Page 81 of A Montana Secret Admirer
At least that was what she continued to tell herself as the clock ticked forward. Serenity was moving forward.
Reese was moving forward.
This was the best for both of them.
By the time she’d finished up her tasks for the day and gotten her boys to bed, she’d missed the sunset. It was dark outside, but she couldn’t fight the pull she had to sit out on the porch and look up at the night sky. Somehow, it made her feel closer to Finn while also sharing a part of her with Reese.
Maybe she was just losing her mind.
The second she stepped out onto the porch, she saw it.
A single lotus flower beside an envelope. Serenity eyed the envelope warily, the urge to run from it just as strong as the urge to scoop it up and read its contents.
She glanced around the area, but she already knew she wouldn’t find him. And what did she expect after she’d avoided Reese all day?
Slowly, she approached and picked up the envelope. With shaking hands, she tore it open.
Serenity,
I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were special. Light. Joy. Hope. You practically exuded it from your very soul. You drew me to you like a moth to a flame, and I knew I was done for the second you smiled at me. But you were hurting, wounded from a loss that no person should ever have to experience in their life, so I gave you space. I wanted you to heal, so when the time came that you could love again, you’d pick me.
That was the hardest part and sometimes I regretted that decision. Your secret admirer was born out of a for you toknow that someone was out there, falling for you without any expectation of reciprocation.
I picked the lotus flower because it reminded me of you. It embodied everything I knew about you. Lotus means rebirth. It means hope. The sheer fact that it grows from the darkest, murkiest waters and still thrives means something. I wanted to give you something that is as strong as you. The lotus overcomes much and thrives despite it all. Just like you have done. And I admire you for it all the more.
My love for you runs deeper than you will ever comprehend. Time. Distance. None of that will change the way my heart beats just for you.
For you and your boys.
I hope one day our paths cross again so I get another chance to show you what a future could be together. One year isn’t all that long in the grand scheme of things. I don’t expect you to wait for me, but I’ll wait for you. As long as it takes.
All my love,
Reese
Serenity’s handscontinued to shake, and a sob stuck in her throat. Her head snapped up, and she charged off the porch toward his house. Her vision was so blurred that she didn’t notice the figure sitting on the steps of the porch until she nearly collided with him.
“He’s gone, Serenity,” Leo murmured.
She nearly squeaked with surprise. Wiping at her face, she took in a shuddering breath. “He’s gone? He wasn’t supposed to leave until tomorrow.”
Leo shrugged. “Caught an earlier flight.” His eyes dipped to the letter in her hand. “Glad you got it. I was worried Noah or Jane would find it first.”
Serenity looked down at the letter. “He asked you to leave this for me?”
Leo nodded as he got to his feet with a sigh. His mouth opened as if he planned on saying something, but then he closed it and shook his head. “Goodnight, Serenity.”
“Goodnight,” she whispered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Reese heard his phone chime,and he darted across the small apartment to snatch it from the kitchen table. Disappointment crashed into him when he read his brother’s name. It had been a week. One week and nothing.
Classes had started the other day, and he was now settled into his place. He had a roommate who was rarely home. And while he was enjoying the change of scenery and staying busy with an exorbitant amount of coursework, it was moments like this one when he couldn’t stop thinking about Serenity.
The certification he was earning from this training was usually spread out over the course of two years. It was the equivalent of an associate’s degree, but it had been crammed into half the time for people like him.
His days were so filled to the brim with classes, labs, and hands-on training that by the time he got home in the evenings, he was beat.
