Read I Hope You Find Me Online

Authors: Trish Marie Dawson

Tags: #action adventure, #urban disaster fiction, #women heros, #romance adult fiction, #thriller and mystery, #series book 1, #dystopian adventure, #pandemic outbreak, #dogs and adventure, #fantasy about ghosts

I Hope You Find Me (35 page)

BOOK: I Hope You Find Me
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“It's perfect. You know he would love it
here, right?” Connor said quietly.

I nodded.

The lake opened up in front of us,
contrasting perfectly with the dark pine trees in the background
and the tips of the mountains even further away. He put an arm
around my shoulder and hugged me tightly. “Kris made an early
dinner for everyone but come back whenever you're ready, okay?” I
nodded again and smiled at him as he stood and walked away. I
watched the breeze push against his shirt, flattening it to his
upper body. He had let his hair grow out and the long, wispy dark
waves reached just below his ears. At first he complained about the
growing length of his hair, but with my assurance that it only made
him sexier, he vowed not to cut it. I sighed heavily as he headed
back toward the cabins where the others would be waiting. Skip and
Winchester. Jacks and Ana...with the small bulge that was showing
in her lower abdomen. Kris and Connor. My friends. My family.

A small, fuzzy rabbit hopped out from behind
a tree but quickly dashed back under cover when it saw me. I
smiled, happy that life had started anew...in the forest, at least.
It had taken a while, but even our deer returned to the lake,
sometimes coming as close as the cabin steps to say hello. She had
filled out, losing her juvenile markings and was spotted most
regularly by Kris, who spent at least two hours of each day hiking
the trails around the lodge with the dog. In a way, I suppose the
deer was a part of the family too.

I carefully dug my painted toes into the soft
dirt and wild grass, trying not to badly mess up the pedicure that
Kris had given me the day before, while the earth cooled my warm
feet and I noticed movement in the sky. A sleek white bird flew in
low over the water and dragged an elegant foot along the surface.
Zoey raised her head and quietly huffed at the aviary display that
rippled the lake water from the center out. Before the water's
edge, the bird lifted with the breeze and floated into a nearby
tree, timing its landing with rehearsed perfection.

“Fin.” I sighed. “We miss you.”

I looked at the mound of dirt encircled with
dozens of smooth, round stones to my right and laid the flower
delicately on top.


I hope you find me again in the next
life
.” I whispered, as I rested my hand on his grave. “
The
first yellow rose is for you.

 

 

THE END of BOOK ONE

 

 

Read the second book in the FIND ME
SERIES

LOST and
FOUND

 

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 

There are simply too many people to consider
in this section, so I will keep my 'thanks' as short and sweet as
possible! It took me over thirty-two years to write my first book;
which is funny, because the actual 'act' of writing it took less
than four months. It's been a dream I've had since I was fifteen
years old, so just completing this project is a major
accomplishment for me. And it would never have been possible
without the ongoing support of my closest family and friends over
the years. You have all been a part of my creative process in some
shape or form. I thank each and every one of the people I've
encountered over the last three decades or so. Each one of you has
touched my life in a way that has made it possible for me to be
where I am today. There are a few people I need to mention by name,
so let's get that started!

Mom. I love you, and appreciate each
sacrifice you have made in your life to ensure I was brought up the
best way you could manage as a single parent. I don't say Thank You
enough, so now it's in print: Thank You for everything! I love you,
like you, and care about you, always.

To my own little family: Shane, not only are
you my husband and partner, but you have been a constant support of
this writing dream I've had since we've met. I don't think you
could ever know how valuable this has been to me. Life has given us
challenges, but you chose me and you're still here…for that I thank
you and I love you. Rory and Foxx - you two are my rays of
sunshine. I love your creative spirit Rory. I hope you reach for
the stars and find your dreams up there waiting for you. Foxx, you
are my special little man and without you our family would not be
complete. Your goofy smiles make everything better. Thanks for
being so patient as Mommy works hard during nap times and stays up
late at night to write; I'm doing this for you guys. Love you both
to the moon and back. And Zoey, you drive me nuts with your
neurotic canine behavior but I love you anyway.

Thank you for the push Grandma Dawson. I've
appreciated your feedback and interest in my short stories over the
years. I love that you have shared my writings with your friends,
and that you have encouraged me to actually DO something with it
all. Love you lots.

You aren't with us anymore Teresa, but your
spirit never leaves me. Even in death you are my personal
cheerleader. When I doubt myself, I look at your pictures. It's
really that simple, because when I see your smiling face I remember
your laugh and know that if you were here you would give me that
extra push - no questions asked, no judgments passed. You were like
my second mom, I miss you dearly.

Thank you SO MUCH to the amazing ladies and
friends that helped Edit this book! You made an exceptional Editing
Team: Jennifer Peterson, Kerry Bigelow and Stephanie Perry Aguirre.
You are all special friends, and your time and effort to help me
make this story the best it can be is invaluable. I thank you all
dearly!

To my Beta Readers: You were the first and
you loved it! Without your insight, your patience, your questions
and suggestions, I would never have made a second draft, a third,
or even a fourth. This book is here in large part because YOU loved
it. Thank you!

The cover art, one of the most important
parts of any book, was done by my good friend Deborah Rogers. Thank
you so much for your friendship and for your artistic abilities! I
feel blessed to know a woman like you. Thanks for everything,
sister!

Gladys Selfridge: You Rock! Thank you for not
only being a part of the Beta Reader experience, but for following
me on my researching adventures. Thank you for surviving the
wilderness with me: muddy bare-feet and all. I appreciate your
feedback and help with the eBook conversion too! I know so many
keyboard shortcuts now! I have to thank your hubby, Sean Selfridge
as well, for driving out into the mountains at night to pick us up
from that last researching adventure. I'm glad he thought it was
funny.

Hector Aguirre you must remember the total
panic on my face when I thought for sure my computer crashed and I
lost all of the work that preceded this section of the book. If not
for your helpful, calm and always cool demeanor, I would surely
have had some sort of massive coronary failure and dropped dead to
the floor of my office. But since you fixed my computer, and made
it better than it was before, I owe you…well, everything. Thank
you, big bro.

Irene Aranda: thanks for being such a dear
and long-time friend. I appreciate your patience over the years
listening to my crazy dreams and story ideas. Look at what all that
talk has amounted to! Thanks for being one of my best friends. Love
you.

A very special THANK YOU must go out to the
Mt. Laguna Fire Station 49 crew. I have learned that a Ford Focus
has absolutely NO business being on a back country dirt road
because you never know when a mud puddle is going to try and
swallow up your car. Thank you for rescuing me and my friend from
the muck and cold weather (Yes, this was a true story). Ty, Joe and
Joel - you guys are all awesome, and I'm proud to know you wear the
uniform. Can I also thank you…again…for not making me feel like an
idiot when you saw exactly what I did to my car. Thank you guys for
being amazing, and for laughing
with
me, not
at
me!

To DCBR: you ladies are all amazing and have
been nothing but a constant support for me over the last several
years. I am proud to call each and every one of you my friend.

Thank you to my fellow Book Club Ladies! I
love what we have together as a group. I hope this book makes you
proud! Thanks for your love, support and friendship.

To my San Diego Family: I grew up here and
have spent the majority of my life in our beautiful City. I did
take some liberties with this book however, and feel the need to
explain. For starters, Connor's hotel is not real, neither is the
Lodge. And anyone that has hiked the Laguna area knows that the
lake is not really as big as I make it sound in this book. It's
Fiction, after-all. BUT with that said, I hope I did our City
proud.

I really don't think I would have gotten far
if it weren't for Thesaurus.com. The site is amazing, and helped me
tremendously!

Finally…if you've read this book and you are
now a fan- thank you! I could have written this story just for
myself and kept it hidden away in a folder on my laptop named
'ONLY IN MY DREAMS'
but when I chose to share it I was
happily surprised that people actually wanted to read it! So this
is for you! I 'hope' you like it.

 

 

 

ABOUT the AUTHOR

 

Trish was born and mostly raised in San
Diego, California where she lives now with her family and pets.
She's been writing short stories and poetry since high school and
began her first book in December of 2011.

When Trish isn't writing, she's homeschooling
her amazing daughter and mildly Autistic son, reading whatever she
can get her hands on, or enjoying the Southern California sun. As a
strict Vegetarian, Trish holds a special place in her heart for
animal rights and has three dog rescues and a kitty who thinks he’s
a dog.

 

TRISH'S BOOKS & COLLABORATIONS:

FIND ME
Series

I Hope You Find Me

Lost and Found

 

THE
STATION Series

Dying to Forget

Dying to Remember

Dying to Re
turn

Niles, a Novelette

Mallory, a Novelette

 

HUTCH
& A’RIS

The Dry Lands

 

ANTHOLOGIES

Via Moon Rose Publishing:
Hawke and the
Beast (Once Upon A Twisted Time

Via Raptor Retreat Press:
Madness (The
Bitten)

 

You Can Follow Trish Here:

Twitter
at:
https://twitter.com/Trish_Dawson

Facebook
at:
https://www.facebook.com/WriterTrishMarieDawson

Website/Blog
:
http://writertrishmariedawson.com

 

Trish's work can be found online in eBook
form as well as in print on Createspace.com.

You can support your favorite Indie Authors
by buying their books and leaving them honest and spoiler-free
reviews online!

 

BOOK: I Hope You Find Me
8.53Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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