The past year had not been easy. It had been filled with a lot of hard soul work and life transitions.
But they came home to each other every night and they talked things through.
And they were honest.
It had been difficult.
But it had been some of the most worthwhile work she’d ever done.
When they got back to the beach house, Kip made her close her eyes as he led her upstairs to their room.
“This always makes me nervous,” she said, feeling for the step with her foot. “I fall down, you know. Maybe you forgot, so I’m reminding you…but I fall a lot.”
Kip chuckled and tightened his arm around her waist. “You’re safe with me.”
Yeah, she was.
They reached their doorway and she heard him take a breath.
“Okay.”
She opened her eyes and it took her a second to spot it.
Above the headboard on the wall was a rectangular piece of repurposed wood—with black writing on it.
She frowned and took a step closer.
It wasn’t…
Was it?
Tessa hiked up her dress and crawled onto the bed to get a closer look. She traced the nicks on the surface and the worn edges of the corner. She slid her finger through the indentation at the top that used to serve as a pencil holder.
“This is our desk,” she said, hardly believing the words as she said them.
Her eyes focused on the black marker scrawl and as she read the words, tears gathered.
A girl with a messy heart
Tattooed my soul on her skin.
A mistake and a half,
A hopeless tide of wishes,
And now we finally have the time.
A boy with a messy soul
Tattooed his words on my heart.
A brave and reckless hope,
A bright and bold future,
And now we have the time.
The top half was the poem he had written for her when he’d realized who she was. The bottom half was from her to him the night the doctor called and said the tests had been negative.
“How?” she asked, sinking to her knees in the bed and staring up at it.
“Most of the credit goes to Adam,” Kip said joining her on the bed. He curved a hand around her thigh. “Do you like it?”
She rolled her eyes and he chuckled. Did she like it?
“I think I need to show you,” she said, right before she tackled him.
THE END
Acknowledgements
Five years and twelve books later.
Twelve stories that have been told and shared.
And I haven’t done it alone. None if it would have been possible with these fine individuals keeping me sane behind the scenes.
Scott. Hey buddy. Thank you for maintaining your presence in my life. You’re a beacon of light that I follow on my darkest days. I wouldn’t have taken the first step of following my dream without your coaching.
Jo. Thank you for teaching me how to swear properly. Thank you for keeping my heart in check when I let it run wild. Thank you for not letting look like a fool by cleaning up my backwards way of telling stories.
Jamie. Dude. How is it that stalking could ever turn into true love? You’re like a cautionary afterschool special with a much better ending. Your support and ability to read my mind is extraordinary. Thank you for being mine.
Kellcie. You’re texting me right now as I type this. I love that your presence is a constant in my life. I can’t imagine what I’d do without your inappropriate jokes and ridiculously on point wisdom. Thank you for being my friend. Still.
My betas. You guys are the real MVPs. Thank you for tolerating my spastic writing schedule and health interruptions. Thank you for telling when I’ve written chaos and not being afraid to tell me to fix it.
Kati. Peaches. Moonshine. How do I tell you what your friendship has meant to me? Writing this story was especially fun for me because you inspired every ounce of Tessa. I adore you. Stay with me always. #longlive
A.J. Best brother ever. Thank you for being the voice of all my “dudes.” Thank you for listening to my plot bunnies. Thank you for being exactly who you are.
Zack. Your encouragement and belief in my ability is humbling. With everything that’s happened, I can honestly say that you have changed my life. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I love you an appropriate amount.
Bear. By far the most important thing I’ve ever done is be your mom. You changed my heart the moment you were born. You’ll never know the joy and light you’ve brought into my every day.
Captain Awesome. You’re the one who taught me to run. You take my hand and I know that no matter where the next adventure leads us, we’re going to be fine. Because we’re together. And that’s where we’ve always belonged.
God. You know all the things. Thank you. Forever.
About the Author
Heidi Hutchinson was born in South Dakota and raised the exact right distance away from the Black Hills. She had an overactive imagination very early on, and wasted no time in getting most of her friends in trouble due to her unrealistic and completely ridiculous ideas. Seeing as she was so lazy and also afraid people would think she was bonkers, she didn't write down any of the story lines that played out in her daydreams.
During her high school years, she took pen to paper and filled more notebooks than she is proud of with angsty, depressing, self-deprecating poetry. This led to her writing down more things: notes, ideas, character bios, plot twists that had no plot yet to twist. After years of cleaning up her own scraps of imagination with nothing solid to hold on to, she sat down and wrote the story that had been in her head the longest. Fueled by coffee and her unwavering and perfectly normal devotion to Dave Grohl, she discovered a writer living inside of her.
She still lives in the Midwest, though not as close to the Black Hills as she would prefer, with her alarmingly handsome husband and their fearless child. They eat more pizza than God intended and she listens to her music the same way she lives: loudly.
Heidih.net
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