Katie’s world came crashing down in an instant.
Her husband, daughter, and unborn baby. . . all gone in a flash. The life that she’d come to know, gone before she ever really got to live it.
With a broken heart, she deals the only way she knows how, by shutting it all off. No communicating, no feelings, just pure nothingness.
Alone with nothing but her own thoughts and a well meaning family, she moves back to her childhood home, a horse farm. It’s there that she finds herself healing along with the horses her family rehabilitates. But when Parker McKenzie comes back into her life she’s reminded of all that went wrong, and all that she lost.
Will Katie ever begin to heal? Or will her secrets and loss be too much for her to overcome?
Perhaps, this is her kismet.
Watching
her run through the fields is just about the greatest feeling in the
world. I realize now that I never truly
understood happiness. All those years
that I acted like things were okay. They
never really were. It was all a big
façade. A joke. That was until Katie walked back into my life
and gave me the second chance I wasn’t so sure I deserved.
I lean back
against the fence while I look on. She
skips and twirls through the fields. The
horses stop grazing just long enough to glance at her. I imagine that they think she’s crazy, and in
a way I guess she is. Her personality is
a lot like Tommy’s. Wild and free.
“Whatcha
doing, Kiddo?!” I holler out.
She stops
twirling, facing in my direction, her twinkling eyes shooting in my
direction. “Having fun daddy!” she calls back. “What are you doing?”
“Watching
you live, baby girl.” The answer is easy
and effortless. She is the most precious
gift I’ve ever been given. She giggles
before turning and running in my direction.
I kneel down as she approaches, bracing myself for the impact of her
hugs. She hugs like Katie loved. Hard.
Throwing herself into my arms, she
squeals with excitement. I press my lips
to her cheek, reveling in the moment.
“Didya see me Daddy?” she asks leaning back so that her eyes meet
mine. Those eyes. The same eyes I fell in love with all those
years ago. The ones that brought me so
much happiness, yet somehow served as a reminder of the things I lost. Those eyes that are just too familiar. Those eyes that speak to me in such a way
that I will never be able to put it into words.
“Yeah, I
saw you Kiddo.”
“I was dancing
for Mommy.” Her innocent words strike me
straight in the gut. Khloe’s so smart
and her views on life are way beyond her years.
There are times where I wish I could start navigating through this life
like she does.
Unable to speak, I force a
smile.
Khloe leans forward and kisses me
on the cheek. “Do you think she likes my
dancing?” she whispers into my ear.
“I have no
doubt that Mommy loves your dancing,” I choke.
“Daddy,”
she coos, readjusting herself in my arms so that she can see the horses, “tell
me about Mommy.”
“What do
you want to know, Kiddo?”
“Why do you
love her?”
“Because
your Mommy was the only person to ever see me for me.”
Khloe leans
her head to the side, looking out at the field, curious at my choice of
words. “You mean like my Daddy?”
“No,
Khloe,” I say before squeezing her tight.
“Your Mommy was the only person to ever see the good in me. She loved me all her life. But not for the same reasons a lot of people
fall in love. She loved me for
everything I ever gave. She saw the good
in me, even when I didn’t. I know that
this is hard for you to understand, but your Mommy was the only thing in my
life that ever made sense. And that is
why I love her.”
“Will you
ever love anyone else like Mommy?” she asks.
I speak
without hesitation. “Only you Kiddo. Only you.”
In the
distance I can see Tommy exit the stable, he’s finished cleaning the stalls and
I know that our moment has passed. Once
Khloe spies him she’ll be onto something else.
“Uncle
Tommy!” she shrieks on cue. I sigh,
managing to get one more kiss placed on her cheek before she takes off
running. I watch on as she leaps into
his arms. His laugh bellows and I smile because
no matter what I say, Khloe will never fully understand the road that led us
all here. She will never understand that
she is the thread that binds us all. She
has become the glue; the thing that holds us all together. She has always been my kismet.
If you could change
one thing about the past, what would you change?
Easy. I’d never have let Katie think that what we had
didn’t mean anything to me. The
lake. *shakes head* Shit the
lake. I thought I was doing the right
thing, you know, but I’d give anything to redo that moment. I was young and naïve. Never in a million years did I think…*chokes
on words* Who knows where we’d be now if
I could do that one all over again.
What’s the one thing
you would have said to Katie’s husband, Michael, given the chance?
Jesus, you
really go for the gold, don’t you?
Shit. Michael. I’ve never thought about what I’d say to Michael. But if given the chance, I would say thank
you. Thank you for loving Katie when I
was too chicken shit to. You were more
of a man than I could be for her. Next
question please.
Any regrets?
Yes. So many that I can’t even begin to think about
every single one of them. I wish I had
done so many things differently. But the
biggest thing I regret is not going after Katie when she left for college. I was so close so many times, but I let other
shit keep getting in the way. I hate
thinking that she went all those years thinking that she didn’t mean anything
to me.
5 star review by Jen Skewes
I am not sure there are words to describe my emotions after reading this book or to explain just how beautiful this story was. It was emotional, heart breaking and so real.
Katie had an amazing husband, a beautiful 5 year old daughter and another baby on the way. The perfect life. Until it was taken away from her in a matter of minutes. Her whole world, completely gone. Katie’s world has been completely shattered and she deals with it the only way that she knows how. The same way that she dealt with things as a child when she was broken, by not speaking to anyone. She is in the hospital and the only comfort she gets is by becoming mute, taking pills that relax her and put her into a deep sleep. And when she has to deal with certain issues and emotions head on she screams until someone comes and gives her another shot to calm her down. Her family is concerned and the only way they feel that she can heal and move on is to bring her back home. To her childhood home that she has not been to in 7 years. The home that she left because of one person; Parker McKenzie
Growing up Katie had some issues that was faced with. And she faced those issues the same that she is dealing with the death of her family. But as a child she always had two people who always stood by her and protected her. And they were her ig brother Tommy and his best friend Parker. Parker was always like a brother to her until he wasn’t. She has been in love with Parker for as long as she can remember. But things happened and hearts were broken causing Katie to leave town and never look back. It has been 7 years since she has seen Parker. An right now she is trying to move on from the tragic death of her family and is not sure that she is ready to face the one man that has always held her heart. Katie is carrying around so much guilt about what has happened and when those feeling for Parker starts to re surface she questions if she can move on and if she even deserves to. Will Katie be able to move on from the loss of her family and find happiness?
This is a tough review to write without giving too much away. So I will try to keep it straight and to the point. This book is a must read. It was simply AMAZING!!! For one I loved Parker. And while there was a moment where I was a little upset with him I completely understood his actions and reasons for self destructing. But he loved Katie and everything that he did in his life whether good or bad was for her. He was always there for her and planned on being there for her now. He was a wonderful hero who you will fall in love with.
Now for Katie, her story just completely broke my heart for so many reasons. For all that she went through as a child, for what she went through as a teenager and now as an adult. I loved her and just wanted her to be happy, to find her way back and to realize that she wasn’t to blame for anything. That moment when she realizes that her husband would want her to move on was an amazing moment and one that was done in such a beautiful way. She was a beautiful heroine and so strong even if she didn’t think so. She has endured so much pain and loss and as much as she wanted to give up she didn’t.
Kismet is a very powerful story of love, loss, grief and forgiveness. It is about trying to move on from that loss and learn how to heal and how to live again. It pulled out so many emotions in me. I felt the pain and heartache that Katie was going through. I felt the pain of her family who were not only mourning the loss of her family but they were also so sad and heartbroken to see their daughter and sister like that. They wanted to help but didn’t know how. I loved her brother Tommy and the close relationship that they had. And Dr. Stevenson was such an important part of this story and I loved him and how he came to care for Katie.
I honestly wish I can tell you the parts of this book that made it so amazing but you have to experience it all for yourself. I am not going to lie this is a very emotional story, one that will make you cry at times. But every tear and every emotion was worth it. There are a few twists and turns that I honestly did not see coming. And the end was so real and so true to the story and one of the many reasons that I loved it. This story is the perfect meaning behind the saying “Everything happens for a reason” That is always something that I believed in. The epilogue was wonderful and I fell even more in love with Parker in the end. This is one of my top reads of this year and I highly recommend it!! It is one of those stories that is so beautifully written, will touch your heart and stay with you. Amazing job by A.E. Woodward.
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