“I’m feeling very calm,” she whispered. More peaceful than she’d been in a long time, actually.
This was nice. She and Jack sitting in her Adirondack chairs in her little back yard, feeling the shift of early morning to midmorning settle over the space. Slipping her toes down through the grass until they reached the dirt, she settled them there.
Grounded.
This was grounded.
She inhaled deeply, the cool Denver mountain air doing its job.
The innate feeling someone was watching had her peeking out of her left eye. Jack had his cell up again.
“Just a quick photo,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “You’ll get to approve everything before we take it live.”
She ignored how just that word—live—made her whole body tense. Focusing instead on progressively relaxing each and every muscle in her body.
“It’s hard to relax when you’re taking my picture,” she said, closing her eyes and letting the earth do its thing.
“You seemed to be doing just fine.” His voice coated the air between them and settled in the morning sun.
She needed to call Lola’s school to ensure she’d relaxed into the routine. Drop-offs when the kids struggled set the tone for April’s day, and theirs as well. If history was any indication, Lola would have settled just fine. But April needed to be sure.
And she would be sure…later.
April released the image of her daughter’s drop-off tantrum at the school that morning. Mentally putting the image in an envelope and allowing it to float away.
“She’s back,” Jack murmured low.
April glanced around her yard. “Who?”
He continued staring at the sky as they spoke. “You.”
“Me?” she asked because she’d been there the whole time.
“This is the first time I’ve seen the real April since I arrived,” he said, still doing the low soothing thing.
“What do you mean, the real April?” She shifted to face him.
“Just that.” Jack finally turned to her. “This is the real April. Authentic April.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Your authenticity is one of your most powerful tools. Don’t be so quick to put it away.”
—Gaylene, Colorado, United States
April
She didn’t know what to say to Jack’s comment, so she said nothing and tried to go back to the place of peace where she’d been moments earlier.
“Why don’t you start all your mornings like this?” Jack asked, his butterscotch voice sliding straight into her peace bubble.
“With you taking my photo while I try to chill?”
“You know what I mean.”
She did. And the laugh that escaped her lips sort of wrecked the grounded peace she’d been building.
She flopped her arms onto the armrests and shook her head. Of course, she’dliketo start her mornings like this, but there were the demands of the world outside of her backyard. Demands that she had to manage. Demands only she understood. “Too much to do on a normal day.”
