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“Like, are we talking about his size or other things?” This, of course, comes from Avery.
“Avery!” Cora says. “Still, if you want to share…” She motions with her hands.
I chuckle. “All of it. He just blew me away. And, just so you know, he was about a decade younger.”
“Hot damn!” Gerry says, clapping. Then she picks up some coffee. “Now, take this, and enjoy your breakfast. You even have time for that bath you wanted if you want to.”
“I don’t. We only have about half an hour to get to the airport if we want to make it through security in time to catch our flight.”
“Yeah, you do. We got a late checkout since Avery is friends with one of the resort owners,” Cora says, steering me toward the table laid out with all my favorites.
I look at Avery, and she shrugs. “Carter Hawthorne.”
“Oh, right.”
“She also got us a limo ride back to the airport, thanks to Mr. Hawthorne. Then she changed our flight and texted the whole family that we would be two hours later.” Cora says.
I look at my three sisters and feel myself tearing up again. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,”Avery says. “We got your back.”
They do. We’ve always had each other, and while I loved every minute with Mason, this is real life. I wish I had a little more time with him, but I am better with reality than fantasy. I have to be because two beautiful kids depend on me, and they are all that matter.
I grab the cup my sister made for me and settle down at the table. “I’m famished.”
“I bet you are,” Avery says with a chuckle. “Gonna tell us about him?”
I sip my coffee and study the expectant faces.
“Well, it all started when I lost my balance and started to fall.”
ChapterEight
LIV
THREE MONTHS LATER
Ibreathe a massive sigh of relief when the last kitchen box is broken down. Every muscle in my body hurts and I think I might sleep for five hundred years. The kids are in their rooms, every important box is unpacked, and I can relax finally.
Avery smiles at me. She came to Juniper to help me move into the house and deal with the kids.
“I can’t believe we are actually done for today,” I say.
“Yeah,” she says, distracted. It’s understandable. I’m a couple months later than I had planned, but things went to crap a week after we got back. Fritz called to tell us our Granny Pam wasn’t doing well and that we should all get to San Antonio as soon as possible. She’d been diagnosed with dementia a few years ago, and we all knew it was just a matter of time, but she lasted longer than the doctors had predicted.
You prepare for things like that, but you are never ready to say goodbye. But Avery, she took it the worst. Granny Pam helped raise her since Mom had her hands full with four kids and a thriving dance studio.
The one good thing is that Granny Pam was surrounded by her family as she slipped away. She held on long enough for Gerry to fly in. Within two hours of Gerry’s flight landing, Granny Pam died.
The grief is getting to all of us, but Avery seems worse off.
“You’re so organized,” Avery says, envy coloring her voice.
I blink at her. That’s a first. Avery has always thrived on the unexpected. Chaos is her trademark.
“You are, too, only at more interesting things.”
She cocks her head and studies me. Ugh, I hate when she does that. She has a Master’s in Business with a dual BS in economics and sociology. She likes to rip you open and peek inside.
