Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
“Mine today,” I reply, then add, “next week’s your mom’s week.”
“Right.” He nods, probably knowing that every other week our moms take turns watching Lyra while I’m working. I used to have Gabe’s parents helping out, but two years ago, I had to change that.
I might have loved Gabe, but the same couldn’t be said for his family. His parents are both a little odd, and not the fun kind. The kind of odd that you have to be leery of. They live mostly off the land, hate the government, really any kind of authority. They don’t believe in education or modern medicine. They tried numerous times to tell me, even when I couldn’t, I should be breastfeeding Lyra. When I didn’t agree, they bought another woman’s breast milk without asking me first. Needless to say, when I found that out, I lost my mind. They were always trying to tell me how they thought I should raise her. I put up with it, because that’s what Gabe would have wanted me to do.
After the breast milk incident, I worried myself sick that if something happened to my baby when I wasn’t around that they wouldn’t take her to the doctor, that they’d try to give her some kind of natural remedy or something. Gabe had a big, ugly scar on his leg to prove that his parents were crazy. When he was seven, he sliced into himself with an ax, and his parents didn’t take him to the hospital. Instead, they cleaned and sewed him up at home. He ended up with gangrene and could have lost his leg. I did not want to go pick up my daughter one day and find out that not only had she been left alone with an ax, but that she had been hurt and didn’t see a doctor.
“So, Denver, what are your plans tomorrow morning?” Lu asks him, and he pulls his eyes off me, both of our attention going to her.
“No plans tomorrow. What’s up?” he questions, and I cut in before Lu can speak again. Lord only knows what the hell she’ll make up in an attempt to push us together.
“Ly was asking if she could have your eggs for breakfast tomorrow for her birthday,” I explain, and his face softens.
“I can do that.”
“Cool, she’ll be happy,” I say, and he lifts his chin. “Let me just get you set up to fuel.” I look at Lu. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” I hear her agree as I turn to get to work.
Sitting in the shed four hours later, wearing my jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves, I look up from my Kindle when someone taps on the glass window at the side of the shed. When I see who it is, I smile and push the window open to the side. “Hey, Mike.”
Mike is not a local. He lives on one of the other small islands in Alaska, but comes to town for fishing at the start of every spring and doesn’t leave until the end of summer. He’s cute-ish, not handsome or really even good-looking, but he’s always got a warm smile on his face.
“Hey, Aubrey.” He starts to smile then frowns. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“Heater went out. It’s been acting wonky for days, but today it bit the dust.”
“Want me to look at it?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Lu and Ben are getting a new one today. They should be here with it soon.”
“Cool.” He leans forward, and even though I can’t see his hands, judging by the way his shoulders are hunched forward, I know he’s tucked them into the front pockets of his jeans or into his jacket. “Did you have a good winter?”
“It was winter.” I shrug. Winters in Alaska are brutal. Not only is it mostly dark all the time, but it’s also freezing, and more than occasionally, there is so much snow it’s impossible to leave the house. If my parents didn’t live right next door, I would probably go stir-crazy. “How was your winter?”
“Spent it in Vegas where I have a place, so it was good.”
“I bet.” I smile. “I’ve never been to Vegas, but I want to go sometime.”
“You should come out to see me next winter. I have a spare room; you and your daughter could stay there.”
“Maybe,” I agree without thinking, and his eyes light up. Crap, now what did I do? “Did you need something?” His boat’s not docked, but that doesn’t mean much.
“I… Well, I actually wanted to see if we could get dinner. Maybe next Friday, before the opener?”
“Um…” Gah, didn’t I just tell myself I should try dating again? Maybe Mike is the kind of guy I should test out dating with. He always seems pretty laid back, and he doesn’t make me nervous. Really, he doesn’t make me anything. No butterflies, no stomach dips. Nothing. “Sure, Friday works,” I agree, figuring that, between Shelby and Joe, one of them will be willing to watch Lyra for me for a couple hours while I go out.