August: Calendar Girl Book 8 Read Online Free PDF Page B

hair, and that sensation of familiarity piqued again. I must have run into this family before now, but I couldn’t place it.
    “Hi, I’m Mia.” I waved with one finger as Isabel tugged on her mom’s dress and swayed from side-to-side, her feet kicking dirt around. Her dress was covered in rainbows that suited a child of her age, which I knew from the car ride with Max, was four years old. “I like your dress.”
    Her green eyes got darker. “I love rainbows. They are so purdy.”
    “Yes, I agree. Have you ever seen a rainbow in real life?” I knelt down so I could look her in the eyes. She nodded with the exuberance only someone her age would do. “Me too. You know what they say about rainbows, don’t you?” Her sweet little eyes widened and she shook her head.
    “Well, Irish myth has it that at the end of a rainbow is a pot of gold. And the pot of gold is protected by a leprechaun! A little happy fella in a green suit and top hat!”
    She laughed. “Maybe we can find one while you’re here?” she said, hope thick in her tone.
    I shrugged. “Sounds like a worthy adventure. Next rainbow we see, we’ll be on the lookout. You and me. Okay?”
    Isabel grabbed my hand. Cyndi and Max looked down at the two of us holding hands. Surprise clear in the astonishing way they tried to speak but didn’t say anything. “I’ll show you our house. Do you like pancakes? Oh! What about Care Bears? Which one is your favorite?”
    When you had a child happily dragging you along, there was little that could be done other than follow, which I did. “Um, I love Lucky Bear, the one with the clover on his belly. And pancakes are yummy. Especially when you add chocolate syrup.”
    She stopped walking and turned around, crossed her hands over her chest, and stomped her tiny sandaled foot. “How come we never have chocolate syrup on our pancakes?” Isabel asked her parents, clearly thinking this issue deserved the full attention of anyone in earshot.
    Both Cyndi and Max laughed and shook their heads. “We’ll try it Mia’s way in the morning, Belly Boo,” Cyndi responded, petting her daughter’s hair. “You were going to show Mia her room, remember?”
    Isabel spun on a toe and giggled while running up the stairs. “Come on, Mia!” she yelled.
    “She always have this much energy?” I asked her mom and dad while trooping up the stairs after the exuberant one.
    “Yes!” They said in unison, and we all chuckled.
    “It’s going to be a fun month, I can already tell,” I said and turned around to see if they were following.
    Max rubbed at his neck and glanced at his wife. She looked away, not making eye contact with either one of us. “We’re glad you’re here, Mia,” was all he said, but the way he said it was odd, telling, and anxiety-inducing. I got the feeling that sooner rather than later I’d be thinking the exact opposite.
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    S ettled into my room that night, I pulled out my phone and called Wes.
    “Hey, sweetheart. You tucked in for the night?” he said without preamble.
    I smiled and snuggled deeper into the down comforter. “I am. How about you?”
    He yawned. “Not quite yet.”
    “You sound tired though.”
    Wes hummed a simple ‘mmm’ and the sound went straight through my body, softening and moistening the way I always did for him. Traitor.
    “I am. It’s been a long day. I miss you though. Less than a week, and I’ve already gotten used to having you in my bed.”
    Laughing, I played with a string I found hanging off the seam of the blanket. “You just miss fucking me.”
    “True. Having you naked in bed next to me definitely has that side effect. It’s nice not going to bed alone. I think that’s going to be the hardest part, alongside your snuffling breaths when you turn over and rub your nose and mouth into my arm and then proceed to drool all over it.”
    “I do not drool!”
    He laughed heartily, and it sent a shimmer of sadness through me, knowing it would be another three weeks