Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“You don’t have to compete with me. You’re her mother. She only gets one of those.”
She smiles at me through her tears. “Georgia said a bunch of things to me after you left and I haven’t been able to forget them. She said some terrible, awful … truths,” she says, spitting out the word. “And I don’t know how to act. I didn’t realize she felt this way.” Her lips quiver. “I didn’t realize I was acting that way.”
“That’s between the two of you. I can’t speak for Georgia, either. She has a voice that she’s capable of using.” I can’t help but roll my eyes. “And we know she doesn’t usually have a problem doing that.”
Felicity chuckles, still wiping her tears away. “Does she know you’re here?”
I shake my head. “She’s not talking to me much, either. A text here and there is really it.”
“Then why did you come?”
I slide my hands into my pockets and feel the twisting of my heart. My lungs burn from the struggle to breathe, and my stomach aches from being unable to eat much over the last few days.
“I came because putting Georgia in the middle of this is unfair to her,” I say. “She did nothing wrong. If you want to be upset with someone, let it be me. I’m a Brewer. Georgia’s just caught in this crossfire and is slowly becoming yet another one of my dad’s victims. And that is so wrong. It’s unacceptable. You have to see that.”
Slowly, she nods her head.
“I hope, and pray, that she’ll come back to me,” I say, emotion gathering in my throat. “And I also hope that the two of you can find a way to heal your wounds. In the meantime, if you guys need anything …”
“She deserves an apology from me.” Felicity stands taller, as if she’s accepted her fate. “But I don’t know how to do that.”
“Admit your mistakes.”
“I’m afraid she won’t talk to me. I wouldn’t talk to me.”
Her head falls forward, her body heaving with sobs. I suppress a groan as I reach for her and pull her into a hug. It only makes her cries louder.
It’s such an odd predicament to be in—comforting the woman who has caused the woman I love so much pain. I want to tell her to grow up, buckle up, and be a mother, but maybe she doesn’t know how. Maybe she deserves a little grace.
God knows I don’t always have the answers.
Finally, she pulls away, her eyes filled with gratitude. “I was wrong about you. I’m sorry, Ripley.”
I smile at her. “Thank you. Apology accepted.”
“Now I need to figure out how to do that with my daughter. It’s going to be a lot more complicated with her.”
I take a deep breath. “Would you like my help?”
“Would you do that?” She balks, stunned. “Would you help me fix things with Georgia?”
She looks as shocked by my offer as I feel. I need to learn to think before I speak.
“I can’t guarantee anything, obviously,” I say. “She has her own reasons and feelings, and they’re valid—even if they’re hard to hear.”
“I know.”
“But if you’d like someone to sit with you while you talk to her, I’ll do that.”
“Let me figure a few things out, and then I’ll call you this afternoon. Deal?” I ask.
She smiles the way Georgia does when she thinks things might be all right. “Deal.”
I nod and step off the porch, my mind reeling.
Peaches, I hope to see that smile on your face again soon. Very, very soon.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Georgia
“It’s been an eventful day,” I say, looking into the camera while stopped at a red light. “I quit my new job because, unbeknownst to me, there is some very bad blood between the Downings and the Brewers. Well, it is worse than just an argument or clash of characters. But, while I don’t know where I stand with Ripley right now, I’d never do anything to hurt him. My loyalty lies with him.”
I tap my fingers against the steering wheel, thinking.
“Mom asked me if I’d talk to her today,” I say. “She sent me a text as I was walking to my car after quitting my job. I wanted to be a brat and tell her no because I don’t want to hear a bunch of excuses, really. And God forbid she actually takes responsibility for anything.” I frown. “Myla, let’s not use any of this, okay? I just need someone to talk to.”
I need Ripley.
“Ripley also called. It was the first time we’ve really spoken since the whole showdown with Mom in my driveway. He asked if I could swing by his house this evening and, of course, I said yes. Am I nervous? Yup. Do I know what he wants? No. Am I tired of living without him? Absolutely. I just hope he doesn’t get me over there and try to let me down gently. I don’t really think that’s what will happen, but he has to have had second thoughts about getting involved with my life’s drama.”