Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“It’s my birthday party day!” Holly announces as she runs into my bedroom and bounces on my bed, still in her Cinderella jammies. “My friends are coming, and we’re going to have a real castle!”
“Yes, I’m aware,” I reply with a laugh as she wraps her little arms around my neck and hugs me close, snuggled down in my bed. Over the past two weeks since the incident, as I’ve now come to think of it, the kids have become more and more comfortable coming to hang out with me in my room, especially in the morning. “I’m the one who ordered the castle.”
“When do your parents get here?” she asks.
“In a couple of hours.” Even though they were just here two weeks ago, they made it clear that they wouldn’t miss out on Holly’s party. “They’ll be here before the party starts.”
“Good.” She reaches up and pats my cheek. “Erin?”
“Yes, love.”
“When do you think it would be okay if I called you Mommy?”
My heart catches, and my throat wants to close up. Jesus, I want that more than I thought I ever would. I smile at her and brush her pretty hair off her cheek.
“Oh, sweet girl. You’re so precious to me. You know that, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Maybe we just need a little more time.”
“Where are you guys?” Johnny pokes his head in and grins, then runs over and jumps on the bed. “What are you talking about?”
“I want to call her Mommy, but she said no.”
Johnny frowns over at me, and I shake my head.
“I didn’t say no. I said we need more time.”
“Why?” Johnny wants to know. “We love you, and you love us, so what’s the problem?”
“Because it’s not just up to me,” I reply and tap him on the nose. “But I love you both, too. We’ll talk about this later, okay? We have a lot to do today.”
“My party,” Holly agrees and smiles at her brother. “Are you excited?”
“Not really,” he says with a shrug, but I see the excitement in his eyes. Why do older siblings always have to give their younger siblings a hard time?
“Erin, will you make the pretty fishtail braids in my hair?” Holly asks.
“You bet.”
“You kicked ass with this party,” Millie says as she joins me at the cake and ice cream table. “The kids are having a blast. Even the adults are. That cake was delicious.”
“I must admit, this was my first time throwing a kid’s party, and I didn’t do half-bad.” I glance over and frown when I spot Remington walking with my dad. “What are those two talking about?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Millie says.
“That means you do know.”
She laughs and shakes her head as Rem breaks away from my dad and heads our way. “No, it doesn’t.”
“You’re amazing,” Remington says as he walks up and wraps his arms around my middle. “I don’t recall ever seeing Holly smile as big as she did when she saw that we bought her her very own horse for her birthday.”
“To be fair,” I reply, “I didn’t have anything to do with the horse. But something tells me they’re going to be good friends.”
“While the kids play,” Rem says, “I was wondering if you’d come have a chat with my family?”
Millie grins and nods.
“Am I in trouble again?”
“No.” Rem laughs and kisses my cheek. “Come on, you’ll see.”
He takes my hand, and Millie joins us, walking over to where Rem’s parents and brothers are gathered together. I notice there are two empty chairs where my parents were sitting.
“Where did Mom and Dad go?”
“They’re playing with the kids,” Joy says with an inviting grin. “Remington was telling us about your idea regarding that old barn out in the pasture. He mentioned it a few weeks ago, actually, but we were just having a conversation about it.”
“Oh, okay. I wasn’t trying to overstep,” I say as I sit in one of the empty chairs. “The idea just came to me when Remington and I were out there, and I ran with the idea.”
“We kind of love it,” Millie says. “It’s a great idea.”
“Really?” Surprised, I raise my eyebrows and look at each member of the family. “You like it?”
“It’s genius,” Ryan confirms. “It will be profitable, while maintaining some history of the property. We just have one stipulation.”
“What’s that?”
“That you’re in charge of overseeing the project.” Remington takes my hand. “It’s your vision. Of course, we’re all here to help, but we want this to be your project. And once it’s built and underway, you’ll be the CEO of that business.”
Stunned, my mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out because I’m not sure what in the hell to say to that.
“Again, we can help,” Millie adds. “And you’ll hire staff.”
“But my whole job here is to take care of the kids.” I frown over at Remington. “They’re a full-time job.”