Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
My eyes widened.
“It wasn’t her fault, Rhett.”
He stood and balled his little fists. “It was her fault! She made Brooke go with her, and I hate her for that! I never want to see her again!”
Rhett turned and ran. When Levi didn’t make a move to follow him, I did. Rhett ran outside and across to one of the cabins and sat down on the steps, dropping his head onto his arms, which were folded around his knees. I quickly made my way over to him.
“May I sit down next to you?”
He looked up, and when I saw the tears, I nearly dropped to the ground. He nodded jerkily.
Sitting, I swallowed the lump in my throat and drew in a slow, deep breath before letting it out. “I never got to meet your sister Brooke. What was she like?”
His little mouth quivered with a slight smile. “She was loud.”
I laughed, and he smiled.
“She really liked her Barbies and playing with all her horses. She had lots of toy horses.”
“Did she like the horse?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Daddy teached us how to take care of her.”
“It was a mare, huh?”
“Her name was Thunder. ’Cause when she ran, it sounded like thunder.”
I smiled. “What did she look like?”
“Like Aurora. She liked Brooke a lot.”
“Did you both ride her?”
He nodded, then wiped a tear away. “I miss my sister, Ms. Emeline.”
Wrapping my arm around him, I said, “I know you do, bud. And I don’t think you really meant to tell your daddy that you hate your mommy.”
He looked up at me. “She doesn’t want me.”
“I think she’s just sad right now.”
He fiercely shook his head. “She doesn’t want me.”
My heart tore apart. “Why do you say that?”
Suddenly, he looked worried.
“Rhett…you can tell me.”
“You won’t tell my daddy?”
I chewed nervously on my lower lip. “I wish I could make you that promise. But I can’t.”
He sighed. “She told me so.”
Drawing back just enough to look at him, I asked, “Wait, your mother told you she didn’t want you? In those words?”
The poor little thing nodded.
“When?”
He shrugged.
“Was it before or after Brooke went to Heaven?”
Those deep blue eyes, which were the same as his mother’s, looked up at me and filled with tears once again. “It was before. Brooke and I were playing, and I threw my soldier to make him fly, and he hit Brooke’s eye. She started crying, and Mommy came into the room and yelled at me.”
“Do you remember exactly what she said?”
He looked down at the ground and sniffled. “She told me not to ever tell Daddy, or anyone else, because she only said it ’cause she was mad.”
I moved to crouch in front of him. Using my finger, I lifted his chin. “Rhett, no one—not even your mother or father—should say or do anything to hurt you, then tell you not to tell anyone else. That means they’ve done or said something bad, not you.”
A tear slipped down his cheek—and that was when I made a vow to protect this child with everything I had.
“She…she said she never wanted me, and that she was glad me and Brooke didn’t share the same father. I didn’t know what that means, and I asked her. She got really, really mad, and told me to never tell Daddy what she said.”
I nearly fell back onto my ass. Had Brooke not been Levi’s daughter? Did he know?
I took both of his hands in mine. “She did want you, Rhett. Sometimes people who are unhappy say things to make other people unhappy. Even the people they love. It doesn’t mean they actually mean it.”
“But when Mommy fought with Daddy, she took Brooke and was gonna leave us. I wanted to stay with Daddy anyway, but I think she really didn’t want me.”
Lord help me, this is way over my head.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“None of that matters because you and your daddy are now in River Falls, and your sister is up in Heaven, watching all the adventures you’re going to go on. She’ll be with you the whole time.”
He placed his hand on his heart. “Grammy says she’s here, all the time.”
I smiled. “Yes, she is. All the time.”
Rhett suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around my neck, squeezing me tightly. “Thank you, Ms. Emeline.”
Hugging him back, I fought to keep my tears at bay. “Always, Rhett. I’ll always be here for you.”
Levi
It took everything I had not to go over to Rhett and Emeline. At first, they were sitting next to each other on the steps, then Emeline moved in front of Rhett. When I saw him wipe away a tear, I nearly walked over. Something inside of me told me to stay where I was.
Then Rhett threw his arms around Emeline and hugged her.
My knees about buckled out from under me as I stood there and watched my son show more emotion with Emeline than I’d ever seen him show to anyone. His therapist had said Rhett kept his feelings inside, and that was mostly okay because he at least talked to me about them sometimes. I just had to continue to be patient and let him know I was there anytime he needed me.