Finding Me, Finding You (Finding #1)

by Shealy James

  I knew it sounded strange, but she had been my constant when no one else was. My mom went off the deep end at least once a year, and my dad was never home. Maggie was as close to having a sibling as I could have. It wasn’t enough that she supported Becca and I getting married. It was important to me that Maggie be happy without me there for her every moment of everyday like I had been for our whole lives. I needed her to be happy. She was my rock too.

  Over the last four years I watched as Maggie found herself. Somewhere along the way she found the woman who she was always destined to be. She was confident and brave, and I couldn’t be prouder of her. Not only did she find herself; we all found ourselves. In the meantime we also found each other, and I couldn’t decide what I was happier about.

  I shook off my girly emotions and decided it was time to get up. In an effort not to disturb Becca, I tried sneaking out from under her arm and off the bed. Just as my feet hit the carpet, she said, “Where are you going?”

  “I was getting up to get you breakfast in bed, but since you’re up, you can make me breakfast,” I told her with a grin.

  “You never cook.”

  “I was going to run to the café with Mags. You wanna go?”

  “No. You need your time with her. You’ve both been having a hard time since the day we told her that you were moving to my apartment.”

  “Thanks for understanding,” I told her with a quick kiss to her perfectly plump lips.

  She smiled and rolled over. As her nails scratched my back gently she said, “I knew from day one that you two were virtually inseparable. It would have been impossible for me to fight against it.”

  After a few more moments alone with her, I found Parker and Maggie waiting on me to go run with them. We ran the same path we did that first day here and stopped at the café. We talked about nothing and everything at the same time. I could tell Maggie was holding herself together trying to be strong, but then she was never able hide herself from me. Parker could tell too judging by the way he was trying to comfort her by constantly rubbing her neck or back.

  No matter what people say, I always knew those two would end up together. I may appear like I wasn’t paying attention most of the time because I kept my eyes on my phone when I want to mind my own business, but I was always aware. I saw the way Parker looked at Maggie just like Jim did the first day we met Parker. I also saw the way Maggie looked at him. I noticed their not-so-secret smiles and the way they became friends immediately. Maggie never had that before, and I thought Parker had been missing the kind, sympathetic female perspective since his mom passed. Fortunately for him Maggie provides all of that and more, and Parker saw it on day one. He just didn’t know it yet.

  After our run and breakfast, it was time for us to get ready for graduation. All of our family members met us at the house, and we had a small lunchtime celebration. Our parents seemed to get along well. Most of the siblings had met before with the exception of Sarah’s brother. Carolyn, Maggie’s decent sister, seemed to really like him, and the way they were standing over to the side talking and laughing leads me to believe the feeling was mutual.

  Sarah grabbed Maggie’s arm while we were standing off to the side talking. “Wouldn’t it be so great if they hit it off and someday get married? We could be in-laws!”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but it would be so great if they got married and had sweet little babies for us to spoil.” Maggie laughed with Sarah as I looked around the room. Everyone was smiling and having a great time. It was a perfect moment when everyone was happy, so I tried to savor it.

  When we were all dressed in our caps and gowns, Parker, Maggie, Becca, Sarah, and I took a picture in front of the house. That photo will have a place of pride in the house with Maggie and Parker and in all of lives. In one picture we captured everything we found in our four years together.

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  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to the readers for taking a chance on a first-time author like me. This whole process has been a dream.

  Sarah Cosey who let me bounce ideas off of her daily and let me speak like Maggie, Parker, Max, and Sarah were real people. Thank you for helping me develop the story and for revising my almost finished book. Your annotations were priceless. While I had to borrow your name because you are awesome, you are nothing like the fictional Sarah. I am lucky to have you in my life.

  Karla Reed, Ryan Ringbloom, and Sally Anne Short for reading my book and giving me much needed feedback both positive and critical. I needed to hear everything you shared with me. You ladies are amazing!

  About the Author

  Shealy James is Georgia native who teaches middle school math during the day and disappears into fiction at night. She is an avid reader and a first time author who hopes to one day write full time and leave the world of middle school angst behind.

  Connect with Shealy

  www.shealyjamesbooks.com

  Twitter @ShealyJames

  http://www.facebook.com/shealyjamesbooks

  ShealyJamesBooks@gmail.com

  Want more Maggie and Parker?

  Finding Us

  Finding Series Book 2

  Available Now

  Finally admitting their feelings for one another after four years should mean a fairytale ending, right? Maggie discovers happily ever after can’t exist when uncertainty and untruths interfere with the relationship she thought she had with Parker. When Parker’s plans change without notice, Maggie and her one true love find they aren’t only on different pages, but they aren’t even reading the same book. When the truth is revealed, Maggie finally reaches a breaking point and decides that she doesn’t need anyone but herself to find a true happy ending. Parker wonders what her lone journey means for him even though he has found a path of his own. Through it all, they wonder: Is love enough?

  Find Me in Manhattan

  Release Date March 25, 2015

  Find Me in Manhattan is a stand-alone spin-off novel from the Finding Series.

  Sarah Grant is finally living her dream in the Big Apple. While working to achieve her life’s ambitions, she becomes ensnared by the charming and charismatic Jameson Carmichael. Just when Jameson threatens Sarah’s safety, a dream-worthy hero falls in her lap making her question everything she had ever believed about herself.

  Sergeant Michael Pearson is merely existing in this nightmare he calls life. He is attempting to have a normal existence, while struggling to discover who he is after the army. When an opportunity save someone arises, he doesn’t hesitate, but Michael doesn’t realize that he is rescuing the one woman in a city of millions that can make him want to truly live again.

  Sarah and Michael discover a connection that runs deep, but can they find love in a city known for heartbreak?