by Lisa Gerkey
“Do you want kids?”
“One day. I wouldn’t mind a couple, or…four. I’d like to enjoy the two of us a while first. Wait! You’re not…?”
“No! I’m not pregnant. I haven’t convinced myself I can be a good mother. Maybe someday… I like the idea of it being just us for a while. We need a little time to get everything off the ground and running.
I look out at the big building that stands where the church used to be. The church and the house where Matthew Reynolds lived, no longer exist on the property. Too many horrible things happened. Josh fell in love with the land. He couldn’t let it go. He decided to turn it into a way to help other people.
“It won’t be long until the grand opening. The new counselors got settled in their offices yesterday. I hope we can do some good here. If we can help just one, or ten troubled teenagers, it’s that many we keep off the streets.”
“Yeah, I wish I’d had a place like this when my parents died. Jaycee wanted to help me. She tried, but maybe if I’d had someone else to reach out to…”
“Not only that but here, we can help even those who’ve already been on the streets.”
“I know. That’s wonderful. My therapist, Julia is going to be working here a day or two each month. Volunteering, of course. She’s amazing, Josh. She’s helped me work through so much since I got here.”
We’re so lost in our conversation that I don’t notice right away where he’s leading me. There’s a path through the woods behind the space where the Powell & Maddox Teen’s Center sets.
“I don’t know if I can do this. I know before I said I wanted to see it again, but now that time has passed…”
“Just try…for me, okay? I want to make new memories with you, Kennedy.”
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing these last weeks? We’ve made a lot of plans. I can’t wait to get started with building the house out on your dad’s property near the cabin. I’ve always loved that place… Whoa! What is this, Josh?”
I’m…blown away. It’s unbelievable. We walk straight out of the forest to where the land has been cleared. There’s a huge pond, ducks swimming around. The sun’s rays dancing on the water. It’s the most beautiful spot I’ve ever seen. “Josh…”
I turn around, but he isn’t there. Not standing. He’s kneeled on the ground, on one knee.
“Kennedy, I’ll never get it out of my head, finding you out here in the woods…
“Josh, please don’t do this!”
“No, baby, listen to me. You have to listen. I want to turn this place into something different for us. Make this our happy spot. See, I thought for the longest time about how that moment was so close to the end of everything. I didn’t even know you yet, but it nearly killed me when I almost lost you. It wasn’t the end. It was our beginning, Kennedy. Something…I don’t know if it was God, your mom or dad, or what, but something led me to you that day. There was a reason I ended up here. I was lost, lost because my life was in such a mess, but I found something that day that changed all that. We’ve had ups and downs and hell, some of the worst bumps anyone can have in a relationship, but we’ve waded through it all, and here we are. Here we are, beautiful. Look at you. Just look how far you’ve come, how far we’ve both come. We did this together. I want to do everything with you for the rest of my life. I want to play together, fight together, and make love together. As long as it’s you and me…together… we can do anything. Can we do that, beautiful? Can we do it together? I guess what I’m asking is, Kennedy, will you marry me?”
I giggle when I hear Clayton’s dogs barking in the distance. Just like every other day when Josh doesn’t check in on time, his dad gets worried and comes looking. I can’t wait until Josh, and I get a couple of puppies just like Ike and Henry.
“Yes, I will marry you, Joshua Maddox. I love you so much.”
“Ah, Ms. Powell, soon to be, Maddox, and I love you.”
The End
Also Available
Finding Fate (Playing it Safe Series Book One)
Fighting Friction (Playing it Safe Series Book Two)
Coming Soon
Fast Forward (Playing it Safe Series Book Four)
The doctor will see you now.
Except, he can’t. Not anymore.
Lucas Miller had it all. He had the perfect job and a perfect marriage.
Nothing could tear them apart.
Until it did.
Lucas is still breathing, his heart is still beating, but he isn’t living.
He spends his days remembering Emily.
When night comes, he drowns his painful memories in the bottom of a bottle.
Open your heart, they say. Let someone in so they can love you.
You’re too young to settle for a life of loneliness.
Lucas will never let another woman into his life.
Except, Lindsey.
Lindsey Hawthorne spent six long years locked away with Jayson Phoenix.
Jayson was the master manipulator.
He brainwashed Lindsey and broke her.
After six years, something snapped.
Lindsey found courage she never knew she had,
and she ran away from Jayson and his twisted uncle.
Emily Miller took Lindsey in and cared for her and helped her get on her feet.
The two became best friends.
Then, Emily did something stupid that left Lindsey with no one.
Well, she still had Lucas.
Lindsey felt sorry for Lucas after his wife’s death.
She wanted nothing more than to take his pain away.
Lucas and Lindsey have a lot in common.
They’re both broken.
No one will ever understand them the way they get each other.
That’s why it’s so easy to call themselves best friends.
Until one night, they cross a line.
They set the bedsheets on fire.
Can Lucas and Lindsey save their friendship
after a night they can barely remember?
What about when Jayson Phoenix shows back up?
Will Lucas admit to his feelings for Lindsey
and be there when the his pixie needs him most?
