Authors: Christopher Scott
Tags: #tragic love, #sex and relationships, #love and healing, #Sex, #romance, #lost love, #sex and romance, #contemporary romance
Broken Man (20 page)
“Mom, I want to thank you,” the tears ran down her face as she looked at the sun rising over the ocean and spoke to her mother once again. “I know you were there to watch over me the last few months, to make sure that I didn’t make the same mistakes that you did. You were finally there to guide me, and I am so grateful for that.”
Amanda tried to stop crying as she uncapped the urn that contained her mothers ashes and thought about her life. If only she had found love, found a man to protect her, to make her feel safe, to make her feel whole. Her life would have been so different if she had found a man like Jack.
“Mom, I want you to know that I am going to be okay. I’ve met a man that I love, that I want to spend the rest of my life with,” Amanda paused as she considered the weight of those words. “I know that he loves me, that he always will look after me. I know that you would really like him.”
Amanda tipped the urn slightly and let her mother’s ashes sift through her hands as they blew into the ocean. As she whispered a prayer and touched her mother for the last time, Amanda’s emotions overtook her.
“You are finally free,” she cried as she watched the waves return her to the waters she loved. “I love you, Mom, and I forgive you. I know you are finally happy. I know you are finally with God.”
Epilogue
One Week Later
Jack arrived at the cemetery early, needing to have some time alone with Brittany before Delaney and Bailey arrived.
As he placed the flowers at the base of Brittany’s headstone, his mind flashed back to his memories, and he struggled to find the right words to say, the proper way to remember her. As the tears started to flow from his eyes, he decided it would be best to just be honest, to tell her once again what he was thinking, what he was feeling, how much he loved her.
“I’ve missed you so much, Brit. There were times I didn’t think I could keep going without you, that life wasn’t worth living anymore,” Jack thought about his darkest nights alone, his mind not rational, his thinking not clear. “But, something kept me going, and I know now that it was you watching over me, it was you making sure I didn’t give up.”
Jack paused as he thought about all that he had been through, the year that he had spent in such a dark place, unable to recover from what had happened. It had been her presence that helped him get through it, forced him to eventually try to live again. Knowing that was what she would have wanted had helped him to recover, allowed him to heal.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around for a while. I needed some time to get away, to try to clear my mind,” he paused as he remembered the last few months. “I think it worked. I was finally able to remember what is important, what I need to do. I promise not to go away for that long again.”
Jack again realized how much he still missed her, and he smiled as he remembered the way Brittany lit up a room, the way she made him feel whenever he was with her. “You taught me to love, you taught me what life is all about. I will never forget what you taught me, never forget what it means to love and what it feels like to be loved. Your love got me through this, it allowed me to be whole again.”
“I’ve got some good news for you,” he smiled as he thought of Delaney and Bailey. “The girls are coming out to see you today. I’m sorry I haven’t done a better job of looking after them, but Chad thought it best that I didn’t see them for a while, and in the state I was in, maybe he was right. But, I promise you, from this point forward, I will always look after them, always make sure they are safe, secure, and loved. Don’t worry, Brit, the girls are going to be okay. I think they had enough time with you to learn about what is important, to learn what it means to be a woman. I promise you, Brit, I will always look after them.”
Jack hesitated as he thought about what he was going to say next and how it would make her feel. It was a delicate matter, but one he knew he had to share with her.
“I hope you don’t mind, Brit, but I have found someone, someone that I love,” his voice broke as he thought of Amanda. “I know you would like her, she actually reminds me a lot of you. I’m sorry if you are upset, but don’t be. I will never forget you, and I will always love you, but I know you understand that I can’t spend the rest of my life living in the past, my mind filled with regrets. I had to move on, no matter how hard I tried not to. Do you understand?”
Jack felt a sudden breeze rustle through the trees, and as he watched the leaves blow through the air, he understood that it was her way of answering, her way of saying it was okay. As he closed his eyes and felt her presence, he suddenly understood that his falling in love with Amanda was somehow part of her plan, as if somehow she had arranged it.
“Thank you, Brit,” Jack smiled as his emotions once again overtook him and he started to cry.
* * *
Jack watched as Delaney emerged from the car and it slowly pulled away.
He was stunned, unable to believe the young woman walking towards him was Delaney. It had only been eighteen months since he had seen her, but in that time, she had grown from a young girl to a woman. As she came closer, Jack recognized both her mannerisms and her dress as possessions inherited from her mother, and he smiled as he remembered Brittany.
“Delaney, you are beautiful,” he said as he gave her a hug. “I am so happy you are here. Where’s Bailey?”
“Dad didn’t think she was ready for this,” she smiled shyly as she tried to explain her sister’s absence. “It almost seems that he wants Bailey to forget her, that he wants to replace her with Wendy.”
“Don’t worry, Delaney,” he tried to reassure her although he was also disappointed not to see Bailey. “That is never going to happen.”
“I’m not going to let it,” Delaney replied with all the stubbornness of her mother. “It’s okay if Wendy is around, she seems to make Dad happy, but she has to know her place and realize she isn’t our mother.”
“I am sure she will get better, honey,” Jack tried to shift the conversation back to why they were there. “Are you ready to go see her?”
“I am, Jack. How about you?”
“I think I am,” he said as he took her hand and they began their journey.
They walked together slowly, both of them absorbed in their thoughts as they silently made their way to the corner of the cemetery. As they got closer to their destination, Jack’s again sensed Brittany’s presence, the smell of the flowers and the sound of the birds pleasant reminders of her. Finally, they stopped, just a few feet away from her, and as he looked at Delaney and saw the tears running down her cheeks, he realized she was feeling the same emotions he was.
“Honey, are you okay,” he asked as he took her into his arms.
“I’m okay, Jack,” she cried as she returned his hug. “I’m just trying to remember everything I loved about her, remembering how much she loved me.”
“It’s okay, Delaney,” he tried not to cry as he held her. “She really did love you, and I know she is looking down at you now, so proud of you.”
“I know she is too, Jack,” she said as she looked up into his eyes. “And never forget how much she loved you. She really was truly happy during the last year.”
“Thank you, Delaney,” he felt the tears again form in his eyes. “I’ll never forget her. Your mother changed my life. She opened my heart, she allowed me to love. I will never be the same man again.”
“Jack, you need to love again,” she tried to smile as she wiped a tear from his cheek. “I know that is what Mom would have wanted.”
Delaney was right, Jack thought to himself. It was what Brittany would have wanted, and he was going to love again. But, he also knew there was something else she would have wanted, another reason they were here.
“I think I finally understand that, Delaney. I also know how important it was to her that you and Bailey know how much you are loved,” he paused as he considered what to say. “I want both of you to know that I will always be there for you. From this point forward, if you ever need anything or just need someone to talk to, I want you to call me. Do you understand?”
“I do, and thank you, Jack,” she started to cry again. “I sometimes don’t know what I am going to do without her. I miss her so much.”
Jack again took her into his arms and tried to make her pain go away. He knew he had to help her, he knew she needed to heal. That is what Brittany would have wanted, he thought to himself as he listened to Delaney cry and again felt the breeze blowing through the trees.
“Delaney, I want you to come back to the resort with me today,” Jack finally understood why they were brought together, the reason they were here.
“There is someone I want you to meet.”
# # # # #
Thanks for reading Broken Man.
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