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He’d written his vows months before the wedding and when he had stood up next to her, he hadn’t needed a piece of paper to remember them. It wasn’t until months later, when he had been gone, that she had gotten a letter from him, one that included those very vows.
Sweetheart.
Right about now, you’re missing me something terrible. I know because I miss you even more. But I wanted you to have this. I wanted you to know that from the day we got married, I’ve carried this with me. Carried you with me.
I love you, Melanie.
Vows….
Melanie sweetheart, I’ve loved you since I saw you the first day of sixth grade, and I will love you till the day I die. I could go on about how you make me stronger, or how you make me want to be a better man, and it would all be true. But the real truth is that when I look into the future, there is nothing there but you. I can’t picture my life without you, and I don’t want to. So thank you for loving me, thank you for being here for me, and thank you for being my bride.
Her sobs turned to wails as she clutched the letter to her chest and gave in to her heartache.
How was she supposed to go on if James was gone?
CHAPTER6
MAC
Mac sighed and stopped knocking. Pulling his coat closer to him, he thought about what he should do as he looked around, eyeing the snow piles that were glistening in the evening light.
Honestly, even though it was Christmas Eve, and even though he knew that Melanie shutting herself inside and not letting anyone in was bad, he had to admit he understood.
Pop and everyone in town wanted to help her, to the point that he knew they were dropping by unannounced. His Pop had been by just that morning, but if it was him, he wouldn’t want people in his face. Even if they were worried.
More than worried.
They had all known that today would hit her hard, as it did every year. But she was shutting them out to where they couldn’t help her. He wanted to remind her of who James was and that he wouldn’t have wanted this for her, but it seemed almost cruel to bring James into it, so he settled instead.
“Melanie honey, I’ll leave, and I’ll let you be, but please, honey… Remember, you aren’t alone,” he murmured to the door, hoping that she heard him.
Ever since he was fifteen years old, and he had come to live with his dad, he had seen it as a job to help take care of his sisters.
He had personally seen what happened when a person didn’t have a family surrounding them and caring for them. And when a teenage boy is suddenly thrusted into a world where nobody has secrets and family is everything, it does more than just throw you for a loop.
It changes the way you see the world.
He just whished there was something he could do to help Melanie.
He climbed into his truck and headed down the hill, feeling like he had failed.
God, James…. We need you, man.
She needs you.
CHAPTER7
JAMES
PAST
“Where are we going?” she whined, trying to lift the edge of the cloth he had tied around her head. He reached out and swatted at her hands for what had to be the hundredth time.
The next time he decided to surprise her, he wasn’t going to tell her beforehand. She did not handle surprises that well.
It was fucking cute, though.
“I told you, it’s a surprise.”
