AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’d offered to take Gracie riding, but she’d turned me down. The only thing she liked to do lately was paint, and she’d paint this depressing sky with birds flying around, and I was starting to get concerned. I’d asked my mother to come over and see her this afternoon after school. Maybe I was reading into it, but I was worried about my girl.
When I pulled up to the pickup line and they opened the back door, Gracie squealed. “Maxine?”
Ah, did I leave out the fact that I took the little porker home and told Martha I’d be adopting her? She was part of the fucking family, whether I liked it or not.
And I’d actually missed her, even if she was a big pain in the ass.
The gaping hole in my heart was definitely due to the woman I loved living on the opposite side of the country. But if bringing Maxine back to the house could help repair some of the sadness for my daughter, I’d do it.
“Buckle up and I’ll explain.” I waved to her teacher and looked in the rearview mirror as Maxine made all sorts of heavy groans and loved on my little girl.
“Is she visiting, Daddy?”
“Nope. She’s going to live with us permanently.”
“Like Bob Picklepants?” Gracie gasped. It was the first genuine smile I’d seen from my little girl since the day of the accident and the day we both said goodbye to Presley.
I wondered if it was leftover trauma or if this was all because she missed her. Maybe she’d never get over it the way I never truly had all those years ago.
“Yep. Bob Picklepants Reynolds and Maxine Langley Reynolds are both official members of the family. But things are going to change. Uncle Hugh and Uncle Finn are going to help me build a proper pen for her this weekend. She’s going to take over the mudroom when she’s inside the house, and we’ll have a sturdy gate built to keep her in there. The barn is finished, and she’s going to have a place out there with the other animals, as well.”
“I’m happy she’s coming home to live with us, Daddy.”
“Yeah? I’m glad you’re happy. And Grammie is coming over to see you this afternoon.”
“Okay.” It was her eyes. Her fucking eyes were the dead giveaway. Even with that fat porker sitting beside her in the back seat, her eyes still told the story.
She was heartbroken.
It was easy for me to recognize it because I saw it in my own reflection every time I looked in the goddamn mirror.
“Tell me about your day,” I said as I turned down our street.
“It was fine.”
That was code forI don’t want to talk about itin Gracie speak. I could respect that. Hell, I didn’t feel like talking most of the time.
We pulled into the garage and made our way inside to find my mother setting some cookies out on a plate. She knew I was worried about Gracie, and I knew that she was, too. It had been three weeks since Presley left, and my daughter was still not herself.
“Hey, Gracie girl. I brought you some cookies,” my mom said as she wrapped her granddaughter up in a hug.
“Hi, Grammie. Maxine is coming back home,” she said as she set her backpack on the chair.
“I heard. That must make you happy, huh?”
Gracie nodded and declined the cookies. “I’m not hungry right now. Can I go paint, Daddy?”
“Yeah. Why don’t you show Grammie what you’re painting.”
An endless slew of gray skies and black birds. It was alarming. Maybe my mom could get her to throw some sunshine into the picture or a fucking rainbow.
They disappeared upstairs, and I spent some time getting the mudroom cleaned out for Maxine. Hugh was going to pick up some wood this week, and we’d build a gate that would contain her in there for when she wasn’t allowed to roam around the house. He and Finn said they’d help build a larger pen in the backyard for her, as well. So, we’d get that started this weekend.
I finished up and pulled a pizza out of the freezer and popped it into the oven. It was all I was up for tonight. I’d add some carrots and broccoli on the side, so I didn’t feel like a complete fuckup where my daughter was concerned.
My mother and Gracie had been upstairs for hours, and they came down with a stack of paintings.
“Hey, can you come join us on the couch?” my mom asked.
