Page 29 of No Love Lost

Nina divided the books into piles on the table. “Mom’s first book deal was this one.” She pointed at a hardcover entitled A Kid Having A Kid. “She started a blog with that title when she was pregnant. It got really popular, and they offered her a book deal.”

Pride radiated from Nina even as her smile dimmed. “Some of it’s sad because she was alone and scared. But it shows how brave and strong she was.”

Addy angled her head to hide behind her hair again, and Nina patted the blanket briskly and moved on.

Heath had to pull in deep breaths to deal with the zing of sorrow in his own chest. And pain. So much pain. She’d been alone because he hadn’t been there. She’d probably been scared for a lot of reasons, but some of those would have been connected to him and her lack of money. Both things he would have fixed for her. If only his parents hadn’t been assholes. If only he’d tried harder.

Nina helped bring the moment out of deep emotion territory by picking up small books made of thick cardboard. “Then she made these when I was a baby. She wanted me to know the Ojibwe language and culture. She got a book deal for those as well.”

Then the author name on the books registered. An internet search wouldn’t have brought these up.“These list the author as A. Migizi. You use a pen name. A for Addison, I assume, but I don’t think I’ve heard the name Migizi before. Does it have a special meaning?”

Addy squirmed on the couch. “We don’t have to look at these.” She’d always hated being the center of attention, but both he and Nina ignored her attempt to change the subject.

Nina helped him out. “Migizi is the Ojibwe word for eagle. Mom said she chose it because eagles aren’t afraid of anything. She wanted to be like them. Strong and courageous. Protective and family oriented.”

Addy’s face flushed and Heath’s heart filled with pride and amazement. “You chose well, Addy. You’re all of those things.”

She smiled and her eyes misted. Instead of kissing her, he pulled his attention back to Nina and the rest of the books. “And those ones?”

Nina grinned. “These are picture books she wrote and Nimii illustrated. A lot of them feature a girl named Binesi, which means thunderbird. She sometimes gets called Bini for short. And Bini’s in these books as well. They’re adventure books.” They looked like books that were a stepping-stone between picture books and full-sized novels.

She pointed to the final book, which was a binder of printer paper. “And this is the new series. It’s a dystopian futuristic series where people have let technology overtake their lives. Ziigwan, or Zigi, is the main character. She has to figure out who killed her parents and who wants to kill her by escaping into the woods and learning how to survive there when she’s never been out of a city. She’s not finished this one yet, but it’s awesome.”

Addy laughed. “You might be a tiny bit biased, Nina.”

Nina grinned. “Definitely. But it is really good.”

Heath stared in wonder as he brushed his hands over the books. “You’re amazing. You always were the best storyteller I knew. I’m not in the least bit surprised you figured out how to make a living from your talent. I’m so damn proud of you, Addy. You took a difficult situation and you’ve done nothing but thrive. And you raised a spitfire along the way. You’re absolutely amazing.”

His voice choked up as he spoke, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t hide his emotions from either of these two.

Nina grinned. “She is.” Her phone buzzed, and she stood. “I’m going to talk with Nat for a minute about our project.”

When she bounced out of the room, Heath didn’t waste any time wrapping his arms around Addy, who burrowed in. He leaned down to whisper. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as strong and determined as you. I look at everything you’ve accomplished, and my only regret is that I missed it all.”

Addy’s breathing hitched, and he knew she was holding in tears. He used his hand to brush along her jaw and she looked up, eyes shining.

She was everything. He lowered his head and kissed her.

Addy jumped when the buzzer rang beside her. When would she learn to react to the quieter timers instead of ignoring them so that she wouldn’t jump out of her chair with the obnoxious buzzer?

Reluctantly, she stayed standing to save and backup her work. The story was flying out of her brain and onto the screen. She hoped it wasn’t her general happiness about life that made her think the story was better than it really was.

“Mom. Mr. Adamson is pulling up the driveway.”

Because, of course, he was. Addy looked down at herself with a sigh. The words had been calling when she woke, so she’d brushed her teeth and sat down to work.

Today’s pajamas sported crocodiles playing badminton, and the fuzzy sweater was a contrasting purple. Along with unbrushed hair and her polar bear slippers, she was a walking advertisement for chaos.

She didn’t have time to even think about changing when Jonas knocked on the door. With a sigh, she opened it. “Hello, Jonas.”

His eyebrows shot up, and he frowned at her. “Are you all right? Are you sick? What do you need? How can I help?”

That made Addison laugh. “I’m fine. I just got caught up working.”

He looked her over again, frown remaining in place. “Are you sure?”

When she nodded, he mimicked the movement but didn’t appear convinced. “I see you don’t have your car back. You said things were under control, but you don’t have it back. Can I help?”

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