Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 118459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
“If tomorrow doesn’t end okay, I want you to keep Gage’s letter. Read it. Because I agree with it all. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to have a good life. Take care of Ever and take care of yourself. Do what you have to do to survive.”
“I can’t live without you,” I whisper. “I can’t lose you, Crew. I can’t even entertain the idea.”
He pulls me in close and I breathe him in. His heart is pounding.
Mine is breaking.
“I love you, Julia.”
I pull back and look him in the eye. “I love you. With everything I am. When you get out of the cage tomorrow and Ever is better”—I smile, watching him grin—“we’re going to get married on the beach. Ever is going to be our flower girl and we’ll start our own family.”
“I’d love that. I want that more than anything I’ve ever wanted.”
“I love you,” I whisper. I lean in and kiss him on the lips. “I love you so much. You were my first and last love. No one came before you and no one will come after you.”
His eyes light up. “You are my only love. I’ve never loved anyone but you.”
“Mommy?” I roll over to see Ever standing in the doorway with her monkey. I push away from Crew, not wanting her to see me in here like this. “Can I sleep with you and Daddy?”
“Oh, Ever! I’m not sleeping in here, baby girl. I’m just talking.”
She walks across the room and climbs up in bed. Crew scoots over and she lies in between us, snuggling down in the blankets.
“You should sleep in here,” she says, yawning. “Mommies and daddies are supposed to sleep together.”
I look over her at Crew. He whispers, “Told you.” I can’t help but smile.
Everleigh cuddles up to Crew, her monkey pulled in tight. She reaches out and lays one hand on my cheek. “I love you both.”
“Not as much as we love you,” Crew tells her. “Now let’s get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”
“Will you tell me a story, Daddy?”
Crew beams at the title, just like he does every time she says it. “Stories aren’t really my thing, you know.”
She yawns again. “Tell me the one about the two princes.”
I give him a puzzled look and he returns it with a sheepish smile. “Let’s save that one for later. How about Mommy tells us one tonight?”
“I think I want to hear this story,” I say, smirking. I’m not sure what it is, but I get the feeling I’d be entertained by it.
“It’s a good one,” Ever says, her voice heavy with sleep, “about two princes that both love a beautiful princess. They love her the same but different . . .”
She keeps talking but I don’t hear her. All I can do is look into the eyes of the man across from me.
FIFTY-FOUR
CREW
I stand in the living room and look around. I don’t want to leave because I know once I do, nothing will ever be the same one way or the other.
I grab my bag off the floor and take one final glance at the place I’ve finally felt like was home. I turn to go to the door when I hear something behind me.
“Daddy?”
I turn around. Ever’s standing in the doorway in her Tinkerbell nightgown, watching me.
“Where are you going?” she asks.
This is what I wanted to avoid this morning. I drop to one knee and motion for her to come to me. She pads across the room and hugs me.
“I have to go to work today.”
“Will you be home for dinner?”
“No, monkey, I won’t. Not tonight.”
“If I feel better tomorrow, can we go to the park? Mommy said on Monday I have to go back to the hospital.” She frowns. “I miss going to the park with you.”
I choke back tears. There’s so much I want to say to her, so much I want her to know. I know she’s too little and too fragile for me to say the things I want to. “Yeah, if you feel better tomorrow, we can go to the park.”
She kisses my cheek and stands up.
“Monkey, I want you to promise me something, okay?” She nods. “Never forget that I love you.”
“I know that,” she says sassily.
“I’m glad you do. But sometimes things happen and as you get older, you forget that. You forget that what people did for you when you were little is because they loved you so much. And they knew what was best for you when you didn’t.”
“Okay.” She smiles. “I’ll remember.”
I know she won’t. She’s too young.
“But you might have to remind me because that was a lot of words and my brain hurts from the medicine.”
I kiss her bald head. “You’re my little fighter, Miss Everleigh.”
“You’re my big fighter, Mr. Daddy.” She giggles.