Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
And not just any engine.
It was a motorcycle.
I stood there frozen as the sound drew closer. My heart reacted before reality had a chance to weigh in. Every emotion imaginable came crashing through my chest. Hope. Panic. Excitement. Dread.
Without thinking, I dropped the stack of mail on the swing and watched as Walker pulled into the driveway.
He removed his helmet, slow and methodical, then kicked his leg over his seat. When he started toward me, I realized I had absolutely no idea whether I was about to get my heart broken all over again or given back the chance I wasn’t ready to lose.
He walked over and stopped at the bottom of the steps. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You look good.”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“I was going to call...”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t.” I was hit with a bit of deja vu when he said, “Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have ended up here unannounced. It wasn’t intentional… I was heading home, and the next thing I knew, I was on your road.”
“Funny how that happens.”
“Yeah.”
“The boys at their dad’s?”
“They are.” I was too impatient for small talk, so I cut right to it. “What are you doing here?”
He didn't answer right away. He just looked at me with those dark, soulful eyes, and I already knew what he was going to say. “I did what you asked… and I did a lot of thinking about you and me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m in, Rae. All in… That is, if I haven’t already fucked this up beyond repair.”
“You haven’t.” I gave him a slight shrug. “I mean, you came close, but I’m still here. I just need to know that you’re sure about this.”
“I’m sure, Rae.” He started up the steps as he admitted, “I want this more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time, and that rattled me. But it doesn’t anymore.”
My pulse quickened, and I had to hold onto the railing to keep my footing. “But you left.”
“There was something I needed to do.”
He looked at me, open and steady, like a man who was ready to take on the world. “And what was that?”
“I went to Kansas City.” His eyes never left mine as he went on, “I had some things I needed to say to Emily and Jameson, so I went to the cemetery. I got it all out.”
It was the first time he’d said their names, and it made my throat tighten.
I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just stood there and listened.
“I told her it was time for me to let go.” He smiled, soft and real, and it nearly did me in. “But that didn’t mean I was forgetting them. They’ll both be a part of me until the day I die, but it was time I got back to living… really living. And then, I got to the part about you.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I told her all about you and the boys, and how she would’ve liked you.” A tear slipped down my cheek as he told me, “I’m not the same man I was five years ago. I’m not even the same man I was when you met me in that diner.”
He stepped closer and placed his hands on my waist. “That’s because of you. So, yes, Raelyn Pierce. I am sure about this… I’m sure about you.”
I slipped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me in without a second’s hesitation. I tucked my head under his chin and felt him take in a deep breath. I held him as I confessed, “I missed you… more than I wanted to.”
His arms tightened around me. “Missed you, too.”
I never would’ve dreamed that all the love I’d given so freely over the years would find its way back to me in the form of a beautifully broken soul, but there he stood, holding onto me like I was his entire world. We were two people who’d both known heartaches, we’d both learned the hard way that nothing was guaranteed, but we chose each other anyway.
We chose this.
Us.
Eventually, he pulled back, just long enough to look at me. His hand came up, brushed a strand of hair from my face, before leaning in and pressing his mouth to mine, kissing me. This kiss wasn’t like any of our others. This one was slow and deep, and full of promise. It was the kind of kiss that said I’m not going anywhere.
His hand cradled the back of my head, and I felt myself rise up on my toes, leaning into him, giving him everything I’d been holding onto since the moment he left. When we finally broke apart, he rested his forehead against mine and said, “I’m sorry for leaving you like I did.”
The past week had been tough.
I’d gone through all of the emotions, and it was almost unbearable. But I never gave up hope. The doubt was there, but I never let myself believe he wasn’t truly coming. And now, as he stood there looking at me with worry in his eyes, I had my answer.