Free The Color of Destiny (The Color of Heaven Series Book 2) by Julianne MacLean Page B

easy on either of us. We got married too young, hoping to replace the child we lost and find happiness again. But that wasn’t in the cards. Not for us. I’d had a string of miscarriages. My mother was gone now, and we didn’t even speak to my father. We had no family to lean on. There was nothing but grief.
    Yet somehow, I managed to cope. Managed to go on living.
    Tonight I saw a woman who had fought hard enough to come back from the dead, and she was still fighting to live.
    Meanwhile my husband was slowly killing himself, and ruining us financially in the process, for he had been fired from his job three weeks ago, and there was nothing left of our savings. A hot and bitter anger swept through me.
    I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t go on enabling his addictions. It was time to make a change, and I vowed I would not accept any more false promises. Tomorrow I would ask him—one last time—to enter rehab. If he refused, I would tell him to leave. I would cancel all our credit cards, change the locks on the house, and consult a lawyer.
    That night, I didn’t cover Glenn with a blanket. I didn’t care about him, or anything. I left him there in the dark, and went straight to bed.
    It was a decision I would later regret.

Another Life

Chapter Thirty-two

    Ryan Hamilton

    I’ve often wondered why bad things happen to good people. Is it simply a matter of luck and timing? Or are certain people born under a shining star that emits magic fairy dust of good fortune? Maybe some folks have superstars for guardian angels, while others get stuck with slackers. It’s simply the luck of the draw. Or unluckiness...
    My name is Ryan Hamilton and I should begin by explaining that I am a man of science. I hold a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, which I received with high honors. I also hold a medical degree. I have been an emergency medicine doctor for twenty-two years and I’ve saved many lives. Should I therefore know more than the average person about life and death, and the endurance of the human spirit? I wish I could say yes, but unfortunately science can only answer so many questions—those that can be tested and proven.
    But what about all the magic that surrounds us on a daily basis? What about fate and destiny and crazy, impossible good luck?
    We’ve all witnessed miracles of some kind or another in our lives. I’m sure you’ve experienced something that makes you wonder about the existence of a higher power? Cosmic forces? The electrical energy of life? Or God?
    I don’t know if God exists, but I do know one thing.
    There is much in our world that can’t be explained. Certain events defy reason or possibility. What seems unbelievable can occur before our very eyes and leave us speechless with awe.
    For this reason, I feel compelled to tell you my story, because I will continue to be awed by what I witnessed until I draw my last breath.

Chapter Thirty-three

    I’m sure, if you’re like most people, you sometimes wince when you remember certain stupid things you did in your youth. Things you’re not proud of, things you would never do today, knowing what you know now. In fact, you probably consider yourself lucky to have gotten away with those bad decisions, but you’re thankful you learned something in the process. For me, those lessons came at a very high price one fateful night in Ontario.
    “Pass me another beer,” John said as he glanced over his shoulder at me in the car.
    We were seventeen years old. I was seated in the back seat, slouched low with the cooler at my feet.
    John was in the front passenger seat, and his girlfriend Lisa was driving. We were on our way to a party we’d gotten wind of earlier that day, way out in the country.
    Lisa was our designated driver, but that didn’t count for much. When I handed the beer to John, he broke the seal on the can and passed it to Lisa, who guzzled half of it before handing it back.
    “Ahh!” she said in a great exhale. “That’s good,