Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Lena
Stanley Riggins stole my heart back in high school. Our love blossomed amidst the chaos of life, surviving every challenge that came our way.
We married young, determined to face the world together. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, because what we built wasn’t just a life, it’s a home—for us and our five wonderful sons.
Now that they have incredible wives of their own, they’ve given us a lively bunch of grandchildren, and our lives are filled with more love and laughter than ever before.
Stanley
From the moment our eyes locked, I knew Lena was the girl for me.
I finally felt the magic the Riggins men always talked about. Through all the ups and downs, our bond only grew stronger. We started a business and then a family. I couldn’t be prouder of our boys and the lives they’ve built with the women who love them as much as we do.
Having Lena by my side as we watch our love continue through the next generation is the greatest reward of all. It’s a true testament to the enduring bond we forged in those high school hallways. Year after year, and breath by breath, she’s still the one.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
CHAPTER
ONE
Lena
Seventeen years old. Where it all began.
Today marks the first of a new journey. A new school for my senior year of high school. I hate I had to leave all of my friends behind, but I understand why we had to move.
Six months ago, we lost my father to cancer. One day, he was this vibrant, full-of-life man, and the next, he was lying in a hospital bed as we said our last goodbyes.
I hate cancer.
My mom stuck it out to let me finish the school year, but the house was too big for her to afford on her own. My father had life insurance, but medical bills and the burial took most of it. So, that means my mom and I had to pack up our lives and move to a smaller house. That just so happens to be in a little town just south of Nashville. A little town that’s forty minutes from my old high school but closer to my mom’s work.
I didn’t scream and yell or act out like most kids my age. I understand why we had to do it. I don’t like it, but it’s what we had to do in order to be able to survive on my mom’s salary alone. She’s a nurse at a surgery center. She makes good money, or that’s what she tells me, just not enough. I understand this is what we needed to do.
I hate this move almost as much as I hate cancer.
Anyway, that brings me to this moment. I’m standing in front of the bathroom mirror, fussing over my hair. It’s my senior year, and I have no friends. I don’t know a single soul in this new school, and I’m nervous. When Mom asks, I tell her it will be fine, and I know that it will be. Life has a way of working out. What I don’t tell her is that my insides have been churning for a week, dreading walking into that school on my own.
“Lena!” Mom yells from the kitchen. “It’s time to go. You don’t want to be late on your first day.”
I sigh and take one last look in the mirror before turning off the light. I rush across the hall to my bedroom and grab my backpack. I do a quick look, making sure I have my house key, everything the school said I would need for today, and money for lunch. I’m supposed to report to the office to get my class schedule, and lists will be provided by the teachers for any other supplies we might need for classes.
“It’s only one year,” I mutter as I slowly head toward the kitchen where my mom will be waiting in her scrubs, with her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and her tumbler of piping-hot, way-too-sweet coffee in her hand.
“You look beautiful.” Her eyes mist with tears as she smiles, and I give her a watery smile of my own.
Neither of us needs to say it, but we both wish Dad was here. He’s supposed to be here for this—to watch me start my final year of high school. I don’t let myself go there. I can’t think about all the things he’s going to miss. That’s an emotional journey I can’t take today.
Instead, I hike my backpack over my shoulder, grab the bottle of water and protein bar Mom laid out for me on the counter, and smile at my mother. “Ready?”
“You’re going to be great, Lena.”
“Of course I am.” We both know that my confidence is false, but neither one of us mentions it. Fake it until you make it or until the end of your senior year. You know, whichever comes first.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?”
Inwardly, I shudder at the thought. “Mom, I’m fine. You’ll be late for work. Besides, I can’t be the new girl who’s going to be eighteen in a few weeks and lets her mommy drive her to school.”
She laughs at that. “Fine, be safe. You have your house key, right?”
“I do. I’ll see you when you get home.”
“I love you, Lena.”
“Love you too, Mom.” I don’t stick around for more words. We’re both ragged with emotions, and we need to get on with our days.
Pulling open the door of my Jeep, I climb behind the wheel. Every time I do, I think of my dad. I can still remember the day he pulled up to the house in this Jeep. He got out and handed me the keys before wrapping his arms around my mother and kissing her temple. I stood there in shock while they smiled at me. He was healthy, then, but that changed not long after.
“Love you, Daddy,” I whisper as I start my Jeep and carefully pull out onto the road.