Shane couldn’t imagine the devastation of losing the woman he’d loved his entire lifetime. Of waking up in the mornings without her beside him, and feeling the cold, empty sheets. His father was a strong man, but to see him broken, kneeling next to his mother, and staying with her until they placed her in the coffin, had broken him in ways that the loss of a limb never could. Nothing compared to that kind of pain.
He hated wearing suits, but he sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the tips of the shiny black shoes that pinched his foot. He heard her footsteps from the bathroom where she’d been getting ready and he felt his heart clutch in his chest.
Lacey sat beside him on the bed, her stockinged feet tiny next to his, and she placed her hand on his knee. The last week had been rough, but there was one thing he’d never lost sight of.
“I love you, Lacey.” His voice was harsh and raspy with emotion. She squeezed his knee and nodded, unable to speak. “Don’t ever leave me. I need you more than I’ve ever needed anyone. You make me a better man. You make me whole.”
She dropped her head to his shoulder and he put his arm around her holding her close. “I’ll never leave,” she said. “My place is here with you. My home is with you.”
“I know my mother is smiling down on us right now and probably telling all of her new friends that it’s about damned time her son settled down. And that I just had to wait for the right woman to come along. The only woman who was put on this earth for me, because that’s how MacKenzie’s fall in love. It only comes once.”
“I love you too, Shane MacKenzie. I need you too. We’re both more together than we ever were apart. And I know she’s so very proud of you. She told me so. She’ll always be here with us. She built a family that was meant to last generations, and she did her job well. Just like the generations before her. Her legacy lives in you.”
Shane nodded and felt himself choke up, but he held back the tears. There would be time for that later. “Let’s go be with the family. They’re waiting on us to celebrate the life of a remarkable woman.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Shane stood and held out his hand, waiting for her to take it. The day would be hard. Maybe the hardest he’d ever experienced. But they’d get through it together, heal together, and start their lives together. A MacKenzie had one soulmate in life, and once they found each other they were together forever. His mother had taught them that. And he’d never been more grateful that he’d honored that legacy and waited for Lacey. She was his. Forever.
The End
About the Author
Liliana Hart is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly Bestselling Author of more than 40 titles. After starting her first novel her freshman year of college, she immediately became addicted to writing and knew she’d found what she was meant to do with her life. She has no idea why she majored in music. Since self-publishing in June of 2011, Liliana has sold more than 4 million ebooks. She’s appeared at #1 on lists all over the world and all three of her series have appeared on the New York Times list. Liliana is a sought after speaker and she’s given keynote speeches and self-publishing workshops to standing-room-only crowds from California to New York to London.
Liliana can almost always be found at her computer writing or on the road giving workshops for SilverHart International, a company she founded with her husband, Scott Silverii, where they provide law enforcement, military, and fire resources for writers so they can write it right. When Liliana and her husband aren’t spending time with their children, they’re living the life of nomads, traveling wherever interests them most.
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Also by Liliana Hart
Addison Holmes Mysteries
Whiskey Rebellion
Whiskey Sour
Whiskey For Breakfast
Addison Holmes Box Set
(includes 3 books above)
Whiskey, You’re The Devil
Whiskey on the Rocks
(Red Sole Clues Collection)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
The MacKenzie Series
Dane
A Christmas Wish: Dane
Thomas
To Catch A Cupid: Thomas
Cooper
A MacKenzie Christmas
MacKenzie Box Set
(includes the 5 books listed above)
Cade
Shadows and Silk
Secrets and Satin
Sins and Scarlet Lace
The MacKenzie Security Series
(includes the 3 books listed above)
Sizzle
Crave
Trouble Maker
1001 Dark Nights: Captured in Surrender
1001 Dark Nights: The Promise of Surrender
Scorch
JJ Graves Mysteries
Dirty Little Secrets
A Dirty Shame
Dirty Rotten Scoundrel
Down and Dirty
Dirty Deeds
The Collective Series
Kill Shot
The Rena Drake Series
Breath of Fire
Standalone Novels/Novellas
All About Eve
Paradise Disguised
Catch Me If You Can
Who’s Riding Red?
Goldilocks and the Three Behrs
Strangers in the Night
Naughty or Nice