Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Read Online Books/Novels: | 209 Wedding Lane - A Cherry Falls |
|---|---|
Author/Writer of Book/Novel: | Lucy Darling |
| Language: | English |
| Book Information: | |
I was a child groom. It’s not how it sounds. I was a willing groom to a sweet girl who said she was dying. Her final wish was to get married, and I was all too happy to grant it. So right there in that hospital, two kids got hitched. It was the best day of my young life. . . Until I couldn’t find her. Until she was gone. It broke my heart. She took the pieces with her.I got older, but I never forgot about the little girl with the innocent smile and face of an angel. I had no idea when I took her hand that day she would guide me down a path to greatness. Then I found her. She was alive and in Cherry Falls. I knew I had to have her, to keep her safe, and make her mine. I just have to convince my wife to do me the honor of becoming my bride once again. I got married when I was a kid, when I didn’t know what love really meant. But now I do, and I’m never going to let it go. | |
| Books by Author: | Lucy Darling |
Prologue
Lennon
I stare at the sign, trying to figure out where the heck I made a wrong turn. I should have kept myself parked in the waiting room chair like my mother told me to, but she was gone for over an hour, and I wanted to see my brother. Plus, it gives me the creeps to be alone here for too long.
I tilt my head when I read the word chapel. There’s an arrow pointing to the right. Why would there be a chapel inside of a hospital? Another arrow points in the other direction to the cafeteria.
I’m starving, but I don’t have any money on me. If I go to the cafeteria, I’ll only be tortured by the smell of food. I guess the chapel it is.
I’m still in my hockey uniform. I left all of my crap in my locker at the rink. We hadn't had a chance to change before being rushed from the middle of the game because my brother once again lost his temper.
It took all of us to pull him and the goalie from the other team off each other.
I swear he’s getting into a fight in every single game these days. This time I think he needs stitches. I’m not sure if he broke anything but I know he gave as good as he got. He was holding his arm tightly to himself, but not one tear had leaked from his eyes. He’s tough as nails.
With nothing better to do and already likely in trouble, I head right toward the chapel. My stomach tightens as I draw closer. I notice a girl standing in the middle of the hallway, dressed in all white.
She’s got her hand resting on a thin metal pole that has tubes running into her arm. She turns her head to look at me. The brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen in my life meet mine. They stop me in my tracks. But there is no missing the dark circles under her eyes. She’s sick. That thought almost knocks the wind out of me.
“Hi.” A big smile pulls at her lips. “I’m Willow.” Not missing a beat, she introduces herself, holding her hand out. I take it.
“Len.” Her hand is cold but so much life shines in her eyes. “You’re dying.” My dumbass teenage brain blurts out. I swear if I could I would shove my foot in my mouth.
“So they say.” She gives a little shrug of her shoulder. Suddenly, I have the urge to cry. No fear shows on her delicate face. Before she turned and looked my way I would have thought her to be an angel, but angels don’t die. Do they?
“I’m sorry.” I not only feel bad about what I said, but I feel a heaviness settle in my chest.
“How sorry?” She tilts her head back to look up at me. A dimple forms in her cheek. It’s small and almost unnoticeable. Yet, it makes her look even more adorable. In her hand she holds a wrinkled paper tightly. “Sorry enough to marry me?”
“What?” I take a step back, looking around. She can’t be more than nine or ten years old. Her eyes, though, look so much older and wiser. An old soul. That’s the only way to describe them. Sadness creeps in, knowing that her illness probably made her grow up way too soon.
“I want to get married before I die.” Her words are a sucker punch to my gut. They hit me harder than any hit I’ve ever taken on the ice.
“Why are you dying?” I take the paper from her hand that she’s holding out to me. I read it. It’s a fucking bucket list. I’ve heard of them before. I know people have them for the things they want to experience in life before they die, but the thought of this precious creature having one almost brings me to my knees.
“Leukemia.”
I remember learning about leukemia in biology.
“Are you scared?” She shakes her head no. “So you just die?” I can barely get the words past my lips, my throat feeling so tight. The urge to cry pushes down on me. But I hold the tears back, wanting to be strong for her. Not wanting her to think I’m another person who feels sorry for her.
“I want to get married.” She nods towards the chapel. “Will you marry me?”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.”
She drops her eyes from mine, and after everything she’s told me, this is the first time I see sadness on her face. I can’t handle the look of disappointment for another second.
“Okay, I’ll marry you.” I find myself wanting her to smile again. She does, giving me that dimple again. She holds her hand out to me, and I take it. I open the door to the chapel with my other hand, knowing that what I’m doing is nuts, but do it anyway.