AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve texted her, and she’s taking the Jeep to the hospital. She’ll be there when we arrive.”
Sadie slowly nodded, and I realized she knew what I'd just realized.
I wasn’t going to make it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sadie
One Year Later
Everything reminded me of Zack Parker as I walked through the woods at his house. The autumn chill in the air skated across my skin as I breathed in the sweet smell of maple leaves. I stopped at the tree where he’d kissed me so tenderly last year.
The turning point.
I bent down, picked up a scarlet leaf, and closed my eyes, breathing in the cold air and feeling closer to Zack than ever.
That moment when I realized that I wanted more. I needed more. I had to stop blaming my traumatic past for my chaotic future. That moment was right here in Zack’s arms as his lips touched down to mine.
And it was Zack who showed me what bravery could create.
A new world.
New beginnings.
I realized I couldn’t blame the man who carried me out of the storm and into the light. He was my light.
My therapist was very wrong.
He didn’t remind me of the bad event. He represented the good in the world. He always had.
Zack Parker had always been the man who was meant to show me what love could be and how it should be.
I was just blinded by my own history to see it until it was almost too late.
And I was so grateful for the time I had with Zack. He showed me so much during a time when I thought my life and my freedom had ended forever.
I let out a wistful sigh as I walked through the woods to a clearing at the base of a large hill.
This had been my secret dream. The one I knew I should never voice because of how ridiculous it sounded. And then I told Zack, and he believed in me.
In the vision.
And he had one of his own.
“I’ll never let you go, Zack Parker. Your heart is always with mine,” I whispered, letting the leaf float to the ground as I made my way down the hill.
A six-month-old golden retriever yapped in the distance, circling a newly fenced pasture. A red barn erected at the end of the property had an empty ladder propped on the edge, the last of the white trim being painted.
The last of Zack’s and my dreams melded into one.
If only…
“Come here, Sugar Beans,” I hollered at the puppy.
The golden retriever clumsily galloped on his oversized paws in the grass in a desperate attempt to run toward me. She knew I always had a piece of cheese.
I bent down as Sugar Beans dove into me, pushing me over. I laughed so hard as her cold, slick tongue smacked my cheek as my feet kicked in the air.
