Solving Us

by Susan Renee

  “The ring comes as a set. This will be your wedding band.”

  I gasp in surprise as I see what becomes of the ring when both bands are connected. My engagement ring that I thought was a simple heart shape is now surrounded by four diamonds to make up one diamond-shaped paw print. It’s exquisite and not like anything I have ever seen before.

  “Oh Finn...I...this...it’s…”

  “I know,” he says. “It’s beautiful, like you. I’m sorry it took me a couple extra days to travel here but it took me a few days to find it. I had to make sure it was perfect.”

  “It is perfect. You’re perfect, Finn. Thank you so much for this, for coming here…for everything. I can’t wait to be your wife.”

  “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. Say it again.” He smiles.

  With a smile on my face so big it hurts I yell, “I’m going to be your wife!”

  “Hell yeah, you are!” He sweeps me off of my feet and spins me around the kitchen as everyone laughs together.

  After a wonderful home-cooked meal with my parents, Finn and I spend the rest of the evening playing with our new puppy in the living room. Snuggled under a blanket in front of the fireplace, we watch as the pup chases her tail a few times before she catches it and falls down. She swiftly gets back up and walks right into my lap folding herself up and falling asleep in the warmth surrounding her.

  “Luna.”

  “What?” Finn asks quietly.

  “Luna. I want to name her Luna.”

  “Okay.” Finn agrees. “Why that name? What made you think of that?”

  “Luna Lovegood. If this puppy was a boy, I would’ve picked Neville because both Neville and Luna were two Harry Potter characters who were constantly picked on or made fun of. But, in the end just like Neville, Luna is strong, compassionate, loyal, and brave.” Reaching down and sliding my hand softly down Luna’s back, I say to Finn, “She’ll teach us both a lot, I’m sure.”

  “Luna…” Finn practices rolling the name off of his tongue. “I like it. Luna it is.”

  I lay my head back on Finn’s chest and exhale, closing my eyes and silently appreciating this moment of relief from the last few days.

  “Oh, I have one more thing for you.”

  “There’s nothing more you could give me that would make me as happy as I am right now, Finn.”

  “It’s okay. You’re getting it anyway. It’s just a little thing I saw the other day that made me think of you, of us.” Finn hands me a small, oddly-shaped wrapped gift that he pulled out of his pants pocket. “Sorry about the wrapping. I didn’t have a box.”

  He places in my hand a small square shaped gift that obviously has some sort of chain or cord. I rip open the package and shake my head in astonishment at the small key chain in my hand.

  “It’s perfect.” I smile, turning the Rubik’s Cube around in my hand. Every side of the cube has been solved except for the top row of each side.

  “Not yet,” Finn whispers, looking at the cube in my hand and then at me expectantly. “You said yes, Liv. So, I thought you should get to make the last move.”

  I look back down at the cube in front of me and realize that all I have to do to solve the puzzle in my hand is turn the top row until the colors all match up. I do so with happy tears in my eyes. He thinks of everything.

  “Now, it’s perfect, Liv. And now you can look at it every day and be reminded of how far you’ve come, how strong you are.”

  “How strong we both are,” I correct him. “How far we’ve both come. I love you, Finn Kellan.”

  “I love you too, Olivia. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas, Finn.”

  We sit for a few quiet moments watching Luna sleep and listening to my Dad play Christmas tunes on his guitar down the hall. Running his fingers up and down the length of my arms, Finn leans over, kisses my neck, and whispers in my ear, “So, uh...what are you doing for New Years?”

  I chuckle at his question and whisper back, “You, I hope.”

  Acknowledgments

  Almost exactly one year ago I sat on my bed reading a blog post of Colleen Hoover’s. I sat there with tears in my eyes reading about her humbling successes in life, from where she was in a slightly dilapidated house working from her mother’s broken laptop, to a life filled with adventure, best-selling novels, a million new friends and fans, and most importantly better life for her family. What I read from that post that day was that Colleen is first and foremost a mom, doing all she can to give her children the life they deserve while pursuing something she hadn’t planned on developing into a future. I’m amazed by her every damn day. I’m amazed by how much she loves, and how much she encourages, and how much she gives back. That night I said to myself “she’s just a normal woman like me, and if she can do it, so can I, right?

  So yeah, I owe a huge THANK YOU to you, Colleen Hoover, for just being the inspiring, generous, humble human being that you are. You’ve given me the courage to believe in myself again, to ‘decide what to be and go be it’, and that all of my imperfections are indeed perfect for me. I hope one day that I will be in a place where I can give back to others as much as you do. All writing aside, thank you for giving me something to strive for, for sending me a signed book last Christmas when my husband wrote asking for help with a “big romantic gesture”, and for taking time out of your busy day with your son last summer to meet me, a run of the mill girl from Ohio, at The Bookworm Box. (I should probably also thank Vannoy for that since I’m sure she must’ve texted you...and it JUST dawned on me that she probably came up with the idea of having me clean up around the store just to keep me in the building until you got there! Now I’m laughing and I super love her too!)

  This book, in a small way, is an homage to some of my favorite authors, all of which have impacted my life with the stories they’ve written. Some of my characters, buildings, businesses throughout Solving Us are named after these authors. So THANK YOU to Colleen, Hoover, Kristy Bromberg, Jamie McGuire, S.C.Stephens, J.Kenner, and E.L. James.

  THANK YOU to Kristy Bromberg, Gail McHugh and Kandi Steiner for taking time out of your busy lives to answer my numerous facebook messages about the writing and publishing world. Your help was invaluable and I am indebted to you all.

  My beta readers during this process, Dawn Cox, Amanda Douglas, Nichelle Edwards, and Kelli Karns, THANK YOU for your encouraging words and excitement for this project! I needed it to keep going. You all made me believe in myself and my abilities to finish a story that people just might want to read.

  Speaking of beta readers, there’s one that I was scared to death to have read this book. I lived with her for eighteen years and always teased her about the “smut” she would read all day every day. I knew I would never do that because I thought “those” books were stupid…but damn if the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The ultimate compliment to me was the day my mother told me she had tears in her eyes and couldn’t read anymore that night, that she loved what I was writing and was so proud of what I was doing. Thank you, mom, for sharing in this excitement with me. You’ll always be my person and I’m so glad I get to share this with you.

  Murphy Rae, of Indie Solutions by Murphy Rae, for my outstanding cover design and for putting up with my uncontrollable over-excitement at getting this process rolling. Your magic is amazing and I can’t wait for many future projects together! You are badass!

  Devon Anderson, my grammar/punctuation bitch, my book-talk partner, my cheerleader...I owe you a ton. THANK YOU so much not only for your initial enthusiasm of having a writing partner, which kept me going more than you know, but for the numerous Facebook chats, emails, and long phone calls when I was doubting my abilities or needed to talk out my thoughts. You listen, you support, and you encourage at all hours of the day. You’ve never said no and you’ve never told me to go away, and for that I am grateful!

  Lauren Brocchi, let me say this, Solving Us would not exist without my knowing you. After my twenti
eth read-through of Fifty Shades you gave me a pool of authors to choose from to continue my new obsession. You introduced me to Colleen Hoover’s work and many after that and the rest was history. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have a best friend to talk and laugh with about book boyfriends, about whatever latest novel is coming out, or our favorite authors, blog posts and everything in between. No subject is taboo between us and I love it! THANK YOU for being my content editor, for reading and rereading my book more times than I can probably count, and for always giving me the honest truth whether I wanted to hear it or not. Sharing in this project with you has bonded us for life. You’ve been my bestie since I can remember and I pray that our relationship always thrives and we spend many more years together causing trouble, bitching about nothing and celebrating successes in this new world we’ve ventured into. Now finish your damn book so we can literally go down this road together!

  Although it will be some time before they ever lay eyes on this, I still have to say THANK YOU to my children, Anna and JP. There’s so much you don’t know about the last five to six years but I hope as you grow up you’ll one day understand that every day I pray that what I’m doing will result in a better future for you both. I’ve learned that sometimes life doesn’t go the way you dreamed it would go and the plans you had for yourself aren’t what God intended. Did He intend for me to write Romance novels? Who knows. But He did give me the opportunity to be the best mom I can be for you and THAT is what I prayed for years ago, and what I pray for every day. I love you both so much.

  Who needs a book boyfriend when you’re married to your best friend? There simply aren’t enough words in my vocabulary to tell you how much I love and adore you, Doug. You’re my person. You encouraged me to go through with this project full force with no regrets. You see beneath the ugliest parts of me and you see beneath whatever beautiful parts there are. You’re my whole damn Rubik’s Cube, every fucking colorful side and I love you so much. THANK YOU for understanding my obsessions, or at least humoring me as I cannonball into these new waters.

  To my fantastic ladies helping me with Book promos: Erin Spencer with Southern Belle Book Blog, and Ena/Amanda with Enticing Journey Book Promotions, THANK YOU. You kept me relatively calm when all I wanted to do was cry. Your excitement for my project definitely helped renew my spirits and motivated me to see this thing through to the very end! I hope we work together for a very long time!

  And last but never least, MY READERS. If you’ve read this entire book and are still reading my sappy acknowledgements I feel like I owe you the hugest of hugs, or some candy or something! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for reading something that has been the therapeutic ride I didn’t know I needed until it was complete. The last five years of my life have left me adrift in waters I was getting tired of swimming in, but YOU, you all have saved me. You’ve pulled me onto dry land and given my life new meaning. THANK YOU for saving me and for lifting me up and for all of the encouraging words. I hope one day I get to meet you all and hug you and tell you “thank you” in person.

  Can I ask one more favor? Every author appreciates reviews in order for more people to hear about their story. I would be forever grateful if you would do that for me. Leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes & Noble or wherever you purchased my book so that others might see it, read it, and purchase it so my kids can go to college one day!

  About the Author

  Susan Renee wants to live in a world where paint doesn’t smell, Hogwarts is open twenty-four/seven, and everything is covered in glitter. An indie romance author, Susan has written about everything from lawn mowers to thick colossal bottles of wine, and has won a Snuggle Buddy award for her nonfiction book, The Hula Hoop Tester’s Guide to Jumping. She lives in Ohio with her family and seven tiny donkeys. She’s a Pet Whispering major from OMGU with a Masters in medical care for inanimate objects (a la Doc McStuffins). Susan enjoys crab-walking through the Swiss Alps, drinking Muscle Milk, and doing the Care Bear stare with her closest friends.

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  Other Works by Susan Renee

  SEVEN

  “You are my sunshine…”

  Breathe Peyton.

  “My only sunshine…”

  Fight for mommy.

  “You make me happy…”

  Breathe baby girl.

  “When skies are gray…”

  You can do it Peyton.

  “You’ll never know dear…”

  Please. Please Peyton breathe on your own.

  “How much I love you.”

  Don’t you die on me baby girl.

  “Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

  Beep. Swoosh…..Beep. Swoosh…..Beep. Swoosh.

  I sit here next to her hospital bed holding her little two year old lifeless fingers, so delicate, so small. I think about her first birthday and how adorable she was with cake all over her face, her tummy and in her hair. Peyton is the happiest little girl and so full of life.

  Correction.

  She was so full of life.

  Now she lays in a bed that’s too big for her, in a hospital gown that’s two sizes two big covered in blankets that don’t belong to her because her blankie was lost in the accident. EMTs are trained to do all they can to save their patient but they’re not trained to search for blankies or favorite stuffed kittens. I’m all she has. My husband, Peyton’s daddy, has been in surgery for the last four hours, so I’m all she has. I can’t leave her. I have to believe she’ll wake up.

  She’ll wake up.

  She has to.