by Nikki Lane
“How?” I asked. “Who’s going to take care of everything if I do that. What about Kasey? I can’t let her think she has nowhere to go.”
“So, you’re going to come to everyone’s rescue all the time? How about you? How about helping yourself for a change.” He held my shoulders. “It’s not your job to be her mother. She has one already.”
“Barely,” I said.
“It’s time for someone else to take over, Maeve. Don’t push everyone away so you have to do it all.”
“I just want better for her.” My face had become a sopping mess.
“I know. But this isn’t the way. Please. Let me help. You can’t keep doing this alone.”
“What if I’m not enough?” I felt the release in my chest with the admission of my greatest fear. “What if I’m not enough for you?”
Jacob pulled me close to his body. The blade of his finger trailed down my cheek and lingered near my lips. My eyes were held in his trance, mesmerized by the honesty they held.
“You are more than anything I could ever ask for. And no matter what, I won't give up on us. Even when things get shitty. Shittier than when you think to yourself it can't get any shittier than this.”
“I don’t know if I can do it, Jacob. Submit to this feeling. Love can rip you open, break you apart bit by bit.”
“And I’ll pick up every broken piece between us and put them back together with bleeding fingers if it’ll make you mine.”
I held my breath as he pressed his lips on mine.
“Do you love me, Maeve? Tell me if you do, because I’ve been waiting for you to say those words to me again.” His thumb grazed the tear that ran over my cheek. “Say it only if you’re sure. Only if you mean it.”
“I love you, Jacob. I’ve never been so sure of something my whole life.”
I ignored the jolt of pain in my lip as he kissed me again, deeper this time. The taste of him, the feeling of his tongue curling around mine was a natural anesthetic against anything that could ever hurt me.
I didn’t know how long the feeling would last. Forever? Maybe. The uncertainty of that no longer worried me. Forever, a hundred years, one week. It wasn’t important. This was the great love that I deserved.
And I would get to live the rest of my life knowing I held on to it for as long as I could.
Epilogue
With eyes shut, I dug my toes into the cool sand. The sun scorched down, warming my skin. I’d forgotten how much I liked the beach.
A screech of laughter broke through the sound of crashing waves and cawing sea gulls.
“Maeve,” Kasey called.
I cracked an eye open. “What?”
“Are you just going to lie there the whole time we’re here?”
“I was planning on it.”
Her hair was wet at the roots and dry at the ends. Sand speckled her already sun-kissed skin. What I would have done for her complexion.
“Come in the water,” she said.
I opened the other eye, but the sun was making it hard to do anything but squint. I should have gone back to the car for my sunglasses.
“Is it cold?” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s the ocean, duh. Not the bathtub.”
Her teen years were going to be fun.
“Come on, Maeve. You’re roasting out here like the Thanksgiving turkey.”
I looked down at my oiled-up arms. About two shades darker than when we’d gotten there. Not too shabby.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
She smiled wide and ran back toward the water. “She’s coming in!”
I got up from the blanket and rubbed my hands together to get the sand off. Kasey caught a wave and tried to ride to shore with her boogie board.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her happier,” Mom said. She sat in the beach chair under the umbrella. A few more gusts of wind, and I was sure it would go rampaging down the beach.
Kasey lost her grip and went tumbling into the surf. Jacob caught hold of the board before it went back out with the tide.
“I know,” I said, staring at Jacob.
“Same goes for you,” she said.
I looked back at her. “Guess you were right, after all.”
She smiled, small at first and then a little wider. “You better get over there. Jacob looks like he could use some help.”
He caught sight of me and smiled; it was so wide it gave the sun some competition. A wave crashed down at his waist, and he slicked back his wet hair with his hand.
Why was I still standing here?
I sidestepped around pails and shovels and random beach toys scattered between the sand and water. The tide was retreating, leaving a layer of crushed shells and seaweed in its wake.
Kasey came shuffling toward me, water splashing under her feet.
A few frigid drops hit me, and my hot skin flushed with goosebumps. “Don’t come any closer.”
She walked past me and plopped down on the wet sand. “Maybe I can find a hermit crab to take back with us.”
Jacob came traipsing out of the water, soaked and looking like he belonged in some sports magazine photo shoot.
“Coming in?” He reached his hand out.
Who could resist an invitation like that?
I held his hand as he coaxed me into the water. I hissed and shrieked as we waded deeper into the ocean. A lump of seaweed brushed over my foot.
“This is even worse than the lake,” I said.
Jacob chuckled. “Why is that?”
We were knee-deep, which seemed plenty deep to me. But Jacob kept pulling.
“Sea creatures are much worse than lake creatures,” I said.
“Don’t worry,” he replied. “I already did a check. This area is sea creature-free.”
We stopped where the water had become waist deep.
“You think of everything,” I said, relieved we weren’t venturing out farther.
Jacob pulled me close to his wet body. I rested my head on his chest.
“Wish we could come back tomorrow,” I said. “I love it here.”
He ran a hand over my wet hair and kissed the top of my head. “Maybe we will.”
“That would be great if I didn’t have to work.”
“So, quit,” he said.
I looked up at him. “Very funny.”
A smirk spread over his face.
“Will you come visit me during my shift?” I asked.
The lunch shift hadn’t been my favorite since it was usually slower than dinner. And the lunch crowd just didn’t tip as well. The only perk was when Jacob would come in to eat during his break.
“Of course,” he said.
“Oh wait,” I said. “I thought you were taking Kasey to her doctor’s appointment.”
“Your mom said she’d handle it.”
“Oh…okay.”
My gaze fell over the shoreline. Mom and Kasey were both nestled near the water, their hands digging into the dark sand. It seemed like a mirage. I blinked hard, but they were still there, laughing, elbows deep in sand.
I let out a deep breath and felt my worries go out with the tide. Not of all them, of course. But the ones I’d been holding on to for far too long. Kasey was happier with Mom around, and Aunt Meg and Uncle Jim had put the farm up for sale. I’d been fighting both of those things for so long, I’d forgotten why. But I didn’t want to waste any more time worrying about things I couldn’t control.
“She keeps asking if she can get a pet when she moves in with your mom,” Jacob said.
My gaze fell back on his face, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Not my problem.”
My fingers fiddled with the wet hair around his neck. His eyes soaked me in as I leaned in to set my lips on his. He cradled my neck and I closed my eyes, no longer afraid to turn my back to the ocean behind me.
Acknowledgement
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About The Author
Nikkie Lane
Nikki Lane grew up and still lives on the East Coast. She refuses to moves any farther inland than the seagulls can fly. Nikki loves sweets and her two terrier babies. Her passion for romance stories keeps her awake some nights, thinking of new ideas. When she's not writing, she makes time for painting, crocheting, and catching up on her reading.
Books By This Author
The Second Time Around
Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Ricky Perry walks through the door. Alexa did good to avoid Ricky the first time around, but this isn’t high school, and Ricky is as appealing as ever. Now she's stuck living back home with an overbearing mother, no job, and no prospects. Alexa knows it's time to get her shit together. But can she do that when Ricky is trying his best to break through the wall she's desperately trying to keep up?
Ricky Perry was--and still is--the sexy alpha male that every girl wants. Every girl but one. Alexa had claimed a piece of his heart when they were just kids. But now, all she sees is the fuck boy reputation that's been following him around since high school.
Maybe Ricky will just give up and move on, or maybe Alexa will finally give in to the temptation the second time around.
A friends-to-lovers romance.
If You Let Me
What did too much alcohol and a one night stand equal? A quick getaway the next morning. Now that she had finally ended her dry spell, Rose is looking forward to forgetting the whole thing. She has bigger fish to fry, like working two jobs and making sure her dad is taking his insulin. Oh, and NOT killing the new neighbor. He's an insomniac with a penchant for partying and operating power tools at 2 am.
Kieran is a mystery to her--one that slowly unravels each day. He's still holding back the piece of him that could explain his strange behavior, that she was sure. Is Rose willing to put up with all the rest in order to find out? She doesn't need another person to lose sleep over. But those glimpses of who Kieran really is beneath all the crazy might just be worth sticking around.
An enemies-to-lovers romance.
Young Love Dies Hard
The Young Brothers, Book 1