Patrick’s eyes traveled over the paper, and he let out a breath. For a moment, I misunderstood. I thought he was disappointed. But then he spoke. “I’m never going to be father-of-the-year material,” he said, voice cracking just a bit. He thumped a hand on Shaun’s shoulder. “I’m probably not fit to parent a chimp. Hell, look at him. But I’m here for you now. For whatever you need. I’m cranky and work-obsessed and, God bless her—Melissa always used to say—the sloppiest pig on earth, but I’m here. For you.”
I’d been undecided when I got off the bus. Mom was gone and there was no need to run anymore. Like her life, my old one was over. But unlike her, I had a chance to start fresh. Be and do anything I wanted. It was a miracle I’d never imagined possible. I’d wished for this on every homemade birthday candle since I was five years old, but never expected it would happen. And now that the possibility stretched out in front of me, I found that I was terrified. Of the unknown. Of disappointing Mom, of letting Patrick in, of where things might go with Shaun…
So I did what I knew Mom would do in my situation. I sucked in a deep breath and faced it with strength and determination.
“I think Mom would like that,” I said, taking his hand. “I’d like to stick around, if that’s okay. If—if you have room. Get to know you.”
The wind kicked up, and despite the icy temperature, I wasn’t cold. This was my moment. The one that would turn it all around. I took a deep breath and turned to Shaun. I’d craved normal for so long, and now that I was on the verge of getting it, I wanted to savor the moment.
With a tentative smile, said, “Both of you.”
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Acknowledgments
As always, a huge thank you to my family. Without them I would be lost.
To my first readers, Gia, Beth, and Mary, you guys continue to rock my wold. Here’s to sharp eyes, hot coffee, and full pages forever.
To the wonderful people at Entangled, and Liz, who is always willing to take a chance on my crazy ideas, thank you. It’s amazing to be part of such a supportive community.
And a heartfelt thanks to anyone who has ever picked up one of my books. It’s you who makes what I do possible. It’s you who truly give the characters life. Thank you from the bottom of my very endless coffee cup!
About the Author
JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. But at the last minute, she realized her true path lay with fiction, not food.
Jus is the bestselling author of the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing, as well as the Darker Agency series, and the New Adult series, The Eternal Balance. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.
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Other books by Jus Accardo
Discover Dez and Kale in Jus Accardo’s Denazen novels, a Young Adult series…
Untouched
Touch
Toxic
Faceless
Tremble
Darker Days
Other NA books by Jus Accardo
Ruined, an Eternal Balance novel
Jax lost the genetic lottery. Descended from Cain, the world’s first murderer, he’s plagued by a curse that demands violence in exchange for his happiness. Samantha can’t outrun her problems. When an attack at school drives her back home, she’s thrown into the path of a past--and a guy--she’s been trying to forget. But someone--or, something--followed her home from school: a ruthless monster with a twisted plan centuries in the making. Forced together to survive, and fighting an attraction that could destroy them both, Jax and Sam must stop a killer bent on revenge.
Need some more New Adult titles? Embrace these stories…
The Mean Girl Apologies
by Stephanie Monohan
You know that catchy song you keep hearing on the radio?
It’s about you.
Natalie Jamison has spent five years trying to forget the girl she was in high school: popular, pretty…and, okay, mean. Now in her twenties and living once again in her small town, she’s right back where she was: following Queen Bee Amber and keeping secrets from her best friend, Sarah.
Secrets like Jack Moreland.
Everyone knows Jack Moreland—his new album, Good Enough, is everywhere. He’s famous. Impossibly handsome. Completely untouchable. But what none of Natalie’s old clique knows is that in high school, Natalie and Jack fell in love. And their secret relationship was incredible, painful—and earth-shattering enough to inspire an entire album.
Facing friends and enemies isn’t easy, but Natalie will go to great lengths to prove she is good enough—to her friends, to herself, and most of all, to the small-town boy turned worldwide heartthrob she never forgot.
Full Measures
by Rebecca Yarros
She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew Dad was dead.
Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. Her dad would never be coming home. Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor…and endowed with the most delicious hands that have a way of erasing her pain with a single touch. But just when Ember lets him in, Josh’s secret shatters their world. And she must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her world bare.
Forged by Fate
by Reese Monroe
Being the Gatekeeper to Hades is no small feat, but Theo Bradford’s mark has finally surfaced on young genius, Sadie Nowland, and now he has to convince her to embrace her supernatural heritage. Targeted by a vicious demon escaped from Hades, Sadie is thrust into the volatile world of Shomrei warriors and a connection to Theo her brain can’t comprehend and her body can’t deny—a bond that just may be the key to the world’s survival.
Darkside Sun
by Jocelyn Adams
Since she was six years old, Addison Beckett’s seen the world around her unraveling, as if someone is pulling a thread from a sweater and it’s all slowly coming undone. Her arrogant-but-hot professor Asher Green insists that the dead from a parallel dimension are trying to possess the living in this one. And since Addison seems to be the only one who can see these “wraiths,” she just might be the key to saving the world. Stop the wraiths. Break the rules. Save the world. All in a day’s work. Normal was overrated, anyway.
Trouble Comes Knocking
by Mary Duncanson
Twenty-two-year-old Lucy Carver is like Sherlock Holmes in ballet flats, but her eidetic memory is more albatross than asset. When a man is murdered and she becomes the target of the killer, Lucy discovers a mystery bigger than she could have imagined. With overbearing and pompous--and incredibly hot--Detective Eli Reyes on the case and trying to keep her off of it, can she expose the truth before trouble comes knocking…again?
How We Lived
by Erin Butler
Nineteen-year-old Kelsey watched her brother’s funeral from afar, like an outsider. Chase came, though. She knew he would. Until a few months ago, the three of them had been best friends, then Chase made a mistake that shattered them all. But when Kelsey looks at him, she doesn’t see her brother’s killer. She sees the boy next door who’s always taken care of her. But the boy she loves is still hiding secrets from that night. Secrets she can’t know. Secrets that might destroy everything they have...again.
Jus Accardo, Rules of Survival
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