by Kate Benson
Epilogue
Two months later
Ava
I’ve been staring at myself in the mirror, unable to shake the memory of the months that have passed since I came back home.
When I stepped into this house for the first time, I was this broken girl with a heart so shattered, I wasn’t sure it’d ever beat right again.
Then came Nate Foster, and he healed it in all the ways I never realized I needed.
If you’d asked that girl back then if she’d ever be putting on another dress like this one, she’d say not in a million years.
Turns out she just needed to find the right kind of forever to change her mind.
“Baby?” he calls out from beyond the door, his soft voice pulling me from my thoughts.
My eyes move back up, brushing away the silent tear, careful not to smudge my makeup.
“Yes?”
“Hey,” he says quietly, the bathroom door cracking open quietly as I turn toward the sound of his voice. “I’m not coming in,” he promises. “I know I’m not supposed to see you, but I wanted to talk to you before,” he continues, making me smile. “Can you come over here?”
“Yeah,” I blush, clearing the distance in a few small steps, my palm touching the wooden barrier, wondering if he’s doing the same. “I’m here.”
“Don’t open it,” he says again, and I can’t help the way my smile widens. “Sorry, I just don’t wanna mess this up.”
“You couldn’t if you tried,” I vow, smiling soft as I hear his fingers brushing gently on the other side. “I just wanted to check on you. Are you alright?”
“Yes,” I nod, leaning my head against the door, my eyes fluttering closed for a moment as I take in the sound of his deep voice. “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” he replies, but I hear the break in his voice and know he’s missing his mom like I’m missing my dad.
A moment passes, and we take our time recalling the people that brought us here, to this place, to each other. When his voice fills the space between us once more, I don’t have to see him to know his eyes are tearing up, same as mine.
“Before things got bad with my mom, right after that day at the bar, I went to talk to her about you,” he admits, his emotional words making my chest clench. “I knew it wouldn’t be long until…” he trails off, swallowing hard before he releases a long sigh to match mine. “That day outside when we talked, Ava as uncertain as everything else seemed to be, I knew there was one thing I’d never have to doubt again and that was you,” he whispers. His words have me speechlessly cursing tradition as I long to touch him. Sensing it, I watch his fingertips trace the edge of the cracked door and I hook them into mine, sniffing back my tears. “I told her how I felt about you, how even back then, I’d known for a while you were the only girl I’d ever want,” he breathes, sniffing back his own tears. “She was so happy, Ava,” he whispers, the smile in his quiet voice obvious. “She tried to get me to go home and ask you right then,” he continues, making both of us laugh through our tears. “Anyway, about a week after she passed, I went to her room to gather the last of her things and I found this.” There’s a subtle rustle on the other side of the door as he pulls his hand from mine and replaces it with a small envelope. I turn it over in my hands, my heart clenching when I see my name in her familiar script on the front of it. I take in a deep breath, bracing myself. “I never opened it, but something told me she wanted you to have it today.”
I stare down at it for a long while before carefully, I break the seal, retrieving the single sheet of paper waiting inside with shaking hands. My fingers brush over the paper, the small indentions from her pen strokes somehow comforting me as I blink away my tears.
“Do you want me to read it out loud?” I offer with a sniff.
“Not unless you want to,” he admits, clearing his throat. “I’ve already read mine, baby. She wrote that one just for you.”
My eyes stay locked on the same spot on the door before I nod dumbly, remembering he can’t see me before I find my voice.
“Okay,” I whisper, releasing a sigh and returning my eyes to the paper.
Dear Ava,
He may never admit it, but my Nathan was broken for a long, long time. There were days I wasn’t sure I’d ever see that light in his eyes again.
Then, he met you.
He’s stubborn like his daddy, so be patient with him. Your days won’t all be easy, but he loves with his whole heart.
He always has, but his eyes when he speaks your name tell me he’s never loved anyone like he loves you.
Thank you for filling his heart with the pieces of you he needed to find his way back.
Take care of my boy.
All my love,
Mary
PS Don’t ever doubt that he’d be so proud of you, darlin’.
I know I am.
My eyebrows quirk together for a moment before I hear something flutter to my feet. I bend and lift the small polaroid, my breath catching in my chest as I take in the dated picture of me and my father, both of us standing in my front yard on the first day of school, back before all of this, back before everything.
“I’ll see you out there, baby,” Nate whispers, reminding me that he’s been waiting on the other side of the door. I hear his feet begin to move away from me and I stand, pulling the door open wide, his eyes going wide as he spins to face me. “What are you doing?” he insists, clamping his palm over his eyes. “Ava, I’m not supposed to s-”
I kiss him.
I kiss him with everything I have, everything I was missing, maybe everything I never knew was coming before him. When I pull away, we’re both panting, his hand no longer covering his eyes as he takes me in.
“I’m sorry if I jinxed us, I just… I couldn’t wait another minute.”
“That’s okay, baby,” he breathes, his eyes dancing as he takes me in. “That kiss was worth it.”
Nate
When I was a kid, my mom told me once that everyone becomes a little broken inside sometimes. I didn’t really know what she meant that day, but the older I got, the more often those tough days found me, and it began to make sense.
Turns out sometimes, mother’s really do know best.
She certainly did when it came to Ava.
I met her on a Tuesday.
She took my name on a Saturday night.
It was sunset beneath our willow tree on the edge of the lake, surrounded by fireflies and a few close friends as Patsy Cline sang in the background while we vowed to love each other for the rest of our days.
I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as Ava that night.
But then, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as pretty as Ava ever.
When she came to me, she was broken.
Hell, I think we both were.
The difference was Ava was strong enough to admit it while I was still choking on the shards of my past.
Maybe we’re still broken.
Maybe we always will be in some ways, but I think we’ve made our peace with that.
There’s something to be said for broken people.
Those shards may cut deep, but when light comes along and crashes into them, they shift into something beautiful.
Something like fireflies on the lake at sunset and a beautifully damaged girl beneath a willow tree who embraces the pieces of you.
The end.
Resources
If you or someone you know needs help, you’re not alone.
The National Domestic Abuse Hotline:
https://www.thehotline.org/
International Domestic Abuse Resources:
https://ncadv.org/other-organizations
Alcoholics Anonymous:
https://www.aa.org/
Alzheimer’s Association:
https://www.alz.org/
Acknowledgements
I think the very first moment I met Nate and Ava, I knew they’d be special to me. There was something about the way they felt tha
t spoke to me like the same poetry I wrote as a girl and read to my daddy when we sat under the stars. Those nights with him have become some of my most beloved.
Now, the nights I’ve spent with Nate and Ava have, too.
I didn’t know their story, how it would end or even how it would begin, but I knew it was one I couldn’t wait to hear. I hope you’ve loved it as much as I have.
Thank you, God, for giving me this story and so many others. Thank you for the passion inside me waiting to tell them.
Thank you to my husband for giving me the kind of love that makes me want to dance to Patsy Cline in a field of fireflies. Thank you for taking that broken girl and all her pieces and loving her enough to make her whole again. Inside every love story I write, there is a piece of ours slipping through the cracks, my love for you radiating beneath each word. Thank you for giving the kind of love worthy of that. I love you endlessly and am yours completely.
To my parents for being my biggest fans even now. There’s more of you in this book than so many of the others and that tells me you’re right here with me on those quiet nights, cheering me on. I love and miss you both.
To Rocky, my silly puppy with the crooked tail. When I started writing this story, you’d just crossed the bridge and my heart was shattered. I think part of it always will be. You came to me when I needed you most and in your own way, you healed my broken heart. I think that’s why I knew Nate needed you… to help heal his, too. Thank you for being his friend and thank you for being mine. You were such a good boy, my sweet Monster Mash. Your part in this story was my way of keeping you forever. I love you and I miss you so.
My family and closest friends, the ones I celebrate my little victories with and the ones I call when I’m low. I thank God for you every day I’m lucky enough to call you mine.
My PA’s Heather and Charlie for helping me follow my dreams. You take the unpretty pieces, the hilarious pieces and the likely downright annoying pieces of me with every release and show me more love and support than I deserve. Thank you so much for all you do. I love you both so much.
Amber Garcia, PR extraordinaire. I’m so grateful to have met you and now call you my friend. Thank you for the love and support!
Heather, Jenna, Michelle, Charlie, Nikki, Christie, Sara and Patti for beta reading this story and so many others. Your unending support and friendship are so appreciated. I love you.
Benson’s Book Babes: Every author says they have the best readers, but they clearly don’t know mine. Y’all make every single release amazing and I am blown away constantly by your love and support. You’re all amazing and I love you.
My readers: There are millions of books in the universe. How I got lucky enough for you to stumble across mine is something I may never understand, but I’m so grateful! Thank you so much for reading my books.
Special thanks to: Kathy Coopmans, Angel Justice, Michelle Dare, Angie Tucker, Muriel Garcia and Amy Guskay. Thank you also to all the amazing blogs, readers and authors who have helped support this story.
Finally, thank you to my characters. It’s an honor telling these stories for you. I’m not sure how I got so lucky, but please don’t ever stop. I love all of you so very, very much… especially my sweet girl.
Until next time…
XO Kate
About the Author
Kate Benson was raised in Texas and currently resides in central Florida with her husband and their ever-growing army of fur-minions. She learned to read at the age of four and has been hooked ever since.
She credits her passion for literature to her mother, her love of story-telling to her father and her unwavering faith in happily-ever-after’s to her husband, Sean.
Some of her favorite things include rainy days, loud music, superhero movies, sweet tea and of course, lazy afternoons with a great book.
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