Love Resisted (The Real Love Series) (27 page)
Read Love Resisted (The Real Love Series) Online
Authors: Melanie Codina
EPILOGUE
MIKE moved away from the doorway as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Looking at the screen, he wasn’t surprised to see it was Gillian.
“Hello, Gillian.”
“Don’t you
hello
me, mister, just tell me how our girl is doing,” she scolded him.
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Calm down, she’s doing fine. Jason’s in there with her now. I had to step out for a minute—not sure I was being much help.”
“That’s ridiculous, I’m sure you were very helpful. But really, tell me, is she doing okay?”
He sighed. “It was rough at first, but when she got her breathing under control, it got better. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”
“Are you sure she doesn’t need me? I could be down there in a heartbeat, you know?” Gillian asked with hope in her voice.
He knew this had to be rough for Gillian since she and Allie were essentially two halves of a whole, but Allie needed to do this, and he feared an audience would intimidate her too much.
“I know that, and if she needs you, I promise I’ll say the word. But she’s doing great, and I promise you can see when it’s all over.”
Gillian grumbled, “Okay, if you say so. You’re lucky I like you because I really want to smack you around for keeping me away.”
“If it makes you feel better, you can lay one on me afterward,” he replied with humor.
“Strangely, that does make me feel a little better. Oh, and I want a picture,” she demanded.
“You got it. Talk to you soon,” he said before disconnecting and shaking his head.
Pushing himself off from the wall, he was making his way back to the door when it opened and Jason walked out with a smile on his face as he nodded and said, “She’s ready, man. You better get in there, she’s asking for you. I’ll take care of stuff out here.”
“Thanks, man,” Mike said as he shook Jason’s hand, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he made his way inside. When he rounded the corner, he saw his little firecracker. She looked up and gave him a smile before waving him over. Moving quickly to her side, he bent over and kissed her, hoping to convey all of the love and support he wanted her to feel from him.
When he pulled back, a single tear fell as she said, “I want you next to me when I do this, please.”
“Of course I’ll be next to you. You tell me whatever you need me to do, and I’ll do it,” he replied before placing one more kiss on her lips. Standing up, he called to Jason outside. “Let’s do this.”
With Mike’s command, the large rolling door to the storage unit opened and bathed them both in sunlight. Making his way to the other side, he opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat next to his beautiful, feisty little woman. Her grip on the steering wheel was strong enough to blanch her knuckles, and he fought the need to rub them and help her relax, but she was processing this, and he didn’t want to interrupt. After another few moments, he felt he had to say something to show her some support. “I love you, sweetheart, and I’m so proud of what you’re doing.”
ALLIE looked over at Mike, sitting next to her. She thought it might feel odd to have him there with her, in Marc’s Camaro, but it didn’t. Having Mike with her—supporting her—felt right. Her world felt right. She just had to do one more thing to put the past completely behind her. It had been a long time coming, and maybe she put it off specifically because she feared losing the last profound piece of her late husband. But now she knew that wasn’t the case. Passing the car on to Jonathan was allowing a piece of Marc to live, and she was so happy to do this. If only she could get herself to start the damn engine.
Moving her hand from the wheel, she moved it to the ignition and paused. Looking out the windshield, she saw Jason smile at her. “You got this, Allie.”
Smiling at her friend, she said, “Hey, you didn’t call me half-pint.”
Jason gave her an adoring look. “There is nothing small about you right now, Al. Now start her up, and let’s go make our nephew’s day.”
She quickly swiped the tears that fell as she grumbled, “Stupid, Jason.” Allie then looked over at Mike, asking, “You ready?”
“Whenever you are, babe.”
Allie saw his love for her clearly written across his face. She latched onto it and held on tightly as she started the engine. It rumbled to life in the dark parking garage where Jason had been storing it for her. He told her that he took care of it routinely, started it weekly, and took it for a drive to keep the engine in shape. He’d told her, “I knew it would’ve hurt you more to see his car fall apart. What kind of friend would I have been if I let that happen?” She truly had the best friends.
The sound of the engine roaring to life made goose bumps spread across her skin. She had always loved the sound of a powerful car, an appreciation she developed as she watched the men in her life work on them as boys. Dropping her hand to the shifter, she glanced over at Mike again. He gave a smile and a wink as she moved the car into drive. Slowly lifting her foot from the brake, she rolled the car out into the morning sun. Turning to the left, she stopped as Jason made quick work of locking up the unit. He then ran up to the driver’s side window and leaned his arms on it and said, “I’m so proud of you.” All she could do
was smile at him as he gave her hair a tug. “Meet you guys there, I’ll follow in my truck.”
Mike answered for her, “Thanks, man. Meet you there.”
Jason gave one more nod before walking away. Her courage was growing now that she could feel the life of the car rumbling around her. It was such a big part of Marc’s life, and she was happy she still had it, but she knew it was time to pass it on. As she applied pressure to the gas pedal, she felt all the tension leave her body, and a peaceful feeling replaced it.
She knew that Marc would always be a part of her, a part of her heart. But as she looked to the man who sat beside her, she knew he filled the gaping hole that was left behind after Marc’s death. Her future had been altered, ripped away from her, leaving her suspended in the present, struggling to find her normal. Until Mike. He was her new future—her new normal. And even though she resisted this love for as long as she possibly could, deep down she’d known that he was her
new
forever.
~THE END~
Playlist
Chapter 1:
I Miss My Friend by Daryl Worley
Chapter 2:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 9:
Chapter 11:
On
e of Those Nights by Tim McGraw
Chapter 17:
Chapter 18:
Chapter 19:
Distance by Christina Perri, featuring Jason Mraz
Chapter 24:
Give In To Me by Garrett Hedlund & Leighton Meester
Chapter 26:
I Never Told You by Colbie Caillet;
Whe
n You’re Gone by Avril Lavigne
Chapter 28:
Chapter 29:
Life Ain’t Always Beautiful by Gary Allan
Chapter 30:
Epilogue:
About the Author
Melanie is an amazing mother of four, an awesome and tolerant wife to one, and nurse to many. If you don’t believe her, just ask anyone in her family, they know what to say. She is also a devoted chauffer, the keeper of missing socks, a genius according to a six year old, the coolest soccer uniform coordinator according to a twelve year old, and the best damn ‘mac-n-cheese-with-cut-up-hot-dog maker in the whole world. Well that last title isn’t really official, but it’s still pretty cool to be called it.
When not being ordered around by any of the kids, you can find her with her nose in a book or on the sideline of a soccer game cheering on one team or another. But that’s mostly because she has a thing for the coach. When she is not doing all of the above, you can find her obsessed with a group of fictional characters all vying for a spot on the page of whatever she’s working on. It’s a fun and crazy life to lead, but wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you liked my book you can keep up with upcoming books, sneak peeks, and more at:
Twitter: @
MelanieCodina
Good Reads:
http://tinyurl.com/d8bz7mw
Thank you for reading. Please look for
other books in this series, as well as more to come. Remember that the best compliment you can pay an author is to leave a review … We love to read them.
The Real Love Series:
Love Realized
Love Resisted
And coming soon…
Love Required
