine. But I don’t know that we’ll win, especially with you being a single hockey player.”
“I know,” I say, meeting her gaze. Jaylin has been offering since I started having issues with my mom and the money demands. My mom hasn’t said she’d keep Sabine from me, but it’s almost as if she doesn’t have to say it. I feel like it’d just happen as a way to get the money out of me. She knows I have it; her father didn’t leave her a penny. It all went to me, and she knows my weakness.
Sabine.
“Ignore her,” Kirby suggests, but I know that won’t help anything. She’ll just keep trying to contact me, and then she’ll have Sabine call me. “I know it’s easier said than done.”
I don’t react as Raine turns in my arms and leans her head on me. I love these kids. I feel Jaylin watching me, and when I look over, she is lowering her phone. “Stop taking pictures of me, woman! I’m gonna start charging you.”
She snorts at that, her dark eyes full of love. Jaylin has always been very special to me. I tried hitting on her when I first met her, but then Kirby threatened to murder me, and I ran away quickly. “I love how great you are with the girls.”
I lay my head on Celeste’s stomach. “Celeste, does Uncle Dart love you?”
She gives me an exasperated look. “Duh, you love me most.”
I look back at Jaylin, and she’s grinning from ear to ear. “We all do, don’t we?”
“I don’t. He’s a pain in my ass,” Kirby announces, and I scoff at that. “I like the name Gerald.”