My phone rings and interrupts my thoughts. I pluck it off the passenger seat and see Mrs. Sandy’s name flashes across the screen. In my rush to get out of San Antonio, I didn’t think to call her to get Wes’ address. Thank God, she called me, because if she didn’t, then I would have had to call her, and I’m still not sure whether or not she’ll give it to me. I take a deep breath as I answer her call. “Hello.”
“Oh my gosh, Kenleigh. I have been so worried about you,” she says, relief that I finally answered apparent in her voice.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Sandy,” I reply softly.
“How are you, Dear?”
“Honestly? I’ve been better.”
“I’ve been calling you. You’ve had me and Mr. Will so worried.”
“I know. I’ve just needed—” The sound of a blaring horn cuts me off.
“What was that? Where are you?”
I answer with a sigh. “A horn. Some eighteen wheeler.” I take a deep calming breath, not once, but twice. I do not want to tell her that the tears welling up and clouding my vision almost caused me to slam into the side of a big rig. So many emotions race through me as if I’m sprinting in some damn Olympic game. Fear of not knowing if he’ll take me back, if he’ll crush me as I crushed him, if he’ll slam the door in my face. I’d like to think that he wouldn’t do any of those things. I’d like to say that I have hope that Wes will welcome me back with open arms. But the realist in me isn’t so sure. I want to believe that our love, the love he once said is what happily ever after’s were made of, can withstand anything, but doubt holds me back. Doubt makes me want to turn around and head back to San Antonio and just realize that I had the best summer of my life. It makes me want to count my blessings that I had the opportunity to love someone so much, and in turn, be loved back the same way. But I can’t turn back. I need to know if what we shared really is real, or if it was just some summer romance that in twenty years, I’ll look back and wonder what if. I clear my throat before I ask, “Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything. You know that.”
“Is there any way you might be able to give me Wes’ address, unless he’s at y’alls house?”
“No, he’s not here. He went back to Dallas that night everything happened between you two. But why? I mean, I have no problem giving it to you, but talk to me. What’s going on?” she asks concerned.
Regret courses deep in my veins. I sigh, telling her exactly how I feel. “I made the biggest mistake of my life. I should have never told him no, Mrs. Sandy. These past two weeks, I’ve been suffocating, and I know it’s because I don’t have Wes, his love, in my life. I never thought I could miss someone so much. He told me that he used to be a shell of a man, but now, I’m a shell of a woman. I have to go to him. I need to go to him. I love him.”
“And he loves you, Dear.”
She gives me Wes’ address and reassures me that everything will be just as it should as we hang up. Before I toss my phone back onto the passenger seat, I plug in Wes’ address, and let Siri take over.
Almost five hours later, I take the last left and Siri tells me that I have finally arrived at my destination. This place is exactly what I pictured when Wes told me that he owned a small ranch on the outskirts of Dallas. There are no rolling hills, just wide-open spaces. I look from left to right as I drive down Wes’ driveway. My breath catches as I pull up in front of his house. Whitewashed stone decorates the front of the house and large wooden pillars support the archway that hangs over the front door. A Texas star made of wrought iron is secured to the stone above the windows. My hands tightly clench the steering wheel as I rest my head against it. My limbs shake with nervousness and anticipation of seeing him. I am so fucking scared right now. If he rejects me, sends me on my way, I will never be the same. A part of me would like to think that I would survive, that eventually one day I would be able to move on, but I know that I won’t. I’m not the strong person that I wish I could be. The remaining pieces of my heart would mend, but… No, there are no remaining pieces. I gave my whole heart to Wes that Fourth of July night in the middle of a field, under a million stars when I told him I loved him. A loud tap on my window causes me to jump, and pulls me out of my thoughts. My breath catches deep in my throat as I look out the window. Wes.
The sight of him will haunt me for the rest of my life. The sandy blond hair that I love to run my fingers through is completely gone. I can’t believe he shaved his head. His normally bright, blue eyes are dull, sunken in, and almost lifeless. They’re blood shot and rimmed red like he’s been crying. He’s lost weight. The angles of his face are sharper and more pronounced than they used to be. His once fitted shirt is now beginning to hang off his sculpted form. “Are you going to roll down the window or not?” he asks in an almost growl.
With shaky, sweaty hands, I roll down the window, but before I can speak, he asks in a seething tone, “What are you doing here? Come to break my fucking heart some more? How did you find out where I live?”
His words and tone make me wince, physically and emotionally. But I deserve every bit of it. I turned him into this person. He went from happy, carefree, and loving to guarded, bitter, and pissed. “N-no,” I stammer out.
“Then why the fuck are you here?”
“I wanted to talk to you. See how you’re doing.” I whisper.
“Talk to me? See how I’m doing? Are you fucking serious right now? Well, let me see,” he sneers the words, with both hands on his hips, his head cocked to the side. “I’m doing just great. I can’t sleep,” he says, his voice rising. “I can’t fucking eat!” Higher. “I can’t get out of bed!” Higher. “I want to fucking forget you, but I CAN’T! YOU ARE IN EVERYTHING I SEE, EVERYTHING I DO! YOU ARE IN EVERY GODDAMN MEMORY I HAVE FROM THIS SUMMER, AND I JUST WANT TO FUCKING FORGET YOU, BUT I CAN’T!” He shouts at me. The veins in his neck and forehead bulge against his skin. Shocked, and my eyes are as wide as saucers I’m sure, I can’t help but sink back in my seat, actually afraid of him for the first time ever. His words sting—they sting badly, because no matter what, I would never want to forget him. I love him. “I want so badly to forget you, but I can’t, because I love you too damn much.” He drops his head, whispering in defeat.
When I hear his breath shudder on intake, I throw the door open, climb out, and tentatively wrap my arms around him. His body tenses from the initial contact, but after a few minutes, he begins to loosen up. Slowly, cautiously, his arms come up and wrap around me. I’m crushed in his strong hold as he crumbles to his knees, forcing me down with him so that I straddle his legs. Beneath my hold, sobs rack his body as he pulls me in closer to him. Tears flow rapidly down my face as I whisper through hiccups, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m so, so sorry. I love you so much.”
His grip is tight like a vice as he clutches me tighter to his chest. With his face buried in the crook of my neck, he mumbles, “You said that before. I just don’t understand how you could leave me like that.”
I pull back, cup his destroyed face in my hand, and force him to look at me. “I love you. I meant every word I said. I came here to apologize to you. Throwing all pride away, I came here to beg you to take me back. I let my wants get in the way of my heart. You, Wes, you are my heart… my home,” I whisper as I look into his eyes and search his face for any indication that he believes what I’m telling him. “These past two weeks have been hell for me. I know I have no one to blame but myself, and I take full responsibility for it. For what I’ve done to you. For what I’ve done to us. I only said no to your proposal because I’m in school, just turned twenty, and didn’t want you to think that a proposal was what I needed to keep me by your side.” I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath. “My mom once told me ‘home is wherever you want it to be. It is a place where you feel safe, loved, and cherished. It’s a place that makes you happy’. You are all of those things for me, Wes. You make me feel safe, loved, and cherished. Above all else, you make me so incredibly and unbelievably happy.
I can find another school to finish my degree. I don’t care how young we are, and now, I’m the one who’s asking you. Will you marry me? I can’t live this life without you. I don’t want to live this life without you.” I hold my breath and wait. I’ve just poured out my heart and soul to him. For a long while, I sit here, straddling his thighs. Eventually, the expression behind his eyes turns from rage and hurt to longing, and maybe even understanding at my words.
“Kenleigh,” he says, clearing his throat. “I love you, too. More than you will ever know. And you will never know how sorry I am that I screamed at you the way I just did.” He sighs and rubs a hand over his hairless head. His hand lifts and brushes the hair out of my face. With that little bit of contact, my eyes close. “You are the sun to me. Every morning, you rise in the East and set in the West, but you are always there shining brightly. You have brought a sense of peace to me that I have never felt before. I want to be the foundation that holds you together when you feel as if your world is crumbling down around you. When life gets in the way, and things seem impossible, I want to be the one you lean on for support. I want my arms to be the ones that catch you when you think you might fail. I want my ears to know all your secrets, my lips to capture all your kisses, and my heart to hold all of your love.” With his lips against mine, he adds, “But with that said, I can’t let you ask me to marry you.”
“Why?” I try to pull back out of his grasp. Wes’ grip tightens as a slow grin graces his face. “Because, Baby, I’m still a man, and that’s my job.” Immediately, I relax against him as he chuckles.
I chuckle, too. “Shut up.” I wind my arms around his neck and crush my lips against his. I kiss him for all the unnecessary heartache that I’ve caused us both. I kiss him for our future that we will build together. “Ask me again?” I whisper against his lips.
Wes leans back and looks me directly in the eyes. “Marry me? Love me for the rest of my life, and let me do the same for you?”
“All right. Let’s do it,” I say around the lump in my throat, my voice thick with emotion.
“Yeah?”
I nod frantically, as my tears start to well up again, and a wide smile graces my face. “Absolutely. I love you, Wesley Adams.”
“And I love you, Kenleigh Briggs.” Effortlessly, he stands with me still straddled across his legs. I wrap mine around his waist as he carries me across the driveway, down the path leading to his front door, and into his house.
I was once told that to experience what something so great feels like, and to fully appreciate it and to feel deserving of it, you have to experience what it’s like to live without it, whatever it is. Without knowing first-hand what sadness feels like, how can one know what happiness truly is? Traumatic situations happen to all people, no matter what we believe. I had parents who loved me with all their hearts. Then, just like that, they were gone. For a long time, I was bitter. I look back now, and thank God every day for the amount of time that I had with them. They raised me for what little time we had together, and because of them, they taught me how to love with all my being. I’ve experienced the depths of sorrow and despair. And because of that, I’m able to experience, be grateful for, and feel deserving of the man I will one day marry. Until I met Wes, I walked this Earth happy, but not whole. He told me once that he was going to take me on the ride of my life. Truth-be-told, I’m ready for it. I can finally say that I can look into the future and not be scared that I will fall. Because I know that there’s a man who’s always ready to catch me.
Whiskey - Jana Kramer
Kick It In The Sticks - Brantley Gilbert
More Than Mile - Brantley Gilbert
Fall Into Me - Brantley Gilbert
Anywhere With You - Jake Owen
Eight Second Ride - Jake Owen
I Want Crazy - Hunter Hayes
Give It All We Got Tonight - George Strait
Runnin’ Outta Moonlight - Randy Houser
Round Here - Florida Georgia Line
Drunk on You - Luke Bryan
Crash My Party - Luke Bryan
Pieces - Gary Allan
Don’t Ya - Brett Eldredge
Night Train - Jason Aldean
This Nothin’ Town - Jason Aldean
Goodbye Town - Lady Antebellum
Fall Into Me - Brantley Gilbert
Runnin’ Out Of Air - Love and Theft
Run - George Strait
Dayum, Baby - Florida Georgia Line
Get Off On The Pain - Gary Allan
Man of Me - Gary Allan
Shameless - Garth Brooks
Rodeo - Garth Brooks
Fade Into You - Sam Palladio & Clare Bowen (Nashville Cast)
Angel - Sarah McLachlan
Who You’d Be Today - Kenny Chesney
I melt - Rascal Flatts
Can’t Shake You - Gloriana
All Over The Road - Easton Corbin
It Goes Like This - Thomas Rhett
Southern Girl - Tim McGraw
Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not - Thompson Square
Point At You - Justin Moore
Days of Gold - Jake Owen
Tell Me How You Like It - Florida Georgia Line
Pick Up Man - Joe Diffie
Home - Phillip Phillips
When She Says Baby - Jason Aldean
Hey Girl - Billy Currington
Let There Be Cowgirls - Chris Cagle
Highway Don’t Care - Tim McGraw featuring Taylor Swift & Keith Urban
Boys Round Here - Blake Shelton featuring Pistol Annies
Bare Foot Blue Jean Night - Jake Owen
One and Only - Adele
Please Stay Tuned for Brantley and Jackie’s Story, Coming in 2014
Thank you so much for reading Serenity Falls. If you loved Kenleigh and Wes’ story as much as we did, please leave a review.
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written by Tiffany Aleman and Ashley Poch:
Luck of Love
Works in Progress:
Luck and Faith (Book 2 in the Luck Series)
Depression, Muscular Dystrophy, Childhood hunger, and Asperger’s Disorder are all serious issues that we touched on in this book. Depression is an illness that many are aware of and was obviously our main focus. If you suffer from depression, there is help out there. Please never feel ashamed to utilize the resources available. Everyone needs help at some point in his or her life. If you like to donate to any of these causes please feel free to utilize the information below.
Depression:
www.depression-understood.org
United Way Helpline: 1-800-233-HELP (4357)
Youth America Hotline: 1-877-YOUTHLINE (877-968-8454)
If you feel as if you would like to donate to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, National Autism Associations, or the No Kid Hungry Foundation, the links along with phone numbers are listed below:
Muscular Dystrophy:
www.MDA.org or
Donor Services Hotline: 1-888-HELP-MDA (1-888-435-7632)
National Autism Association:
www.nationalautismassociation.org
1-877-622-2884
No Kid Hungry Foundation:
www.nokidhungry.org
1-800-969-4767
Ashley and I want to start by thanking everyone for taking the time to read Serenity Falls. This book is so special to us. After writing our debut novel, Luck of Love, we have received so much love and support from our readers that this book is dedicated to you. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
To our children, we are so sorry about the time that we have missed out with you, the hot meals, and your dads doing all the laundry. We’ll make it up to all of you soon enough. Our friends… What can we say that we already haven’t? Your limitless support speaks volumes.
Our beta readers are the best damn beta readers two chicks could ever ask for. Debi Barne
s, Elle Wilson, Becky Schmidt, Julie Deaton, Mindy Stickles, Lara Feldstein, Allison Guevara and Dee Thomas… You ladies have made this book what it is! Ashley and I can never thank you enough! Debi, Debi, Debi… What can I say? Thank you for the late night talks when I was stuck with a scene and just didn’t know the direction to take it. Also, thanks for hammering my ass to the wall when my writing wasn’t up to par! Ashley and I wholeheartedly believe that by taking this journey into the literary world, we have made some really great friends and that starts with our beta readers. All of you ladies are awesome and we love you!
Sarah Hansen with Okay Creations, thank you for such an amazing cover! You have outdone yourself once again, and we can’t wait to work with you in the future.
Kaylee Ryan! You are my girl! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for allowing an excerpt of Serenity Falls to be featured in your debut novel Anywhere With You. Which, for all of you out that there who haven’t read it, you should. It truly is an amazing book! Love ya, Tiffany!
Kathryn McNeill Crane, who is amazing in case y’all didn’t know. Not only is she an amazing author who has just released her debut novel, Searching for Tomorrow, she is also one of my closest friends and editor. Thank you for being so patient with Ashley and me. We will love you forever and ever!
Tami, thank you isn’t a strong enough phrase to say to you for formatting Serenity Falls, but I’m going to say it anyway. Thank You!
To anyone else we may be forgetting… We’re not. We love you all! Jannia, Amanda, and Mandy, you ladies supported us through it all and we love ya! Thank you for your support and for just simply reading our books. You are why we do this. There are so many stories running through our minds, and without you all, we would have no one to share it with.
Love,
Tiffany and Ashley
More With You…a New Adult romance
by Kaylee Ryan releasing early 2014.
Serenity Falls Page 28