by Bowie, Emily
In the far distance I hear gasps coming from the crowd as Ryker continues his pleas. “Shay, we can have the perfect life together. Don’t do something stupid now.”
His voice is getting farther away and I open my eyes to catch a glimpse of Brax escorting him out.
I want to scream yes but I’m so used to holding myself back. Is it crazy to marry the man I fell in love with when I was five years old? The same man who I have seen only once in four years?
I look to the crowd and see all of our family and loved ones here. Not a single person stands and objects, not even my father who looks misty-eyed. My mother is blubbering but her lips hold a smile. Her eyes wrinkle with the smile as she cries.
“Yes!” I whisper, not being able to find a stronger voice. My body shakes as he stands up, placing what always should have been my wedding ring on my finger.
My father stands and bellows out, “You heard the girl, minister. Marry them.”
Ryker’s yelling can be heard out of the tent until it fades completely. He always knew what we were, even if we chose to pretend it wasn’t.
His mother yells, furious over the embarrassment I’m causing on their perceived image, “You never did belong as one of us.”
His father curses, his face creased with anger lines before they both storm out, following their son.
I feel bad, Ryker is a good guy, but together we were truly nothing more than partners, definitely not lovers.
I laugh at what a typical redneck wedding this turned out to be. Shotguns, groom switch. All I need is a few barn animals and moonshine.
“What’s with the gun?” I ask as Luke stands, taking Ryker’s place. Luke passes his shotgun to Brax, who is now back standing near us.
“Just in case I needed to be more convincing.” He shrugs, showcasing his cocky smile that I have grown to love.
Luke and I say our I do’s in the wedding dress I picked out for him. Everyone cheers and applauds like this wedding is like every other one this town has had.
I can’t believe I have done the most crazy yet right thing in my life by marrying Luke on the spot. Who does that? Apparently, this girl. My face hurts from smiling so big, and I laugh at how good all of this feels. As the white flaps open a figure walks right through, as if they were opening for him. At first the shadow from the doors cover his face and most of his body. As he looks up, the shadows move across his face to showcase my brother Kellen.
My feet falter and I feel Luke’s do the same as our hands hold onto each other. How is he out of prison, is the first question that comes to mind. I’ve missed him so much I want to run to him and hug him, but I feel rooted to my spot completely in shock. He looks around the room, his lips pressed together and jaw hardened. No smile graces his lips. Then his gaze lands directly upon us. The room quiets down and the whispers begin.
Like he owns the place, he walks farther into the area, walking on my rose petals. His hand stretches out to Luke, shaking his hand, before dragging me into his chest for a bear hug.
“I love you, LS,” he tells me before stepping out of the way. The room’s chatter has begun back up; I have no doubt my family will be rushing to him. It does not go unnoticed that he never congratulated us. But I don’t care.
For the first time in five years I have seen and hugged my favorite brother. This is the most perfect day I have ever had. The one person missing that would make today even more perfect if he were here is Rhett. He already had a concert planned before we had set our date and couldn’t cancel it. How can a girl be mad when he is sending us away on our honeymoon!
The sun shines brightly on us and immediately my skin peppers with dew from the heat. Looking up to my husband, I feel like I need to pinch myself.
“Looks like we do get our happily ever after.” My husband looks down at me, like his world revolves around me, then bends his head, stealing my breath away in a kiss.
CHAPTER 47
I wake up the next day with Luke’s arm around me as I fight to push off the blankets from the heat trying to suffocate me. It’s stifling.
“Morning, wifey.” Luke’s groggy voice dances over me, and I smile, liking the ring to it.
“Morning, husband.” I lean in to kiss the side of his head before I continue my escape from the heat, causing Luke to hold me tighter. His naked body is curled into mine, like an inferno.
“I’m hot,” I try to explain. His blond hair brushes into his forehead, all bedhead like, while his eyes still remain closed on the pillow as I look down at his handsome face.
“I know.” He opens his eyes, looking over at me with his charming grin. I’m so thankful he loved me enough to fight for us.
I never expected to be married to Luke or to still be here in Three Rivers. My plan was to leave to the neighboring town that had better accommodations. But here I am. I sink back down into the bed, trying to overcome the sauna next to me.
“That’s more like it.” Luke closes his eyes and looks to be falling back to sleep with a smile gracing his lips. Looking to his nightstand, I see it’s only eight in the morning, giving us only a few hours of sleep so far.
I think back to the whirlwind of a year I had with coming back and finding Luke again, to getting engaged and married. I hate to admit it, but if Ryker never asked me to marry him, I may not have ever come back again. Thinking about what I almost gave up makes me sad.
Coming to Three Rivers allowed for the second chance at our love. Or at least allowed me to realize I was keeping myself from a life I knew I would grow and love in.
I never did get my chance to talk to Kellen last night, but he seemed all right. He didn’t chase me out of town so that must be a good sign. For the first time in five years I have a renewed hope of the future. I’m excited to live my life again, something I wasn’t doing. I might have been going through the motions but that’s not living.
“Thank you for not giving up,” I whisper, not sure if he will hear me.
“A love like ours would never go out. If we hadn’t found each other now, I am certain we would have sooner or later.” He reaches for my hand, turning it over, he brings the inside of my wrist to his lips for a kiss.
“I also brought my shotgun in case I had to kidnap you. So like I said, this would have happened anyway.” He chuckles at his attempt to make a joke.
I’m home. I can feel it. This is where I am meant to be.
EPILOGUE
Kellen and I stare at each other over our beers. The orange and blue flames of the fire crackle, adding to the already warm weather. I sink back into my foldup chair while allowing my jean-clad legs to stretch out. There has been this awkward silence around us.
“So you’re out of jail,” I say, bringing the elephant in the room front and center. “After being charged for murder.”
Kellen chuckles to himself, not looking stressed. “Like I told you when I was on the inside, don’t be asking questions to answers you can’t know.”
I grunt; my eyes for the first time going to watch the flames dance.
“Want to talk about how I high jacked a wedding?” I snicker, my eyes going back to watch his reaction.
He takes a sip of his beer before answering. I feel like Kellen and I could be back to our old selves. I’ve missed my best friend.
“Let’s talk about how you stole my sister as a bride at said wedding.” His eyebrows shoot up, but I see him trying to control his smirk. His deep gray eyes look amused, making me relax further.
“Yeah, I did.” I laugh, raising my beer in a salute. “Best thing I’ve ever done.”
Thinking back to that day and how it all went down, I know it was a perfect day for the both of us. All that mattered in that moment was Shay and me. I did once say I wanted the two of us to make history in this small town. I am pretty sure I achieved that with the stunt I pulled. No one will ever forget that.
*
Life back in Three Rivers is right where I need to be. Why I hated this small town growing up I don’t fully underst
and anymore. It is the perfect location and community to raise a family. One I hope Luke and I can start sooner rather than later.
I am right where I belong. With a man who adores and loves me to the ends of the earth and back. Just looking at him makes me realize he saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life.
Luke is my life, my everything. It’s crazy to think that one stolen moment could have abducted the future we had planned. But somehow the stars aligned, showing us the way back to where our fate was meant to be.
For every stolen moment, there is a newfound moment exchanged. It’s up in those stars I wish upon each night that everyone gets their found moment within all of the moments that are removed from our control.
With that I wish upon the first star I see tonight, I pray for my brother Kellen to find his moment within everything that was stolen from him.
The End
Are you dying for more? I hope so! I promise that Kellen and Sloan’s story will be epic! I can’t wait for May 15, 2019, when Moonlight Moments is released. Read on for a sneak peek at Moonlight Moments. This is unedited and subject to change.
CHAPTER 1
Kellen
When the cold metal door slams behind me, I’m left in silence. It’s almost deafening to my ears. I haven’t heard silence like this in too long. Looking skyward, I see a flock of birds, slowly their sounds taking over. Then it’s like I can hear everything—the sound of the wind, tires on asphalt, murmured voices—but I see no one. This is what it does to you; jail made my senses sharp, but everything around me is new. It’s like I didn’t know how to see or hear it before. Slowly, the old memory of these freedoms takes over me, making my skin prickle.
Taking a step forward, I can hear that distinct crunch of my shoes. Music to my ears. When I get to the parking lot, just as promised, my old beater of a truck sits there for me. Good old faithful. My hand runs along her rusted paint, its brashness welcomed under my touch. It’s the little things like this I missed most of all.
Not that I regret anything. I would have taken the fall for my sister a thousand times over. It was well worth the sacrifice. What no one else knew was that going to jail saved me too. I would have never finished high school, never mind get a degree, if I stayed on the outside. That’s not even considering what type of trouble I would have gotten myself into. I’m almost certain I would have found myself in here anyway.
My keys are burdensome in my pocket, poking into me.
I have a plan, and an endgame in mind, but I’m not sure how to start.
My fingers dig into my tighter than normal clothing.
I never realized how comfortable scrubs are compared to jeans. I would take being uncomfortable just for pockets though. It’s a nice luxury to have.
Great, I’m talking to myself in my head. Shit, I’m still doing it. They talked about feeling different once you stepped outside. Never thought it would apply to me. Pulling the keys out, they sit heavy in my hand as I hesitate.
I honestly don’t know my first step. Should I go home first? Looking at my watch, it’s still early, and I have lots of time before my sister Shay’s wedding. I need to stop her from getting married. Her last letter gutted me, making me realized she was only getting married to keep her promise to me. A promise in which I made her leave the love of her life, for a chance of a normal, free life outside of Three Rivers. I had thought if she left this small town, she would blossom, forgetting everything about this place. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy. For some fucked up reason, I thought I knew better than her. I know I fucked up, so this is her consolation: me trying to make it right.
I jimmy the key into my truck, just like I had to do five years ago. The normalcy of the act is comforting.
Backing out, I look in the rearview mirror, saying goodbye to what was my home for the last five years. Then I gun it out of the parking lot, my wheels squealing from not being used over the years. It’s kind of my own fuck you—yet to who, I’m not sure. Maybe I just think I’m supposed to feel that way.
My thoughts drift back to my family and my sister Shay’s wedding. I look forward to seeing their reaction to me being out. I like the shock factor; some personality traits die hard. But overall, I hope they forgive me. Forgive me for putting them through not talking to them, cutting off all contact for my five-year stint. It was the only way I knew how to deal with it all.
The trees fly by, full with shades of green. I love Texas. I could never leave here. This is home. In the far distance, I can see a car on the side of the road with its hood up. My foot eases off the gas, not wanting to fly by. By the time I reach the car, I’m hardly moving the speed limit. My neck twists to see if I might know the person, until I see her.
She’s in the ditch, kicking her car wheel. Her fingers are laced into her hair, pulling it out so it looks like she’s been electrocuted, and then it falls gently to her shoulders once she pulls her hands out. I watch as she paces back and forth, seeming to be screaming directly at her car.
Yup, some people have it worse than me. I pull my truck to the side of the road and reverse so I am only a few feet away from her car.
CHAPTER 2
Sloan
This is just my luck. I knew I should have had a tune up before I left, but there was no time. My fingers press into my scalp and drag across my skin, pulling at my hair. I feel like crying. This is the worst week I’ve ever had. I can’t even say this has been my worst day, being stranded in the middle of nowhere, my phone dead, and I couldn’t even shower with warm water today. Nope, it was freezing cold. I never wish to wake up like that again, ever. And to think this still has not been the worst day I’ve had.
I’m just a few miles from the Three Rivers population sign. It’s like fate is telling me to turn around. I don’t remember the last time I stepped foot here. I should have visited more. I thought about it once or twice.
I kick my tire as hard as I can. The shooting pain that travels up my leg is more than welcomed. “I hate you!” I shout at my car and kick it again, all my emotions whirling around me like a tornado.
Tilting my chin to the sky, I look at the solid blue sky. “Why me?” I complain with my hands held against my head. When I get no response, my hand rubs my forehead, dragging down across my face, before I pretend to fake smoke. The actual habit died long ago, but I find the act itself helps me work through everything going on in my head.
“What are you looking at?” I yell at an old piece of shit truck that gawks at me like I’m a tourist attraction. Haven’t they ever seen a woman on the side of the road before? I kick my car tire again.
I’ve pictured this moment of me returning to Three Rivers before, but I was always older, successful, and Granny was still alive. None of this is my reality right now as it was then. I was always better than Three Rivers, wanting to “make it.” Funny how only now I wished I had visited sooner, when Granny was alive.
My two fingers come back up to my lips as I inhale. Slowly, I exhale, at the same time bringing my imaginary cigarette away from my lips, hoping to vanish my pity party.
My mom left this town as soon as she could hitch a ride, but continued to drop me off here whenever I was an inconvenience, which happened to be a lot while growing up. I honestly never minded it and enjoyed my time here, but slowly my mother began to poison the idea of this town. From there, it only took a few wrong steps of my own before I stopped coming back here.
I’m so frustrated and angry with the moment I don’t realize that clunker of a truck has stopped and now someone is getting out. This is how people go missing. Vanish, without a trace.
I take a step back, unsure of my surroundings. I have some pepper spray for bears in my car, but I would have to make a move to get it.
*
Kellen
As I step out and head to her side, she stops yelling and kicking her car to stare at me. Her chest is heaving, and I see her forehead glistening with must have been quite the workout for her. Her long, light brunette h
air is wild, framing her face. Her lips are pressed together in a pink pout, and the lightest green eyes stare back at me. She is breathtaking.
I find my breath hitching before any words come out. “Can I help you out here?”
She takes a step back, evaluating me with her eyes. Uncertainty washes over her features and I stay where I’m standing, not wanting to frighten her.
I’ve never seen her before, telling me that she is either new or heading somewhere away from here.
I nod toward the hood. “Mind if I check it out?”
“Sure.” Her voice comes out breathlessly.
I poke my head under the blue metal and can feel the heat and humidity radiating off the engine. My hand goes out, testing to find the area warmest before getting down on my hands and knees, looking below the car.
“How long have you been stopped?” I ask, my head under her car. I can see her black-checkered Vans take a step closer.
“About twenty minutes,” she grumbles.
“What happened that made you stop?” I get back up from my knees, using the opportunity to get another look at her. A silver hoop rests in her small, slightly curved nose. It seems to fit her personality perfectly, as it doesn’t seem to stand out but enhance her understated beauty. I can’t help but notice black ink scribed along the outside of her right wrist, but I can’t make out the wording. I have a feeling she has more than the one tattoo that would catch my eye.
“My hood started to look like smoke was coming out of it.”
I nod, going to look back under the hood, checking the radiator hose, wishing I could take her in again. I pretend to be looking around, giving myself time, so that it doesn’t look like I’m staring. I can’t help but be memorized by her.
Popping my head back out, I point out the green slime looking fluid that has accumulated under her car. “See that?”