Free A Ranger's Love: A Military Erotic Romance by Kristin Fletcher Page B

nothing, I realize that the loneliness that has been my constant companion for the last few years is gone. I realize it has been gone, ever since that first picnic lunch with Mike. I miss my parents, but I no longer feel tied to this place. It’s time to move on. It’s time to stop living in past. I smile. No, not just time. Past time.
     
    ***
     
    A banging pulls me awake. I sit up, groggy. I have slept all night on the couch, wrapped in the throw. I pick up my cell. Eight-fifty. “Just a minute,” I call, staggering to my feet. I’m stiff and I hurt all over.
     
    I open the door to see a grinning Beverly and Tim. “Get your ass in gear, girl! Paul will be here with the truck in a few minutes.” Beverly crows bustling into my apartment. “Are you ready to start your new life?”
     
    “Ugh,” I grunt, not yet awake. “Tell me why this is a good idea again?”
     
    “Because,” Beverly says, ticking the items off on her fingers, “you’re finally getting on with your life. You’re hopefully going to be living with the love of your life and getting laid every night. Plus, it cuts down on the competition around here.”
     
    I snort. “I can’t compete with you, Bev.”
     
    “Says the woman that is moving to North Carolina to be with the hottie that didn’t even give me a second look.” Beverly teases.
     
    “We’ll, okay. Maybe that one time,” I say with a smile. I look at Beverly and I can feel myself tearing up. “I’m going to miss you, Bev.”
     
    Beverly smiles back at me, her eyes swimming in tears as well. “I’m going to miss you, too; but, I’m glad you’re going. This is the first impulsive thing you’ve done since your parents died. Mike will be so surprised when he gets back and finds you there. This is a good thing. I’m happy for you.”
     
    I give Beverly a crooked smile. Moving from Georgia to North Carolina with no job and no prospects would have terrified me just two months ago. It terrifies me, now. Mike left three weeks ago for wherever he went and I am packed to leave. I am moving to a new state with my few possessions, a little money, and nothing else, except for Mike’s embrace upon his return. It is the thought of that embrace that gives me the courage to go through with this.
     
    I’ll find another job. I’ll make it work. With Mike’s help, I’ll know it will work. I look around the apartment that has been my unintentional prison for three years. I think of the saying: The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present . Charles Michael Hanover has given me the greatest gift of all. I look forward to each day that we spend together.
     
    I feel my smile widen. I hope Paul will be here with the truck soon. I’m ready to leave. I’m ready to go to North Carolina, so I can be there when my family returns from duty.