Out of the Shallows

by Samantha Young

  “Truer words have never been spoken,” Jake said. “How you doing?”

  “My head’s bursting from discussing wedding plans but on the plus side, I’ve been working overtime to get a break from it.”

  “Liar,” Andie snorted, finally coming forward to embrace Mom in hello. “He’s fussier than anyone about this stuff.” She pulled back on a pout. “Mom, please tell him we can’t have fruitcake for our wedding cake.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “No fruitcake. Vanilla sponge with buttercream frosting.”

  “Yes, exactly!” Andie threw her arms around me like I’d just saved her from drowning.

  “Why don’t you have both?” Jake shrugged.

  Andie and Rick stared at him a moment before looking back at each other. “He’s a genius,” Rick stated.

  “Agreed.” She grinned cheekily at me. “I’m so glad I got you two back together.”

  “Oh yeah, because you totally should take all the credit for that,” I said.

  Before we could get into an argument, Rick turned to Mom. “If baking two cakes is too much, Delia, we’ll buy one.”

  “Don’t be silly.” Mom waved him off. “I can bake two. Claudia will help me.”

  I snorted. “I’ll inform her she’s been drafted.”

  “You all going to stand out in the hall yakking or you coming in here to watch the rerun of last Sunday’s game?” Dad called from the living room.

  “I thought for sure he was going to offer you a beer.” I snuggled into Jake’s side, trying not to be mad at my dad—and failing.

  It was bad enough he talked to Rick and ignored anything Jake had to say during the game, but to get up and grab himself and Rick a beer and not get Jake one was rude. Rick had frowned at Dad, handed Jake his beer, and got up to get himself another.

  Five months had passed since I’d first brought Jake home. That was five visits and Dad’s reception hadn’t gotten any less frosty.

  I huffed out an exasperated sigh as Jake and I walked down Main Street. As soon as Jake had finished his beer, I’d practically hauled him out of the house for a walk, in the hopes that I’d cool off. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Jake tightened his arm around my shoulder. “Jim’s just trying to make sure I’m in this for the long haul.”

  “You mean he’s testing you?” I wrinkled my nose in annoyance.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Well, it sucks, and my dad is this close to getting my foot in his ass.”

  “Nah, leave it. I’ve handled worse.” Jake’s eyes swept over Hub’s across the street and I saw them dim slightly with memories. It didn’t help that people still looked at him as if he was something of a curiosity. “This town still freaks me out,” he muttered.

  I frowned. “You know you can stop coming here anytime and I’d understand.”

  “Nah,” he looked down at me solemnly. “I think the time for running is long past.” He tugged on my hand and pulled me across the street.

  “Where are we going?”

  Jake grinned. “If I recall, my girl has a thing for chocolate milkshakes.”

  Amazed, I gave him a tentative smile. “You want to go into Hub’s for a milkshake?”

  Hub’s? One of the places where we had a ton of memories of Brett acting like an ass around us. The kind of memories that led to worse memories.

  Jake pushed open the diner door, smiling back at me. “Yeah.” He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and led me inside. “Time to make new memories, Supergirl.”

  The continuation of Charley and Jake’s story has been one of the most challenging for me—the date of release was delayed because I was determined to give my readers the right conclusion to their epic romance. I hope fans of these characters feel it was worth the wait!

  I want to say a massive thank you to my amazing editor Jennifer Sommersby Young. Jenn, I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for your honesty and commitment, and your invaluable direction. Without you I wouldn’t have found the heart of the story in Charley.

  I’d also like to thank, as always, my brilliant agent Lauren Abramo. Thank you for helping to put Charley and Jake’s story into the hands of German readers.

  And thank you to Nina Wegscheider and her team at Ullstein for giving German readers the opportunity to get to know Charley and Jake!

  Moreover, a big thank you to Angela McLaurin at Fictional Formats. Thank you so much for making the INTO THE DEEP series look so beautiful in ebook and print! You’re a true rock star.

  There are a number of bloggers who have been so enthusiastic about the INTO THE DEEP series—to name but a few, Christine Estevez, Natasha Tomic, Kathryn Grimes, Shelley Bunnell, Michelle Kannan, Gael at Booky Ramblings, and Milasy & Lisa at The Rock Stars of Romance. Thank you ladies, and to all the other bloggers, who have been so amazingly supportive. A special thanks to Christine E!

  My Street Team Club 39 deserves a huge thank you as well for their constant support. I adore you, my lovelies!

  Finally, as always, thank you to you, my wonderful reader.

  Live young. Live hard. Love deep.