***
Brand
Nora and I ride the old Triumph for hours, and I enjoy everything about it. I enjoy knowing that my grandpa had once ridden this very bike. I enjoy the way Nora wraps herself around me, trusting me to keep her safe. I enjoy the wind and the sun and the sky that is so vast and huge and everywhere.
We ride for hours until we finally ride home, to Gabe’s little cottage. As we get ready for bed, I look at Nora.
She stands in front of the window, bathed in the silvery light of the moon, and I know that she’s everything I’ll ever want. She’s more than I ever knew I deserved and then some.
She’s beautiful.
And she’s mine.
Looking up, she catches me looking at her and smiles.
“What?”
I shake my head as I turn back the covers of the bed.
“Nothing.”
We climb into bed, tumbling into each other’s arms, the way we have for weeks, as if turning to each other in the dark will keep all of the ugliness away. Because you know what?
It does. It really does.
Nora strokes my face, letting her fingers slide down my cheek, until her fingertip presses into the cleft on my chin.
We fit, Brand.
“We’ve got to get back to reality,” she tells me regretfully. “I’ve got to get to know Julian as my father. You’ve got to figure out what to do with your parents’ house, then we’ve got to decide where to live.”
I stare at her in the dark.
“We should probably decide where to live first, before we do anything else.”
She smirks. “Smart ass. Fine. Where do you want to live?”
I’m quiet for a minute as I ponder that and for the life of me, I don’t care.
“I don’t care where we live,” I tell her honestly. “I just want you with me. We can live in California by the ocean, we can live in the countryside in France, we can live in the city in Chicago or New York… it doesn’t matter. I just want you with me.”
Nora stares up at me, her full lip quivering.
“Agreed,” she answers softly. “You’re home to me, Brand.”
A lump forms in my throat, and I try to swallow around it, as I think of every fucking thing that has happened over the past couple of years.
“It’s funny how things work out,” I muse aloud. “Two years ago, I thought my world was ending, that nothing would be ok again. But everything happens for a reason. All of those twisted paths in my life led me to where I’m meant to be…. which is right here.”
“With me,” Nora sighs happily, squirming closer.
“Yeah,” I agree. “With you.”
“Before we fall, we fly, Brand,” she reminds me softly, tracing the tattoo on my forearm. “Your gran was right.”
“She was right about a lot of things,” I answer, as I flip her over and hover above her. Nora raises an eyebrow.
“Such as?”
“Well, you’ve got to take life by the balls and shake it as hard as you can.”
She giggles and leans up to kiss my neck. “Your gran said that?”
I nod. “Yeah. You’d like her.”
“We need to go visit.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “We do. She’d like you, too.”
“What else was she right about?”
I stare into Nora’s eyes, long and hard. “Well, she was right about one other thing. The best things in life are worth fighting for.”
Nora sighs a shaky sigh and puts her head against my chest, closing her eyes.
After a minute, she opens them again.
“I can still hear your heart.”
I smile in the night.
“I should hope so. It’s yours.”
Nora grabs my face and pulls it to hers, kissing me as soundly as I’ve ever been kissed, soft then hard, then harder.
Her hand trails over my chest, over my hips, down to where I’m hard for her.
“Make me yours, Brand,” she breathes.
I smile.
“Gladly.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Brand
Gabe meets us at the door of the nursing home, his face drawn and grim.
“Dude, I’m sorry we had to call you home from your honeymoon. We all knew it was coming, but…”
I shake my head and clasp his hand tightly.
“It’s okay. I would’ve been pissed if you hadn’t called.”
Nora walks beside me, her slender hand on my back. When we’d gotten the call, she hadn’t even hesitated, she’d just started packing our bags.
“We have to go, Brand,” she’d said.
I’ve never loved her more.
We flew nonstop through the night, and when we landed, we found out, with relief, that we weren’t too late. Gran was still holding on.
“She’s waiting to talk to you,” Gabe tells me as we walk down the halls. It smells like medicine here. And Ben Gay. And quilts.
I nod. “It doesn’t surprise me. Gran has always done things her way. She’ll die her way, too.”
“Hell yeah, she will,” Gabe agrees.
I’m surprised at the knot that is still in my throat. I haven’t been able to swallow it, not since we got the call and jumped on the plane. The very idea that the world is going to lose such an amazing person is sobering.
I take a deep breath as I face her closed door, as I stare at her nameplate.
Helen Vincent.
There’s no use putting it off. It won’t change a thing. She’s going to die whether I’m at her side, or not.
But I need to be there, like she’s been for me all of these years.
We step into her room and find Jacey sitting next to the bed, holding Gran’s wrinkled hand. Gran’s eyes are closed, but when she hears my voice, she opens them and smiles tiredly up at me.
“It took you long enough,” she complains good-naturedly and everyone laughs. They laugh through their tears because it’s very, very evident that this strong woman has grown weak. Her body is limp, her smile is tired.
It won’t be long.
A chill runs down my spine as I sit on the bed and pick up the hand that Jacey had just put down. Gran has been well loved. I know that. And I know its time. She’s ready to rest.
“You know me,” I finally answer. “I’m always running late.”
“Not for long,” Gran tells me, her little hand squeezing mine. “You’ve got a wife now to keep you in line.”
She closes her eyes again, and I watch the rise and fall of her chest beneath the sheets. She’s so small, so frail. It’s hard to believe that I once thought of her as big. She’s child-sized now.
Jacey catches my gaze from across the room.
It won’t be long, she mouths. I nod. I know. Jacey looks as tired as Gabe, as though they haven’t slept in days.
Behind her, Dominic sleeps in the chair by the window, here to share this moment with Jacey, to support her. Just like Nora is here for me.
Everything is how it should be.
“Where’s Maddy?” I ask Gabe. He nods his head toward the door.
“She took Eli outside to run some energy off. She’ll be back shortly.”
Gran opens her eyes at that. “That boy looks just like you, Gabriel,” she croaks. “He’ll be twice as ornery, too, if God believes in payback.”
Gabe smiles and holds a cup of water to her mouth, pushing the straw between her lips.
Gran stares up at me. “Can you believe this? They treat me like an invalid here.”
Everyone laughs and she takes the cup in her own hands, taking a sip. She hands it back, then settles into the blankets, folding her hands on her chest.
“I did so want to see everyone,” she murmurs. My chest tightens and I pat her hands, not quite sure what to do.
“I wanted to see your face before I went to sleep, Branden,” she continues. “You’re as much mine as these two are.”
My chest tightens even more.
&n
bsp; I bend down and brush a kiss across her forehead. She smells like lavender and sunshine, the way she always has.
“You’re mine, too,” I tell her, my voice cracking. “Gran, I want to say thank you… for everything. For always taking care of me, for all of the advice… for giving me a home.”
She smiles now, again, without opening her eyes.
“Nora is your home now,” she tells me softly, so softly I have to bend to hear her. “You’re flying, Branden. You’re finally flying.”
I literally have to turn away, to steel myself so that I don’t sob like a baby right here in front of God and everyone. But I glance up and find that Gabe’s eyes are watery too, and Jacey is crying softly as well.
All of a sudden, though, Gran’s eyes fly open and she stares at a spot on the wall, above our heads, as intent and rapt as she can be.
“Olen!” she exclaims, and she reaches out her arms. “Wait for me. Don’t leave.” I stare in shock as she smiles at someone we can’t see, a sigh escaping from her lips, as though she’s finally somewhere she desperately wants to be.
As though she’s finally home.
And then, then… she turns to me, her eyes glazed and happy and distant.
“Your sister is there, Branden. I see her. She’s safe and sound. Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of her for you.”
Then, without pageantry or fanfare, the wisest and kindest woman the world has ever known closes her eyes.
I watch her chest shudder to a stop, and I know she’ll never open her eyes again.
She’s gone.
The world seems frozen as I drop my head into my hands and cry with abandon. I hear the sobs of everyone else, then Nora’s hands are on my back, and Gabe’s voice breaks through my sorrow.
“Brand?”
I look up at him, my eyes red and hot.
“I never told Gran about your sister.”
The entire room is completely still, absolutely frozen, as they wait for my answer.
“Neither did I.”
Nora gasps and her eyes meet mine, and a strange peace suddenly filters down around me, like a blanket.
Like a shield.
I smile and pull my wife close. Looking out the window, I find that the sun is breaking through the clouds, shining for all the world like the angels are singing, welcoming Gran home.
All is well.
The End
Acknowledgements
I have the best team on the planet. Words aren’t enough to thank them. I will just have to hope that they already know how much I appreciate them. But in a feeble attempt:
My agent, Catherine Drayton, is wise, fierce, classy and amazing.
My publicist, K.P. Simmon is fiery, sharp, loyal and a true dynamo.
My critique partner and best friend, Michelle Leighton, is holy-amazeballs-awesome…in every way.
I need to thank these three ladies for putting up with me, for holding my hand when I need it, and kicking me in the pants when I need that, too. Thank you.
I also need to thank Shannon Briggs, a high school classmate who is now a physical therapist. She was integral in making sure that Brand’s injury and treatment were plausible and realistic. Thank you, Shannon, for answering all of my questions and being so patient with me.
Thank you, as always, to my family for putting up with me during the writing process. Living with a writer isn’t the easiest thing… we’re always dreaming, always staring off into space, always inserting ourselves into lives that aren’t our own. There are times my family eats a bunch of take-out, times they put up with watching me wear the same clothes for three days straight and days that I forget to wash my hair. Thank you for loving me anyway.
Thank you to the special ladies who have chosen to get #BRANDed. You are each amazing: Jennifer Poole, Lori Smith, Katie Anderson, Alyssa Matthews, AnnaMarie Mondro, Eleanor Noach, Nayab Haych, Momo Xiong, Jenn Bernando, Neda Amini, Fran Owen, Danielle LeFave, Margay Justice, Kristy Louise, Melissa Arthur, Danielle Schaaf, Chelsea Cochran, Jennifer Harried, Lana K, Ashley Amsbaugh, Monica Pulliam, Rosemarie McKenzie, Valerie Fink, Jammie Cook, Jennifer Poole, Jacquelyn Lane, Jocelyn Roberts, Roxy Kade, and Fern Curry. Thank you for everything you’ve done, ladies. You’re amazing.
Thank you to the awesome bloggers that read my work and share it. Word of mouth is the best way of spreading the news about a book. I am honored that you take the time out of your days to read my work, and I’m humbled that you love it enough to share it. Thank you.
Thank you to my readers. You are amazing, and you are the sole reasons that I get to do what I do. Thank you for loving my stories and my characters. Thank you.
Author’s Notes
In addition to everyone I mentioned in the Acknowledgements, I need to thank two people who are no longer here to hear it: My grandparents.
Their names are Olen and Helen. I used them in the book as my small tribute to them. They were the wisest, kindest, most amazing two people I’ve ever had the honor of knowing. My grandfather was wise and strong and loyal- and he served in the Army back during WWII. My Grandma was wise and strong and amazing...while the boys were at war, she went into the Cessna plant and built airplanes for them. She told me once, a good