Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Fuck.
With my freehand, I scrub my face. No one wants to have a deep conversation in the middle of the night, let alone one about your love life. Juniper whimpers. Noah starts to get up, but I shake him away. I can do this and pull her higher, onto my shoulder, and hum softly to her.
Peyton comes in with a bottle, stops at Juniper’s changing table, and then comes over to me. She helps me get set up and as soon as I have my niece cradled, Peyton rubs her daughter’s rosy cheek. It lifts a little in a half-smile.
“My sweet baby, it’s time to eat,” Peyton says softly. “Take the tip of the nipple and rub it against her lips.”
“Um . . .”
Noah cackles in the corner while Peyton groans. “You two need to grow up.”
“I can’t help it,” I say. “I’m childish.”
“Well, stop or I’m telling mom.” She then looks at Noah. “And then I’m telling your mom.”
Noah stops immediately, but my chest still vibrates even though I’m trying stop. Peyton reaches for Juniper. I block her with my arm. “I’ll stop,” I tell her. “Promise.”
My sister eyes me warily and hands me the bottle, although reluctantly. She sighs and stands, and even though he’ll probably deny it later, I see Noah give her a subtle nod to leave the room. Peyton gives us one last look and then closes the door to the bathroom.
Noah waits a beat and then looks at me.
I stare down at my niece and marvel at home the human body works. She’s sleeping or at least pretending to be and eating. “Does she always sleep through her feedings?”
“No, usually she’s wide awake, giving Maverick a run for his money in the screaming department.”
“She’s barely made a peep since I picked her up.”
“Do they teach you avoidance while on tour?”
I nod and sigh. “Nola’s not going to text or call or send a gift because she doesn’t know unless you’ve posted it on social media. We’re not together anymore and haven’t been since before the tour. Turns out, she was having an affair with one of her professors. Apparently, the musician life is not for her,” I say with a shrug before filling him in on everything, including the note she left, our talk at the park, and what she’s been up to most of our relationship.
“Shit,” Noah says quietly.
“Understatement.”
“So, now what?”
Juniper stops sucking and I look at Noah for help. He instructs me on how to burp her. I move her back to my chest and rub her back and continue to rock in the chair.
“So, now I tell everyone. Probably tomorrow because I’m sure my parents are going to wonder where she is, and then I move on.”
“Are you ready to move on?”
“Yeah, I am,” I say confidently. “It’s like as soon as she told me she’d been cheating for a year, everything just lifted off my shoulders and any feelings I had for her were gone. I think it’s because I had months of mourning what I thought was a solid relationship, when it in fact, it wasn’t. I finally feel free. I feel at ease, and I’m not anxious. It sucked wondering what was going to set her off at any given time.”
“I can understand that. Sometimes, the tension was so thick between the two of you, it made for awkward times.”
Juniper lets out a belch that could rival Hendrix after a few beers. “Geez, little lady that was loud.”
“Wait until she farts,” Noah adds. “The guys in the locker room ain’t got nothing on her.”
“So, lady like,” I say as I cradle her. Juniper finally opens her eyes. Right now, they’re blue but I think they’ll probably change. I know it’s only my imagination, but the way she looks at me, it’s like she’s attaching herself to my soul. It’s almost as if she knows she’s going to be my favorite.
“I’ve sort of been seeing someone.” I don’t bother to look at Noah. His daughter is far more interesting. I also don’t wait for him to ask. “It’s Justine, the lead singer of Plum. She’s sort of been my rock through all of this, a sounding board for my melodramatic lyrics. I like her a lot and she likes me.”
“But?”
Another heavy sigh. “But Elle’s her manager and the last thing I want to do is complicate her life or fuck her shit with Elle. She already has to deal with Hendrix and Dana being exes, I don’t want to add anymore relationship drama to her plate.”
“You’re her brother first. She’d want you happy.”
“Not at the expense of an up-and-coming band. One she’s nurtured from the ground up and taken under wing. Hell, she even has your dad singing on their new album.”
Noah’s quiet for a moment and then stands. “I’m going to go check on my wife and boys. Are you good here with her?”