Free Can't Let Go by Jessica Lemmon

Protect herself with a vengeance. She’d survive. She’d recover. She’d come back better than ever.
    A sob racked her body, belying the strength of her inner speech.
    Twenty-four hours.
    Then everything would be back to normal.
    As good as new.
    She was sure of it.

About the Author
    Jessica Lemmon has always been a dreamer. At some point, she decided head-in-the-clouds thinking was childish, went out, and got herself a job…and then she got another one because that one was lousy. And when that one stopped being fulfilling, she went out and got another…and another. Soon it became apparent she’d only be truly happy doing what she loved. And since “eating potato chips” isn't a viable career, she opted to become a writer. With fire in her heart, she dusted off a book she’d started years prior, finished it, and submitted it. It may have been the worst book ever, but it didn’t stop her from writing another one. Now she has several books finished, several more started, and even more marinating in her brain (which currently resides in the clouds, thankyouverymuch ), and she couldn’t be happier. She firmly believes God gifts us with talents for a purpose, and with His help, you can create the life you want. (While eating potato chips.)
    Jessica is an ex-meat-eater, writer, artist, dreamer, wife, and den mother to two dogs.

Sadie and Aiden’s story continues in the next Love in the Balance novel from Jessica Lemmon
Hard to Handle
See the next page for a preview…

Chapter 1
    A iden Downey spun his beer by its neck, the now-warm contents sloshing against the sides of the bottle. He’d been watching Sadie from his chair at the back of the reception tent for the better part of thirty minutes, unable to shake the guilt swamping him.
    Shane and Crickitt, God bless them, had been so careful when they asked Aiden and Sadie to be the only two members of the wedding party. But if there was one thing he and Sadie could agree on, it was doing right by their friends. They’d put aside their differences for the big day, and had managed to be cordial, though not sociable, until the start of the reception.
    That’s when Aiden had bumbled his way through a long overdue apology. While he’d never apologize for prioritizing his mother during her fight with cancer, he’d realized too late it was a mistake to allow his ex-wife back into his life. He meant well when he decided to keep the divorce quiet, but Aiden should have told his mother before she died. Now she’d never know the truth, never get to meet Sadie. And that was a regret he’d have to live with.
    Sadie’s buoyant giggle, a fake one if Aiden had to guess, lifted onto the air. He turned to see her toss her head back, blond curls cascading down her bare back as she gripped Crickitt’s younger brother’s arm. Garrett, who had been Krazy-Glued to Sadie’s side the entire reception, grinned down at her, clearly smitten. Aiden dragged his gaze from her mane of soft golden waves to her dress, a pink confection hugging her every amazing, petite curve. He couldn’t blame the kid for staring fixedly at her. Sadie was beautiful.
    “Rough,” he heard Shane say as he pulled out the chair next to him and sat, beer bottle in hand.
    His cousin looked relaxed with his white tuxedo shirt unbuttoned and the sleeves cuffed at the elbows. He’d taken off the tie he’d worn earlier, a sight that almost made Aiden laugh. Before Shane met Crickitt, Aiden would’ve bet Shane slept wearing a tie. Crickitt had vanquished Shane’s inner workaholic and in return, Shane had stepped up to become the man Crickitt needed.
    Aiden had had a similar opportunity with Sadie. It was a test he’d failed spectacularly. “She has a right to be mad,” he said, tilting his beer bottle again.
    “You were in a difficult situation,” Shane said magnanimously.
    Maybe so, but after his mother succumbed to the cancer riddling her body, after he’d grieved and moaned and helped his father plan the