Tangled Hearts (Evermore 4 Book Box Set)

by ANDREA SMITH

  Four years later.

  “Mrs. Drake, I’m finished. Come see!” Emily Rankin squeals from her seat at the middle table. Six year-old Emily is probably the most enthusiastic student in the group of six I give private lessons to on Saturdays.

  They are all six year olds, and they all seem to enjoy learning, but Emily is by far the most passionate amongst them.

  I stroll over to where she sits beaming as she hands me her water color abstract. “See?” she says, pointing her finger at it, “Fish and birds. Animal abstract just like you said.”

  “Why this is very good,” I say. “Your use of color and blending really make this pop. Great job, Em.”

  “I think Daddy will probably hang this one in his office too. He already has three of them up there.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised,” I agree. “I’m sure he loves showing off your talent to his clients.” I give her a wink and continue around the room, checking the progress or lack thereof with the other students.

  “Mrs. Drake,” William Winters calls out from the other side of the room, “Evan got into the paint again and smeared it all over the table,” he continues, not attempting to mask his obvious irritation.

  “I’ll get a rag,” I call out, grabbing a clean one from the bin. “Evan Drake,” I say sternly, as I wipe the water paint from his little fingers first. Thank God we weren’t working with oils yet. “What did Mommy tell you about finger painting on the furniture, huh?”

  “Sorry,” he says sheepishly, as he looks up at me with Seth’s eyes, “I forgot.”

  I can’t contain the smile that forces its way onto my lips. He is three years old. Three-year-olds forget. It happens. “Well try to remember from now on, okay? Paint belongs on paper or canvas, or other surfaces that your teacher allows. Not on tables or chairs or skin.”

  “Okay,” he says with a nod and a grin, his dimple making an appearance.

  “Okay then. Will you please clean the mess up and then put the rag in the bin with the dirty ones?”

  “Yes, Mommy,” he replies, clutching the rag in his hand and turning back towards the table. I sigh.

  My little guy is my world. He is the sole reason I had for going on with my life when all else seemed lost.

  Evan is the picture of Seth. His dark hair. His blue eyes. His crooked grin and playful dimple. Even his disposition reminds me of his father. Seth would have been so damn proud of his little boy.

  My heart still aches at times for my loss. Would my world ever be the same again after 9/11?

  Probably not.

  But then again, what American wasn’t touched by the events of that day?

  We all lost something.

  Some more than others for sure, but a piece of all of us was taken when those planes crashed and those buildings fell, and life as we knew it would be forever changed in America.

  I stayed in Pocatello. There was no way I would abandon the dream that Seth had made possible for us. It is where he wanted our child to be raised. It is where I’m raising Evan Drake, and I know my late husband would approve.

  Daddy visits us a couple of times a year, and in fact, he’s going to be investing in a condo at the nearby ski resort. He says he may just retire out here, but that’s a few years away. We’ll see.

  Jazzy is married and is expecting her first baby, a girl, next month. She married Cedric Van Waldren and still lives in L.A. I’m taking Evan to spend three weeks out there once she has the baby. There’s no way I’d miss that.

  The Drakes are always happy to have us visit, and we try to get out that way a couple times a year. They come to Idaho every Christmas. It’s a tradition we started that very first Christmas after Seth died.

  After the tragedy of that day, Mama and Merle had come out and stayed with me until after Evan was born. They were caring and supportive, and Mama loves her grandson to the moon and back. She and Merle still visit every summer. We’re closer than we’ve ever been which is a blessing for sure.

  Something strange happened the last time Mama came out for a visit. She pulled a small velvet pouch from her suitcase and handed it to me. “I found this at the bottom of one of those boxes that had our stuff in it from the apartment, Neilah Grace. Merle cleaned out Mama’s basement before she moved into her new apartment at the retirement home. It must’ve fell out of one of those letters Seth sent you that I kept. I thought you’d probably want it.”

  I untied the drawstring and shook the contents of the pouch out into the palm of my hand. It was the promise ring that Seth had given me that Christmas. The one I had returned to him. I’d never known what he’d done with it; I’d never thought to ask him. I held it up in front of my face and turned it slowly so that the sunlight captured the sparkle of the pink diamond.

  “He sent it back?” I asked looking over at Mama.

  “Well, he must have,” she replied. “How else would it have come to be in that box?”

  I slipped it on my finger and suddenly felt the heaviness in my heart lighten. I’d been all through those boxes in Grandma’s basement. There’d been no sign of that ring then, and neither of those letters had mentioned him returning it. I smiled with the knowledge that Seth had sent me a message from beyond. He’d sent me a promise.

  It’s been a tough road, I won’t lie. I spent many hours in therapy after I finally accepted the truth that Seth was gone. I went through so many emotions—some I never even knew existed. All that we’d been through before that day. How could life deal such a harrowing blow like that?

  But now, four years later, I am finally at a place where I’m at peace with God, with my life, and with myself. I cherish each and every memory I have of Seth, and I constantly tell Evan about his daddy, show him pictures, videos, television shows, and eventually, I’ll show him his father’s legacy as a film star. But that is an “R” rated thing, so it will be when he’s much older.

  Evan knows that his daddy watches over him from Heaven, where he is right now with his older sister, Drake, and that someday we’ll all be together.

  I haven’t dated since losing Seth and I’m not in any hurry to do so. Even though his family—and mine keep pushing me to put myself back out there, I’m just not ready yet.

  And even little Emily Rankin has been playing matchmaker. Her father, Henry, is a widower. Em’s mother died when she was just two years old of a rare form of leukemia. Em doesn’t remember her, but she is constantly inviting me and Evan to stop by their house for lunch or dinner. I feel sorry for Henry.

  Just then someone walks into the room and I hear Emily holler. “Daddy, come see what I made for your office!”

  Henry Rankin is 30ish, and very nice looking. He’s got sandy brown hair, green eyes and, for a lawyer, seems to be pretty laid back.

  I watch as he crouches down to examine his daughter’s latest masterpiece. I tell the rest of the children to start cleaning up their areas as the class is over in ten minutes.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Henry says as he walks over to where I’m starting to box up the art supplies. “Em’s got an interview in twenty minutes, so I needed to pick her up a little early today.”

  “Aha,” I reply, giving him a smile, “Putting her to work already I see.”

  He chuckles and I notice what a nice, genuine smile he has. “Ah, no,” he replies still smiling, “The interview is for a pet adoption. They do that now. She’s been after me to get a rescue dog. She’s really into it. They want to make sure she understands the responsibilities of owning a pet, and the care that goes into it.”

  “Really?” I ask, “I’m impressed. If I know Emily, she’ll certainly take her responsibilities to heart. She’s a great kid, Henry.”

  He flushes with the compliment. “Thank you, Neely. She thinks the world of you, and of this one,” he says, scooping up Evan as he runs up to us.

  Evan giggles happily as Henry perches him up on his shoulders. “How you doing, Champ?” he asks him.

  For a
moment, a tinge of resentment surfaces within me seeing another man jostling Seth’s son on his shoulders when it should be Seth doing that. I quickly let the feeling go, because as my counselor has repeatedly told me, it serves no useful purpose.

  “He’s getting big,” Henry remarks, lifting him up and off of his shoulders and placing him safely back on the ground. “Maybe sometime you and he can come by for some rough housing?”

  My eyes quickly dart upward to meet his. His face colors as he realizes how that sounded. “Uh, I meant the boy,” he clarifies. “You know, a boy needs some rough housing now and again.”

  I smile and nod. “I understand, Henry. We’ll see.”

  Just then Emily is back with her jacket and hat on. “I’m ready, Daddy. Let’s go get our dog. Bye Mrs. Drake. See you next Saturday.”

  “Bye Em, and good luck on your interview,” I call out as they turn to leave. I pause for a moment, and then out of the blue I call out to them. “Maybe next Saturday, Henry?”

  He stops and turns around to face me.

  “About that rough housing I mean.”

  He breaks into a wide grin and nods. “Sounds like a plan,” he says. “See you next Saturday, Neely.”

  THE END

  About the Author

  Andrea Smith is a USA Today and Amazon Best-Selling Author of the G-Man Series! She has a wicked sense of humor, and no matter the genre, she is able to infuse laughter throughout.

  She self-publishes Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, and Sensual Romance with a paranormal twist. She also writes New Adult Romance, and has recently collaborated with Author Eva LeNoir on two M/M Romances, with the third releasing Fall 2016!

  Here is a listing of her published fiction to date:

  Baby Series (New Adult Romance/Suspense)

  These Books should be read in order:

  Maybe Baby (Book 1)

  Baby Love (Book 2)

  Be My Baby (Book 3)

  Baby Come Back (Novella)(Book 3.5)

  G-Man Series (Contemporary Romance/Suspense)

  Can be standalones, but are most enjoyable if read in order.

  Diamond Girl (Book 1)

  Love Plus One (Book 2)

  Night Moves (Book 3)

  G-Men Holiday Wrap (Novella) (Book 3.5)

  These Men (Spin-off) Part of the BEND anthology. (M/F/M)

  My Men (Sequel to “These Men” (M/F/M)

  Taz (G-Man Book 4)

  G-Man: Next Generation (New Adult Romance)

  Walk of Shame (Book 1)

  WTF? Series

  Jaded

  Limbo Series (Contemporary Steamy Romance)

  Silent Whisper

  Clouds in My Coffee

  September Series (New Adult- Taboo)

  Need to be read in order.

  Until September (Book 1)

  When September Ends (Book 2)

  M/M Romance

  Black Balled (Co-Authored with Eva LeNoir)

  Guns Blazing (Spin-Off from Black Balled)

  Hard Edit (Sequel to “Black Balled” with Eva LeNoir)

  YA Suspense

  Southern Comfort

  Social Media Links:

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  GOODREADS:

  www.goodreads.com/author/show/6869343.Andrea_Smith