Last Chance

by Castronaro, Kyleigh

  "I was also wondering if you might like to be my date for Holly's wedding. I've already spoken to her, and the extra seat shouldn't be a problem."

  "Really?" She looked up, "I'd love that."

  "Oh good, because I already told her you were coming." He laughed, the sheepish look on his face making her laugh too. "She also told me to let you know that Nathan and the kids are invited to the reception if they'd like, but that will depend on whether they meet before or not, I assume."

  "Oh, yeah, I imagine meeting for the first time at a long-lost sister's wedding might prove to have its difficulties." They laughed again in agreement. "We'll play that one by ear, I think."

  "Fair enough," he smiled once more before resuming his tasting of the ice cream.

  They fell again into a comfortable silence, enjoying the presence of each other and the beautiful scenery. He could appreciate these moments now, understanding their real value and that where he was had no importance compared to who he was with.

  “This is our eighth date, right?”

  "Ninth, unless we're not counting the time we ran into each other at breakfast."

  "I'll count it." He grinned, feeling a tight compression of nerves in his chest all of a sudden.

  "Oh good, so was I." She teased him, those bright shining blue eyes stealing his breath away once more.

  "Three more, I think, then we had the last time we were together," Honey said, voicing the same revelation he'd had the night before.

  "Yes, but unfortunately I don't think I was truly interested in dating you back then. Or at least not in the same sense I am now. I don't think I understood what it meant to truly be with someone, that it was more than flashy evenings and showing you off. It was about figuring out who you were to the bottom of your soul. I didn't understand that to truly love someone was to want to know their every feeling and thought. Those things were foreign to me, but now, now I want to know every detail of every minute of the last thirty years of your life. But more importantly than that, I want to share every second of the rest of your life if you'll have me."

  "Huh?" Honey spoke, not quite catching on yet to what he was saying. When she turned to see him, however, he was down on one knee with his hand outstretched and a small box opened.

  In it was the simple diamond he had bought all those years ago. His lifelong secret kept in a safe at the back of his closet, known only to him for the last thirty years.

  Shep had never had the heart to get rid of it, at first he used it as punishment whenever he caught a glimpse of it at the back. His could-have-been and would-have-been, if he hadn't been so pig-headed and dumb.

  "Shep…" Honey sucked in a sharp breath as she stared at him before gently reaching out to pry the ring from its cushion.

  "Honey Halliwell, I screwed this up for us once before. I'd like the chance to make it right with you. I’d like the chance to make an honest woman of you if you let me."

  She smiled, distracted by putting the ring on her finger and testing it. Twisting her fingers in the light, she admired the soft reflection in the carat stone before looking down at him. This time there was a grin more prominent than he had ever seen on her face.

  "Yes, a million times yes, Shep. I've been waiting a long time for this." He grinned as he stood, dropping the little bit of ice cream cone he had left as he picked her up and swung her around with the exuberance of a teen. He whooped in delight as she kissed him again.

  In his life, Shep Wheeler had four great loves. He loved gambling, to a fault, and that once cost him one of his other loves. But it led him to his second which in turn produced his third. Elle was a good wife, a reliable partner, and a kind friend.

  He cherished the thirty years they had together and the memories they had made. His love for her was not passionate, but subdued and simple. He loved her slowly and with all his heart. He loved her because she gave him his children.

  Adam and Holly were the reason he lived and breathed every day. Once upon a time he never imagined himself a father, but now he couldn't imagine himself not being one. As children they lit up his life, made him laugh, cry and lose his temper. But he loved them with every fiber of his being, because they were him and he was them.

  Honey was the greatest love of all. A love he once thought he had lost and would never have another chance to have. He had resigned himself to believe that the fault lay entirely on him and, for that reason, so did the punishment. She was the reason his love for Elle was different than the rest. Try as he might to forget, his heart never could.

  Honey had resided inside the chambers of his heart like an echo. Sometimes he heard it, and other times he didn't. But when it was there, it vibrated with an ache that reminded him that he was no longer whole.

  Until now.

  Young love was not limited to young men. This was his chance now to live out the love he had stored away in his heart.

  This was his last chance.

  * * *

  Thanks so much for reading Shep and Honey’s story. Did you love them? Do you want more? Sign up for my Newsletter now and get a deleted scene and bonus features from the book!

  Afterword

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read Last Chance! I hope you enjoyed it. This project was more of a passion project more than anything. I wasn’t sure that many people might be interested in reading this story but I wanted to write it because it has such a dear place in my heart.

  My grandma died six years ago from Sarcoma Cancer. It was sudden. One day she went in to remove what they thought was fatty tissue in her butt and found out it was cancerous cells. They didn’t know at the time it was Sarcoma so when the mass was removed it wasn’t done thoroughly and a second growth recurred, rapidly building. Within six months she was gone and it was devastating for our family.

  My grandma helped raise me, being my caregiver while my single mother worked. In a lot of ways she was like a second mother to me and losing her felt like I lost a part of myself. Now, I’m a mother and it breaks my heart every day that she will never meet my son where I knew her mother until I was 20 years old.

  Anyways, I’m telling you all this because Shep and Honey’s story includes stories from my own grandparents. My grandpa is a storyteller. Anyone who comes into my house will tell you how they get sat down by him and they get to hear all the stories he has. So, I decided to put those stories to work by adding them to this story. Which ones made the cut?

  Shep falling off the deck into the lake - This is true, it happened the first time my grandparents met. However, grandpa wasn’t showboating like Shep was he accidentally stepped backwards and fell off the deck. He was trying to impress someone… My grandma’s best friend!

  The ‘first’ second date at the restaurant - My grandma really did ask the band to play Canadian Sunset leaving my grandpa very confused and she tried to cut her steak with the knife upside down.

  The dinner at her house - my grandma also cooked asparagus wrong trying to be fancy but failed terribly.

  The gambling - My grandpa is a gambler and he was always flashy with his money. It did not end their marriage, however. I just needed to add drama to make a story after all.

  The name Honey - while my grandma was “Alice” she actually hated her name and everyone in her family called her Honey instead or “Hon” so calling my FMC Honey was a nod to her.

  Finally, a sneaky story from my own marriage… The drunk scene when Shep breaks the shower? Yup. My own husband did the the very first time he came from England to meet my family. He’ll never live that down.

  Even if only you ever read this book I’m so glad I managed to get it out into the world and truly honour my grandma. I miss her every day but she’s still with me because she’s in my heart and in my words.

  I also wanted to acknowledge some people without whom this book would not exist. Firstly, Angie Brennan must receive the largest portion of thanks. This book was majorly reorganized thanks to her insight and honesty. Without her I’m not sure I wo
uld have ever managed to publish this story because I was feeling so disheartened.

  Of course, as always, I must thank my husband Marc who has always held my hand as we walk blindly toward my dreams supporting me wholeheartedly the entire way. Thank you for always believing in me.

  Finally, since this is the first book I’m publishing since having my son this is for you Hudson. My wish for you is that I can give you a world where you might be able to follow your dreams as well. And thank you for keeping me company in my belly while I wrote this.

  And to you, thank you again for reading Last Chance. If you enjoyed it I would really appreciate any reviews posted to any site where Last Chance is sold. Reviews and word of mouth are the most important things to helping an indie writer establish a name and a career for themselves.

  If you’d like to stay in touch with upcoming titles and other releases please subscribe to my Newsletter. I also have a reader group that is very intimate where you can get to know me. Be sure to like my Facebook page and if you love photos I’m also on Instagram. And as always, please feel free to email me if you’d like to get directly in touch.

  Want to know more about my other books? Scroll ahead for more information!

  About the Author

  Kyleigh Castronaro is a Canadian who grew up dreaming about vampires, witches and faeries. She has always sought and cultivated the magic inside of her, using her words to bring magic to the pages for her readers. Happily married to the love of her life, she believes in happily ever afters and hopes to convince readers of them too.

  To find out more about Kyleigh and her books, go to www.kyleighcastronaro.site

  Want to know more about my other books? Scroll ahead for more information!

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