Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
But realistically, it was because we were always his go-to people.
Pru’s hand slipped into mine, and she squeezed it gently.
She knew how close we were.
Just the thought of one day waking up and no longer having my grandfather here anymore sent panic through my heart.
He’d been my one constant since my mom committed suicide when I was fourteen.
It’d been me and him—and eventually Bayou—against the world.
To know that he only had weeks, at max, to live.
That sent my heart into a tailspin.
My babies would no longer have their ‘Pop-pop.’
I couldn’t wake up on a Saturday morning and ask the old man if he wanted to go out to breakfast with me.
I’d one day go to a damn club party, and I wouldn’t see him there telling jokes.
“What about this one, Grandpa?” Pru asked, pointing at yet another ornament.
“That one we’ve had since our first wedding anniversary…”
Chapter
Four
Gonna go lay under the tree to remind my family what a gift I am.
—Dixie to Silas
DIXIE
“Hello, my beautiful wife.”
My wife looked up at me with a sour smile.
“Do you know what day it is, Dixie James Normus?” my wife of a year asked.
I patted her head and tried to contain my laughter. “Umm…Christmas?”
She punched me in the kidney.
Not hard, because she’s the tiniest little thing, but hard enough to let me know she was mad.
I caught her up to my chest and twisted us. “Happy anniversary, my beautiful, lovely, best woman in the world, wife.”
She slapped both hands on either side of my cheeks and said, “Do you regret me yet, Dixie?”
I sobered at that. “I’d never regret you, Mary Louise Normus.”
She melted. “What are we doing tonight, Dix?”
I twirled a curl around my finger before saying, “Celebrating our first wedding anniversary, then our second Christmas Eve together.”
I had Mary on the back of my bike for all of two months before I proposed. We were married on Christmas Eve a week later.
Today, a year later, I had plenty of plans for her.
But first…
I pulled a ring box out of my pocket.
“I know,” I said to her as I popped the box open, “that you didn’t complain when I gave you that shitty ring.”
“Dix!” she cried, placing her hand with said ring to her chest, and covering it with the other hand. “Don’t talk about my beautiful ring like that.”
I flashed her a grin, then turned the box around.
“This ring, I think, represents our love a whole lot better, don’t you think?” I asked.
That other ring had been bought in haste.
When I’d tried to buy her a new one, she’d told me to save the money, we’d need it when we had kids.
And honestly, I’d been intending to save my money.
But I’d seen this ring when I’d gone to buy her a necklace for our anniversary and couldn’t leave without it.
“Dixie,” she whispered. “I…we can’t afford this.”
I laughed. “Honey, I worked enough overtime in the last month to pay for this twice.”
She swallowed hard. “Dixie.”
I reluctantly let her go when she tried to pull away. “What is it?”
We weren’t making bukoos of money or anything but we were making it just fine. She worked at the bar that the club owned, slinging drinks until all hours of the night. And I worked at the bike shop.
Between the two of us…
I stared at the paper she was holding out to me.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“That’s…” She pointed at the bottom of the page where it said, unequivocally, the word pregnant. “What I’m worried about.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it, shock and elation coursing through my blood.
“You’re…you’re pregnant?” I asked, my voice filled with awe.
I mean, of course, I knew it would eventually happen.
We weren’t using protection.
But I hadn’t expected it now, on our one-year anniversary.
It did seem fitting, though.
This was when we’d become an us.
“I am,” she confirmed. “Are you okay with that?”
I couldn’t help but pick her up and spin her around in my arms.
“Am I okay that you’re having my baby?” My head shot back with laughter. “Of course I’m okay with it! This is great news, honey.”
She threaded her short arms around my neck and squeezed.
We stood like that for a long few moments before she said, “I hung the ultrasound up on the tree.”
I spun her and sure enough, there it was, bedazzled in jewels, on the tree.
“What am I looking at?” I laughed.
It looked all black with a few shaded gray lines.
“This,” she said, “is the head. At least, that’s what they said, anyway.”
I was just impressed that we had this photo at all.
“Why did they give you an ultrasound? Are they worried about the pregnancy?” I suddenly started to worry.
“No.” She patted my hand. “It’s something new that my doctor is offering to all of his patients. Nothing to worry about.”
I blew out a relieved breath, then said, “This time next year we’re gonna have a baby.”