The Final Piece (28 page)

You helped raise a good man, Tommy. A good man who reminds me so much of you it’s like having a piece of you still with me. They say that all little girls grow up to marry men like their fathers. Well, I am marrying a man that reminds me of you.

He asked me to marry him at the lake house, on my birthday. He was sneaky about it, too! He had our Brutal Strength concert tickets from my fifteenth birthday framed. When he asked me to turn it over, I found Grandma Cantwell’s ring taped to the back. I’ve never been happier a day in my life.

Life goes on but your absence is felt every day. It’s getting easier to tell stories about you without breaking down, but the memories are bittersweet. I would much rather have you here.

I’ll love you forever and miss you always. There’s never a day I don’t feel you with me.

Always,

Beth

“Are you all right?” Wrapping his arms around me, Ryan pulls me against his chest and rests his chin on my head.

“I just miss him,” I whisper. The crisp autumn wind flutters the letter in my hand, reminding me of the one I left for Tommy last year and the impact it’s made on my life. Ryan reaches for my left hand and kisses the diamond and sapphire ring twinkling on my finger.

“I miss him, too,” Ryan sighs. Turning, I link my arms around Ryan’s neck and bury my head in his chest. There’s no greater comfort than Ryan’s arms.

“Do you have it?” I ask.

“Right here,” Ryan pulls a weighted picture frame from his jacket. I tuck the letter in the back of the frame and hand it back to Ryan.

“You do the honors,” I smile at him.

When he takes the frame from me, my breath catches. After a year, his beauty still steals my breath. The wind brushes his blond hair across his forehead and his long legs bend gracefully as he kneels in front of Tommy’s grave. I kneel next to him, placing my hand in the center of his strong back. His eyes meet mine, revealing his heart in his emerald stare. God, I love this man so much it blows me away.

“Hey Tommy, Beth and I didn’t like the idea of you being alone, so we brought this for you.” Ryan leans the frame against the headstone. “We miss you, man. Every day.” He stands, pulling me up with him and we step back to check our handiwork. In the frame is the picture from Pops’ photo album, the one of the three of us at the lake when we were kids. Around the edge of the frame are words that say it all:

Together forever, never apart. Maybe in distance but never in heart.

“Goodbye, Tommy.” I kiss my fingers and th
en place them on Tommy’s grave. 
Never a day, T. Not. One. Ever.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I want to thank my husband for his unending support through this whole process. Thank you for moving mountains to make sure I had all the time I needed to write. Thank you for turning a blind eye to a dirty house and an empty fridge. Thank you for taking care of me whe
n I forgot to come up for air. I‘
m so blessed to have you, Gorgeous. I love you.

CJ and Cameron, my sweet monkeys, thank you for not firing me for shirking my duties. You’re strength and courage inspire me everyday. I’m so blessed to be your mom.

I want to thank my grandparents for teaching me the importance of family. The richest memories I have are of Sixth Street surrounded by your love. Thank you for teaching me that our family is more than who we’re related to and that the love of our family is rooted in acceptance, warts and all.

Grandpa, I miss you. We were a pair, you and I. Kindred spirits. We “got” each other and I miss that every day.

Gran, you’re strength of heart and spirit is something I aspire to every day. I’m so very proud to be your Blossom.

My hanyak clan: Sue, Jim, Cindy, Corey, Cortney, Diana, Brittany, Mike, Dick, Ronda, Angie, Nate, Corrie, Mom, Dad, Cyn, Scott, Thompson, Linnea, Jamie, Jariya, Jay, Janny, Mary, Dick, Nick, Carrie, Sam, Charlie, Arin, Bob, Carolyn, Julie Ann, Steve, Josh, Joe, Kim and Austin.

A special thanks to my beautiful sister, Cynthia, who has always listened to and encouraged me. I love you and am grateful ever
y
day for our relationship. James Taylor, parasailing on Key Biscayne, flea baths in the swimming pool, ‘80s music trivia in the middle of the ocean, epic late night pow wows in Duck, sitting at the dining room table with you on Sixth Street…the memories are as endless as they are priceless.

Mom and Dad, thank you for teaching me about perseverance. You taught me that strength comes from holding each other up, not bearing the load on your own. Thank you for believing in me and loving me, even when you didn’t understand me. I love you so much.

Cynthia McSwain, you’re friendship is a rare and precious gift. The depth of my love for you holds no bounds, woman. I would still be holed up in my house, hiding from the world, if you hadn’t wooed me out of my comfort zone. Your persistence and patience changed my life. I love you, sessy…

Natlaie Coffey, Candise Owens, Aislynn Kiser and Sierra Faulk: Thank you for supporting our family and thank you for your dedication to the monkeys. Without you, we would be lost. I’m blessedd to call each of you family.

Thank you:

Michelle Mankin for allowing me to include Marcus, Avery and their band Brutal Strength from the novel Love Evolution. Love to you, MM!

Aaron Kohns with Gain Composure Photography for the cover photo.

Ms. Candise Owens for being my cover model.

Michelle Warren
for my beautiful cover design.

A huge thank you to my sounding board — Melissa Brown, Leslie Fear, Dave Newell, Melissa Perea, Andrea Randall and Lori Sabin. Your input, critiques and encouragement were invaluable to me. I adore each of you and had great fun using your names for my characters.

My beta readers: Melissa Brown,
Andrea Randall and Tosha Khoury for hearing the story in my head and showing me how I could make it better.

Melissa Brown and Andrea Randall for mentoring me and challenging me to grow as a writer.

My
editing goddess: Lori Sabin. Thank you for making my story come to life.

Tarryn Fisher, a little book called The Opportunist started me down the path to writing my own book. Thank you, Tarryn for inspiring me, encouraging me and making me squirm.

Thank you for to the friends who cheer me on, get the word out and love my crazy ass: Happy, Paul, Kelley, Steveland, Fred, The lovely ladies of BA, 50 Authors & and Owl and my Guttermates.

For all of the indie authors who’ve paved the way: Thank you for showing me the ropes and for encouraging me.

About the Author

Maggi was born in West Des Moines, Iowa and raised in Miami, Florida. She has deep love for
The Heartland and really good C
uban food. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading or singing into the end of her hairbrush. She’
s a steel magnolia and mischief-
maker, wrapped up and tied with a sarcasm bow.

Currently she resides in Greensboro, North Carolina with her incredible husband and sons. For more about Maggi and future projects you can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.