Shattered (26 page)

“We’re getting married.”  January whispered across the table to Alyssa and me.  She held up her hand and the light sparkled off the brilliant-cut diamond on her ring finger.

“Why are you whispering?”  I whispered back sarcastically.

“OMG!” Alyssa shouted out, grabbing Jan’s hand in hers and pulling the ring to her face to inspect it more closely.  Every person in the bar whipped their heads in our direction to see what all the excitement was about.

“That’s why.” Hap waved his hand in the direction of all the stares.  Alyssa had already stood and pulled January into a hug.

“I’m so excited for you,” she said to her friend.

“Thanks.” January beamed. “We didn’t want to steal your thunder.  This is your going away party.”

“Don’t be silly,” Alyssa said, shaking her head with a smile.  “This is great news.”

“Congrats guys.” I held up my drink, saluting them.

“Thanks.” Hap tapped my glass with his.

“Now you have a very good excuse to come back to Harrington.” January said as she and Alyssa sat back down in the booth.

“We’ll come back,” Alyssa reassured her.  “I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world.”

“Good.” January was pleased.  “It’s not going to be for while though.  We’ve got to graduate from college first.” She smiled at her fiancé who was grinning from ear-to-ear.

“I just wanted to lock her down before all those college guys start trying to make a play for her.”  Hap laughed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Good thinking,” I commended him.

 Alyssa and January were already talking wedding plans as Hap and I debated the starting line-up for the Cardinals.  This party ended up being a great way to see everyone before we left for the sunny skies of Florida.  The Jeep was loaded down with everything we needed to start our new adventure together.  Uncle Dean was ready for us to get there.  The fishing business was booming and he was ready to get the other boat, my boat, out on the water.  He’d even let me name her.  ‘My Brown-Eyed Girl’ would be making her maiden voyage in less than a week.

Jim and Wendy approached our table, hand in hand.  They’d officially started dating.  When they finally announced their relationship, we were all so happy for them.  A collective sigh of disappointment was released from the single women in Harrington when they learned that Jim Reynolds was off the market.

“I guess you’ve heard my daughter’s news.” Wendy smiled as she ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair.

“Yes,” Alyssa said.  “I’m so excited for them.”

“Me too,” Wendy added.  “Just as long as they don’t rush it.” She turned her attention to Hap and January. “College first,” she scolded.

“Yes ma’am.” Hap smiled sweetly at his future mother-in-law.  January smiled shaking her head.

The music in the bar seemed to stop in perfect unison with the front door closing.  Everyone’s eyes focused on Paul and Mary Boyd as they entered the bar.  No one was expecting them to show up.  Seeing Mary Boyd in a bar was a miracle in itself. Alyssa’s hand was resting on my thigh, under the table.  Her fingers dug into my skin when she saw them.

Paul and Mary made their way back to our table.  After trading pleasantries with Jim and Wendy, they asked if they could speak to us alone.  Hap and January cleared the booth and Alyssa’s parents settled in across from us.  I reached under the table, took Alyssa’s hand in mine and prepared for whatever was coming next.

“What are you doing here?” Alyssa asked quietly
,
still in disbelief.

Paul looked to his wife and raised his eyebrows, encouraging her to speak.  She took in a deep breath and pursed her lips before speaking.

“I came to apologize to you.”  She grabbed her daughter’s free hand that rested on the table. “Both of you.”

She continued by saying that she was wrong to interfere in our relationship and pleaded with Alyssa and me to forgive her.  It was hard not to once we heard and saw her sincerity.  Alyssa was over-the-moon that everything with her mother had been resolved.  Her parents even offered to come visit us in Florida over the winter.  It just so happened that they would be there the same week that my parents rolled through the Sunshine State, but that’s an entirely different story.  One that ended with my dad giving Mary Boyd a ride on the back of his Harley.

By the time the party ended, and we exchanged hugs with Kelly, Craig, Hap, Jan and Alyssa’s parents, we were exhausted.  I whisked my girlfriend upstairs to get in a full night’s sleep before we began our twenty-hour road trip the next morning.

“I’m beat,” she said
,
collapsing on to her pillow.

“Me too,” I agreed, sliding under the covers.  I pulled her back into my chest and wrapped my arms around her.  “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said as I placed my lips on her neck.  She wiggled her body against mine, which caused a reaction I assumed she was too tired to reciprocate. “Mmmm…” I hummed into her skin, as I roamed my hand down her body and settled my fingers under the hem of the tank top she was going to sleep in.  “I thought you were beat?”

“I’m never too tired for you,” she chuckled as she turned her body to face mine.  I ran my hand up the smooth skin of her back and looked into her chocolate-colored eyes.

“Have I told you I loved you?” I smirked.

“You just did,” she said, smiling.  “Why don’t you show me?” she added.  I pushed my lips to hers and proceeded to show her exactly how much I loved her.

Alyssa

Florida was a far cry from the cornfields of Harrington, but Jesse and I quickly settled into our new life together.  During the day, we helped Dean run the fishing business and we spent our evenings each earning our Business Degrees from the local college, deciding it was best to have a back-up plan just in case the fish stopped biting.

We found a little beachside cottage that was perfect.  It wasn’t very big, but it worked for us.   I quickly filled the walls with pictures of our friends and family: Hap and Jan’s engagement picture, my mother smiling on the back of Stick’s motorcycle, my dad and I with our arms wrapped around each other and many taken of Jesse and me together over the past few months.  My favorite, in the frame that Jesse had made for me with the photo of us and Garrett hung proudly in the center of the collection.

“He would have loved it here,” I said as I straightened the frame one afternoon.

“He would have.”  Jesse was sitting on the sofa watching me.

“I really miss him.”  I took a seat next to Jesse and rested my head on his shoulder.

“Me too.”  We sat in silence for a moment thinking about our friend.  “You know, I think if I ever have a son I’d like to name him Garrett,” Jesse said nonchalantly.

I quickly sat up and looked at him with disbelief.  I felt my palms start to sweat as an uneasy panic crept into my mind.  Son?  Baby? He’d lost it.  My mind was racing with the possibilities that he was insinuating.  We’re not even married and he’s talking about babies.

“Breathe.” He took my face in his hands and looked deep into my eyes.  I did as he said and felt the panic start to fade.  “Calm down, drama queen.” He smiled.

“I’m calm.”  I exhaled a deep breath.

He smirked and shook his head.  “I didn’t say I wanted to have a kid tomorrow.  I just meant someday.  No need to freak out.”  He pressed his lips to mine as my breathing returned to normal.

I pulled back to look into the sweet evergreen eyes I loved.  “You want to have a baby with me?” I asked, adding, “someday.”

“I want to do everything with you.”

I smiled as I envisioned him chasing a little mini-Jesse down the beach.  He was going to be an amazing father and husband.  Someday.

“I want to do everything with you too.”  I leaned in and
kissed him, excited about all of the possibilities our future held, this time with the reassured feeling that Jesse wasn’t going anywhere.

The emotional rollercoaster that we’d been on for the last year had finally come to a stop.  Jesse and I had managed to forgive ourselves and find peace together.  While we’d never forget what had happened, we were doing our best to make the most of our lives.  If he really was looking down on us, Garrett would surely be smiling.

Justin & Mason – Thank you for inspiring me everyday.  Even more, thank you for letting me “clickity-clack” for hours upon end and never complaining about the lack of clean laundry or our messy house.  I love you both!

Cheryl & Ali – One of you is my sister and the other might as well be.  Thank you for reading and for your words of encouragement.

Reese – Thank you for being my number one cyber-cheerleader!  You fill my inbox and my heart with love.

Born and raised in the middle of a Midwestern cornfield (not literally, that would be weird), I’ve spent my entire life reading and imagining stories. Stories where the right guy always gets the right girl, first kisses are as magical as they appear on the big screen and if you believe in something, it is possible.
Although this journey began years ago, it recently took on a whole new life .  After years of devouring hundreds of Romance, YA and New Adult novels I had an epiphany... I should write a book. And I did it!
 

If I’m not reading, writing, enjoying drinks with my amazing group of girlfriends or chasing around a sarcastically funny one-year old, I’m probably watching television shows that were created for teenagers, while my husband teases that I’m too old to watch them.
 

Follow my blog at
www.elizabethleewrite.blogspot.com