by Kim Karr
We’ve been through a lot, but I think things are finally going to go our way. Sure, I carry a heavy guilt around with me every day that Alex hasn’t had to pay for his sins, yet I know, at the same time, this city would have never have survived another corruption scandal. Maybe the ends don’t justify the means—but maybe, just maybe, they do.
“Who’s going to say grace?” Drew’s mom, Mrs. Kates, asks looking toward her son, pulling me from my dark thoughts.
I shove Alex out of my head.
“Don’t look at me,” Drew says to his mother.
“I’ll do it,” Jake pipes up.
Mrs. Crown pats Jake’s hand.
He stands up, Shannon looking at him with a look I know all too well in her eyes. Somehow, Pretty Boy let go of his dirty boy issues and is giving the relationship thing a try. I’m kind of proud of him. He clinks his glass with a spoon.
“Hey, Pretty Boy, Mrs. Kates said grace, not a toast,” Will mumbles.
Will’s mother leans over and whispers something into his ear. Using Alex’s contacts, Whitney was able to get her into one of the rehabilitation centers. She’s doing really well, so well in fact, that she was allowed a pass to join us for Christmas.
When his mother sits back, Will clears his throat. “Sorry, Jake, go on,” he mutters and takes Whitney’s hand in his and then his mother’s too.
I laugh so hard I can’t help myself.
My mother’s looming stare and tightening grip tell me I should shut up because I might be the next one to get scolded.
It seems the four women of Cass Corridor, who didn’t bond when their boys were younger, have now decided to jump on the bandwagon and join forces to try to control their grown sons’ antics.
Funny thing is—they’re doing it.
While Jake gives thanks for everything we have, I look over to my wife who is sitting beside me.
Beautiful.
Vibrant.
Fucking amazing.
Forgoing a long engagement, we got married a couple of weeks after I proposed. I didn’t want to wait and neither did she. She wore white. I wore a tux. Yes a tux. I even bought new dress shoes. We had a small ceremony and celebrated with everyone we care about. Even after we exchanged vows, nothing has really changed between Charlotte and I because the truth is—we’ve always belonged to each other.
Charlotte’s belly is now noticeably round and her breasts equally so. Dirty thoughts cross my mind. They’re on how much I love to suck those round tits, caress them, and cradle them in my hands. Then my mind goes clean when I look at her belly. At our unborn son. And I can’t help but think about what Charlotte has done to me. How she has made me a better man.
As if she knows I’m thinking about her, she catches my gaze and smiles.
Filled so much happiness, I squeeze her hand, and mouth, “I love you.”
In an instant, she mouths it back.
There’s absolutely no hesitation. We love each other. Now. And forever.
And as I look around my table, in the house I share with Charlotte, filled with all the people we both love, I can’t help but think how good it feels to be on the inside.
I may not know what the future has in store for all of us . . . but the one thing I do know is that never again in my life will I be the outsider looking in.
CHECKERED FLAG
Jasper
THE FIRST RAYS of sunshine break through the clouds.
I stare up at the sky. My eyelids flicker. Thinking. Pondering. Wrestling with the important decisions that are out of my control, and I wonder, “Will the race be canceled?”
Fingers crossed.
Engines scream to life as drivers start their cars.
Guess not.
An official walks through the rows of cars, checking that all safety procedures are being adhered to.
Searching, I finally find the blue helmet.
He looks in his mirror to see me staring at him. He gives me a nod.
He’s got this.
Jerking his head forward, he looks straight ahead.
Pulls his visor down.
The ten-second board is held up.
He grips the wheel.
Ready to do this.
He selects second gear for the wet track and revs the engine. Good choice. The dashboard needle climbs through the RPMs.
I grin.
The flag is waved.
He gives me the thumbs up.
My heart is a caged animal.
His foot hits the floor, and his engine screams that deafening, stomach-rearranging high-pitch scream that drowns out the roar of the crowd.
The car catapults forward violently, the wheels spin, leaving livid black scars on the asphalt.
My pulse is pounding.
He gets away first. A good start! He’s gaining speed right out of the gate. But within seconds, there’s a roadrat directly behind him, breathing down his neck. He starts to move faster.
Fuck.
Slow down.
As the roadrat roars past him, my heart beats out of my chest. He’s pushing it. Moving faster and faster still.
I can’t take it.
Slow down.
I’m breathing so hard my frame is shaking.
Over my shoulder, soft lips kiss my neck and whisper in my ear, “Lucas is doing great. Don’t be so nervous. Nothing is going to happen to him.”
“I know that,” I say defensively, although with a shaky voice.
I can feel her smile on my neck as she wraps her arms around me. Then I say again, softer, gentler this time, “I know that,” and put my hands over hers as I watch what has to be the longest quarter mile race of my life.
Lucas is ten and so much like me it scares the hell out of me. He walks fast. Talks fast. Moves fast. Go-karting is his passion and when he asked me if he could participate in this quarter mile race, I said no at first. It was Charlotte who talked me into letting him do it. “He’s safe with you by his side,” she told me. “You’d never let anything happen to him.”
She was right.
So I helped him prepare, but it’s me who isn’t prepared.
As he weaves in and out of the small lanes, my stomach twists and turns. Every engine that revs in the distance, causing my pulse to race faster and faster.
Slow down!
Sweat coats my brow as he comes into sight mere feet from the finish line. He’s neck and neck with the roadrat, but somehow he inches ahead, and as the checkered flag is lowered, the announcer declares, “Lucas Storm is the winner.”
I turn to Charlotte and lift her off her feet, twirling her in circles. “Did you see that? He won. He won!”
“I did,” she cries, holding me tight.
When I set her down, I gaze into her bright eyes.
She is still my light. My love. My best friend. My life.
And although the years have passed, nothing between us has changed.
Even with three kids, a mortgage, and a booming automotive factory . . . all I see when I look at her is the little girl who lived next door to me with the shining blue eyes the color of the summer sky and mounds of curly blond hair, who called me JJ.
The End!
I hope you have enjoyed Jasper and Charlotte’s journey as much as I did. ☺
Although I tried to stay true to Detroit’s landmarks, financial, and socioeconomic situation, I did take some liberties with facts, locations, dates, setting, and timing for the benefit of the story.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
SET THE PACE
TURN IT UP
BLOW
CRUSH
TOXIC
THE 27 CLUB
FRAYED
BLURRED
MENDED
DAZED
TORN
CONNECTED
And watch for
New novels coming soon!
Reader * Writer * Coffee-lover * Romantic
Kim is a daydreamer. So much so that if daydreaming could be a hobby it would b
e her favorite. It’s how her stories are born and how they take root. An imagination that runs wild is something to be thankful for, and she is very thankful. :)
She grew up in New York and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She’s always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level, but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and with the rest of her time embraces one of her biggest passions—writing.
Kim wears a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer mom, taxi driver, and the all-around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read.
She likes to believe in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends, and happily-ever-afters. She loves to drink champagne and listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.
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