FOREVER LOVE by Melissa Keir

FOREVER LOVE by Melissa Keir

The Wilder Sisters Series

Fifteen years ago, Syndie Wilder left her small hometown- Amherst, Ohio- to escape the pain of losing her best friend and boyfriend. Deciding that Chicago offered more for an up and coming jewelry designer, she enjoyed the big city life until she chooses to return and care for her father. Taking care of her father and relocating her internet business, Syndie has no time or desire for romance but fate has a way of playing with best-laid plans.

Thom Johnson broke Syndie’s heart all those years ago and regrets it every day. As a firefighter, Thom sets out to protect Amherst and redeem himself for his bad choices. However, he never has forgotten Syndie and the hurt he caused her.

When a chance meeting happens, can the two former friends allow themselves the chance to become friends again, or will the sparks turn a childhood friendship into a forever love?

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~Excerpt~

Driving my Jeep down the Ohio Turnpike, gave me a lot of time to think. Unless you count the many big rigs, there wasn’t much to look at while driving.  The flat boring landscape was occasionally dotted with farmhouses or cows. Having left behind the small town life, I was nervous about coming home. Isn’t that funny?  Chicago has been my home for the last fifteen years, yet that small town, Amherst, was still considered my HOME. I don’t know what scared me more…coming back to a small town after having escaped it or facing the demons that caused me to leave.

When Dad called me on the phone last week, he sounded so exhausted.  It scared me.  My memories of my Dad were of a robust man with a wicked sense of humor.  When we were children, he would chase us around the house just trying to catch us to tickle us.  He was the person who taught each of us girls how to shoot, ice fish, and ride our bikes. We stood on his feet as he twirled us around the room to old Dean Martin songs teaching us to dance.  When I was older, Dad was the formidable bear that boyfriends had to get passed in order to date us. I had only seen him cry once…at my mother’s funeral. In other words, he was our first hero that sadly no other man could measure up to.

This man, who had worked in the steel mills and had scared away many a boyfriend, was older now and needed me.  There was no question I would go home.  That is what family is for.  As the oldest, it was my job to come home and help out. But I also had the career that would allow me to move back to Ohio and be there for Dad. My four sisters were wrapped up in various enterprises, trying to establish themselves in their careers and getting situated in new homes.  After all, I could run my jewelry website and store from Amherst as easily as I could from Chicago. 

Deciding to take a drive through town before heading to Dad’s, I exited the turnpike and headed left towards Lake Erie. Driving past so many memories unleashed the ghosts of my past: good times and bad.

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FOREVER LOVE by Melissa Keir

LOVE, AGAIN A Ruby Lioness Press Author Anthology

FOREVER LOVE by Melissa Keir

Forever Love is a story of a woman who comes back to her hometown, fifteen years after leaving it for the bright lights of Chicago. When Syndie Wilder returns to Amherst, Ohio, she comes back to take care of her ailing father and doesn't expect to run into the childhood friend who dumped her in high school. Thom Johnson had regrets for how he treated Syndie but hasn't ever stopped loving her. When fate causes the two to meet, sparks fly again. But will a childhood friendship turn into a forever love?

Other stories in this anthology are WANTED: WIFE by Lacey Wolfe, VOWS by Tamaria Soana, CRAZY FOR YOU by Sabrina Luna, HOME by Ella Jade,  THIS TIME IT'S DIFFERENT by Autumn Jones Lake and LIFE IN SUITCASES by Melissa Kendall.

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Excerpt from Forever Love:

Dad was apparently running the vacuum in the living room, based upon the loud and annoying sound coming from downstairs. I listened with half an ear to the noise, idly wondering why the vacuum was so loud. A high-pitched whine came from downstairs, followed by the smell of smoke. Was that the fire alarm? What was going on?

I ran down the stairs to the living room, barely able to see through the haze of smoke. “Dad? Where are you?!” I screamed over the noise of the smoke alarm and vacuum.

Hearing a coughing noise coming from the kitchen, I ran into the room to see flames coming from the oven and my father using a towel to try to put them out. “Dad, we need to go. We need to call the fire department.” I pulled my dad toward the door and grabbed the cell phone out of my pocket.

“Hello, we have a fire at 224 West Front Street. Please send someone right away.”

Within minutes, the firemen arrived and set to work putting out the fire. I held on to my dad and wondered what happened. “Dad, why was there a fire in the oven? Were you trying to cook something?” Dad looked lost, like a small, frightened child. His eyes were glazed and his body was being wracked by coughing fits. The paramedics came over to take a look at him, alleviating a little of my worry. At least his cough was being treated. What was I going to do about his kitchen, though?

The fire was quickly put out; when the screeching of the alarm stopped, one of the firemen came over to talk with me. As he pulled off his helmet, I noticed his familiar face. It was T.J.

Smiling at the soot on his cheek, I said, “Thank you, T.J. Is everything okay in the house now?” I wanted to run my hand over his face and brush the soot off. Just being around him made my knees weak. You would think after sixteen years, I would be over him. Maybe my mind knows, but my body doesn’t yet, I thought sarcastically.

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