“I will,” she agreed. “So Ben is coming home after school, too, and Cierra and Dalen are going to the office, right?”
“Yes,” Kayley answered. “It’ll just be you and Ben until we get home around five.”
“Okay,” Alexis said, grabbing her bag. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll wake up the troops while you’re gone,” Ben said, dropping a kiss on Kayley’s lips. She turned to walk away and he grabbed her hand. “Don’t sit in the parking lot this time.”
Kayley laughed. “You know me so well,” she said. “Nope. I’ll wait until I have all of the kids off at school today, then I’ll sit in the parking lot and cry.”
“Such a good mommy,” Ben teased.
Kayley pulled into Sunset Beach Middle, a quiet Ben in the front seat. He was so his father, even right down to his looks. That bode well for him in the girl department of course, though she was glad he wasn’t into having a girlfriend like most of the other kids his age. She wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up taking over his dad’s practice someday. Very serious about school at the young age of 11, Ben never needed prompting to do homework or projects. He was actually the one that usually helped his little brother and sister with theirs, teaching them that school was important and they had to do their best. That being said, the kid smiled all the time. He was never unhappy for long, and cut up a lot with his sisters and brother. He and Alexis had an amazing bond, one that often made her teary.
She had overheard them talking last night while Ben was in Alexis’ room. Kayley had heard Alexis telling him all about middle school, and experiences she had with teachers. She only let herself listen for a moment, not wanting them to see her there. But when Alexis had told Ben, ‘You’ve got this, Ben. You’re so smart, and you know that anything you need help with, I’m here for you’, Kayley had tears running down her face. She loved those children more than anything. Alexis had always taken Ben under her wing, even at a young age.
Kayley stopped the car in the drop off line and turned to Ben. She knew he didn’t want a big production of his first day, since he was in middle school and all. Cierra and Dalen chatted in the back seat about seeing friends, and teachers, and the first day of school excitement.
“Have a great day, buddy,” Kayley said. “I put lunch money in your account. Try not to spend it all in one day.” Apparently middle-schoolers were too cool to pack lunch, or so Ben’s friends insisted. She had the feeling that meant he was going to be eating a lot of bags of chips and cookies.
“Bye, Mom,” Ben said, reaching for the door handle. “Bye Cierra, Dalen. Have a good first day of school.”
“Love you!” both of them echoed. Kayley watched as he walked down the sidewalk, his bag slung over one shoulder. He never looked back at her.
“Love you, Benjamin,” she whispered. “My big boy.”
“Time for school, time for school,” Cierra and Dalen chanted from the backseat.
Kayley smiled at them in the rearview mirror. “Last stop, Sunset Beach Elementary.” It was about a mile drive, just long enough for Kayley to try to get herself together before dropping the last of them off. She had taken pictures of them all, of course, in front of the door to their house. The only one that didn’t make it in the group photo this year was Alexis.
Cierra was her very shy child. She had a hard time coming out of her shell at school. Kayley had heard every year how brilliant Cierra was, but that she was so quiet. She remembered the first time her teacher said that when she was in kindergarten, Kayley had laughed. Cierra was a ball of energy at home, always chattering and carrying on with her siblings. But it had held true, Cierra always knowing the answer but not wanting to raise her hand to tell it. She liked having a few close friends rather than a whole group surrounding her. She resembled her big sister quite a bit, except with pin straight hair. She liked to wear it short with a headband. Cierra was a very girly girl and loved to sneak into Alexis’ room and try on all of her things.
Dalen was her wild child. The classic baby, he ran circles around all of his siblings when he started walking at ten months old. He talked in full sentences by eighteen months, and was affectionately called ‘Destructo Dalen’. He had a sweet heart, but a motor in his backside. He loved all sports and never wanted to sit still. He had also been the only one out of the four to have stitches and a broken arm more than once. Thank God his dad was a doctor. But that boy was a ton of fun, and he kept them on their toes. He had his mom’s green eyes, which often sparkled with mischief, and curly blonde hair that he liked to keep a little long. He said he liked looking like a ‘surfer’.
Kayley pulled up to the elementary school. “Can I walk you in today?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Kayley laughed. Go figure. Her fourth grader wanted her to walk her in, but her second grader didn’t. “Dalen, you can walk ahead of us, okay?”
He blew out a breath. “Just don’t come to my classroom and take a picture with my teacher. That’s so embarrassing.” Who was this kid, and what had he done with her seven year old?
She parked, chuckling to herself as Dalen grabbed his things and started walking, while Cierra tucked her hand into her mom’s. Kayley smiled at her.
“You okay, honey?”
She nodded, her eyes scanning the crazy crowd for any sign of her friends. Kayley ruffled Dalen’s hair at the door before he took off to his classroom, not even a hug in sight.
“Cierra!” Cierra turned to see her best friend, Heather, rushing down the hall.
“I’m okay now, Mom,” Cierra said, hugging her quickly. “Have a good day at work.”
Kayley watched Cierra link arms with Heather and walk to their classroom, turning back once to wave to her mom. That was it. None of them wanted her to walk them to their rooms anymore. She turned and walked back to the van, her memories overtaking her. Why did time go so fast? Why were her babies growing up right before her eyes? She would do almost anything to slow it down, to go back to the first time she stepped foot in this building nine years ago when Alexis was a little tow-headed kindergartner, and their parenting life had seemingly just begun.
She reached the van and got in, watching as the last of the students walked into the building. Her phone buzzed, and she looked down. It was a picture of a large coffee with a text that read, ‘Come to the office. Leave the school. The kids are fine. I love you. Ben’. Kayley laughed, shaking her head. God, she loved that man.
Turn the page for a sneak peek at
Breaking Free: A Living Again Novella,
releasing October 4, 2014
Alexis’ hands shook as she took the envelope from the mailbox. Her eyes flitted to the return address. The Florida State University. She had applied to many schools, but this was her number one choice. She was three months away from graduating from high school, and couldn’t wait to go to college. She hoped to cheer wherever she ended up, and planned on majoring in a science so she could be pre-med.
She walked into the house, still holding the envelope. Her hands shook slightly as she put the rest of the mail on the kitchen counter. She had the house to herself, which didn’t happen often. Her brothers and sister weren’t home yet, and her parents were at work.
Dialing Cate, she hoped that she wasn’t in class. Cate was her best friend and had been her entire life, but she was a year ahead of her and was already away at college. She was attending The University of Central Florida in Orlando, and had tried to convince her to come there with her. Alexis had applied, but it just wasn’t in her heart to go there, even though she knew it would be fun to be with Cate.
“Hey Lex,” Cate answered. Alexis could hear noise around her. Excitement bubbled up in her chest at the thought of being off at college. It wasn’t that she wanted to get away from her family or anything, but she was ready to be ‘on her own’, in a way.
“Hey Cate. I got the letter.” She didn’t have to tell Cate what letter she meant. Cate already knew.
She squealed. “An
d?”
“I can’t open it,” Alexis laughed nervously. “I’m scared.”
“Open it,” Cate said. “I want you to read it out loud. You so got in, Lex. They’d be stupid not to take you.”
Alexis ripped open the envelope, her hands full on shaking now. She had been accepted to six other schools, but none of them had made her this nervous. She wanted this badly. One of her other best friends, Hailey, was already accepted and they wanted to be roommates. Her older sister was a junior there, and when Alexis and Hailey had visited her months ago to go to a football game, Alexis had been hooked.
She took the paper out of the envelope, her breathing ragged. She didn’t think she had even been this nervous when Chasen Teague, the quarterback of the football team, had asked her to homecoming.
“Open it, Lex,” Cate laughed. “I know you’re staring at it.”
Alexis opened the folded letter, her eyes going right for the first line, underneath her name and address. “Congratulations,” she breathed, seeing the word she was looking for. Cate screamed, probably scaring whoever she was around.
Alexis felt her eyes welling up with tears as she continued reading the letter. She was not only in, she had gotten a full academic scholarship. A scholarship. She had hoped for at least a partial scholarship. But now, she didn’t have to worry about that.
“I got a scholarship, too,” she whispered to Cate. “I can’t believe it.”
“Why can’t you believe it, Lex? You’re fabulous and are vying for valedictorian of your high school class. The schools will be begging you to come there. You need to find out now when the tryouts are for their cheer squad, too. I know UCF does a spring session where you can work out with the cheerleaders to prepare for tryouts. You should try to go to that.”
“My head is spinning, Cate,” Alexis laughed. “I just found out I got in at all. One thing at a time.”
“I’m so proud of you, Lex. I wish you were coming here with me, but this is your dream.”
She hung up the phone and pressed the letter to her chest. She couldn’t wait to tell her mom and dad that she had gotten in. She was going to be a Seminole. Alexis squealed and jumped around the kitchen. This was step one to her adulthood. She was going to college.
Marry Me ~ Train
I Choose You ~ Sara Bareilles
Fall for You ~ Secondhand Serenade
My Eyes ~ Blake Shelton
Beachin’ ~ Jake Owen
Give In To Me ~ Rose Falcon
Love Don’t Die Easy ~ Charlie Worsham
I Do ~ Paul Brandt
That’s How I Know You Love Me ~ Justin Moore
Safe ~ Katie Arminger
You ~ Jason Cassidy
You Had Me From Hello ~ Kenny Chesney
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You ~ Bryan Adams
She Will Be Loved ~ Maroon 5
Open Arms ~ Journey
Beside You ~ Mariana’s Trench
Good To You ~ Mariana’s Trench
Let Her Go ~ Passenger
Jar of Hearts ~ Megan Nicole
Hometown ~ Samantha Landrum
Medicine ~ Shakira
Young Love ~ Kip Moore
Best Day of My Life ~ American Authors
Me and My Broken Heart ~ Rixton
Better Together ~ Jack Johnson
Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) ~ Kelly Clarkson
Every Night ~ Imagine Dragons
I’m Already There ~ Lonestar
Night That You’ll Never Forget ~ Love and Theft
Love Is War ~ American Young
Spotify Playlist
Finding Forever (Living Again #4)
Here it is, the last full length novel of the Living Again series, Finding Forever. This story is very near and dear to my heart, as it deals with something that has touched many of our lives, whether directly or indirectly. Thank you to everyone who has read the series and has made the last year of my life unbelievable. Never fear, there are many more stories to come.
As always, to my family. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to be living my dream.
To LeElla, you’re my rock and you keep me going. I love you and appreciate everything you do for me.
To Kellie, thanks for always, always¸ having my back. You’re the best kind of friend anyone could ask for. There aren’t too many people out there like you, and I’m blessed to have you.
To Mindy, I can never thank you enough for the time you spend selflessly doing things for me. I’m so glad that after all of these years, we can still turn to each other for support. You’re one in a million.
To Joely, thank you doesn’t seem like enough. You’re an amazingly strong woman and I’m glad to know you. I appreciate your love and support more than I can ever express.
To my Street Team, thank you for being my rocks, my encouragers, my beta readers and best promoters. You all mean so much to me. Knowing I have you all to turn to is so amazing.
To the many authors that are truly my friends, thank you for not seeing this as a competition. I love the encouragement and true friendship from most of the indie community.
To the countless number of blogs that spend their free time helping get the word out about indie authors, whether its teasers, cover reveals, reviews, or just a promo post. Thank you doesn’t seem enough.
Thank you to my new PR team, the Hype PR, Christine Stanley and Angela Lane. I look forward to working together. Thanks for all you do.
To all of my readers who have devoured the Living Again Series, I hope you enjoy Lacey and Brant’s story. You’ll still get to enjoy a novella in the fall, about our favorite little girl Alexis, and then the series really is over.
LL Collins is a teacher who loves spending her days in the Florida sun with her husband and boys, reading, and writing. Her love of writing has found a home in the self-publishing world. LL has been writing since she was old enough to write. Always a story in her head, she finally decided to let the characters out and start writing and try to make her lifelong dreams of becoming an author come true. She has been a teacher for over ten years, a wife for 14, and a mom to two boys, 11 and 9.
Contact Author LL Collins
www.authorllcollins.com
Twitter: @authorllcollins
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/llcollinsauthor
Finding Forever (Living Again #4) Page 27