Free Taken by You by Carlie Sexton Page A

this time with him, thankful that he was good company.
    She thought that she would catch up with him once she made it through security, but a woman in front of her ended up being searched, causing her to be delayed. She finally found her brother at the gate.
    “Hey, Bro!” she said, hugging him. “It’s so good to see you.”
    “It’s good to see you , too,” he said, hugging her back. “Are you ready for this?”
    “As ready as I’m ever going to be,” she said .
    “Yeah, me too. I have to tell you that I’m not looking forward to the funeral at all. I haven’t had anything to do with dad since I was twelve-years-old. But I’m going to pay my respects.”
    “I know. He was a lousy father . I know it means a lot to Aunt Donna that we attend and she has always been really good to us.”
    “Yes , she has.”
    An announcement was made that they would start boarding the plane in a few moments. Kate just wanted to get on the plane so that she could get this all over with. She felt somber to say the least and she hated leaving Neil. He had been her rock during the past couple of months.
    ***
    Kate and her brother settled into their seats. The woman sitting in the window seat was staring blankly out the window. She seemed to be contemplating something. Kate was sitting next to her in the middle seat and her brother had the aisle. She buckled up and felt a knot grow in her stomach. For some reason, she always dreaded taking off in a plane. It felt like her stomach was falling out of her body. The idea of something so big being able to fly was a mystery beyond her comprehension.
    Once the flight departed, the woman looked over at Kate. Her natural beauty was astounding. She was completely gorgeous and didn’t have on an ounce of make-up. She smiled graciously. “Are you traveling for business or pleasure?” she asked nonchalantly.
    “Neither. We ’re going to our dad’s funeral. He passed away a couple of weeks ago.”
    “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m going to a funeral as well.”
    “Was it someone that you were really close to?” Kate asked.
    “He was the one who got awa y—my college sweetheart,” the woman answered. She had to stop for a moment to collect herself as her big blue eyes filled with tears. “I always thought that we would get back together somehow, but I was foolish. I didn’t let him know that I still loved him.”
    “I’m so sorry. That i s terrible. You must be a wreck,” Kate said.
    “I have been a wreck since I got the call from his best friend. Well, actually, he was our best friend in college. The three of us were inseparable for four straight years.”
    “Wow, you were together for a long time. Why did you break up, if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “I don’t mind. I took a job as a nurse in San Diego and Tim, my ex, stayed behind in Minnesota. I assumed that he would follow me out. He told me that he didn’t want to leave his family, but I figured that he would just do what I wanted. We ended up breaking up over it. I tried to control him and it obliterated our relationship.”
    She looked down at her hands in her lap and Kate’s heart broke for her a little. The woman next to her had lost out on years of love, just like she had lost time with her dad.
    Kate put her hand to her chest. “It sounds like you never got over him.”
    “I didn’t. I dated other guys, but I always compared everyone to him. No one has stood a chance with me. I had recently gotten in touch with Tim and his best friend Aaron over Facebook. We had been communicating for the past couple of months. I was actually thinking about quitting my job and moving back to Minnesota to see if we could make a go of it. But Tim was in a car accident last week and didn’t make it.”
    This sounded all too familiar to Kate. She had been like the woman sitting next to her. She lost her love David and h ad avoided men for years. That was until Neil came along and demanded that she love him. She had