I shook my head. “I’ve lost almost everything,” I said. “My childhood. My pop. My grammy. And I left my future to burn with everything my grammy and pop owned.”
“What are you talking about? You still have a future, Shannon.”
“No. His ring,” I cried, not making any sense. “His ring is gone, and so is my chance at a precious moment. I’d hoped you were it, but without the ring, I feel like it’s not possible.”
His expression cleared, and his eyes widened.
“What did you say?”
“My pop left me his wedding band. He told Grammy to give it to me when he passed. He said I was to give it to my precious moment.” Realizing how crazy I sounded, I dropped my arms and said, “Never mind. You have no idea what I’m talking about.”
“Actually, I do,” he said, moving closer to me. Taking my hand, his warm fingers made my cold ones tingle. “We’re just passing through, Shannon, and if you find someone you love, you should treat them like it’s the last time you’ll ever see them … every day. Treat them as if they’re a precious moment in your life that you’ll only get to experience once.”
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a golden wedding band that looked awfully familiar. It wasn’t until I saw the date of my grammy and pop’s wedding day etched into the side that I knew it was Pop’s ring.
“Where did you get that?” I asked in shock.
“Your grandmother gave it to me. She said I should give it to my precious moment. Then she explained to me what that was. It makes sense that it belongs to you because that’s exactly what you are … my precious moment.”
EPILOGUE
“WITH THIS RING, I THEE WED,” I said as I slid my pop’s wedding band onto Matthew’s finger.
He smiled down at me, his blue eyes shining with love and the sweet dimple in his cheek winking. Nothing was more beautiful than Matthew Ellis in a tuxedo.
Nothing.
His dark hair was styled, his skin tanner than usual from our vacation to Hawaii a few weeks before. His tux was black with a crisp, white shirt beneath and a pink boutonniere pinned to his front.
Pink for my grammy since it was her favorite color.
Soft pink flowers and baby’s breath decorated as far as the eye could see. And even though I knew Matthew wasn’t the biggest fan of the color, he understood my reason for it and accepted it with a smile.
He turned to Devin, his best man, and took the wedding band from him when the pastor asked. And then he slipped it onto my finger, sliding his large, warm fingers across my skin. Lilly, my maid of honor, sniffled beside me, her pregnancy hormones getting the best of her and making me smile thinking about how far we had all came from where we started.
After we had exchanged rings, we held hands, and my eyes moved over his wedding band once again. Pop’s ring looked amazing on Matthew’s finger, and I knew it was because if any other man was going to wear something that meant so much to my pop, it was Matthew. He embodied the same ideals and morals, and he loved me beyond measure, taking care of me in a way that I knew my pop would approve of.
And as far as grammy went, well, she had basically chosen Matthew for me. She might have been in and out of her mind toward the end, but I knew when she gave Matthew pop’s ring, she was doing it with purpose.
We had their approval, and that meant the world to me.
I could only hope that our marriage would be as happy as theirs was.
The smiles.
The memories.
The love.
I was going to live those things with my husband. And as we passed through this life together, we would do it hand and hand, loving each other like it was our last day together … every day.
Grammy had once said she was lucky to receive two precious moments in her life—me and my pop. And as I thought about the tiny miracle growing inside me that would one day bring me the ultimate kind of love, I knew I was one of the lucky ones, as well.
KEEP READING FOR AN EXCERPT FROM ON THE PLUS SIDE AND BLACK SHEEP!
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Slammer
Sacked
Black Sheep
The Chubby Girl Chronicles
On the Plus Side
Hot and Heavy
The Blow Hole Boys
The Blow Hole Rock Hard Box Set
Playing Patience (Zeke) Perfecting Patience 1.5 (Zeke) Finding Faith (Finn) Convincing Constance (Tiny) Having Hope (Chet)
The Black Trilogy
Little Black Beginning
Little Black Book
Little Black Break
The Wrath of Sin
The Procedure
Jack Hammer
The TVMA Box Set
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“But, Dev, he hit me first… kind of,” Jenny said as she handed me a socket wrench. I was under the car, of course. Under the hood of a vehicle was my second home.
“It’s not my fault he didn’t protect his balls. You always protect your balls. Even I know that, and I’m a chick.” She bit her nails as she talked. I could tell by her muffled voice.
“That’s debatable. Me and Dad aren’t so sure anymore.” I chuckled as she kicked my booted foot, which stuck out from under the car. “Also, could you please not talk about balls with me? I’m pretty sure there’s like a rule about little sisters saying the word balls anywhere in the vicinity of their brother. If there isn’t, let’s just go ahead and put that rule on the books.” I released the old oil from the engine.
It splattered up from the oil pan and landed on my grease-covered shirt. I pulled the rag from my back pocket and wiped my hands so that I could get a better grip on the ratchet.
“I’m assuming the new rule applies to the word cock, too?” She laughed.
“Yes!” I said, a little too loudly. “That word is strictly forbidden.”
“Don’t be a little bitch, Dev,” she said as she slipped a new oil filter under the car to me.
“Watch your damn mouth, Jenny. Could you at least attempt to be a lady? Ladies don’t kick boys in their balls because they win a game of Halo. I’d be pissed if I were him, too. You need to call him and apologize. Josh has been your best friend too long—don’t let a stupid game ruin that.”
“First of all, he did not win and second, I was raised by two dudes. I’m pretty sure the lady train left the station when I was nine.” She popped open a can of soda and sighed. “Whatever, I guess I’ll run him over some gummy worms later and say sorry. He’s such a baby. It’s just balls. He smacked me in the boob once, and you didn’t hear me bitchin’ and moanin’,” she said as she left the garage and headed toward the back door of the house.
“You said balls again!” I yelled from under the car.
I couldn’t hear her response over the loud smack of the screened door.