Page 62 of A Constant Love

To the man my daughter decides to marry

I recognized the handwriting on the envelope as her mother’s.

“Should I read it now? I mean we aren’t walking down the aisle today.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care when you read it…as long as you know you’re the only man who ever will.”

Curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the letter.

To the man my daughter marries,

I know you’ll never meet me, and we will never get the chance to bond or have a relationship, but you and I have one very important thing in common.

Our love for Samantha.

As I’m sure you’ve realized by now, she is an extremely special woman who will change the lives of everyone she encounters. Yours included.

I am not going to lecture you on how to take care of her because I know if she picked you as a husband, you already know.

So, I’ll leave it at this…Samantha is wildfire. Plain and simple. I have watched people try to put out that fire, and I pray that you won’t do that. Let her burn, and she will light up your world in the best way imaginable.

Take care of our girl,

Dina

She was right. Sam was my wildfire who came in and completely burned everything I knew about love, and something better grew in its place. Something lush and lasting.

“I love you, Kansas.”

“I love you more, Trust Fund.” She said while leaning her head against me. “But I do have one request.”

“Yes, baby?”

Her eyes found mine. “We have to move!”

“Okay?”

She began fidgeting. “Well, they kind of shot James in our bedroom. Blood was everywhere. It was a mess. After an attack in that house, and being watched all the time, and now a dead body…I think it’s just time to find a new place to live.”

My loud laugh filled the room. “Wherever you want to live, we will live.”

She wrapped her arms around me. “You’re the best…Maggie Marie.”

I pulled back at the mention of the ‘girl’ name Tess had given me. “Tess told you?!”

She shook her head. “No, actually your mom did.”

My head snapped toward her. “My mom?”

“Oh yeah, she was here. Yesterday, I kind of went and yelled at her about how much I loved you and to back the fuck off. Today, she came in and apologized, and we made up. I think she likes me now.” She said the words like they were no big deal, but my head was spinning.

“Okay, Kansas, you’re going to have to start from the beginning.”

And she did. She started from the beginning, and I held her in my arms…ready to get started on our fairytale ending.

Epilogue - Sam

One Year Later