I place my hand on the cold stone, feeling the familiar ache of her loss. “Hey, baby.”
I pull the dried up yellow roses from her vase and replace them with the new ones I brought, just like I do every week. I then go down to my knees and pull the weeds away from her headstone. “It’s almost summer now, and it’s a real pretty day. The sun is shining, but there’s just enough breeze to keep you cool. If you were here, we’d be at the lake. I’d be fishing, while you pretended to pay attention to your bobber, but we both know you’d be too busy talking about what our girl is doing to give a shit if you got a bite.”
Finally, I go down on my ass and rest my head against her headstone. “I gave Kidd your ring last night. He’s gonna ask Jenna to be his wife this weekend. Can you believe our girl is getting married? I know you said it would happen, but I was starting to think you were wrong. Guess I should’ve known better than that.”
I wait a few seconds, hoping some miracle will happen and she answers. Of course, she doesn’t. But in my head, I can almost hear the sound of her happy laughter. Yeah, my woman would be happy as shit that our girl was finally going to wear her ring. “You’ll never guess what Jenna did. She’s been taking classes online and getting some sort of degree in business. Silly ass didn’t even tell me. She said that she wanted to do it on her own. Kinda pissed me off that she didn’t want me to know, but then she said she wanted to surprise me when she was done. She wanted to do something that would make us proud. Can’t be pissed about that.”
I take a deep breath before going on. “Kidd bought that old building down on Streets Avenue for her. She’s going to open a restaurant and some sort of place for the girls to get their hair done. She’s named the spa something fuckin’ stupid, but she’s calling the restaurant Mindy’s Café. Daisy’s gonna run it, but they’re using those recipes cards that you made up for Jenna. She says, once everyone gets a taste of your sliced beef sandwiches, they’ll be full of customers every day.”
I run my hand over her name, Mindy Mae Jones. “She’s doing good. No, our girl is doing fuckin’ great. She reminds me more of you every day. I know she only had you for a little while, but you gave so much of yourself to her in that time that it made her who she is now. She’s a good woman, a wonderful old lady, and I am so damn proud to call her our daughter.”
I close my eyes and tell her the same thing I do every time I come here. “God, I miss you so much. Every fuckin’ time I wake up, I reach for you. When I realize you’re not there, it’s like losing you all over again. I need you so bad. I can’t stand living this life without you.”
My words stop when I hear a car pull up and look across the graveyard. An older couple gets out and starts to walk to one of the graves. That’s my cue to go. I don’t share my time with Mindy with anyone, especially not strangers. I slowly push myself up and place my hand on the top of her headstone. “I guess I better get going. I’ll see you next week. Love you, baby.”
The End
Coming Summer 2014
Daisy and Preach’s Story
Renegade Reject
More from Dawn and Emily
Love Songs Series by Dawn Martens and Emily Minton
Whiskey Lullaby (Book 1)
Julie Walker thought she found true love with Jase. Until he betrayed her in the worst way, with one of her best friends. Devastated and heartbroken she runs away, leaving behind her family and friends. She starts a new life filled with secrets.
When Julie meets Dean, she thinks he is the answer to all her prayers, but Dean isn’t who she thinks he is.
Jase Gibson is a player. Even when he had the girl of his dreams, he still played. When he lost Julie, his life fell apart. He turned to whiskey and women, to fill the void. But, only Julie will ever make him whole.
Nine years later, Julie's back home, but she's not alone. What will happen when all of Julie's secrets are uncovered?
Jase vowed that if he ever got her back, he would do right by her and never let her go. Will he let Julie's secret keep them apart?
When Julie's ex-husband refuses to be her ex, Jase must choose to help her or hang on to his anger.
Jase and Julie have to find a way to give their whiskey lullaby a happy ending.