Where Forever Lies

by Tara Neideffer

Paige leaned back in her chair as she watched Kyra sleep, her body beginning to yearn for sleep itself. She told herself she would just rest her eyes for a moment when suddenly she felt someone nudging her side. She bolted up and adrenaline rushed through her body as the memories of what had happened earlier quickly came to her mine. “What’s wrong? Is Kyra okay?” she asked her voice borderline panic.

  “Mommy?” she heard a tiny voice in the distance call for her and then faint crying. Finally her eyes focused and she saw Kyra trying to focus in on her as well, tears welling up in her eyes. Paige jumped up and went to her side, giving her mom a smile as she stood on the opposite side.

  “Hi, honey,” Paige whispered in a soothing tone. “How are you feeling?”

  She watched as Kyra licked her lips and swallowed before saying. “I’m thirsty,” and she began crying again, trying to pull on the tubes that were in her arm.

  “Shh, it’s okay, honey. We’ll get you some water, okay?” Paige said as she ran her hand gently across her arm to keep her from pulling anything out. She knew the pain medicine was keeping her from feeling too much of the pain, and for that she was grateful.

  Tyler came up behind her and gave Kyra a small wave. “Hi, Kyra, look what I have for you,” he said as he held up a small stuffed white pony. “Remember the pony named Marshmallow you rode at my house?” he asked gently. When she shook her head, he continued, “Well, I saw this one and thought you might like it.”

  She raised her arm up just an inch and Paige watched as Tyler leaned in and placed the stuffed pony under her arm. A small smile formed on her chapped lips and the tears decreased for a moment. Paige smiled as well, wondering when he had time to sneak off and buy the stuffed pony and keep it out of her view.

  Paige only left Kyra’s side for the brief moments when nurses needed to check her vital signs and the doctor came in to examine her, again. Kyra was taking everything as well as a three year old could and Paige was proud of her. The doctors said that there were no serious complications with her skull fracture and everything else was healing up nicely. This was the best news Paige could ever receive.

  A week and a half later, they were packing up their things, finally able to put the hospital stay behind them and be on their way home. Kyra had plenty of stuffed animals from when Brooke, Kyleigh and David had stopped by, among the ones from her, Tyler and her mom.

  Despite the accident, Paige felt blessed. After dealing with everything and almost losing her daughter, she knew they were incredibly lucky. She was thankful that things didn’t end up worse than they could have.

  Chapter 30

  Two Months Later:

  The country road that led to Tyler’s was becoming more and more like home. She knew every bump and every twist like the back of her hand. It seemed that she was out here almost as much as she was at her house but that was okay because she loved it out here and Kyra loved it even more. The past two months since Kyra’s accident had been difficult, but with her mom and Tyler’s help, they had finally gotten over the worst of it and Kyra was now in the clear and on her way to a full recovery.

  Kyra had just gotten her cast off yesterday and was already steady while walking. Paige had taken quite a bit of time off work in the beginning to stay with Kyra and their life was finally getting back on track and getting into a steady routine.

  As she headed out to Tyler’s, she felt her nerves firing, causing her stomach to twist into knots. He said he had a date night planned for them and something in his tone made her think he had something up his sleeve. She didn’t have a clue as to what, but with Tyler, it was hard telling. He was definitely more adventurous than she was but she assumed that was one of the reasons why she was attracted to him. He was her complete opposite, one who made her try things that she wouldn’t normally do.

  With Kyra safely at her mom’s house, she knew she wouldn’t have to worry about her for a few hours. Since Kyra’s accident, anxiety had crept back into her life, and she had been dealing with that on top of taking care of an injured and cranky Kyra. She knew she had to work on getting it under control again, and she would, but she also knew it was something she would have to fight against her whole life.

  As she pulled into his drive, he was sitting on the porch waiting for her, dressed in his casual, but sexy, Levis and plain shirt with his signature cowboy boots on. As soon as she stepped out of her car and headed to the house, she couldn’t control her smile at seeing his reaction to what she was wearing. She jumped into his arms and kissed him on the mouth and said, “Hi.”

  He broke away from her kiss and dropped her to the ground, taking a step back to check her out. His eyes ran up and down her body and a crooked smile lit up his face. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” he asked, in an amused tone.

  Paige shrugged as she casually said, “What? You don’t like my outfit?”

  He licked his lips as he kept staring, taking her all in. The shock on his face was priceless and she couldn’t have asked for a better reaction. “I think I’m in love.”

  Paige couldn’t help but laugh at that remark.

  “I’m just shocked that you are wearing it,” he said.

  “Well, we’ve been spending so much time together I guess your taste is finally rubbing off on me,” she said as she ran her hand along her blue flannel short sleeved shirt. “What do you think of my boots?” she asked as she held her foot out to him. He took her boot in his hand, almost causing her to fall. She gripped his shoulder as he studied the cowboy boot that she had bought the other day after work.

  He rubbed the smooth brown leather and traced the stitching that lined it. Smiling, he said, “You wear them better than me.” He dropped her foot and grabbed her flannel shirt, pulling her into a hard kiss.

  A small whimper escaped her mouth as his mouth crushed against hers. His hands gripped the small of her back and pulled her close enough so their bodies were touching. He pulled away and said, “Are you ready to eat?”

  She shook her head yes and, as they hopped into Ol’ Betsy, she grabbed her hair in her hands and pulled it over her shoulder to keep the wind from blowing it everywhere. “Where are we going?” she asked as she rolled her window down to let some of the pent up heat escape.

  “It’s a surprise,” he said, grinning.

  She huffed, “You know how much I hate surprises, Tyler Evans.”

  “Yeah, but you know how much I love them,” he said, as he pulled out of the drive and out onto the road.

  A few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of a place she had never been called Saddle Creek Restaurant. She eyed the place, loving the rustic feel of it and thought that it looked a little fancier than where they normally went and was suddenly worried that she was underdressed.

  “You’re dressed perfectly, Paige, so don’t worry. It’s not as fancy as it looks on the outside,” he said as he got out of the truck and met her on the other side. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him, kissing the top of her head.

  “Okay, Tyler, you’d better be right,” she said as they went up the limestone steps that led to the entrance.

  After getting a table and ordering their food, Tyler went into asking about Kyra. Paige told him she was doing great and getting along really well and that her crankiness had dwindled a lot in the past few weeks.

  “How have you been coming along lately, with all the stress?” he asked quietly, knowing the panic attacks had started again.

  “I’m doing my best to get it all under control, but sometimes I just need to go into my bathroom alone and breathe and make myself calm down. It’s hard, but it is letting up some now that Kyra is back to feeling better. I think I was just so worried about her that it triggered everything, again, but I think I’ll be okay, now,” she said, giving him a wink.

  “Good, I’m glad. And you know you can always call me when you are in that moment; maybe I can help you calm down,” he said as he took a sip of his beer.

  “You are very good at calming me do
wn. You are the calm that sweeps away my stormy mind,” she said as she thought back to all the nights when she had called him, crying as Kyra slept in her room. He had been so patient and kind as he talked her through her emotions, staying on the phone for hours some nights, until she had calmed down completely. Paige never would have guessed the arrogant guy she’d thought he was would be so caring and sweet. “It really means a lot to me to have you understand and be there for me.”

  Once their dinner was finished and Paige had moved on to a small glass of wine, Tyler reached out and took her hand. She looked up at him, feeling a change in the air around them as he looked intently at her, his eyes dancing all around her face. He squeezed her hand and swallowed before he said, “Paige, there’s something I want to tell you,” he said and Paige felt her body tense. She didn’t know what he had on his mind but with the way he was acting he seemed serious. He began rubbing his thumb across her hand as he paused for a moment and looked down at his beer, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he seemed to be trying to find the right words. Finally he began again, “I want you to know that when you become crazy with fear, panic or whatever anxiety is taking over your mind at that time, I want to be there to help soothe them away for you. I want to be by your side through everything that comes your way, whether it be good or bad, because I love you, Paige, and when I’m with you, I feel like I never want to leave your side.”

  He kept his eyes on hers the whole time as he spoke, and Paige saw the love he had for her in his eyes. “Tyler, I love you, too, and you mean so much to me that I don’t even know how to put it into words,” she said and suddenly felt goose bumps roll up her arms as she saw him holding something in his hand. Her heart began to speed up and she felt her hands begin to tremble.

  She watched him take her right ring finger and slide a small diamond ring on it. She was suddenly speechless and all she found she could do was look down at her hand.

  “Paige, it’s a promise ring, don’t freak out,” Tyler said, with a sly smile. “But I just wanted to get you this and let you know that one day soon I’m going to ask you to marry me, because you are my better half, the half I thought I didn’t want.”

  She looked up at him, not knowing what to say, and saw a hint of worry cross his face as she sat there speechless. She looked down at her ring again and smiled, and when she looked back up at him, she saw his eyes light up with passion. “Tyler, I love it. I’m speechless,” she said, as she continued to examine the ring.

  He leaned forward and gripped her cheek, pulling her in for a kiss. His kiss was soft, sweet, and as he pulled back he asked, “So does this mean you want a future with me?”

  Laughing, she shook her head yes and kissed him again. He smiled against her lips as she whispered, “I love you.”

  As they pulled apart, she picked up her wine glass, and as she brought it to her mouth, she looked down and smiled at what was etched on the glass. A golden horseshoe was intertwined around the words “Saddle Creek Winery.”

  “A horseshoe that could bring someone more than just luck.” Those words that were said to her so long ago echoed in her mind. Natasha was right, her lucky horseshoe brought her luck when she was in that car wreck but it also brought Tyler into her life. She knew that it couldn’t have been just luck that brought her to the love of her life; fate had also paved the path in the direction where her forever lies.

  The End

  Dear Reader:

  Thank you for taking the time to read Where Forever Lies. This book is part of a trilogy, but each book can be read as a stand alone. Book two will be Kyleigh’s story. I don’t have a release date set yet, but I’ll keep everyone posted. I would love to hear from you so don’t hesitate to contact me. Also, it would mean so much to me if you would take the time to leave an honest review. Reviews are very important to authors and other readers. Your support means everything to me!

  To be notified of my next release, you can sign up for my newsletter here http://eepurl.com/MVm_f. My newsletter will only be sent out when I have a new release.

  ~ Tara Neideffer ~

  Also by Tara Neideffer

  Deadly Road

  When the Dead Whisper

  Coming Soon

  Under Haunted Skies

  (A Mia Rushton Mystery # 2)

  About the Author

  Tara Neideffer was born and raised in Indiana with a love for animals, especially horses. As a child she could always be found in the saddle, running her horse at full speed through open fields. She also has a love of ghost stories and a morbid fascination with watching murder mystery shows. When she's not busy writing, she's taking care of her animals, spending time with her family or reading. She still lives in Indiana with her husband, daughter and stepson on twenty acres, with too many animals to name.

  You can find her at:

  taraneideffer.wordpress.com/tag/tara-neideffer/‎