Free Once More (Mercy Heart #1) by Madeline Rooks Page A

Nothing mattered anymore. 
    “Clem, dude, you have got to chill out.  I know this sucks, and I know you think you love her –“ which resulted in Clem glaring at him from behind a shot glass, “but I think you need to realize that moving on is probably for the best.  You can’t expect her to move across the country with you after knowing you less than a month.  She certainly doesn’t expect you to stay here and forgo your dreams.  So how about we cool it on the booze before I have to get some activated charcoal from my science experiment kit.”  Jack was trying to lighten the mood, but nothing was going to rid Clem of these feelings of despair. 
    “I know, man…I wish I could turn back time and avoid asking her to move with me.  I wish I could tell her that I wanted to try it long distance instead, but that doesn’t seem fair to either one of us.  She deserves someone who is going to be with her all the time, holding her every night and worshipping her and taking care of her.  She has no one.  No one takes care of her.  I want to be the one who takes care of her.  I really wish I could turn back the clock and never have breathed a word to anyone about her being a virgin.”
    “Yeah, Sam came clean and said he overheard us in the gym that day.  He was just trying to get into that chick’s pants.  I told him he committed a huge transgression against the bro code.” 
    “It was something Kate was very sensitive about, and I should have kept my damn mouth shut.”  He took another drink of whiskey, wincing as it burned going down his throat. 
    Jack took the bottle and the shot glass from Clem.  “Clem, I’m saying this as your friend, so remember that before you decide to harm me.  If growing old with Katelyn is something you really want, I think it’s only fair to let her go.  You know the old adage, ‘if you love someone, set them free’?  Let the rest of the male population have a crack at her, and then she’ll realize what a prize you actually are,” Jack finished with a laugh, but Clem wasn’t even cracking a smile.  “Okay, that was a bad joke.  The point I’m trying to make is, let her experience life.  If it’s meant to be, it will be.”
    Jack’s words left Clem fighting off a multitude of emotions.  Rage with the thought of Katelyn giving herself to anyone but him.  Regret for causing her any pain at all.  And finally, acceptance, because he knew Jack was right.  Letting her go was the best thing for her.  He resolved to focus on his career and build a stable life for himself.  If they did happen to cross paths again one day, which Clem would try his damnedest to make it happen in one way or another, then he hoped he’d be able to convince her at that time to give him another chance.  Just once more.

Chapter 8
    At the end of the excruciatingly long meeting, which took up the entire day as they planned out the delegation of tasks and the use of resources, Katelyn numbly gathered her things and went out the door with Marc. They headed around a corner, with her offering brief one word replies to his many comments, which she obviously wasn't listening to at all.  All she could think about was the devastation she had overcome when he’d left town the first time, all those years ago.  It’s amazing she hadn’t made herself dehydrated with the buckets of tears she’d cried.  She had only sustained on ice cream for a few days, and had barely left her bedroom.  The agent of that misery had just waltzed back into her life, and she couldn’t escape him now, no matter how much she wanted to. 
    Ushering her into an empty conference room, Marc put his things down and stepped in front of her, slouching to look straight into her eyes. "Katelyn? Are you okay? You've barely said anything all day. I was just waiting for you to hit that McKinley Tech guy with a barrage of demands."
    "What? Oh, well -- I'm sure there will be plenty of time for comments and complaints. He'll