Thank you and all the best,
Erica Johnson
Class of 2022
I moved the paper away just in time before my tears could smear the ink.
I’d always loved my husband so much and this letter was just a reminder as to why, not that I ever needed one.
I pulled out of the parking lot bawling my head off, but still able to drive.
Now I know why he must have pulled over at that police station all those years ago before we skipped town. And now I know why those U.S. Marshals came looking for him.
I drove home as fast as I could and as soon as I pulled up to the house I saw him there in the front yard using the two spruce trees in the front yard as imaginary goal posts as our five children took turns trying to kick soccer balls past him.
I was out of the car almost before I had it fully parked.
I ran straight to him and as soon as he saw me crying he stopped and turned toward me.
I jumped into his arms and hugged him so tight.
“Is everything okay?” he says.
“Always thinking of others first,” I say as I sniff. “Everything’s perfect, just like my love for you. I love you so, so much.”
“I love you too, beautiful.”
“Mom, why are you crying?”
I turn to face my kids.
“Because I’m so happy to be here with you all and to be married to your father.”
“But you’re crying. Aren’t you sad?”
“Sometimes tears can be tears of joy. It’s rare, but it’s rare moments like these that we live for.”
“Okay. Can we kick the ball again?”
“But with you every moment is a rare moment,” I whisper into his ear.
“And every moment with you and our beautiful family that you’ve blessed me with is absolutely priceless.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Forever.”
SNEAK PEEK
The boys at my university are a bunch of dingos. And the ones that pretend to be Mr. Nice Guy are secretly Tasmanian Devils in disguise.
When I get an offer for a six-month working holiday visa to Australia I jump like a kangaroo at the chance.
I just want to enjoy some fun in the sun and see a few cuddly koalas.
But when my surf lesson goes terribly wrong I find myself face to face with another kind of trouble.
“Crocodile” Dan D.
He’s tall, rugged, and his voice booms like thunder causing me to glow when he drops his Vegemite sandwich just before saving me with his masculine display of might.
Now all I want is to bond at Bondi but his big muscles and carefree way try to tempt me for more when his swim trunks show that he’s clearly from the land of plenty.
I want him to take me out back and show me his knife for some dirty deeds done dirt cheap, but he says I’m too young and it’s too much of a great barrier to overcome even though I’m doing everything I can to bridge the gap.
I know if he shakes me all night long I’ll be harboring desires that he puts a ring on my finger the size of Ayers Rock.
He displays the focus of a man at work when he shows me the real meaning of down under, but as my time in Sydney comes to a close I’m left wondering if I’ll be the one down in the dumps, singling the blues outside the Opera House in a fried-out combie that’s on the highway to hell.
I’ve got a stiff upper lip but as the end nears it’s clear he’s not coming back in black board shorts before the pilot prepares for take-off with a flick of the switch.
Just like in Western Australia I’ll be forced to wait awhile for my heart to mend…but when it comes to our high voltage relationship I just hope a while doesn’t translate to forever.
Because forever is exactly how long I thought we were going to be together, before everything we had exploded like T.N.T.
*Crocodile Dan D is an insta-everything standalone romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.
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Doctor Mountain Man's Special Delivery: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 39) Page 6