What others have to say:
"Loved Maddy she was such a cutie ... can't wait to see how this story develops." ~ Maria T. - Goodreads
Blurb:
Unlucky is my middle name. My life as a singer-songwriter in a band I started with my best friend isn’t getting anywhere. I’m curvy and being thin is apparently important for a musical career. When my high school sweetheart and I get married, I find him kissing my best friend. Of course I didn’t put up with it.
Broken and depressed, I run away from everything I know, but even my car breaks down. Like I said … luck is not on my side.
Until I meet Jack …
Maintaining a ranch isn’t easy. I’ve got more work than time. Spare time is a luxury I can’t afford and won’t give into. When I spend one moment alone with my thoughts, I’m done for. Alcohol becomes my friend, because I can’t bear to feel the misery inside my heart.
I hate who I’ve become. Sorrow eats me up, but I won’t let anyone see. I need to keep on living, keep on fighting, and do everything on my own. For her, my little angel. She’s all I have left.
Until I meet Amy …
Lost in misery, love is our salvation
Excerpt (Jack's POV):
Her phone
buzzes, and she stops working to check it. She’s leaning against the open door
of the stables, probably reading a text message. Her gloomy face worries me.
She sniffs,
and her body starts shaking. Oh shit. This doesn’t look good. She squints, her
lips quivering and moving down. Oh, please, no. Don’t start crying, please,
don’t cry.
Her eyes
are getting watery, and before I know it she runs out the stable.
“Amy!” I
holler, but she doesn’t stop.
I go after
her. I need to know what’s bothering her so much that she’s crying all the
time. I can’t let someone around me be so sad. It hurts me, too.
She’s
clenching a fence somewhere up ahead, her blonde hair whisking in the wind. She
looks stunning. The breeze makes her whimpers almost inaudible. Almost. My
heart aches just from hearing it. I don’t want to see her sad.
I walk
toward her, but find her cell phone a few feet away from her. I pick it up and
hesitate, but I can’t stop myself from glancing shortly.
‘I’m sorry, Amy. I shouldn’t have kissed her.
Please, tell me this isn’t the end. XOXO, Ronnie.’
So she has
a boyfriend. Or had? I don’t know. Shit. I shouldn’t have looked at this. Fuck,
what am I doing? Amy’s crying, and now I know why. I should get over there and
comfort her.
I don’t
wait another second and walk up to her. She’s clenching the fence tight, as if
it’s the last thing she has to hold on to. I can her hear snivel, trying to
hold back the tears. Oh, Amy …
I stand
next to her and gaze at the field. It’s quiet for some time. I don’t know what
to do. I’m not good with this. If I were, I’d know how to comfort myself, but I
don’t.
“Want to
talk about it?” I say after a while.
She shakes
her head, but then another whimpering session begins. I rub over her shoulder
and try to soothe her as much as I can.
“My ex. He
kissed her. My best friend,” she
suddenly says.
Okay, so
she shakes her head, yet still talks? I swear I don’t get girls at all.
“On my
wedding day!” she yells.
Oh. That’s
fucking bad. Like hellish. “Shit …” is all I say. What else am I supposed to
say? She’s bawling her eyes out, and it’s all because of that fucking jerk. All
I can think of is wanting to crack him open and spit him out, spew shit about
him, and swear as if there’s no tomorrow, but I can’t do that. It’s her ex.
She’s crying over him, so that means she still cares about him. If I’d call him
all sorts of things I’m sure she’ll be angry with me instead of him.
“Yes, he’s
a fucking bastard!” she yells. “You cheating asshole!” she screams, leaning
over the fence as if she’s hoping the words will cross the land and find their
way to his ears.
Then she
turns around and buries her head in my chest.
My body
freezes. I gasp, pondering what to do. She’s crying against me, making my shirt
wet, and I all I can think of is wanting her closer. Damn, Jack, when did you
turn into such a sissy?
She wraps
her arms around my neck, howling swear words while sobbing. Oh, I give up. I
put my arms around her and pull her closer. She needs this. She needs me. I’m
not sure what I want or need, but I have to be here for her. She can use me to
cry onto. She can shout at me, beat me up, and crash into me. If it stops her
from feeling sad, I’ll do anything. I can’t bear to hear her cry. Not another
soul.
My hand
brushes back and forth over her back. I try to calm her down by shushing and
rocking sideways. She’s still crying, but it’s slowly lessening.
Suddenly I
feel something clench my leg and squeeze in between us.
Amy lets go
of me and peers down between our legs. Madeline pushed her way through and is
now hugging Amy’s leg.
“Don’t cry,
Amy,” she says.
Amy wipes
the tears from her cheeks and pats Madeline on the head. We look at each other,
momentarily. She doesn’t need to say anything to let me know she’s thankful
that I was here when she needed someone.
Madeline
quickly runs off, cramming herself through the fence, and into the field. We
watch her dart around, picking flowers as she goes. She comes back and holds
them up to Amy.
“For you.”
A smile
slowly creeps onto Amy’s face. She gets on her knees, ignoring the fact that
her jeans get dirty, and takes the flowers from Madeline. “Aw. They’re lovely.”
She leans closer and beckons Madeline to lean closer too. “Thank you very much,
Madeline.”
“You’re
welcome!” Maddy giggles and runs off to chase the birds that are eating the
leftover grain.
Amy watches
Madeline before standing up again. Her eyes are still red and swollen, but her
depressed face is gone. I can see she’s already falling in love with my sweet
Maddy, just like everyone else who meets her. I chuckle. Of course she is.
“What?” she
says.
“Oh, nothing.”
She gives
me a quick jab against the shoulder, and makes me step back. This girl’s got
some punch in her. Didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect her to get over her
sadness so quickly, either. It’s admirable. I guess in that way she’s stronger
than me.
She looks
at me, stares at me even, and I feel embarrassed. Her perpetual gaze is
petrifying me. I know she can see it. See underneath all of the layers, all of
the jokes that I hide behind. It’s as if she’s peering into my soul, gazing at
all the destruction I’ve done. Gazing at the ruin that is my life.
A chill
crawls under my skin. I don’t want her to look at me like that, as if they can
see all the hurt. As if they think they can do something about it. I don’t want
anyone delving up my screwed up history. There’s no reason and no way in hell
I’m going to let that happen. Unveiling what I’ve tried to bury for so long
will kill me.
I clear my throat. “Let’s get back to work, if
you’re ready.”
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