Loyal Reader

I don’t mind having her here. Dae-Dae loves her and spends as much time as he can with her and my grandparents. He loves to listen to my grandmother talk.

I think it’s more the musical melody of her voice than the actual accent. It was that way for me as a child. I loved when she would read me stories.

I know I’ve been enjoying the food, while having my family here. Between my grandparents and my mother throwing down, I’ve been in heaven. Felix says he’s been needing to put in an extra workout each day as well. I call hogwash. I still count an eight pack.

What’s infuriating is that my dad hasn’t made things right. Forget about me. He should be making things right with my mom.

I’ve gained a new respect for my mother. She shows up to church to support my dad every Sunday. To the world the first lady is in place and everything is in order. However, as soon as the last hand has been shaken and the church is locked up, she jumps in her car and heads right back to my place.

During the week, she’s been handling the accounting and payroll right from the office in my house. I think she’s taking her own stubbornness to the next level. I now see I get it from both of my parents. I never had a chance.

“You’re not typing,” Nellie says beside me.

I point at the sight before us. Who can blame me for losing focus? You’d have to be blind not to stare.

“Can you blame me?” I say, nearly drooling.

“Not. At. All,” she drags out.

I’ve been distracted with watching Felix surf for about a half hour now. We came to the beach so I’d have a change of scenery, but I’m not sure if this was such a good idea.

I mean, come on. This is not fair. At this very moment, Wyatt and Felix are running out of the water with their boards tucked under their arms. Neither is wearing their wet suit pulled up, revealing their tanned skin and sick abs.

Felix’s wet suit is riding so low, I lick my lips as if I can taste his skin. I would love to spend the rest of the day chasing those salty droplets of water all over his body. I keep waiting for someone to scream cut.

They both look like they’ve stepped out of a movie. When Felix lifts his hand to push his wet hair out of his face, I tip over and lean into Nellie. I think it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, until Felix’s golden eyes lock on me and a seductive smile pulls at his mouth and his tongue comes out to lick his lips.

“Yup, not going to blame you one bit,” Nellie giggles. “I think I see why your books are so hot.”

“Insane,” I breathe as I watch Felix turn to Wyatt and start to horse around.

“I’m glad we did this. It’s nice to get out and breathe,” Nellie says, taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

“I’m glad you guys could come. It’s good getting to know you,” I reply.

“Yeah, I think we had a few classes together in high school, but I was sort of shy,” she says.

“You, please, if it weren’t for my brother and Felix, I probably never would have talked to anyone,” I laugh. “I was just fine with a book in my hands.”

“I know, right,” Nellie giggles.

We both sit lost in thought for a bit. I think of how much I missed out on in high school pretending to be someone I wasn’t. When I did make friends it was because I was Alberto’s girlfriend. Other than that I don’t think people would have talked to me.

“Does the pain ever stop?” Nellie whispers a little while later, turning to look me in the eyes. “You lost your brother right? Has it stopped hurting so much yet?”

“Surprisingly, it stings less when I see Dae-Dae do something my brother would do. Most days, life has me too busy trying to breathe to linger on the hurt. We were so close. I would love to share my books and success with him.

“It hurts to know that’s something I’ll never get to do,” I murmur.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Like, she’ll never be there to see her first grandchild. I’ll never get to plan a birthday party for my children with her. There are so many things I can’t share with her and no matter how my family has grown, no one can replace that,” Nellie sniffles.

“It’s still fresh for you. Take it a day at a time. No one can tell you how long to grieve, but you don’t want to forget to live. You know? Danny would want the best for me.”

“Yeah, I’m trying. I’m a lot better now. Wyatt has been so patient. I love him for that,” she says, turning to smile at him. “At least she got to see me get married. That will always mean the world to me.”

Suddenly, my heart feels heavy. Since I was a little girl I wanted my father to walk me down the aisle. Maybe even perform the ceremony. Now that we barely speak, I don’t think that’s an option.

I look down at my laptop to see I have an email. Needing to distract myself from all things somber, I open the email. I smile when I see it’s one of my readers. I swear they always come right when I need them.

It’s a really sweet email, thanking me for writing such real books. I’m humbled and reply back right away. I’m grateful for the smile that has returned to my face.

I go to close my laptop to enjoy some sun and continue the vigilant focus I have on my man. However, it pings with a Facebook message. I click over to my author page and see I have a message in the inbox. Already feeling warm from that email, I open it.

Hey Kaye Blaze,

I’m such a big fan. I think I can say I’m one of your loyal readers. I’ve read your first three books and you are just getting better. I have a traveling book club and we are set to take a bus trip next fall.

You will have a chance to meet readers, sign and sell books, and get to know fellow authors. We have a few other awesome authors joining us. My partner and I were wondering if you’d like to join the line up? You can contact me at the number below.

Hope to speak to you soon.

A fan

I chew on my lip. I would love to meet readers in person and do this. I’m just not sure. I haven’t done anything like this before. Dean is actually talking me into considering a signing she’ll be doing.

Scratching my head while I reread the message, I ponder it. It wouldn’t hurt just to get the details, right? I shrug my shoulders and decide what the heck.

I shoot off a quick message to let her know I will call her tomorrow before shutting my laptop down. I look at Nellie and the smile on her face. I think she’s going to be just fine. The hurt never goes away, but there’s comfort in knowing you have an angel up there helping you along the way.

Thanks, Danny.

A Fan

I scroll through her picture on her social media. She just added some of a little boy and a gorgeous guy. I wonder who they are.

I pick up the number to call Lisa, my business partner. I told her I could get Kaye. This is going to be so big. I can feel it.

“Hello,” Lisa answers the phone.

“We got Kaye Blaze,” I squeal into the phone.

“Really? She paid the twenty-five dollar registration fee?”

“She said she’ll give it to me tomorrow when we talk. She is so nice, girl. I think we are going to be good friends,” I reply.

“Oh, okay. Well, make sure to have her sign off with the deposit,” she says hesitantly.

This bitch is always doubting me. I’ve pulled in the authors we have. She’s only brought one person to the damn table. Ugh, I can’t believe I have to put up with this.

I suck it up. Once things take off, I’m going to do my own thing. With Kaye signing on to do this event that will happen sooner than later.

“No problem. She would have done it today, but she had to take care of her little boy. Did you see the pictures of him? He is so cute. She said he’s a handful, but he’s just adorable.

“Oh, I did see her post some new pics. That little boy is hers?”

“Yes, we got to talking in messenger so long, I felt bad for taking up her time. She said he was there asking her a million questions,” I reply, nodding my head like she can see me.

“He is cute,” Lisa agrees. “Hey, have you started working on the flyers and things? We need to get our numbers up for the readers. I don’t think ten readers will be much of a draw to the authors. We need to promote and get more interest.”

“Don’t worry about it, girl. I got this. I’ll have it all taken care of. I told you that’s my thing. I’ll get it all done,” I reply.

“Okay, great. Well, I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

“Sure, I have a few books I need to ARC. I fell behind talking to Kaye for so long,” I giggle.

“Oh, let me know how you like that new Davina Kelly book. I won’t ruin it for you, but the ending. It’s something else,” she says.

“I’ll let you know. Okay, let me go before my man gets in. You know how he gets,” I say.

“Later.”

I hang up and grin looking around my one bedroom. I smooth my hands across the table in front of me. My smile falls.

Getting up I get a can of tuna from the cabinet. I might as well start to prepare dinner. Once I mix the tuna with the elbow noodles I boiled earlier, I get out a dish to place it on.

I take my plate to the table and sit down to eat. Dragging my kindle closer to me, I pull up my man. He’s my latest books boo and he has been demanding all of my attention. They get like that.

My grin comes back. I’m going to talk to Kaye Blaze tomorrow. We’re sure to have so much in common. Her heroes just speak to me.

I bet they’re all jealous now.