Page 54 of Here With Me (Paloma's Edge 2)

I began to read along with Hunter and wondered if he and Chase would have any sort of closure. Did closure really exist? Wasn’t it like a diplomatic way of saying “move the hell on?”

Dear Hunter,

I’ll let you in on a little secret that parents shouldn’t tell their children—parentsdo have favorites. It may be because we have more in common with one child than the other, or because one child reminds us of ourselves more than the next, but, whatever the reason, it’s true.

If you’re reading this letter, however, it means that I am at my final resting place. Because of that, I am taking the liberty to breach the unwritten parent code; when I’d held you in my arms for the first time and looked at your red, veiny, alien-face, I thought you were the ugliest baby I’d ever seen. But, as your father had Chase in his arms and I’d looked back down at you, I loved you so much I didn’t know what to do with the intense feeling. You were my favorite from then on, and Chase had been your father’s. You know that. I believe that you’ve known that since you could see as an infant.

As a mother, my oath had been to never harm you, but to uplift you. I’d taught you to drown your feelings in a bottle. When your Nana had died, I just didn’t care much for my responsibilities. But my love for you never wavered. Your Nana had reminded me of my own mother, who had been so sweet, and a spitfire too. I’d seen you sneak into the kitchen to drink whiskey. I hadn’t helped you. I’d handicapped you and you turned to cocaine.

I’d forced you to leave the house, because I couldn’t help you. I couldn’t help myself. I was miserable. I want you and Chase to walk this world as a unit. I know you’ll succeed in all of your endeavors. I want you to live and love. And please know that I love you. In life and in death.

Your mother.

Hunter folded the letter and placed it back inside of the envelope. She’d loved him with everything she’d had and it looked like Hunter had feared that she’d given up on him, but she hadn’t.

“Mariska, we love you,” he told me in Spanish. I could tell that he’d been speaking more in Spanish recently. It had to be due to the increase in his Spanish-speaking clientele.

I extended my ear out to him like I hadn’t heard him and he leaned into me, nipping my earlobe, and a burst of laughter erupted from my chest. Then, the fireworks started to shoot out in the sky. And I felt like this was a new beginning for us.

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HERE’S THE PROLOGUE AND FIRST CHAPTER OF

DRAWN TO YOU, THE FIRST BOOK IN THE PALOMA’S

EDGE SERIES.

Prologue

Four days ago…

Chase

Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking .— H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (Life’s Little Instruction Book)

IN A BLINK OF an eye, I missed her. And with my luck, I’d never see her again.

I’d waved to Scott, one of my teammates and friends, as he got into his Explorer and began his drive back to Ohio for the summer. I turned away from the girl for the slightest moment. She’d stood at the end of a long, crowded line for the bus.

A middle-aged man had passed by the girl. His hands were full. Bills fell out of the side of his pocket. No one else in the line had noticed. They’d been chatting with other people, anxiously waiting for the first-come-first-serve bus. The major benefit: the bus was cheap. The girl, however, had noticed. She’d picked up the bills and had run after the guy to return his money to him. Grateful, he’d made a gesture in what had to be an offer for some cash in return. But she’d declined and he’d left. Her suitcase had been tossed farther back. When she’d gotten back on the line, it’d increased in size.

Before I’d observed her look out for a complete stranger, I was gonna try to talk to her, ’cause she looked good in her t-shirt, sweatpants, and sneakers.

After my appointment with my coach, I had promised myself that if she was still there when I came out of my meeting in fifteen minutes, I’d give her a drive to where she needed to go to get to her destination.

Chapter 1

Bethany

Beth, Sorry but love doesn’t wait for you to be ready for it. – Cindy, xoxo