You can always come home. Second chances come a little harder.

A Forever Kind of Love

© 2011 Shiloh Walker

Chase and Zoe were the high school golden couple. Football captain, cheerleader, prom royalty. After graduation, though, Chase couldn’t resist the urge to experience life outside their small town. He didn’t exactly expect Zoe to wait twelve years for him, but now that he’s back, he finds some small part of him hoping she did.

It’s no big surprise she’s married. The kick in the face is she married his best friend.

Zoe was devastated when Chase left, but she’s filed those bittersweet memories under “Moved On”. She loves her life, and loves her husband. She has all she needs. And Chase keeps an honorable distance.

One cold, wet, miserable day, tragedy turns Zoe’s world upside down. Chase never expected her to simply fall into his arms, but a man can dream. Except his dream doesn’t include the fact that this time, she’s the one hitting the road…and he’s the one left behind. 

Warning: This story contains heartbreak, heartache and one last chance for two lovers to find each other.

Enjoy the following excerpt for A Forever Kind of Love:

Staring at the bag of books, Chase tried to tell himself to just leave it on the porch and get back in his car.

Instead of doing that, which was probably the smarter thing, he knocked on the door. Hell, he knew Roger needed a distraction and he’d just gotten some new political thrillers in that were just up the guy’s alley—and two of them were audio books.

Zoe’s favorite urban fantasy author had a new book out.

Books were a nice distraction at any time, right?

It wasn’t like he didn’t have a good reason for swinging by.

Ever since he’d found out about Roger’s diagnosis, the petty anger he’d harbored against his friend… Well, Chase had realized just how fucking petty it was, and he’d shoved it straight where it needed to go, out of his heart, out of his mind.

They might never have the friendship they’d had in high school, but they were friends and right now, both Zoe and Roger needed all the friends they could get.

And Chase needed to be there for both of them as much as he could.

Besides, his dad was worrying about him too. Ever since Roger had turned in his resignation, the old man had come by as often as he could, but it was now re-election time and instead of visiting every couple of days, he could only get by once a week or so and Chase had promised he’d come by today.

All valid reasons.

Nobody needed to know it was a perfectly legit cover for him to be able to look at Zoe and soothe the ragged pain inside his heart, one that gotten worse ever since the time he’d laid eyes on her again in the city square a few months back.

He couldn’t help her.

She was going through something he couldn’t even imagine and he couldn’t do shit to help.

Except bring some books for Roger and offer to help out at her store as much as he could, and that didn’t count for much of anything. He couldn’t take this pain from her, he couldn’t fix Roger—as fucking jealous as he was, he’d fix the man in a heartbeat if it was in his power, but he couldn’t.

All he could do was stand by and watch as two people he loved suffered.

The door swung open and the smile and speech he’d rehearsed faded away into nothing as he found himself staring at Zoe’s face.

“Chase, hi.”

Forcing himself to smile, he held out the bag. “Hey. Wanted to bring this by. And I promised my dad I’d come by and check on things.”

She might have barred him from coming in but he edged past her, forcing her to back up unless she wanted him brushing up against her. Which she didn’t—Chase was fully aware of the extreme care she took not to let him touch her. The door closed behind them and he turned to study Zoe’s face.

She looked tired.

Still so fucking beautiful it made his heart ache just to look at her, but tired. Like she could sleep for a week.

Tired and frazzled and frustrated.

He felt like a major prick because he wanted to offer to hold her for the entire week.

Her husband’s dying, man. Remember him? Guy used to be your best friend? Still is your friend?

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m fine.” She gave him a practiced, completely false smile.

“Bullshit.” He dropped the bag on the table centered under a mirror and folded his arms over his chest, studying her face. “Don’t hand me the line you hand people in your store, people at church, whoever. I know you too well. How are you, really?”

She lifted a golden brow at him. “Chase, you don’t really me that well. Not anymore.”

“Don’t I?” He reached out and tucked her hair behind one ear. “When was the last time you watched Old Yeller?”

She scowled at him.

“Still reading the Valdemar books? How many copies you gone through now?”

She tucked her hands into her pockets and rocked back on her heels. “Things like that aren’t exactly knowing me.”

“Hmm. How about this? You’re pissed off. You’ve been riding on nerves and caffeine for a while, but today, you’re pissed off and you just want to hit something.”

Something flashed in her eyes, but she remained silent.

“What set you off?”

“Nothing.” Her voice was low and flat.

“Nothing? You sure about that, princess?”

There it was again…a flash of fire, hot and angry.

“Come on, surely there’s something. Your panties are in a twist over something.” He slanted a look toward the bedroom she shared with Roger. Jealousy twisted his gut, but he kept his voice easy and light as he said, “It’s got to be rough, where you’re at right now. No way to burn off that anger, that stress, that…”

He saw it coming, but he didn’t bother to move.

His head snapped back from the force of her blow and even as the pain bloomed, he grinned at her. She stared at him, shock written all over her face. “Feel better?”

Zoe gaped at him. “You…what…”

Edging past her, he went to the mirror and peered at his mouth. He tasted blood. “Damn, you’ve got a good right hook there, Zoe.”