Recovery by L. B. Simmons Read Free Book Online Page B

Kyndall’s sweet little voice next. “This one is of me and Daddy.”
    “That’s a great picture, Kyndall. You look so beautiful in it, and your Daddy looks very happy too. You should keep that one out so that you remember to put it in your new room.”
    Kyndall stalls a little before answering. “You wouldn’t mind? I mean, if I had a picture of him in the new house?” I press against the door to watch their interaction. Both of them are sitting on Kyndall’s bed, with an old photo album she must have found while packing up her room. Her bare feet dangle off the side of the bed while the photo album rests in her lap. Blake sits next to her, watching her intently.
    “Kyndall.” When she looks up at him, he takes her hand into his as he speaks. “Please, never, ever think that you shouldn’t have a picture of your daddy. Ever. He is, and always will be, your father. I want you to remember him always . You can wallpaper your room with his pictures if you want to.” Blake wraps his arms securely around her. Running his hand down her smooth, light brown hair, he adds, “You know, I was friends with your daddy. I think I might have a picture of us when we were kids. If I can find it, would you like to have it…for your room?”
    Excitedly, Kyndall releases him and nods her head, smile stretching all the way across her beautiful face. “My two favorite men in the world!” she exclaims. From the loving expression on his face, I can tell her words touch him deeply. He runs his hand down her hair one more time and gently strokes her cheek before standing up. “I’m flattered to be able to be with such great company. You know, your daddy loved you very much and I hope that you know that I love you too. You never have to worry about keeping his memory alive in our house. He was an amazing man and I’m honored to be able to follow in his footsteps in raising you girls.”
    As Kyndall moves to embrace him, I step back from the door and hurry towards the living room, not wanting to ruin this beautiful moment, for either of them.
    After a few seconds, I call for everyone to meet in the living room and we load up in the car. Blake drives, singing along with the girls to the radio. He says very little to me, I notice, and I’m still upset too. I know it’s probably just hormones, but I feel as though he’s attacking everything I do.
    The way I raise the girls.
    The way I lift boxes.
    The way I pick duct tape off of the floor.
    Once we arrive at the lake, I grab the blanket from the back of the Suburban and spread it on the ground. We just barely make it, but, hey …we make it.
    Taking a seat by Nycole, I watch Blake as he continues to stand, holding onto Kyndall’s hand with Rylie on his shoulders. As the fireworks start, Rylie gasps as they explode over her head. She and Blake point toward the sky and I watch the shimmering light reflecting off her face. Her eyes are almost as wide as her smile, and my heart warms knowing she’s so happy. Blake lifts Kyndall’s hand, pointing and guiding her eyes to a beautiful red, white and blue displays in the sky. When he drops it back down, she leans her head and places it on his forearm as she continues to look at the sky, beautiful eyes widened with excitement and joy.
    I glance over at Nycole sitting next to me and put my arm around her. Pressing her head down on my shoulder, I lay my cheek on her forehead as we watch in silence. Halfway through, I glance back up at Blake, who’s in almost as much awe as the girls. The look of wonderment in his eyes makes me grin. Pushing myself off the ground, I stand and move to his side, taking his hand into mine. He smiles, but something’s different. Something is looming between us, and I don’t like it, not one bit.
    Sadly, I have a gut feeling that like two pieces of flint rock, the tension filled shift between us tonight ignited a spark, lighting the fuse to our very own Morgan family firework show.
    One capable of blowing us