“And then, they walked into that hospital room, acting as if they cared, and all I could think was they gave him what he needed to know. They are the reason he found me in North Carolina!” I shout, unable to hold in my outrage any longer. “He called them,” I explain, tears flowing down my cheeks. “He said that we had been secretly dating, but I got mad and took off. He asked where I might go and they told him about Collin. I could’ve been safe if not for them. I could’ve been safe.” As those last four words leave my mouth, I completely break down into sobs.
Trace gets up. I don’t know what happens, so lost in my crying, but a moment later, a pair of arms wrap around me.
“Jules, it’s okay,” Collin whispers. A feeling of safety immediately engulfs me. “It’s okay,” he repeats. “What happened?”
“Can I tell him?” I hear Trace ask when it’s clear nothing but jibber emits from my own mouth. All I can do is nod. I can’t say those words again. I do what I can to block out the sound of Trace telling Collin, who Trace apparently wanted on standby for my inevitable breakdown.
“Jules,” Collin says softly when the story is complete. “Can you imagine how they feel right now knowing what happened to you because of the information they provided?”
I lift my head from his shoulder and glare at him.
He rests a finger over my mouth. “They are your parents, Julie. They didn’t know. Had they known, you know as good as I do that they never would have put you in danger like that. You need to talk to them. I’m sure they want to apologize.”
“I’m not going back.” I’m never going back to Florida for as long as I live.
“That’s why we have planes for them to come here and cell phones for when no one wants to go anywhere, Julie,” he says with a slight tease in his tone. “Think about it.” He kisses me softly and that ends the discussion. I know it. He knows it. Even Trace seems to know it.
“Do you still want to read the report or is that enough for today?”
“Let’s get it over with.”
Collin stands to leave, but I grab his hand.
“Don’t go.”
He nods and takes a seat in the chair next to me.
Trace hands over the police report. It rests in my hands for what seems like forever before I begin to read their account of what happened that day.
There was a tip about the neighbor speaking to a man looking a lot like Dwight and she reported hearing a lot of yelling as well. They sent a team out to investigate, prepared for the worst since they suspected I was in Florida anyway. They shouted their presence, heard a noise inside that sounded like running. They busted the front and back doors open and that’s when Dwight, faced with officers at all vantage points, opened fire.
He was shot multiple times by the officers and was dead before the tape was removed from my mouth. Dwight was just out of sight from where I was and it appears an officer had enough time to make it to the couch, which wasn’t too far from the back door. The officer that removed the tape from my mouth is the one who apparently stood so that if Dwight fired toward me, he’d have a hard time hitting anything other than the officer’s body.
I read the report two more times, reading about things they found, skipping the parts about my own condition. Peace slowly fills my body along with an overwhelming gratitude toward the officer.
“Julie?”
I glance up to look at Trace.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better.”
Trace smiles. “Good. Do you want to discuss anything?”
I shake my head. “No. I’d like to go home.”
His eyes widen in surprise and he opens his mouth to object, but Collin cuts him off.
“It’s been a long session, Trace. She’s like me. She knows when she’s had enough. We’ll take it easy at home and maybe you can call her parents in the next session.”
This time it’s me who wants to object, but Trace interrupts me. This session just keeps turning on its head. Collin escorts me out of the building and doesn’t even talk about what happened. Instead, he says that he’s working with the team’s PR people because he does want to speak out about his anxiety. He wants to figure out how to make this be a good thing, but also work for him both short-term and long-term.
That’s enough of a show stopper, though I thought he was leaning toward that, that I can’t help but dive into a discussion with him. I’m one step closer on this long road of healing, but I can’t help but think I’m not close to the end.
It’s a Thursday in late May when someone knocks on the door while Collin is out at the grocery store. Who could possibly be coming over? Marmalade jumps onto the back of the recliner and watches me walk over to the door.
“Hey, Deanna. Should I be expecting you?” I ask cautiously, searching my mind for some missed plans.
“No. Grab your purse. We have plans.”
“I have to get to work.”
Deanna shakes her head. “Collin went over your head and you are off until next week. Now go.”
“Why?” I ask without moving a muscle. Collin doesn’t like surprises for himself, but he likes to give me surprises.
“Trust me for once and do as I’ve asked.”
Since Collin is behind this, I decide her request isn’t unreasonable. Thirty minutes later, we’re in a nearby town that I haven’t really explored yet. We pull into a shopping center and I’m confused further when I see Collin, Cal, and Brayden standing in front of one of the stores.
Collin walks over by the time I’ve opened my door and stepped out of the car. “Collin, what is going on?”
“You’ll see.”
He leads me away from our friends to a courtyard-like area and stops underneath a weeping willow. He’s starting to worry me. Collin faces me and takes a deep breath.
“Jules.” For a moment, that is the only word between us. It hangs in the air, flowing back and forth with the breeze. “I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time. Being with you is more than I ever could’ve asked out of life. Things are a challenge for us, but loving one another has never been a challenge. It’s easy. It’s perfect. And it’s because we belong together.” He takes a deep, now shaky breath. “I say all of this to ask if you’ll marry me?” He falls to one knee and plucks a ring from his pocket.
The diamonds glint from the sunlight filtering through the hanging foliage. My brain is stuck on the marry me part while my eyes are glued to the ring. I don’t think any of this is processing. Am I even awake? Maybe I’m dreaming.
“Jules,” Collin whispers. “You better say something before I get to a thirteen.”
“You’re serious?”
He doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t find my question at all amusing, which is good because I’m serious, too. Instead, he nods and says, “As serious as the worst of what we’ve been through. We’re catching up, remember?”
“Yes,” I answer both of his questions.
His brows furrow slightly. “Yes?”
“Yes, let’s get married.”
Collin grins, stands, and kisses me hard. A few hoots and hollers can be heard in the background. Collin stops kissing me long enough to slip my new, beautiful ring onto my finger before going in for another kiss.
“So,” he begins once our kissing session is completed. “Can we get married this weekend?” My eyes pop. “You can pick out a dress today with Deanna; I’ll get a tux. We’ll get our marriage license and then we’ll have a small ceremony Saturday before taking our honeymoon next week. It’s all planned if you’re ready.”
I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life, even though I wasn’t expecting it at all. It’s funny how life works out sometimes. Marrying Collin was nowhere on my radar, yet here we are and I couldn’t be happier about it. Although, all of his talks about the future lately make a lot more sense.
We’ve been through so much, individually and together. Our journey to this point was a long one, but it was worth it. Being together where
we belong is all the guarantee I need that our future, no matter how low the downs are, will be satisfying, fulfilling, and full of so much love.
When I turn around this time, to face our friends, our parents are now standing with them.
“It’s time, Julie,” Collin says softly.
My parents have joined me via phone for a few sessions with Trace and we’ve made some progress, but to see them here?
I didn’t know how I’d feel. It’s why I kept pushing my parents off when they asked if they could come visit. I didn’t think I would be prepared for it. But I find myself not only happy to see them, but relieved. Part of me wants to act like a little girl and run over for a hug. Instead, Collin and I walk over to everyone. With tears already falling down my face, I throw my arms around the necks of my parents.
“I’m sorry,” I cry.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Mom says.
“Thank you for not asking us to leave,” Dad says.
“We can stay, can’t we?” Mom asks.
I pull back and nod. “I’d be happy if you did.” Things aren’t as awkward as I thought they’d be. The negative emotions that I thought would overrun me aren’t there.
“Shall we split up and start shopping?” Deanna asks. “Julie needs a dress.”
And it hits me what I’ve said yes to. What will be happening this weekend. My gaze finds Collin who smiles.
That feeling I had when I came to North Carolina and kissed him? That feeling of the world finally being righted? I feel it again now. We are exactly where we belong.
Acknowledgements
Thank you, Kristalyn Thornock. You stand by me no matter what. Thank you for your patience!
Thank you, Angie Wells, for being a beta reader for me! Your feedback has proven time and time again to be so valuable and I don’t know what I would do without your help.
Thank you, Shannon Page. You fix my errors and help me put out a work I can be proud of.
Thank you, Robin from Wicked by Design. Your work is always beautiful!
Thank you, Julie from JT Formatting, for always making time for me!
Thank you, reader, for being patient and waiting for this story. I hope you love it as much as I do.
Lindsay Paige is the author of multiple Young Adult, New Adult, and Sports romances. She also enjoys writing books with characters who deal with anxiety and depression, issues which are close to her heart. Lindsay is a North Carolinian who loves watching hockey, having conversations with her two dogs, rewatching episodes of M*A*S*H, and living her dream of writing books for a living.
If you would like to hear news before anyone else, interact with Lindsay, and have a place to discuss her books with fellow fans, join Lindsay’s League on Facebook.
Author Links:
Website: lindsaypaige.com
Facebook: facebook.com/authorlindsaypaige
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lindsaysleague/
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Lindsay has written the following books/series:
Bending Under Pressure
Bold as Love series
Bracing for Love series
Carolina Rebels series
Don’t Panic
Sanity series
Without a Doubt
You Before Me
She has cowritten the following series:
The Penalty Kill Trilogy
Oh Captain, My Captain series
The Ninth Inning series
Coming Soon
Lindsay Paige is stepping outside of her comfort zone with her next book; stay tuned for more details!
Where We Belong (Carolina Rebels Book 8) Page 15