One night changed my life forever.Beau Bennett has been my best friend since I can remember. He was my first crush before everything came crashing down, and now he wants more, but it's more than I can give him. Things are different now. I wish I could tell him why, but I can't.
I haven’t told anyone.
I never knew how much I really needed him until the day he left for college, and I was completely alone.
Then one day, Asher Hunt rides into town with his dark, captivating eyes and cocky grin. He doesn't care who I used to be, he's simply breathing life into what’s left. People warn me to stay away from him, but he helps me forget the pain that has held me hostage for so long; something I thought was impossible before he walked into my life.
I’ve been hurt.
I’ve been saved.
And I’ve found hope.
I thought my story was written that night, but now I know it was only a new beginning. Until one secret turns my world upside down…
Again.
5 Star Review by Jen Hagen
Kate is 19 years old and for the last 2 years has just
been going through the motions of getting through the day. She had dreams of going to college to be a
lawyer, but an event that occurred 2 years ago has taken all her cares and
dreams away. Since Kate was 5 years old
her best friend has been the boy next door, Beau, and she saw her future with
Beau…until the night it rained.
I was going to
marry Beau Bennett someday but nothing ever happened between us. I was too
scared to make the first move, and he was too busy chasing the pretty girls at
school. I used to hope that maybe someday he’d see me like I saw him, but when
he finally did, it was too late. I’m not the same girl anymore. I’ll never be
her again.
Kate has never told anyone what happened that night. Beau knows that Kate has changed in the last
2 years, but he can never get her to tell him why. Beau is getting ready to leave for college 5
hours away. Beau and Kate had always
thought they would be going to college together, but instead it’s Beau packing
up ready to chase his dreams while Kate stays behind working at the same diner
that her single mother works at. On the
day before Beau is scheduled to leave for college, he takes a chance and opens
to Kate about his feelings for her.
“I’ve tried for
years to get you out of my head because you were supposed to be my best friend,
but I can’t do it, Kate. I want you to give me a chance.”
Kate is shocked.
She doesn’t understand how anybody could love her now, especially after
what has happened. She doesn’t want to
ruin Beau’s life by bringing him down with her, so she lets the dream of them
having a future together go away along with everything else she has dreamed of.
He placed his heart
in my hands and I crushed it.
Kate is trying to adjust to her life without having her
best friend beside her. No matter what
she does she can never escape what happened.
After she began withdrawing from everything and everyone, people she
used to call friends began to taunt and tease her. They don’t know the event that changed her
life forever, but they still like to belittle her for no reason other than to
make Kate feel worse about herself. Kate
hates the rain. It leaves her feeling
empty and reminds her of the night that her life changed forever.
Asher has just arrived in town and is living with his
dad. Just by stopping in the diner for
a milkshake and fries, Asher can sense the sadness and emptiness that surrounds
Kate and wants to help her smile again. He is 23 years old and stories abound as to
why he has suddenly appeared.
“Up until last
year, my life was all about drinking and having a good time. This past year,
I’ve been trying to figure out where my life’s actually going.”
Asher makes it his mission to bring Kate back to
life. He takes her out of her comfort
zone but yet offers her the strength and reassurance that she can face her
fears and come out standing stronger because he will be by her side the entire
time. He knows that she is holding something
back and that she isn’t willing to tell him what it is, but that doesn’t deter
him from trying to find out.
“I want to know
you. I want to know what it is that made you cry, but more than that, I want to
know what I have to do to make you happy again.”
While Beau is off at college still waiting for Kate to
allow him into her heart, Kate’s heart is slowly opening up to Asher. Kate is pulling away from Beau and avoiding
his phone calls. Beau wants to come home
to see her, but she wants him to experience life without being tied down to
her. Kate allows Asher to bring her to
being a new person, not expecting her to be the girl that she used to be. Kate feels that Beau is trying to get the old
Kate back to who she was before that night.
She’ll never be that person again.
My heart ached for Beau as he witnessed first hand that Kate had allowed
Asher into her life, the place that Beau had desperately wanted and
unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate.
“You’ll always be
the first boy I ever loved. I won’t forget that. Ever.” Big, ugly tears slide
down my cheeks.
He slowly turns, giving me a glimpse of his
bloodshot eyes. “Up until a few minutes ago, I thought you’d be my last.”
Kate still has her secret and she knows that Asher has a
secret also that he is holding back.
They both know the other is hiding something. And when the truth comes out?? Asher continues to be there to make certain
that Kate can see the sun and not always hate the rain. Now Kate will have the opportunity to show
the strength that she has gained from being with Asher.
“When it rains,
Kate. Remember me.”
Beau still continues to be a strong presence in Kate’s
life even though we don’t see too much of him.
When you have grown up together and shared 15 years of memories, it’s
hard to let the other slip through the crack in your heart. Beau still hurts from not being the one to
occupy Kate’s heart. Every time Beau
spoke, I could feel the pain in his words and his heart contracting from the
pain.
Kate thinks she’s damaged because of what happened to her
two years ago. She has been living under
a veil of sadness, but at the conclusion of the book she realizes that she is a
lucky person. She has experienced both
true love and finding her soul mate.
…there’s a
difference between soul mates and true love. Looking at the surface, they are
similar, but when I dug deep down inside, I found they were different.
I found my soul
mate...
I found my true
love…
Is one type of love
better than the other? I don’t know, but I’m lucky enough to have found them
both.
This is a beautiful story that will have you crying from
the first page and crying harder with every page turn, but when you finally
reach the end the emotional pain will have been worth it. Kate has suffered, but the beauty is that
her suffering has made her a stronger person.
You will never be able to look at a paper napkin again without getting
tears in your eyes.
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