Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
I looked out the window. “Yeah?”
And boy, did I.
That boy was…whoa.
I’d never in my life seen someone so beautiful.
He was tall for his age. Black hair. Dark-brown eyes. Bronzed skin. Muscles.
He was in the process of throwing a ball for a svelte-looking black lab that looked like he’d play for hours and hours upon end.
“That’s my grandson,” she said. “We share no blood. His mother cheated on my son, had a baby with some man that nobody even knew well. Yet, that boy is my grandson. He’s the apple of my eye. The best thing that’s ever happened to my son. Yet, again, we carry no shared DNA.”
My heart ached. “And y’all just took him in?”
“That baby didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “He’s innocent. Sweet as can be. The most beautiful little baby you’d ever see. And he stole all of our hearts the moment we were allowed to meet him. He’s sweet and kind, loving and caring. He loves animals and has the best heart, despite the viper of a mother that has tried and failed to turn him into someone just like her.”
Just then, the lab bolted out of the water with his treasure and headed for the boy, shaking off right in front of him.
The boy laughed and turned, that’s when my heart skipped a beat.
He had a small kitten in his arms and he was shielding it from the wetness aimed his way.
He set the kitten down and the cat yowled at the dog and bolted.
The cat went right to the old woman’s front door and the woman opened it.
“My name is Margery Windsor, and I’ll be your family if you want me to.”
The boy saw the door open and he came marching our way.
When the boy was close, I realized that he wasn’t so much a boy anymore, but a young man.
“How old is he?” I wondered.
“Fifteen,” she said. “Want to meet him?”
My mouth went dry.
She opened the door when the young man got close and said, “Boone Windsor, where is your jacket?”
“Grams.” His eyes sparkled. “I think I might’ve seen my cat go into your house.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Margery lied. “Now, come in. I want you to meet someone.”
The door opened wide, and the boy came through, trailing snow and dirt into the pristine cottage.
The old woman didn’t seem to care.
My mother would’ve slapped me for doing that.
“Boone, this is…”
“Nettie,” I answered for her since I hadn’t given her my name, despite telling her my whole life story. “It’s nice to meet you, Boone.”
Boone took my hand and kissed it.
I fell in love with two people that day.
Boone Windsor and his grandmother, Margery Windsor.
“What’s going on with her?” Mable sounded concerned.
She would be.
They all knew her.
When Boone had decided to go to school instead of homeschooling, he’d entered into all of our lives.
Though Mable was older than us, Margery Windsor made herself known.
She’d sponsored the soccer team the year that I’d met them, giving us a state-of-the-art facility to practice in with a smile on her face.
She’d also sponsored several other school projects.
Everyone knew Margery Windsor in Sawtooth and the surrounding areas.
Plus, she’d never shied away from motorcycle club parties, or town events, or even the grocery store.
She never stopped.
Until lately.
I’d known the moment I’d popped into her cottage when I arrived in town that she wasn’t doing well.
She could hide it over the phone.
But in person?
There was no missing that she’d lost weight.
“My mom is having issues,” Denver sighed. “Looking like she’s not going to make it much longer.”
The dinner was somber after that.
Margery was well loved among everyone, and there wasn’t much to celebrate once they’d learned that she was likely not going to make it much longer.
Denver, Boone, and I walked back to the vet clinic a half hour later, quiet and contemplative.
“What about moving her in with one of us?” I suggested.
Her out there by herself…
“You know she won’t do that willingly,” Denver pointed out. “She’s very independent.”
She was, the old bat.
“Let me work on her,” I suggested. “Boone has an extra room. I could say that I want her to be a part of the pregnancy.”
“Did you tell her?” Boone asked.
I shook my head. “I wanted to tell her with you.”
Boone looked like I’d shot him.
“Oh.” He swallowed.
Denver knocked him in the shoulder with his own. “Let her try. We’ve been failing on our own.”
Boone just shook his head. “Two stubborn women going head-to-head? What could go wrong?”
Denver chuckled and headed to his truck.
I headed to Boone’s passenger side, which he held open for me.
I got inside and he closed my door gently, then rounded the hood.
I saw the dark circles under his eyes and wondered if he’d gotten any sleep last night.
“What else is bothering you, Boone?” I wondered.
I’d always been able to sense when he was struggling, and right then he was thinking pretty hard.