Heart Bones(83)

It’s dark when we walk inside, but I can see the layer of dust on the floors before he flips on a light. There’s a musty, salty smell to the place. But knowing Samson, those are things he’ll have fixed by tomorrow.

He touches everything as we walk through the house. The cabinets, the walls, the doorknobs, all of Marjorie’s furniture that’s still here. He goes into every room and sighs in all of them like he can’t believe this is his life.

I can’t believe it either.

Samson finally opens the door to the stairwell that leads to the roof access. I follow him up the stairs and onto the roof where he takes a seat. He spreads his legs and pats the area of space between them, wanting me to sit with him.

I lower myself to the roof and then lean back against Samson’s shoulder. He wraps his arms around me, and as beautiful as the view is from here, I squeeze my eyes shut because I’ve missed the feelings I have for him so much. More than I even knew.

I’ve gone so long trying not to feel them, I was starting to worry I no longer felt anything. But the feelings were never gone. They never left. I just forced everything to sleep so it wouldn’t hurt as much.

Every now and then, Samson shakes his head in total disbelief. I’ve known him to be a quiet person since I met him, but he’s never been this speechless around me. I love his reaction. I love getting to witness his life change for the better right before my eyes.

Look at us. Two lonely kids who slipped through all the cracks, but then climbed right back up to the top of the world.

Samson touches my face, urging me to tilt my head back so that I can see him. He’s looking at me in the way I saw him look at me so many times that summer—like I’m the most interesting thing on this peninsula.

He kisses me, then lowers his head and presses his lips to my shoulder. He rests his mouth against my skin for a while, as if he’s making up for all the years he couldn’t kiss me there. “I love you.”

Those three words are a simple whisper against my skin, but they provide enough pressure that I feel my heart bone heal completely.

I lean my head back against his shoulder and look out at the water. “I love you too, Samson.”



The End





Acknowledgments


Thank you to my little sister, Murphy Rae, for designing the cover to this book years ago. I looked at it all the time, waiting for the opportunity to write the story that would grace the inside of this cover. You are so good at what you do and I love you!

If couldn’t be more appreciative of my early readers. Vannoy Fite, Erica Russikoff, Gloria Green, Tasara Vega, Karen Lawson, Maria Blalock, Talon Smith, Ashleigh Taylor, Susan Rossman, Kellie Garcia, Stephanie Cohen, Erica Ramirez, Lauren Levine, Katie Pickett Del Re, Racena McConnell, Gloria Landavazo, Mandee Migliaccio, and Jenn Benando.

A HUGE thank you to Anjanette and Emilee Guerroro for your knowledgeable volleyball feedback.

This book went through a series of editors, all at different stages. If you find errors in this book, it is no one’s fault but my own. I kept writing, long after they finished editing. A huge thank you to Murphy Rae, Lindsey Faber, Ellie McLove, and Virginia Tesi Carey for getting this book into shape. And thank you to Alyssa Garcia for the wonderful formatting.

Thank you to Social Butterfly and Jenn Watson for always wanting the best for your authors and the books you represent.

To Ariele Stewart and Kristin Dwyer, you two ladies are amazing and I’m so lucky to have you in my corner, even when you aren’t required to be there.

Thank you to everyone at Dystel, Goderich and Bourret for your endless support, encouragement and overall hard work on every single one of my books.

Thank you to Montlake Publishing for giving me the freedom to enjoy being both an indie author and part of your roster of published authors. There is nothing better than having a team of people surrounding me, encouraging me to write whatever I feel like writing.

A massive thank you to the readers for supporting my career, my hobby, my dream.

There are numerous people in my life I don’t know what I would do without. So many contributors and volunteers to our charities, numerous people who assist with my Facebook groups, all the bloggers who support my books, all the unicorns who show up to help with Book Bonanaza, all the CoHorts who make me smile daily. If I named everyone by name, these acknowledgments would be longer than the book, because there are thousands of you impacting my life in such positive ways. I thank you ALL.

I want to thank all the people who contribute so much of their time, not only to CoHorts, but to our charities, Book Bonanza and The Bookworm Box. Susan Rossman, Stephanie Spillane, Sandy Knott, Shawna Crawford, Amy Edwards, Michele McDaniel, Nadine Vandergriff, Gaylynn Fisher, Pamela Carrion, Chelle Lagoski Northcutt, Laurie Darter, Kristin Phillips, Stephanie Cohen, Erica Ramirez, Vannoy Fite, Lin Reynolds, and Murphy Rae. What a powerful team of women you all are!

And to the men in my life who are the reason I grew four heart bones. Heath, Levi, Cale and Beckham. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.