Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
29
Bennett
Tuesday, August 24th
Summer’s chest moves up and down as she sleeps, the oxygen tubing in her nose assuring she’s getting the breath she needs. She’s still sleeping, and thanks to the pain meds, her face is relaxed.
I hold her hand gently and lean my head into the bed beside her, trying to find a way to get in touch with God—something, admittedly, I haven’t done in a long time.
Please, I beg. Help my baby girl. Take her pain and replace it with happiness.
My eyes feel wet as I lift my head from Summer’s side, and I startle when I find Norah standing in the door to her room.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” she whispers, tucking the wild curls of her unbound hair behind her ears. I shake my head and stand, leaning down to kiss Summer’s hand once more before letting it go.
Norah turns for the hallway, and I follow her out. She looks absolutely beautiful today, though her eyes are tired and surrounded by big, dark circles, and the memory of her mouth on mine last night has yet to fade.
She smiles in a way that’s sad around the edges, and she rushes into my body to hug me when I make it outside the door. I don’t think twice about it. I don’t hesitate at all. I wrap my arms around her waist and breathe her in, embracing the wave of comfort that comes with the contact. When she pulls back, I feel a distinct chill.
“I hope you don’t mind that I came without calling, but I wanted to make sure you both had everything you needed and see Summer if she was awake.” She glances down at her shirt, a small grin turning her cheeks blushed. “I wore pink for her today, and well, I stopped at your house to get her sunglasses. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay. I’m glad you came.”
Her eyes meet mine, a silent question of “Yeah?” inside them, and I pull her in for another hug before placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “And I know Summer will be glad you’re here, too.”
“Has she been awake at all this morning?”
“No.” I shake my head. “But she’s comfortable, and she’s gotten a lot of rest, which her body desperately needed.”
“That’s good. Is there anything I can do for you, Bennett?”
I almost tell her no but decide to tell her the truth instead. “It’d be great if you hung around. I’m sure Summer will be waking up soon.”
“I’m here as long as you need me.”
As long as I need her. I try not to think too hard on the fact that I can’t picture a deadline for that promise and pull my phone from my pocket, handing it to her. “And maybe you can field some of these calls. It’s been ringing all damn night.”
When Clay called late last night to check on Summer, he updated me that Eileen Martin had gotten ahold of my number. From the number of calls I’ve received in the last few hours alone, I’m pretty sure she’s passed it around to the whole damn town.
I appreciate that Red Bridge is a tight-knit community, and there’s not a single member of it who doesn’t care, but I can’t talk to one more person without losing it.
She slides my phone into the pocket of her jean shorts. “You got it.”
“I, uh, also, tried to call my sister Breezy last night, but she sets her shit to do not disturb at night. Can you let me know if she calls?”
“Of course I can, Ben.”
I nod, trying to find the words, but I’ll admit, I don’t have a whole lot of organized crap in my head at the moment.
“Daddy?” I hear called faintly, jolting me into awareness. I move back into the room without delay, finding Summer awake and blinking hard in her bed.
“Hey, Summblebee,” I greet, trying to keep my voice from shaking and failing miserably. “How are you feeling? You gave us a big scare yesterday.”
“A little sick.” There’s a small pause, and then her eyes flicker with a tiny light. “Does that mean we can get ice cream?”
I chuckle, but a deep pain is rooted in the base of it. “They usually do the ice cream thing for getting tonsils out. But yeah, I don’t see why we can’t get some ice cream.”
“Yay!” she cries with half the strength she normally does. Her gaze lifts slightly, and then she cheers at full strength. “Norah! You’re here!”
I turn to look over my shoulder, and Norah steps closer, looking to me for permission before coming all the way. I nod, a dark cloud settling over my conscience for the way I’ve treated her since she arrived in Red Bridge. All her apologies and consideration and treading lightly, even after everything she’s been through—that’s what makes her special. And all I did was mock her for it.