Beautiful Broken Promises(111)
Recently, Charlie had taken a liking to Jace’s secretary, who he met a few months ago when he came down to see us. Josephine was tagging along on the trip as well. Charlie said it was just so that he wouldn’t be the odd man out in a group of couples, but the way they were holding hands and giving each other lovey-dovey eyes told me it was probably a little more than that.
“Yeah Kate, Charlie’s gonna babysit you and Braden every night so I can take Mama out,” I bellowed.
Charlie shot me a glare and quickly turned his charming smile back to my daughter. “I’d never pass up an opportunity to hang out with you, little lady.”
Raegan finally made her way back into the living room and sat down on the couch next to me. Her head rested on my chest and I brushed my fingers through her long, silky hair. Everyone else eventually wandered into the living room, finding a spot wherever they could. Braden sat down on my leg and Kate crawled up onto Raegan’s lap.
This was my family. Everyone in this room I happily called my family. We didn’t have the same blood running through our veins, but that didn’t mean we loved each other any less. Each one of us would go to the ends of the Earth for one another. This was the life I had always wanted for my future family. I never knew it was possible for a group of people to mesh together in the most randomly wonderful way, but I loved them all.
Especially the three squeezed in around me. The little boy in my lap that exuded the same fierce sense of protectiveness for his family that I did. The little girl that could bring us all to tears with laughter on a daily basis. And the beautiful woman next to me that radiated strength, determination, and the deepest love I had ever felt. They were the ones I would fight for every day.
A little over a year ago, I was wallowing in my own misery. I was told it was time to finally move on, that what I wanted just may not be obtainable anymore. But life was a funny bastard. Sometimes it gave you what you always wanted, and then it liked to throw in a little extra you never knew you needed. Call me greedy, but I wanted it all. And I’d be damned if it was going to take it from me again.
- Acknowledgements –
From the bottom of my heart, a huge thank you goes out to my editor, S.G. Thomas! You answer my late night emails, you are so dang picky and keep me on my toes. You clean up my grammar and make sure I don’t switch to some weird tense. You are definitely a ball-buster. It should go on your business card! You are one-of-a-kind, and I’m so glad we found each other through Beautiful Broken Rules. You make my story stronger and you understand my characters almost as much as I do. Please don’t ever leave me!
To my writing group, AS101, I am extremely grateful for your endless help. Especially, Brooke Cumberland who without a doubt is probably the nicest person I have never actually met. You never stop helping and I just hope that we can all return the favor in some way.
To all the blogs that send messages and support my books, a million thank you’s would never be enough.
And to of course, my husband. You do it all and then some. Every girl deserves a guy like you in their life.