Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 63214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Brett turned to me. “How are you, Faith?”
My smile cracked. “Great.”
“Do you have any big plans for Christmas Eve?”
“Yes. Huge ones.”
He frowned. “Well . . . that’s good.”
Silence.
Brett gestured to my snow people. “These pieces could be in front of a museum. You always sculpted breathtaking objects.”
He walked over to my snowman. “How long did it take you to make him?”
For whatever reason, I didn’t like Brett so close to Remy. “I started last night and finished today.”
“That’s dedication.”
I shrugged. “He was worth it.”
Frowning, Brett pointed to his head. “That’s my MJ hat.”
“Is it?”
“And those are the earrings I bought you for last year’s wedding anniversary.”
“Are they?”
“Yes and this is crazy.”
“It’s not.”
“It is, Faith.”
“Fine. They are the earrings. However, my New Year’s resolution is to be less petty each day.”
“Okay, Faith. Then, I will try to stop doing the things that push you to pettiness.”
I widened my eyes, not expecting that response at all.
Brett whistled. “That snowman is worth a lot.”
I nodded. “Rose did say he was lucky.”
“He is.” Brett turned back to me. “He gets to spend the evening with you.”
“Go away.”
A wind rushed past us and whipped the hat off Remy. The fedora slammed into Brett’s face.
Someone said something! I would ask Brett, but I can’t have him thinking I’m crazy. He could take the girls away.
“Shit!” Brett rubbed his jaw. “That hurt like a motherfucker.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad. It’s just a hat.”
He grabbed the hat off the ground and kept it. “No, I could’ve sworn someone punched me.”
“What?”
“Someone punched me.” Brett looked around like a mad man. “It was your mother and her voodoo.”
“It’s hoodoo.”
“That dark stuff.”
“It’s not dark. And my mother can do many things, but she can’t punch you in the face from her house miles away nor can she materialize here and become invisible. Trust me. You would be dead by now if she could.”
“I’m not saying that. I’m saying your mother cursed me.”
“Not this again.” I rolled my eyes.
“Every time I come here, something fucked up happens. My tires go flat. I’m always getting sharp pains in my ass like someone is kicking me.” Brett looked over his shoulder and then on both sides of him. “And yes, every now and then, I get this phantom punch.”
“A phantom punch?”
The girls rushed out before Brett could throw out anymore accusations.
“Oh, just forget about it.” He helped the girls in the car, threw the MJ hat inside, shut the door, turned around, and stared at me. “You look beautiful by the way.”
Before I could say something, ice fell from a branch and landed on Brett’s head.
“Fuck!” He jumped up and down, frantically brushing the snow out of his hair. “You see what I mean? Come on. You had to have seen that?”
“Snow always falls from these trees. I get it dumped on me all the time.”
He wiped away more snow. “I’m not insane. Tell your mother to stop this.”
“You’re being crazy. She didn’t curse you. Just focus on keeping my babies safe.” My voice cracked a little.
“They’ll be fine.” He got in the car.
“They better be,” I mumbled.
The car drove off.
Meadow waved from the back window and I forced a smile like everything was okay.
I waved goodbye and held in stupid tears. Emptiness sank down inside of me. My heart broke.
Still, I tried to pump myself up.
This is good. I need the free time. Single motherhood rocks. Hell to the yes. . .
My girls and I were so close. We had the same dreams and nightmares. When I dreamt of flying as an eagle high in the sky. They did to, but with more colorful feathers and puffy, white clouds. When the storms of terror woke us up, the chasing nightmares, the zombie-biting dreams, we screamed out together, rushing to the other with opened arms and shaking hands. We would all pile into my bed, pray, and go back to sleep, drifting off into a warm heap of comforting love.
After Brett, it had been just the three of us in a world of our own creation. The wilderness and daily life blared outside of the property—people living and moving around—and we’d remained invisible. I hadn’t reconnected with friends or tried to get to know any of the parents at the girls’ school.
I’d hid us in a cave. They’d broken free. And now the darkness and coldness was closing in around me.
I miss them already.
Tears fell from my eyes. Loneliness wrapped its cold arms around my body and refused to let go.
“We will have the night.”
“What?” I wiped away my tears with shaking hands and stared at the snow falling from the sky.
“We will have the night.”
Okay. There’s two options going on right now. One, I’m crazy. I don’t like that option. Two, there’s some haunted spirits in this yard. I can deal better with two than one.