by Lauren Runow
The thought breaks my heart.
The event is running smoothly. Broadcasting live over social media is working great, and we have people commenting from all over the world. One thing we didn’t plan on was people telling their own stories with the disease.
Our MC of the night is taking time to read their stories aloud for the live audience as well as all the people watching from home, and it’s making this event so much more amazing and really tying in the human aspect of this disease and the impact it’s left on our world.
Donations are pouring in, and even I’m surprised at how much we’ve raised so far.
With Adam and Sarah closing out the night, the anticipation of their grand finale is killing me. We advertised them and the event highly throughout the week, and people at home are starting to ask when they’ll be on.
The MC finally announces them, and the crowd cheers as they walk out onto the stage, where a stool is sitting with a microphone next to it and another one standing beside it.
The two look at each other as they take in the applause around them. Their love is obvious as they glow in each other’s presence.
“Thank you, everyone, for joining us tonight,” Adam says as the crowd hollers. “This is a charity near and dear to our hearts, and we’re honored to be here. We hope you enjoy the show, and please, send in those donations, so we can research this disease and find cures, so people affected can live normal lives for longer.”
I hear screams and whistles as Adam sits on the stool and drapes the guitar around his neck, holding it in position. He begins strumming, and after a few chords, he sings into the microphone with so much passion and love that it’s breathtaking. The way his eyes are closed and his voice is strong makes you feel his tone all the way to your toes. Chills cover my body as I wrap my arms around myself and enjoy the gift he’s giving us.
When Sarah’s portion of the song comes in, the crowd breaks out in applause again. I watch the way Adam stares at her as she gives the lyrics her all. He’s so in love, and it’s written all over his face for everyone to see.
The two continue singing songs together and on their own. With each song, their set gets better and better. They really are a perfect match, both physically and musically.
Someone approaches me from behind as I sit on the side stage, watching them.
“You must be Justine,” she says.
I turn and see a woman standing with a little girl who I recognize as Cailin from the FaceTime call Tucker made when he first told me he knew Adam.
“Hi. You’re Cailin, right?” I lean down to her height as I hold out my hand to shake.
“I sure am. And this is Linda!” she says with pride, introducing the two of us.
I quickly stand up in surprise. “Oh. Hi. Sorry. I didn’t know you were coming. You’re, um—”
“Tucker’s sister. Yes.” She holds out her hand to me.
I rub my lips together, fighting my emotions from just hearing his name.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I shake her hand.
“You have no idea how nice it is to meet you. You’ve made quite the impression on our family.”
I let out a breath and then grin. Not sure what to say to that since Tucker doesn’t seem to think so.
A song ends, and I hear Adam say they have a surprise for everyone. I turn quickly because he didn’t tell me about any surprises, and when you’re streaming a live event, the last thing you want is a surprise.
“We want to welcome someone who I consider family, who is also a musician, though not really in my genre.”
I watch in shock as Tucker enters the stage with a guitar strapped across his chest. He’s dressed in cowboy boots, jeans, and a blue button-down shirt, looking handsomer than ever.
I cover my mouth as a yelp escapes my lips, and tears fill my eyes.
“See, what did I tell you?” Adam stands to show the difference in their attire, as he is dressed in all black with metal rods going through the holes in his jeans and his hair spiked up as high as it will go.
The crowd laughs as they wait to hear what Adam and Sarah have to say and who Tucker is.
“I’d like to introduce you to a man who is like an uncle to me and was also just diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,” Adam says, wrapping his arm around Tucker.
The crowd starts clapping, and within seconds, everyone is on their feet, applauding the man with the strength to come out here and admit to the world that he has a condition that he has no control over.
I turn to Linda, who’s beaming from ear to ear as she runs her hand on my shoulder, obviously very proud of her little brother.
“He told me about a song he’s been working on, and we both thought it was a great idea to share it with you tonight. So, without further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce the world to Tucker Simms,” he says the last part in a loud, singsong way.
He and Sarah grab hands and walk off the stage to where we’re standing.
Sarah comes up to me, wrapping her arm around me in a side hug before whispering in my ear, “We’re so happy he found you.”
Tucker looks to where I am and gives me a grin before turning back to the crowd and beginning his strum.
When he sings the lyrics, I can’t fight the tears anymore.
I’ve never heard this song before, and it doesn’t have the old country vibe he normally sings. He starts off, talking about one of the best nights he’s ever had, and it all sounds very familiar with times we spent together. When he gets to the chorus, it hits me.
He’s singing about us.
Saying even if he never got to do certain things or fulfill the items on his bucket list, he would die a happy man with me by his side.
I drop the folder I’m carrying and cover my mouth with both hands. Sarah rubs her hand down my back, and even Adam nudges me with his shoulder as we all stare at a man we love equally, but to me, he’s become my everything.
When he finishes the song, the crowd jumps from their seats in applause, and without even thinking about it, I run out to him, wrapping my arms around him and kissing him with everything I have.
He doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back, and in his arms, I completely forget that we’re surrounded by everyone here and that the entire world is watching us.
Adam and Sarah come up around us, breaking us from our private world.
Adam yells into the microphone, “Tucker Simms, everyone!”
They cheer again.
“And if it wasn’t obvious, that song was written for the mastermind of this entire event and sung as a complete surprise to her.”
Hoots and hollers come from all around us as I bury my head in Tucker’s shoulder, suddenly embarrassed that everyone saw our little public display of affection.
“Thank you again for coming tonight.” Our MC joins us onstage. “That’s the end of our show. Good night!” he yells into the microphone, and everyone claps in response.
I turn to Tucker, reaching up to touch his face as I stare into his eyes. “You’re really here?”
“Yeah, sweetheart, I’m really here. And I’m not going anywhere either.”
He leans down to kiss my lips, and I wrap my arms around his neck. Holding him here with me to wash all my pain away.
Epilogue
Justine
One Year Later
As I sit on the back of the houseboat, I take the moment to breathe in the air around me. I never thought I would be living back in Mason Creek, but here I am, loving every minute.
I’m so thankful the magazine has allowed me to work remotely, and once a month, I fly to New York to meet with everyone in person, which is perfect because I also get to see my friends there. It’s like I get to live the best of both my worlds, which I never thought was possible.
The best part though is having Tucker by my side. He truly is my favorite part of my life.
I’ve never forgotten what I went through in New York, but I know the good Lord was watching over me. He protected me from any
thing bad happening but also knew that me heading home was what needed to happen.
Crazy to think, if I hadn’t gone through that horrible incident, I never would have met Tucker, and I’d probably still be with Jimmy. The thought makes me chuckle to myself. It’s funny how the universe works sometimes.
Tucker comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my very big belly.
“How are my girls?” he says as he kisses my cheek.
I place my hand over his. “We’re good. She’d better come soon, or she’s going to run out of room.”
Tucker rubs my belly. “Are you making your mommy uncomfortable?”
I laugh as I lean back against him. I still can’t believe we’re going to be parents. It was a surprise, for sure, but one that Tucker was unbelievably excited for.
Of course, we were committed to each other, but marriage wasn’t really discussed yet. He got down on his knee with the pregnancy test in his hand. When I told him he was being ridiculous, he produced a ring from his pocket.
Turned out, he had already planned on popping the question, and the only thing the baby had changed was how he was going to actually propose.
We got married by a waterfall just outside of Mason Creek with only our family and close friends in attendance. Thankfully, after we came back from New York my parents realized what we had was real and they gave us their blessing. I never wanted the big ceremony with hundreds of people, and our wedding was perfect.
Raising a baby on a houseboat wouldn’t be the smartest thing, so we bought a house in town after the song went big.
Yes, after the livestream event in New York, Tucker’s phone had never stopped ringing. The company that had filmed the event for us gave us the footage to put up on YouTube after we got so many requests for it, and it blew up.
He had multiple record companies coming after him, but he had been honest when he said he didn’t want that type of life. When they offered to buy the rights to have a big country star sing the song, plus any others he wanted to write, he knew that was the right choice.
Since then, the song he’d sung, titled “Die a Happy Man,” was on the top of the charts for so long that we lost track. He’s written a handful of songs now for multiple artists, and it’s amazing seeing him so happy, doing what he loves.
He still performs with his band and even tries out new songs on them before submitting them to record labels.
The thing I’m most thankful for is how Tucker has come to grips with his diagnosis and how he’s keeping control of it. Yes, he has to take medication, and there have been a few flare-ups, but we know what to do and how to overcome it. Now, it’s a part of our life that we deal with instead of letting it change the way we live.
Now that our baby is almost due, he’s officially put in his notice at Bumps and Dents. Though he didn’t need to work there as long as he had since he’s making so much money on the songs, but he refused to quit because that was his life. He enjoyed what he called his Groundhog Day and didn’t want things to change just because he was making more money.
When he said he wanted to stay home with our daughter so I could continue to work and follow my dreams, I knew I’d found my perfect man. He said he wanted to create his new Groundhog Day with us and the next chapter in his life.
This way, too, Tucker can make every home game for Matthew when he plays for the University of Montana’s baseball team, so it’s a win-win. I’m sure he’ll be the only dad in the stands, yelling for his boy while having his daughter in a baby carrier tied to him, but he’ll rock it and love every second.
I feel our baby girl kick, so I grab his hand and move it to where she is. “Do you feel that?”
He smiles big. “We can’t wait to meet you too!”
“Oh!” I pause, suddenly feeling like I just peed my pants before realizing, “Oh shit. My water just broke!”
Tucker jumps into gear. “I know what that means.” He laughs with excitement. “It’s showtime!”
He helps me, and I realize just how much of a mess I made, considering I’m wearing a thin summer dress and only my panties to catch what just released from inside me. I look down, and he kisses my forehead.
“Hey, if it was going to break like that, we couldn’t have been in a better place. One good bucket of water thrown on it, and all is clean again.”
I laugh just before a contraction rips through me. “Oh God!” I grip my stomach.
“It’s okay. Just breathe. It only lasts twenty seconds, and then it gets better. You can do anything for twenty seconds,” he says in a calming tone.
Once it passes, I inhale a deep breath and lean against him. I never thought I would be thankful to be with a man who’s already had a child, but right now, I totally am. He’s done all of this before, and knowing that both of us aren’t going in completely blind is comforting to me.
“Come on. Let’s get you to the truck and just hope she doesn’t come before we make it to the hospital.”
My eyes open wide in fear. I didn’t think about the fact of how far away the hospital is from the lake.
He brings me in close to him. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you there in time.”
And he does but barely.
Two hours later, I’m lying in bed, watching the man of my dreams hold our daughter. This is a sight I will remember for the rest of my life.
I’ve never seen him so happy, so giddy with emotions, as he stares at the miracle we created, wrapped up in a pink blanket.
“Can I come in?” I hear a familiar male voice say.
We both look up and see Matthew standing at the door.
“Matthew!” I say in surprise. “How are you here?”
He steps into the room and goes straight to his dad. “I wasn’t going to miss the birth of my baby sister. Is this her?”
“This is her. Matthew, I’d like you to meet your baby sister, Emily.”
He leans in to see her closer. “Hi, Emily. I’m your big brother.”
Tucker looks over to me with tears in his eyes.
I mouth, I love you, to him, and he mouths back, I love you too.
As I sit with my family—one I never imagined but am beyond thankful for—I glance up and say a silent thank-you to the lord above me for leading me on the path to where I belonged. Here in Mason Creek, where my heart always was and always will be.
Do you want to read Adam and Sarah’s story? Check out OUR SONG that’s out now and free in KU!
If you don’t already know, Mason Creek is a 12 book series with 12 amazing authors. Every side character in this book will be featured in other books!
Perfect Song is the second book to release in the series. PERFECT RISK by CA Harms was the first book. PERFECT LOVE by A.M. Hargrove is next and features Jessie, the owner of Java Jitters. Below is her blurb as well as a list with the other side characters and links to order their books!
PERFECT LOVE by A.M. Hargrove
Jessie Phillips loves her life in Mason Creek and wouldn’t change a thing now that she’s the proud owner of Java Jitters, the popular local coffee house.
What she doesn’t love is the brooding doctor she meets at the local pub.
His rude comments about her coffee house leave her seething. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.
Only an accident forces her kicking and screaming, metaphorically speaking, into his office in desperate need of his services.
Miles Carlson remembers the sexy brunette who reminds him why he’s sworn off women.
He moved to this sleepy town to provide a perfect life for his wife and son.
Only said wife didn’t appreciate the azure skies and picturesque landscape, and abandoned him and their five-year-old son, leaving him to forever renounce love.
Even though he’s forced to treat the sassy woman he’s undeniably attracted to, he has no plans to act on it.
Except, there is one problem.
The miniature version of himself has other ideas.
His playful interfer
ence melts Jessie’s outrage and Miles’s misery.
They say home is where the heart is …
These two clashing hearts may end up on fire and forging a perfect love.
If you love single dad, small town romances, with splashes of humor, that give you lots of warm fuzzies, then this book is for you. Download it today and get your read on!
List of Characters in Other Books!
Laken is featured in PERFECT EMBRACE by Kaylee Ryan
Anna, Beau and Wyatt are featured in PERFECT RISK by CA Harms
Lenora (Leni) is featured in PERFECT KISS by Lacey Black
Sienna, the friend from the bar who works for Tim the dentist, is featured in PERFECT TRAGEDY by Jennifer Miller
Both Hattie and Hazel Jackson along with Grady Jackson’s hot springs are featured in PERFECT ESCAPE by Cary Hart
The owners of Pony Up, Doug and Emma, are featured in PERFECT NIGHT by Terri E. Laine
The salon where Anna works as well as the owner of the shop, Faith, are featured in PERFECT SUMMER by Bethany Lopez
Jessie, the coffee shop owner, is featured in PERFECT LOVE by A.M. Hargrove
The Market owner, Alana, is featured in PERFECT SECRET by Molly McLain
Wilder James, who came in to Bumps and Dents to get his truck worked on, is featured in PERFECT MESS by Fabiola Francisco
Olivia, the lingerie store owner is featured in PERFECT EXCUSE by A.D. Justice
Playlist
“Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett
Here’s the link for you to enjoy!
“Sure Be Cool If You Did” by Blake Shelton
“Break Up in a Small Town by Sam Hunt