I chuckle and lean down, pressing my lips on her small forehead. “That’s a yes, princess.”
“Cool.” She grins, and then it drops. “But what about my mommy?”
I sigh trying to come up with the most gentle but unsugarcoated words, and I fall short every time. “I don’t know, Naomi. I wish I did.”
Naomi nods, accepting the information.
“If my mommy doesn’t want me, can I get a new one?” she asks. It’s a totally innocent question loaded with heavy answers that no seven-year-old needs to think about. The answer is yes, but will a seven-year-old understand that love is not about blood?
Rebekah may be her mother, but if she doesn’t care about Naomi, then does who her mother is matter?
I struggle with the answer myself.
How the hell do I answer this?
“Rebekah will always be your mom, Naomi. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other people who can love you like a mom too. Like your grandmas, they both love you so much. And your Auntie June, and Gracie, and Tatum, and Uncle Fletcher and Ledger, and me. We love you so much, you’re going to burst from it.”
Her eyes widen.
I chuckle and hug her again. “It’s a blessing to burst from so much love.”
“Are you bursting from love?” she asks me. Again, a totally logical question. It’s times like these when I wish I had a woman's sensibilities to help me because I feel like I’m digging myself a hole here.
“Yes, princess, I’m bursting with love, mainly because of you.”
“Because I love you?” she asks.
“Yes, because you love me.”
Naomi smiles and settles back into me while I read our book. I say the words, but I don’t comprehend them because all I can think about is Naomi calling medad.It feels like I've won something. It makes everything worth it.
Chapter 21
Mae
I’mintoodeep.I can feel myself getting attached to him. Cooper is too good to be true. There has to be something wrong with him, right? No one is that perfect.
He’s right, we’re both holding back. I may have told him some of my story, but he hasn’t been entirely forthcoming with his.
I understand Naomi’s mother isn’t in the picture, but if this turns into something real, how do I fit into that? It’s too early to ask that question, and yet it needs to be answered.
The last thing I want to do is make Naomi feel like she is being put to the side because I’m there to take her place. Though we both fit into two different categories, she’s had Cooper all to herself for her whole life. Who am I to change that? I’m here for a year. I have no business shaking her foundation for temporary.
Which brings me to the fear of having feelings for Cooper. My past of being burned and forgotten continues to rear its ugly head. What’s the point in diving in with him when it’s a short-term thing? I’m not that girl. I don’t want to be here for a good time and not a long time. I know I’m not here for a long time. I will have to go back to Colorado. Mom needs me.
The summer air breezes through my windows, blowing my hair all over the place, but I don’t care. Today was a rough day at the shop. I didn’t have a single sale, and still haven’t made calls from my list of wedding venues. I think a part of me is afraid of the rejection because if they say no, then I don’t see a way out of this hole, and the subsequent disappointment my aunt will have.
It also doesn’t help that my boss sent me another project, and this one is going to take a while. I have to put my forensic hat on and start digging through this corporation’s books to find where all of their money is going because it doesn’t add up. And I have to mow the grass today. Uncle Leo showed me how to use the zero turn riding mower, but I’m afraid I’ll throw myself off of it going too fast because I looked up videos on how to operate it better and of course found the videos of everyone using it the wrong way or accidents where people flip it or actually fling themselves off. At this rate, I’ll be moving so slowly I won’t finish until midnight.
Turning onto the gravel driveway, I stop at the mailbox and get the stack before crawling up the hill to my longer day.
Gravel pops off my car, and I sigh coming up the hill as the smell of fresh cut grass wafts into my face.
What in the world?
Cooper’s truck is parked next to the barn, and I see him across the large yard,mowing my lawn.
Tears brim in my eyes at the relief and thoughtfulness of this man.
