Yet for all the physical intimacy, we were still mysteries to each other. I had tried not to bore Rachel with the nitty gritty of my doomed relationship, and she was always reluctant to talk about her past. When I did once ask her about her husband, she quickly shut me down with a frosty glare and screamed, “You don’t need to know, just leave it at that!” So I kept things simple, lighthearted, and wonderfully superficial.
—
One Friday morning I did the unforgivable. While Rachel was outside ice fishing on the lake, I took a quick peek through the pile of pages she had written. Nervously peering out of the frosty window every so often, just in case I would be caught in the act. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but curiosity got the better of my decency.
There was one particular piece that jumped out at me.
Revenge
Did you feel the blade?
cold metal slicing
through butter skin,
your blood—
the color of strawberry jam,
sticky upon my fingers.
The gurgling opera of death—
such sweet notes
played on a red stage,
soft murmurings
of a cheating heart,
slowly stilled to silence,
a throat cut,
eyes rolling backward.
To think I loved you once—
my dearest dead husband,
never to rest in peace,
and when you burn
in the fires of Hell,
think of me—
the girl whose life
you took first.
While I read the lines for a second time, little did I know just how quickly a dark serendipity would change everything in an instant.
The distant wailing of police sirens made my body jolt upright, the page falling out of my hands. My head spun back to the window. I could see the silhouette of Rachel getting out of her chair and standing up on the blanket of icy white.
I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck. My heart sinking as I raced out the front door and ran toward the lake. A couple of police cars skidded to a halt near me. I heard the noise of an ice drill starting up.
As I got closer to Rachel, I could see what she was doing. Her arms vibrating as she frantically cut away at the hole in the ice, making it wider.
“Rachel!” I screamed, a large cloud of breath exploding from my lips.
Rachel dropped the drill and stared in my direction. A quiet smile breaking across her rosy cheeks. Behind me I could hear voices yelling. I turned around and saw the police coming, guns drawn, and a barking dog tugging at its leash, held by the old man who had rented us the place.
I looked back at Rachel, panic surging through me, only to be met again by that serene smile.
“I’ll never forget you.” Her words reaching me before I could wrap my arms around her.
In a matter of seconds she was gone. Not even a splash of water to mark her descent into the hole, as she plunged feet first under the lake.
To be lost forever.
—
How can I forget the warmth of your body, the love that burned brightly within our hearts? You were my winter of summers.
Thank You
As the curtain falls on Winter of Summers and my words slip away into the shadows, I bid you a fond farewell.
For me, it’s the saddest part of writing a book.
I know many of you like to read my books more than once. Which gives me some small comfort. Knowing we will find each other once more, somewhere within these pages.
If the stars collide, and I get really lucky, perhaps we’ll meet up again in one of my other books.
Dirty Pretty Things, Bitter Sweet Love, or even Smoke & Mirrors.
Until then, please don’t be a stranger. Let’s stay in touch on my official Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. I’d love to know which poems, pieces of prose, or short stories resonated with you.
Thank you for your wonderful support.
It means everything to me.
Love always,
—Michael x
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to my literary agent, Al Zuckerman, for everything you do for me. I had such a wonderful time with you and Claire in Sydney. I can’t wait to catch up again in New York! Many thanks to Samantha Wekstein too, and all the team at Writers House, New York.
Thank you so much, Kirsty Melville, Patty Rice, and everyone at Andrews McMeel, for all your enthusiasm, hard work, and for bringing a Winter of Summers into the world. Kirsty, I will always remember that beautiful lunch we had at Balmoral Beach. I look forward to the next one and hope Patty will be there to help us finish another bottle of stunning wine.
Tinca Veerman, you have so many amazing artworks, choosing just one is an almost impossible task. This is our fourth book cover together and I love it. Thank you, as always.
To Oliver, my son who is now taller than me, (yes, I finally admit it), I love you so much. Not a day goes by without me thinking of you and just how proud I am to be your Dad.
Mum and Dad, nothing makes me happier than when we are all sitting around the one table. Thanks for making your last trip to New Zealand so memorable. Especially our lunch at Café Hanoi.
To my grandmother, Doris, who passed away this year, you will always live on in my heart and in this book.
To Genevieve, who is always there for me, thank you for being you. I had such a great time with you and Ryder in Auckland. Hurry up and come back.
Thank you to all my friends, you know who you are.
And to all my lovely readers, I can’t thank you enough.
About the Author
Michael Faudet is the author of the international bestsellers Dirty Pretty Things, Bitter Sweet Love, and Smoke & Mirrors. His books have been nominated in the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Poetry. Dirty Pretty Things was also selected by Sylvia Whitman, the owner of the iconic Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris, as one of her personal favorite books of 2016.
He frequently explores the intricacies of love, loss, relationships, and sex in poetry, prose, and short stories. His lyrical and often sensual writing continues to attract readers from all around the world.
Before turning his hand to writing books, Michael enjoyed a successful career in advertising as an award-winning executive creative director. He managed creative departments and developed advertising campaigns for major brands in many countries.
Michael is represented by the literary agency Writers House, New York. He currently lives in New Zealand in a little house by the sea with girlfriend and author Lang Leav.
INDEX
Introduction
About the Author
Ace of Hearts
Acknowledgments
A Dream
Alchemy
A Lighthouse in a Storm
All About You
Alone Again
A Love This Strong
Always You
A New Beginning
A Perfect World
A Quick Kiss
Arabian Dawn
A Single Kiss
A Summer Gone
A Summer Story
A Tired Butterfly
A Withered Heart
A World of Pretend
Bliss
Blue Skies
Books
Broken Umbrella
Burnt Letters
Carousel
Change
Closer
Coffee with the Ex
Collaboration
Consequences
Crown of Thorns
Denial
Empty Words
Five Seconds
&nb
sp; Friday Epiphany
Haters
How It Feels
Ignorance
I Miss You
INDEX
In Letters Sent
In the Blink of an Eye
Into Depths
Introduction
In Your Arms
Isolation
It’s My Life
I’ve Tried to Forget You
I Was Wrong
Just Another Word
Just for Now
Just One More Day
Just When
Just You
Little Did I Know
Live Your Life
Love on Mute
Melting Ice Cream
My Grandmother
My Sunday Muse
No More Wishes
Please Stay
Respect
Restless
Run
Sharjah
Sleeping Beauty
Striptease
Summer
Sunshine Girl
Sweet Corruption
Sweet Nothings
Take Not
Thank You
The Birthday Party
The Break Up
The Cult of Two
The Final Chapter
The First Time We Met
The Language of Flowers
The Passing of Years
The Real You
The Silence
The Wedding Present
Tokoriki
Trigger Warning
Truth or Dare?
Turned On
We Held Nothing Back
Welcome Home
We Sipped
When I First Saw You
When the Dark Clouds Came
When You Left
Who Am I?
Winter of Summers
Wisdom
You
You Are Beautiful
You Came into My Life
Your Voice
Winter of summers
copyright © 2018 by Michael Faudet. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.
Andrews McMeel Publishing
a division of Andrews McMeel Universal
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
www.michaelfaudet.com
ISBN: 978-1-5248-5136-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018954751
Cover art by Tinca Veerman
www.tincaveerman.com
Editor: Patty Rice
Designer, Art Director: Julie Barnes
Production Editor: David Shaw
Production Manager: Cliff Koehler
Digital Production: Kristen Minter
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