The Falling Kind

by Kennedy, Randileigh

  I said goodnight, making my way into the back bedroom of the camper. I changed into some sleep clothes, thankful I brought some actual yoga pants to wear instead of the short shorts Cole saw me in the first night we’d met. I laid down, replaying so much of the time we’d spent together in my mind, longing for the chance to continue all of that. Within a few minutes, I drifted off into a deep, restful sleep.

  A loud buzzing sound woke up me. The clock next to the bed read five-thirty. I quickly grabbed my phone off the side table, assuming that’s where the sound was coming from. It took me a minute to realize the noise was actually coming from outside the camper.

  A motorcycle.

  I stood up immediately, quickly trying to throw on the wedge sandals I had on the night before. I ran out the camper door in my yoga pants, a camisole, and my wedge heels, probably looking completely ridiculous. A grey motorcycle pulled up to the trailer.

  My heart sped up and I felt delirious. The sun wasn’t even up yet, but between the moon and the small outside light attached to the camper, it was enough. I could see Cole perfectly as he shut off the engine of his bike.

  “Sydney?” he said in shock, probably quite surprised to see me. He climbed off his bike, walking towards me. “What are you doing here?”

  “You asked me in your letter to come and get you,” I said with a playful shrug. “I wasn’t sure where else to find you, other than under some avocado trees.”

  He walked up to me and put a firm arm around my waist, pulling me in and kissing me with even more intensity than I expected.

  “I thought we were still working our way around the bases,” he teased as he slowly pulled his face away from mine. “I thought we were meeting by home plate. I didn’t think I would see you before then.”

  “You’re home base for me,” I whispered. He kissed me again and I knew everything was falling into place. This moment, standing in the dirt with his arms wrapped around me, it felt more like home than anything I’d felt before.

  “The sign, Bryce,” Cole said loudly, banging on the camper door. He must’ve known he was still there from his motorcycle parked out front by Cole’s.

  Bryce came scurrying out, holding the large wooden board he had last night. He looked ridiculous in his sweat pants, no shirt, and grey slippers as he quickly attached the board to a small pole that had been placed outside the camper.

  “There’s just one thing,” Cole said mischievously. “I made a promise to you. Just you and me, remember?”

  “Are you saying you want Bryce to live with us too in this beautiful camper?” I teased.

  “I’m just saying I don’t want you to be alone with me,” he replied with a smirk. He led me over to the wooden sign where Bryce stood beaming, admiring his work.

  Sydney’s Animal Sanctuary. It was carved into the wood and it was absolutely beautiful.

  A slow tear crept out of the corner of my eye. “Really?” I said in disbelief.

  “We can change the name if you want,” he shrugged. “But it’s a start. I already have all the permits, I’ve been working on those for awhile. So maybe it’s not just you and me, but also every creature you come across that you just can’t say no to.”

  “Why are you doing all of this for me?”

  “Because you rescued me,” he said quietly. “And I know you’re not done yet.”

  I stared into his eyes as the sun started slowly creeping up over the horizon. There were so many unspoken words between us here in this moment – I had so many questions, and wanted to know so much about where he’d been and about what truly happened. But I knew that no matter what he’d done, that’s not who he was to me. He was simply just the guy I’d fallen for, and he was standing here in front of me giving me everything I’d ever wanted. I fell for him as innocently as any girl should fall for a boy – he made me laugh, promised to keep me safe from the cruelty of the world, and he loved me as fiercely as any man could. That was everything a girl needed. For the first time in my life, I felt rescued. And I knew no matter what his past looked like, this was our beginning.

  EPILOGUE

  “Are you ready to come in for dinner yet?” I asked as Cole was still out hammering away on the roof of our soon-to-be ready house. He spent long hours working on it when he wasn’t down at the bike shop. We were still living in the camper while he finished up the house.

  “It depends, are we having tacos?” he smirked.

  “No, pasta,” I replied, smiling at the fact that Cole really did buy me a pasta maker. He gave it to me as a wedding present after we left the courthouse, right before we headed to my first San Diego Padres game. I mentioned the pasta maker once in passing, and he never forgot. He was amazing like that. The 300 pairs of shoes I also mentioned, however, he wanted to debate, but I was okay with his hesitation on that.

  “Did you already do the evening feeding?” he asked, climbing down the ladder. Cole built a small barn and put up a bunch of fences for me before he even started working on our house.

  “Of course, the pigs all got their pellets, the two horses got their hay, the goats got last night’s leftovers and the cats are ignoring me, so they can catch the barn mice until they want to apologize,” I shrugged.

  Sure enough, Cole worked tirelessly to give me everything I dreamed of. He bought a great building space in town to start up his own motorcycle repair shop, and he was already bringing in good business with that. He worked on our house in his spare time, set back on our property with a perfect view of the ocean in the distance just like we’d talked about all those months ago.

  The animal sanctuary took off quickly, and I had Dr. Nikki to thank for that. As soon as I told her I wouldn’t make it back to the clinic, she didn’t hesitate to offer me all the help she could with the rescue. She had even been out to visit a couple times to help me with some of the logistics and I was so grateful for her help.

  The situation back home in Mountain Ridge had largely resolved shortly after it all went down, but we both had no desire to go back. This was our life now, and we were so happy. Cole’s father, Grady, ended up taking the fall for the entire thing. I wasn’t convinced he was solely responsible for it all, but Cole and I never brought it up. It really didn’t matter, but the conversation I had with Cole’s father that night after it all went down, it replayed in my mind often. He said he had one last right to wrong, and I always wondered if that meant setting Cole free from the consequences of Grady abandoning him in the first place. I wondered if that was his last attempt at Cole’s forgiveness – taking the fall for him just to release him from all the wrongdoings he suffered as a result of the hands Grady left him in.

  Cole came in for dinner and as he sat down at the table, I quietly faced him with a serious expression. “I have to tell you something,” I said, my voice full of emotion.

  “What is it?” he asked with concern.

  I unhooked the silver necklace from around my neck, the one he gave me back when we were still dating. I slid the ring off the chain, slowly pushing it towards him across the table. “I can’t do this anymore. You and me… It’s over.” A slow tear slid down my cheek and Cole looked panicked.

  “What’s wrong? What happened?” he said, reaching out for my hand. “Whatever it is, we can get through it. Together.”

  “Good, because this baby needs a father,” I said, finally turning my lips up into a smile. I pulled an ultrasound picture out of my lap and slid it across the table towards him. “There’s no more you and me.” I paused for dramatic effect. “There’s going to be one more.”

  Cole’s face immediately lit up, and he stood up from the table, pulling me into his arms.

  “Seriously?” he exclaimed, still beaming as he held me tight. “Oh, Syd. Really?”

  “Yes,” I replied, kissing him tenderly. “But we still have a few months before finding out if it’s a boy or girl.”

  “I don’t care what it is, there’s only one thing that matters,” he said softly.

  “That the ba
by is healthy, I know,” I snickered.

  “That’s not what I was going to say at all,” he replied, his lips curling up into a grin. He gently lifted my face up towards him. “This baby has to love tacos and baseball.”

  I smiled, tracing my finger around the latest tattoo on Cole’s arm. It was a baseball diamond with the date 707 on it.

  “I think no matter what, the baby will look up to his father,” I said sincerely.

  Cole scooped me up and carried me to the back of the camper, trailing kisses down my neck.

  I never had those dreams of falling ever again – those ones that enveloped me in fear of failure and uncertainty after Ian. I suppose that was because I wasn’t falling at all anymore – I had been caught by these arms that promised me I’d be the girl he’d love forever. No more hesitation – just pigs, a pasta maker, and a man to love me the rest of my life. The only thing I had left to want were the shoes… But I didn’t care how long I had to wait for that. I learned love wasn’t about choosing someone perfect – but rather about loving someone’s imperfections perfectly, despite their circumstances – and Cole was every bit of imperfection worth falling for. Not someone to give up on, or change my mind on – no, he was the best kind of man to love – the falling kind.

  About the Author

  Randileigh Kennedy grew up in Nevada and now resides in the Midwest. When she isn’t writing, she stays busy planning random theme parties and working on crafty DIY projects, which are all featured on her blog at www.randileighkennedy.com. You can also follow her on social media (Facebook – Randileigh Kennedy, and Twitter - @randileighk) - but expect more pictures of her mini pig Kevin Bacon than you’ll see of her human children and insanely handsome husband.

  If you enjoyed this book, please make sure you leave a review on Amazon.com – your feedback helps out tremendously.

  Be sure to check out other books from Randileigh, including Ten Seconds of Crazy, along with the Six Series, all available at Amazon.com. For more information, you can visit her Amazon author page at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/BooJHoFMQQ.