by Renee Dyer
I’m not one hundred percent sure about how I feel about Grant, but for Tucker, I’m keeping an open mind. He did so many horrible things to him. I understand what he thought, but he never took the time to even ask Tucker if he knew they were brothers. A whole lot could have been avoided by asking one question. When I get upset with Grant, I try to remind myself that I hurt Tucker too.
I’m not whole yet. I’m still a work in progress. That was evident when I got pregnant with Chase. I’m still not sure why I lost control finding out I was only having one child. I guess I thought God was going to give me my twins back. Somewhere in my mind, I convinced myself that he allowed me to start over with loving Tucker and this pregnancy meant he was giving me my babies back too. When there was only one baby, I felt like I had to choose between the ones I lost.
It was irrational. It made me wish I had continued therapy all that time ago because I wouldn’t have be such a mess while I was pregnant. I wish I could say I know why a visit to Alex’s grave made me feel better. Talking to him always does, even to this day. Sitting at his grave, telling him my worries, brings me peace. Knowing I can tell my best friend anything, has a way of making my problems feel small.
I love Tucker for understanding that.
My mom always told me that people come into our lives for a reason. Some people pass through and some people stay. At first, I thought Tucker was just passing through and it broke my heart because I wanted him to stay. I’ve never been so glad to be wrong.
Tucker took all the broken pieces of me, picked them up in his hands, looked at them like puzzle pieces, and put them where he thought they fit. Somehow, they fit better than they did before. I never knew I could be this happy. I may not have the twins I thought I was destined to have, but I have a beautiful boy and girl who have Tucker’s blue eyes and they mean the world to me.
When they look at me and smile, I know my world is complete. These two miracles and Tucker helped to make me whole.
I got my happily ever after.
Acknowledgements
I always have to thank my husband first. He puts up with so much while I’m writing. It’s not just losing time with me; it’s watching me laugh at odd times and then break down and scream out, “I broke Tucker. I’m so mean.” Yes, these things happen. He takes it all in stride and loves me regardless of my crazy ways. I’m lucky to have someone so supportive and loving in my life. He tells me to chase my dream and listens when I’m trying to work through my characters. He’s my real life inspiration.
My boys, Tannis, Aiden, and Sam, I know there are days that I’m completely lost in my mind and I’m so thankful that you get that I’m writing and still love me. I love all of you and promise to do something awesome to make up for the lost time!
Mom, there will never be enough words to thank you. I can call you any day, anytime, and you listen. Doesn’t matter what it’s about. I love that I have that with you. This book was trying for me and without you, I’m not sure I would have finished. Just knowing I always have you to call makes every day easier. I love you.
Amie, thanks for being my all things book go to person. You know what I mean. We all need our book bitch.
Maegan Abel, Kelly Elliott, S.K. Hartley, Molly McAdams, Gail McHugh, Heidi McLaughlin, and Kemmie Michaels, I can’t thank you ladies enough for being a part of this story. Your words and your characters move and inspire me and I am beyond honored that you allowed me the opportunity to continue to inspire other people with your characters. When I read your books, I want to laugh with your characters, cry with them, love with them, and even fight with them. Hell, I want to fight for them. You all inspire me to be a better writer and to work harder. I truly hope I’ve made you proud.
My betas, thank you for reading, reading, and reading some more. It’s hard enough to be a beta, but to be a beta for someone who writes such a loooong book is an amazing feat. I love and appreciate each and every one of you. Your input and critiques made this book what it is. Thank you so much!
Sofie Hartley, I want to kiss your face and squeeze you hard! Every time I look at this cover and the cover to Waking Up, I squee. You have taken my words and in one picture, brought them to life. I’m absolutely in love with the covers and how they tie into each other. Your talent astounds me, my friend. I can’t wait to see what you create next!
Monica Black, thank you for making my words make sense. I get to writing and forget what grammar is. I’m so glad I had you in my corner to fix my mess. Thank you for believing in my story and leading me in the right direction. Your insight was spot on and much needed. Many days, your IM’s got me through the slump I was in and got me back on track to finishing my daily goal. You never know when someone’s understanding of your characters is just the motivation you need to keep you writing. I had lots of those days. Thankfully, I also had you.
Michael Burhans, thank you for making the inside of the book look good. We all know I’m electronically challenged and if left up to me, it would have been a complete nightmare to read. I’m so happy to have you as part of my team and to call you a friend.
To all the blogs who have shared my covers, teasers, sales, anything about me… THANK YOU!!! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until I’m out of breath, an author is only as good as the people backing him or her. Without the blogs backing us, we wouldn’t make it very far. I’m in awe of you and all that you do every day to make it so we can succeed. Thank you all for the hard work you do. I do want to extend a special thank you to We Stole Your Book Boyfriend and Panty dropping Book Blog for hosting my cover reveal, release day event, and blog tour. You ladies amaze me daily with all that you do for me! I also want to thank Abby at Abby & Lisa’s Book Blog for the amazing book trailers. They’re beautiful and reduce me to a sobbing mess.
To my readers, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! I hope you loved Tucker and Adri’s story. You are the reason I do this. Without you, there is no me. I can never say enough thanks to you for giving a newbie author a chance and sticking with me as I finished their story. Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you thought of them. Thank you for all of your support! You’re all amazing!!!
Have you gone InZane yet? Alahna sure has. Just remember, she licked him first.
Perfectly Broken is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, iBooks, Googleplay, and Kobo.
Now, stay tuned for an exclusive look into
Unforgivably Broken by Maegan Abel
Book Two in the Broken Series
Brought to you by Forever Red Publishing.
“Hunter Davis was taken into custody just hours after the body was discovered. Davis, whose two silver medals helped Team USA’s Men’s Gymnastics win bronze at the Olympics just months earlier, was named in a suicide note found in the girls’ bedroom. The note accused Davis of raping Hansen weeks prior to her suicide. The note also implicated the gym’s coach, Ensel Romanov, of having knowledge of the alleged rape and not notifying authorities.”
“What are you watching?”
Lili let out a small yelp, slamming her hand down on the space bar to pause the video as she spun toward where I was standing in the doorway.
“Jesus Christ, Zane. You scared the shit out of me.” She let out a shaky breath, her eyes drifting from mine as she avoided my question.
I blinked a few times, trying to clear the remnants of the medication-induced sleep so I could focus. My energy was shot and without my glasses, the tile of the kitchen floor seemed oddly slanted as I took the first few shaky steps into the room. Lili jumped up, moving quickly to help me to the table. It had taken some time to get used to not only accepting help, but needing it. It wasn’t a concept I enjoyed but after several fights with Tish, Paige, and even Lili, I was learning to keep my mouth shut and let them help. After all, as the shooting reminded me, I’m not invincible.
“What are you doing out of bed?” She asked, holding me steady as I lowered myself into the chair she’d just vacated.
“Woke up
and you weren’t there. I got worried.” I focused on relaxing the tense muscles in my back. “What are you watching?” I asked again, hoping she wouldn’t evade my direct question a second time.
“Old news clips.”
She started to sit in the chair beside me but I grabbed her hand, pulling her toward me. “Come here.” She curled up in my lap, carefully keeping her weight on my right side as she tucked her head under my chin. She sighed, reaching out to press play on the video.
“This is not the first legal trouble for the River Bend Gymnastics Club. Four years ago, Coach Romenav was arrested on child pornography charges after an anonymous tip revealed nude pictures of an underage gymnast on his phone. The same day, the female gymnast, Kylee Camden, went missing. Camden, thought to be kidnapped, was well on her way to the Olympic Trials that year…”
A picture came on the screen then and the tension I felt radiating from Lili’s entire frame nearly overwhelmed me. Her hair was lighter, a dark blonde, and her face was much younger, but in her eyes, I could see my Lili. The hardness I knew wasn’t there yet and her carefree smile made my heart ache. It was clear something changed the girl on the screen into the one curled against me. That was a side of her I’d never seen and would never know.
Lili reached out, slamming the laptop closed, cutting off the newscaster mid-sentence as she talked about the search for Kylee. I didn’t speak at first, giving her time to sort her thoughts.
“This is why your sister came?” I guessed, trailing my fingers slowly along her bare arm in a gesture I hoped would show I wasn’t judging. I hadn’t meant to ask the question. I knew I’d told her that her past didn’t matter but after Kaitlyn’s appearance last week and Lili’s distance since they spoke, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.
She nodded slowly, moving carefully back to her spot against my chest, effectively hiding her face from me. “She wanted me to know Hunter’s trial is coming up.”
I rested my chin in her hair, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as the fingers of my other hand found hers in her lap. Engulfing her tiny hand in mine, I ran my thumb along her soft skin. As I tried to piece everything together, I wondered what about the news story had involved Lili. Obviously she knew Hunter, and knew him well enough that her sister tracked her down to let her know about the trial. That was, of course, before I’d seen the picture of her. Now I knew she also trained at the same gym.
“So, you know him?”
She nodded against my chest again but didn’t elaborate. I hated myself for the questions that were building in my mind. I wanted to ask her so many things but I refused to make her uncomfortable. She’d been open enough to watch at least part of the newscast with me but until she was ready, I wouldn’t push. I couldn’t. As I’d told Kas before, with Lili, pushing would send her running.
After several minutes of silence, I bent down, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. “Let’s go back to bed, Pix.”
She nodded, sliding off my lap before grabbing the computer. Staying beside me, she steadied me as we made our way back to my bedroom. Sitting had unfortunately made me stiff but I could tell my body was healing. Every day that went by was easier than the last.
When they’d first started decreasing the pain medicine in the hospital, I was surprised at just how tight my muscles had become. I knew the damage to my body, of course, but knowing it didn’t help in the slightest when it came to the actual experience. Honestly, those first few days in the hospital, I wished I hadn’t woken up yet. Especially when every single breath brought with it the agonizing memories of the bullet ripping through my body. I’d declined the counselor and still maintained that I didn’t remember anything after the gun went off, but truth be told, it was a bold-faced lie.
I remembered it all.
From the terror of seeing the gun pointed at Lili, the burning pain of the bullet when it entered, the panic of not being able to fully breathe, to the moment I was sure I was going to die. I could remember every tortuous second. I could still see Lili’s face, terrified, covered in tears and blood. I’d wanted so badly in that moment to tell her I loved her. I’d been so certain of my death but I couldn’t seem to make my body cooperate enough to speak.
Shoving the memories aside, I released Lili once we were in the bedroom so I could make my way over to the bed. She put the laptop on my dresser before climbing in beside me, situating the blankets and pillows around us in the way we’d perfected during the weeks in the hospital.
She curled into me, resting her head against my chest while I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. Her small frame made it easy to hold her tight. It still felt surreal to have her with me; to know she was mine. The way it felt to hold her, the ease at which we found this peaceful spot together, made it feel like there had never been anyone else.
And, in all honesty, there hadn’t.
“Do you need another pill?” Lili asked, lifting her chin to allow her eyes to search my face. I shook my head, already fighting sleep as my body relaxed with her weight against me.
“I love you,” I said through a yawn, pressing my lips to her forehead.
“I love you, too.”
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty Two
Chapter Forty Three
Chapter Forty Four
Chapter Forty Five
Chapter Forty Six
Chapter Forty Seven
Chapter Forty Eight
Chapter Forty Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty One
Chapter Fifty Two
Chapter Fifty Three
Chapter Fifty Four
Chapter Fifty Five
Chapter Fifty Six
Chapter Fifty Seven
Chapter Fifty Eight
Epilogue One
Epilogue Two
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Tw
enty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty Two
Chapter Forty Three
Chapter Forty Four
Chapter Forty Five
Chapter Forty Six
Chapter Forty Seven
Chapter Forty Eight
Chapter Forty Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty One
Chapter Fifty Two
Chapter Fifty Three
Chapter Fifty Four
Chapter Fifty Five
Chapter Fifty Six
Chapter Fifty Seven
Chapter Fifty Eight
Epilogue One
Epilogue Two
