AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay, then you guys can go over and visit with the horses.”
Tonya started to dart off, then turned around and glanced at me before saying to Lauren and Emmy, “Come on, let’s walk over and see them.”
As they walked away, pride filled my chest. Both Nolan and I observed the three of them as they made their way to the barn.
“You’re alright with that?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
I turned to her once they had disappeared inside. “It’s good to see you again, Nolan. I’m glad you brought the girls. What did they think of the house?”
She smiled at me. “Lauren loves it. I think even Emmy likes it too, although she doesn’t show much emotion over it. We were going to stay at Kayley’s while they were here, but they both wanted to camp out in the house.”
“I’m glad things are going well.”
“They are.” She turned to me. “Brad, I owe you an apology.”
I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed momentarily. “No, you don’t, Nolan. You spoke from your heart, and I didn’t respect or listen to that. It’s me that owes you one. I hope that after today you can see for yourself that you might have been wrong about my kids and me. If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on something. Enjoy the picnic.”
I quickly brushed my lips over her cheek, but I didn’t give her a chance to respond as I walked away and into the house to see if the meat was ready to go on the grill. As I reached for the platter, I found my hands shaking like a leaf. Please, let this work.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Nolan
Ialmost wept as I peeked in on my girls sleeping at my parents’. I had arrived much later than expected after getting a late start. I could have gotten up early Saturday morning and driven up, but then I would have had to turn around and drive back without sleep. Four hours wasn’t that bad, but eight hours in one day was a lot.
Saturday morning, the girls woke me up, and I even got big hugs from Emmy, who rarely hugged me. After breakfast, we were on the road and arrived at the new house around two.
Lauren was super excited to see it all, and Emmy seemed a bit more enthused than normal. Inside, Lauren oohed and aahed over things, and Emmy counted. She counted the number of cabinets in the kitchen, and the number of handles, being a bit frustrated that there was an odd number, but then I pointed out the three handles on the fridge and told her that made it even.
Then she counted the electrical outlets in the downstairs of the house as we walked around. Lauren rolled her eyes as we went along, but it wasn’t from annoyance. It was more from, well, here we go again.
Emmy counted the spindles of the railing on the way upstairs, and when she saw her room, she grew quiet. Emmy had gotten this room because it had two windows. One window would have caused stress, but two was an even number and okay with her. She looked all around, nodded, and then walked out to see Lauren’s room, commenting on her only having one window. Lauren and I shared a conspiratorial smile, and I winked at her. I showed them the other two bedrooms upstairs, and their fancy bathroom, then finally my room.
Emmy stared at the tiles in my bathroom, and I could see her mind spinning. Maybe all of this was too much for her. I was about to call her out, but then she walked into the shower and touched one of the tiles. Slowly she went along the row of the wall, counting each similar tile. I was thankful that it was an even number.
“Okay, ladies, why don’t we go back to your rooms and talk about where you want things to go when your furniture is delivered?”
Lauren pretty much didn’t care, but I knew Emmy would need to know precisely where her things were going. It would make it easier to adjust to the change if she knew what to expect.
That night we had a picnic dinner on the back porch with Kayley and Cameron, and Becky came too. She was turning seventeen soon, and she was great with the girls. After dinner, they went into the yard and caught fireflies to put in a jar for a little while.
We were going to head back to Kayley’s to sleep, but both girls said they wanted to stay here, so I let them sleep on my air mattress, and I used the mat again. I slept a little better that night, most likely because I was exhausted. However, it might have been because I had my girls beside me too.
On Sunday, we did some little projects around the house and went shopping for new comforters and sheets for their beds. Emmy didn’t have too much input, so Lauren and I picked out her stuff. Although, Emmy did pick out two fluffy accent pillows that had very soft material.
That night we ordered pizza and watched a movie on my laptop. While the girls watched it, I dwelled over what would happen the next day.
Kayley had said it would be a more extensive picnic than usual and that there would be more kids there. I hoped that none of the kids were mean, and Lauren didn’t end up bored because she couldn’t run around with them.
The following day, my stomach was in knots. Not only because the girls were going to meet a lot of new people, but because I knew I would see Brad for the first time since I’d walked away from him. Over the last several weeks, I had thought of him a lot.
I hoped that we would have a chance to talk today and that I could apologize. Maybe, if I had the courage, I could ask him if he wanted to have lunch sometime, or if the kids got along, maybe bring the kids over for dinner.
I had wondered more than once if I had been wrong to judge him and make the decision for him that he couldn’t handle my life or my children. I knew I had been wrong, but I couldn’t help that I was protective. Not only protecting my heart but his and all the children involved.
When we arrived, the butterflies in my stomach were acting like Mexican jumping beans. I could tell that both the girls were a little nervous, too—Lauren more so than Emmy. They were about to meet other kids who would be their peers, maybe even some that they would go to school with.
