Shattered Dreams (28 page)

I look at her and I can see the smile on her
lips. “Alec, I love you, too.” 

“
You do?” 

“
I do. I have known it for a
while now.”  

I take her face in my hands and kiss her. I
kiss her so she can feel the love that I have for her. She moans
and I lay her down on the blanket on her back. Climbing on top of
her, I smile down at her as I slowly lower myself. She wraps her
arms around my neck and intertwines her fingers into my hair. I
kiss her and she moans. She opens her mouth to invite me
in.  

Some teenagers who are walking by yell, “Get
a room.” 

Emma laughs, and I want to chase them down
and beat them for ruining the mood. “Come on, let’s go, they do
have a point,” I say, standing and reaching my hand out for
hers.  

“
Where are we going? I don’t
want the night to end.” 

I smile. “James and Raelynn have sitters
until tomorrow; let’s stay at my place.” 

She doesn’t say anything but helps me fold
the blanket and gather the trash. We walk hand to hand to the car
in silence. She has her game face on and I can’t read it. I open
her car door for her before I ask her what’s wrong.  

When she doesn’t say anything, I get closer
to her and lift her chin so she looks at me. “What is it? Is it too
soon?” 

She closes her eyes and says, “I have only
been with Max. I haven’t been with anyone else.” 

I nod in understanding. “Emma, we can wait.
I’m in no hurry. We can take it as slow as you want or need
to.” 

“
Alec, you don’t understand,
I want to. I just want you to know, it’s been awhile for
me.” 

I cup her cheek with my hand and caress her
cheek with my thumb. “I understand. Don’t be afraid of me, Emma. I
love you, I won’t hurt you.” 

“
I love you,
too.”  

I kiss her soft lips. I back away so she can
get into the car.  

We drive the short distance to my house. Emma
has never been here. No one but Molly has ever been here. I open
her car door for her and she smiles. We walk hand in hand into the
dark house. Once we are inside, I turn on a lamp in the family
room. “Do you want a drink?” 

“
No, thank
you.” 

I walk over to her and bend
down to kiss her. When she reaches up to wrap her arms around my
neck, I lift her off the floor and she squeals. She wraps her legs
around me, and I kiss her harder. When she moans into my mouth, I
reach my hands around her body and squeeze her butt.
My dick turns rock hard when I realize she is
wearing a thong. I moan in her mouth and I can feel her smile. With
me still holding onto her, she reaches behind her and I hear the
zipper to her dress. I pull away from her mouth and kiss her ear,
then her neck. The dress falls from her shoulders, exposing her red
silk and lace bra.  

I raise my head so I can see. “Oh, God, Emma.
You are so sexy.” I kiss her again.  

Her breathing picks up and she whispers,
“Please, make love to me.” 

I walk down the dark hallway, still holding
onto her bare butt. She is kissing me and removing my tie and
unbuttoning my shirt. I bump into the door and she laughs. Once
inside the bedroom, I bump into the dresser and something falls to
the ground. 

“
Ouch,” Emma giggles, “and I
thought I was out of practice.” 

“
Sorry,” I say. “It really
does look like I’m out of practice, too.” 

I turn on the lamp and we both startle when a
voice says, “Are you going to introduce your little friend to your
wife?” I look at the half-naked woman lying across my bed — it’s
Molly. 

Note

Shattered Dreams
is book one of the
Freedom
trilogy.  

Book One:
Shattered Dreams
 

Book Two:
Broken Lives 
 

Book Three:
Mending Hearts
 

Other books written by this Author
include:

The Starting Over trilogy

Book One: A New Beginning

Book Two: Saving Angel

Book Three: Destined to Love

Acknowledgments

My husband, Rex: Thank you for supporting me.
I will always love you.  

Carey, John, Derek, Nikki,
Chastidy, Rex, Brittany, Amanda, and Katie: Thank you for reminding
me what is important every single day. I love
you.
 
 

Desmond, Samantha, Autumn,
Evan, Derek, Dayquan, Darius, Draden, Alyssa, Hailey, Lucca,
Tanner, Giovanni, Cain, Lelila, Kylie, DeVonte’, Adrienne, Amaya,
Dominic, Damien, Caden, and Gemma: Thank you for reminding me that
I am somebody; I am your grandma and nothing else matters. I love
you all.
 
 

My sisters and brothers: George, Martha,
Rosa, Carla and Frank: Thank you for your support. I love
you. 

My other brother,
David:
Words cannot express to you my
gratitude and appreciation I have for you. I am forever indebted to
you. Thank you and I love you.  

Thank you to my P.A.s: Brittany Kennedy and
Rosa Jones: Thank you for all your help at book signings. I
couldn’t have done it without you.  

Thank you to Christina
Badder, for taking care of the blog tour for
Shattered Dreams
. It was totally
amazing and you went above and beyond. I cannot thank you
enough.  

Thank you to my Beta readers: Cathy Stotts,
Lorraine McDonald, Natalie Neck, Nichole Taggart, Kayleigh Deal,
Raelynn Chambers, Dee Knope, Heather Ross-Cicio, Dove King Bailey,
Stevie Maul, Heather Osborne, Heather Leach Schrader, Heaven
Potter, Sherry Darr, Lou Ann Mohler, Amy Sperry, and Jenni
Crawford. I appreciate you all, more than you know. 

Thank you to ‘Brenda’s Street Talkers,’ for
pimping my books, making teasers and banners, and just for the
support I receive from you every day.  

Thank you to Beth Maddox at Cover It Up
Designs for the book cover. I am excited for this cover and for the
other two book covers of the trilogy. I love your work and your
vision.  

Thank you to all the
bloggers for featuring me and
Shattered
Dreams
on your blogs. I appreciate you more
than you know.  

All my family, friends,
internet friends, and the Manatee County Jail nursing and
corrections staff: Thank you all for your support and ideas. I have
used many of your names in
Shattered
Dreams
. 

My close family and very
close friends: You may recognize many names and places in
Shattered Dreams.
I had
so much fun incorporating family names and some of my favorite
places into this book. You all have definitely helped inspire many
of the characters in this book.
 
 

To my readers, and fans. Thank you a million
times over for reading and reviewing my books. 

I support Indie Authors. If you read this
book, please take the time to go on the purchasing site and give it
a review. Independent authors count on your reviews to get the word
out about our books. Thank you for taking the time to read our
books and taking the extra time to review them. We all appreciate
it very much.  

Disclaimer: People and places in this book
have been used fictitiously and without malice. 

About the Author: First and foremost I am a
wife, mother and grandmother. 

I am also a nurse and a new author. 

I moved to sunny Florida in 2006 and never
looked back. I love fresh squeezed lemonade, crushed ice, teacups,
wineglasses, non-franchise restaurants, ice cream cones, boating,
picnics, cookouts, throwing parties, lace, white wine, mojitos,
strawberry margaritas, white linen tablecloths, fresh flowers and
Pinterest. I also love to read and write and to spend time with my
family. 

My books, thus far, have been inspired by the
things I love and the people who influence me, every single day to
be a better person. 

You may follow me on:  

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brenda-Kennedy-Author
 

https://twitter.com/BrendaKennedy_
 

[email protected]
 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard