Nepenthe (Bracing for Love #2) (32 page)

She smiles. “I think I have an idea.” Olivia leans forward until her lips are a breath away from mine. “I love you too.” She presses her lips to mine and allows me to get lost in her, to forget about my troubles, and savor the girl before me.

“I SHOULD HAVE invited Grant,” Lucy sighs. We're in the first intermission at the hockey game and the only one who even knows a little about hockey is Lucy, which doesn't mean anything to us because she can't explain it to us in sports terms. “He could tell you what was happening. Sorry.”

“It's okay, Luce. I have some basic knowledge already.” I have to say, attending a game in person has nothing on watching it on TV. I can see why Lucy loves it so much, even if her love is biased because of Grant. She seems to have a special liking for all goalies especially. I'm sitting on the end, so I look down at all my siblings. “How are your classes going?”

“Good,” they all reply.

“I'm so ready to be done,” Jon adds. “I already have another job lined up and I'm moving out.”

At this, Lucy and Patrick turn to look at him with surprise. He texted me last week, telling me of his plans, but I hear it again as he tells them.

“I want to move in with Gina,” his girlfriend, “so that's what I'm going to do. I'm sure Jamal would move in if you asked him, Patrick. He could help cover rent.”

“What job?” Lucy questions. He tells her before hesitating as he adds where it is. “That's over two hours away, isn't it?” She frowns.

Patrick wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, you'll still have me, and Corey is sort of close.”

“Right. I'm proud of you, Jon.”

He smiles. “Thanks, Luce.”

I have to say I'm pretty proud with how she handled that. Sometimes, I think we were more overbearing than overprotective, because she has moments that clearly show she doesn't want us to part ways, even if we promise to keep in contact. Another reason I'm thankful she has Grant.

“Everything still good with you and your job, Corey?” Jon asks.

“Yeah.” Here's my opportunity to do my homework, so with a deep breath, I say, “I love carpentry. It's cool to learn about the things Dad did.”

All of their eyes widen. Is it really that shocking that I brought up my parents? Yeah, I guess it is. Hell, I'm surprised I said it with relative ease.

“So when something needs fixing at the house, I can call you?” Patrick grins.

I laugh. “Sure. I charge, though.”

“Okay, sssh,” Lucy tells us. “Second period is starting.”

Spending time with my siblings feels so good. I'm kind of glad Olivia refused to come. It's been a while since it was just the four of us. It's been even longer since I was in a good place when I was around them. Finally, as I sit in this large, chilled-air arena with my siblings and a smile on my face, I feel like I've truly made progress. Sure, last week wasn't all that great, but bad days will always be around the corner. However, I know how to handle them in a healthy way now. For the most part, that's what I try to do.

After the game, we eat cake at Patrick and Jon's house. I don't stay long since I intend on driving home tonight. Standing, I pat my brothers' shoulders. “Thanks for the cake and the game. I should get going.”

“Welcome,” they reply as I move to Lucy.

She stands and gives me a hug. “Tell Olivia thank you,” she whispers in my ear.

“For what?” I ask just as quietly.

“For helping give me my brother back.”

I squeeze her extra hard for a moment before kissing her temple and releasing her. “Love y'all,” I tell them, and then I drive home with a smile on my face.

MY FOOTBALL HAS been staring at me all morning. I wonder if Olivia knew what she was doing by leaving it here, because it obviously worked. With ease, I pick it up, tossing it into the air. It's a small comfort to be able to do such a simple action again. I glance to my door, picturing Olivia in my head. The words she said to me the day she brought it over replay in my head.

In a split second, I make a decision. Since it was so late when I got home last night, I haven't seen her yet. She's supposed to come over later for us to do something for my birthday, but I want to see her now. I slip on my shoes before exiting my apartment and crossing the hall to hers. I knock twice. Seconds later, Olivia opens the door. I don't give her a chance to speak. Instead, I hold up my football.

“Will you throw this with me? You know, for my future children.” I smirk. After a brief pause, I add, “And for me.”

Olivia smiles. “Of course.” She steps outside and we put distance between ourselves in the hallway, one of us at each end. “I've never actually thrown a football, so don't laugh at me.”

A laugh leaves me anyway. “Don't worry. I've probably forgotten how to. We'll learn together.”

All is right in the world. My girl is smiling. We're happy. I'm about to make a big step by doing this, and I feel more like myself than I ever have. I'm Corey Kennedy, man, brother, boyfriend, carpenter, sufferer of depression, and former football player. No one thing defines who I am. I still have a lot of issues to work through, like talking with my siblings about my parents, but I'm making progress. As long as I have those things to allow me to forget my sorrows every now and again, I can keep making progress. Between my job, Olivia, and my siblings, the future is looking pretty damn good.

After
Bracing the Blue Line
, I wasn't committed to the idea of writing Corey's book because I knew it would be hard for me. I wrote his story with the purpose of planting the opportunity to give him his own book, but I was hesitant to jump on that opportunity. Depression is something I'm familiar with and I know first hand that writing a book like this would be difficult. I knew it would be emotionally and mentally taxing on me. I was so nervous about writing it, much less letting others read it.

Then, I met the book blogger behind The Sarcastic Palmtree and the person this book is dedicated to, Kristalyn. She gave me strength. If not for her, I wouldn't have started writing this book, and I wouldn't have made it to the end. This book simply would not have happened without her.

In a way, she's my Olivia. She pushed me, encouraged me, and was with me every chapter along the way. Kristalyn
gets
it. She gets me just like she understands Corey and his battle with depression. That fact alone is one reason why I wrote this book. Sometimes, we need the reminder that someone else in this big world understands and that we are not alone. We need the reminder that we are stronger than our battles. We need to remember that there's hope even in our darkest hour.

I'm so very thankful for the reading community. It's how I met the wonderful person that is Kristalyn. She's become one of my closest friends and I'd be lost without her. I could go on and on about how wonderful she is, but I'll refrain for now.

So, Kristalyn, thank you. Thank you for being you, for reaching out to me in the first place, for taking the time to be with me every chapter of this book, to provide your wise, detailed feedback, and for being my friend. Thank you for providing those words of encouragement, whether about the book or about me and my personal troubles. Thank you for being the person I can turn to because I know you get it. Thank you for everything. I hope I am at least half the friend you are to me, because even at half, you're freaking amazing. Thank you.

I also need to send a thank you to my fantastic beta readers for giving me their time and feedback. Thank you, Andrekia, Heidi, and Michael.

Shannon Page, thank you for editing my book and being an absolute pleasure to work with.

Robin from Wicked by Design, thank you for working with me and giving me a cover that fits my book so perfectly.

Lastly, thank you, reader, for taking a chance on Corey's journey to finding his nepenthes as he falls in love.

LINDSAY PAIGE IS the author of the Bold as Love series,
Don't Panic
,
You Before Me
, and the Bracing for Love series. She is also the coauthor of The Penalty Kill Trilogy and the Oh Captain, My Captain series.

She has three passions in life: reading, writing, and watching hockey, especially the Pittsburgh Penguins. Among the pile of books to read, stories to write, and games to watch, Lindsay is also focused on completing college.

Lindsay resides in North Carolina and is inspired by world around her and the people in it. Many of the aspects in her books stem from her love for hockey and her struggles in life and with anxiety, as evident in
Don't Panic
.

She is currently working on numerous solo works and a couple of projects with coauthor Mary Smith as well.

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