by Bree Dahlia
I pulled out the phone in my pocket, and with no forethought, I dialed. There was no scrambling to remember because it’s nothing I’ll ever forget. While it rang, I spotted her sitting on the curb, bare legs stretched out in front of her.
She made no move to answer, and another fear seized me. I waited too long to reunite, let too much time pass us by. She’d already changed her number. Instead of waiting on fate to do its job, I should’ve been helping it along. But then I heard her sweet voice. It came through a recording, but it was more than I’d had in a long time. I cherished it.
I disconnected and erased all evidence just as Reyna came to my side, and I handed back the phone I was holding for her. The interruption was short, but it was enough for Maddie to disappear from my sight. When I searched for her again, she was nowhere to be found.
But that time left me with more faith than doubt. She would never change my only sure means of contacting her. She’s leaving our line of communication open, just as I left it open for her all those years ago.
We were created for each other, and someday we’ll live out our destiny. I only need to be patient. It’s impossible not to keep finding each other, keep coming together. Not when our hearts are guiding us. It’s happened before, and it will happen again.
So now, I stand in almost the exact spot I stood last week at almost the exact time. I wait to see if she’ll speak to the musician or stretch out on the curb. I wait to see if I’ll catch a glimpse of her beautiful face in the crowd.
I wait for my soul mate.
Reyna sidles up beside me in a flash of déjà vu, although this time she’s not distracting me. I hand back her phone that I hold for her while she does her shopping. She shows me a large bag of organic mixed greens; she’d like to make us a salad tonight. I smile and tell her that’d be wonderful.
We’re still legally separated. Never went through with the divorce. She doesn’t want one, and I won’t disgrace her with one. Not without just cause.
Loyalty over love.
There’s only one woman I’d ever break my vow for. And until that time comes, I’ll care for the wife who’s growing my child and wish it were her instead.
Epilogue
maddie
Three years later
“Dada!”
I turn around to a man, his back facing us. Same build, similar hair. “No, baby. Not Daddy. Just someone who looks like him.”
“Papa!” She points to some random stranger.
“Now she’s just messing with you.” Rowan pulls her from the stroller and sets my daughter on her lap, tugging down the Future Ghost Hunter shirt over her chubby belly.
I giggle and tickle her chin. “Not Grandpa either. Not until next week, silly.” I hand over her sippy cup and then her apple slices, but she ignores them, appearing to only want her book. Again. Could that make my heart any warmer?
Rowan bounces her on her knee, reaching over to pull Phoenix’s favorite story from the bottom of the stroller. “Don’t worry. Fairy Godmother Ro-Ro will grant your wish.”
She claps. “Ro-Ro.”
“Thanks,” I say, glancing around, distracted. But when I focus back on them cuddling together on the bright yellow bench, flipping through pages, my heart does get warmer. It turns all gooey like the butterscotch pudding my daughter begs for morning, noon, and night.
The book is still too old for her, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference. She’ll listen to the words, but she absorbs the pictures. My pictures. Not a whole lot can top that.
I began working on it during my pregnancy. I got another shot and didn’t waste it. A story about new beginnings, getting back up no matter how many times you fall, having strength and patience and faith. A gold and red phoenix rising from the ashes. It’s a beautiful, healing book. So much so that my daughter’s name was decided long before she came into the world.
Some things were just meant to be.
“I can’t believe I’m sitting on a giraffe.”
I laugh. “Not literally.” The children’s zoo is covered in animal benches. If it weren’t this, it’d be a flamingo or a zebra or a porcupine. “And you love it, you know it. You can’t wait to have one of your own.”
“Not if it means puking up my guts all over the place.”
“It was only a few months, and you’re going to honestly tell me it wouldn’t be worth it?” I squeeze my daughter’s cheeks, and she makes bubble noises. “While this adorable little thing’s on your lap?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just stick me in your mouth. I’m a sucker.”
Phoenix starts hopping up and down wildly. “Dada!” I turn to the real thing this time. Not the man I married, but someone even better. His face lights up when he sees me. Sees us. “Dadadadadada.” She’s flailing her arms, frantically trying to get to her favorite man in the world.
He scoops her up, giving me a kiss along the way. “How’s the zoo?”
“It’s no night in the cemetery,” Rowan says, “but we’re having fun.” She grabs Phoenix’s foot and shakes. “Aren’t we?” she coos.
Yeah, she’s a goner. I’d be surprised if she weren’t pregnant already.
I catch Rowan’s eye, and she nods toward Cain. He’s only joining us during his lunch break, and there’s not a lot of time. This isn’t something I want to put off.
“Can I talk to you a sec?”
“Of course.”
Rowan reaches up from the bench. “Give me the little peanut.” Cain hands her over, and I hear Rowan whisper in her ear, “Mommy has a ghost to bust.”
I give her a look as Cain takes my hand. We walk toward the butterfly garden. “What was that about?”
I pull out my phone and show him the text: Thinking of you. Always.
“It was sent this morning,” I say.
The first one in three years. The first form of contact in three years. To say I was thrown off was putting it mildly. I could’ve pretended like it never happened, but I don’t keep secrets from Cain. Never again.
“Did you reply?” He doesn’t even need to ask who it’s from. He knows.
“No.”
“Did you want to?”
“No.”
He lets out a breath, then wraps his arms around my waist. “So, now what?”
“I don’t know.”
I could block him, change my number, but would that fix anything? I’ve kept my same information for work contacts, and I’d prefer to leave it that way. I could ignore him or text back, telling him it’s over. For good. Would he accept that? Years ago, I can’t say with any certainty that I would have.
Letting go is a process, not a moment. But I can honestly say I’ve come to the end. When your heart finds everything it needs within, you can trust it to lead you where you need to go.
“Then there’s no other option. We’ll figure it out together.”
I nod. That’s the only way. I have nothing to hide. Cain only had suspicions the night he asked if I was cheating, but now he has the facts. Every single one. If we were going to start fresh, as he said, there was no other option.
I filled out divorce papers that day, but I never sent them. Instead, we separated for nearly a year, me staying in Milwaukee and him living in the house. He saw Andrea every week and worked through his memories until he could either let go or transform them into positive ones.
It was a long time apart, but I needed it just as much. I had no shortage of my own issues to face. It wasn’t until the end when we began dating again. It wasn’t long after that—minutes, actually—when we could no longer keep our hands off each other. I got pregnant while on the Pill. When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.
I’ve been back to Madison only once, a year ago for the farmers’ market. There’s no reason to go back. Cain transferred jobs, the house was sold, and my dad visits us here. Someday I’ll take Phoenix and show her around my birthplace, but for now, I’m in no rush. Milwaukee’s home.
Cain cups the back of my neck, bringing his lips to m
ine. It’s not out of hunger but connection. He’s telling me we’re good.
“My stellina.” He finishes with a kiss to my forehead. “Thank you for being open.”
“Thank you for being you.”
“You ready to get back to our daughter?”
“Yeah.” I’m ready to get pregnant again too, but that’s a conversation for tonight.
Together we walk to our Phoenix, who’s laughing hysterically while Rowan blows raspberries on her stomach. I still believe in destiny and soul mates and people who cross paths for a reason. I’m thankful for Jake coming back into my life, for being my catalyst. Because of him, I learned forgiveness, both how to give and receive it. I learned the difference between fantasy and reality. I learned that sometimes two people have to walk away in order to come back stronger, that the best way to save someone else is to save yourself first.
I learned that second loves are not second best.
And fairy tales.
Cain not only got me to believe in them again; he got me to believe in something better. Happily ever after doesn’t automatically come the first time. You can’t always find true love with your first love.
It’s when two complete hearts join together, the magic is found.
I hope you enjoyed Maddie and Cain’s “love story from rock bottom.” If you’d like to check out the rest of my catalog, please visit my page. I write in a variety of romance subgenres, from fun, flirty rom-coms to erotic heart-wrenchers.
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Author’s Note
This story has been a long time coming. Many of mine are—I roll them around for a while before ever putting down that first word, but this one haunted me for an exceptionally long time. Ever since Maddie and Cain first moved into their broken-down farmhouse.
I knew the couple before they married, and it was heartbreaking to see what they went through. It goes without saying that I didn’t use real names, and certain places and details were changed, but I kept all the events very real to life. I found their story so touching and beautiful, one filled with love and forgiveness. The only true bad guy was life’s circumstances. It’s not a black and white world. Things get ugly sometimes. People cheat and it’s not all flowers and romance. It can get really fucked up, and what fascinates me is when relationships not only survive the bad times but come out of them stronger than ever.
And I’m happy to report that’s exactly what happened. I wouldn’t have written their story otherwise. I’m not Rowan (although I do love me a good ghost story) but I agree with her prediction about them having ten kids and fifty grandkids and spending the rest of their days deliriously happy. Several years and three kids later, their marriage is as close to a fairy tale as you can find in real life, minus the myth of one. Because if they were in a fairy tale, they wouldn’t be together. They would’ve been living out their happily-ever-after with the very first one they dated. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s thankful that life doesn’t work that way ;)
My deepest gratitude to both Maddie and Cain for letting me share their experiences. It meant the world to me. Thank you.
This author’s note is probably the hardest one I’ve ever done. There is so much more I want to say but it’d likely go on for pages, so I’ll leave it with Jake… The only thing I’ll say about him is that I truly believe he’ll be pining away for Maddie for the rest of his life. She was the one he let get away. But it all worked out the way it was supposed to. In another time and place they might have been perfect for each other, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
Thank you for reading. If you liked the story, please consider leaving a review. It’d mean so much. And if you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hi, feel free to join my newsletter or contact me on Facebook or Goodreads.
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With love,
Bree
About the Author
Bree Dahlia is an unconventional romance junkie. Her stories range from lighthearted to sizzling with that satisfying happily-ever-after ending and a touch of the unexpected. She favors themes of friendship, forgiveness, and unconditional love with alpha characters and eccentric tastes.
She holds degrees that look pretty in a frame and has sampled a long string of jobs that have left a lot to be desired. Only as an author has she found her passion. When not crafting stories in her small Wisconsin town, she hikes unbeaten trails, watches hockey games, and wishes she didn’t detest cooking so much.
Dahlia is her middle name. Her last name is more suitable for a horror writer.
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