Angel of Mine (33 page)

Kimi –
You’re not just my critique partner; I consider you one of the most incredible friends I have. Without your constant guidance and support, this book would not have made it past page one. It’s an honour to be able to work with someone as talented, genuine and loyal as you every day.

Katie –
You have a heart of gold that touches everyone you meet and I consider myself lucky to call you a friend.
Thank you for putting a smile on my face each and every day. You mean the world to me.

Heather -
Thank you for all your support. It was a joy to hear your bright and bubbly voice on the phone every day as you helped me get through this journey and gave me strength not to give up. I couldn’t have done it without you girl.

Debi and Elle -
I will never be able to show you just how much I appreciate the endless late nights and early mornings you spent working with me, but I will try. The complete devotion you showed in helping me finish this book did not go unnoticed. This story would not be what it is without you. Love you girls.

Steph -
Thank you for making me laugh more than I ever thought possible; you have a way with words. I loved reading all your wonderful notes after hours of hard work.

Lea -
Thank you for all your Photoshop help along the way. I really appreciate it
.

Teri -
Thank you for all your kind words of encouragement that helped to keep me going.

Angel –
Thank you for all you your help on the Australian side of things, I would be lost without you.

Allie, Jolene and Nyrae –
You inspired me to follow my dreams. Your books bring joy to my life. I aspire to one day be able to write with as much skill as you all do.

Allie –
I can never thank you enough for my beautiful cover. I love it. You are one talented lady.

To all of the many blogs that helped to promote me –
Thank you for all the time and effort you put in for me, I’m forever grateful.

A big thank you to
Natasha
from Natasha Is A Book Junkie and
Kristy
from Book Addict Mumma. All your help when I had questions about my story was greatly appreciated.

To every one of the ladies I have mentioned in this acknowledgement, may God bless your souls. You make this world a better place.

Connect with me:

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/jessica.louise.94009

Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7085486.Jessica_Louise

Email

[email protected]

What happens when you find the one person who completes you, and then life conspires against you? How do you set your grief and anguish aside? How do you pick up the shattered pieces, put those pieces back together again, and try to move on?

Katie and Tripp met on the playground the first day of third grade when Tripp tried to rescue Katie from Zack, her twin brother. A lifelong friendship that later blossomed into love began that day.

Broken beyond her own ability to repair, Katie boxes her grief up and attempts to raise her three girls the best she can on her own. As time slowly passes, Katie relives her times with Tripp while struggling most days to even get out of bed. She is reminded of him at every turn.

Zack is Katie’s twin brother and was Tripp’s best friend. Having lost his own love, he dedicates himself to helping Katie put her life back together. Throw in a mother-in-law who torments at every turn and poor Katie can’t even find a chance to breathe, much less a desire to somehow search for tomorrow.

Who is Tripp, you ask? Well, that is fairly easy to explain. Tripp was my best friend, my lover, my confidant, my soul mate. He was the salt to my pepper. He was the peanut butter to my chocolate. He gave me love and hope and joy. Together we created our three beautiful girls and together we looked at the world as ours to conquer. In short, he was my other half; the part that completed me.

Tripp and I met in 1992. It was the first day of the new school year and we were starting the third grade. Mom had made me wear this frilly pink dress and these hideous pink and white ribbons in my hair. During recess, all the kids went out to the playground for recess. The tire swing was my favorite thing to play on. Tripp saw me fighting with a boy who was trying to take the tire swing from me and decided he would come rescue me. He had no idea that the boy he rescued me from was my twin brother Zack who was quite used to trading punches with me. He quickly learned that fact when I joined forces with Zack to ‘take that little twerp down’! From that day forward Zack, Tripp and I were inseparable. Like Tripp always said, “If you can’t beat them, join them!” He introduced himself to us as Channing, and we let him keep that name for a short while. The change from Channing to Tripp was just the beginning of the start of our new life together.

A past that haunts can be laid to rest through the act of forgiveness, even if the person you forgive is yourself. It must be gifted freely. Abby Sullivan cherishes the life she is creating for herself in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California. She adores her best friend and supportive family. Her job as a kindergarten teacher offers her life hope and purpose. She is very talented at many things, especially hiding the pain of her past. That is until her world collides with Caleb Hunter’s, giving them both a lesson in forgiveness and love. A life changing love is cruelly snatched by sickness and death. A person must be willing to give love, the greatest gift of all, to receive love. A successful writer, Caleb is living life day-to-day. Giving refuge to his sad and lonely heart since his wife’s sudden death from cervical cancer, his primary focus becomes honoring her memory by rearing their five-year-old daughter, Madison. Yet, when Madison Hunter walks into Miss Abby’s kindergarten class, everything changes for all three of them. With a little nudge from a loving mother-in-law who has everyone’s best interest at heart, anything is possible, especially when forgiveness and love gift even more blessings than ever imaginable.

“No, please.” He choked out. “I can’t do this without you.” His chest was tight. Agony strangled his heart with its greedy hands. Caleb shook his head as tears fell from his swollen eyes that had witnessed his wife go through so much hell that past year. Softly, he whispered while closing his tired lids and tilting his head back, “Please don’t take her.” The corner of his lips trembled when he sucked in a shaky breath. This was not the way to let her go. Their family and friends gathered in the brightly lit room, witnessing him behaving with such desperation. The life he’d created with his wife Rene was crashing down all around, shredding his soul into pieces like glass shards of a shattering window, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. The smell of sickness and death lingered in the air, assaulting his nostrils and lungs. This scent would be ingrained in his memories forever.

“It’s okay Caleb.” Her chest rose up and down as she labored to take in shallow breaths. His gaze fell upon her sunken eyes. Laying in the hospital bed she’d spent entirely too much time in, she let out another painful moan. “Everything is going to be fine. You know I’m going to a better place. We will be together again.” Rene gave an exhausted cough, further proof of her lengthy suffering.

“I know, but I can’t let you go.” With quivering hands, he leaned over to stroke her cheek, using the pad of his thumb while holding the side of her neck. His long fingers extended to her nape. “You are my everything.” A trembling hand touched his shoulder, attempting to provide comfort. Caleb didn’t need to look up to know it was his mother-in-law, Grace. Everyone in the confined space of the hospital room had said goodbye to Rene before Caleb took the seat beside her bed. Now that her end was so close, he wished more than anything that they all would leave. He couldn’t ask anyone to do that though. They were all hurting.

He sensed in her once brilliant blue eyes that she only had moments left. With a weak smile, she whispered so softly it was difficult to hear, “I love you. Please make sure Madison knows how much I love her too.” Her labored breaths came few and far between, and she winced with the effort it simply took to breathe. She spoke those last words before falling into a morphine-induced slumber. A nurse stayed close administering the pain medication as needed to ensure Rene’s comfort.

With tear streaked cheeks, Caleb bent down, gently placing his trembling lips onto hers. “I love you too. I always will.” The woman he’d counted on spending the rest of his life with took her last breath under his kiss. The piercing hum of the heart monitor confirmed what he couldn’t bear to accept; she was gone.

“No, no, no! Come back to me, please!” Caleb’s violent sobs echoed throughout the room while he gripped his wife’s withered, unresponsive body.