Find Me in Manhattan (Finding #3) (25 page)
Read Find Me in Manhattan (Finding #3) Online
Authors: Shealy James
“Would you like something to eat or drink, Michael?” Mrs. Grant offered. “Coffee, tea, water?”
“Beer?” Mr. Grant followed up only to be one-upped by Seth adding, “Whiskey?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
“Seth says you’ve been calling to check on Sarah. Mind telling us what business you have with her?”
“No, sir. I…I guess we were dating. She had interviewed me for her study. When we left, I saw that guy Jameson grab her. I intervened. When I didn’t feel comfortable letting her go home alone, I invited her to my friends’ place. We have a weekly poker game. After that, Sarah and I became friends. I didn’t even realize how I felt about her until she left.”
“That sounds familiar,” Mrs. Grant commented dryly and gave Mr. Grant a knowing look.
Seth snickered while Mr. Grant cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. He patted his wife’s hand and said, “Don’t interrupt his story, hun.” Then he turned back to me. “Go on, now.”
No pressure.
Sarah
He was here.
He was here.
In Alabama.
In my parents’ house.
He was here.
He was here.
I was officially freaking out.
As soon as his back had turned, I darted around the wraparound porch and headed straight for the barn. I had been pacing the length of the barn in front of all twelve stalls ever since. The horses were confused. I was confused. Raine was whinnying and kicking like she was in a Broadway musical.
Calm down, girl. I’m trying to think.
Finally, I’d had enough of my cowardly behavior. I marched myself right back up to the main house, straight to the backdoor, and froze when I heard their voices. The door was open, letting the spring air float through the screen door.
Know what else travels through screen doors? Sound. That’s what!
I quietly snuck up beside the door to hear better, and that was when I heard the voice I had been missing so much. “I’d actually prefer to speak with Sarah if you don’t mind.”
I threw open the door before Daddy could say another word. “He doesn’t,” I announced. “They don’t. Mind that is.”
Daddy stood and walked over to the coffeemaker. He poured his coffee and turned back toward us. “There’s something you should know, Michael. Us men? We’re all a work in progress.” Then he left the room. Seth squeezed my shoulder and followed Daddy out of the room.
“Well, I guess I should go, too. Just so you know, we’ll all be listening from the other room,” Mama teased cheerfully as she slowly walked from the kitchen. I would have been embarrassed if I had processed anything beyond the fact that Michael was here.
Why would he be here to see me?
Then it all clicked.
Michael
Once it was only the two of us, I moved around the table. “Sarah, I-”
She had tears in her eyes and held up her hand to stop me. “Don’t,” she said.
“What?” I felt the despair creep in. I knew getting her back was a long shot after the way I had sent her away. I didn’t expect her family to be so accommodating, though. I felt optimistic after talking to them, especially with the way her mother was looking at me like I was the golden ticket. Now, I wasn’t so sure. Sarah didn’t want to hear what I had to say.
“You love me.” It was a statement.
She didn’t even let me say the words first. “You’re the only girl in the world I would drive fifteen hours to see.”
“You love me?” The hopeful expression on her face gutted me. I needed to see that look. I needed her to need me, to want me. And I, without a doubt, needed and wanted her.
I gently lifted my hand to cup her cheek and ran my thumb across the soft skin I found there. “Yes. Of all the things I am sure of, that is at the top of the list. I am one hundred percent out of my mind in love with you, Sarah Grant.”
“You drove here.”
“Yes.”
“In a car.”
“Yes.”
“Alone.”
“Yes.”
“Did you go to Dr. Reed?”
“Also, yes.”
“What do you want from me?” She was asking the question I hoped for, the question I was prepared to answer.
“Everything.”
“Be more specific.”
The rapid-fire conversation had come to an end. It was time for confessions. “I want you to come back to New York and finish your degree there. I want you to do whatever it is you dream of doing. I want you to let me support you and let me love you. I want to be with you every step of the way.”
“I don’t know.” She frowned. Her lip was tucked under her teeth as she looked down to the ground.
“You aren’t sure about me? Sarah, I-”
“No,” she interrupted me again. “Not you. I’m not sure about going back to New York even if I miss it terribly.”
“You want to be with me, though?”
She laughed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Yes, Michael. That was never a question. I’m crazy in love with you too, you know. I have been miserable without you. Had you wanted me to stay, I would have never left, no matter what Jameson did to me, no matter what my parents said. I would have stayed for you.”
I didn’t have the words to explain to her that I always wanted her but also needed the time to overcome my demons. I couldn’t have done that with her there. “I wanted you, Sarah, but I…you deserved more from me. You are the sunshine—light and heat and everything that makes the world a better place to live. You made me laugh, out loud, for the first time since I was a kid. I would have done anything to keep you safe and make you happy, but I wasn’t in a good place. My darkness would have eclipsed your light.”
“It did, Michael. That’s exactly what happened. Without you, I faded away. I never needed a man to shine, but not having you brought on a darkness unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Now, as much as I hate to admit needing anyone, I need you in order to shine.”
“How do I fix it? I want you and only you. I need you and only you. I will do whatever it takes to fix what I have done to you. I’m not perfect, but I’m in a good place and ready to be the man for you, the man you deserve.”
She bit her lip while she thought for a moment. I worried that she wasn’t going to give in to me. I was prepared to grovel if I had to. I wasn’t kidding when I said I would do whatever it took to get her back, to get her forever. I was preparing to say more when she smiled, and I swore her face lit up with all the brightness of the sun.
“I did deserve more than getting thrown away, and I think it’s about time you pay up, Sergeant.”
I let out a relieved breath, wrapped my arms tightly around her, and lifted her from the ground bringing our lips closer together. “Gladly. I love you, Miss Grant.”
“I love you, too. Now kiss me before I change my mind.”
I wasn’t about to let that happen, so I quickly took her lips and left her with a promise she would never forget. She pulled away before things could get out of hand. We were in her parents’ kitchen, after all, and they were supposedly listening. She unhooked her legs from my waist and I held her as she slid down my body and once again stood on her own. “One last thing,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Do you trust me?’
“Yes…”
She grinned wickedly as she held my hand and pulled open the back door. “Mama,” she yelled out with a small giggle. “Call the family. Tell ‘em they can find me in Manhattan.” I swore I heard the clicking sound of a shotgun just before she took off running dragging me along with her.
The End
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health condition that occurs after experiencing a trauma such as combat, assault, or disaster. It is characterized by stress reactions that do not go away after the trauma and disrupt daily life.
The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs and the National Center for PTSD are dedicated to the research and education of trauma and PTSD.
For more information visit:
http://www.ptsd.va.gov
If I didn’t have an editor, I would write in two tenses and use homophones in the wrong context. That doesn’t even include all the common splices and everything else I usually miss. This is why I love Jenny Sims from Editing 4 Indies. She saves me from writing faux pas that I shouldn’t still be making.
My creative outlet would be limited to games with a nine month old could if it weren’t for my husband who hangs out with our baby and lets me cry whenever I get too overwhelmed. He buys me milkshakes, too. Hooray for husbands.
This novel came a long way since I first sent it to Betas. Thank you Kristen Luciani and Ryan Ringbloom for helping me turn the jumbled mess into the story I wanted to tell.
Self-marketing is out of my realm of expertise, so I am grateful to Debra with The Book Enthusiast Promotions. Thank you for the pre-release event, blog tour, advice, answering every ridiculous question, and putting up with my general lack of knowledge of all things PR. You are truly amazing!
Readers keep me in business and bloggers save my sanity. Thank you to everyone who reads my books, so I can afford to read others. Your thoughts, comments, and questions are always welcome and appreciated. If you enjoyed this book, please share it with your friends and consider leaving a review.
Shealy James is Georgia native who teaches middle school math during the day and disappears into fiction at night. She is an avid reader and a first time author who hopes to one day write full time and leave the world of middle school angst behind.
Connect with Shealy
https://twitter.com/ShealyJames
Whole Life Makeover
Prologue
See that girl? The blond beauty in the champagne Oscar de la Renta gown laughing at yet another lame money joke? Yours truly—the one and only Kitty Peters. Cue the dramatic eye roll at the dumb nickname.
You know that leggy blonde you hated because your boyfriend kept trying to ogle her without you noticing. Yeah? That girl was me, except take away the double Ds you might be imagining. Think Princess Charlene of Monaco without the curvy figure and the bald husband. Oh, and the whole royalty thing. Yeah, this girl? Rich. Not royalty.
This was my life. Surprisingly, there was a name for it. People called me a socialite because what else would you call it? I flitted from charity function to business dinner, making appearances on my parents’ behalf, because it was good for business. It was good for the family. I kept up with the gossip. I knew who’d been in bed with whom. I paid attention to who exchanged money, and more importantly, who was trading information. From the time I was old enough to speak, I have been in training to be some wealthy man’s eye candy and secret weapon in business. The good woman behind the man, so to speak.
The sad part? Because of who my father was, men wanted to climb in bed with me. My father made it no secret that he would leave his multi-million dollar company to a man, preferably one in the family. That meant that every money-hungry man who had come across my father had been a potential suitor, and they all wanted a piece of me. Well, everyone except for one man—the man I was supposed to marry. Our mothers had been planning our wedding since I was in diapers. I should be disappointed that he didn’t want me. Maybe I should be hurt.
The only problem…I have no interest in this life.
