Page 51 of Broken Dreams
Brynn put photos of Lisa up before we came. She said it was important that he know his mother was with him, even though Jett never really knew her. He was just a few weeks old when she died.
“Did you love Mommy?”
“I did, very much.”
I loved her more than I knew I could. More than anything, until Jett was born. She was my best friend, and there are times now when I want nothing more than to see her smile or listen to her laugh as I explain something funny.
Over the years, that’s faded some, but right now, I would give anything for her to be here and hug this kid. To let him rest his head on her chest instead of mine.
He was robbed of that, but I thank God he was an infant and never had to know her, lose her, and learn to move on, wishing he had a mother.
This is better.
“I love Mommy too.”
I kiss the top of his head. “She loved you too, bud. She loved you too, and so do I.”
eleven
ADDISON
I’m sitting at my desk, going through the grant paperwork to open the third location. Florida is a really good location for us. If we can get a California location next, then we can start to plan our expansion into the Midwest. However, if we get another grant, maybe we can do two. Our donations this year have already surpassed the last, and we haven’t had our end of year push that always helps.
All of this is encouraging.
“Addison, can you come out front?” my assistant calls, sounding almost nervous.
I get up quickly, concerned at whatever has her calling for me.
When I enter the waiting area, I find her facing two people worth fearing.
Blakely Maxwell and Brielle Cross.
“Blakely? Brielle?” I ask, feeling so many emotions at once. Joy because I miss them so much. Confusion because neither of them mentioned this visit when I talked to them yesterday, and fear because I’m pretty sure I know what spurred this surprise visit.
“Hey!” Brielle rushes to me with open arms. “I missed you and needed to lay eyes on you.” She pulls me in for a hug and whispers in my ear. “And I had to protect you from her.”
I pull back, smiling at her and thanking God I have the best sister-in-law ever.
“I missed you too!”
Blakely walks over, her smile wide, but I know her too well to trust it. “I figured we needed to sign paperwork this week, so why not do it together?”
Yeah, my ass that’s why. I hug her as well because I missed my friend. I miss all of them.
That doesn’t stop me from calling her out on her blatant lie though. “Or is it because I told you I was dating someone and you needed to assess the situation?”
She doesn’t even attempt to deny it. “That’s exactly why. Also, you’re lucky it’s Brielle and me out here and not our overprotective husbands.”
I guess that’s a relief. But I don’t see her son. “And the baby? Did you bring him?”
Blakely scoffs. “Hell no we didn’t. This is a work trip.”
“Oh? Brielle works for us now?”
“She’s my assistant for the weekend.”
Brielle gives me an apologetic look. “Blakely needed a break from him and the dog, and you gave us the perfect excuse to run away.”
