Love So Unexpected (The Lawson Brothers Book 6) by Marquita Valentine

Author:Marquita Valentine [Valentine, Marquita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Valentine Publishing, LLC
Published: 2016-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Caleb stood at Iris’s grave, a fresh bouquet in his hand. He took out the old ones and placed the new ones in the vase.

“I met someone,” he confessed. “You would like her, I think. She’s ah ... I like her. Maybe more than like her.”

The wind blew, ruffling his hair. For a moment, he slipped back into his grief and pretended it was Iris touching him.

“Can’t keep doing that,” he mumbled, then cleared his throat. “Sofia—that’s her name—is exactly what I need. She doesn’t mind when I’m quiet, and she likes to cook. Back home, she used to be a chef in fancy restaurants that the two of us couldn’t afford.”

He laughed a little, then got quiet and sat down on the bench beside her grave. He felt like he owed Iris by coming here every Wednesday. Her parents had long since moved away, their grief for their daughter too overwhelming to stay in Jessamine.

They still visited her grave, just not as often as he did, but she’d been his wife.

“We tease each other a lot, and I got Old Blue working for her. Remember when we drove that truck down to the beach and got it stuck? Should’ve known the sand was too soft for two-wheel drive.”

There was a light touch on his shoulder, and he jerked his head around. Sofia stood there, tears in her beautiful brown eyes.

“Hey, uh...” he began, unable to find the words to finish his explanation.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you. Thought I could sit with you and pay my respects.” Without waiting for him to say otherwise, she sat and grabbed his hand, squeezing once before letting go.

“How did you know I was here?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“While I was driving around, I saw your truck from the road.” She sighed thickly. “Apple said you visited your wife every Wednesday. This wasn’t what I imagined.”

“It wasn’t what I imagined either,” he said honestly.

Sofia’s gaze flicked to the headstone. “She was so young.”

“We both were.” He clenched his jaw, unwilling to let those awful memories into the forefront of his mind. “She suffered from seizures. Had one while she was driving to the ... driving to town ... and hit a tree. Her heart couldn’t take it. I got to say goodbye though.”

“How?”

“Happened upon the accident.”

Sofia’s lips trembled. “I found my mother. She’d died of a brain aneurysm. One minute we were on the phone, and then the next, the line went dead. Or so I thought. I ran the entire way home from school because I felt something was wrong.” She touched her chest. “Turns out I was right. There was nothing anyone could have done. It was a freak thing.”

“That’s what I was told about Iris, but I’m not so sure about that.”

“Quit beating yourself up. It’s not only useless, it’s not fair to you or her memory.”

He looked at Sofia in wonder. Her eyes were empathetic. “You’re the first person to put it like that.”

“That’s because I know what it’s like to lose the most important person in your life.

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