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After a long sigh, he ran his hand down the length of my arm. “I know. I wouldn’t dream of getting in your way. I hope you ladies have the time of your lives out there doing ... well, whatever it is you’ll be doing.”
A soft smile lifted my lips. “I’m glad you’re supportive. I love you, but I’d have to smack you if you got in the way of our Wilder Widows wishes.”
“Nonsense. I’d never get in the way. And let’s be honest, if I tried, Marge would kill me and feed me to the pigs to hide my body. She’s already threatened.”
I laughed, nodding against his chest. “That’s a good point. So, even though we’ll miss each other, you gotta let me go. I don’t want you to be pig food. I love you too much.”
“And I love you enough to get out of your way so you can go knock more weird stuff off your bucket list. Starting with the one wish we know about ... jumping out of a plane. You lucky, lucky girl.”
I cringed at the words.
Go skydiving.
Those had been the horrifying words written on Marge’s piece of paper when we’d drawn it from the knitting basket. Five months had passed since I’d gotten the shock of what our first adventure would be, and even the extra months hadn’t settled the idea in my mind any more than it had that first day I’d learned it. My stomach clenched against the wave of queasiness just thinking about the freefall of terror awaiting me.
Usually, we set right off on our journey after drawing the first wish, but this time, the day after we’d picked Marge’s wish and before we’d started booking our trip, I’d gotten a call from my daughter, Rachel, with the most amazing news. She’d met a man, Blake, at our wedding, and they’d been dating for the entire year. When she’d revealed she was two months pregnant, Tom and I had been elated.
But as excited as we’d been about Rachel and Blake’s upcoming bundle of joy, she’d also dropped the bomb that she and Blake would be getting married ... and soon, because she hadn’t wanted to be bursting out of her dress with a huge, swollen belly. So, our Widows adventure had been put on hold while we’d planned a wedding in just a few short months.
The Widows had all leaped into action with me, helping me plan a magnificent wedding in a hurry, and last month, Rachel and Blake had said I do. Now she was two months from her due date, which left the Widows and me one month to go on our adventure before I came home to prepare for a different kind of adventure.
Being a grandma.
I warmed at the thought in the same way I’d warmed when I’d found out I was carrying my own child ... Tom’s child. And though we hadn’t been able to raise her together, it felt like we were getting a second chance now that we’d be grandparents together.
“Are you sure I can’t come? Even just for Marge’s wish? Man, I seriously want to jump out of a plane again. It’s been years.”
“Widows only. You know the rules.” I rolled over and propped my chin on my hands, resting on his chest.
He furrowed his brow. “Argh. Fine. But when you ladies get back, you and I are going skydiving together sometime.”
I pulled a face, scoffing as I shook my head. “No. Absolutely not. I’m jumping out of a planeoncebecause it’s Marge’s wish, and we have a pact to do it together. But that’s it. Then this girl is grounded.”
“I bet you’ll love it so much you’ll be begging me to jump with you again.” He arched an eyebrow. “Fifty buck says I’m right.”
“I’ll take that bet.” I pursed my lips and matched his arched brows. Knowing full well how terrified I was to leap out of an airplane, I was confident I wouldn’t be willing to do something so foolish twice.
“It’s a bet,” he said. “And one I’m going to win. Trust me. There’s nothing better than that rush.” For a moment, he closed his eyes, and I was sure he was reliving moments of his long military career as a special forces operator. No doubt he’d launched out of plenty of planes, but I wasn’t a risk taker like him, and though he loved it, I was certain I’d be screaming bloody murder all the way down, vowing never to do anything so crazy again.
“You’re going to lose,” I said confidently.
“Right back at you.” He smiled.
“I just hope I survive. Life is so good right now. I’ve got you. I’ve got the Widows. Our shoe business is booming and growing every day. Life is perfect. And it’s about to get even better because I have big plans for being a grandma. I can’t wait until the baby is born.”
“You’ll be fine. It’s really quite safe. And I’m as excited as you are about the baby. A couple years ago, I didn’t even know I was a dad, and now I’m going to be a grandpa.” He paused and tipped his head. “Although, I think I’m going with G-dog instead of Grandpa. Grandpa sounds old.”
“G-Dog?” I practically spit out. “No one is calling you G-Dog.”
“Why not? It’s much hipper than Grandpa.” He said the last word with a frumpy accent.
“How about Pawpaw? I’m gonna be Nana, so we can be Nana and Pawpaw.”
He made a face. “It sounds like a dog.”
“Didn’t you just say you wanted to be G-Dog?”
“Yeah. Like hip. You know, G-Dog.”
