Holding a Hero

by Layne, Lyssa

  T.J. reached out to wipe the tears from my face. “What can I do to convince you?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t think about the future right now with the uncertainty of my dad’s life in my focus. Losing you because of my dad, would kill me. I can’t risk you hating me.”

  Running up into the house, I slammed the door and watched T.J. leave from outside my window before crying myself to sleep.

  * * * *

  “Syn, can you come down here?” Dad’s stern voice made me jump awake. Anxious to see what the problem was, I washed my face before going to see what he needed.

  “You’re going to lose that boy. You’ve got to quit pushing him away.” “But—”

  “Don’t interrupt me, missy. He’s a wonderful guy, always has been. You deserve a partner, someone to help with all the responsibilities you’re shouldering. Don’t wait on a perfect time. Grab love when it happens and don’t let go. Mostly, I want you to be happy like your mother and I were. You deserve a forever love. Give him a chance.”

  “Dad, I don’t want him to resent me because I’m putting you first.”

  Grabbing my hands, Dad looked me straight in the eyes. “Time isn’t limitless. You never know how long you have. Your mom’s death showed me that. And I’m not willing for you to give up your future happiness for me.”

  Listening to him and watching the emotions play across his face, Dad convinced me to give

  T.J. a chance. “How did you get to be so wise?” “Just being a dad to all you wonderful girls.”

  Kissing Dad on the cheek, I then settled into his soothing embrace, determined to call T.J. and apologize for my overreaction.

  A siren started screeching off in the distance. It sounded like the siren attached to a fire truck. There must be a fire somewhere. I hope that everyone is okay. The sound was getting closer and closer. Quickly, Dad and I rushed to the front window just in time to see a fire engine pull into our driveway.

  “What’s going on?”

  As we ran out onto the lawn, I held onto Dad’s hand. The whole neighborhood had turned out to watch the scene. I saw firemen begin to get out of the truck, so I asked, “Why are you here? Is there a fire?”

  Dad pulled me close to him as one of the firemen approached us. The fireman kneeled down and pulled what looked like a jewelry box out of his pocket. Tears streamed down my face as the fireman took his helmet off and T.J.’s smiling face looked up at me. He opened the box, and I could see a ruby and diamond engagement ring sitting inside.

  “Syn, will you marry me and be my forever love? I promise to love, protect, and always cherish you. I pledge that together we will support your dad and family. That’s one of the values I learned from being a firefighter. You rely on your family, they will take care of you. A burden shared is an easier load. You’ve been my best friend. I don’t want to spend my life with anyone but you. Please say yes.”

  The neighbors and firefighters began chanting, “Say yes!”

  I looked down into the face that I quickly realized I’ve loved forever and who was willing to prove his love by sharing my burdens. “Yes! I’ll marry you.” He grabbed me and kissed me in front of my dad, the neighborhood, and heaven.

  *THE END*

  Sneak Peek at A Christmas Accident (Wilder Sisters #3)

  “How are the roads? Do you think we can stop so I can use the bathroom? Your son is pushing on my bladder.” Wiggling in my seat, I tried to alleviate the uneasy pressure.

  Adam looked over at me with a dreamy expression on his face. His gaze settled on my stomach as it undulated. “Sure, I could use some coffee. How are you feeling? Little Pea looks active tonight.”

  “I’m okay except for the kicks to the bladder. I swear he’s practicing his temper tantrums so he has them right when he comes out. Oh Ricky, we are in so much trouble,” I replied with a silly high pitched whiney Lucille Ball-type voice, then smiled.

  I am thankfully in the third trimester of my pregnancy. I’d passed the dangerous stage where many women miscarry as well as the dreaded morning sickness phase that sucks the very life out of a body. Now I had abundant energy and looked forward to finally getting ready to meet our son. We still had two more months to go but I already felt like a beached whale, not to mention the walking with a waddle. Adam loved talking to my stomach, he’d even been reading storybooks to our peanut each night.

  Adam and I had eloped to Hawaii five years ago during our Christmas vacation. We’d kept our wedding private, only us. Today we are closer than most married couples, enjoying the same things, especially our cottage home on the Huron River, old movies, television shows, and snuggling up with a blanket on those cold Michigan nights.

  While we both loved our families, neither one of us enjoyed traveling which became the basis for the fight. I’d won the the argument after the announcement of my father’s recent diagnosis. I’d spent hours on the phone with my sister, then on the internet gathering information on Alzheimer's. The dementia had already begun to kick in when Dad accidentally set fire to his home. Luckily, Syndie had already moved in with Dad and got him out of the house in time. My need for family had only become stronger since I’d learned about my pregnancy and the arrival of the first grandson. I didn’t want my baby to miss out on his remaining grandparent.

  Fear about my father never getting to meet or know my little peanut became a constant in my mind. Adam and I had distanced ourselves from our families over the years. We were always so happy spending time with just each other, we’d just never considered what those choices did to others. Having a baby changes things. My sister’s wedding invitation plus my dad’s diagnosis, well, both convinced me that we needed to get back to Ohio. Christmas seemed like a perfect excuse.

  After pulling into the gas station, Adam stopped the car next to the pump. I grabbed my purse. “I’m going to use the bathroom, grab your coffee, then get a snack while you fill up. Is there anything else you want?” I walked over to Adam’s door as he let himself out.

  Adam bent down to kiss my belly, making my muscles clench. How does such a beefy man do that yet still look so masculine?

  “Why don’t you also grab me some pretzels. I don’t know if the coffee will be good on my empty stomach. But with the way the snow has been falling, I want to make sure we can take the turnpike rather than Route 2.”

  Route 2 is known as Death’s Highway. The area of Route 2 between Bono and Sandusky claimed dozens of lives due to the large semi-trucks in addition to the awkward two lane road. People couldn’t see what was coming around the next bend so head-on collisions were frequent. The horrible blizzard-like conditions from Lake Erie only made the road more treacherous.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  As a writer, Melissa likes to keep current on topics of interest in the world of writing. She’s a member of the Romance Writers of America and EPIC. Melissa is always interested in improving her writing through classes and seminars. She also believes in helping other authors and features authors and their books on her blog.

  Melissa doesn’t believe in down time. She’s always keeping busy. Melissa is a wife and mother, an elementary school teacher, a book reviewer, co-owner for a publishing company as well as an author. Her home blends two families and is a lot like the Brady Bunch, without Alice—a large grocery bill, tons of dirty dishes and a mound of laundry. She loves to write stories that feature “happy endings” and is often found plotting her next story.

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  Thank you for falling in love with our heroes and we hope you will visit with them again and again!

  bsp;

  Layne, Lyssa, Holding a Hero