by Stacey Lynn
I press my lips to his, swallowing his sounds, and pull back enough so that he can see my eyes, just inches from his.
“I know what you meant, Chase.”
Five Years Later …
“Hey babe,” Chase says, and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before turning back to the grill where Jake and Zack are pretending to help him. Our backyard is overflowing with our friends and families. It’s incredible to have everyone all together in our new, suburban house. “Burgers will be done in just a few minutes. Is everything else ready?”
I look around the yard and can’t think of any single thing I’d want to change. Zack and Nic are here with their two kids. Their oldest boy, Carter, has a large mop of crazy blonde curls and green eyes just like his dad. He’ll be five in a few months and their daughter ,Elsie, is just a few months old. Garrett is chasing River and their two-year-old twin boys, Max and Spike, around the pool. I wave to my parents who are chilling out in a pair of lounge chairs in the shade with Chase’s foster parents. It’s the first time they’re finally meeting, and so far my parent’s visit has been incredibly fun. My dad has been clean for five years and he’s making up for all of his lousy parenting by being an incredible grandparent.
I finish taking the pasta salad out to one of the food tables and then grab Elsie from Nic’s arms, plopping down on a chair next to her, Sammy, and Chloe.
“Hey beautiful baby girl.” I kiss her belly until she giggles and wiggles her hands in the air. She has on a tutu and a shirt with a hot pink guitar on it that says, “my daddy rocks”. She’s so cute. “How are you doing, Sammy?”
She looks miserably uncomfortable, but she smiles as she runs her hands over her stomach. “Tired and cranky. Jake’s threatening to move out until this little girl is born.”
“He’s not moving in with us,” the rest of us girls say simultaneously, falling into a round of laughter.
“How are your kids doing, Mia?” Chloe looks at me with concern and my eyes immediately scan the yard.
I frown when I see Brayden. He was three when he was found in an apartment with his mom who overdosed on crack. The human services coordinator told us he had been alone with her for almost two days while she passed away on their living room floor before anyone bothered to check on him. He’s six now, but you can see the pain in his eyes every time you look at him. He has an anger inside that rivals the largest men I’ve ever seen. He hasn’t been an easy boy to parent, but he’s an easy boy to love. When we got our first call to be foster parents, I was scared out of mind that his situation would be too much for me, but Chase draped an arm around my shoulders, took the phone from me, and said we’d do it.
And then there’s Anna and Marie. They’re four and eight and their parents died in a car accident, one that wasn’t unlike Chase’s parents. I said yes immediately the day we got that call and never looked back. Our house is crazy loud and there are a lot of challenges. Our kids have a lot of anger and even more sadness in them, but Chase and I hope that we’re able to replace that with love so that eventually the good overpowers the bad.
“They’re perfect,” I say with a smile and tears in my eyes. We’ve only had Anna and Maria for a few months, but just last night, Anna hugged us for the first time on her own. It was a breakthrough and both Chase and I cried when she held on tight to us. I blink the happy tears away and look out at the madness in the yard. “We look like we could run a daycare center.”
I blow another raspberry on Elsie’s guitar shirt just as Chase takes off across the yard, screaming at the kids and waving his arms like he’s a wild monkey. The kids take off screaming and laughing while they dive in and out of the playground and around the basketball court that we just had installed in the backyard for Brayden.
Once all the kids are wrestled up, the food is served, and drinks are handed out, Chase pulls me up to his side and we stand together, arms wrapped around one another.
I smile at Chase, my body heating up just like it always does. In five years of finally being in a relationship, and after being married for four, my desire for him hasn’t waned a single bit. I hope it never does. Our marriage hasn’t always been easy. There are times, every year when I get retested, and I fear the worst news possible. Chase brings me back to the present every single time, and so far, I’ve been in remission for five years. We hope to make it to fifty, if not more.
And we have our fights. Adjusting to suddenly having older children in the house has caused more fights than we ever could imagine, and over the dumbest things – like socks and random things not being put away – but we’re always able to move on from them quickly and with a lot of laughter.
When we come together at the end of the night, we’re reminded of the love that we not only have for one another and our friends and family, but we’re blessed to be able to share that with the kids who are able to spend time in our home – whether it’s for a night or for years.
I lean up and brush my nose back and forth against Chase’s before pressing my lips to his. He tastes like beer and sex. I can’t contain smile.
I wouldn’t change a single thing.
I feel like every time I finish a book my list of people to thank grows longer. There are so many people who invest their time and their talents and I am so grateful for each of you.
First to my husband and children. Thank you for being so patient with me, for encouraging me in my dreams, and understanding when I have to work for “just a few more minutes.” Thank you to my children who tell their teachers and everyone they know that their mom is the best book writer in the whole world. To my grandma, who pimps my books like crazy to all of her friends: I love you and your enthusiasm!
Thank you to Kimberly, Lisa, Brooke, and Madeline for reading the very first, very rough draft of this story. Every one of you helped make it better. I’m so thankful for our friendships.
To Natalie and Amanda: You girls are the best beta readers in the entire world. My books would suck without your advice and encouragement. Thank you for cheering me on!
To Taylor, my editor. I promise you that someday I will learn how to use commas appropriately. Thank you for combing through this manuscript with a fine tooth comb and making it better than anything I could have imagined.
Thank you to all the bloggers who have supported me as I have begun this journey. It’s been a wild ride, above and beyond anything I could have dreamed of on my own. Your support and love for indie authors is amazing. Special thanks to Stick Girl Book Reviews, you have been there for me since the very beginning, and to Literati Author Services for organizing the book blast and for all your hard work in promoting this book.
To you, the readers. When I first started writing, I wrote simply to see if I could finish one book. Your love for my work keeps me motivated. I simply can’t express to you how much joy it brings me to receive an email or Facebook message from you saying how something I poured my heart and soul into moved you. Thank you. Those two words simply don’t seem like enough, but I mean them sincerely.
After I wrote Just One Song, I never thought people would want more from me, but you did. Chase and Mia’s story was not originally intended to be written, but I chose to write it after all the support and encouragement from you. I hope you like it.
To the One who sits on the throne. All glory and power is Yours. Thank you for loving a mess like me.
Stacey Lynn lives in the heart of the Midwest with an incredibly supportive husband and four young children. She spends her day taking care of the kids and loving her family. At night she’s curled up with a book and a blanket, or her laptop, writing down all the stories she hears in her head.
For more information about Stacey Lynn and her upcoming books visit:
Website:
http://staceylynnbooks.blogspot.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/staceylynnbooks
Twitter:
@staceylynnbooks
ey Lynn, Just One Week (Just One Song)