Second Chance at Forever (Forever Book 2) (48 page)

“What the hell are you doing here in my house, Reed?”

“I’m here with Reese. She’s upstairs, and I was here using this room to make a call. Sorry.”

“Sorry? You’re unbelievable! Well, since you helped yourself to my wife and my daughter, I guess using my office is small compared to what you have already taken from me. You made my wife into a whore who cheated on her husband! Oh, make way for The Great Walker Reed and his adulteress!”

I slowly walked up to meet his angry eyes.

“Reese is no whore, and she is not an adulteress. You think by calling her names it makes you a big man? How dare you, Briggs? Reese has been nothing but considerate when it comes to your feelings. Do you think I don’t know what you’re saying behind her back? For some hot shot, respected doctor, you sure act like an ass. I didn’t take anything from you, Briggs. You lost her all on your own. You never treasured her like she needed to be. You loved your job more and took her for granted, and never truly appreciated the gift you had. The only one true thing you did for her was take care of her when she lost our son. For that, I will always be grateful to you for getting her through those tough months that followed, but if I ever hear you spew ugly invectives about Reese again…I will rip out your filthy tongue.”

“She was mine! And you took her from me.”

“No! Samuel, she was never yours. Reese was always mine, and no matter how many years we spent apart, we always belonged to each other. My father lost, and you will too. No one will ever break us again. You have a daughter who loves you, and whose heart was broken when you didn’t show up to see her off. Why, man? Because of me? Well, don’t worry Samuel, because after my son dried her tears, Riley smiled again and left happily with him. If you want to shut her out because of your wounded pride, be my guest. But you will be the one who ends up alone.”

“I’m already there, you bastard. The life that I had here with Reese and Riley does not exist anymore because of you, and only you. Your privileged upbringing should have taught you not to covet another man’s wife.”

“Yes, and your upbringing should have taught you to listen when a woman says the word ‘No.’ Yes, I know about that too, Samuel.”

“I had every right, Reed. She was my wife!”

“Well, she is not anymore and will never be again. You need to accept that once and for all.”

“I hope you and your whore are very happy together.”

Motherfucker!
My eyes closed tightly, and I inhaled a deep breath before my fist made contact with his face. I knelt down and hit him again.

“Stay down, Briggs, because if you say one more word, I will fulfill my promise of ripping out your tongue. I have exercised every bit of control for Reese and Riley. You have proven here today that you do not deserve it.”

My back stiffened, and I felt her presence behind me. I slowly turned to see Reese standing in the doorway to the office.

“Walker, I’m ready to go.”

She walked over to me and reached for my hand. Samuel got up from the floor and wiped his bleeding mouth with his engraved handkerchief. As we held our hands, Reese turned to look at Samuel.

“I love
him
, Samuel. I never meant my love for him to hurt you.”

He stood in the empty room in silence as we walked out of his home and closed the door to another chapter in our story.

Two months later…

“ARE YOU FREAKING kidding me with this news? It has got to be the wall sex,” Freddy nearly shouted. I swatted his arm. “I am so happy for you, Peaches. Your man is going to plotz when you tell him.”

“You and your Yiddish words, Freddy. You know I love them, but I’m hoping for a less than freak out moment from Walker.”

“When is he expected home?” Freddy asked and looked at his watch.

“Any minute, my friend, so you have to leave. But I promise to call you tomorrow. I love you so much, and thank you for spending today with me. It feels like I have come full circle with my life with Walker, and I’m back here experiencing the same moment from so many years ago. Thank you for sharing this with me.”

“It’s my honor, baby girl. Give your hot man my love, and I’m holding you to your word.”

“You have my promise, best friend. You’re the one.” As we hugged each other, Walker arrived home.

“How many times do I need to tell you, Mac? Keep your hands off my woman!” He playfully said to Freddy. I leaped into Walker’s arms and soundly kissed him. Blowing me a kiss, Freddy slipped out the door.

“I am so happy you’re home, Walker!” I excitedly said.

“Yes, I can see that. So what were you two plotting? How did the dress fitting go? I can’t wait to see you in it, or take it off of you with my teeth. You look amazing, Reese. Let’s go to bed and make love until we pass out.”

“You read my mind, but can I tell you something first?”

“Anything.” He whispered and trailed more kisses down my neck. “You started a fire? And set up a picnic in front of the fireplace? Oh, baby, I love how you think.”

He shrugged off his jacket and loosened his tie. I wanted to rip his clothes off of him, but it would have to wait until he heard my news. He placed me on top of him and ran his fingers up my spine. He never took his eyes off of me and whispered how much he loved me. I closed my eyes and let his words wrap around me. The boy that nervously walked up to me in the library has become the man who I love more than anything in this world.

“Walker, these past few months have been amazing, and I have never been happier in all of my life. Your love—our love—has made me feel invincible and free. I don’t believe I will ever have the right words to express how I feel about you, but I can show you in about six months.”

He continued to kiss me, and then when my words finally registered, he stopped and held my face. “I don’t understand, Reese. Our wedding is in a few weeks, what is happening in six months?” he nervously asked. I quickly wanted to calm him, so I smiled and kissed him.

“Something wonderful, Walker. Not only will we be ringing in the New Year as newlyweds, but we will also be celebrating the upcoming arrival of our new baby! I’m pregnant, Walker, and you will soon be a father to our little girl!” Tears were now streaming down his face as he gently kissed me on my lips.

“A baby? Oh my god, Reese, we’re having a baby?”

“Yes, we are. I wanted to make sure everything was okay with the pregnancy before telling you.”

“Is everything okay?” He nervously questioned.

“It is. Our daughter is growing as she should be, and we are both healthy.”

“I love you so much, Reese. Thank you for making me a father again.” Walker, now ever so gently placing me down, hovered over me. He unbuttoned my blouse and placed kisses on my stomach.

“Hey there, little one. I’m your daddy. I love you, princess.” He wrapped himself around me and never stopped kissing me. We made love in front of the fireplace and recited new promises for our growing family.

Loving Walker Reed was effortless. All he ever asked of me was to trust him, and he would do the rest. I did completely, and I would for the rest of my life. Everything we went through has led us here to this moment. We truly had become two hearts, one love, and now that same love had blessed us with a daughter. I couldn’t be certain when our daughter was conceived, but Freddy’s ideas made me laugh out loud.

Joking aside, I believe it could have happened at Clover Lake. The old fashioned ones like my Nana say: If you wish upon a four leaf clover and then see a falling star on the same night, your wishes will come true.

I learned my lesson a long time ago not to doubt Nana and her predictions. After making love in our meadow, Walker and I did witness a falling star, and we both laughed. Nana always believed that my connection with Walker was stronger than anything in the world. Our love would see us through the hard times and make us stronger in the end.

As always, she was right, and I never minded telling her so. Her beliefs easily rubbed off on my man. Walker had once said to me that Pottersville was a magical place and would always hold a special meaning for the two of us.

Nana was the one that made me believe in unconditional love.

Walker made me believe in everlasting love.

He was my Happily Ever After.

I believed in our love.

I believed in him.

I believed in our
Second Chance at Forever
.

The End…for now

Walker and Reese’s love story concludes in

Book Three of the Forever Series:

Our Forever Promise

WHEN I FIRST began writing the
Forever
series, Book One was actually supposed to be
Second Chance at Forever
. I practically wrote the stories in reverse, not knowing where it was leading and second guessing myself into thinking whether I could really write it into a trilogy. I was so happy that I had many cheerleaders in my corner that never gave up on me or the story of Walker and Reese.

I have been blessed with the support of friends and fellow authors in the writing community who help me in so many ways. They offer up their friendships with unconditional love and support. You don’t have to know a person or people for a lifetime to call them Family. I have been accepted into The Sisterhood. They are a group of many talented women from all over the country who I have come to know, respect, and admire. You will always hold a special place in my heart.
Wendy Ferraro, Alice Tribue, Tracey Manning, and Mindy Guerreiros:
I love you gals. The universe got it right when it brought us all together.

I have the best fans that follow me and support my work. I have a few stand outs that make me smile every day. Not one post gets missed by you ladies, and I am so very thankful for your support.
Thank you to Angela Seattle, Emine Fougner, Nancy Gennes Metsch, and Donna Lottmann.
Your comments make me laugh out loud. Thank you, friends, for making me smile.

I can’t forget Ella Frank
, another sister author who I love and respect so much. I almost fell over when she bought my books. I think I recall telling her that even if it takes 5 years for you to read them, just knowing you have them is pretty cool. I’ve had the pleasure to spend some time with Ella and laugh with her over a Cosmo. I love her street team.
Jen Gerschick, MJ Fryer, and Candace Wood,
you all are fabulous. Thank you for your friendships.

Thank you to Mindy Guerreiros
for our daily chats. You are an amazing beta reader, and yes, I do listen. Your feedback was invaluable to my story. You also helped me bring my vision of “Walker” to life. You found the perfect picture to grace my cover. Speaking of which…
Thank you, Renee Ericson,
for designing my book cover. It’s epic. You’re a rock star. I love it, and it’s exactly how I envisioned it to be.

To Julie Titus of JT Formatting
, your talent astounds me. Once I hand over my work to you, I leave it in your very creative hands. You know exactly what I want and make my book look beautiful. Thank you, my friend.

My thank you’s would not be complete without mentioning my favorite bloggers. You ladies are great at what you do. You take time out of your busy lives to read and do so much for authors. I am very grateful for all the help and support you have lent me:

Natalie Catalano of Love Between the Sheets
, thank you for organizing my cover reveals and blog tours. They are so much fun, and I love that I have gotten to know so many of you in the blogging world:

Abby & Lisa
– Abby & Lisa’s Book Blog

Amber
– Lady Ambers Reviews

Cris
– The Book Avenue Review

Debra & Tami
– The Book Enthusiast

Evette
– Sassy Girl Book Reviews

Mindy –
Talkbooks Blog

Ren
– A Little Bit of R&R

Sheraka
– Crazy, Chaotic Book Babes

Tanya
– The Book Obsessed Momma

Tara
– Halos and Horns Book Blog

Tiffany
– Once Upon A Twilight Blog

Verna
– Verna Loves Books

You ladies all rock! From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you. Your support means so much. I hope you love what I have written for Walker and Reese. If I get a message saying, “Damn you, Mary Wasowski!” then I know I did my job.

Xoxo

Saving the Best for Last…

A WRITER CAN create this imaginary story about the perfect book couple. Throughout the pages the story can take you many places. You can experience many emotions while reading what is played out in front of you, but it takes the talent of an editor to perfect it. Oh, how I love bamboozling the two people in my life that help me make my book what it is.

Joe Marron:
Thank you for all of your time and energy spent on making
Second Chance at Forever
perfect. You have such a talent at wielding words. I loved our editing sessions where we laughed the entire time. You made this arduous task seem effortless and constantly made me smile. You were there for me on the tougher days when I just wanted to give up. Your humor and words of encouragement got me through it, and for that, my friend, I am forever thankful.