Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
“Gotcha,” I said. “Go wash your hands. They’re filthy.”
Forest rolled his eyes.
He may not be of Pepper’s loins, but he acted like her.
Six months after Pepper asked, we received permission to get Forest legally adopted.
It was a pivotal moment in our lives, and the feeling of rightness settled over us ever since.
“Did you know that Garrett is on Quinn’s shit list?” my wife asked as she came into the kitchen with Garrett and my son.
His girl was nowhere to be seen.
“No,” my eyebrows pinched tighter. “Why?”
“Because Catherine asked him why the Little Mermaid wore seashells, and instead of saying something normal, like that was the fashion where she came from, Garrett says…”
She left it hanging for Garrett to fill in.
“Because she probably grew out of her B shells,” he finished for her.
There was an abrupt laugh that came from the front door where someone apparently waited. “You did not!”
“Ohhh,” Pepper’s eyes lit. “You brought her with you? What is that, three times this week, Garrett Parrot?”
“Garrett Parrot.” I wheezed.
“Don’t you dare repeat that,” he pointed his finger at me. “Or I’ll never do early morning anything for your kids again so you can go have sex in your wife’s office.”
I shut my mouth.
He’d do it, too.
“Boys,” Pepper said. “Speaking of kids… let me have mine. We’re going to lunch, would you like to go?”
“What about your other one? Aren’t you supposed to be picking him up from Mom soon?” Garrett asked.
“That’s where we’re going,” Pepper answered for me. “Now, are you coming or what?”
Garrett looked toward his house. “Or what.”
We left with just Glades and Forest, which was okay with me.
And when we got to the restaurant, it was to see Ware digging into a cup of ice cream.
“He was too hungry to wait,” my mother lied.
“Grammy!” Forest cried, running to her for a hug.
My mother produced another cup of ice cream and handed it over.
Forest smiled and dug in.
Meanwhile, the rest of us settled in to order lunch.
It was during the lull between ordering our drinks and the waitress arriving again that Mamasauce started explaining what was new with her program at work.
“Mr. Billionaire came through again,” Mom said. “We are reaching and helping so many kids in the area that we’ve decided to expand it into the entire northeastern part of Texas.”
Pepper beamed. “I’m glad that I set y’all up.”
Mom’s eyes went serious before she said, “You have no clue how much you changed our lives, sweetie. Without you, none of us would be as happy as we are.”
I threw my arm around my wife. “You can say that again.”
“Hey, there. Aren’t you the woman who was hit by that car at the police station a few years ago?” The waitress came back with our drinks.
“I am,” Pepper confirmed.
“Wow,” she shook her head. “You look so much better than that picture they shared. I’ll bet you’re happy to hear about that woman dying.”
We all stiffened.
“What woman?” I asked.
“That woman you’re related to. I can’t remember her name, though,” she said as she took her pen out. “Y’all ready to order?”
We placed our orders, then immediately went for our phones.
“Holy shit,” Pepper breathed. “Sage died!”
I resisted the urge to say ‘good riddance’ but only barely.
“Bad word, Momma!” Forest teased.
Pepper looked at our son. “Sometimes bad words are necessary, Forest Carter.”
Forest leveled her with a look. “I’ll remember that next time you tell me that.”
I threw my arm around Pepper’s shoulders and said, “You okay?”
She leaned her head on my shoulder and nuzzled her face into my neck.
“Surprisingly, I’m perfectly okay.”
I placed a kiss onto her forehead. “How do you feel about a little girl this time, baby?”
She snorted out a laugh. “I think your swimmers are good, but they’re not that good.”
She was wrong.
Nine months later, we welcomed our fourth child into the world. Garnett Elizabeth Carter.