A Little Bit of Trouble
Read A Little Bit of Trouble Online
Authors: A. E. Murphy
A Little Bit of Trouble
By
A. E. Murphy
The characters and events in this book are fictional. Any similarity to real persons, either living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
© 2013, [Alexandra Murphy]
Amazon Kindle Edition.
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author.
To my Nannan, Mary Murphy the woman who taught me to pinch pennies and to be independent. I’m sorry you’re not able to type up your own stories and live your dream. So I hope this will be enough for you, for now, by hopefully doing it for us both until we get the time to do one together.
First of all I just want to thank my closest friend Jack Coll for being one of the few people who have truly supported me throughout this. Even going as far as to have my kids just so I can get this finished. You’ve been there for me through everything the past few years and I’m so damn proud of you for all you’ve accomplished with what little opportunities you’ve had. I’m lucky for ever getting to meet… let alone having someone like you in my life who loves me and accepts me for who I am. And for being there for my kids too of course! The feeling is completely mutual. Sorry for being a hermit as of late.
Secondly, thank you Laura! I can’t express my gratitude enough for all of the help you’ve given me and all of the awesome conversations we’ve had. I hope that we’ll still be talking ten years from now as I genuinely can’t imagine doing all of this without you! (Emotional moment). You have literally been my rock through this, your family are lucky to have you as I am lucky to know you.
Ali, need I say more? You’re an amazing man, one I’m lucky to have in my life. You’re an amazing father and so understanding. I don’t know what to put to show my gratitude to you as words just aren’t enough, so I’ll just say this. Thank you and I love you.
Thanks to Li
nda for helping me even though you don’t know me. I’ll never forget! You are awesome!
Also Nikki, from the WhatNikkiRead Blog. The first blogger to read my book, rate it and to interview me and to even read book three through for me. You’re an amazing woman and I love your blog.
Lynette Creswell, another author from the same town I live in. You rock! Thanks for including me in the photo for the newspaper at your book signing. I hope we have many more interesting conversations to come.
Big thanks t
o the ladies from the forum on Amazon and Facebook for supporting me throughout this and keeping me well amused to the point of distraction. I’d name you all but there are so many of you I’m worried I’ll miss somebody so I’ll just say, “You know who you are!” And leave it at that with a huge thanks!
Loryn, your mom rocks for naming you so uniquely! I just had to have it! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as you did the first two
and thanks for the conversations! Sorry I told you that every character died due to a zombie apocalypse and James eats Maya’s face. Me joke, me joke.
And last but not least my Grandma Beattie who my last book
(A Little Bit of Us) was dedicated to. Thank you for having me for an entire week just so I can finish this book. Everybody has somebody who they look up to as a role model. You are mine. One day I hope to have even a fraction of the goodness in me that you display on a daily basis. I love you and I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m a Nana’s girl until I die.
Contents
rologue
Everyone looks so damn happy, not that I blame them. It’s a beautiful day, we’re all surrounded by friends and family. So why do I feel like shit? My eyes don’t leave her, Maya, every time she smiles I have to look. I want to catch it, it’s mesmerizing.
Of course I’m happy, I have a beautiful daughter, a new family, friends and a great place to live. There’s something missing, I thought that certain something was Maya, now I see… she was just someone easy to love. Someone unobtainable, someone that I could never have, she was safe to love and safe to want. I think a part of me knew I could never have her, this made it safe. Safe to the memory of the one woman I loved and still love more than words can say, Crystal. She and Annie were the first two female loves of my life. Annie, my first born, my angel.
Of course, make no mistake, I didn’t love Annie more than Amelia, they’re completely equal in my heart but there’s still that special first born bond.
I lost both Annie and Crystal, in a car wreck. After that I never thought I’d be able to smile again, to feel content again. I have, I am… I hope.
So now, as I watch James and Maya play with my five month
old niece after a breathtaking Ceremony of Baptism, I find a certain peace in the fact I no longer pine over Maya. Yet at the same time I find myself in a certain amount of distress. It’s time to move on, time to put my deceased Wife to rest, Crystal, it has been two years since she passed and I can’t keep clinging to her anymore. This brings me a small amount of fear. She’d want me to be happy just as I would her if our roles were reversed. Amelia needs more than just a father’s influence. Not that anyone would replace her mom, no, just that she deserves a mother figure. I know she has Maya, Sylvia, Summer and Marie, so many amazing women but I don’t want her growing up and looking at Evelyn and wondering why she has Maya all the time. She needs someone constant, someone kind and loving, strong and patient. We both deserve our happily ever after.
We both need it.
“Photos!” Maya shouts above the noise of the large crowd. She waves me over, Amelia already by her side. As I walk across the soft grass I nod at people I recognize before taking my place by my brother’s side
, Jacob takes his spot beside me. “Someone looks happy.” Maya smirks sarcastically at me.
“Sorry,” I put on an honest smile, I am happy. It was just for a moment that I needed to accept my woes. We all have moments like this. Right? “Let’s do this.”
“James, Lucas, Jacob, swap sides with us,” Maya whispers urgently.
James rolls his eyes, clearly knowing what she means without her having to explain, “Babe, you don’t have a bad side.”
“But from this side my nose looks big,” she hisses, a smile still on her face. “Now!”
James goes to swap sides, I grab him by the back of his collar to stop him from taking another step, “Dude. Get a fucking backbone.” I notice Marie and Summer giggling to themselves
, Jacob flips them off. Maya and James chose the four of us as godparents, definitely an honor. “She’s not bothered by her nose. She’s showing them how whipped you are.”
He quirks a brow and stands his ground. Maya’s mouth drops open in shock, right as the camera dude takes the picture. That’s one for a Christmas card, James stood looking smug, Marie and Summer howling with laughter
, Jacob looking at the ground to hide his smirk and Maya looking open mouthed from shock whilst cradling Evelyn to her chest.
“Let’s try that again,” the camera guy smiles and motions for us all to regroup with a flick of his fingers.
“Swap sides with me,” Maya whispers, her face set in a perfect smile. You can’t even tell she’s talking. “Now.”
“No,” James bites back, you can definitely tell he’s talking.
“Please!”
“No.”
“I’ll do that thing you like.”
I hear him clear his throat, he shifts a little on the spot, “Really?”
My smile keeps on getting wider, I must look like a fucking idiot. This guy is so whipped. It’s almost embarrassing.
“Yeah, I swear.”
“Okay.” He doesn’t even hesitate and suddenly I’m walking backwards as he pulls me by my collar, Jacob follows, now laughing. I groan as we switch sides with the women. The camera goes off right as Maya cracks an invisible whip with her right arm. It goes off again when Summer takes the baby from Maya and then again when James lunges for Maya.
Welcome. To. My. Family.
Sigh.