Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 70092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
"I don't know if I can do that," I say, getting suddenly so tired. “It hurts."
"You got this," Bennett coaches, and I take a big breath in. “If anyone can do this, you can."
"You got this,” Shelby encourages from beside me.
"I have faith in you," Clarabella says. “I mean, at this point, you're a hero."
The nurse puts a blanket on my stomach when I bear down, and when we get to seven, the doctor looks at me. “Here we go," he says, and I don't know what he means, but one second later, he's placing my baby on my stomach. “We have a baby," he says, but my arms are already around her as the sobs rip through me.
"My baby," I say, looking down at her with Bennett's head next to mine. “We have a baby," I tell him, and he's got his own tears running down his face. "Hi, honey," I say, kissing the baby as she blinks her eyes at us. "Welcome to the world, baby girl."
Epilogue Two
Five years later
Bennett
"Are you ready, my princess?" I put the apple juice back in the fridge and look over at my daughter, Violet, who is sitting at the island.
"I need my bow, Daddy," she says, turning and getting off her stool as she hops toward the couch where she left her hair tie. "You do it for me, Daddy?" She comes back and hands it to me.
"Um…" I look at the tie in my hand and at my daughter’s black hair. “How about we ask Mommy to do it?"
"You can't do it?" Violet puts her hands on her hips and tilts her hip. Her blue eyes just look at me. “Auntie Clarabella says girls run the world anyway." Violet shrugs at me. “It's okay, Daddy. You can cut the grass better than Mommy."
I don’t even know what to say to her. “Thanks." I bend and pick her up. “For the vote of confidence," I say, grabbing my keys. “And just so you know, boys and girls run the world." I kiss her nose as I put her in her booster seat, and she pushes my hand away.
"I can do it myself," Violet tells me, and I just look at her. She is the stamp of her mother. There is no denying that she is her mini-me. But she is also the most independent kid I've ever met. She has to do everything herself, even if she can't do it, she will try to do it, and only when she gets to her wit’s end will she look for help, but even then, it’s like pulling teeth for her to ask for it. The other day, we were outside in the backyard, and she was trying to climb the monkey bars. Instead of asking me to hold her or spot her, she did it by herself. She fell over and over again but got up, and after four fucking hours, she crossed it. "Are we getting Starbucks for Mommy?"
"Not today." I get into the driver's seat and look in the rearview mirror to make sure she's buckled properly. “They are doing taste tests."
"Oh, my favorite." Violet claps her hands. “I like the cakes." I shake my head. From when she was three months old and Presley went back to work, it was with Violet strapped to her chest or being pushed in the stroller. Where she went, so did our daughter, who is now a fixture in the office. It is going to be strange when she will be in school all day, but I have no doubt she'll be running that kindergarten class with pointers for her teachers.
Even driving to the office, she is telling me when to turn. When I park next to Presley's SUV, she unbuckles herself and has the door open. She hops down and walks ahead of me, pulling open the door, and I hear her shriek, "Sofia is here!” She runs inside as I hold the door open. "I didn't know you were going to be here."
"Surprise," Sofia says, squatting down in front of her and giving her a hug. "And guess what?" She taps Violet's nose. "I'm staying all summer." Violet jumps up and down. "I'm going to need you to show me what to do." She smiles at her and stands up.
"Hi," I say, raising my hand. "How are you doing?"
"Good." She smiles and holds out her hand to hold Violet's. "It's good to be back."
"We always are happy when you are here," I tell her. Since she turned sixteen, she was coming down and visiting Harlow. She said she came down to help her with the baby, but she came to work with Clarabella one day, and well, she fell in love with the whole thing. She graduated high school two years ago and has been taking business classes. She has two more years to go, but it's safe to say she is most likely going to end up taking over the business eventually.