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Authors: Keren Hughes
Seven Months Later…
“One last push and all this will be over,” the midwife said, encouraging me to keep going.
I screamed at the top of my lungs. After eighteen hours of labour, my daughter was finally going to be out in the big wide world instead of inside me where I could protect her. I didn’t want to push, I wanted her to stay where it was safe. But that was never going to happen and I would just have to do everything in my power to look after her.
The midwife was right—one final push and Evie was born. The nurses took her and cleaned her, then handed her to me. She looked up at me with her beautiful blue-green eyes, her daddy’s eyes. She was absolutely perfect.
As I lay in my room waiting for visitors, Meghan sat with me and Evie. She’d been my birthing partner, my one link to her brother as our daughter was brought into the world. I looked at my daughter and began to cry. My tears were joy mixed with sorrow. Joy that Evie was here and sorrow that her daddy would never get to meet her. Meghan reached for my hand and as I looked up, I saw she was crying too. This was a bitter sweet moment if ever there was one. We both knew it should have been him in that room as his daughter was delivered, but Meghan had really stepped up and been the most supportive sister-in-law that I could have asked for.
One by one, my visitors began to appear. Lynne came first and brought Ayden with her. He was over the moon to meet his little sister. These last few months had really hit him hard. The funeral was one of the worst days of his life as well as mine. We’d all sat around regaling each other with tales of Drake’s antics. His family had shared many memories of him as a child, but Ayden had been inconsolable. He’d tried to be strong for me, so Meghan told me the next day. He’d said that he couldn’t cry because he didn’t want to upset me, but Meghan had told him it was okay to feel sad and to cry. She said there was a time to be strong and a time to shed tears for the daddy he loved more than anything.
Ayden sat in the chair with his baby sister in his arms and I reached for my phone to take a photo. I would cherish every memory that I had of Drake, so that one day I may tell his daughter what a wonderful daddy he was. I could tell her how excited he was when we found out we were having another baby, but there would also come a day when I had to tell her why she never got to meet him.
Later in the evening, as the first stars began to show, Ayden looked up at the sky from the hospital window and pointed to a star.
“That’s where our daddy is now, Evie. He’s the brightest star in the sky. He watches over us from afar. He loves you so much, he chose your name before you were born. Mommy says that your name means
‘living.’
I wish you’d got to meet him because he was the best dad anyone could wish for.”
I felt a lump in my throat at his words. For a boy so young, he had a very wise head on his shoulders. I was just glad he had so many years of happy memories with Drake, so he could tell Evie all about him as she grew up.
~THE END~
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Acknowledgements
Firstly, I’d like to thank my BETA readers;
Carolyn Lee, Trudy Moore, Justine McFadyen, Ruth Phillips, Amanda Brown Jensen,
Siobhán
Phinn
. You ladies inspired me to keep going whenever I had any doubts about finishing this book. Thank you ladies for also being my friends. They say not to let friends be BETA readers, but it is people like you I actually look to for honesty and integrity.
To my blurb writer,
Savannah Blevins
; thank you for the blurb, I love it :D And for the tag line…If it wasn’t for you, that wouldn’t exist and I can’t imagine this book without it.
To my editor
Toni Rakestraw
; you are absolutely amazing. If it wasn’t for your guidance, I’m 100% sure this book wouldn’t be published.
To my cover designer,
Ashley Byland
at Redbird Designs; girl you ROCK!! :D Thank you for capturing the perfect vision for this cover. It’s my favourite of all my covers…so far ;)
To my cover model,
Amanda Renee Doyle
; pretty lady you are awesomesauce. I know that isn’t a word, but it *should* be. This picture is perfect for the vision I had in my mind’s eye for Annalise. You are beautiful inside and out. Never let anybody tell you any different and never let anyone dull your sparkle!
To my PA,
Laura Rouston
, thank you for also BETA reading this book, for being my personal cheerleader, even when you woke me up with a text where you swore at me for leaving you hanging mid-chapter because I didn’t know where it was going. You kept me smiling, even through the darker moments.
Thank you to my
Nan
for always believing in me. You’re the best woman I know. You love me and support me unconditionally. I will always love you.
To my son for always having faith in me. You will never know how much it means to me when I hear you talk about my books proudly to your teachers and friends. I love you,
Calum
. You are my heart and soul <3
To my
Auntie Julie
, for being the first person to ever read my first book, for editing it for me so I could submit it and eventually get it published. You helped me begin my journey and I know you’ll be there wherever the journey may take me. Love you xoxo
Thank you to my friends who allowed me to use their real names in this book.
Nicky, Jade
, you girls ROCK!
There are so many other people to thank and it would take a whole book to mention them one by one. But I would kick myself if I didn’t mention a few.
Karen Rock
, you are my Wonder Woman.
Kelly Hashway
, for always being an author I admire, someone who makes me strive to achieve more and for being a close friend.
Trudy Moore
, I know I thanked you for being a BETA reader, but this is me saying thank you so much for being someone I can count on.
Sue Harper
, for always believing in me. For having my back and being here tirelessly making swag with me. Your friendship truly means the world to me <3
Lucii Grubb
, you are amazing. You always cheer me up when I am full of self-doubt. Thank you for all your support. I feel like I wouldn’t be here without you.
Thank you to everyone who has been there for me, whether you’ve been with me since my first book was published or you’ve only just discovered who I am, you have all helped build me up, to make me believe in myself when self-doubt comes calling.
Lastly, thank you to
YOU
for reading this book. I hope you enjoyed it and can forgive me for how it ended.
About the Author
Keren lives in the UK and is an avid bookworm. She fondly remembers the days where she would lie in her bedroom away from distraction and get lost in the world of make believe. Her first real memory of reading something she fell in love with was The Hobbit. In her teenage years, she became addicted to Point Horror books like RL Stine’s The Boyfriend, but she also enjoyed light Summer reads like What Katy Did and What Katy Did Next.
Over the years she has come to realise that she is a bit of an OCD freak about books. They have to be in perfect condition without the slightest bit of damage.
She has been a book reviewer for the last few years and a book hoarder for a LOT longer. You can NEVER have too many books! Her shelves are bulging and overflowing but she always wants “just one more book.”
Keren had her first book published by Limitless Publishing in November 2013. It’s a YA Paranormal Romance novel called Stolen. Her second book was published with LP in May 2014. This time, an NA Contemporary Romance called Nothing Like The First Time.
She couldn’t have been more surprised when NLTFT appeared on the Amazon Best Seller list. That was a dream come true.
Keren is currently working on more NA Contemporary Romances for you to fall in love with.
Keren loves hearing from her readers.