by Abbi Glines
I kissed the top of her head. This woman had come into our lives when we needed her the most. She’d taught me to love again. To trust again. She’d given my daughter the kind of mother she deserved. She’d loved her like her own. And now she’d saved her life. My world before Charlotte had only one ray of light in it. My Dixie. But Charlotte gave it a rainbow.
“I love you, Charlotte Monroe. I became the luckiest man alive the day you walked into my life.”
She tilted her head back and looked up at me. “You and Dixie gave me the first joy I’d ever had in life. I’m the lucky one.”
I didn’t argue. She was pretty damn lucky, too. We all were.
Asher Sutton
STEEL WAS STANDING alone outside the waiting room when I made my way back in there to give everyone an update, and to give Luke and Charlotte some time alone with Dixie. I stopped and waited for him to say what he was out here to say. This moment was coming. I knew he had things he needed to say. It was only fair. This had been hard on him, too. We both almost lost the girl we loved.
“She woke up and wanted you,” he said simply.
It wasn’t a question, just a simple statement.
“When she was taken away and we didn’t know why or what was going on,” he paused. “My first thoughts weren’t of Dixie. They weren’t of me. The first thing that ran through my head was that you wouldn’t survive this. That was it. I was terrified, sure. The idea of Dixie . . . the whole damn thing was scary as hell. But my first thought was that you’d not make it through this if you lost her.”
He paused and looked away from me. I watched as he swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I loved Dixie. Hell, I’ll always care about her. But I love you more. You’re my brother. It took that moment to show me how I felt about it all. I was worried about you. If I was meant to be with Dixie, I’d have been thinking of her. Like you were. You cared about nothing else but knowing she was alive. That she was going to make it. The rest of us were scared for her, too. But we were mostly focused on being strong for you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Instead of talking, I closed the space between us and hugged him. For forgiving me, for loving me, for understanding that Dixie was my heart. She had been for longer than even I realized.
“I want that, though. One day. What you have with her. I want to feel that way for someone. Maybe not tomorrow, or even next month. Hell, I might be good for a few years. But one day,” he grinned as he said it.
“You will,” I told him. “But expect it to be anything but easy.”
“After what I’ve seen, what I’ve been through, I don’t think love is meant to be easy. At least not the kind worth having.”
He was right. Things that came easily were rarely worth keeping.
Heels clicking against the tile floor interrupted us. We both turned to see a familiar redhead. One that had made the twins’ life anything but easy.
“Charlotte texted me that she’s awake,” Scarlet said. She looked thinner and had dark circles under her eyes. The light that I was used to seeing in her eyes was dimmed. Dixie would hate to see that. She’d worry about her.
“Yeah, I can take you to her room,” I told her.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. I know she wants to see you.” Although I wished Scarlet looked a little less sad. For Dixie’s sake.
“I’ll go to the waiting room and, uh, manage things there,” Steel said, meaning he’d keep Brent and Bray in there and away from Scarlet.
“Good idea.”
Once he was gone, Scarlet said, “Looks like at least two of the Sutton boys have worked things out.”
“We always do,” I assured her. Because we did. We were brothers and shit may happen, but in the end, we were family.
“I want that for Brent and Bray,” she sounded broken.
“They will be fine, eventually. But they can’t get there if you’re around.” I knew that wasn’t easy for her to hear, but it was the truth and she needed to know it.
She nodded in agreement.
Dixie Monroe
MY BEDROOM HAD been filled with flowers from friends and family. They were finally starting to wilt and die. The hospital room got too full so they’d brought most of them home throughout the week that I was there. Asher stayed the nights with me. He wouldn’t leave my side and my dad said that if he or Mom stayed, Asher would just sleep in the waiting room on chairs. I begged them to let him stay with me. At least he had a sofa bed to sleep on in my room.
That week now seemed like a blur. I’d been home for over two weeks. My physical therapy was three times a week at a local place. Asher took me there and back to each appointment. We were together. We were no longer hiding.
When I’d first arrived home, it felt odd just even standing in that living room. I had basically died there. My heart had stopped beating. Thanks to my parents, it had only stopped for a few seconds before the paramedics arrived. But I had died in this very house and lived to tell about it.
Asher had stood behind me with his hand on my waist as I stared at the floor where I remembered everything going black. I didn’t remember any white lights or angels sending me back to earth. I wasn’t sure if that meant I hadn’t died at all or if that white light thing was just a myth. But I knew my life would have ended had my family not been there.
Being back home felt good, though. Everything felt brighter. Life felt more precious. I didn’t take anything for granted anymore. Asher came over after work every night and we had dinner together, watched television, and just laid out under the stars most nights. Being together was all that seemed to matter. We didn’t talk about his plans for the future, but we both knew I wasn’t going to Clemson now. Although the doctor said I could, I was scared. I knew in time I’d be brave again. I just needed some time to get used to this. I had enrolled at a junior college that I could drive to every day instead. Asher had one year left at Florida and being away from him was going to be difficult, but I would have him any way I could. I could survive the distance.
Tonight Asher had texted he’d be working late at the farm after he finished at the Feed and Seed. As much as I would miss him, I knew he’d given up all his free time for me. He had things he had to take care of and I couldn’t be selfish. I took a shallow bath so that my stitches didn’t get wet while I read a new book Mom had bought me. It helped pass the time.
When I stepped back into my room, I noticed there was a path of small envelopes leading to my window where my camera sat along with one last envelope leaning against it. I picked up the first one and opened it. Inside was a photo of me with Asher and Brent fishing with my dad at the lake. I was about nine years old. Smiling, I went to the next envelope and picked it up. It was a photo of me riding the handlebars of Asher’s bike across the farm when I was eleven.
Picking up the third envelope, I was anxious to see the next picture. It was of me at thirteen, my cheeks pink from blushing as I stared at the photographer. I was sitting outside on the fence watching the horses. Asher had taken that photo. He’d been taking photos of the new horse Dad had brought to show the Knolls. But he had started taking pictures of me instead and I’d been so shy around him. And completely in love. It was obvious in the photo.
The fourth one was of us. Our first photo of us officially being together. Mom had taken it on my birthday. The birthday he had kissed me and given me the charm for my bracelet.
The fifth photo was of us at his Senior Prom. It was taken one week before he stopped speaking to me. I wasn’t sure what the last envelope held. The prom photo had been the last one of us together. I opened it and found a note in it. “I’ll see you at the lake. Bring the camera. We are due a new photo.” Smiling, I put the note down and hurried to get dressed.
Pulling on a light blue sundress that fell just above my knees, I left my hair piled on top of my head because the summer nights were warm. It would still be sticky hot out there by the lake. I picked up the camera and headed downstairs.
&nbs
p; Both my parents were watching the evening news. “I’m going to see Asher at the lake,” I told them. “But someone had to let him in the house, so I guess y’all already know that.”
Mom smiled. “Yes. He promised he’d have you back soon. Be careful.”
“Be happy, baby girl. Just be happy,” Dad added.
They were odd a bit lately. But then again, they’d been through a very traumatic experience. No one could blame them for not being themselves just yet. I hurried to the path that led to the lake, excited about being alone with Asher again. I knew we weren’t going to be having sex just yet. I still had to discuss that with the doctor without my parents being present, but I could wait. I was happy just being alone with him.
I didn’t see Asher’s truck as I approached and wondered if I’d arrived before him. Maybe he had to take a shower first. I slowed my pace since I wasn’t supposed to be running anyway and began to sit down on the grass when I heard something behind me. I turned around hoping it wasn’t an animal out here in the darkness. And if it was one, I hoped it was the non-aggressive type.
Asher stepped out of the trees and into the moonlight. The silly smile on my face was unavoidable. Just seeing him made me feel that way.
“You’ve got the camera. Good,” he said as he walked over to me and took it from me.
“I agree, but it’s dark out here. We’ll need the flash.”
“Probably,” was his only response.
He pressed a kiss to my lips and I sighed from the pleasure. Then he walked over to the trees and sat my camera down there.
“That’s a nice camera to put in the grass,” I pointed out.
He looked amused. “It won’t be there long.”
I was about to ask him what he was planning on doing with it when he stopped in front of me. “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered. His hand caressed my left cheek as he looked into my eyes. “I thought for a moment I might not see this smile again. I wouldn’t have survived without you.” His words were spoken softly. As if he were thinking aloud. Allowing me into his thoughts. I started to speak, when he went down on one knee. I began to wonder if I was dreaming. Had I fallen asleep in the bathtub? This wasn’t even a daydream or fantasy I had ever been brave enough to enjoy because I never believed it would be mine.
He held out an ice blue velvet box and opened it. Inside was the most perfect ring in the world. I wasn’t sure what it looked like exactly because my eyes were filling with tears and blurring my vision, but Asher was holding it and he was on one knee and that made it perfect. It could be from a gumball machine for all I cared.
“I’ve loved you most of my life. Without you, my world has no laughter. No sunshine. No joy. You bring all that when you smile. I can’t do life without you. I tried. I need you, Dixie Monroe. I need you today and for the rest of our lives. Will you—”
“Yes!” I said on a sob, not waiting for him to even finish. “Yes, yes, yes!” I chanted. Then I paused. He had one year of college left. He’d be leaving soon. I wouldn’t let him give that up for me. Not because he feared losing me. He would never lose me.
“But you’ve got college.”
“So do you,” he replied. “And it’s just a year for me and we’ve got our entire lives together.”
He was right. We had forever. I wasn’t dying anytime soon. I had to live so I’d get this life with Asher I’d always wanted. “Yes! It’s still yes,” I said, wiping at the tears streaming down my face.
He stood up and pulled me into his arms before sliding the ring on my finger. It wasn’t from a gumball machine. It was a perfect teardrop shaped diamond.
A flash went off in the darkness causing me to jump. I blinked trying to regain my vision. Once I could focus again, I saw Asher smiling, his gaze toward the trees. I turned to see Brent, Bray, Dallas and Steel walking out of the woods. They all looked happy. Even Steel.
“It’s about damn time you married into this family. You’ve been trying to get in it since you could walk,” Bray said holding the camera and taking another shot.
I looked from them up to Asher. “I guess you Sutton boys don’t do anything alone.”
He shrugged. “We do some things. Just not the important things. And it doesn’t get any more important than this.”
A few more pictures were snapped as I laughed and wrapped my arms around him.
Each brother came up to me and hugged me before leaving. Each one having something to say in my ear just for me to hear. I knew Asher would ask me later what they said. And I would tell him.
When it was Steel’s turn, he whispered, “It’s okay now. I get it. We both knew it was always him.” It was bittersweet. I did care for Steel. He’d come along when I needed someone. He gave me some happiness during a dark time. I’d always love him for that.
After the last brother walked back into the woods, Asher brought my ringed finger to his mouth and kissed it. “Hard to believe this is real.”
I couldn’t agree more. “We went through a lot to get to this point but, Asher, I don’t want this to be because you thought you were going to lose me. I want you to be ready for this.” I feared that my almost death had made him move too fast on something too important to rush. I knew what I had just been through was the reason Steel was so accepting. When faced with death, you see the world differently.
“The day I kissed you outside my truck when you were fifteen, I started planning this moment. I’ve known you were my one since then, Dix. Even when I thought it was impossible. Your face . . . it was all I saw. All I’ll ever see.
And his would be the only one for me.
WHEN I WRITE a book it isn't just me involved. It takes many for my words to make it to publication.
Jack Britton Sullivan "Britt" aka "baby daddy"- he edits it all. I listen to his advice and he spends hours every day cleaning my writing up. Thank you!
Murphy Rae Indie Solutions- this cover could not be more perfect. Thank you!
Christine Borgford- makes my formatting awesome and pretty. I always love how she makes my stories look. Thank you!
Jane Dystel and Lauren Abramo- y'all support me no matter how I'm publishing: Traditional or self publishing. Thank you both! I am so very lucky to have a wonderful literary agency standing behind me.
Danielle Lagasse, Vicci Kaighan and Abbi's Army- these women are what keep me going on days I think I can't. When I'm down they remind me I have readers who can't wait for my next book. They promote me, share my books with others, and are all around the best street team ever.
Monica Tucker and Stefanie Burgett- I couldn't get through the day without these two. They handle the side of things I don't have time to do. I write, they do the rest. Thank you ladies!
ABBI GLINES IS a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Existence, and The Field Party Series . She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she was born in Alabama. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, shopping (major shoe and purse addiction), sneaking off to the movies alone, and listening to the drama in her teenagers lives while making mental notes on the good stuff to use later. Don’t judge.
You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways. She uses social media to procrastinate.
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ROSEMARY BEACH SERIES
Fallen Too Far
Never Too Far
Forever Too Far
Rush Too Far
Twisted Perfection
Simple Perfection
Take A Chance
One More Chance
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br /> You We’re Mine
Kiro’s Emily
When I’m Gone
When You’re Back
The Best Goodbye
Up In Flames
SEA BREEZE SERIES
Breathe
Because of Low
While It Lasts
Just For Now
Sometimes It Lasts
Misbehaving
Bad For You
Hold On Tight
Until The End
SEA BREEZE MEETS ROSEMARY BEACH
Like A Memory
THE FIELD PARTY SERIES
Until Friday Night
Under the Lights
After the Game (Coming August 22, 2017)
ONCE SHE DREAMED
Once She Dreamed (Part 1)
Once She Dreamed (Part 2)
THE VINCENT BOYS SERIES
The Vincent Boys
The Vincent Brothers
EXISTENCE TRILOGY
Existence (Book 1)
Predestined (Book 2)
Leif (Book 2.5)
Ceaseless (Book 3)
