Beyond Eighteen
My Shout-outs…
Wilson’s Beta Readers: Becky, Debbie, Karley, and Suzanne: When I needed you…you answered. Thank you for being the most amazing beta readers a girl can ever ask for. As this journey ends with this series I hope you are willing to come with me on the next one.
Liza: Thank you for sharing your talent. You capture such authenticity with your photos. I am happy I had a chance to meet you and glad you agreed to be a part of Wilson and Max’s journey.
Tiffany: You rock! I came to you with a tight deadline on this book and you didn’t even blink. You worked tirelessly to make me shine, and I can’t thank you enough. You keep fixing the same mistakes I’ve repeated through all three books, and never once did you lose your patience with me. You are such a generous, caring, and wonderful person.
Eunice: Thank you for working so hard on all three books. Not only did you create my vision for the first two original covers, but you selflessly spent hours creating all three new ones. Times were challenging and you met them head on. Thank you for living through my craziness. I appreciate the journey you and I have had with this series.
Becky: I don’t think there is another person alive who knows the characters in this series better than you (including me!). You have been my record keeper, my note taker, my beta reader, my idea bouncer offer, and my best friend. I will never be able to thank you enough, for everything you’ve done for my family, my craft, my books and the stories that bounce around in my head.
My family: Ed, Jared, Kyle, Nate, and my mom (Grandma K):
Ed thanks for giving me the opportunity to grow my dreams and build my career; your support, even when silent speaks volumes. Mom, thanks for reminding me that my career is not a hobby, and I must remember to treat it as such. Jared, Kyle and Nate, it wasn’t glamorous by any means, nor do I feel anything less than guilty for the times you’ve missed me. But I hope that I taught you to follow your heart, never give up on your dreams and even when things look like they aren’t going to work out…have faith that there is something greater than you…supporting you along your journey. I love you all so very much.
“A heart that has never been broken…
has never been touched by true love.”
Chapter One
~ Wilson ~
I couldn’t stop shivering and every muscle in my body ached like I’d been in a head-on collision. My voice was raw from crying endlessly since Max left; it felt like I’d swallowed jagged shards of glass plastered with every missing word I should have said to him. Somewhere above my body, a space that I never really knew existed carried all of my relevant thoughts away. The look on his face when he found out I betrayed him steamrolled across my head over and over again. Visions of him driving away as I collapsed on the porch killed every butterfly caged in my gut. Max left me on the bone-chilling granite—rotting, longing, and totally broken. How will I ever find my way back after hurting the man I love more than anything in this world? A war was being waged in my body, and I was losing…big time.
Joanie’s hands were scalding hot against the side of my head as she held me on the Browlers’ sofa. She rocked back and forth in an attempt to soothe the searing pain that vibrated from my core out to every last part of my body.
“Shhhh, Wilson, sweetheart, shhh. I am so sorry honey, so sorry.” The nature of her words only made it worse.
Incoherent babbling tumbled from my lips. I searched behind my closed eyes, working to see patterns that I could dissolve into, but I couldn’t see past the ache that throbbed in my head. Joanie clung to me so hard that I couldn’t catch a deep breath. Please, God, let me just disappear; let me become that person who nobody hears from ever again. There was nothing I could do to repair the damage I’d caused. When I kissed Nick I destroyed everything Max and I had.
I heard footsteps strike against the hardwood floor and the whispering concern of a guy’s voice as I slumped heavily in Joanie’s embrace.
“Is she...okay? If she needs anything—” Nick said in a low voice.
I felt the pressure of Joanie’s hand across my back withdraw and her voice vibrate through her chest as she whispered back at him, “Thanks, but I think I’m just going to take her upstairs.” There was a sizable pause before she continued, “She’ll be fine, Nick. She just needs some time right now.”
I could feel Nick staring at me before I heard him walk toward the kitchen. Even if I wanted to look at him, I couldn’t. Suddenly I didn’t feel the same need to be comforted by him. He was part of the reason I lost Max.
Joanie dragged her hands to the back of my biceps as she pulled me away from her chest.
Wilson’s Beta Readers: Becky, Debbie, Karley, and Suzanne: When I needed you…you answered. Thank you for being the most amazing beta readers a girl can ever ask for. As this journey ends with this series I hope you are willing to come with me on the next one.
Liza: Thank you for sharing your talent. You capture such authenticity with your photos. I am happy I had a chance to meet you and glad you agreed to be a part of Wilson and Max’s journey.
Tiffany: You rock! I came to you with a tight deadline on this book and you didn’t even blink. You worked tirelessly to make me shine, and I can’t thank you enough. You keep fixing the same mistakes I’ve repeated through all three books, and never once did you lose your patience with me. You are such a generous, caring, and wonderful person.
Eunice: Thank you for working so hard on all three books. Not only did you create my vision for the first two original covers, but you selflessly spent hours creating all three new ones. Times were challenging and you met them head on. Thank you for living through my craziness. I appreciate the journey you and I have had with this series.
Becky: I don’t think there is another person alive who knows the characters in this series better than you (including me!). You have been my record keeper, my note taker, my beta reader, my idea bouncer offer, and my best friend. I will never be able to thank you enough, for everything you’ve done for my family, my craft, my books and the stories that bounce around in my head.
My family: Ed, Jared, Kyle, Nate, and my mom (Grandma K):
Ed thanks for giving me the opportunity to grow my dreams and build my career; your support, even when silent speaks volumes. Mom, thanks for reminding me that my career is not a hobby, and I must remember to treat it as such. Jared, Kyle and Nate, it wasn’t glamorous by any means, nor do I feel anything less than guilty for the times you’ve missed me. But I hope that I taught you to follow your heart, never give up on your dreams and even when things look like they aren’t going to work out…have faith that there is something greater than you…supporting you along your journey. I love you all so very much.
“A heart that has never been broken…
has never been touched by true love.”
Chapter One
~ Wilson ~
I couldn’t stop shivering and every muscle in my body ached like I’d been in a head-on collision. My voice was raw from crying endlessly since Max left; it felt like I’d swallowed jagged shards of glass plastered with every missing word I should have said to him. Somewhere above my body, a space that I never really knew existed carried all of my relevant thoughts away. The look on his face when he found out I betrayed him steamrolled across my head over and over again. Visions of him driving away as I collapsed on the porch killed every butterfly caged in my gut. Max left me on the bone-chilling granite—rotting, longing, and totally broken. How will I ever find my way back after hurting the man I love more than anything in this world? A war was being waged in my body, and I was losing…big time.
Joanie’s hands were scalding hot against the side of my head as she held me on the Browlers’ sofa. She rocked back and forth in an attempt to soothe the searing pain that vibrated from my core out to every last part of my body.
“Shhhh, Wilson, sweetheart, shhh. I am so sorry honey, so sorry.” The nature of her words only made it worse.
Incoherent babbling tumbled from my lips. I searched behind my closed eyes, working to see patterns that I could dissolve into, but I couldn’t see past the ache that throbbed in my head. Joanie clung to me so hard that I couldn’t catch a deep breath. Please, God, let me just disappear; let me become that person who nobody hears from ever again. There was nothing I could do to repair the damage I’d caused. When I kissed Nick I destroyed everything Max and I had.
I heard footsteps strike against the hardwood floor and the whispering concern of a guy’s voice as I slumped heavily in Joanie’s embrace.
“Is she...okay? If she needs anything—” Nick said in a low voice.
I felt the pressure of Joanie’s hand across my back withdraw and her voice vibrate through her chest as she whispered back at him, “Thanks, but I think I’m just going to take her upstairs.” There was a sizable pause before she continued, “She’ll be fine, Nick. She just needs some time right now.”
I could feel Nick staring at me before I heard him walk toward the kitchen. Even if I wanted to look at him, I couldn’t. Suddenly I didn’t feel the same need to be comforted by him. He was part of the reason I lost Max.
Joanie dragged her hands to the back of my biceps as she pulled me away from her chest.