She took my hand and let me lead her down by the water.
“You look beautiful tonight.”
“I’m a hot mess. I’m sunburned to a crisp, my hair hasn’t been brushed in about six hours, and I don’t have any makeup on.”
Even in the darkness I could see the blush creep up her cheeks. She tried to argue with me, but I just grinned harder with each word she said in argument.
“The only time you look better is when you’re in my bed underneath me.” She squirmed and I laughed out loud, making her blush even harder. “Should I not say that right now?”
“You don’t play fair,” she grumbled.
I tugged her hand until she was standing in front of me. “All’s fair in love and war.”
She smiled and put her arms around my neck. “Is that so?”
I nodded. “Definitely. Especially when it makes you blush like that.”
She shook her head, but she looked amused. I kissed her once before taking her hand in mine so we could continue down the beach.
“What would you think about us taking a trip this summer?”
She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “That didn’t go so well the last time we tried.”
I grimaced. “Different circumstances. I won’t be an asshole this time, promise. And I really need you to say yes because I’ve already booked the hotel.”
Her throaty laugh floored me. It wasn’t a sound I heard often, but I absolutely adored it. I wasn’t the only one holding back in this relationship. Hannah was fighting some of her own battles in allowing herself to get close to me; I just hoped that together, we could figure it out.
“Do I get to know where we’re going?”
I shook my head and smiled. “Nope. It’s going to be a complete surprise, but I am going to need you to say yes so I’m not kidnapping you.”
She giggled. “I’m saying yes, but I am going to bug you to find out what we’re doing.”
“That seems fair.” We walked a few more paces. I didn’t realize I was so nervous about the second part of this conversation. “So, I have another question for you.”
“Okay,” she drawled.
“Have you made living arrangements for next year or do you plan to stay in your apartment?”
She paused. “I haven’t really thought about it much. Probably keep my apartment since everyone else is leaving, I guess.” Her disappointment was palpable and I felt guilty for not talking to her about this sooner.
“What if I wasn’t leaving?”
She stopped walking abruptly and turned towards me. “What are you talking about Chance?”
“At the beginning of this year I applied for a competitive masters program here at SCU. The program is amazing. It’s one of the best opportunities in the country. I didn’t even tell anyone I applied because the chances of getting chosen were slim to none.”
She bit her lip. “And?”
“I got my acceptance letter yesterday.”
She launched herself into my arms. “Chance that’s amazing. I’m so proud of you.”
I hugged her to me tighter. “I guess what I’m trying to ask is, would you want to move in together?” Her kiss caught me off guard, but when her lips met mine I threaded my fingers into her messy ponytail. She smiled as she pulled away from me. “I’m guessing that’s a yes?”
Hannah’s forehead pressed to mine. “That’s absolutely a yes.”
I pulled back and grinned at her. “Good, because I found some really nice one bedroom apartments on campus that have openings in May.”
I laughed as her smiling mouth met mine again. Whatever reaction I’d been expecting, this hadn’t been it. My arms wrapped tighter around her. In the moonlight on a warm spring night, I found my future. Hannah was the girl I’d been waiting for forever. Horrible circumstances had changed my life path, but I realized now that it didn’t mean I had to quit living my life altogether. This amazing girl made me understand that I needed to find a new way.
Hannah
I parked my SUV and sighed as I turned off the engine. The past nine days had flown by and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Caroline and Brooke. Even with all the drama, it had been amazing having them here. They didn’t want to leave and I sure as hell didn’t want them to.
“Quit that,” Brooke said from the backseat. “If you cry, then I’ll cry, and Caroline already looks like she’s about to cry.”
I snorted a laugh. “Oh yeah, telling me not to cry is going to work. We all just suck it up, we’re going to bawl like freaking babies by the time you two get on that plane. There’s a reason I didn’t wear mascara this morning.”
Caroline sniffed next to me. “I hate this.”
I reached over and grabbed her hand. “Me too, but I’m so glad you guys came out here. We needed this.”
They both nodded and tried to pull themselves together. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to try. We finally climbed out of the car and walked into the departure terminal. Thanks to modern technology they were checked in and had their boarding passes ready to go. Luckily security wasn’t busy, so we had a few extra minutes. MYR was a small airport so we weren’t fighting big crowds. I pointed out a coffee shop and we all decided to grab drinks while we could. Brooke’s phone chimed as soon as we sat down at one of the little tables outside.
“You’re popular today,” I said, taking a sip of my iced coffee. “Actually, you’ve been on your phone a lot this week.”
“It’s just Dom,” she said, putting down her phone.
“Just Dom,” I said skeptically. “You mean your best friend in Texas—”
“Hey!” Caroline said.
“Besides Caroline,” I said quickly. “And it’s clear he’s had a thing for you since Freshman year. That Dominic, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t have a thing for me. We’re just friends.”
I arched a brow. “Because you put him in the friend zone. That guy would walk through fire to get a date with you.”
Caroline nodded. “She’s right. You totally friend zoned him. He’s hot. I don’t know what you were thinking.”
“You two are dumb. There’s nothing between me and Dom, but me and Austin…that’s another story,” she said smugly.
“Brooke Caldwell, have you been holding out on us?” I teased.
“Nothing’s happened yet, but it will. Soon.” God the girl was confident. “I bet by summer I can get him to ask me out.”
“Wait just a second,” Caroline said. “Austin is the guy you’ve been lusting after all year. What makes you think you can get him to ask you out now?”
“Insider information.”
I laughed. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“Hey, we can’t all find the love of our life and move in with him our senior year,” Brooke said pointedly. Of course a blush worked its way up my cheeks. “I am really happy that you and Chance figured things out. You two are good together.”
“We’ll have to make you two come visit us in Texas next time,” Caroline said.
“Deal,” I said smiling. “And with any luck we’ve figured the major things out. I’m sure there with be other stuff that will pop up and we’ll have to deal with.”
“You made it through your first big fight though. That’s big stuff.” Caroline took my hand in hers. “Don’t try to hide how you’re really feeling. You two are going to have to work on communicating.”
We heard the first announcement for the girls’ flight over the loudspeaker and Caroline started to tear up again. We stood up slowly, none of us happy about it.
“Don’t do that,” I griped. “I really don’t want to be splotchy all day.”
She grinned and gave me a watery hug. “We’ll see you for the Fourth of July, right?”
“I’ll be there, hopefully with Chance in tow.”
I pulled away and moved on to Brooke. “Stay out of trouble. No more drama, and let Chance take care of you for once. Don’t be a stubborn bitch.”
I laughed. “F
ine, I’ll try to let my super hot boyfriend pamper me.”
She cupped my cheek for a second, then pulled me in for a hug. “Good.”
“I’ll expect an update on this whole Austin, Dominic situation soon,” I teased, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
“Yes ma’am. We’ll call as soon as our flight lands.”
I watched them pick up their bags and walk over to security. Within a few minutes they were waving at me from the other side before leaving for their gate. I hated seeing them go, but at least we’d had the past nine days to catch up.
I took my time walking back out to my car. There was no reason to rush and I knew that I would probably get stuck in traffic coming back from the beach anyway. The first thing I did when I got back to my car was call Chance.
“Hey Han,” he answered. “Are you on your way back yet?”
I choked out some garbled, pitiful sound that was supposed to be words.
“Oh baby, don’t cry. We’ll see them soon. I promise.”
I sniffed, trying to pull myself back together. “I kn-know, but I m-miss them already.”
“I knew I should have driven you guys. I don’t like the idea of you coming back and being this upset.”
He listened to me choke back more tears for a few minutes. When I finally felt calmer, I said, “I’ll be okay. I just had a moment.”
“Are you sure?” he asked softly. “It’s okay if you want me to come and get you.”
I smiled through my tears. This was a perfect example of why I loved Chance so much. “I’m okay. Just hearing the sound of your voice helped. I’m leaving now.”
“Be careful, baby. I’ll see you at home.”
Home. He was right. Chance was my home now.
My heart pounded in my chest and I felt butterflies in my stomach.
“I’ll see you at home.”
About the Author
Romance writer. Wife. Mother of two. Avid reader. Queen of multitasking.
Originally from the south, Alyson likes to incorporate what she knows into her books. She's lived not only on the east coast, but the west coast and a few places in between. Alyson loves sharing stories about her crazy family to anyone who will listen. Her guilty pleasures consist of coffee, country music, brunch, breaking the rules, and pedicures. And she will always be a daddy's girl.
When Alyson isn't chasing around her two kiddos, she's normally writing. Or reading. Her Kindle library is out of control. Alyson writes mainly contemporary novels and novellas with a bit of new adult mixed in.
www.authoralysonreynolds.com
Get exclusive sneak previews of WAITING TO BREATHE and the upcoming GOLDEN BOY SERIES through Alyson’s newsletter and Alyson’s Wonderland on Facebook. Or you can stay up to date with all new releases by following her on BookBub.
Shattered Home
by J.M. Adele
© J.M. Adele, 2017
All Rights Reserved
This work is protected under copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is purely coincidental. Any actual places, products or events mentioned are used in a purely fictitious manner, without permission or sponsorship, and with acknowledgement of their trademarked status, and trademark owners.
Edited by Eeva Lancaster
Cover Design by Book Flare Publishers
Cover Photo from Adobe Stock © e_serebryakova
Formatted by Book Flare Publishers
eBook Edition
Created with Vellum
To my three jedi
Chapter 1
Aiden kicked at the dirt with the toe of his shoe, watching the dust curl up to his knees before it settled back down. He stood at the edge of the school yard, listening to all the kids squeal and yell in delight at their game of tag. They all seemed to know each other, calling out each other’s names. He recognized a few faces as they shot past, but he’d never spent much time outside of his yard to meet the other kids.
Aiden shuffled his weight to ease the pain in his behind. After a whupping last night, he’d spent four hours locked in his room before his father made him scrub the kitchen floor. It was his own fault. He knew he shouldn’t have peed in the garden. He hadn’t wanted to go back in the house, and didn’t think his father would be watching. Now, he knew. His father always had his eyes on him.
Again, he kicked the dirt, shoulders sagging because he was too tired to join in the fun. It wasn’t exactly the first day of school he’d imagined, but he was still happy to be there. He was happy to be anywhere, but home.
A girl with black pigtails flashed by, four kids trailing her as she cackled. With a burst of speed, she left them behind and disappeared. Aiden stood up straight, craning his neck to get a better view.
Where’d she go?
He thought he’d seen her before, or maybe a girl with the same hair, swinging on the tire swing in front of the big white house down the road from home. He dreamed about that house. Playing out all sorts of adventures where he got to be the hero, the knight, the soldier, the king… His imagination was endless. Sometimes, he would dream about a little girl with black hair. Swinging on that tire, she looked like an angel to him, kicking her legs out with her hair flowing behind.
The children all scattered; some starting a game of catch, some climbing on the jungle gym. He took a couple of steps closer, but couldn’t see her anywhere. Maybe it wasn’t the same girl.
Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, Aiden jerked and spun around.
“Hi.”
His jaw fell slack. There she was. Waving at him, and smiling a gap-toothed smile. He squinted down at her, almost needing to shield his eyes from the sun reflecting off her pale skin. She looked like she was glowing, and her green eyes twinkled in the light. Like the grass after the rain had given it a drink. Maybe she really was an angel.
“Can’t you speak? ‘Cause if you can’t speak, we could write to each other instead. Can you write? My daddy taught me how to write my name, and the alphabet. I know how to count to twenty-seven.” Poking a thumb at her chest, she beamed with pride.
Aiden blinked and took a step back.
“Don’t be scared. I just wanted to ask if you wanna play. You should join in. Everybody here’s friendly.”
He swallowed, and scrubbed his knuckles over his eyes to check that they were working. “Are you an angel?”
She bobbed her head. “Yeah. How’d ya know?”
A swarm of bees burst into his tummy. She’s a real angel.
“You look like one.” He rubbed his palms on his thighs, and swiped the back of his hand under his nose.
Her dark brows dipped low. “What’s an angel s’posed to look like?”
“Pretty and glowing, and stuff.” He shrugged his stiff shoulders, rubbing his sweaty hands again.
Her mouth pouted before tipping up into a beaming grin. “Well, thank you. My mama always told me to say thank you when someone says something nice about me. She’s gone to heaven. Daddy said they needed more angels, so she had to go. I hope they don’t need me ‘cause I don’t want to leave my daddy alone.” She waved a finger at his head. “You have nice hair. It’s the same color as the sand at the beach. Have you ever been to the beach?”
Aiden’s head reeled, trying to keep up. “No.” His shoulders slumped and he picked at a loose thread on his shirt.
“Ooh, it’s so much fun.” She clasped her hands in front of her chest. “I’ll ask my daddy if you can come with us when we go next time. We always go with my uncles and aunts, and my cousins. We’ll teach you how to build a sand castle.”
“Okay.”
He folded his arms behind his back, crossing his fingers that Sir would let him go. He’d seen the beach on
TV. It did look fun. But what had the nerves buzzing in his belly was the thought of spending time with a real angel. She made him feel all tingly inside. He liked it.
“I hope they don’t need you back in heaven, either.” He sent her a shy smile.
“I’ll just tell them I can’t go.” She shrugged and propped her hands on her hips. “What’s your name?”
“Aiden Thomas.”
“Are you a fast runner?”
“I think so.”
Maybe not after his punishment last night. He could be, though. He’d try to be, for her.
Slapping a hand on his arm, she yelled, “Tag! You’re it,” before dashing off, leaving him in another cloud of dust.
The farther away she got, the harder the tug on his chest, like she had tied him with a rope. It took his feet a while to get moving. He wondered if he was having another one of his dreams as he watched her run, eyeing him over her shoulder. There was no way he was pinching himself out of this one. He’d never felt more awake.
He’d found a real live angel. Aiden’s prayers had been answered.
Chapter 2
Almost Eleven Years Later
“Mornin’, Daddy. How’d you sleep?”
Angel scraped the wooden spoon through the eggs to scramble them a bit more, before scooping a serving onto a plate for her pa.
He shuffled into the kitchen, his black hair flat on one side and standing up on the other. Speaking through a yawn, his answer was almost indecipherable, “Still ‘sleep.”
“Why don’t you go in late this mornin’? I’m sure Harry and Harvey have things under control.”
He dragged a hand down his face and scrubbed it through his beard, tired blue eyes struggling to focus on her. “I can’t. I have a meeting with the architect about the expansion. We all have to be there.”
He took a seat and she pushed the plate under his nose, handing him some silverware. “You’re workin’ too hard. What time did you get home last night?”
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