I pulled out my phone from my pocket, looked up a number and hit send.
Only one way to find out.
It rang a few times, then a voice came on the other end. “Hello?”
“Let’s do it.”
A pause on the other end almost had me wondering if she hung up. But she said to me with a smile laced in her voice, “Are you sure? I mean what about… did you find her?”
I sighed. “It doesn’t matter, does it? If you want to get married and have a life with me, then I’m saying, let’s go start this life. I’ve already packed, so get your things together and meet me back in the room. There’s a spare key on the desk. I’ll book the flights and be there in an hour.”
“Okay, baby, consider me packed and ready to go in an hour.”
I hung up.
Nora Reynolds and I had been together off and on for a long time. She was with me through medical school and my residency. She was stable, loyal, and reliable. She was safe. What I saw was what I got. She was what you dream about in a woman… right?
Ah, who am I kidding? I sounded like I was describing an object, not a person.
Nora was the woman I should want to spend the rest of my life with. She was beautiful, sexy, smart, sophisticated, confident… and did I say sexy? Yeah, well, she was sexy, and the sex was great, when we had it, and she treated me well. I didn’t have to worry about messed up shit with her like finding her face down on a dirty ass floor of an even nastier motel.
I realized I was not only breathing at an increased rate, but also doing well over a hundred miles an hour. My knuckles were white as hotel sheets on the wheel. I slowed down the car, as well as slowed my breathing. My phone vibrated, and I saw, on the car display screen, that it was my brother calling.
I ignored his call. I didn’t want to hear him tell me that Ayana had died, or worse; that she’d woke up. I needed to get her out of my mind. She was no good for me. She was never good for me.
I took a deep breath again and admitted to myself that I should have listened to my brother when he told me to stay away from Ayana this time and every time before. She and I hadn’t seen each other in years, but as always, just seeing her made me forget all common sense. A chuckle left my lips, and I shook my head. This woman had been a piece of work since the very day I met her, and it seemed she always managed to make my life a living hell. I knew this when I saw her again three months ago for the first time in years. Thinking back, something told me just to say hello and keep moving, but the moment she smiled at me and the moment I wrapped my arms around her, as always, I was hooked.
“Sometimes life gives you a second chance because just maybe the first time you weren’t ready.” – Unknown Author
Chapter 1 – Bradley
Some months before…
I took a deep breath as I looked around my brother’s house. I took the keys from the lock and closed the door, sitting my bags in the doorway. I would love to say it was great to be home, but, quite honestly, under the circumstances, it wasn’t. I looked around his living room feeling the loss of one of the greatest women I knew come over me. My older brother by five years, Lock, was blessed with meeting one of the nicest human beings I’d ever known; Marjorie “MJ” St. Pierre. She was one of those women who everyone loved the moment you met her. She was only 5’3,” but had so much personality that it made her seem six feet tall.
MJ was exactly what my brother needed in his life. She brought life and meaning to him that I was all too thankful for. He needed to learn how to live his life without feeling like he needed to help me live mine all the time. However, I understood why he was that way. Our father left my mom when I was ten, and our mother was heavily into finding another wealthy bastard to snag after my father. Lock decided that it was his job to be both parents to me, and, the moment Lock took over in the parental capacity, he drove me mad. Even though he got on my nerves, he was always there for me. He had my back through college and medical school. He made sure I finished school and wasn’t sidetracked. I love my brother, but, shit, back then he was a pain in my ass.
He raised me, sacrificing his own life in the process. But, MJ, man, she truly taught him how to live.
In my eyes, MJ and my brother were destined for happily ever after. So, the moment we found out that MJ had inoperable cancer, it broke my heart. The attempt to prolong her life lasted for about a year. She fought hard, and he supported her until she had no fight left.
MJ lost her battle about five years ago, and I lost my brother shortly after. Her death was very hard for him, but he’d never admit it. Lock buried his head in his work, and nothing else mattered but putting bad guys away. When I’d mention he should get back out there and that MJ wouldn’t approve of the way was living, he would just grunt and tell me to mind my own business.