Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“I think she needs counseling myself,” I quipped.
“Oh, Forge,” Mom said with a chuckle. “Always my rule follower.”
Kash let out a bark of laughter. “Rule follower? Like hell. He’s just good at covering his tracks.”
The chime went off, signaling that someone had come inside the back door that led out to the five-car garage.
“Your father must be back,” Mom said, glancing down the hallway that led back there. “I told him to take his time. He rarely goes anywhere anymore.”
“He would rather be here with you,” I told her.
A soft expression touched her face. “And I love having him with me.”
The sound of the front door opening drew our attention toward it, and both Kash and I stood up. No one just walked in other than Oz. But why would he and Dad be arriving at the same time? Neither Kash nor I got very far before Oz appeared in the doorway, followed by Winslet, who was holding a gift in her hands.
“Warm enough?” Dad asked, coming up to Mom and placing his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her.
She tilted her head back and gazed up at him. “Yes. The boys are keeping the fire nice and hot.”
He nodded, then glanced at the two of us before looking at Oz and giving him a nod.
“Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise? I didn’t know I was going to have you all here at the same time,” Mom said. “How much longer does Cressida have in her class?”
Kash glanced at the time on his phone. “She’ll be done in about ten minutes. I think it wraps up at eleven.”
I hadn’t realized Cressida was here.
“I’m done,” her voice called out as she walked into the room.
Kash held out a hand to her and winked. God, they were mushy.
“How’d the test go?” he asked her.
“Eh, I think I did good,” she said with a small shrug.
“All right, now that we’re all here,” Dad said in a more jovial voice than he usually had. He waved a hand at Oz as if he was supposed to say something.
Oz was holding Winslet’s hand while she held the bright yellow package with a fancy-ass bow in her other. They looked at each other, and she held the present out to him. He didn’t take it right away, but whatever was silently being said between them had him reaching for it.
When he turned back to Mom, he let go of Winslet’s hand and went over to hand it to her.
“What is this? I’m getting presents, and it’s not even a holiday?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s a special kind,” Oz told her.
She beamed at him, then looked over at Winslet. “It’s too pretty to unwrap.”
Winslet seemed to glow as she stood there silently.
“Go on. Open it up,” Oz said.
Mom straightened in her chair and slid the bow off, then took the lid off the box. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth formed an O as she stared down at whatever was inside.
What the fuck was going on? Had they upset her?
No, she looked surprised, but it was a happy kind, I thought. My eyes didn’t leave her face as I waited for her to say anything to clue us in on what they’d given her.
“We don’t know the sex yet. We wanted you to know first,” Oz said, and his words clicked.
Holy shit.
Mom sniffled as her grin spread across her face, and she reached inside to lift up a pair of tiny pink booties. “I’m gonna have myself a baby girl to spoil,” she squealed.
Dad’s deep laughter was the first I’d heard from him in months.
Winslet was staring at Oz as he swung his eyes to his wife. “What am I gonna do with a girl?” he asked, looking slightly terrified.
“Stalk her like you do her momma,” Kash replied, and the room broke into laughter. Real laughter. Not the fake shit we’d been doing since Mom’s diagnosis.
Winslet went into Oz’s arms, and he held her as he kissed her head, then shifted his eyes back to Mom. She was holding the small booties to her chest, and she looked healthier all of a sudden. Her cheeks had color, and her eyes didn’t mask any pain as they shone with happiness.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Dad said, leaning down to kiss Mom’s temple. “We are gonna have a little girl after all.”
Mom reached up and held on to his arm. “Yes, we are.”
“Congratulations!” Cressida said cheerily.
“Yeah, congrats,” Kash added.
Oz nodded as he stared down at Winslet.
“I like the sound of Uncle Forge. Has a ring to it.”
Oz glanced over at me and almost smiled.
For a moment, we weren’t thinking about Mom’s illness. And that was a moment I wanted to fucking sear into my brain. Hold on to tightly.
“Have you talked about names?” Mom asked, her eyes wide with wonder.