“I can’t believe they’re six.” I pouted as I plopped myself down at the kitchen table.
Mom handed me a cup of coffee. “I know, where did the time go?”
“Seriously. It feels like I just had them.”
“I feel that same way about you.” She smiled sadly as she sat across from me. “Now look at you. You went and grew up and had kids of your own when I wasn’t looking.”
“You know, none of this would have been possible without you.”
“Of course it would have, Kacie. You’re a strong girl, way stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“I don’t know about all that, Mom.”
“Well, I do and Mother knows best, so hush.”
I grinned at her as I sipped my coffee.
“It’s been one hell of a week, huh?”
“That, my dear, is an understatement.” Mom stared outside and her mind went somewhere else. It had been almost a week since that bastard plowed over my baby in the lake, and while Piper was mending, she wasn’t completely back to normal yet. Her bruises had faded to a dark yellow and she wasn’t having headaches anymore, but her nightmares were off the charts. Every night since we’d been home from the hospital, she woke up with an ear-piercing, blood-curdling scream that almost made me jump right out of my skin. The only thing that made her feel better was sleeping with me and that made Lucy feel bad, so she’d been sleeping with me too. Needless to say, I was beyond exhausted.
Mom had suggested pushing their party back a couple weeks, but that wasn’t an option. School was starting in a couple weeks, for all three of us, and it had been such a bad week, I wanted them to have something good to look forward to this weekend. However, I threw it together so quickly, hopefully I hadn’t forgotten anything.
“Okay, so today … the food has been ordered and should be here by noon. Alexa is bringing the flowers and balloons later, you took care of the cake … was there anything else?” I asked.
“Nope, I think you got it all. What time is everyone coming?”
“Two o’clock.”
“Good. You should go nap, Kacie.” She pushed back from the table and took our mugs to the kitchen sink. “You haven’t been sleeping well and today might be a long day.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” I yawned just thinking about how tired I was.
I left the girls snuggled up on the couch watching Snow White under Mom’s watchful eye as I tiptoed down the hall to my room for a quick snooze.
My body was completely relaxed in that last stage right before you actually fall asleep, where you’re still aware of your surroundings, but your arms and legs feel heavy and out of control. My mind was starting to drift, when I heard my bedroom door open and then close again.
I didn’t even open my eyes. “Girls, go back out with Gigi, Mommy needs a nap.”
“They’re watching Snow White, but you look more like Sleeping Beauty.”
My eyes snapped open, and I sat up straight at the sound of Brody’s voice. He was leaning against my bedroom door with his hands shoved in his jeans pockets, his signature hat on backwards and the killer smile accented by those irresistible dimples cemented on his face.
“What are you doing here?” I scrambled to stand.
“Relax, sit down.” He pulled the desk chair next to my bed. “I came to drop off the girls’ birthday presents.”
“Oh, thanks.”
My heart soared at the sight of him and I wondered if that would ever go away. How much time needed to pass before I could be in a room with him and stop worrying that my chest was going to explode?
Leaning forward in the chair, he rested his elbows on his knees as a crooked smile rolled across his face.
“I love you, Kacie.”
My heart sputtered to a complete stop as his soulful eyes searched my face.
“I’ve loved you since that night out on the pier when we looked up at the stars, then I fell in love with you again the next day when you peeked at the sunset from the top of the Ferris wheel, then I fell in love with you again when I saw you in that blue dress, then I fell in love with you again on my kitchen counter, then I fell in love with you again at the cake tasting, then I fell in love with you again at Lauren’s wedding, then I fell in love with you again in that hospital room when you stared at your daughter lying unconscious in that bed…”
I swallowed, unable to speak.
“I fall in love with you every single time I watch you interact with Lucy and Piper. The love you feel for them is so vast and overwhelming, it absolutely amazes me. I sometimes wonder if there’s room in your heart for me too, but then we’re alone … and it’s there. Whatever it is, it hangs in the air between us, so fucking thick I can hardly breathe.”