Crazy For You by Alexander, S.B. (love story novels in english TXT) 📗

one. Roses and maple trees had been her favorites, and Dad had picked out her plot specifically because of the maple swaying nearby.

“Mom,” I said out loud, “I miss you so much. I wish you were here to guide me through what I’m about to face. To help me navigate this crazy time with Dad and the shocking news that I was adopted.”

The leaves swished together, and I took it as a wishful sign that maybe she was with me. If she was, she would have said, “Skyler, you’re tough. You’re brave, and you can get through anything.”

I didn’t have her confidence. I didn’t consider myself the least bit strong. I’d barely handled her death. She’d been taken from us in a blink of an eye, and now I was watching my other parent wither away, limb by limb and muscle by muscle.

At least I was getting the time to say goodbye to Dad. I’d never had that chance with Mom. That fateful morning, she’d left work before I’d even gotten out of bed.

I didn’t know what was worse, watching Dad erode or enduring Mom’s instant death. I swore, with each day that passed, it felt like someone was plucking my heart out, one tiny piece at a time, and I was dying with him.

I closed my eyes, clasped my hands in front of me, and prayed. I mainly prayed for Dad, that he didn’t suffer or experience pain. I prayed he would be around another couple of years or three or five, although he didn’t have much of a life. I knew he was fighting as hard as he could for me. But I didn’t want to let him go. I didn’t want to think of a future without him.

“God, if you’re listening, please take care of my dad, and make sure he goes peacefully. While you’re at it, can you also find a cure for ALS? I know my dad won’t see a cure, but for all those people who will come after him.”

I blinked away tear after tear as I glanced up at the beautiful painted sky, looking for some sort of sign that God had heard me. All I got was a rush of air from a hard wind that blew out of nowhere.

I ran my fingertips over Mom’s name. Candace Lawson: mother, wife, and a woman who had put her heart and soul before anyone else’s.

Her name began to blur as my thoughts took a sudden shift to Dad’s letter. “I will always and forever be your father, but I am not your biological father. Your mom and I adopted you when you were just a newborn.”

I wasn’t ready to know my birth mother or even my biological father. Heck, I wasn’t even ready to deal with the fact that I was adopted. Yet I had so many damn questions. Why did she give me up? What does she look like? Where is my father? Are they married? Do they have other kids? Does she think about me?

My stomach twisted at the notion that my own birth mother had carried me for nine months, then given me away.

A salty tear slid into my mouth as I replayed the scene on the deck with Dad and Nan. I knew it had been difficult for him to break the news to me, and I believed he’d died a little more inside.

My gut was telling me he was getting close to joining Mom. Frankly, I believed he was still here because he had unfinished business to take care of, and as soon as those things were in order, he would finally give in to his fate.

My phone chirped in the peaceful air, making me flinch. I plucked the annoying thing out of my back pocket, and when I did, Dad’s letter fell to the ground. I went to grab it when a hard wind blew, taking the letter with it.

Fuck! I flew to my feet as if an invisible being had picked me up. I chased the letter as though it would save my life.

But the wind held the letter in its grasp, blowing it across the cemetery.

I dodged stone angels and other religious figures, more gravestones, a dying wreath, and several trees. I couldn’t lose that letter. I ran like a gazelle, darting in one direction then the other as the wind seemed to be playing with me, a game of tag like the ones I’d played at recess in elementary school.

The wind died, and the letter floated to the ground. I reached out to grab it when the universe said, “No, Skyler, you can’t have it just yet.” I was again chasing Dad’s heartfelt words, attempting not to kill myself by face-planting on concrete or falling into the empty grave that loomed ahead.

I looked down for a split second and plowed into what felt like stone but was really a solid wall of muscle. I stumbled back and glanced up at the most beautiful creature, who had graced my dreams and psyche for the last month.

Colton bent down and plucked the letter from under his Nike. He examined the piece of paper. “This must contain secrets for you to almost kill yourself.” His raspy Southern drawl wrapped me in gooey warmth.

He had no idea. I huffed and puffed to regulate my breathing as I snatched the letter from him before he thought to open it. “Thank you.”

I pinched the letter in my grasp so tightly that someone would need a chisel to pry it out of my hands. I was afraid even to shove it in my pocket, in case I lost it for good if the wind wanted to mess with me again.

Colton studied my hand, his expression loaded with questions.

I had a few of my own. I opened my mouth to ask, and then noticed the name Caldwell on the gravestone to my right. A twisted part of me was hoping he’d been following me, just not in a creepy way.

Two beats passed as