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)
I reach for Ever and she climbs into my arms. She’s lighter than she was even a week ago. “We’ll see you soon.”
I could easily be emotionally overwhelmed by this situation. It’s the start of a new chapter in our lives. I have no idea what the future holds, only that I’ve officially become dependent on my brother-in-law. I just try to keep everything in a box in my head. Ever’s cancer in this box. The things I have to do to be able to deal with the cancer in this one. Everything else in this one. It’s the only way I can manage. I can’t get caught up in how I feel about everything because I think my emotions cross the entire spectrum. From the anger and devastation of Ever’s diagnosis to the embarrassment of needing Crew in such a blatant way to the exhaustion of dealing with everything—I nearly can’t deal.
“I guess we will see you soon,” I say to Olivia.
She wipes a tear from the corner of her eye. “You girls are like my family,” she says, pulling us into a hug. “You call me, Julia, if you need anything. I don’t care what time it is or what you need. You call me.”
“I will.”
“She will,” Ever says happily, “because I will need to see you and Rory a lot. I love you.”
Olivia laughs through a sniffle and pats her hair. “And I love you, little girl.” She looks back at me. “Did you call the school?”
“Yeah, they’re going to send her schoolwork home and we’ll do it. They’re really nice about everything. As long as she’s where she needs to be by the start of next year, everything should be fine.”
Blowing out a breath, I look over my shoulder. “See ya at your house then?”
He nods, a stormy expression brewing. I hope he isn’t having second thoughts because that would be the final straw.
CREW
I watch Julia walk out. Everleigh waves at me over her shoulder. I wave back and her little eyes light up. It pulls at the knot in my stomach. I hope this is the right thing. I hope I don’t somehow mess up their lives more by forcing myself in it, because messing shit up is what I do.
I can work. I can play cards. I can work on trucks. But I can’t do people. Dealing with other people hasn’t worked out well for me in life, hence the reason I keep most people at arm’s length. It’s safer for everyone. Otherwise, I’ll do something careless and hurt them, like I did Ma and Gage. Intentional or not, that’s what happens.
“Crew, I wanted to say something to you.”
I jump at the sound of her voice. I’d forgotten Olivia was still there. “Yeah, what’s that?”
“I didn’t know your brother, obviously, and I don’t know you that well. But I wanted to thank you for taking care of those girls. I know you’ve been watching over her for a while and I know she argues with you about it . . .”
“Yeah, well . . .” My voice sounds rough, and I turn my back to her, pretending to look at the boxes. “Jules was my brother’s wife. I don’t really have a choice.”
My words are met with silence. I wait for her to say something, but she doesn’t. I turn around to see her leaning against the wall.
“You do have a choice. And I can see when you look at her, and at Everleigh, that you care about them. And not just because they were your brother’s wife and daughter.”
“Those are some pretty big observations,” I say brusquely. I don’t know what the hell her point is, but she can shut the fuck up right about now.
“I’m sorry.” She pulls the door open but doesn’t step out. “I’ve heard stories about your brother. I just want to say that your mother must have done things right to raise sons like the two of you. You’re a good man.”
If only that were true.
NINETEEN
CREW
“Knock, knock motherfucker.”
I look up and see Will coming through the door. He closes it behind him and then gazes at the pile of boxes stacked up around the room.
“Is your OCD killing ya yet?” He laughs, knocking the top of one of the boxes with his knuckle.
I pump out another twenty push-ups and stand. He’s disappeared, but I hear him in the refrigerator milling around.
“You do realize you’re gonna have to feed them, right?” he shouts from around the corner. He reappears, twisting the top off a beer. “You have, like, no food.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“I still can’t believe they’re gonna live here.”
“Yeah, about that. You’re gonna have to knock if you drop by.”
Will sighs dramatically. “This is gonna fucking blow.”
I head to the kitchen, letting my shoulder bump his as I walk by. I grab a bottle of water and down half of it.