Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
She found the girls waiting for her on the front porch. After getting them situated in the car, they drove to the nearest McDonald’s. As much as she hated going in, she parked, and they made their way inside. After they ordered, Gemma led them to a booth.
“I miss the playground,” Gemma said with a sigh.
Nadia didn’t. It was a mecca of germs, filth, and who knew what. Parents had rejoiced when the establishment changed its branding, remodeled, and removed the PlayPlace.
After lunch, they went to the gardening store, and the girls picked out a wide color array of annuals. Nadia gravitated toward purples, while Lynnea opted for yellows, and Gemma went with blues. Nadia didn’t care if there was any cohesiveness to her flower beds this season, because knowing the girls had done all the work would make them the most beautiful ever.
“Can we buy a birdbath?” Gemma asked as they walked around the store.
“Birds don’t take baths, you silly goose,” Lynnea said, laughing.
“Uh-huh, don’t they, Mommy?”
“They do.” Nadia directed their cart toward the section with birdbaths. They came in all shapes, sizes, and materials. Some were ornate. Some had houses attached to them. Others were a basic oval tub with a pedestal base made of plastic.
“Which color do you like?” Nadia asked the girls. Giving them each a choice was never the best option. They would undoubtedly pick two different colors.
“I like the white one,” Lynnea said.
“Me too,” Gemma added, shocking Nadia. She stared at them. “White will look good with all the flowers we bought.”
Who was Nadia to argue with that logic? She set the top of the birdbath under the cart and then placed the pedestal in the front, where she had her purse. Both girls held on to the cart while Nadia navigated to the next aisle over to get more birdseed. Ever since she’d put in the feeder last year, she’d grown fond of having birds around.
At the checkout, they saw two metal crates stacked on top of each other, each holding a cat. Nadia groaned as soon as the girls saw the friendly felines.
“Can we get a cat?” Gemma asked, already crouched low with her fingers pushing through the slats to pet the animal.
“Not right now.” She hadn’t said no because that often led to a tantrum, and their day had been going really well. She didn’t want to hear how she was mean or how Daddy would’ve let them get one if he were there. The girls would never know how hurtful their words were sometimes.
Nadia did her best to ignore the girls, who continued to ask and to tell both cats that they were going to love them forever. She smiled at the clerk when she took her receipt and then told the girls to say goodbye.
They moped on the way to the car, and then chattered about how they couldn’t wait to get a cat. Or cats, being as each girl wanted her own. All Nadia could think about was the money a pet would cost them, and how a cat would chase her birds away. The latter couldn’t happen. She looked forward to seeing the cardinal every other morning, if not every morning. That cardinal was why she’d agreed to buy a birdbath. She would do whatever she could to keep the bird coming back to her home. Nadia needed to believe the cardinal was a gift from Rafe.
A sign that everything was going to be okay.
TWENTY-SIX
GRAYSON
Grayson hated lying to Reid. He told himself it was for the best and a onetime thing. She’d easily bought the excuse he’d come up with, of him and Pearce taking a guys’ weekend away. It wasn’t the first time they’d done something like that, but it was the first since his surgery and since Grayson had started dating Reid. Still, she was very supportive and all but pushed him out the door. She had made her own plans with Melanie. They planned to shop for a wedding dress. Definitely something Grayson couldn’t be a part of.
He and Pearce flew to Boston. Grayson had made the arrangements for them to fly right away. He didn’t want to wait to prove his theory correct. The sooner he could figure out what was causing the ache in his chest, the sooner he could put it to rest and tell his doctor that cellular memory was indeed the diagnosis.
After they’d landed and checked into their hotel, they took the Red Line subway to Harvard Square. From there, they walked to where the accident had been. The area was marked with ribbons and a cross.
He looked around. The area was busy with cars and pedestrians, most of whom he assumed were college kids from Harvard heading toward the square. They walked back toward the center of town, where the words FINISH LINE were still visible on the road from the most recent race. People went in and out of restaurants and cafés. Music blared from portable speakers and through open car windows.