Mending Hearts (12 page)

Brooke and I sit on the bed and go through
each box. I fill one box with items that I want to keep for James
and me. I fill it with a couple tee shirts, a couple hoodies, and a
pair of Max’s Army fatigues. I also keep any pictures and postcards
that I find in the boxes. Brooke and I have gone through some of
the boxes before, but not all of them. I open a box and find
several paperback books that are all signed by the authors. Some of
the books are romance, some are nonfiction, and some are thrillers.
“Where did these come from?” I ask, holding up the signed
paperbacks. 

“
There’s an event called
‘Authors Supporting Our Troops.’ Authors donate signed paperbacks
and this place that holds the event distributes them to deployed
troops. Brice came home with some, too. It’s a great idea for a
great cause.” 

“
I had no idea. Max never
told me he was reading steamy romance novels in his downtime,” I
laugh. I take the books and place them on my night stand. Look, one
of the books is from author Brenda Kennedy. I love her because she
is the queen of cliffhangers. Who doesn’t love a good
cliffhanger?”

Once we are done and I have what I want,
Brooke and I carry the other boxes out to the hallway. I take the
box of items that I want to keep and place it on the top shelf in
James’ closet.

Brooke and I finish up in the bedroom just
as Brice and Alec walk in. Alec looks in each closet and smiles.
“It looks great up here.” He walks back to the doorway and says,
“Where do you want these boxes stored?” he asks, looking at the
boxes that say “Max.” 

“
I’m going to offer those
boxes to Danny and Cheryl. Brooke and I sorted through them, and I
kept a box for James, but everything else can go to Danny and
Cheryl, or we can donate them.” 

Alec walks over to me and says, “Are you
sure, Baby? I don’t mind you hanging on to them.” 

“
I know and thank you. I
just think it’s time. I took what I wanted for James. Brice, if
there’s anything in there you want, please help yourself.” I smile
so everyone knows that I am really ok with my
decision. 

“
If you’re sure, I would
like one of his tee shirts, a hoodie, or
something.” 

“
Please, help yourself. Max
would want you to have anything you want.”

Chapter Four: Chaos

Alec

“
Your bedrooms better be
picked up,” I yell as I make my way down the hallway. I walk in
Raelynn’s room and it is spotless. She is sitting on her bed
playing with her Barbie doll. “Wow, Rae, it looks great in here.
Thank you.” 

“
Thank you, Daddy, and
you’re welcome. James and I helped each other clean our
rooms.” 

I look around the room and
everything is put away. Even the toy box is out of view. I look on
the dresser and there isn’t anything on there. No lamp, no books,
no toys, nothing. I walk into James’ room and he is sitting on the
floor playing with his train. “Good job, James. Your room looks
wonderful.” I think to myself,
It’s clean,
almost too clean.
 

“
Thank you, Alec. Rae helped
me.”

In James’ room everything is put away.
Nothing is on his nightstand or dresser. No toy box, no toys
scattered about, nothing. 

“
Hey, James, it looks
fantastic in here,” Emma says as she walks into the room. She looks
around the room and looks over at me. She gets on her hands and
knees and looks under the bed. When she stands up, she says, “Um,
James, where is everything? 

“
Rae and I put everything in
the closet.”

I walk over to the closet with her and she
slowly opens the closet door. When nothing falls out, she opens the
door wider. Inside the closet is everything he owns but the
dresser, night stand, and his bed. His clothes are still in the
boxes and the boxes are piled in his closet. The toy box and all of
his toys are also in there.

“
I’ll be right back. I’m
going to check Rae’s room again,” I say. 

“
I think that’s a good
idea,” she says as she starts removing items from James’
closet.

I walk into Rae’s room and she is getting
something from inside her overstuffed closet. “What are you trying
to get, Rae?” I ask. 

“
I’m trying to get my
pajamas.” 

“
Where are they?” I walk
over and open her closet door wider. 

“
In one of these boxes,” she
says innocently.

“
I thought I asked you to
put your things away?” 

“
I did, Daddy. James and I
put everything away in here.” 

“
Here, let’s put everything
away where they need to be.” 

When Raelynn and I get
everything put away, we walk in James’ room. Emma and James are
sitting on the bed
unpacking
all the boxes. “The next time when we tell the
kids to put their things away, can you remind me to say, ‘Put them
away where they belong’?” I ask, trying hard not to
laugh.

“
Ok, I will.”

After the kids bathe and have a snack before
bed, Emma tucks in James and I tuck in Raelynn. Then I tuck in
James, and she tucks in Rae. It was much easier when the kids
shared a room. I walk into the bedroom and Emma is pulling back the
covers on the bed. “I need to shower before work tonight.”

“
I almost forgot about you
working nightshift tonight.” Emma walks over to me and hugs
me. 

“
This is my last week at the
hospital. Next Monday, I’ll be on dayshift at the
office.” 

“
It’ll be nice to sleep with
you every night.” Emma stands on her tiptoes to kiss me.

“
Yes, it will. This is
actually my last nightshift,” I admit.

“
That’s good, I miss you
when you’re gone.” 

“
Emma? Are you scared to
stay here tonight?” It just dawned on me that this is her first
night in the new house alone.

“
No, not scared, just
lonely. It’s a much bigger house than mine was,” she
says.

“
I’ll set the alarm when I
leave and I’ll make sure the gate is also locked,” I say, not fully
believing that she is lonely.

I finish up my three-week
notice
at the hospital. The kids both
started school and Emma leaves tonight to go to the book signing
with Brooke in Destin, Florida. “Do you have everything you need?”
I ask. 

“
I think so. I can’t believe
Brooke is writing a book, and I really can’t believe I’m going with
her to a book signing.” 

“
This is heavy. What’s in
here?” I ask, as I lift up Emma’s suitcase. 

“
My clothes and some
books.” 

“
Books?” I
ask. 

“
A lot of great authors will
be there. I already own their books so I want to get them
signed.” 

“
What do they call that?
Fan… something?” 

“
Fangirling?” she
says. 

“
That’s it. My girl’s
fangirling this weekend.” I laugh.

“
Don’t laugh. You should see
the list of authors that’s going to be there. DB Jones, ML
Steinbrunn, CM Hutton, David Bruce, Arden Aoide, Alice Clayton,
Savannah Grey, and Brenda Kennedy, to name a few.” 

I try hard not to laugh. “They do sound like
rock stars.” 

“
Come on, let’s go. I want
to get there early enough to enjoy the boat,” Brooke yells up the
stairs. 

“
Come on, fangirl. Let’s not
keep the future author waiting.” I laugh as I grab her luggage and
her hand.

Once everything is loaded up in the car, I
ask Emma and Brooke, “Are you sure you have everything you
need?”

“
I think so,” Emma says as
she looks around. 

“
Brooke, do you have the
directions to the hotel?” 

“
We’re not staying in a
hotel. I made reservations to stay on a houseboat,” she says,
smiling. 

“
You did?” Emma says
excitedly.

“
What kind of houseboat?” I
ask with concern etched on my face. 

“
This man posted it on
Craigslist. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s fine.” 

“
Brooke, I don’t think
that’s a good idea.” 

“
Relax, Al. I’m kidding. I
rented it through the Hilton. It’s fine, and besides Brice already
checked it out. Now can we go? I want to get there before
dark.” 

“
Emma, call me when you get
there, and Brooke, don’t call me Al.” 

Brooke

“
Al, you’re sexy when you’re
mad. Kiss your girlfriend so we can go. We’ll see you on
Sunday.” 

I pull out of the driveway and Emma looks
over at me. “Why do you do that?’ 

“
Do what?” 

“
Mess with him like
that?” 

“
Because it’s fun and he is
sexy when he’s mad,” I say, laughing. 

Emma and I talk non-stop on the drive to
Destin. We pull over at the rest area to call and check on the kids
when they get home from school. Once we know they are fine, we hit
the road again. We check in at the hotel first and then walk down
to the houseboat that is docked in the water behind the hotel.

“
Brooke, this place is
amazing.” 

I look around; it is small and cozy. “I knew
when I saw it online that we had to stay here.” 

“
It’s just so cute. I’m
surprised that Brice didn’t want to stay here with you,” Emma
says.

“
He did — well, he said he
did. But if I didn’t stay here this time, I would probably never
get another chance.”

Emma looks sad and says, “Brice won’t come
back here with you?”

“
No, Emma. He may say he
will, but he won’t. Don’t be sad, I’m ok with that. This is just
something you and I get to experience together.” 

“
Good, I love it. I’ll come
back with you whenever you want.” 

“
Good, I may hold you to
that.” 

“
What time is the book
signing tomorrow?” Emma asks. 

“
It’s 11 to 4. I bought us
VIP tickets, so we’ll get to go in to the signing an hour before
the general ticket holders. There is also a meet and greet tonight
at the hotel where the authors are staying if you want to go to
that.” 

“
I’m your guest. I’ll do
whatever you want to,” Emma says, yawning.

“
I kind of want to stay here
and relax tonight and then we can hit the signing up hard
tomorrow,” I say, yawning, too.

The next morning we have our coffee and
bagels outside on the houseboat while sitting at the small bistro
table facing the water. Although the houseboat is tied to the dock,
it still feels like we are floating in the middle of the water.
Because the houseboat belongs to the hotel, we are able to order
room service. We take turns getting ready in the small restroom for
the book signing. I wait for Emma to collect all of her books she
wants to get signed. “It’s a good thing we have VIP tickets because
I think you’ll need that extra hour,” I say, nodding at all the
books on the table.

Emma laughs, “I can’t help it. I already
owned the books, so I didn’t see the need to purchase them again
here.” 

“
I understand. Do you want
help?” 

“
No, I got it. Thanks
anyway,” Emma says as she tosses the canvas bag, holding the books,
over her shoulder. 

We wait in line with the other VIP ticket
holders. I swear Emma is just as excited as I am. “This place is
packed. It’s a good thing I brought my own books. They might sell
out of them.” 

“
I hope not. I was planning
on buying my books here. I’ll be pissed if they sell
out.” 

The doors open and everyone in line squeals.
They collect our tickets and hand us a seating chart of where the
authors are sitting. Emma and I have the same taste in books, so I
know we’ll be heading in the same direction.

Once we are inside the very
large room, everyone scatters in different directions. Long lines
are already forming at some of the tables. Emma and I get excited
when we see CM Hutton. I love her books, especially
Paradise Taken
. We wait in
line, and Emma gets in her bag and pulls out the book she needs
signed. We talk briefly and get our pictures taken with her. I am
pleasantly surprised she is as nice as I thought she would be. I
buy one of her books and she signs it for me. I also talk to her
briefly about writing and publishing and she is very helpful.
Before we leave, CM Hutton asks Emma if she wants her to sign her
bag. Emma looks shocked and then thinks that is a great
idea.

We stop at Savannah Grey’s
table. Emma pulls out her book
Coming
Home
as we wait in line to see her. She is
so sweet and nice. We take turns and get our pictures taken with
her. I buy one of her books,
Playing for
Keeps
, and as she signs it, I take some
book swag she has scattered around her table. Emma also has her
sign her bag, too. I once read that Savannah Grey also collects
signed paperbacks from other authors she signs with. I actually
heard that after the book signings, the authors go around and
exchange their books that didn’t sell with other
authors.

ML Steinbrunn is next. Emma
digs into her bag and pulls out ML Steinbrunn’s book
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
.
We anxiously wait in line to get our books signed. ML Steinbrunn is
sweet and kind. Emma asks her how her newborn son is, and ML is
shocked that Emma knows that fact about her. Emma explains that she
follows her on Facebook. We all laugh. ML Steinbrunn has ribbon
bookmarks she hands out to fans who purchase her books. I brag to
Emma that I have one, and the author also gives Emma
one.