I stared at the word on the inside. Evergreen.
My lungs could barely keep up with how hard I was hyperventilating. Who would have pulled this sick joke? I didn’t even know what to think. I wanted to throw the ring as far away from me as possible, but I also wanted to caress it like Gollum did with the ring of power.
“Andi,” a voice whispered behind me.
I was afraid I was hallucinating him talking to me; I was obviously hallucinating all of this. I must have been in a car accident on my way home from the doctor, and this was a dream.
“Andi, I’m here.”
That voice, it was his voice. Impossible. I dropped the little box, and my hands went to my head.
“Impossible,” I chanted over and over.
“No, sweetness. I’m here.” His voice was right behind me. As fast as humanly possible in my state, I turned around, and my breath was gone.
Right there behind me stood Ryder. He was wearing his tight black shirt, his jeans hung low, and those striking green eyes that were devouring every inch of me.
My eyes clenched shut, and the sobs started. Warm strong hands gripped me, pulling me into a familiar strong body. I cried even harder, unable to think of anything other than sadness, happiness, grief, confusion, anger. I was a true mix of emotions.
“It’s okay, sweetness. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m gonna be here with you forever, baby.” His words were calm as he kept me close.
“I love you, Andi. I’ve been dying for three months to hold you again.” His words oozed sadness.
I finally found a little control of myself and pulled out of his arms. I kept scooting until my back hit the door and his arms weren’t around me.
“You…” I could barely get the words out. “Died.” I choked back a sob, trying to calm down.
“When Gavin shot me, it was the only real way to get him gone for good. Shooting an FBI agent is no joke. Until the trial was over and both Skellers were incarcerated, I had to go underground. I needed Gavin to think I was gone for good. He had people on the outside looking out for me. If I had been seen, he would have come after me. He would have come after you. Andi, it shattered me to keep myself hidden and away from you. Ever scream, every tear you shed, I felt in my soul. But I had to follow through. It’s over now. I came as soon as I was let loose.”
He sounded desperate; I tried to understand what he said. He’d been underground this whole time. This whole time I’d suffered, he’d been alive. I had cried myself to sleep every night, and he actually had been lying in some soft bed somewhere.
“Your funeral.” I meant to ask it as question, but it came out as a statement.
“Obviously I wasn’t in the casket. And I will tell my parents, but not until I’ve made things right with you. I know, Andi. I know how badly I hurt you. I had eyes on you at all times. I know everything. I will never forgive myself for the hurt my duty to my job caused you. I will live with that for the rest of my life, but I also will spend the rest of my life winning you back. You are the reason I live, Andi.”
What little control I had regained disappeared. I didn’t know what to say. Ryder, the love of my life, wasn’t dead. He was right in front of me, breathing, with hurt written all over his face.
“Andi, that ring is my promise to you that I will spend the rest of my life with you. Loving you, protecting you, worshipping you as you deserve. We will be good again, sweetness. I just need the chance to take away the hurt. I will, I promise.”
I just sat there taking in his words. I just couldn’t … I couldn’t think. I felt like every breath was a struggle. Everything I’d gone through the past months had been for nothing. I wanted to run into his strong arms and let him work on his promise of forever. But the hurt was deep. When he died, he took a part of me with him, and I wasn’t sure his being back from the dead could revive it.
Finally finding my voice, I looked at him and spoke.
“I need time. I just … I just can’t.” I turned to get up and go inside.
“What is it?” His voice sounded even more desperate.
I turned back around and looked at him, not understanding his question.
“The baby, I’ve been watching all along. I’ve been there for every appointment. Our song on the radio was me. You might not have known, but I was always there.”
His eyes started to glisten; my bottom lip started to quiver.
“It’s a girl.” My choked up tears were freely falling again as I watched tears break the brim of his eyes.
“A girl. Sweetness, I hope she has your eyes and nose, and—shit, man—I hope she is a mini version of you.” He ran his hand through his hair. That beautiful smile that I loved so much was covering his face.
That smile did me in. It broke down the wall around myself I had put up. I might not be one hundred percent put back together, but I wanted to become whole again, with Ryder by my side. I pulled myself out of the mental rubble of my wall and launched myself at him.
“Never leave me.” I pressed myself into his chest hard.
His arms wrapped around me in a tight hug; then he lifted my face up toward his. His hands softly cradled my face.
“Never, cupcake. It’s a promise.”
His lips crashed to mine, and the past months melted away. My Ryder had come back to me. He was here, and he wasn’t going anywhere. Even death couldn’t keep us apart.
We were evergreen.
Epilogue
Four Years Later
Angel
Mommy and Daddy didn’t know I was peeking at them from my bedroom. But I just loved to watch them dance.
They always played the same song; I knew it by heart now. I danced around my room singing the tune, imagining my prince would dance with me like Daddy did. Daddy and Mommy danced like no one was watching them. She would smile, and sometimes I would see her cry. But I knew she wasn’t hurt, ’cause she would cry and smile too. She was happy.
I bet she was happy-crying because of the secret she told me today. She told me not to tell Daddy yet. I couldn’t wait to tell him Mommy was going to have a baby, but she said she wanted us to bake him a cake and have it on the top. She said we could do it tomorrow morning before he woke up. I already picked the colors we were going to use.
I always helped Mommy in the kitchen. She would always sneak me cupcakes and cookies when Daddy wasn’t looking. He would say I was going to develop a sugar addiction. It was too late. I loved sugar.
My tummy growled from my hunger for sugar. Vince’s ears came up, and he got up and walked toward my room, with Turnip catching up behind him. I ran back into my bed and pulled up the covers.
“Is she still asleep?” Mommy’s voice asked from the living room. Daddy must have been checking on me. I made sure I was extra still.
“Yeah, cupcake, she’s out. What are you doing?” He sounded like he was in pain. I wanted to go see if he was okay, but then I heard his voice again.
“My Candy Tease in her red corset.” Then I heard Mommy giggle, before their bedroom door slammed.
I bet they were kissing again. They were always kissing. I snuggled into my favorite mermaid pillow and dreamed of my own prince that I would one day kiss and live happily ever after with.
Bonus scene
Ryder
My head was leaned back against the wall in the apartment I was set up in one hundred miles away from Tampa, where no one could find me. A month had passed, and the Skellers were still on trial. I took a deep breath and released it.
I basically had to be locked in this apartment to be kept from sprinting to Andi. I heard her cries for me in the hospital; I heard her screams telling me to come back to her. It broke me apart to hear her and not ease her pain. I’d barely slept since I last saw her. I needed her soft body in my arms; I needed to bury myself in her hair and surround myself in her scent.
My temporary phone rang on the nightstand next to me.
Only two people knew I was here. Mack and Rex. I’d told Rex he
had to help me watch over Andi. He was there for her while I couldn’t be, and I would never be able to repay him for that. He kept me updated on everything, including Andi being at my funeral. My heart hurt thinking about her there. He told me about how she cried for hours until she finally shut down. Gone was my sweet, innocent Andi.
I answered, “King.”
“Dude. You haven’t busted out right? Still holed up?” Rex asked nervously.
I looked around. Yep, I was still in my luxury prison.
“Yeah.”
He was sounding weird.
“Rex, what’s wrong? Is Andi okay?” He didn’t answer at first, and I wanted to reach through the phone and shake him until he told me.
“Andi’s having a baby, man. Your baby.”
The phone slipped from my hand. Andi was pregnant. With my baby. I jumped off the bed and ran to the door. I needed to be with her, with my baby. I pounded on the door; the door had no knobs on my side. And I knew the windows wouldn’t budge. Like I said, a luxury prison.
I ran back to the phone.
“Rex. I have to see her. I need to be there,” I begged. I wanted to feel her lips against mine; I wanted to hear her laugh and see her smile. I had to be there.
“I can’t, man. Shit, I gotta go, but I had to tell you. You’ll see her soon. Both of them.”
He hung up, while I stood there just imagining Andi growing with my baby inside her. She would be radiant, her stomach growing round. I would feel our baby move and talk to our sweet child so that it would know my voice. I was the daddy.
I dialed the only other number in my phone.
“Mack.”
“Mack, I’ve gotta be there. She’s pregnant with my kid. I can’t miss it.”
He knew how I felt; he had kids of his own. This was a game changer. I couldn’t sit around this apartment while she went through this alone.
“You can’t be seen.” It wasn’t a no!
“I won’t! Fuck, I swear I’ll be a ghost. But I have to be there,” I pleaded. This was my baby and my future wife I was pleading for.
“Congratulations, Ryder. You’ve had a hard road, but you deserve this. I’ll put in the orders for you to be released, but you have to remain hidden. You’ll have access to everything. But I mean it, Ryder. You mess up, and all of this was for nothing.”
I wouldn’t mess up; my future with Andi depended on it.
“I won’t mess this up. Thank you, sir.”
We hung up, and I heard the door unlock.
It would be hard to see Andi and not scoop her up into my arms, but I couldn’t fuck this up. But sure as hell once this was over, she would be mine forever. We would be a family. I took off for the door and went to be there for Andi, even if she didn’t know I was. I would always be there for her.
Letter to the Reader
Dear fabulous reader,
Thank you, thank you for taking the time to read this book. I hope you were giddy with enjoyment reading it as I was writing it.
If you have any extra time, please leave a review on Amazon.com, B&N.com, Goodreads.com OR Send me a message via Facebook, email, or twitter and I can personally thank you for reading my novel.
I am so humbled and appreciative that you took the time, and hopefully we will have a long standing book loving relationship.
Thank you! <3 <3 <3
Jessica Florence
Acknowledgements
To my lovely readers, and everyone who decided to give Evergreen a chance. You are the reason I love to write! I am so thankful for you. You guys are the peanut butter to my jelly. Yep, I did just say that.
Christina, as always you know you hold a special place in every book of mine. Without you I couldn’t do this. You push me, make me feel like I’m not writing a terrible story. You always help with difficult decisions like which sex would be better. Floor? Wall? Or Desk? You are amazing, and I am soo happy I have you to help me with the writing process.
Thank you to my editor Jennifer Jeffries. Girl you rocked my book, and helped me out in so many ways. And no, you aren’t allow to edit this section once you read it! *insert evil laugh*
Sarah, You are a cover Goddess. You are sooo appreciated!
Thank you to my family, who has always been supportive of me and my writing. It means a lot you are there for me even if you don’t like what I write.
Thank you to my sweet baby Eve, who in the beginning took lots of naps in which I would find in that time to write. You are the light of my life sweetie.
Saved the best for last, my husband. You are my rock, I truly appreciate that you are understanding about me wanting to truly write as a career. You never complain that I spend too much time writing or thinking about things I have to do for the book. You are always there and willing to hear anything I have to say about it.
I am truly blessed
About the Author
Jessica Florence makes her home in Southwest Florida where she runs her own business, and of course writing! She one day after reading a book a day for a year just sat down and started writing, thus finding a new amazing hobby that she was looking for.
She spends her days reading, writing, watching TV, working, playing with her cute as hell baby, black German Shepherd Rogue aka Rogue-i-bear, and of course tormenting her husband ;)
She also enjoys taking naps, bubble baths, eating pickles like candy, and having Harry Potter marathons. <3 Contact info: You can find me on Facebook, Www.JessicaFlorenceAuthor.com
[email protected]
Evergreen Page 17