AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Remember the old neighborhood?” Lena gets emotional when she’s pregnant, and I can see she’s close to tears. I hold her hand with even more love, knowing it will never be enough. “Remember the paranoia? Remember how hopeless it seemed?”
“I’mhoppy Hope. I jump super high!” Hope springs off my knee, chasing after her brother.
“Of course I remember,” I whisper.
“And remember…” She doesn’t have to say it. We rarely talk about that crazy week. “But look at us now.”
I reach over and dab the tears from her eyes. “You’re only two months in, girl. You’ll cry a river before the baby’s born.”
She laughs. “I like how the pregnancy feels. They’re happy tears. They’re always happy tears.”
She turns, spotting Jamie looking at her. They have intimacy like I’ve never seen. With a look or a gesture, they know what the other person means. I’m so happy Lena found a love like this. If anybody deserves it, she does.
EPILOGUE
YEARS LATER
Jake
I kneel beside Hope, resting my hand gently on her shoulder. The forest is quiet around us. The tin cans gleam from various tree branches. Hope reaches down and adjusts her braid, keeping the gun pressed against her shoulder.
“Let me know, Daddy. I’m ready.”
I take my hand from her shoulder, step back, and get the stopwatch ready. “Stay calm. In the moment.”
“I can do it.”
“I know you can, but stay calm.”
“Dad…”
“One, two, three, go!”
She flies into action. I know Lena and the others can hear us from the campsite. Hope is obsessed with her shooting. She moves quickly, hitting each can with a resoundingpingnoise. Almost all of them fall. She turns, air rifle aimed at the ground, grinning. She’s got Lena’s bright, optimistic eyes and the same warm smile.
“What was my time, Dad?”
“Well…” I glance down at the stopwatch. “Twenty-four seconds and counting…”
“Wait.” Her eyes snap open. She turns and sweeps up her gun. She searches the forest, then laughs and fires off a pellet. “Ha, ha, Daddy. Hiding it behind the bottle.”
“You’re a scary lady, kiddo,” I laugh, taking the rifle from her. I clap her softly on the shoulder. “I mean that. You could be one hell of a speed shooter.”
She beams, taking my hand. We walk back to camp together. Hope goes down to the lake with her brothers and sisters. I watch Tommy fly off the small pier, doing a cannonball, and Katy cheering from her grandmother’s arms on the shore.
Lena’s in the tent, stuffing sandwiches into a cooler. I slide in behind her and zip it closed. I turn and take in the sight of my woman, wearing a summer dress that outlines her figure, her curves sexier every single day. She turns and smiles, that familiar flush touching her cheeks.
“Aren’t you going to let me out?” she says, her voice breathy.
I smirk, lean forward, and grab her hip. “You’re mine,” I tell her. “You leave when I say you can.”
THE END
