Smash Into You

by Shelly Crane

  "Even that's not soon enough."

  Then she laughed, cried some more, and jumped up in my arms. The park was empty and I was glad for it as I lifted her, pressing her spine gently to the tree. I took her wet kisses and licked at her mouth. She was barely controlling herself and it was making me wild. Her long skirt wasn't barrier enough for me and I felt so weak for her, but so strong with her.

  The combination was heady and explosive.

  My hand gripped her ribs as she pressed closer. I scooted my hand up past the side of her breast and then down, down. My palms loved on her behind while my lips loved on her mouth. My tongue loved on her tongue.

  Soon, my body would love on her body.

  I felt her hand in my back pocket, doing her own loving. I couldn't wait to feel her hands on me, to rob her of her breath with my hands claiming her skin. I let her lips go and smiled down at her, my grin so wide my cheeks hurt as the wind blew the branches around us. The whole setting was perfect, exactly what I wanted for when I asked her to marry me. I lifted my hand, showing her my pinky. "You going to say yes, sweetheart?"

  She gasped and covered her mouth. I let her feet fall gently to the ground and took her left hand in mine. I looked at her expectedly and she nodded emphatically. I pulled it from my pinky, kissed her left ring finger, and slipped it on. It fit perfectly just like she fit with me.

  "Jude," she complained in a happy sigh. "You didn't have to. I would have married you without it." She framed my face with her small, cool hands and grinned up at me. "Just like I don't want some insane wedding. I want a dress and a preacher and Pepe and you. And the ducks." I laughed. "And cake, obviously." I laughed harder. "That's all I need."

  "And I love you for it."

  "Did you plan this?" she asked.

  I shook my head. "I went to look at rings and try to make some sappy plan for one day. But I saw this ring and it all just seemed…right. I just…knew I didn't want to go another day without you knowing that I wanted you to be mine in all ways."

  "And I love you for it."

  "And I love you more."

  x

  There was more people there than just Pepe. She had several professors and students come from school. I had a couple of employees and Pepe, with his new young wife. Our neighbors who lived in the apartment complex. My grandparents, my father's parents. Yep. I finally got up the courage to contact them and told them the big, crazy story. They were stunned to say the least. They thought Mom had just wanted nothing to do with them since they weren't her parents. Mom didn't have any family to contact. We looked.

  And we realized that was one of the things that BioGene looked for in its test subjects. Someone that not too many people would look for.

  Marley searched, too, but came up empty, so I hired a private detective to do some digging for her. Turned out that her mom left her dad for an unknown reason, but they weren't married. Marley found out who her father was and what he did for a living. His name was Dennis and he worked on oil rigs, gone months at the time. Unfortunately, he had passed away a few years back and had no relatives. We did find a half sister, Sarah, who was much older than Marley. They had begun to talk some on the phone, but she wasn't there at the wedding with us. It was a strange predicament. Marley's father had left Sarah's mother for Marley's mother, and then moved on to someone else after that, so…there was obviously some animosity from Sarah there, even though neither child had anything to do with that.

  It was a work in progress, but it was nice to finally feel like we knew our mothers. My grandparents had visited twice since I'd found them, and yeah, things were awkward, but for the most part, they were just happy that I wanted them in my life.

  In fact, they even paid for our honeymoon trip for us to Maui. I fought them hard on it, but in the end, they said they missed out on spoiling their grandson when I was a kid. They wanted to do it, so I let them. We were leaving tonight on our very first plane ride.

  I couldn't wait for it. Any of it. Our lives weren't perfect, but we gripped what was left of it with all we had, with a plan to fill it with new memories that would steal our breath.

  But nothing else mattered as I watched her walk through her mom's willow tree to get to me. Her dress was long, simple, white, and beautiful. No one walked her down the aisle, but she was OK with that. When she got halfway there, Hey, Jude began to play. I felt my mouth open in surprise.

  Marley's eyes held a loving secret and I knew right then that it was her. She was letting my mom be here with me on our day, in the only way she could be here. And Marley's mom was here in her own way as Marley pushed the willow branches aside and smiled, biting her lip.

  As my mom sang to me in my memories, I welcomed a lifetime of new ones with the girl currently making her way to me. And when she reached me, I knew this was forever as my heart burst, full of sunshine and rays of happiness pushing out all the bad stuff.

  The day she smashed into me wasn't just the best day of my life—it was the day that I became a man. I would spend an eternity making her happy, every hour of the day loving every inch of her, every minute remembering that she saved me.

  When the preacher asked me if I would love and cherish this woman forever, I would tell him that I was way ahead of him.

  Marley Jackson was mine, and I was hers, all smashed together for our happily ever after.

  X

  The Very End

  Playlist

  Demons : Imagine Dragons

  All I Want : Kodaline

  Dust and Bones : Night Terrors of 1927

  Let Them Feel Your Heartbeat : Silent Film

  In My Veins : Andrew Belle

  Give Me Love : Ed Sheeran

  Biffy Clyro : Opposite

  I Love You : Alex Clare

  If So : Atlas Genius

  Beneath Your Beautiful : Labrinth

  Running Up That Hill : Placebo

  The Shadow Proves the Sunshine : Switchfoot

  Saved : Spill Canvas

  Girls Like You : The Naked and Famous

  Kiss Quick : Matt Nathanson

  Back Seat : Atlas Genius

  You Are : Colton Dixon

  Whistle For the Choir : The Fratellis

  Stubborn Love : The Lumineers

  Hey, Jude : The Beatles

  THANK YOU

  To my husband, Axel. As always, you're amazing and supportive. Nothing would ever get done without you. The 'book stuff' is consuming, but you bring me back to reality. I love you infinity.

  Thank you to my girls, the HELLCATS, Michelle Leighton, Lila Felix, Amy Bartol, Samantha Young, Georgia Cates, Rachel Higginson, Angeline Kace, and Quinn Loftis. You girls are amazing at keeping me sane and I love you to itty bitty pieces. You complete me.

  Jamie Magee, you are my new soul mate! (See what I did there?)

  My street team, Sweet Street. I heart you so much for all your help and the way you rally together. You're awesome! Mwah!

  Mary Smith - BooksAcrossAmerica, Mandy - IReadIndie, Candace Selph, Fabulous and Fun - Mike and Jenny, Little Bit of R&R - Ren, Kelly and Nazarea - Inkslinger PR, TSK TSK What To Read, Cynthia Shepp - Editing, Sarah - Okay Creations. You all are the best and helped immensely with this book and the ones before it. Thank you!

  To my awesome readers, thank you for sticking with me. Fourteen books later, I've tried to keep things the same vibe while making each book different and fresh. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

  Other series by Shelly Crane

  Significance Series

  Collide Series

  Devour Series

  Stealing Grace Series

  Wide Awake

  Smash Into You

  Shelly is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spe
nd time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read.

  Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.

  Shelly's website:

  www.shellycrane.blogspot.com

  Turn the page

  for a peek of Shelly Crane's other series

  WIDE AWAKE

  Useless Fact Number One

  A A duck's quack doesn't echo and no one knows why.

  Someone was speaking. No, he was yelling. It sounded angry, but my body refused to cooperate with my commands to open my eyes and be nosy. I tried to move my arms and again, there was no help from my limbs. It didn't strike me as odd until then.

  I heard, "All I'm saying is that you need to be on time from now on." Then a slammed door startled me. I felt my lungs suck in breath that burned and hissed unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It was as if my lungs no longer performed that function and were protesting.

  I heard a noise, a gaspy sound, and my cheek was touched by warm fingers. "Emma?" I tried to pry my eyes open and felt the glue that seemed to hold them hostage begin to let go. "Emma?"

  Who was Emma? I felt the first sliver of light and tried to lift my arm to shield myself, but it wouldn't budge. Whoever was in the room with me must've seen me squint, because the light was doused almost immediately to a soft glow. My eyelids fluttered without strength. I tried to focus on the boy before me. Or maybe he was a man. He was somewhere in between. I didn't know who he was, but he seemed shocked that I was looking up at him.

  "Emma, just hold on. I'm your physical therapist and you're in the hospital. Your…" he looked back toward the door, "parents aren't here right now, but we'll call them. Don't worry."

  I looked quizzically at him. What was he was going on and on about? That was when I saw the tubes on my chest connecting my face to the monitors. The beeping felt like a knife through my brain. I looked at the stranger's hazel eyes and pleaded with him to explain.

  He licked his lips and said softly, "Emma, you were in an accident. You've been in a coma. They weren't sure if…you'd wake up or not."

  Of everything he just said, the only thing I could think was, 'Who's Emma?'

  He leaned down to be more in my line of sight. "I'll be right back. I promise." Then he pressed a button on the side of the bed several times and went to the door. He was yelling again. I tried to shift my head to see him, but nothing of my body felt like mine. I started to panic, my breaths dragging from my lungs.

  He came back to me and placed a hand on my arm. "Emma, stay calm, OK?"

  I tried, I really did, but my body was freaking out without my permission. His face was suddenly surrounded by so many other faces. He was pushed aside and I felt my panic become uncontrollable.

  I thrashed as much as I could, but felt the sting in my arm as they all chattered around me. They wouldn't even look me in the eye. That man…boy...was the only one who had even acknowledged me at all. The rest of them just scooted around each other like I wasn't important or wouldn't understand their purpose, like it was a job. Then I realized where I was and guessed it was their job.

  My eyelids began to fight with me again and I cursed whoever it was that had stuck the needle into my arm. But as the confusion faded and the air become fuzzy, I welcomed the drugs that slid through my veins. It made the faces go away. It made my eyes close and I dreamed of things I knew nothing about.

  My eyes felt lighter this time when they opened themselves. The fluttering felt more natural and I felt more alive. I could turn my head this time, too, and when I did I saw something disturbing.

  There were strangers crying at my bedside.

  The woman caught me looking her way and yelled, "Thank the Lord!" in a massive flourish that had me recoiling. She threw herself dramatically across the side of my bed and sobbed. I shifted my gaze awkwardly to the man and waited as he stood slowly, never taking his eyes from mine. "Emmie?" When I squinted he said, "Emma?"

  When I went to speak this time, the tubes had been removed. I let my tongue snake out to taste my lips. They were dry. I was thirsty on a whole new level and glanced at the coffee cup stuck between his palms. He looked at it, too, and guessed what I wanted. He sprung to set the cup down quickly and fill an impossibly smaller cup with water from a plastic pitcher. I tried to take it from his fingers, but he must have sensed I needed help, because he held my hands with his and I gulped it down in one swig with his help. My arms ached at the small workout they were getting and again I wondered what I was doing there.

  I made him fill it three more times before I was satisfied and then leaned back to the bed. I decided to try to get some answers. I started slow and careful. "Where am I?" I said. It felt like my voice was strong, but the noise that came out was raspy and grated.

  "You're in the…hospital, Emmie," the woman sobbing on my bed explained. She smiled at me, her running mascara marring her pretty, painted face. "We thought we'd never get you back."

  That stopped everything for me.

  "What do you mean?" I whispered.

  She frowned and glanced back at the man. He frowned, too. "What do you remember about your accident, sweetheart?"

  I shook my head. "I don't remember anything." I thought hard. Actually, that statement was truer than I had intended it to be. I couldn't remember…anything. I sucked in a breath. "Who are you? Do you know something about my…accident?"

  The woman's devastated face told me she knew everything, but there was apparently something I was missing. She threw her face back onto my bed and sobbed so loudly that the nurse came in. She looked at the man there. He glanced to me, a little hint of some betrayal that I couldn't understand in his eyes, before looking back to the nurse. "She must have amnesia."

  The nurse ignored him and took my wrist in her hand to check my pulse. I wanted to glare at her. What the heck did my pulse have to do with anything at that moment? "Vitals are stable. How do you feel?" she asked me.

  How did I feel? Was she for real? I rasped out my words. "I feel like there's something everyone isn't telling me."

  She smiled sympathetically, a side of wryness there. "I'll get the doctor."

  I looked up at her. She was short and petite, her blond hair in a bun and her dog and cat scrubs were crisp. I watched her go before looking to the man again.

  "I don't understand what's going on. Did I…" A horrifying thought crossed my brain. The gasp I sucked in hurt my throat. "Did I kill someone? Did I hit them with my car or something? Is that why you're all being so weird?"

  The man's own eyes began to fill then. I felt bad about that. I knew it was my fault, I just didn't know why. He rubbed the woman's back soothingly. He shook his head to dispel my theory and took a deep breath. A breath loaded with meaning and purpose. "Emmie…you were in an accident," he repeated once again that I was 'in an accident'. OK, I got that. I wanted him to move on to the part that explained the sobbing woman on my bed. He continued after a pause, "You were…walking home from a party after the football game. Someone…hit you. A hit and run, they said. The person was never found. They left you there and eventually someone else came along and helped you. But you'd already lost a lot of blood and…" He shook his head vigorously. "Anyway, you've been here for six months. You were in a coma, Emmie."

  I took in a lungful of air and uttered the question that I somehow knew was going to change my world. "Why do you keep calling me Emmie?"

  He grimaced. "That's your name. Emma Walker. We always…called you Emmie."

  "My name… Emma," I tasted the name. "I don't feel like an Emma."

  He smiled sadly. "Oh, baby. I'm so sorry this happened to you."

  The woman raised her head. "Emmie." She tried
to smile through her tears. "Try to remember," she urged. "Remember what your favorite color is?" She nodded and answered for me, "Pastel Pink. That's what you were thinking, right?"

  Pastel pink was the last color I would have ever picked. She tried again. "Or purple?"

  Uh... "Are you sure I'm Emma?" She started to sob again and I felt bad, I did, but I needed answers. "Who are you?"

  "We're your parents," the man answered. "I'm…Rhett. And your mother is Isabella. Issie…" he drawled distractedly.

  "Rhett?" I asked. "Like in Gone With the Wind?"

  He smiled. "That was your favorite movie when you were little."

  I closed my mouth and felt the weight bear into my chest. I wasn't me. I had no idea who I was. These people claimed to know me and be my parents, but how could I just forget them? How could I forget a whole life?

  I tried really hard to remember my real name, my real life, but nothing came. So, I threw my Hail Mary, my last attempt to prove that I wasn't crazy and didn't belong to these strangers, however nice they may be. "Do you have some pictures? Of me?"

  In no time, two accordion albums were in my lap - one from the man's wallet and one from the woman's. I picked up the first, trying to sit up a bit. The man pressed the button to make the bed lean up and I waited awkwardly until it reached the upright position. I glanced at the first photo.

  It was the man, the woman, two girls, and a boy. They were all standing in the sunlight in front of the Disneyland sign. The man was wearing a cheesy Mickey Mouse ears hat. I glanced at him and he smiled with hope. I hated to burst the little bubble that had formed for him, but I didn't recognize any of these people. The pictures proved nothing. "I don't know any of those people."