Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
He frowned and dropped his spoonful of Nina’s lemon and dill potato salad. “What does that mean?”
This was the hard part, the thing Everest had no knowledge of, because he hadn’t needed to know. Not until now. “It means that Nicola tried to reach out to them when she first found out she was pregnant with you, and several times over the years as well. They weren’t interested, and eventually she stopped trying and washed her hands of them. She was explicit about not wanting them to be part of your life, but…,” I sighed because I didn’t know how to end that thought.
Everest nodded, a knowing yet defeated expression on his face. “But I’m getting older now, and I eat too much, my clothes cost too much?”
“What? No!” I shook my head with as much force as I could to get my point across. “I mean you are growing up way too fast, and I think you might have a hollow leg where you store all that food, but none of that is a problem for me Ev. I love you, as much as if I’d given birth to you myself.” I’d been there from the moment he came into this world, and I didn’t plan on going anywhere. The truth was that my heart ached at even the idea of letting him go. “But maybe someday you might want to get to know them, and if you do, I don’t want to be the person to stand in your way.”
Everest nodded and took in my words with a sigh before he dug into his potato salad once more. “So you want me to decide?”
“No. Hell no. I’m fighting for you Everest. We have a good life together, at least I think so. You’re my family and I’m keeping you forever and ever, but you might change your mind about meeting them, now or later. They’re a connection to your mom, after all.” I knew what Nicola wanted, but what if he resents me later in life for keeping him from his family?
“I get that Aunt Bella, I do. But the thing is, they didn’t want her, and they didn’t want me when they found out about me, or any other time over the years. Now there’s no chance of making things right with Ma, and they want a second chance to get it right? No, I’m not interested in that.”
Okay Bella, you can do this.
I nodded to myself and pushed forward. As happy as his words made me, he had to make this decision for the right reasons. “How you came about conflicted with your grandparents’ religious beliefs and they couldn’t see past that. Maybe through their grief, they have.”
“And they think taking me from home, from the only other adult in the world I know, is the best way forward? No thanks. I’m good without them, now and later.”
“But-,” His words were music to my ears, but he sounded angrier than I’d ever heard him. “Don’t make a decision in anger now, that you might regret later. I’m only saying this because this might become part of the public record, and I don’t want you to hear certain things if you want a relationship with them, or think you might.”
Everest pointed at me and flashed a mischievous smile. “If you really want me to have more family Aunt Bella, make one for me. Or even better, make up with your family. You’re back on the farm now, making it work and doing a good job, so maybe it’s time to share your big family with me.” He batted his eyelashes in a too-cute way that pulled a reluctant laugh from me.
I stole a scoop of his potato salad and moaned when the flavors popped on my tongue. “Hey kid, I’m the adult here.” But he wasn’t wrong about me having plenty of family that I could share with him. Ideally. In a perfect world. I wasn’t ready to make amends because I shouldn’t have to make amends for choosing my sanity over the family legacy. Not when there were other siblings who could have done it. “But I promise that I will think about it, long and hard. All right?”
He nodded. “Okay. And Aunt Bella? Thank you for telling me. I hate that you have to go through this because of me, but I’m glad I have you.”
“It’s not because of you Ev, it’s because of my love for you and for your mother. You guys are my real family, the kind that stick together through fights and arguments, and all the messiness. That means I got your back. Always.”
No matter what I had to do to make this work, I would find a way.
Chapter 12
Derek
I stepped inside Dark Horse and smiled at the busy lunch crowd. I thought Ryan was crazy for opening a restaurant given their reputed high failure rate, and the fact we’d spent most of the past twenty years on the road, but the place was a bona fide success. Each time I set foot inside it was buzzing with activity, and today was no different. Servers flitted around the dining room refilling glasses and delivering orders. My gaze fell on familiar faces, Bella and Everest, deep in what looked to be a serious conversation, so I skipped a greeting that I knew would rile her up and found Pippa at a booth staring at her laptop.