Out of The Box Regifted (43 page)

Authors: Jennifer Theriot

I shake my head back and forth, now sobbing uncontrollably, and blurt out the words, as I drop to my knees. “Ash there’s been a bad accident. Hayden...” I hold my side, as I break down further and Ash quickly takes the phone from me.

There’s a look of horror on his face. “Who is this? Emily? It’s Ash. What’s wrong honey? Talk to me.” He’s walking around in circles, running his hands through his hair, shaking his head. “Oh dear God - NO! When? What hospital? What’s the number?” He walks into a private area and I follow behind him. His face paled, as he asks, “And Tommy’s there? Where’s Wesley? Has anyone tried to get in touch with him?” He throws his head back in despair, as tears fall from his eyes. “Oh dear God.” He takes a deep breath, attempting to gain composure. “Okay honey. Listen, I’ll call Tommy right now. Sit tight and I’ll call you back.” He nods his head, “Yes, absolutely, you should get a flight to Seattle right away. I’ll get one from here, as soon as I can. We literally just landed, so I’ve got to sort some things out.” He looks at his watch. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you back. You get the first flight out you can. Understand?”

He ends the call and with a look of anguish, he sits in the chair next to me, putting his head in his hands and breathes out. His eyes are full of tears, as he explains, “Olivia, Hayden was on that ferry. Tommy went to the hospital and tried to give blood and… They told him he’s not a match.” He breaks down. “They goddamn told him that Hayden isn’t his biological brother. He’s goddamn freaking out.” He’s flailing his arms and looks like a lost child. “He won’t talk to Emily, and she doesn’t know what to do. She’s beside herself.” He throws his hands up in defeat. “Dear God in heaven, I can’t hide this fucking secret anymore. My family’s falling apart and I have no idea what to do.” He puts his hands up to his lips and breathes into them, “Hayden may not make it. He needs blood. Tommy and I can’t give it to him. I just hope... ” He breaks down and sobs. My heart is aching for him, and I’m unsure what to do. He gets up and I can tell his mind is racing, trying to prioritize what to do first, when he becomes angry. He walks over to the window facing the tarmac, and slams his fist on it. “Damn you Anne. Goddamn you! What have you done to our family?” He beats his head on the glass repeatedly. “Anne GOD DAMN YOU!”

At this moment, I feel like an outsider. There’s nothing I can do and I’m rendered helpless. I walk over to Ash and put my arms around him, hoping he’ll respond to me.

I whisper, “Ash, I’m going with you.”

He turns to face me, looking forlorn and alone, shaking his head, no. “Olivia, I’m so sorry, but this is something I’ve got to do on my own. It’s up to me to fix this mess. I’m totally responsible for this. I should never have let it go this far.” He fists his hands. “I’ve failed everyone.” He leans his head on the glass and cries.

I decide to take the lead. I turn him around and firmly put my hands on his arms. With determination, I look him in the eye. “Ash, I’m going with you no matter what.” I point my finger at him. “And while you say you’ve got to fix your family, your family IS my family.” My voice breaks, as I take his face in my hands. “Look, I love you and if this happened to me, you’d insist on going with me, and you
know
it.” I can’t stop the tears that are falling from my eyes, “You’re not going anywhere without me. I’m in this one hundred percent with you.” I put my finger in his chest and through my teeth I say, “I love you, Ash Harper- you’re mine and I’m yours. Remember?”

He looks at me through teary eyes and kisses the top of my forehead. His chest is heaving, as he cries, “Sunshine. God I love you so much and I want nothing more than for you to be with me, but this isn’t gonna be easy.” He wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “I have no idea how the boys are gonna react, and I can’t guarantee anything. I have no idea how Hayden is, other than he’s in critical condition.” He puts his hand behind his neck and looks up at the ceiling, deeply exhaling. “I’ve got a lot of explaining to do, and there’s a lot of hurt that is going to surface. Plain and simple, it could get ugly, and I don’t want you to have to deal with it right now. You don’t deserve to be mixed up in this.” He looks down at the floor. “God I’ve got to get it together. I can’t…”

I put my arm through his and softly rub his forearm. “Ash, no matter what, the boys need to know that we’re a family. That we love each other unconditionally, and that through our strengths, we can weather anything.” I wipe away the tears from my cheeks, “I know it’s not going to be easy, no one said it would be, but I don’t care, I’m with you all the way. You are not leaving without me. End of discussion.”

He looks at me, with a sense of relief, but yet still uncertain. “You sure about this, Liv? I can’t promise you there won’t be hurtful words. Hell, I may lose all the boys. I just don’t know,” He breaks down again and takes my face in his hands, “You’re not gonna bail on me?”

I smile through my tears, hoping to reassure him, as I look into his eyes. “Ash Harper! I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life. No way I’m bailing, I swear. We’re in this together.”

He hugs me tight, so tight, that I swear I can feel his love. Our hearts are united and I’m confident at this very moment that we will get through this.

His phone rings, and he holds it out so I can see. With a pained and fearful look on his face, he closes his eyes and puts his hand over them. “It’s Tommy. God help me.”

I give him a hug, as he takes the call and walks over to a private spot to talk.

The End.

Sometimes in your life, people are sent your way at the right place, the right time. The good Lord sent me an angel, someone who took a nothing like me under her wing. She’s my hero. This amazing woman encouraged and pushed me voraciously, to what she felt was the pinnacle of my potential. Somewhere along this journey, she also became a wonderful friend. Tbird London prefers to remain in the background and that’s okay. I totally respect that. She is the epitome of selfless and shuns the spotlight with a vengeance. That being said, I just want her to know how much I appreciate her talents and her friendship. I’ll stop here, for fear that she’ll call me out for recognizing her. Tbird, I love you! You’re incredible.

I’m also lucky to have the steadfast support of my husband and kids. Writing a book requires so much time and I’ve discovered, finding the perfect balance and management of time, isn’t easy. It’s damn hard, matter of fact. Knowing your family stands behind you cheering you on is beyond comprehension. Hearing the simple words “Mom I’m so proud of you” from my kids, is the fuel that keeps me going. Just like Olivia, it’s day to day for me. I’m learning as I go and I’ll never take for granted, the love from family and friends.

I’ve got to also acknowledge the incredible creative team behind Out of the Box Regifted. The cover was a twofold process. Rhonda Hudnall Photography photographed the exquisitely beautiful hands. From there, we went to Marya Heiman at Strong Image Editing, who put her graphics ‘hands’ on it and made it into a cover. She gave me so many versions to choose from and finally, the last one reached out and grabbed my heart..

My oldest son created and maintains my website. He’s a man of many talents and he never ceases to amaze me. He continues to remind me to blog and I appreciate his beautiful wife allowing him to spend countless hours, keeping the website creative and fun. I love you Dale!

At the heart of my heart is an amazing musician friend by the name of Mark Odom. He took lyrics I wrote called Fairytale Man, originally featured in Out of the Box Awakening and put them to music - beautiful music. To top that off, he recorded it. As if that’s not enough, it’s on iTunes. Every time I listen to it, I’m humbled that he would do this for me.

To the gals who did beta reading, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I asked, you read, and your suggestions were so helpful in making Regifted what I feel is a quality read.

Crystal Marie at Little House of Edits is the brains behind the daunting job of editing. She came highly recommended from the Indie author community and I’m thrilled that she had time to work me in.
Her patience with me is golden.

From Little House of Edits, we went over to Tammy at Butterfly Dreams Proofing and Editing who put proofreading touch on it and finally to
Courtney Knight Nuckels at Clean Teen Publishing the expert behind my formatting. She effortlessly turned my manuscript into a book and is a dream to work with!

So as you can see, this process involves many talents. I’m so grateful to what I affectionately call ‘Team OOBREG’

I’ve got to give a mention to a phenomenal group of 20 ladies—a sorority of sorts called CLS. Most of us are in the USA, with a couple living across the pond. You all know who you are and I want you to know how much you mean to me. The support that stems from this group is indescribable. #PTTP ladies!

Finally, to all the people who have purchased my book and taken the time to write reviews, I’m forever grateful. The emails and reviews I receive are icing on the cake….

So you see, there are some pretty spectacular forces in my court…

From here, I go on to write the third book in the Out of the Box series, Out of the Box Everlasting…I am truly #blessedbeyondwords