by Pizzi, Jenna
Jack reached his hand out and Rebecca took hold of it. When she stood outside the car, she caught Jack getting teary eyed. “You look stunning Becky.”
“Thank you for doing this Jack. I know it must be hard.”
“It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
Adam took one side of her while Jack took her other arm. The musical quartet began to play music, signaling that it was time. They made their way to the white runner and she took a deep breath.
Jack leaned over and teased, “Last chance, if you want to turn and run, the limo is right behind us.”
She playfully smacked his arm with her gloved hand.
“Not funny.”
“I’m just kidding. Just take a deep breath and relax, because that man standing over there in the monkey suit is waiting to begin a new life with you, a life that you deserve to have. You will have many years of happiness ahead of you.”
She didn’t take her eyes off of Ethan, “Thank you Jack. I’m ready now.”
Ethan stood straighter as he watched Rebecca walking down the aisle. Adam took his place beside Ethan and his brothers. Jack took Rebecca’s hand and kissed it gently as he handed her off to Ethan. Ethan nodded his head to Jack, and Jack gently patted him on his back before he took a seat.
Rebecca didn’t pay attention to anything the J.P was saying. All she could see and hear was Ethan. They exchanged their vows and he kissed her. “I would like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Roberts.” The J.P announced.
There was a roar of applause as they made their way back down the aisle. The smaller children released balloons into the sky while everyone else threw white rose petals in the air as they passed. They reached the limo and turned back toward everyone. They gave a wave and they heard Ethan’s family make hooting sounds.
He helped her inside the limo and pulled the door closed. He leaned over to her and kissed her.
“Well, Mrs. Roberts, you have just made my dreams come true, now let me do the same for you for the rest of your life.” He leaned in and kissed her again.
Rebecca put her daughter Peyton down to take a nap in her playpen. Emily held her son, Jackson while she fed him. Layla was chasing the cat around the house. Emily giggled. “You know maybe Jackson and Peyton will grow up and get married. Wouldn’t that be cool? We’d be in-law.”
Rebecca snorted. “Can we get them out of diapers before we plan their wedding?”
The door to the kitchen opened and they heard, “speaking of weddings….how about another one?” Tasha and Micah came waltzing in. Tasha was sporting a new diamond on her left hand.
“I got a clean bill of health today. The doctors called it a miracle, but I know the truth. My cancer is in remission thanks to Tong Ren. So, to celebrate, Micah and I are going to get married.”
Rebecca and Emily screeched in delight. Ethan walked in the room with Adam. They were both covered in paint. He took a look at Tasha and smacked his hand on Micah’s shoulder. “Ha! Welcome to the craziness, brother.”
Riley graduated from high school and decided to attend the Art Institute of Boston. She came home every weekend to spoil her baby sister.
Adam was doing well with his medication and therapy. Rebecca couldn’t help but notice that he seemed happier. There were no more mood swings; he was back to his normal social self. He spent most of his time painting. He had found his niche with it. Ethan had told him that if he kept up with it, he’d let him hang a couple of his painting in the gallery. It was all the motivation he needed to keep busy.
Jack became a good fit in their crazy extended family. He’d come to dinner on Sundays with the rest of the crew. He began bringing Kelly along with him one Sunday, and she slowly became a permanent fixture to the gang.
They had holidays in their beach home. All of Ethan’s family made the trek every Christmas. The family was slowly extending as some of the oldest children started bringing significant others with them.
Rebecca loved her crazy life. She loved the chaos and the late night phone calls to talk about what to wear. She finally had the family she always wanted.
A Fed Ex truck backed down their driveway and the driver walked to the front door with a box in his hand. Rebecca quickly threw open the door with a huge smile on her face. She grabbed the box and ripped it open before she even signed for it. The driver looked at her a little strangely. She pulled a hardcover book out and burst out in glee. She looked at the cover “Modern Family.” She handed one to the Fed Ex man. “Here, have the first copy.”
He looked at the book and grinned, “You wrote this?”
“Yup, and my husband did the illustrations.”
She thanked him and pulled the box inside. She called out for Ethan and the kids whom all came running. “It’s here” she told them.
They flipped through the book and saw images of themselves. On her acknowledgment page she read aloud:
“Families are not always those in which you were born into. Sometimes you marry them, sometimes you divorce them. Sometimes you choose them, sometimes they choose you. In today’s life, there is no one definition of family, so I thought I’d share a few moments in the day in the life of mine. Enjoy!”
The humorous stories of her extended family mishaps turned into a bestselling success. Her books sold out and the fans kept waiting for the next installments. Warner Brothers contacted her about adapting her books into a feature film.
Ethan stood beside her and put his arm around her. “Happy anniversary” he said to her.
She looked at him and smiled. “Happy anniversary” she said back.
“If anyone had told me a couple years ago that my life would have turned out like this, I probably would have laughed at them. You amaze me on a daily basis Rebecca Roberts. I thank god every day that you came into my life.”
She hung a red ribbon on the tree branch. “Well you know what they say about this tree don’t you? They say if you’re asked out on a date under this tree, than you’ll be together forever.”
“Why, Rebecca, I thought you weren’t a superstitious person?” He teased.
“Not superstitious, lucky. You make me feel lucky.”
She leaned over and kissed him as Peyton clapped her hands in her stroller.
Writing is the best kind of therapy there is. Sometimes we take our biggest fears, or our life experiences, and happiest moments, and implement them into our stories. I’ve always been told that I live with my head in the clouds, but I’ve learned that it’s a pretty nice view from up here.
Mom, you are a survivor. You have overcome the most unmentionable trauma, a brain aneurysm. I have watched you fight for almost nine years, working so hard to reclaim your life back. You are my inspiration. I have never met anyone with such a strong spirit as you. You have taught me that I can overcome any obstacle in life, even if it doesn’t always feel that way. I will forever hold you close to my heart, and stand by your side.
Dad, dreams do come true. You will never know how much I admire you for your dedication to your family. I know it’s not the life you ever envisioned that you’d lead, but it is the one you are making the best of. You are far more loved than you’ll ever know.
To Lee, I love you. To my kids, you are the reason that I do what I do. Hidden deep within the pages of my books, is your mom. It’s up to you to someday read them and discover who I really am. I love you!
Now the fun part….Leslie “Ducky” Dover, Jimie Castillo, Tabitha Short, Carrieann Mirassol, Melissa Johnson, KB Miller, Jenny Philip, Linda Phelan, Amy Bartoli, you all play such an important role in my life and I love all of you ladies with all my heart.
From as far back as I can remember I always had a story to tell. Whether it was creating a world for my dolls, or running through the woods trying to escape the unseen forces that were after me. As I got older, I carried a notebook around with me and wrote about the life I wished I had been living. It was my escape. Even then, I didn't realize it was so
mething I could actually put together on my own.
In high school, I discovered writers such as Dean Koontz, Nora Robert, and many more amazing authors. I would get lost in those books. The drama, the suspense, the romance, the terror, it was thrilling. I wanted to tell stories just like that. Unfortunately, life happens. Families begin, and those dreams sometimes get pushed aside while new ones arise.
It wasn't until a few years ago, another writer told me the story of how she sat in her mini-van while at her child's sports practice with a notebook, and she wrote an entire novel that became an instant bestseller. She told me it was the most thrilling thing she'd ever done, and that it was never too late to live out a dream.
I went home, set up my laptop, sat down, and wrote my first novel "The Long Road Home." I was dealing with a lot of emotions after a family tragedy and that one novel, released me from all the pain I was feeling. When I was through, the feeling of seeing my words in the palm of my hand was unlike any feeling I had ever experienced. I haven't stopped writing since. I am a storyteller. I want to create a world that will touch your heart the way mine has been touched.
For more information about me or my books, connect with me...
Website
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Check out these other amazing titles by Jenna;
Destined
The Long Road Home
Addicted
Read on for a preview of L.P. Dover’s next title,
Prologue
What do you do when you have nothing else to live for? When the world closes in on you and rips your soul apart, leaving you dying and aching on the inside. How does one regain the pieces that have been scattered to the wind?
On the day I lost Carson, my world went gray and dark. The light inside me died when he was taken from me. I remember wiping the tears angrily away from my eyes as I sat there beside him. I wanted to see him clearly, to remember everything about my final moments with the man I had loved, cherished, and called my husband for the past two years. We were building a life together, and now it was going to be lost.
Holding his hand while he lay broken and battered in the hospital bed, I couldn’t begin to fathom what my life was going to be like without him. As strong as Carson was, I knew it took all of his strength to even try to hold on. I wanted to take that pain away and keep it as my own. No one should ever have to see the person they love die in front of their eyes. I knew I would never forget the love and adoration in his gaze when he spoke those final words on his last dying breath.
“I love you, Kori,” Carson says to me, his breathing raspy and forced, and I know it’s agony for him to breathe because of the broken ribs. His face is almost unrecognizable from the damage of the crash, but no matter what, I’ll always see the angelic face of my husband in my mind. My heart has broken into a million pieces just looking at him so helpless and visibly in pain. If I could trade places with him to spare him the anguish I would. A million times over I would.
“I love you so much, Carson. You can’t leave me, please don’t leave me.” I choke as a sob escapes my lips. I have to remain strong for him, but how can I when he’s facing death and I’m about to lose him. A tear escapes from the corner of his eye, and before I can speak again he grips my hand tightly.
“Shh, don’t cry. I need you to promise me …”
I lean over him, desperate to hear what he wants me to promise him. I’ll promise him anything if it will keep him here longer. “Promise you what, Carson?” I say quickly, knowing time is running out. The beeping of the machines begins to slow down … slower and slower. Breaking down into tears, I desperately try to cling onto him, to feel the life inside of him before it dies away. How can his time be up when he has so much to live for?
With quivering lips, I kiss him gently, branding the feel of him in my mind so I will always remember. Our final kiss, the last one we will share forever. His eyes flutter open one last time and on his last breath he cries, “Promise me you’ll …” But that’s as far as he gets. I sit there frozen, stunned into silence, when I see that he’s breathing no more.
“Promise you what, Carson?” I scream desperately. I need to know what he was going to say. I take his face in my hands, willing the life back into his body, but his eyes stay locked onto mine as his soul is set free. The machines begin their long and drawn out beeping, signaling the passing of my beloved husband. I am frozen in place, numb on the outside but in despair on the inside as I stare at the lifeless form of the man I have grown to love and cherish. His body is still, so very still. My tears flow like hot rivers down my cheeks, landing on his bruised face. “I love you. I will always love you,” I cry. My lungs feel constricted and the world seems to be closing in around me. I can’t breathe, I can’t think, and I sure as hell can’t believe that my husband is now gone ... forever. How am I going to face the future without him? He’s gone … and from this moment on, so is my heart.
Just when I thought moving on was possible, that day and the way it felt would come stumbling back in like a plague, consuming me with its pain. Sometimes I wanted to imagine it was all just a bad dream, but then reality would strike and the memories came flooding back of the day Carson died, and of the fear that if I ever decided to love again I’d be doomed to face the same torment. Bearing that kind of pain again was not something I wanted to endure.
Chapter One
“Are you sure you want to move back? You know, you can stay here as long as you like.” My mother’s warm face showed her concern, and if she had her way she would have made me live with her and my father forever. As much as I loved my parents, we all knew that I’d be miserable if I stayed there.
When Carson died, I decided to live with my parents for a while. I needed to get away to try to deal with my grief, but mostly I didn’t want to be alone. I had no siblings or close family in Charlotte so I had no other choice except to stay with my parents. For six months I had lived with them at their beautiful home in the historical district of Charleston, SC. I loved it there, but it was time for me to go. After loading the last of my belongings into the trunk of my car, I turned around to face my mother. I had been told I looked just like her, except for the hair color. Mine had always been a golden-blonde, whereas hers has always been a deep, chestnut brown. Also, we both happen to be as stubborn as mules, but my mother never owned up to it.
“I know I don’t have to leave, Mom, but I can’t stay here anymore. I appreciate everything you and Dad have done for me, but I have to live my life the way I want to live it,” I said boldly.
She shook her head in disbelief. “But that’s just it, Kori. You’re not living it! You’re twenty-eight years old and have so much to live for. It’s been six months since Carson died.” At the mention of Carson, I knew my mother could see the hurt that passed over my face. Her voice turned soft and concerned. “You need to move on and get your life back on track.”
I had heard those words from her over and over, and every time it took more and more control to keep my calm. I didn’t think she would have said that to me if she knew what it felt like to lose the man you loved. I gritted my teeth and put on a fake smile like I always did in this situation. My mother knew it was forced, but she went along with it anyway.
“I’m trying, Mom. That’s why I’m moving back to Charlotte, so I can start over. I’m going to start working again and go from there,” I informed her, anything to appease her so I could leave. What I hadn’t told her was that I was moving back, but I wasn’t going back to mine and Carson’s home. I rented a condo and planned to stay there until I got the strength to go back home. I knew my parents would find out eventually, but for now I didn’t plan on telling them. My mother sighed and pulled me in for a tight embrace. Hugging her with all I had, I breathed in her motherly scent, the aroma that had been my comfort growing up. Other than my grandmother, my mother had always been my biggest supporter.
“That sounds great, sweetheart. You’re always welcome to come back
any time you want.” Releasing her hold, she looked me in the eyes. “I love you, care bear. You will get through this. You’re strong and I have complete and utter faith in you.”
I nodded, quickly averting my eyes so she couldn’t see the tears building up, about to fall. “I love you, Mom,” I said as I opened the car door. “I’ll call Dad when I get on the road to tell him good-bye.”
“He’d appreciate that,” she agreed.
I hated that I’d missed him, but his job had called him away on business. He spent most of my childhood years on the road, so I figured that’s why my mom and I were really close. She was all I had growing up. My father was a hard man to get along with, always so stern and overprotective. However, after being here and spending time with him, it made me realize that all he ever wanted in life was to make me happy and to make sure my mother and I had everything we needed. My mother began waving at me before I started to back out of the driveway. When I sidled down the road, I took one last look in the rearview mirror. She was still waving, and as she slowly disappeared out of view, that’s when the tears began to fall.
For more information about author L.P. Dover and her books, visit her on Facebook
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author