Beyond Resistance (The Ransom Series)
Page 27
We may not live in a busy neighborhood embedded in society, but we have a house of our own much closer to civilization than my parents’ house. Jack will have a real birth certificate with his actual name that he can stand behind and live by for his entire life. He’ll attend school and grow up with friends and be part of society just like any other kid. He won’t have to hide from the world. He won’t have to grow up like I did. Someday he may learn of his family’s history, but he’ll never know that life.
“You okay?” Lily prods cautiously as she places her hand on mine, pulling me from my thoughts.
I nod and lift Lily’s hand to my lips, placing a soft kiss over the black infinity tattoo on her wrist that is identical to mine. “He’s going to have a good life.”
“We all are,” Lily replies reassuringly. “You, me, your entire family… Look how far we’ve all come, and look who we have with us now.”
Movement from the bundle in Lily’s arms catches our attention just before Jack opens his eyes, gracing us with his brilliant dark irises as he looks up toward his mother.
“Hey, little buddy,” Lily says in disbelief, her entire face lighting up in an exquisite smile. “Welcome to the world.”
I move back against the headboard and wrap my arm around Lily’s shoulder, pulling myself as close to her as possible. My movement seems to catch Jack’s attention and he looks at me, his eyes full of innocence and purity and what seems like an endless amount of hope and potential.
No one’s life is easy or perfect, and I can’t guarantee Jack’s life will ever be either of those things, but I know he has this incredible clean slate to work with. He is a fresh start for this family, and though he may not share my family’s name, he is my son.
He is a Marini.
Author Notes and Acknowledgements
It’s simple. This book never would have existed if not for the outpouring of support I’ve received from readers who loved this series enough to want more. I owe this book entirely to you. Thank you for your amazing support and feedback. Thank you for inspiring me to do this.
I’m not going to lie. Writing Beyond Resistance has been the hardest project I’ve worked on thus far, but not because of difficulty figuring out the story or developing the characters or anything like that. This book was written over the course of three months in the middle of being pregnant with my second child, and I’ve learned the hard way that pregnancy makes for a whole new ballgame when it comes to writing.
You’d be surprised just how important the liquid fuels of coffee and alcohol can be to the writing process.
In the end, it was completely worth it, though. I’m so glad to have put this book down on virtual paper. I hope the fans of The Ransom Series enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. It’s hard to say goodbye to these characters and their stories, but I can only look ahead at this point.
I have a lot more writing to do. There are more stories to be told, more challenges to be tackled, and more blank pages to be filled. I’m ready for the next step in this journey, wherever it takes me.
I’m absolutely ready.
Other Books by this Author
Someone to Listen
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Abby wanted a fresh start, a new life thousands of miles away from her four difficult years of high school and the rumors that followed her. As she begins her college experience in Boston, she finds friendship and love she didn’t expect, people who show her that she doesn’t have to be alone.
She is torn between two paths, inexplicably drawn to two completely different guys. One understands her and reminds her of who she used to be, the broken shadow of a person wandering through life but not truly living. The other is the key to her future, the guiding hand that she waited for years to pull her out of the darkness and into the light.
When Abby’s newfound happiness and renewed existence are threatened, everything changes. She can fall back to that dark place within her or fight to save her future.
She faces the same struggle she has all along: getting someone to hear her, finding someone to believe her.
All she ever needed was someone to listen.
About the Author
A.T. Douglas embraced her renewed passion for reading by diving into the self-publishing world in 2013. Fueled by her love of music and her addiction to the Young Adult/New Adult genres, she strives to turn daydreams and the realities of life into words the world can read. She lives in New Hampshire, USA, with her husband and sons and wishes desperately that there were more hours in the day for family, reading, and writing.
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