Fading Into Nothing
Page 14
Once he’s made his choice, he walks to the back of the train. Only the top of his head sticks up over the seats. There is someone sitting next to him with a newspaper blocking the view. I try to focus my thoughts on the scenery rushing by me, but I keep glancing up, hoping for a peek at the man behind the newspaper.
I straighten my olive-green wrap dress when I stand to head over to the vending machine. Placing my coins in the slot, I press the button for a bottle of water, but it doesn’t come out. I push the button several more times, but nothing happens.
“Do you need some help?” I hear a male’s voice behind me. When I turn to look, it’s the same man dressed in blue that I had been watching earlier. He’s tall and very handsome.
“I was trying to get some water.” I stare at the machine.
“Sometimes it needs a little help.” He takes both his hands and shakes the machine, and the water falls into the chamber. He bends down and takes it out for me. “Here you go.” His smile is wide and bright.
“Thank you,” I say, taking it from him.
“I’m Patty,” he says, holding his hand out.
“Maggie,” I respond.
“Where are you headed, Maggie?” He leans his long frame on the vending machine.
“North Carolina.”
“My brother and I are headed home to Georgia.” He points his thumb over his shoulder to the man still reading the newspaper.
I stand on my tiptoes trying to get a look at him. “I’ve never been to Georgia,” I say.
“Would you like to join us?” he asks.
“I…no…I can’t go with you to Georgia.”
He laughs out loud. “No, I meant on the train. There is an open seat across from us.”
I look back at my spot on the train and the couple who seems to need a room and glance back at him. “That would be great, thank you.”
I follow him to the back, and he waits to sit until I slide onto the cushioned bench seat. The man behind the newspaper is laughing at something, but he doesn’t lower it down. He has on distressed blue jeans and a pair of brown loafers. I can’t make out anything else from the waist up other than a silver watch with a brown leather band resting on his wrist. I can see a hint of a tattoo on his arm.
I see the top of his head fall back in laughter and he has a head full of black hair with curls flopping around. He turns his head toward his brother and asks him something in a low voice. His brother leans in and responds quietly then puts his attention back on me.
“My brother loves the comics.”
My heart flutters almost to a complete stop and memories bounces through my head like tiny rubber balls. I have to tell myself to breathe as I knot my fingers together anxiously. I can feel my body form a cold sweat on my skin.
“Are you okay?” Patty asks.
At that moment, the newspaper is lowered down, and I’m staring at a younger version of Will. It can’t be. He’s not real. My lips are so parched, I grab the water bottle and guzzle it down like I’m dying of thirst. When it’s gone, I wipe the water on the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. Both sets of eyes are staring at me. Will has a lopsided grin like the two sides of his face couldn’t agree on any one particular expression. I can’t look away from him.
“This is my brother, Will.”
I close my gaping mouth. “Maggie.”
“Nice to meet you, Mags,” he says with a full smile.
Mags. My heart shatters into a million little pieces.
“Maggie here is headed to North Carolina,” his brother says.
“I love North Carolina. We’re headed to….”
“Savannah…” The words slip out before I can stop them.
Will’s eyebrows shoot up. “Have we met before?”
“No…I’m sorry.” I stand and try to leave, but his hand stops me.
“Please don’t go…” his words trail off.
I sit back down and fidget with the hem of my dress.
“Will and I just graduated from college. I’m going to be a lawyer and Will has his degree in hospitality management.” He ruffles Will’s already messy hair. “He wants to join forces with our mother who owns half the bed and breakfasts in Savannah.”
He didn’t become a lawyer like in my dreams. I straighten in my seat. “What happened to…” I clear my throat. “I mean, that’s great. I’m sure your parents are very proud of both of you.” They share a look between them, and I take a second to inspect Patrick’s arms. There are no signs of track marks.
“Our father died a few years back, and I’m taking over his law firm,” Patrick says.
“Oh, I’m sorry about your dad.”
“Mom is excited about Will following in her footsteps.”
Will’s eyes are still on me. “She’s proud of both of her sons.” There is an awkward moment of silence between us.
“So, Maggie, can I buy you some lunch?” Patrick asks, leaning his elbows on his knees.
“No, you can’t,” Will replies. “She’s having lunch with me.”
“I saw her first,” Patrick says like a petulant child.
“Somehow, I don’t think that’s true,” Will answers, looking me up and down.
That dimple in his lip is taunting me just like in my dream. I lean forward and take his hands. To his shock and mine, I place a soft kiss on his lips.
“Damn it, man! Why do you get the girl?” Patrick asks, laughing.
“Because I think I just found my heart,” Will says and kisses me back.
Epilogue
“Jett, don’t get too close to the water,” I yell from the blanket we are sitting on down on the beach. I look over at Will who is cooing over our six-week-old daughter, Sage.
“God she’s beautiful, just like her mother.”
“That one there”—I point to Jett—“is the spitting image of you, minus the earthy brown hair.”
“I don’t know. I see a little of my mother in him.”
“Speaking of the grandparents, when are Hank and Caroline going to be here?”
“As soon as they close up the market.” He goes back to focusing on the baby.
I get up and walk down by the water where Jett is building a sand castle. I sit in the sand and join him. As I rake my fingers into the sand, I think about my life and how I got here.
The day on the train when I met Will and Patrick, I did go to Savannah with them. I knew my fate was with him, and so did he. We spent the summer together, and I took off for my job in Southport. We did the long-distance thing for about a year before Will decided he wanted our lives to be here and not in Savannah. He opened the only bed and breakfast in Southport and built us a home on the adjacent land.
I kept my job as an elementary school teacher until the birth of Sage. Hank was right where he was in my dreams, working at the market. And, just like in my dreams, when Hank met Caroline, it was love at first sight. She sold all her property in Savannah and married Hank. They live in the upstairs apartment of the market, and they couldn’t be happier.
Patrick bought a vacation home here and comes here as often as his practice in New York will let him. He’s never done drugs a day in his life. Will and Patrick are as thick as thieves. I love them both dearly, and he adores his niece and nephew.
I never told Will of my dreams of him, but I did tell him about my life before him. He has never judged me, and he supports me one hundred percent. I’ve never to this day craved anything but him. He truly is the man of my dreams, and I love him more and more with each passing day.
I’m blessed. This broken girl from New York City has made it. I’m happy, married to the man I love, and have two beautiful children. Sometimes I can’t believe this is my life. In the darkness, I don’t think I deserve it, but I’m sure going to cherish every moment of every day and never turn back.
Acknowledgments
I want to take a moment and thank so very important people.
Jennifer Thomason - thank you for always beta reading for me and t
elling me like it is, pushing me to make it better, and for always sharing and leaving a review. You make me a better writer.
Sharon Renee, PA - You are the absolute best! You are such a hard worker and you always go above and beyond. Thank you for the endless hours you put in to help me spread the word.
Andi Taylor and Becky Claxon - thank you for keeping an eye out for me by proofreading. You two seem to catch things that know one else does, and I greatly appreciate it.
Kerry Genova - you are the best editor ever. Thank you for always making my books better. I consider you a friend as well as an editor. You go above and beyond your job and have chatted with me about all sorts of things. Thank you.
As always, thank you to my readers, reviewers, but most especially my Review Tribe. You ladies are awesome!
Most importantly, to my husband, who encourages me every day! I love you.
About the Author
Kelly Moore writes so the characters inside her head can come to life. She writes sexy, steamy, suspenseful romance stories, laced with a touch of humor.
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Her true addictions include traveling, exploring old books stores for treasures, laughing with friends and family, eating mint Oreo ice cream, and spoiling her grandchildren rotten.
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She is a critical care nurse by day and an author by night. Writing settles her mind and spirit, plus she gets to spend her days in her pajamas.
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For more books and updates and to join my newsletter: www.kellymooreauthor.com
Also by Kelly Moore
Broken Pieces #1 (Always Free)
Piece Together #2
Piece by Piece #3
Pieces of Gray #4 Amazon
Syn’s Broken Journey #5 Amazon
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Next August#1 FREE on Amazon
This August #2 Amazon
Seeing Sam #3 Amazon
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Taking Down Brooklyn #1 Amazon
Taking Back Brooklyn #2 Amazon
Taking Jake #3 Amazon/Free on kindle-unlimited
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Imperfect Amazon
Say You Won’t Let Go Amazon/Free on kindle-unlimited
Blind Revenge Amazon/Free on kindle-unlimited
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Short Stories
Santa Kisses for Sale Amazon/Free on kindle-unlimited
Cocky Captain Amazon/Free on kindle-unlimited
Falling Hard for the Boss Amazon/Free on kindle-unlimited