When We Were Us

by Elena Aitken

  “Eric didn’t get a chance to do a lot of the things he wanted to do,” Ben continued. “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t. In fact, according to my big brother, not only can we live our best life, we better.” There were a few cheers from the guys and chuckles of laughter. “So, further to my brother’s wishes, let’s celebrate the living. Who has something to celebrate?”

  Finished, Ben looked around the table, his eyes finally landing on his best friend. “Evan?”

  It took Evan a moment to collect himself, but then he stood, raised his glass and toasted. “I’m celebrating because I’m going to be a father. Cam and I are expecting our first baby in March.”

  The group cheered and toasted. More beer was poured and Evan pointed at Mark, who didn’t hesitate. He knew exactly why he was celebrating.

  Mark stood and raised his glass. “I’m celebrating because I never thought it would be possible, but I am a father! And Christy and I couldn’t be happier.”

  More cheers and toasts. Aaron patted him on the back when he returned to his seat.

  There were more toasts of celebrations, more drinking and more cheering when a man Mark only vaguely recognized stood at the far end of the table. “I’m celebrating,” the man said. “Because I’m two years clean.” It was only then that Mark noticed the man toasted with a glass of water. Everyone cheered and the man sat to give others a turn.

  Mark nudged Aaron. “Who is that? I don’t know him.”

  “Sure you do.” Aaron grinned. “That’s Logan Myers.”

  “Little Logan?” He certainly wasn’t little anymore. The man was over six feet and had muscles that rivaled a professional athlete.

  Aaron nodded. “The one and only. He works out on Blackstrap ranch out of town, and volunteers at the fire department.”

  “Are you talking about Logan?” Evan leaned into their conversation. “Amber didn’t recognize him either at the anniversary dance this spring. Although, I can’t blame you guys. He’s grown up.”

  “And clean? Was he—”

  “Alcohol mostly,” Evan finished. “Some recreational drugs too. But he’s a good guy. I’ve worked with him a few times. Accident scenes, mostly. Nice guy, for sure. If I remember correctly, he said that he’d always looked up to Eric growing up. I guess Eric used to babysit him and his little sister.”

  “Small world.” Mark nodded and then laughed. “Or just a small town.”

  “Definitely a small town,” Aaron agreed. “Another beer?”

  “Better not.” Mark waved him away. “We have a training run in the morning. Don’t tell me you forgot?”

  Mark hadn’t been able to get out as much as he would have liked, what with the new baby and the complete and total upheaval that had brought to their lives—in the best way, of course. He’d tried to back out of the race altogether, but Christy wouldn’t hear of it.

  “I meant it when I said it’s important for us to keep ourselves even now that we’re parents,” she’d said. “I’m still going to sing; you’re still going to run. It’s just going to look different than it did, that’s all.”

  And it did look different, but his wife was right. It was important for them to retain the parts of themselves that made them the people they were and outside interests were important, too. Even if things had to be modified, they’d make it work. So together they’d sat down and made a schedule so he could still compete his training for the ultra-marathon. When it was finished in a few weeks, they’d agreed that he would scale down his events so they didn’t require such intense training.

  “I certainly didn’t forget.” Aaron winked. “Especially since you promised to finally introduce me to your friend.”

  Mark laughed. With everything that had been going on, he’d almost forgotten about Christy’s promise to Alicia to introduce her to Aaron. Once he’d been reminded, Aaron was one hundred percent behind the idea and hadn’t let up about it until they’d finally organized a long training run. Mark was pretty sure that once the introduction was made, he’d be running by himself a whole lot more, especially if the two of them got along even half as well as he thought they might.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The night before her first rehearsal back with Timber Heart at the end of September, Christy was worried that she might have forgotten all the words to their songs, or how to hold the mic, or how to properly count the guys in. She was terrified that her singing career, such as it was, would be over before it began.

  Jamie and the guys had been more than understanding when she explained everything that was going on. She needed some time alone with Mya to get established and let the realities of motherhood sink in. But she was also determined not to give up on the band and singing. Not now that she’d found such an outlet and maybe even for the first time in her life found something that she loved almost as much as her family.

  “Welcome back.” Jamie gave her a hug as soon as she walked into the garage where the band was already tuning up their instruments.

  “Hey there, little mama.” Caleb hugged her next, followed by Josh, who handed her a box wrapped in pink paper.

  “This is from all of us,” Josh said. “Open it.”

  She laughed at the pink paper that upon closer inspection had little musical notes imprinted on it. “Perfect paper.”

  “If you think that’s perfect—”

  “Shut up.” Caleb smacked Josh and looked at Christy seriously. “Open it.”

  She did as instructed and pulled out an impossibly tiny black leather jacket. As tiny as the jacket was, it would still be too big for Mya for quite some time. “It’s so cute.” She lifted it from the tissue paper to examine it and when she turned it around, she squealed.

  “Do you like it?” Jamie asked.

  Christy’s eyes filled with tears and she started laughing and crying all at the same time.

  “Aw, damn,” Caleb said. “I knew it. New mothers are always so hormonal.”

  That made Christy laugh even harder. She couldn’t be hormonal; she hadn’t given birth. Although she could be exhausted. Which she was. “I love it,” she finally managed to say. “It’s absolutely perfect.” And it was, because on the back of the jacket, the guys had “Timber Heart #1 Fan” embroidered in bright yellow. “I can’t wait until she’s big enough to wear it. Thank you.” And then she was crying for real because it really was amazing that she’d found such a great group of guys who were not only her band mates, but also friends.

  “Okay, okay.” Josh moved away to pick up his guitar. “That’s enough tears for one afternoon. We have work to do. If we only get Christy for limited time, let’s make the most of it.”

  She couldn’t argue with that. They’d been really understanding about everything, even when she emailed them all the new lyrics for some songs she’d been working on in the middle of the night when she was rocking Mya back to sleep. It turned out that all of her recent life events had been a huge well of inspiration for her.

  “Have you guys had a chance to look at any of the new songs?” Christy tucked the jacket away and moved to the microphone. She lifted it in her hand and felt the weight of it. It felt right. Very right.

  “Not only have we had a chance,” Jamie said with a strum of his guitar. “We’ve been practicing.”

  “One, two, three.” Behind her, Josh counted them in with his drumsticks and they started playing.

  It took her a minute to realize which one it was since she mostly only worked on lyrics while Josh and the others put the melody together, but then Jamie started singing and she almost started crying again.

  “One Day.” She almost whispered the name of the song, she was so moved.

  Jamie nodded, but she didn’t need confirmation to know it was the song she wrote only hours before Mya was put in her arms. It was perfect.

  Somehow she managed to pull herself together long enough to join in and for the very first time, she sang the song of her heart with her new band.

  The rest of the rehearsal wen
t smoothly. They spent more time trying out the new songs and finished off with some of their old favorites just to have fun.

  “That was great,” she said as the last note faded away. “It felt so good.”

  “It sounded great,” Josh said. “Motherhood suits you.”

  She laughed. “Well, it’s certainly been a change.”

  “For all of us.” Jamie handed her a bottle of water. “We were just getting used to our new group and then…” He shrugged.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” He laughed. “I’m kidding. Really. And Josh is right, motherhood suits you. These songs are dynamite, Christy. They really are.”

  “But we were wondering.” Christy turned to Caleb. “How do you feel about touring again and playing gigs?”

  It was a good question. One she knew was coming and she was ready for it. She’d talked it over with Mark a few times. “Well, if you’re okay with it, I’d like to play some local gigs for a while. Maybe try out our new material and stay close to home. Timber Creek and maybe some towns in driving distance. We can use that time to make sure our new stuff is solid, and maybe even get a few talent agents out. I know it’s kind of out of the way, but we can offer them a stay at the hotel and maybe turn it into a little holiday?” That was a reach, but Aaron had offered a discounted rate on some rooms if they wanted to try to lure a few agents to town to hear them. “And then, in a few months, when Mya is a bit older and more settled, we can try some shorter tours again. But hopefully by that time we’ve sorted out the details for a demo record.”

  “A demo?” Jamie raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

  “Really.” She’d been doing some research during all those late-night feedings and she had a few ideas on how they might be able to secure some studio time. “We can talk more about it, but I have some ideas. And I’m serious about it, guys. I am.”

  “We believe you.” Josh whistled. “And I have to say, I’m impressed.”

  Christy beamed. She wasn’t delusional; she knew it wasn’t going to be so easy all the time, but so far she was juggling the balls of motherhood and her budding music career as well as doing her best to make sure she and Mark stayed connected throughout it all.

  At the thought of Mark, she checked her phone and the time. “I’ve gotta go, guys.” She drank down the rest of her water and moved to grab her purse. “I have to get home so we can get ready for tomorrow. Mark is running the Polar Peeks Ultra-marathon tomorrow and Mya and I will be there to cheer him on.” She grinned, thinking of the matching t-shirts she’d made for herself and her daughter to wear at the race the next day.

  “Same time next week, Christy?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  She walked down the street, carrying the box with the baby leather jacket in it and singing her brand-new song, “One Day,” as she made her way back to her little family and the life she loved more and more with every day that passed.

  He was out of breath, his legs burned, and every muscle in his body ached. Yet, Mark never felt more alive as he crossed the finish line of the Polar Peek Ultra-marathon. He’d just run over fifty kilometres in less than twenty-four hours and was ready to drop, but he laid eyes on his gorgeous wife and beautiful new daughter. Christy’s shirt read “Run Honey Run” and even though Mya’s matching shirt was covered up with a blanket to protect her from the cool mountain air, he knew it read “Run Daddy Run.” Just seeing them gave Mark a burst of energy that could have kept him going for another fifty kilometers.

  Of course, the moment he collapsed on the ground at Christy’s feet, that idea went out the window. He was done. And he’d never been happier to be done, because the time he’d just spent away from his new little family was far too long.

  “I’m so proud of you.” Christy dropped to her knees next to him and wrapped her arms around his stinky, sweaty body before pressing a bottle into his hands. “Drink.”

  He nodded, unable to form the words he needed. He was unable to do anything but lay back and breathe.

  “Come on, buddy.” Evan stood over him and offered him a hand. “Let’s get you out of the way and into a proper chair.”

  All of their friends had come out to support them. Evan and Cam were there, Amber had come out, and Ben of course. Even Drew and Austin had come along to join in the celebration. Mark let Ben lead him over to a camping chair, where he sat gratefully while someone took his shoes off and Ben handed him a cold can of beer.

  “You’re my favorite person right now,” he said and then laughed as he met Christy’s eyes. She was holding Mya again, and his heart swelled. “I lied,” he said to Ben.

  “Don’t I know it.” Ben laughed as he looked to see where Mark was looking, as if he even needed the confirmation. “You’re a lucky man.”

  “A fact I’m thankful for every single day.”

  He winked at Christy, who blew him a kiss.

  “Did Aaron and Alicia come across the line already?” Mark had lost sight of his training mates early on and he’d encouraged them to go ahead. Ever since Mya had come home, he’d managed to maintain his training runs, but they definitely weren’t as intense as they should have been and he was much slower for it. But Mark didn’t care. He was happy to have finished the race because it would be his last one for a while.

  “Don’t you know it.” Aaron slapped him on the shoulder, and Mark turned in his chair to see his best friend and his new training partner looking rested and refreshed enough that they’d definitely crossed the finish line before him. “Good job, buddy. You did good.”

  “Not as good as you did.”

  “I had a good partner.” Aaron nudged Alicia with his elbow, and Mark couldn’t help but notice that they didn’t look nearly as cozy as he assumed they would by now. After the first introduction, Aaron had more or less replaced him as his main training partner in favor of the beautiful tall blonde. Not that Mark minded; it’s just that he assumed maybe something had happened between the two of them. He watched them while they exchanged race details and race notes.

  Soon, Mark was swept up in the festivities and celebrations and despite the total body exhaustion that pulsed through him, he’d never felt better. How could he not? When he looked around, he was surrounded by friends and family and the two most important people.

  “How are you doing, babe?” Christy handed him his little girl, and Mark pressed a kiss to Mya’s forehead before wrapping his other arm around his wife.

  “Perfect.” He kissed her softly. “Absolutely perfect.”

  “I love you.” She touched the baby’s cheek, but Mark knew she was talking to both of them. “And,” she looked up into his eyes, “I love that we are us.”

  “Me too.” He pulled her as close as he could without disturbing the baby. “More than anything.”

  Together, they looked down at Mya, who was sleeping soundly, wrapped in her blanket. Every single time he looked at her, Mark loved her even more than he had the moment before, if it was possible. He could hardly remember what it was like before she came into their lives. The pain and heartache they’d gone through before she came along was a distant memory. But not a forgotten one.

  Never completely forgotten.

  Everything they’d gone through that summer had led them to the very moment they were in right then and as Christy was so fond of saying, everything happened for a reason.

  And his reason was right there in his arms. And he was never letting go.

  * * *

  THE END

  * * *

  If you enjoyed When We Were Us, you’ll love When We Began! Amber is back in Timber Creek, and you’ll never guess what she’s been hiding! She’s a strong, independent woman…but can she get past her secrets long enough to let love in?

  Find out in When We Began!

  You can read a sneak peak of her story right after this…

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  About the Author

  Elena Aitken is a USA Today Bestselling Author of more than thirty five romance and women’s fiction novels. Living a stone’s throw from the Rocky Mountains with her teenager twins, their two cats and a goofy rescue dog, Elena escapes into the mountains whenever life allows. She can often be found with her toes in the lake and a glass of wine in her hand, dreaming up her next book and working on her own happily ever after with her very own mountain man.

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  To learn more about Elena:

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  elena@elenaaitken.com

  When We Began

  Please enjoy this excerpt from Amber’s Story—When We Began.

  * * *

  It had been a long time since Amber Monroe had stood in front of the doors of Timber Creek Elementary. It had been decades since she’d accepted her graduation certificate from the principal and marched out the door toward bigger and better things.

  Like eighth grade. And Timber Creek High School.

  But that was just the beginning for Amber. She’d been ambitious from the start. Her mom used to say she was born with an agenda.