Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Reed smiles. Dad won’t say it directly, but he isn’t going to stop us from running. As much as it burdens him, Dad won’t arrest the man who saved his little girl.
“I’m sure both the man who took her and your daughter are thankful for the opportunity. Hell, who knows? Maybe they’ll see you again someday on some sunny island in the middle of nowhere. It’s in God’s hands now,” Reed finishes.
He takes my hand in his, and together, we run—back through the warehouse and out into the night. We giggle and laugh and pretend that everything is okay as we ride off onto our next adventure.
EPILOGUE
REED
Six Months Later
“Are you ready for this?” I ask, brushing a loose strand of black hair out of my face.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Valerie says, staring out the airplane’s tiny window at a city growing ever smaller as we soar into the clouds.
I sense no fear in her. No regrets or worries about the decisions we’ve made. She’s overflowing with beauty and radiance, ready for our next step. Together.
“Are you ready for this?” she asks with a sly smile.
“God, no,” I admit. “My heart’s thumping in my throat, and I might puke.”
She giggles and wrinkles her nose at my comment.
“Well, you’re a big boy. You’ll get through it.” Valerie takes my hand and runs her thumb over the golden band signifying our marriage. “You’ve trusted me this far. A little more faith won’t hurt you.”
“Faith isn’t the problem.” I lift her hand and brush her knuckles against my lips. “It’s hitting the ground that scares me.”
“We’re bound to hit the ground eventually. Just make sure you don’t do it too hard.” She smiles that smile that knocks the breath out of me.
“When did the roles reverse?” I raise a quizzical brow. “Isn’t it supposed to be me who’s strong, confident, and impossibly handsome?”
A cheeky smirk darts across Valerie’s face. “Well, you are impossibly handsome. The rest, I’m not so sure about.”
“You two, you’re next,” Bill Matherson interrupts us. The sheepish grin on his face says all I need to hear. The prick’s relishing in my fear.
Valerie slaps my thigh and gets up. “I’m so excited,” she squeals gleefully.
And it’s her sheer delight that has me on this plane, letting Bill strap me into a harness and a parachute. But Valerie’s beaming smile and the twinkle of nervous excitement in her eye make it all worth it. Her happiness, no matter how deeply it pains me to attain it, is the only thing that matters.
And Lord knows she likes to make it hurt.
When we’re dressed to jump, Valerie takes my hand in hers. She pulls me into her and presses our lips together in a tender kiss.
“I love you, Reed Murphy,” she whispers.
“And I love you. More than the moon and stars I’ll never see again,” I tease. She chuckles and breaks away from me.
Bill Matherson straps himself to my jumpsuit, and a lady I don’t know the name of does the same to Valerie. We stand beside the plane’s door. With one hard tug, it opens, and torrential air bursts into the cabin.
I take Valerie’s hand again, gripping it tight, as the four of us launch out of the airplane and hurtle toward the Earth.
And as we descend, I can’t hear the gleeful squeals she’s making. But her face shows the pure joy of a kid in a candy store. Her happiness, even in my terror, is all that matters.
Good Lord, I don’t pray nearly as much as I should. But right now, I ought to thank you for all the blessings you bestowed on me.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
VALERIE
Five Years Later
Reed’s arm snakes around my shoulder, and he pulls me with a kiss on the top of my head. He holds me tightly against his magnificent frame, staring at the calm blue ocean ahead of us.
If someone told me this is where life would lead, I’d think they were crazy. The daughter of a small-town cop, living a life of carefree luxury beneath the warm, tropical sun. I still wake up some mornings expecting it to be a dream. To see my old room in Aurora, hearing my dad cooking bacon and eggs, and preparing for another long day of selling clothes in the mall.
But every morning, I wake up in Reed’s strong arms. He holds me close to his chest, and the gentle rhythm of his breathing is a soothing reminder of our perfect life together.
“Can I get you two anything to drink?” Dad asks, shimmying and shuffling from his lawn chair buried in the sand.
Reed’s nervous eyes snap to him like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Uhm, sure. I’ll have a beer.”
My biggest fear of following Reed into the unknown was that I’d never see my dad again. He let us run, even though he knew the consequences of being caught would be dire. Beyond even that, I feared that my dad would hate Reed for taking me away.