Dying To Live

by Sam Carter

  Harlan took another drink and stared daggers at Cole. “Dude, that’s gross. She’s my friend. You can’t say stuff like that about her.”

  Of course, all of it came back to those twelve kids, especially Stacy. That day, six months ago, when Harlan got back to Stacy’s room, he expected to see that same fear in her eyes from when he left her. He even expected to see anger etched all over her dad. They finally knew who caused the accident that day. Finally knew who had changed their lives forever.

  “I . . . I . . . didn’t . . .”

  “It’s ok, Dr. Allred. Stacy is ok. We are all ok. She feels closure.”

  “Yeah. Don’t worry, Doctor. I’m good. You should be good, too. You saved me. Again! Let’s move on.”

  Once again, this little girl amazed him. He couldn’t believe her reaction then, and he still couldn’t believe it now.

  All the kids were fine today, thank goodness. No side effects or concerns in any way.

  “Of course, I still have all the other court cases to deal with. These lawsuits from some of the parents may never end. I get it. I would be mad, too. I am just glad the kids will never feel the pain they were feeling again, and I’ve been cleared by the medical board to practice medicine, so I can continue to try and help them still.”

  “I thought I would find you here.” Jack sat down next to Harlan and grabbed himself a root beer, too.

  “Why aren’t you watching the game? It is Opening Day and all,” Harlan said as they clinked their drinks together.

  “It’s not the same without you, Daddy,” Jack said with a smile. “Plus, I thought you could use the company.”

  Harlan looked at his son with awe and wonder. Grateful that after all he had been through, all that had happened, he still had his kids. Still had their belief in him. He was going to need that to make it through tomorrow and every day after that. He hadn’t told them about their mom and what had happened, and he never would. They needed her, too.

  “Let’s go, Dad. We can just walk. No baseball tonight. Nothing but you and me. Sound good?”

  Harlan smiled at his son and for the first time in a long time, or maybe ever, he realized he hadn’t failed at everything.

  Acknowledgements

  Before writing this book, I had no idea the amount of people it takes to write a novel. And I am not just talking about the editors. I could not have done this without the help and support of so many who want to see me succeed. There really are a lot of people to be thankful for.

  First, and most importantly, my amazing wife Amy, who never stopped pushing and giving me advice to help me get this book finally finished and the best it could be. She also dealt with my out of control stress as I worried about each word I wrote. I am not sure how she does it.

  For my mother, Susan, who read each and every draft I wrote with a fine-tooth comb. She found many things that I could do to improve the story and the grammar, all while encouraging me and letting me know she was proud of me.

  For my entire family, who spent countless hours reading over every single draft and letting me know their completely honest and helpful thoughts each time.

  For Melea Bird, Kylynn Sherry and Melissa Cantwell who took the difficult task of being the first people, outside of family, to read my book. Up until I finished, I would refer to their thoughts to make sure I was still on the right path.

  For Heidi Brockbank who tore my writing a part, so that it could be put back together in a way that the reader would love.

  For Melissa Burns, whose honest feedback helped me see parts of my writing that needed to be improved and let me know exactly how I could get there.

  For Cindy Jewkes, the world’s greatest copyeditor, who took the time to make sure everything was where it needed to be and even gave me invaluable advice along the way.

  This book is as much everyone mentioned above as it is mine.

  And one last thank you to Harlan Coben, the author whose novels are the reason I love to read and helped me gain a passion for writing. As I have been writing, all I wanted to do was make people feel the way his books make me feel too. Plus, he gave me permission to name my main character after him as long as he is, “a stallion of a man.” I tried my best and I hope Dr. Harlan Allred would make him proud.

  About the Author

  Husband, father of four and now author (author!) Sam Carter has always loved making people laugh in whatever way he possibly could. While this has never changed, he has come to realize it's not just making people laugh that brings him joy, but creating something that helps them escape and find happiness in any avenue they can find. When he's not working at his day job managing physician clinics, he's telling the world’s best dad jokes (ask his wife and kids), giving life changing advice (ask his oldest daughter) or writing down his thoughts on anything the comes to his mind with the hope it will make someone’s day a little better.

  He hopes you enjoy his debut novel, Dying to Live, and the many more novels he plans on writing for years to come.