Entwined Souls
A Soul Sisters Novel #1
C.M. Youngren
Edited by
Sara Miller
Cover Design by
Avery Kingston
Contents
Playlist
Prologue
1. Jurnee
2. Jurnee
3. Braxton
4. Jurnee
5. Jurnee
6. Braxton
7. Jurnee
8. Braxton
9. Jurnee
10. Braxton
11. Jurnee
12. Jurnee
13. Braxton
14. Jurnee
15. Jurnee
16. Braxton
17. Jurnee
18. Jurnee
19. Jurnee
20. Braxton
21. Braxton
22. Jurnee
23. Jurnee
24. Braxton
25. Jurnee
26. Braxton
27. Jurnee
28. Braxton
29. Jurnee
30. Jurnee
31. Jurnee
32. Jurnee
33. Jurnee
34. Braxton
35. Jurnee
36. Jurnee
37. Jurnee
38. Jurnee
39. Braxton
40. Jurnee
41. Braxton
42. Jurnee
43. Jurnee
44. Braxton
45. Jurnee
Epilogue
Did you enjoy reading Entwined Souls?
Sneak Peek: Unlikely Souls
Acknowledgments
Find C.M. Online
Also by C.M. Youngren
About C.M.
Copyright © 2020 by C.M. Youngren. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by the copyright law.
Resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
Jaimee Parker a.k.a. Bestie
You are my soul sister.
Who would have thought that the day I messaged you about your debut book, you and I would become the best of friends. I thank my lucky stars for that each and every day. Now here we are with my debut book, and it would not be happening if it were not for you. The belief you have in me, encouragement, help, and phenomenal support has got me through. You are there for me in the good times, the bad, and all the crazy moments in between. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my person, my best friend, and such a beautiful soul.
I am blessed that our worlds are entwined.
Amber Youngren - my daughter
You were my first miracle.
The day I laid eyes on your picture, I knew you were mine. Unable to get pregnant, at six months old, you were the baby I always wanted, and you were meant for me. You’re smart, beautiful, and an amazing person. Without you, my life would not be complete. The day we adopted you was one of the best days of my life.
I love you with all my heart and soul.
Makenna Youngren - my daughter
You were my second miracle.
The welcome surprise of finding out I was pregnant after trying for so long, was incredible. You are funny, beautiful, and sassy (like me). You bring so much joy to my life, and soon will bring a bundle of joy too, with my first Granddaughter, Paisley Rose. The day you were born, is one of the most amazing days of my life.
I love you to the moon and back.
Playlist
‘The Climb’ — Miley Cyrus
‘Fight Song’ — Rachel Platten
‘Brown Eyed Girl’ — Van Morrison
‘Crazy for You’ — Madonna
‘Lost in Your Eyes’ — Debbie Gibson
‘When I Look Into Your Eyes’ — Firehouse
‘Happy Anywhere’ — Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani
‘Back At One’ — Brian McKnight
‘Amazed’ — Lonestar
‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ — Bill Withers
‘Right Here Waiting’ — Richard Marx
‘Listen To Your Heart’ — Roxette
‘All My Life’ — Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
‘Love of a Lifetime’ — Firehouse
Prologue
Jurnee
At the tender age of twelve, sitting in the cove of the window on the old, stained pillows, looking out at the long walkway with weeds sprouting up out of the cracked pavement, I had the same yearning thought I always did. I wish someone would walk up to this rickety old house and take me away. Just like in the movie Annie. I need my Daddy Warbucks.
This foster home may not have been as torturous as some, but it was almost prehistoric and filled with kids that nobody wanted. Many of us were older, nearly teenagers and some had hit that marker already. Nobody seemed to want a kid once they got past a certain age. It was as if we had an expiration date, like we were rotten, spoiled milk. A lot of us also had something else in common: illness, disabilities, and things of that nature. Things that had left us stuck in this place, wishing for more.
My mind drifted to the day that brought me here, feeling as though it were just yesterday. A shiver ran through my body. I was only five then, but I’ve never forgotten.
I didn’t run to her or cry out. All I felt was numbness sink into my bones while tears furiously slid down my cheeks as my mother’s words pierced my soul, and she walked away, leaving me without a backward glance like I meant nothing to her.
Nobody wanted me.
Feeling a hand grasp mine firmly, I had looked into the eyes of a stranger, one who would have to take care of me since my own flesh and blood couldn’t be saddled with the responsibility of an ill child. With no other family, I became a ward of the state that day.
A day that would be engraved on my delicate heart forever.
Years later, the sickness that had once plagued my tiny, fragile body had subsided. However, the longing to truly be loved hadn’t diminished. I knew all the kids in this foster home wished for the same thing as me.
A family of our own.
Day after day, I was losing the desire to keep dreaming that the time would ever come that it would happen for me. The demons and nightmares that plagued me during sleep and the fears that consumed me took over more often than not.
Then, a little spark of hope I’d thought was lost forever, ignited once again. Like an ember in the pit of my stomach, I felt a burning excitement. Inside the cove by the window, the scene on the other side of the dirty old glass was different today. Something big was coming, I could feel it with every fiber of my being.
Two figures appeared, ones I hadn’t seen before. Not able to keep my eyes off the couple holding hands, seeing the love in their eyes, approaching the door, my heart began to beat wildly. I was unsure why all these feelings were bubbling up inside me, but my mind, body, and soul were telling me that whoever just rang the doorbell would change my life forever.
And change my life it did.
In remission, twelve-years-old, a small gangly little girl with a million insecurities, self-esteem issues, and more, I finally got my shot at a forever home.
When I left, all I really took with me was my name, the one my birth mother had given me. Jurnee, how fitting was that since another part of my journey was just beginning?
A month after settling into my new home, I started middle school where I didn’t
know a soul. To make matters worse, it was already partway through the school year. Kids had already established their cliques and were having fun. I was sure that once again I’d be on my own. But as I got out of the car with my parents, my eyes locked with two girls emerging from another vehicle. With them was a guy, one who did funny things to my insides the moment I first saw him.
Right then and there, my gut told me I was gonna be okay. They were going to be my saving grace, and at that moment, our worlds entwined.
Chapter One
Jurnee
Twelve years later
“Jurnee, get your butt down here, we’re going to be late!” my best friend Summer shouted. Well, she was one of them. Alley, or as we liked to call her, Alley Cat, made up the other part of our crazy trio. Soul Sisters, that’s what we are.
A bond that will never be broken.
Coming from a poor family with a set of seriously hellacious parents, Alley Cat had to scrap and fight her way through life as a kid. That was how she got her nickname from us and it fits her to a T. Growing up without much money, and coming from the wrong side of the tracks, as the preppy assholes like to say, our girl didn’t have it easy. But she’s strong, kind, and has a spirit about her that drew me in the second I met her in the seventh grade.
The thing about Alley is she doesn’t let many people get close to her, holding herself and her feelings back. Her parents were worthless, doing some serious damage to her heart, even if she likes to pretend, she doesn’t care. She has her brother, he loves her, and has always been highly protective of her, but he was five years older and left to join the Marines the summer after we finished junior high. So, with that, he wasn’t around much for many years when she could have used him. Alley never seemed to mind because she has always been so proud of her brother and loves him fiercely.
Alley was devastated the day Braxton left, it was still hard to say goodbye no matter how much she approved of what he was doing. She’d told us how broken up he was to leave her as well, but it was his shot for a better life and in return, he could give her one too. During his time away, he was always sending her money in secret so their parents couldn’t get their hands on it. He helped put her through college and was happy to help her get her own place the second she was done with high school and had turned eighteen. Not wanting her to be alone, Summer and I moved in with her and we’d been living together ever since.
Needless to say, with everything he did for Alley and how much he cared, Braxton was pretty extraordinary, like a real-life superhero.
There’d been some struggles for Alley over the years with her brother away. At that age a young girl is going through an extraordinary number of changes in her life, while her parents didn’t give a shit, spending more time with their recreational activities and low-life friends, then to be concerned about their daughter. And the worry she had when her brother was deployed rocked her to her core. Their parents didn’t give a hoot about Braxton when he had been here, and they certainly hadn’t once he was gone, so no support had come from them during those agonizing times. Like I said, worthless. But she had Summer and me and we would always be there for her and each other, through thick and thin.
Now he’s back.
The fact was, the moment I met Braxton at twelve years old, he became my first crush. My only crush. He was swoon-worthy to a young girl like me… make that every girl for that matter. At his age and as popular as he was, it was shocking how nice he always had been and how he’d never acted annoyed when we were around. Three young girls clamoring for his time and attention couldn’t have been easy, but he was a good sport about it. The summer right before he left for boot camp held some of my best memories. I was heartbroken right alongside Alley when he got on that plane.
Back then, I was so young, more childish-looking than kids my own age, painfully shy and I’d known that as I got older, my teenage infatuation would eventually fade away. Today at twenty-four, I was what most people would say was just the girl next door, nothing special. And even though I was about to see Braxton for the first time in more than a decade and I wasn’t that little girl anymore, I doubted he would even notice me. Not that I wanted him to. I was over that silly schoolgirl crush from so long ago.
Yeah right, keep telling yourself that Jurnee.
As I raced down the hall, my nerves of seeing Braxton amped up and my thoughts were swirling in a million places, I almost plowed right into Summer waiting for me at the end of the hallway by the living room.
Summer is blonde with green eyes, where Alley has jet black hair and blue eyes. It’s like night and day, with me stuck in the middle. I was like dusk, with my dull brown hair and brown eyes. I always felt plain compared to them, though they never made me feel that way and always said that we were like a perfect sandwich, with me being the best part in the middle. The sisterhood wasn’t complete until I came along, they said. Meeting these two when I first got adopted, attending a new school and had no friends at all, meant everything to me.
So there was Alley, and then there was Summer. Summer was model beautiful, rich, and crazy smart. Her parents are your typical country club type and may not have been as awful as Alley’s parents, but they still were not what you would call nurturing. Quite frankly, they were snobs and often expected things to be a certain way. Hence Summer’s rebellious streak, which drove her to do her own thing. Despite all she had and even wanting to break away from her parents, I still asked myself sometimes how she ended up with us. But I tried not questioning that too often because I’m so damn glad she did. And even with all the money, beauty, and personality, she is the most down to earth person I know. Summer has one of the biggest hearts, is loyal and so darn sweet. Kinda like the best Golden Retriever a person could have by their side. I am not sure she would like me comparing her to a dog. I held back a giggle as the thought popped into my brain.
Even though we saw Summer this way, she didn’t see herself the same because of her epilepsy. The struggles it brought to her while growing up and how she had to adjust her life to take care of herself had been a challenge, but her medication had been controlling the seizures for a long time now. Even through the tough times, Summer always tried to be positive and bring a sunny deposition into both Alley’s and my world. She was our light at the end of the tunnels of life.
We all seemed to have our roles and the three of us meshed perfectly together.
I’m pulled from my thoughts about my two besties, and if I’m being honest a certain hot, former Marine, as Summer grabbed a hold of both my shoulders to slow me down before we collided. “Let’s go girl, you're about to see your fantasy in the flesh.” Then she laughed like she just said the funniest thing on earth.
I knew I shouldn’t have ever told them about that damn crush. “Oh stop, that was forever ago.” She gave me the whatever look along with her whatever hand gesture, then turned around and headed toward the door. “I think we watched Clueless one too many times growing up,” I said to her retreating back.
She whirled around. “You can’t watch that movie too many times. We all need a girls’ night and watch it again, just like old times.”
“Okay you’re right, and a girls’ night sounds awesome!” I exclaimed as I followed her toward the door with a ton of nervous energy. Almost in full panic mode, I grabbed my purse and started giving myself a silent lecture. It was just a crush, you’re twenty-four for heaven’s sakes. Time to get a grip because the moment for infatuation is long gone.
Alley had already headed over to meet her brother at his new place and help him organize stuff for a bit before heading to the bar for his welcome home shindig. So it was just Summer and I on the drive over. Summer was her cheerful self, singing away in the car to her favorite 80’s music, while I was contemplating jumping ship and making a run for it so I didn’t have to face the same guy I was trying to pretend didn’t matter.
But I didn’t really think barreling out of a moving car would be so smart, so I stayed put.
&nb
sp; I continued to lecture myself during the drive to the bar. He and a buddy of his from his old unit had decided to move here after their time in the military and start their own business. I didn’t know much about it yet, but it was some sort of security business, self-defense training, and other stuff.
If knowing I was about to see him shortly didn’t spike my adrenaline like I just consumed one too many shots of Fireball, I didn’t know what would. It was really no big deal though because even though I was all grown up, he was still older and way too hot for me.
Sooo out of my league.
When we walked into the bar, my eyes landed on him immediately. It was as if he was a beacon sending off a signal. Like a moth to a flame. Nerves be damned, it was more like I was being zapped with a live wire.
Finally some brain cells seemed to come back to life and I realized I was insane for even coming. I can’t handle this. I am not sure what I was thinking, but before I could turn and bolt, Alley let out what sounded almost like a battle cry and ran towards Summer and me. “Finally, you two show up,” she said.
Entwined Souls (Soul Sister Book 1) Page 1
