Sweet Dandelion
Page 49
“How have you been?” Loraine asks me.
“Good.” I shrug. “Busy with the business. It’s taking off.”
“That’s amazing, Blaire. I’m so proud of you.” She beams. “How’s Ben? Is he getting enough sleep? I worry about him working these crazy shifts,” she rambles.
I frown slightly. “He’s doing okay, I guess. They’re taking a toll, but he doesn’t complain. This is what he wants to do, and it’s part of the job.”
She nods. “Still, it’s hard on a person.”
“It is,” I agree.
With a sigh, her shoulders fall like she has accepted defeat to the situation. “I just put everything out on the table before you guys arrived. I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starving,” I tell her.
She smiles up at me and then moves on into the kitchen with the pies to sit them on the counter. Everyone is gathered around the counter eating from a vegetable plate.
Bella runs over to me then and wraps her arms around my legs. “Aunt Blaire, look.” She points to an empty gap in her teeth. “I lost a tooth and the tooth fairy came. She left me five whole dollars.”
“Wow,” I say, bending down to her level, “that’s awesome, Bells.”
Her nose crinkles when she smiles and she hold her hands together while swaying slightly. “Daddy said I could buy a candy bar.” She frowns and adds in a whisper, “But mommy said that will rot my teeth.” She looks torn. “I really love candy, though.”
“Maybe you can get a piece of candy and not eat it all at once?” I suggest.
Her lips purse as she thinks this over. “I can live with that.”
“Dining room, everyone.” Loraine begins ushering us into the space.
Ben’s brother sits at the head of the table, with his wife and kids to his right. Loraine sits on his left and Ben and I take our spots beside her.
We bow our heads to say grace and then Jacob stands to carve the turkey. While he’s doing that, Bella begins to rattle off facts about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims that she’s learned in school. Once the turkey is carved we pass around the food in a circle until everyone’s plates are full.
A glass of water already sits beside my plate, but I decide to pour a glass of wine.
“I’ll have some too,” Ben says and takes the bottle from me when I finish.
“No drinking and driving.” Loraine points her fork at him and her eyes narrow. “House rules.”
“But, Ma—”
“No buts,” she counters.
Ben shrugs and takes a sip of wine. “Fine.”
She smiles.
Knowing Ben, he won’t drink any more than the glass, and it’ll be worn off by the time we’d leave, but I can tell Loraine wants us to stay. I feel bad. Her kids are grown and gone, and while Jacob and his family live nearby, they’re usually busy. She substitutes at the local high school some to pass the time, but I know she gets lonely.
“This is delicious, Loraine,” I say, taking a bite of homemade macaroni and cheese.
“Thank you.” She smiles.
“How’s it goin’ at the hospital?” Jacob asks Ben around a mouthful of food.
“Manners.” His wife, Melinda, smacks him softly in the arm. “You’re worse than our children.”
Jacob makes a dramatic show of swallowing his food and smiles at her. “Better?”
She nods, and I can tell she’s trying not to smile.
“It’s good,” Ben answers him, bringing a bite of turkey to his mouth.
“I don’t know how you do it.” Jacob shakes his head.
Ben shrugs. “It’s my passion. I like helping people.”
Jacob grins and shakes his head. “You’re something else, Ben.”
“Hey, Mr. Big Shot Lawyer, look who’s talking.”
Jacob chuckles. “True.”
Melinda turns to me. “One of my friends has a baby shower coming up, I told her you’re the best party planner around, so I’m sure she’ll contact you soon.”
“That would be great.” I nod. “I can give you some of my business cards too.”
“Oh, that would be perfect,” she replies.
Bella and Jackson begin to argue over a roll and Melinda sighs before interjecting and breaking up their fight.
I smile despite their bickering. I’m happy here, with Ben and his family. It feels like home.
Bring Me Back
Also by Micalea Smeltzer
Fallen Series
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In Your Heart
Take A Chance
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Always Too Late Short Story
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Light in the Dark Series
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When Stars Collide
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When Constellations Form
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The Road That Leads To Us
The Lies That Define Us
The Game That Break Us
Wild Collision
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Wild Collision
Wild Flame
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Enchant
Covet
Standalones
Beauty in the Ashes
Bring Me Back
Temptation
A Love Like Ours
The Other Side of Tomorrow
Jump (A 90s novella)
Desperately Seeking Roommate
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Whatever Happens
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Acknowledgments
No book is completed without help from a lot of different sources.
Emily Wittig, you were the first person I told about this book, the first one to read it, and then you created the most artistic and stunning cover I’ve ever seen that perfectly captures Dani and how she sees herself.
Barbara you mean so much to me and I’m so lucky to have someone like you on my side. You’re brilliant and amazing.
To my dog best friend Ollie, every book is completed with you by my side and I love you so, so, so much.
My family, thank you for your endless support. It means the world to me.
To everyone who reads a copy of this book, thank you for seeing something in this story. I hope you lived it every step of the way with Dani.
I hope Dani’s story stays with you all for a very long time. It meant the world to me writing it.