Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“Merry Christmas, my little munchkin.”
Just the sound of her voice made everything bleed. I stayed in the living room, taking a few extra seconds to find a breath and a smile that didn’t look as painful as it felt.
“This is my big sister, Sarah,” she said as I stood and ran a hand through my hair.
“Where’s your dad?” Gabby asked.
“In here.” Josh ran into the living room.
“Clifford, you’ve already gotten bigger on me.” Eve’s voice got closer.
My heart pounded a little harder.
“Hey, Mr. Collins.” Gabby smiled.
I grinned. “You can call me Kyle. I’m not teaching math today.”
“This is our sister, Sarah,” she said.
“Nice to meet you.” I offered my hand to the blonde with big blue eyes and a kind smile.
“You too.”
Eve and Clifford came around the corner, and my heart forgot for a few seconds that we were leaving, and Eve wouldn’t be in our lives anymore. All my heart knew was Eve made it beat stronger, and the room always got a little brighter with her in it.
She smiled, curling her hair behind one ear. “Merry Christmas.”
I tucked my hands in my back pockets to keep them from reaching for her as they liked to do on instinct. “Merry Christmas.”
“Dad, look!” Josh yelled, ripping open his present from Eve. “It’s a race track.” He climbed to his feet and hugged Eve. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Eve kissed his head.
“Uh, have a seat.” I nodded to the sofa. “Can I offer anyone something to eat or drink?”
“We’re good,” Gabby said. “Eve and Grandma made a huge breakfast.”
“Of course they did.” I chuckled.
Eve glanced up from the edge of the sofa where she sat to pet Clifford. Her cheeks turned pink when she smiled.
“We’re going to Colorado.” Josh beamed.
“I heard,” Eve said to him.
“You want to come too? Please come too!”
I. Fucking. Died.
She exchanged a look with her sisters before returning her attention to Josh. “I can’t. I’m moving to Nashville with my sister Sarah. She plays music, and there’s really fun stuff to do there. But thanks for inviting me.”
Eve didn’t look at me because I was the asshole who didn’t ask her to come with us. But she was moving to Nashville. So maybe I wasn’t an asshole after all.
You are.
Josh frowned. “Don’t go. I’m going to miss you.”
The knife dug a little deeper into my chest.
Eve pressed her hands to his cheeks. “I’m going to …” She swallowed hard and cleared her throat. “I’m going to miss you too.”
“Are you sure I can’t get you something to drink?” I looked at Gabby and Sarah, feeling desperate for any reason to leave the room.
“We’re fine. Thank you,” Sarah smiled.
“This is for you.” Eve leaned forward and handed me a small present.
“You shouldn’t have gotten me anything.”
“Open it, Dad.”
I untied the gold ribbon and unwrapped the green and red striped paper. It was a recipe box.
“They’re all of Josh’s favorite recipes,” Eve said as I opened it. “Hope you live near an apple orchard at your new home.”
I slowly nodded, giving my emotions a chance to settle so I could speak past the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I managed.
“Well, we said this was going to be a quick trip,” Sarah said, standing from the sofa.
Gabby jumped up. “Yup. That’s right. Come on, Eve.”
Eve ignored them, staring at me with an unreadable expression.
“Josh, Sarah and I will help you carry your race track to your room before we go,” Gabby said, picking up the pieces he’d taken out of the box.
They headed up the stairs, and Eve dropped her gaze to the floor and stood, adjusting her sweater. Without a word, she turned, taking steps toward the door.
“Eve, wait. Give me a minute.”
She stopped, but she didn’t turn. “I can’t wait. I have nothing to wait for. And I can’t give you a minute because I’ve already given you everything. Months. Days. And so many minutes. I’ve given you every part of me, even the ugly parts. And I’ve given you my heart. Yet you don’t want it. But someone will.”
“Eve,” I said with a thick voice, the pain in my chest intensifying as if she had a fishing hook lodged into it, and the tension compounded as she walked away.
Stretching.
Tearing.
I couldn’t breathe.
The door clicked shut behind her. She left without her sisters.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as my eyes burned, heart racing. I felt like I was dying. My world was unraveling. And I was pretty sure I was having a heart attack. I hurried to the door and shoved my feet into my boots before jogging after her. The cold air filled my lungs as I ran down the stairs.
Eve’s hair flowed behind her as she trudged through the snow toward the hill.
“You can’t go to Nashville,” I yelled, catching up to her. My fingers slipped beneath her jacket and slid into the waist of her jeans.