Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 162369 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 812(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 541(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162369 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 812(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 541(@300wpm)
“Read the wedding band.” He hands me the thin band. When our fingers touch, the warm buzzing spreads up my arm straight to my heart.
Smiling, I squint at the inside of the band. Happiness lodges in my throat, barely letting my voice escape. “My wife, my lovely return.”
Tears streak down my cheeks. “It’s perfect,” I whisper. “I just…” I inhale a breath and smile. “I just love you so much, Alex. You, our home, our family, our life… it’s my fairy tale.” I touch his cheek and run my thumb across his lips.
He smiles under my touch and kisses my fingertip.
“I love you, little darlin’.” He leans forward, kissing my lips between each of the next three words. “Still. Again. Always.”
Epilogue
ALEX - TWO YEARS LATER
Waking up to Penny every morning is my favorite thing in the world. Seeing her next to me sleeping, so peaceful and content, with a new day for us to share, is a gift I’ll never take for granted. Waking up alone, filled with emptiness, dreading the day ahead of me, is a thing of the past. Being with Penny has given me a second chance to love life again.
As she sleeps, I lightly brush her hair from her forehead. There’s a tiny constellation of freckles there I’ve had memorized for years. I study the birthmark, something I can do only when she’s unaware. It fascinates me. A scar that transcended time, death, and life. A star-shaped reminder that I lost Brianna but gained Penny. They are different, yet the same. A shared heart, a shared soul. Both of them seamlessly woven into me as far back as I can remember, as far forward as I can see.
We don’t talk about it. It’s one of life’s mysteries that could drive us insane with endless questions and debates. There’s no way to prove or disprove whether Penny was reincarnated. Yes, we have the stuff in Laura’s box, which is safely hidden away in our attic. But all the proof Penny and I really need is what we’ve always felt in our hearts.
So, if you ask me if I believe that my wife was reincarnated, I would say yes a million times with zero doubt. I just know.
I kiss Penny’s cheek. “I love you,” I whisper and climb out of our bed, being careful not to wake her.
Shadow follows me downstairs to the kitchen, his nails tapping on the floor. He waits patiently at his dish until I fill it, then I make myself a latte with the new fancy coffee maker Lily and Marcus gave us for Christmas. It took me two weeks to figure out which buttons to press to get a fucking frothy concoction similar to the one I’d been drinking for years.
As the scent of coffee fills the air, I pull a package of sticky notes from the drawer under the island and write a note to Penny.
Good morning, my beautiful wife…
Come see me when you’re up and about so I can kiss you.
Last night was incredible, you’re so fucking sweet and sexy. I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to share life with you.
I love you more than a dog loves his butt scratched.
Me xo
I always end my notes to her with a cheesy, goofy line because it makes her giggle.
Shadow and I venture to the backyard to view the beginning of a gorgeous day. The sun is shining, birds are chirping. He watches me pick two red roses from the bushes and follows me back inside, where I put them in the amber-ombré vase on the windowsill. I stick the note to Penny’s favorite teal ceramic cup and add a tea bag—the one with the little butterfly tag that sits on the rim of the cup. I place it next to the electric teakettle, then head out to the studio with my faithful fuzzy companion trotting at my side.
My current work in progress looms in the middle of the studio. It’s a five-foot tall, chain-saw-carved wooden gargoyle commissioned by a local tattoo artist who lives and works out of an old Gothic church. The gargoyle will be holding a metal sign with the tattoo shop’s name on it. Today, I’ll be staining the statue black.
By midmorning, I’m halfway through when I sense her near me. I turn toward the barn door, and there she is—gorgeous, watching me, smiling, her red hair appearing to radiate in the backlight of the sun.
My heart leaps with relief and excitement, the same way it would if I hadn’t seen her in a lifetime and she’d just returned. I’ve never told her, but the feeling strikes every time we’re apart for more than an hour. I think there’s still a part of me that expects to lose her, and I’m surprised when she returns.
Smiling, I put my brush down and wipe my hands on a rag.