Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 138642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Somehow, my eyes find a few last tears.
I understand.
It’s finally time for us to truly let Ethan go.
Hand in hand, we walk through the tombstones, the procession as solemn as our wedding march.
When we reach my brother’s grave, it’s almost jarring to see the freshly turned earth there, the grass only slowly beginning to grow over it in a thinner carpet than the neighboring plots.
We interred him right around New Year’s.
No more empty grave.
No more missing date of death.
No more gaping questions.
My wonderful brother finally laid to rest, his name cleared... and I remember my resolution that day.
To live a life he’d be proud of.
As I stand here with Grant, I think I’m on my way.
Ethan would be proud of me today.
Of both of us.
He tried to save the woman he loved. He fought for her. He failed, in the end, but I followed in his footsteps.
Together, we saved my family, Grant’s family, our family.
We fought like hell and we won.
“Hey, big brother,” I whisper, smiling even though I’m breaking. “Guess who just married your favorite asshole?”
“Hey!” Grant flares with a chuckle. “Don’t listen to her. Well, listen to her, but not about me being an asshole.”
“Oh, please.” I snort. “He’d be right here calling you every variant of ass along with me.”
“Yeah, guess he would.” Grant’s eyes soften. He squeezes my hand tight as he looks at the headstone in silence.
“Hey, buddy,” he whispers. “Hope you know I’ll do my damnedest to make her happy. I’ll look after her—even when she’s giving me the lifetime of hell I’m missing from you.”
Be still, my heart.
But that’s asking the impossible.
Because I don’t think I could ever feel more complete than I do right now.
Hand in hand with my new husband, feeling Ethan’s presence.
He’s still here, still watching over us from the Great Beyond, and loving the crazy romance we’ve found in each other.
That’s when I remember to check the ring.
I reluctantly pry my hand free from Grant’s and work it off so I can angle it just right to catch the light that lets me see the letters inside.
We’ll live on in love. Always.
My heart swells as I slip the ring back on and twine my fingers in Grant’s.
Talk about heavy.
But it hits deep, hits true, hits until I’m smiling so hard my face screws up because he’s right.
When has he ever been wrong?
For Ethan, for Nell, for ourselves, we’ll go on.
We’ll live on and make the most of these lives.
We linger for some time with our own quiet thoughts, saying goodbye to Ethan in our own quiet way. I think we’re both living the same kaleidoscope of memories and emotions that bat my heart around like a tennis ball.
Eventually, by some unspoken agreement, we turn away. But not without me stopping to pull one of the flowers from my hair. A bright-blue one.
Ethan always loved dark, rich blue, too.
I lay it down gently on the grass and kiss the ground.
Then I rejoin my husband.
My love.
My destiny.
My sweetest obsession.
Together, we leave death behind forever, and step into a heavenly new life.