Free At Last by Annie Stone
Mackenzie Hall loves Carter Tillmann. Carter loves Mac. When she meets Hunter, she isn’t so sure anymore, who owns her heart. Her head wants stability and safety, but her heart might not be on board with that.
Hunter can’t live with the uncertainty and follows his own dreams, but those aren’t only life-changing for him. When he leaves, Mackenzie understands that her heart is stronger than her head. But now it’s too late, Hunter is gone. Will they find each other again?
***
This box set includes
1.a fighting chance
2.a losing battle
3.a saving grace
Hunter can’t live with the uncertainty and follows his own dreams, but those aren’t only life-changing for him. When he leaves, Mackenzie understands that her heart is stronger than her head. But now it’s too late, Hunter is gone. Will they find each other again?
***
This box set includes
1.a fighting chance
2.a losing battle
3.a saving grace
The three of us avoid each other until Carter gets back. The boys go hang out with their friends or whatever—I don’t really know, because I work. And work. I’ve always been a bit of a workaholic since I can’t leave if there’s someone there who needs help. But these days, work’s turning into an obsession.
“Go home, Mac,” Shane says the day before Carter’s scheduled to come home.
I look at my watch. It’s almost eleven. “Oh, yeah. I lost track of time.” Slowly, I sort through the documents in front of me.
“What’s up?” Shane asks gently.
“What do you mean?” It’s always good to answer a question with another question, right? Sign of a quick wit, surely.
He smiles faintly and sits on the other side of my desk. Interlocking his fingers behind his head, he stretches out his legs. He looks laid-back, like he’s really comfortable. Here in my office. Here with me.
“Kid, I remember the day you walked in here for the first time. You were this timid little thing, but really angry! Incredibly angry. You stomped around here in your Chucks, not wanting anyone to tell you what to do.” He grins like he’s reveling in the memory. “You thought you started to heal when you found us. But you had this fire in you. You’ve always had it. Flames were shooting up ten feet in the air above your head. All we did was show you how to harness your power. You did all the rest yourself. Then and now.”
I sit back in my chair and stare at him.
“It was fun to watch you turn from an angry firecracker into the woman you are today. At least, the woman you were until about a week ago. Because the Mac I see today has lost her luster. It’s like you’re hiding it on purpose, like you’re standing in the shade because you’re afraid to step out into the sun.”
“I didn’t know you were such a poet, Shane,” I joke, because I don’t know what else to say. Obviously, he’s right.
He just grins. “Mock me all you want, kid. We both know something happened. You don’t have to tell me what it is. You don’t even have to acknowledge it yourself. But please make sure all your hard work was worth it.” He gets up and comes to my side of the desk to kiss me on the head. “Night, kiddo.”
I watch him go.
He’s right. I can’t let them control me like this. Not now, not ever again. I take a deep breath and hope my old strength, my old fire, will miraculously start burning again.
But when I get home, I’m happy the house is quiet. Because I’m still such a coward.
“Go home, Mac,” Shane says the day before Carter’s scheduled to come home.
I look at my watch. It’s almost eleven. “Oh, yeah. I lost track of time.” Slowly, I sort through the documents in front of me.
“What’s up?” Shane asks gently.
“What do you mean?” It’s always good to answer a question with another question, right? Sign of a quick wit, surely.
He smiles faintly and sits on the other side of my desk. Interlocking his fingers behind his head, he stretches out his legs. He looks laid-back, like he’s really comfortable. Here in my office. Here with me.
“Kid, I remember the day you walked in here for the first time. You were this timid little thing, but really angry! Incredibly angry. You stomped around here in your Chucks, not wanting anyone to tell you what to do.” He grins like he’s reveling in the memory. “You thought you started to heal when you found us. But you had this fire in you. You’ve always had it. Flames were shooting up ten feet in the air above your head. All we did was show you how to harness your power. You did all the rest yourself. Then and now.”
I sit back in my chair and stare at him.
“It was fun to watch you turn from an angry firecracker into the woman you are today. At least, the woman you were until about a week ago. Because the Mac I see today has lost her luster. It’s like you’re hiding it on purpose, like you’re standing in the shade because you’re afraid to step out into the sun.”
“I didn’t know you were such a poet, Shane,” I joke, because I don’t know what else to say. Obviously, he’s right.
He just grins. “Mock me all you want, kid. We both know something happened. You don’t have to tell me what it is. You don’t even have to acknowledge it yourself. But please make sure all your hard work was worth it.” He gets up and comes to my side of the desk to kiss me on the head. “Night, kiddo.”
I watch him go.
He’s right. I can’t let them control me like this. Not now, not ever again. I take a deep breath and hope my old strength, my old fire, will miraculously start burning again.
But when I get home, I’m happy the house is quiet. Because I’m still such a coward.
I'm a contemporary romance writer, who likes her men tattooed, her women independent and her coffee strong.
My stories are all about love, but some are of the romantic kind, some of the sad kind and others of the very steamy kind. So if you can stand drama, foul language and sex, you came to the right place.
Love, Annie
My stories are all about love, but some are of the romantic kind, some of the sad kind and others of the very steamy kind. So if you can stand drama, foul language and sex, you came to the right place.
Love, Annie
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