Jamie was there. She was with him. He had everything he needed, so why did his heart crack so painfully? “Adam confessed before he…” His voice trailed off before he could say the words.
“No.” Jamie’s eyes drifted closed. Evidently she remembered the police crowded in the emergency room eager to speak with him once they were safely off the mountain. Things had happened so quickly once they were rescued, and they had rushed Jamie off before he had a chance to speak to her. He had no idea what she had heard, seen or even understood at that time.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Andrew thought about the past 24 hours as though he were in a dream. After they had been taken off the mountain, he had gone through long hours of explaining and answering questions despite the pain in his arm and worry for Jamie. By the time Adam’s body had been retrieved, Darren had joined him and immediately his loyal lawyer stepped up on his behalf. His relief from the interrogators was short lived, for then Grandma had arrived. A shudder went through him as he remembered her heartbroken sobs when she greeted him at the hospital. The devastation his brother had brought to his family made his death feel even more selfish. As he had feared, everything had fallen apart in a blink of an eye, but Andrew was determined to put it right once and for all.
“Jamie, I’m sorry - for everything,” he blurted out suddenly. Aware that he was still crying and his voice cracked as he spoke, he pushed through the awkwardness and hesitation to reveal himself fully. “I’ll understand if it’s too much for you. I’ve brought you so much trouble.”
“Shush.” She shook her head and once more pressed her fingers to his lips to prevent him from speaking more. “Don’t say that… You know how I feel about you. Nothing’s changed that.”
He wanted to believe. But he also knew she needed to understand the truth. “It was Adam.”
“I know. I remember.” Moving her hand to cup his cheek, her eyes were earnest when she spoke. “That doesn’t matter to me. In my eyes, it’s all over.”
“God Jamie, when I got his text all I could think about was getting up there. Then I couldn’t find you… I thought I’d lost you.”
She shook her head slightly. “Never. I’m not leaving you - ever.”
“When Adam told me everything, I thought I’d never have the chance to tell you how much I love you, Jamie. You need to know, and I need to say it out loud like I’ve been afraid to until now. I love you. You are my heart and soul. You mean everything to me.”
“I do know,” she whispered.
Her own tears began to spill through her lashes. Afraid to touch her, he allowed them to fall. With amazing strength, her hand captured his in a tight grip.
“What Adam did is not your fault,” she said firmly. “He told me that he owed you so much. He also told me how you protected him all his life... Andrew, you are such a hero.”
Her words did little to raise his spirits, but he wanted them to. God, how he wanted them to. “So much has happened… I’ve been living my life in a fog. I don’t want to do that anymore. I need to live again, Jamie. I need to remember how to laugh. You make me want to do that.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
Even though he was aware that he was gushing like a child, now that he had started speaking he found that he could not stop. “You’ve come to mean so much more to me than the woman who showed such bravery and honesty when she helped free me from prison. You’re a part of my life. I don’t ever want to lose you, Jamie. I’ll do anything to make you happy. I love you so much.”
When his voice broke a second time, he stopped and pressed her hand to his lips. In her eyes he saw the truth of her words. She really did believe he was a hero, and the love that shone through her pain and discomfort made his heart soar.
“I love you, Andrew Sheehan, and all I want from you right now is a smile. Will you smile for me?”
Confused by her words, he frowned instead. “A smile?”
“Yes, a smile. A real one,” she whispered. “We’re safe, Andrew. It’s over. We have the rest of our lives ahead of us. Right now, all I want from you is a smile. Just one, and then we can grieve for Adam and what he did.”
With every ounce of energy that he possessed, Andrew proved that he would do anything for her. Though his lips trembled slightly, Jamie’s wide grin eased his discomfort and forced away some of his angst.
“You’re right,” he whispered. “That’s why I love you as much as I do.”
“Andrew, all I can say is…” Her voice trailed off as the sound of her brother’s echoed out in the hall. Their private time was nearly over. Yet her smile remained as her eyes drifted closed wearily, that faint curvature of the lips that he never grew tired of kissing.
“What?”
When her eyes opened, they were glowing. “It’s about time.”
Though the words could be taken in many ways, he knew exactly what she meant. After everything that had happened, after all the trauma he had seen and lived through, he had finally opened to her. Coming to his feet, he stood above her and kissed her forehead then her lips before turning to the door to face the onslaught of her worried family.
“You’re right, Jamie,” he said with a heavy sigh. “It is about time.”
While he may have lost most of his family, he had gained a new one in the form of the Evans clan. The weary concern was reflected on the four faces in multiple ways but also so similarly. It was obvious they cared, and each and every one of them approached him first with heartfelt thanks for taking care of their little sister. There was acceptance in their voices and in the hearty pats on the back they gave him.
As he watched them crowd around Jamie, Andrew realized that she was right all along. They had their entire lives ahead of them. The past was over; the deed was done. While he would always have the memories and perhaps the scars, he did not need to allow it to run his life. It was time for him to put all the horror behind him and start living again. From this point on, he could move forward and live the life he had always wanted. He had the support of the Evans family, and they were giving him the strength to dream again.
While Jamie bravely greeted the new arrivals, Andrew remembered a simple sentence she had said to him during their first encounter. She had lightheartedly told him then that if it were meant to be, it would have been. After all of his pain over the years since those first few words, he had finally come to a conclusion. As far as he was concerned, it was meant to be. Against all odds, she had returned to him, and he had been given another chance. Another chance at life and another chance to find happiness. Perhaps his trials and Adam’s betrayal were all a part of life’s greater purpose for him after all.
If it was meant to be, it would have been.
He smiled down at her again. A true smile. And she stared up at him with one just as real. Though all four Evans brothers were waiting for their turn to gain her attention, she had eyes only for him. The woman whose hand clung to his tightly was everything he needed now, and their future was a blank slate just waiting to be written upon. This time Andrew intended to make every moment count.
The End
Coming February 14, 2012:
Through Winter Skies
The Evans Family, Book Two
One evening changes two lives:
Ten years ago, a home invasion nearly took the life of a 15 year-old-girl, and Zachary Evans became an inadvertent hero. Following the traumatic experience, Zachary continued on to pursue a career with the FBI in the hopes of controlling the criminals who appear as quickly as he puts them away.
The past cannot be denied:
Content with a solitary life, suddenly a new case drops on his desk. One case starts it all, a continuation of the events from ten years ago that still haunt his dreams. A murder in prison followed by a break-out sends Zachary in a desperate search for his childhood friend. Knowing that the escapees still believe her to have something they want, it is a race to find her before they do.
Emotionally and physically scarred following her
experience, Emery Flores disappeared into the mountains of Colorado, becoming a reclusive but successful artist with a purpose. Wanting just to be left alone, she is shocked when a face from her past appears at her door moments before a spring storm hits. With news she does not want to hear, Emery is reluctantly thrown back to events she would rather deny.
Everything happens for a reason:
Trapped together during a mountain snowstorm, Zach and Emery are forced to confront the trials that shaped them as adults and in the process renew their bond. As man and woman, they find their connection goes much deeper than they thought and long buried feelings re-emerge. But still the danger is lurking, and Zach finds out that it extends beyond Emery's case. With ties to a human and drug smuggling ring that claimed the life of a police officer, Zach realizes that Emery may just be the key to blowing the case wide open. The question remains: can he risk her, the woman he loves, for justice?
About the Author
…
Always composing stories in her head, Collette began her first novel at the age of eight. Since then, she has obtained her bachelor’s degree in English literature and master’s degree in education while squeezing in her writing whenever she can. If We Dare to Dream is Collette’s third novel and the beginning of the highly anticipated Evans family series. The New England native now resides in Arizona with her husband, three children and multiple family pets.
For more information visit: http://www.collettescott.com
Collette’s blog: http://collettescott.blogspot.com
Collette’s page on Amazon
Facebook page: ColletteScott
Twitter: @collettescott
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