by J. S. Scott
I took it without hesitation. “Let’s go tell your family.”
“Our family,” he corrected.
I nodded at him, my eyes still teary as I walked beside him, daydreaming about the future.
Our love.
Our passion.
And our new baby who would never know anything except a loving family from the very start.
Tremendous pain had brought Xander and me together, but maybe that was why we were so tightly woven. Through that loneliness and sorrow, we’d learned to love and trust each other.
Xander stopped abruptly, looking at his family gathered together near the now-full picnic tables. “Mom and Dad would have loved this,” he said huskily.
“My family would have loved it, too,” I admitted.
Neither one of our comments was meant to be sad. Xander wrapped an arm around my waist and walked on without saying anything more.
We’d always acknowledge the people we missed, but we’d also learned how to appreciate what we had, and there was a whole tribe of Sinclairs waiting to hear our news.
Through pain comes strength.
I could almost hear my mom whispering those words in my mind. It had been one of her favorite sayings, and it had never been truer than it was for me right now.
“Thanks, Mom,” I mouthed, silently acknowledging that those we love are never really gone.
Xander and I were grinning like idiots by the time we got to the picnic tables to share our news.
Both of us were ready to move on with our new lives, and experience the happiness that had once been so damn elusive.
Xander squeezed my hand. “This is what it’s like to be happy,” he said quietly.
As I looked around at all of the family at the tables, I had to agree with the statement he actually made quite often.
Xander and I had definitely found happiness after a tremendous amount of sorrow. It wasn’t something we’d ever take for granted.
“This is definitely what it’s like,” I agreed with a contented sigh.
I had Xander.
I had our new baby on the way.
And I had family now.
I smiled as I watched Xander break the news, still wondering how I’d gotten lucky enough to be part of the Sinclair clan. Crazy or not, they were mine, my family, and I was never, ever going to let them go.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Americans consume more opioid drugs than people in any other country in the world, with millions of prescriptions written each year for chronic or acute pain. Now we’re facing an enormous public-health crisis. It didn’t happen overnight. Doctors have been prescribing an increased number of opioids each year, and the number began to rise in the 1980s and 1990s. Fast-forward to the present time, and we have more people dying from opioid overdoses than they probably do from car accidents, AIDS/HIV, or gun violence.
Heroin and fentanyl become the drugs of choice for addicted patients when they can no longer get their prescription opioids and start suffering not only their chronic pain, but the agony of opioid withdrawal.
As I write this note, there is currently bipartisan legislation under way on Capitol Hill to limit the amounts of opioids that can be prescribed to patients for acute pain. It may not be enough, but it would be a start, an acknowledgment of the underlying problem for the astronomical amount of deaths we are seeing from overdoses.
If you suspect you are or a loved one is addicted, please seek help from your physician, or one of the many online resources from hotlines to local rehab centers, depending on your location. Opioid addiction is a chronic brain disease, as it causes long-term changes to the biological structures of the organ. It’s complicated, so please don’t ever be afraid to seek the help you need.
If you don’t live in the Rust Belt or on the East Coast, maybe you haven’t heard about this epidemic. Maybe it hasn’t touched your life. But please know that it is happening, and public awareness of the crisis is the first step toward a permanent solution for the whole country.
XXX Jan
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank my editor, Maria Gomez, for her continued support of The Sinclairs. I appreciate the entire team at Montlake, and their enthusiasm for this series.
Thank you to my KA team of employees: Sandie, Natalie, Isa, and Annette. What would I do without you? You’re all amazing.
A huge shout out to my street team, Jan’s Gems, for all the work you ladies put into every release and sale. You know you rock, but I’m going to say it here anyway.
A huge thanks to my husband, Sri. This hasn’t been a very pleasant eighteen months for me, but you’ve managed to cope. I love you for your support, and for keeping everything else going smoothly when I have to write.
And lastly, thank you to my readers. Your support of this series has been incredible, and I’m so very grateful that you allow me to continue to do what I love.
XXX Jan
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2013 by Carrie Herzog
J.S. “Jan” Scott is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling romance author. She’s an avid reader of all types of books and literature, but romance has always been her genre of choice. Writing what she loves to read, Jan writes both contemporary and paranormal romances. They are almost always steamy, generally feature an alpha male, and have a happily ever after because she just can’t seem to write them any other way! She lives with her husband and two very spoiled German shepherds in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Jan loves to connect with readers.
You can visit her at:
Website: http://www.authorjsscott.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorjsscott
Twitter: You can tweet @AuthorJSScott
