Elastic Heart: (The Happy Endings Resort Book 6)
Page 8
Five years. My eyes drifted to the middle of the lake. I listened closely. I waited a beat until the night’s silence morphed into our familiar melody, the one we both knew so well. I hummed along with her voice singing the words we penned so long ago in my head.
Sister, Sister, hold me near.
I waited, although the thing I had been longing for after all of this time would never come. I knew this, but I waited still. The one piece of my cracked open heart was much too far to reach. The only thing to stop me from running away from my reality was that I’d never see her crystal blue eyes again. Living was all I could do.
Sister, sister, have no fear.
My truth lives there, smack dab in the middle of the lake, right alongside the echo of her sweet voice. I stared in disbelief at the place where the muddied water met the dry unkempt land on the other side.
As a distraction, I closed my eyes, as I always did when I desperately needed to remember her. It stopped my mind from going to the dark place. Instead, I was instantly transported back in time. It was the summer of 2010, our last summer together. The scent of barbecue surrounded me and I breathed it in deeply. In my head, my safe place, Caitlyn was standing right beside me. I reached my hand out and imagined holding hers, our fingers intertwined. I breathe a sigh of relief. In the safey of my mind, I wasn’t with Caitlyn in death anymore. Behind my eyelids, our lives were still being lived out under the sun and deep within our hearts. Memories, my real-life time travel, always kept her alive.
Sister, sister, I’m always here.
A hot tear rolled fast down my cheek. My daydreams both comforted me and caused me terrible pain. There was no relief in the loss I felt, not even in her memory, as much as I tried to fool myself.
All of these years I have waited for her killer to be identified and apprehended. I prayed he would be locked up so he would never hurt another person again. For me, however, it wouldn’t change a thing. Nothing would bring Caitlyn back.
Oh, my sister, I love you, Dear.
I responded to my memory aloud. “I love you more.”
It had been five years since Caitlyn was brutally murdered and left for dead in the lake behind our cabin at Happy Endings Resort, our sacred place. Yet, it felt as if no time had passed at all. Until her killer was found, I’d never be able to move on and she would never be able to rest in peace.
I uncorked the chilled Sauvignon Blanc and slowly poured it into my souvenir glass from the first annual music festival dubbed, “Caitlyn’s Concert” in 2010. As I drank down the perfect white wine, I knew exactly who would force me into closure. After five years, it was time for an in-person reunion.
Happy Endings Resort Series
The Happy Endings Resort Series FB Page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Happy-Endings-Resort-Series/793762117371160
Find each HERS book listed on Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/series/147104-happy-endings-resort
Book 1: The Inheritance by: Jennifer Benson
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Inheritance-Happy-Endings-Resort-Book-ebook/dp/B00TXVMOL0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1437264204&sr=1-1&keywords=happy+endings+resort+series&pebp=1437264213684&perid=0ST3THW7RBF9RNTWDPGC
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Benson-Author/245003878989266
Book 2: Anywhere With You by: Danielle Jamie
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Anywhere-You-Novella-Endings-Resort-ebook/dp/B00VH7FWLC/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1437264204&sr=1-2&keywords=happy+endings+resort+series&pebp=1437264346048&perid=0ST3THW7RBF9RNTWDPGC
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDanielleJamie
Book 3: Drunk on You by: Glenna Maynard
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Drunk-Happy-Endings-Resort-Book-ebook/dp/B00VXYTTHC/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1437264204&sr=1-4&keywords=happy+endings+resort+series&pebp=1437264456443&perid=0ST3THW7RBF9RNTWDPGC
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGlennaMaynard
Book 4: Finding Us by: T.H. Snyder
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Happy-Endings-Resort-Book-ebook/dp/B00YAQV464/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1437264204&sr=1-3&keywords=happy+endings+resort+series&pebp=1437264546686&perid=0ST3THW7RBF9RNTWDPGC
https://www.facebook.com/authorthsnyder
Book 5: Summer Maintenance by: Jennifer Foor
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Maintenance-Happy-Ending-Resort-ebook/dp/B010E4UZXS/ref=sr_1_sc_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1437264664&sr=1-5-spell&keywords=jennifer+floor
https://www.facebook.com/JenniferFoorAuthor
Book 6: Elastic Heart by: Evelyne Stone
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Evelyne-Stone/434966173278127
End of August 2015
Kristina Rienzi
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End of September 2015
Jenn Braddock
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End of October 2015
M. Stratton
https://www.facebook.com/MLStrattonAuthor
End of November 2015
Lisa Survillas
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLIsaSurvillas
End of December 2015
Antoinette Candela
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Antoinette-Candela-Author/338524812920607
End of January 2016
Liv Morris
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End of February 2016
Heather Dahlgren
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHeatherDahlgren
End of March 2016
Kari March
https://www.facebook.com/karimarchauthor
End of April 2016
Renee Ericson
https://www.facebook.com/ericsonrenee
End of May 2016
Chelle C. Craze
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChelleCCraze
End of June 2016
Andrea Michelle
https://www.facebook.com/booksbyandreamichelle
End of July 2016
JL Beck
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End of August 2016
N.m. Silber
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End of September 2016
Neeny Boucher
https://www.facebook.com/authorneeny.boucher
End of October 2016
Scarlett Dawn
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorScarlettDawn
End of November 2016
Heather Gunter
https://www.facebook.com/Author.HeatherGunter
End of December 2016
Brandy Lynn
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBrandyLynn
End of January 2017
Isabella Bearden
https://www.facebook.com/isabellabeardenauthor
End of February 2017
Nickie Seidler
https://www.facebook.com/Author.Nickie.Seidler/
Elastic Heart
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Elastic Heart is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Also by Evelyne Stone:
Destroying the Wrong (Book 1 in the Wrong Series)
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Destroying-Wrong-
Book-1-ebook/dp/B00FE68RB4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Denying the Wrong (Book 2 in the Wrong Series)
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Denying-Wrong-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00NUSWD68
Contact the author via
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Evelyne-Stone/434966173278127
Twitter: @evelynestone78
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7106623.Evelyne_Stone
Acknowledgments
Kimberly Brancatelli, you are so patient and kind. I love you and can’t wait to work on the next one with you!
Bryan Miller, I hit the jackpot when I found you for proofreading!
Jennifer Short Benson, you are an amazing friend! Thank you for organizing this series. It’s been so much fun and I can’t wait to work on another project with you!
Michele Stratton, you and I go together better than peanut butter and jelly. You know my love for you is never ending.
Chelle Craze, my crazy ass friend, you know exactly what to say and when to say it...I love you. And, thank you for finally making me an aunt!
My parents have loved and supported me my whole life. I love you both more than you’ll ever know.
My kids: Eric, Julianne, Trinity and Abygail. Every day I love you more. Thank you for putting up with my time on the computer and the many nights I didn’t cook.
Last, but not least, my better half, Steven. You never let me give up and I am forever grateful. I love you so much.