by Sara Marion
She walked as quickly as her tired legs would carry her. Hopefully this was just for a consult. She rounded the corner and went to the nurses’ station. She didn’t see but a few patients in there.
“Someone paged me?” She asked one of the nurses behind the desk.
“Yes, bed 5 needs you,” she smiled. She handed Paxton a clipboard with the patient’s sheet.
Paxton looked it over. Male, mid-thirties, chest pain, anxiety. Paxton rolled her eyes, why would she need to see this patient. She pulled the curtain back and saw Duke sitting there. Paxton gasped and stared at him.
“Duke-”
“I wanted to say this to your face not over the phone. I know Jack is sneaking off to see you after he thinks I have fallen asleep. He thinks he gets back and I don’t hear him come in. I see you have made your choice, so stop calling me. Stop texting me, stop contacting me all together. In fact, I want you to forget about me. Forget that I gave you my heart. Forget everything about me. I want nothing to do with you. I don’t want you out to see Ella or my baby.” The venom in his voice brought Paxton to tears.
“I can’t do that Duke. You can’t ask me to stay away from Ella, you just can’t. I won’t give up on you either-”
“You made your choice and it wasn’t me. You can’t have us both.”
“You listen to me Duke, you listen good. You’re my friend and I’m not leaving you. I know I hurt you, I know that. I know I dismantled everything. I sent you back to the day you lost Ella, but I am not giving up on you. Yes, I made my choice. It’s Jack but I choose you too. You are my friend, like it or not. I will keep coming back for you. You helped me when I needed it and now you are stuck with me. So get your sorry ass off this bed and get back to the house before you say something you regret.”
Duke stared at her. The hatred in his eyes didn’t diminish. He did get up and stare at her as he walked out the hospital door. Paxton sighed. She now knew how badly he was hurting and she needed a few moments to herself. She closed the curtain around her and refused to let the tears fall. She deserved every ounce of anger he threw at her. She fought the tears for a few minutes before winning. They didn’t fall. She took a deep breath and went back to the on-call room.
***
Paxton arrived back at the house. She was exhausted. The scene with Duke played over and over in her head. She wasn’t angry with him but he didn’t need to do that at the hospital. Anywhere else except her work establishment would have been better suited for that. She walked into the house and saw Link bounding towards her. He should have been with her mother. For the first time, she saw Link for Link. Not a reminder for Duke. She smiled and scratched his head. Paxton noticed something tied to his collar. She gently plucked the tied piece of paper from Link.
Paxton-
Meet me upstairs. I have a surprise for you.
- J
Paxton smiled. She put the note on the counter and started for the stairs. Duke’s visit was quickly disappearing from her thoughts. Jack was here tonight. As she reached the stairs, she saw the candles that were lining them. She followed them up. Halfway up the stairs, the rose petals started leading her way. The trail of rose petals led her to the guest bathroom where she saw another note on the door.
Tiger-
There is a dress hanging inside. Get ready and put it on. Then head to the spare bedroom across from the nursery.
Waiting - J
Paxton wasn’t sure what was going on, but it seemed as though Jack put a lot of thought into whatever he was planning. She went in and saw the dress she wore in New York to the event. On the counter, her hair supplies and makeup. She smiled and got ready as fast as she could. It took her twenty minutes to put herself together. She did her hair in a simple up-do with a few loose strands. She put on just a touch of make-up. Enough to hide the dark circles under her eyes. Realizing she was ready she headed to the spare bedroom.
She walked inside and there laid another note on the bed. She grabbed it and read it.
Tiger-
I haven’t thanked you enough for coming back to me. When you came running to me in New York, I knew I was a goner for you. I never felt more loved by anyone else. I knew that you were the one for me. I couldn’t let you go then and I don’t want to now. I know things aren’t exactly perfect with us or Duke, but one day we will get there.
Go to the nursery now.
-J
Paxton was nervous walking over to the nursery. Every time she had been in here lately, her world seemed to crack a little bit more. She pushed open the door and she saw a few new toys and a note sitting on the changing table. For the first time she looked at this room differently. She didn’t feel the heartache that she usually felt when she walked into the nursery. Paxton walked over to the changing table and grabbed the note. This little game had her heart racing. She knew this was the best apology every. The butterflies were in full effect as she saw his handwriting once more. She took a deep breath as she opened it up.
Paxton,
This room represents so much. It was once our future. I remember the day I revealed it to you. The look on your face made the week I put it together so worth it. I don’t know why you kept this room together, but I am grateful. It was a sign that you were still hoping one day you can put it use. You didn’t completely give up on this dream. I hope you never give up. I know that you will be an amazing mother one day. Your children will be the luckiest kids on the block. I got a few new things in here to remind you of the great days you have ahead of you when you finally get to use this room. So please meet me in your bedroom.
-J
Paxton’s heart melted as she read the letter. She knew one day she wanted to be a mother but it seemed like it would never happen. After Ella died, she fell apart, she was broken and the pieces she tried to pick up kept breaking into smaller pieces. Slowly but surely, both Jack and Duke pieced her back together. That’s what made the last few months unbearable. The fact that Duke was trying to push her away. He was broken now and she wanted to help him in return. If he walked away later, she would have to accept that but right now, Jack was the man she loved. The one she never stopped loving. She opened the door to the bedroom and the amount of candles intensified. Rose petals were spread out all over the room. Jack stood by the bed grinning at her. He stood there in a three-piece suit. He took her breath away.
“Hey Tiger. I’m glad you made it.”
“What is all this Jack?”
“This is my apology and so much more.”
“I see that. Jack this is way too much for an apology. You’re gonna burn my house down.”
Jack stepped closer to her. The grin on his face just confused Paxton. She couldn’t believe all the trouble he went through to apologize to her. She was the one who messed up not him. She should be doing this. “Jack I should be the one-”
“Shh. Just listen,” he grabbed her arms and placed her over by the bed. “Stand here.”
She watched Jack back up a few steps and look towards the closet. He smiled and Paxton found herself so utterly confused.
“Paxton,” he said suddenly. Paxton stared at him trying to figure out what was going on.
“I know that these last couple of years have been some of the toughest times for both of us. It’s not every day that we get a chance to fall in love. In fact, some people never find there once-in-a-lifetime love. That was us Paxton, still is. We both have made mistakes. I walked away when things got tough. I wasn’t there for you but Duke was. I will be forever grateful to him for bringing us back together whether it was his intention or not. I know it may not have seemed like it but I never stopped loving you. I tried to forget you, be angry with you, fall in love with someone else, but I couldn’t get you out of my system and I don’t want to. If I have to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, I will. I am so sorry Paxton. You deserved so much better.” He paused and took a step forward. He grabbed Paxton’s hand. “I want to be there for you if you will let me.” He suddenly dropped t
o one knee and pulled a box out of his jacket pocket.
“So if you will have me Paxton, I want you to be mine again. I want you to have my children, watch them grow up and grow old with me. You are the air that gives me life, my happiness, my heart. I can’t imagine my life without you and I hope you don’t make me. Marry me Paxton, make me whole again and become my wife.”
Paxton shook her head in disbelief. Tears fell down her cheek. She looked at Jack down there waiting for her answer. Her heart swelled with love for him and she couldn’t believe this was really happening after the day she had. She nodded with enthusiasm, “Yes. Yes I will.”
He scooped her up and kissed her. Her mother came out of the closet with a video camera. They hugged and she was happy that her mother was here to be part of it. Her heart made its choice a long time ago. No matter what she thought she wanted, Jack has always been her choice. Her heart wasn’t going to let him go and now neither was she. She made some difficult decisions since Ella’s death and she never thought she would be happy again, but she made choices and dealt with the consequences. Right now, the choice she made to marry Jack again has been the best decision she made since Ella’s passing.
Paxton’s thoughts switched over to Duke as she reveled in her happiness. He was broken because of her but she knew that he will overcome his dark days just like she did. Duke had some hard choices to make coming up and he hoped that he would choose to overcome his grief and pain and not give into it. It was time for Duke to start making decisions about his future. It was time to figure out what his choices are.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Hello all and thank you for reading Choices!
I would first like to thank my husband, Mr. Marion. Without him and his support, I couldn’t be following this dream. He let me live in my writing cave in order to get this book out to all you readers.
Next in line would be Julie Bailes, Erica Cope, and Kim LaDue. These three ladies helped with editing and I bounced a few ideas off them from time to time in various parts of writing this book. They are awesome and I love them all! Some of them were often long conversations so thank you ladies!
Arijana with Cover It Designs, thank you so much for the second cover you have done for me. I am still so in love with your work. So if you are an author reading this, go check her out!
Last but certainly not least, I want to thank you as the reader. My readers and fans. You are the ones who really make this dream come true. Without you all, well, I would probably still be writing but you make it enjoyable and fun. I would love to hear from you all on your thoughts, so talk to me through Facebook! I always interact on there when I am not at work. Feel free to ask questions as well!
So with all that said, be on the lookout for the third book in the series, Moments, coming soon!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sara Marion is originally from Manhattan, KS. She was raised there most of her life and that is where she also met her husband. They moved to a small town in Oklahoma following her husband’s job. Sara continued her education at Oklahoma State University where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Liberal Studies, concentrating in History and sociology. Soon after, she did a complete 180 in her career and headed into the IT world.
She works as an IT analyst by day for an oil company and is a writer by night. Sara has always had a love for books and one day she decided to write her first fanfiction piece. With the positive reviews and encouragement from her readers, Sara began writing her debut novel, Breath of Life. With her new found passion, she continues to work on the Breath of Life trilogy while filing away many stand-alone contemporary romance/drama/women’s fiction/paranormal romance ideas.
Find out more about her and follow her on:
Website/blogs: www.saramarion.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/saramarionauthor
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/saramarion
Twitter: @Sara_Marion
Table of Contents
Copyright
PROLOGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
