Publication date: October 14th, 2021
Synopsis:
Ben
They say love can happen again after loss.
I've seen it, and I've heard of it, yet it still seems like a myth to me.
Maybe because I've never opened myself to it.
But now after a friend has pulled me out of the dark void, I'm seeing signs and feelings I thought were long dead are awakening.
And I'm feeling them for Kasey.
So many things about her set her far apart from all the rest but it's her strength I love most about her. That and her little girl, Luna.
She deals with her own struggles like a champ but do I want to add the complication of loving a widower to her life?
While I'm skeptical at first, with each passing day, the more I believe that there's nothing she can't do.
Kasey
Men sure have a way of making me regret trusting them.
Besides, I have enough to deal with being a single mother while battling my own demons.
So it's just me and my daughter. It's better that way. She's my best buddy and she's enough.
Would I like her to have a father and maybe even someone to love me too?
Definitely.
So I go on dates, hoping one will lead to someday meeting my daughter, but none of them have proven themselves worth the risk of shaking the foundation of the stable lifestyle I've built for her.
But I'm faced with an unexpected challenge when I start to fall for a guy that's already been introduced to her. A great guy, with a past of his own.
Can he rebuild his broken soul and see me and Luna as his future?
I want to believe he can.
Excerpt
I jolted awake in the middle of the night and my mind automatically goes into rationalization mode, having been through this a thousand times. It wasn't real, it was the... dream. Except I didn't have the dream. I suppose I could have had it and woke up from it with the same panic, but I don't remember it like I usually do. I look around the dark room, trying to refamiliarize myself with the here and now. There's a faint amount of moonlight gracing the floor by the window, and I can hear the vague sound of windchimes in the summer breeze outside. I'm in a bed that feels comforting, and when I look to my right, I find Kasey on her side with her back to me. Her wide-necked t-shirt is pulled down enough that it's showing some bare shoulder. I sit there, taking in her sleeping form, quiet and peaceful. I keep my eyes trained on her while I wait for the urge to bolt out of here to settle over me. It doesn't. This isn't Jamie that I'm sleeping next to, and somehow, it's okay, I realize, as my mind reconciles the situation with my life. It's more than okay, it's right. Kasey's here, living and breathing right in front of me. She makes me feel things I didn't think were mine to feel again, and one of those things is safe. So much so that I want her closer - now. I scooch over to her in the bed so that my front is flush with her back and drape an arm over her. I place a kiss to the exposed skin of her shoulder, and while she doesn't say anything or open her eyes, I feel her fingers lace with mine and it's perfect. It's as if even in sleep, she understands that nothing needs to be said in this moment. We feel good and safe with each other, and that's all that matters. Did I plan it? No. Did I want it? I did. Was it the right thing to do? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. Is she the right thing to want? Is it right for her to want me? Is a grumpy widower afraid of his own past that she needs right now? No, probably not. I have no right to make that decision for her though. Despite her struggles, she's a grown, smart, and lucid woman. I still want it. But how long do I want it for? How much of myself am I willing to give? Right now, I can't see it being as much as she deserves. I shift my thoughts from the near-to-distant future to the here and now. What do I want right now? I want her back in this bed with me. I want to lay with her for hours without saying a word.
About the Author:
Natalie Parker resides in the Seattle area with her husband and two rugrats, but is originally a Michigan girl.
She always enjoyed writing and noticed she had a knack for it while earning her Psychology degree and has always been an avid reader, but never thought of becoming an author until one day there seemed to be a story to tell.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, reading, reading to her kids, drinking coffee, reading, occasional yardwork, reading, listening to music, reading and writing.
Stay tuned for more to come for your favorite characters of the Turn it Up series!
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