Finding Forever (Living Again #4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

into the crazy cat and dog lady. That isn’t enough.”
    “Aubrey,” Lacey warned. “I don’t want to fight with you. Just because you’re happy with Jacob and want to get married and have a family doesn’t mean that your dream is somehow better than mine. I’m happy, Aub. Content.”
    “I just hate that you are so jaded. I’m sorry you had to take care of me after mom died, Lace. And that you were forced to be the adult in the house when Dad kind of went off the deep end. It changed you. I always wonder…”
    “Don’t,” Lacey interrupted. “I took care of you because I love you. You’re my sister. Did I want to be an adult at the age of twelve? No. But all things happen for a reason, right? I had my family already. Now it’s time for me to take care of me.”
    Lacey linked her arm with her sisters, turning back one more time to look at the water, the waves rippling gently onto the shore. The last remains of the flowers bobbed away in the current, and Lacey sighed.
    “We love you, Mom, and miss you.”
     

     
    Dropping her keys on the island in her small kitchen, Lacey bent down to pet Maggie and Sophie, who were both circling her feet waiting for attention. She had adopted both of them while she was interning at the animal shelter during college. They were both mutts, mixes of many different types of dogs, and were her little loves.
    Grabbing a soda from the fridge and popping a frozen dinner in the microwave, Lacey flipped through the mail, her mind going back through the events of today. Her twenty-sixth birthday. For the first time, she had most everything she had dreamed of. Her own house, her dream job, her friends and sister. Though today was sad, sitting by the river made her feel like her mom was there, and it made her feel peace.
    Just as the microwave beeped with her dinner, her phone rang. It was Sam. She was down in Florida at her beach house with her new baby, Kerri, her husband Ellis, and their teenage son, Mason. Lacey wanted to be there badly but couldn’t leave, since she was new to her job.
    “Super Star,” Lacey said, her nickname for Sam.
    “Lace! Happy Birthday, you old lady!” Sam’s voice put the first genuine smile of the day on her face.
    “Thanks, Sam. I miss you! How’s Florida?”
    “Hot! But Mason and Ellis are enjoying the last few days before we head back.”
    “How’s my baby girl?”
    As if on cue, Lacey heard the distinct cries of a newborn, and she smiled. “Hey, Kerri. You hear your Aunt Lacey?”
    “She’s fussy today,” Sam sighed. “I’m exhausted, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I can’t wait to see you in a few days! I have to get in the studio not long after I get back and have a local photo shoot, but first, girl’s time.”
    “No rest for the mega super star, huh?”
    Sam laughed. “Sometimes it’s still ridiculous to think that this is my life. Did you know that People magazine contacted my agent and wants exclusive pictures of Kerrigan for an ungodly amount of money? I mean, really? Someone wants to buy my baby pictures to run in a magazine? ”
    Lacey’s mouth dropped open. “Are you going to do it?”
    “I don’t know. My initial reaction is to protect Kerri from the media scrutiny, but unfortunately, she’s going to grow up in it. They want to come to Nashville and do a family photo shoot when we return. Ellis and I are thinking about it. So, how are you today, really?”
    The good thing about knowing Sam most of their lives was, Lacey didn’t have to pretend. Sam knew how hard this day was for her, because Sam had been there for Lacey all along. She was there the day that her mom took her last breath, holding Lacey as her body shook with so many sobs she thought it would never stop. She was there when they put her mom’s ashes in the river, and for most of the years after that.
    “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you today, Lace,” Sam’s voice cracked. “I hate that I wasn’t.”
    “Sam,” Lacey said, tears