“See? Then we’ll only be apart for three weeks.”
She giggled. “Things are looking up.”
The sound of an engine grew louder, announcing the arrival of Uncle Martin.
I grasped Quinn’s hand. “Come on. I don’t want to miss this.”
We jogged up to the garage just as Uncle Martin’s truck came down the driveway.
Kade, Aunt Eleanor, and all my brothers and sisters stood on the deck, tittering and giggling.
Uncle Martin turned and parked in front of the six-bay garage so that the truck and boat were parallel to it, with the back of the boat facing us. We couldn’t see the name yet since a red cover masked the boat.
Uncle Martin climbed out, grinning at everyone. He reminded me of an older version of Kade.
The kids ran down off the deck. Quinn and I ambled closer to the boat, and Aunt Eleanor and Kade joined us.
“Are you ready to see?” Uncle Martin asked, standing at the back edge of the boat.
Everyone squealed in delight.
“Maiken,” Uncle Martin said. “You have some words you want to say?”
Kade took up a position opposite his dad. Both were ready to unveil the name.
I left Quinn near Aunt Eleanor, Ethan, and Emma, who all stood behind Marcus, Jasper, Maple, Charlotte, and Harlan.
My heart rate sped up as I stood in front of the boat and faced my siblings. I thought it would be easy to talk about my dad, but as I looked at my brothers and sisters, I wasn’t sure I could say anything without crying.
“Hurry up, Maiken,” Emma said, prodding me with her eyes.
I cleared the emotion from my throat, stood up a little straighter, and smiled. “Kade and Lacey told us to find something to celebrate Dad. And Ethan is a genius for coming up with the idea of naming the boat after him.” I nodded to my brother, who seemed proud. “But it’s not just the boat that we need to remember Dad by.” I touched my heart. “He’s in here. And wherever we go or wherever we live, we need to keep Dad close to our hearts.”
Jasper’s blond hair ruffled in the warm breeze. “I’m going to build a model boat this summer. We’ll name that one Harlan Marlin too.”
The boat wasn’t like the memorial that Kade and his brothers had built for Karen on the other side of the lake, where we could visit anytime. Nevertheless, I loved that Jasper was thinking of his own way to remember Dad.
“Show us already,” Marcus said.
I stepped out of the way and off to the side.
Kade and Uncle Martin removed the cover.
An intake of breath zipped around the group along with oohs and aahs.
Harlan went up to the boat and touched Dad’s name. “That’s my name too.”
Everyone laughed.
The name was scripted in royal blue with the H in Harlan and the M in Marlin larger than the rest of the letters.
Each of us mimicked Harlan by touching Dad’s name as tears flowed from mostly everyone.
I was the last to touch his name, and when I did, a warm feeling spread through my chest. It was as though my dad was speaking to me in some way. I knew that sounded crazy. I just felt like he was with us, and for that, I wiped away my tears and smiled.
“I’m going to put the boat in the water,” Uncle Martin said. “Head down to the lake.”
My younger siblings took off, and the older ones lingered behind.
“Do you want to go with us?” I asked Quinn.
She pointed up toward the front of the house. “I need to get home. Liam’s waiting for his truck.”
“What about swimming?” I’d asked her that earlier, but she’d never responded.
She kissed me on the lips. “Spend time with your family. We can swim tomorrow.”
I did want to enjoy the time with my brothers and sisters while we were all still together. Next year, Jasper, Maple, Harlan, and Charlotte were going to school in Georgia, while Ethan, Emma, and I were returning to Kensington. And Marcus would be joining us now that he was going to be a freshman in high school.
Kade and Mom had talked, and both felt it was best if Marcus was in school with Ethan, Emma, and me. Otherwise, he would be attending high school all by himself in Georgia since Jasper would still be in middle school.
I walked Quinn up to Liam’s truck. “Thank you.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “For what?”
“For being a great girlfriend. I mean, I don’t want you to go, but I do want to hang out with my family.”
She poked me in the arm. “I love you, Maiken Maxwell. Family is important. Besides, we have all next year and even most of the summer. I’m just sad we won’t see each other for a few weeks.”
I loved this girl so hard, and whatever was in store for us in the near future, I was glad she was at my side.
Dear Reader
I hope you enjoyed reading about all the new Maxwells, and the continuation of Maiken and Quinn’s story. There will be two more books to finish Maiken and Quinn’s story. Come join us in Maxwell Mania and stay up-to-date on Maxwell news: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxwellmania/
When you have a moment, I would super appreciate a quick review. It doesn’t have to be long, but would love for you to share your excitement about My Heart to Hold. You can leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads or Bookbub . Links to these platforms can be found on the next page.
My Heart to Give - Book 3 is available to order and will be released on 5/28/19. So get your copy now.
Reading Order for the Maxwell Family Saga Series.
Book 1: My Heart to Touch
Book 2: My Heart to Hold
Book 3: My Heart to Give -
Book 4: My Heart to Keep - Coming Soon
Have you read Kade Maxwell’s story? If not, check out the first book in the Maxwell Series (Dare to Kiss) and meet Kade, Kelton, Kross, and Kody. http://sbalexander.com/book-series/the-maxwell-series/page/2/
Don’t Miss Out
Stay up-to-date on sales and new releases. I post frequent updates in my reader group on Facebook. You can join here: Maxwell Mania: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxwellmania/
Follow me on any of the platforms below or signup for my newsletter at http://sbalexander.com/newsletter or visit my website at http://sbalexander.com
Also by S.B. Alexander
To read samples and find out where to purchase all books visit: http://sbalexander.com.
The Maxwell Family Saga:
My Heart to Touch - Book 1
My Heart to Hold – Book 2
My Heart to Give – Book 3 (releasing 5/28/2019)
My Heart to Keep - Book 4 (releasing late 2019)
The Maxwell Series:
Dare to Kiss - Book 1
Dare to Dream – Book 2
Dare to Love – Book 3
Dare to Dance - Book 4
Dare to Live - Book 5
Dare to Breathe - Book 6
The Maxwell Series Boxed Set – Books 1-3
The Maxwell Series Boxed Set - Books 4-6
Dare to Kiss Coloring Book Companion
The Vampire SEAL Series:
On the Edge of Humanity – Book 1
On the Edge of Eternity – Book 2
On the Edge of Destiny – Book 3
On the Edge of Misery - Book 4
On the Edge of Infinity - Book 5
The Vampire SEAL Collection - Boxed Set
Stand Alone Books
Breaking Rules
Rescuing Riley
The Hart Series:
Hart of Darkness
Hart of Vengeance - Coming Soon
Hart of Redemption - Coming Soon
Acknowledgments
Writing and publishing a book takes a village. But I couldn’t be more thankful to the one person who gives me the inspiration to do what I love—my husband. He’s been such a guiding light as he battles one of the worse diseases with no cure. He fills my heart with so much joy. He always has a smile on his face, he’s always laughing, and he�
��s always making sure I’m taken care of. He’s my angel. I couldn’t do this without him.
I’m also grateful to the team behind me who helps me every step of the way from my editor, RedAdept Editing, my beta readers, my ARC team, my cover designer, Hang Le, and everyone in Maxwell Mania. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
A big hug and mad love for Heather Carver for keeping me focused and motivating me everyday to write, and to Kylie Sharp for always being a phone call away. Love you gals.
Finally, to all the readers and bloggers around the world, thank you for taking a chance on me.
My Heart to Hold: A Maxwell Family Saga - Book Two Page 15