Devotion: Destined Hearts, #3

By Evelyn Montgomery

"Noah brings the Southern boy charm with all the protector vibes, but he also takes care of his 'Darlin!' Eva is bright, driven, and passionate. Someone I would so want in my corner. Together, Noah and Eva will steal your heart in their story as you cheer them on the entire way!"

 

No word, no call, not so much as a backwards glance.

All I'm left with are the memories haunting me of a love I never expected.

I'd give anything to change the way we ended.

But after a letter arrives and shatters what little hope I think I have left,

I suddenly know what I have to do and don't waste any time doing it.

Determined to make him listen.

Determined to fix what I broke.

Us.

I finally do what I should have done all along.

Follow him wherever it is he's headed and never give up hope.

Never give up on us.

But when a ghost from his past throws us a curve ball we never expected,

I'm forced to realize I might lose him forever to a secret I never knew he had.

In the end, will what we have be enough to weather the storm?

Or this time, will it finally break us before we get the chance to choose us?

 

Praise:

 

"I don't think I've been so frustrated that I couldn't read faster to figure out what would happen to the main leads, Eva & Noah, and y'all, I read fast."

"Fabulous representation of a southern gentleman. I loved the way the story flowed, and the character building was beautiful."

"So good! I absolutely loved the chemistry between Noah and Eva."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evelyn Montgomery
• Release date: Jan 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201456528

Evelyn Montgomery

Born & raised in California, Evelyn Montgomery now resides in Central Kentucky with her husband and three children.Her love stories include contemporary chick lit, romantic suspense, phycological thrillers, mysteries, RomCom & much more.One thing to always expect when reading an Evelyn Montgomery book is a plot twist somewhere between the pages you’d never see coming.With no plans to stop writing any time soon, her goal is to keep producing a fictional world that isn’t forced, but genuine, heartfelt, and desirable.

Book preview

1

EVA

The smell of gardenias fills the room as the Santa Ana winds pick up and blow through the open window above the sink in the kitchen. Calming me for a brief second, the smell is followed by the sound of wind chimes beautifully making a musical song only they know and can carry on the large breeze blowing through Huntington Beach today.

When the sounds and the smells mix together I can almost let go, almost forget everything that has happened in the last few days, and finally find a sense of stability that has seemed lost for so long.

The Santa Ana winds are blowing in full force, and with them, the smell of the ocean can slightly be made out as the warm and dry gusts blow around outside drifting in through the open window above the kitchen sink. The smell of sand and salty beach just a few short miles away helps me grab ahold of my life’s anchor, and makes me feel rooted. Maybe now I can finally figure out what I want in life. What I need, because Lord knows I’ve made a royal mess of things.

The coffee finishes brewing in the pot under the window sill, and when all three smells collide - the coffee, gardenias, and the ocean mixing with the beautiful melody of the wind chimes - there is only one place I can be. The only place that has ever felt like home and made me feel whole.

But now, a piece is missing.

My grandmother comes into the kitchen through the sliding door which leads to the backyard. Shooing one of her cats inside, she proceeds to fill its dish nearby from the pantry. Her short hair is windblown from the gusts of wind and she slowly kneels low to fill the dish for the furry friend which is more like family. She doesn’t say a word, but stands up tall and then proceeds to take two coffee cups from a close cabinet, filling them to their brim.

Walking over to me, she sits my cup down on the small kitchenette table and tugs on a few strands of my hair a couple of times. A habit she has whenever I am sulking and quiet too long, and a trait I have missed since she has been gone.

My grandmother sits across the table from me and doesn’t speak at first. She looks at me, reading me. Examining me. Knowing everything that needs to be said and just the way it needs to be spoken. Shaking her head a few times, she looks away out across the backyard at the winds blowing the trees furiously and takes a sip of her coffee.

You don’t look too happy for someone who just landed themselves a job at the L.A. Times, Eva. She says to me, obviously annoyed at my silence.

My grandmother’s perfectly manicured nails begin to rapidly tap against her cup. I always loved her nails. They were the perfect shade of coral with a gold palm tree exquisitely displayed on her ring finger’s nail bed. Something I have always tried to emulate since her passing, but I am never able to find that perfect gold palm tree, no matter how hard I try. Still silent, I look out across the kitchen and through the window into the yard. Fighting the urge to cry, I fight with finding a way to put into words exactly what I am feeling. Why after being handed everything I ever wanted, it still isn’t enough.

I’m happy. I finally manage. Honestly I am.

My grandmother turns and glares at me. Looking deep inside me, it’s obvious she knows me better than I could ever know myself. I have missed her so much in the last few years since she was no longer with us. I often find I struggle to try and understand myself as well as she obviously knew me.

I swear, this was my dream. I start out saying, as I search my grandmother’s eyes for a truth so evident that I still can not grasp it. I worked hard for this. I finally landed myself a great position. I will be making enough money to afford to move back home, live here and be able to be around family. You know how bad I’ve always wanted to be back here with everyone. These are my roots. This is my family.

I’m searching, I know it. The look in her eyes tells me to dig deeper. But I can’t seem to make sense of all the emotions piling on top of each other inside. I find myself searching for an answer that had felt secure my whole life, and now only feels like a stranger. But my grandmother isn’t buying it. The winds pick up again and knock over something in the backyard. Slamming against each other, the wind chimes make more of a crashing sound than the beautiful melody heard just a few minutes earlier. The cat jumps at her dish as the gate nearby beats against its locks and then runs and hides in another room.

And then, it is peaceful. Clear. Calm and absolutely obvious.

Eva, my grandmother sternly says. I glance up to meet her eyes. Stability, strength, and years of lessons hang in them as I sit ready to hear the advice she is about to give. Connecting my thoughts with the truth, as heart-wrenching as it might be, is what I know I need to move forward.

Dreams change, she says. People change, and there is nothing wrong with that. Life is full of ups and downs. Lessons and victories both big and small. We can’t always predict what is going to happen to us, and that is ok.

A small tear rolls down my face as I come to terms with the fact that I could never have prepared for this. For him. For us.

A curveball of massive proportions that forever changed my world. Although I know in my heart everything that has changed is for the better, letting go is always the scariest part. Especially when you have always believed your happiness could only come from one dream. One hope that you hold every other dream’s credibility up against.

Life is a road, she continues. And sometimes it changes directions. Life can often hand you detours, and sometimes the road less traveled is full of greater stops along the way and breathtaking scenery you would never be able to see otherwise. Do you get what I am trying to say?

I nod. My head hangs low as tears begin to fall out of my eyes and splash against the top of the kitchen table. With every tear that falls, I feel myself silently starting to let go. I know I have to and even though the choice comes instinctively, even though a weight begins to lift - it still hurts inside.

Life is a road to be filled with laughter and happiness. My grandmother says softly. A road to be shared and enjoyed to the fullest, no matter what you have to give up along the way. A road never to be traveled alone, and never to be taken for granted. The ones you love may not always be there, and you have to take your chances.

My eyes shoot up. His words, I will take my chances rings through my brain. As I grasp to get back to that moment, to that time - I hear it.

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

I can’t shake it, and as I try to understand what it is, I feel this moment begin to slip away. My grandmother slowly seems more distant. Faded, and not entirely clear. An understanding look graces her face, and then it’s back.

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

Honey, she whispers gently with a smile. Your road doesn’t lead here anymore.

Realization hits as the final thread of a dream I had forever drifts away. I grab out to try and grasp her hand. To try and hold onto this moment, and the truth she just gave me.

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

She smiles slowly as she begins to disappear. I don’t want her to go. I need her. Need her strength. Although, I somehow know the weight that has suddenly started to lift off my heart is enough. She gave me what I need to find new strength, and I will always remember her words and finally be able to accept my road which is forever changed.

The smell of gardenias, coffee, and ocean fade. In its place, sterile, cold, and unfamiliar fill my senses.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

There is that noise again. The sound of machines and hushed tones of people talking fill my ears. Heavy. My eyes are so heavy.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I think she’s coming around now. I hear a man say. It’s a voice I don’t recognize as I try and will my eyes to open.

Who? Who is coming around? My body stiff and motionless feels heavier than I have ever felt before. Pain. Excruciating pain fills my body as my brain struggles to understand what has happened and what the man is talking about. My eyes slowly start to open as a bright light fills my vision only making me close them quickly once again.

Pain. So much pain.

My right side stings with a fire I have never felt before. My mouth is dry, and the ringing in my ears fills my head worse than any migraine I knew was humanly possible. As I struggle to try and make sense of it all, flashes come back to me. I close my eyes tighter as memories flood my senses.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

David! I hear my mother’s trembling voice. David! Hurry, come quick! She’s opening her eyes. Eva. Eva, darling, please wake up. Honey, open your eyes for me.

Why are my parents here? I try to rotate to the side and stop immediately as a stabbing feeling fills my body. I can’t scream. I can’t make a noise. My breathing, which always seemed effortless, is now slow and agonizing as I struggle to fill my lungs with air.

Slowly now. Commands the man’s voice at my side once again. Take it slow, Ms. Monroe.

I open my eyes slightly and look at him. In his white coat, he stands at my right holding a clipboard as he examines the length of my entire body before going back to writing on his pad of paper. Slightly glancing to the left, I notice my mother sitting at my side as she grabs my hand and squeezes lightly. My father looms over her, a look of concern filling his eyes that I have never seen before.

You gave us quite a scare. The man on my right says. I watch as my mother’s eyes fill with tears. My father puts his hand on her shoulder for comfort as she tries to keep strong. I turn back to look at the man I don’t know next to me. Finally meeting my eyes he smiles. Reaching up he checks the bag attached to the IV I only then notice is strung to my right hand.

I will give you three a moment while I go order you some more fluids, he says. It could’ve been way worse young lady. You must have a major guardian angel up above looking out for you.

I close my eyes as my grandmother’s words fill my head. Your road doesn’t lead here anymore. I feel a lonely tear roll down my cheek before I hear the man speak again.

I will just be a minute, he says. You’re one lucky girl, Eva. Do me a favor and slow down and enjoy the ride next time, ok? There are only a few things in life worth risking it all for.

2

NOAH

D r. Hackworth, you’re needed in surgery.

The sounds and smells of the hospital leave me numb and in disbelief. How did we get here? How did this happen? I wish like hell I could rewind time and go back to where we were, where everything was clear. Back before all this mess and the hell that I am now living in.

It didn’t look good. I tell you that young girl is lucky to be alive. I hear a male nurse discuss his latest case with his colleague as they pass by. I look up slightly as they walk down the hallway to my left before hanging my head low again and resting my elbows on my knees.

What if I can’t promise you forever.

My stomach revolts. My breathing quickens and then slows so still I question if I am having a heart attack. Taking a few deep breaths, my head feels dizzy as I try and calm the nerves now taking over and making my right knee bounce up and down.

Still no word! What can be taking so long?

I look up and see Gwen huddled in a far corner with Rex. And although it seems odd watching the two of them actually getting along and seeing Rex console her, it doesn’t take long before my head is filled with memories and words both spoken and regrettably never said.

I love you, and if loving you is wrong, I will take my chances.

Damn it! I jump to my feet and start pacing the hallway with such haste it causes strangers to look my way. Catching the eye of Gwen and Rex, I notice as Michael walks down the hallway towards us scrubbing a hand down his face in worry.

Still no word? I hear Rex call out as Michael walks past. His eyes are trained on mine with an intensity I haven’t seen since that night on the patio a few months back. Stopping right in front of me, I take a few steps back as I wait for him to speak.

You better pray to whoever it is you pray to that she is ok, he snaps before walking off. Where he is going I don’t know, but I see him almost kick the doors to the waiting room open as he stalks off outside screaming random obscenities in the air.

Letting out a deep breath, I walk up to the nurse’s station. It has been almost two hours. Eva’s parents showed up and were immediately rushed back into the E.R. while the rest of us gathered and were forced to remain in agony in the small waiting room for any sort of news.

Excuse me, Miss, I say loudly. The brown haired nurse is deep in a giggling conversation with her colleague and looks up annoyed. I’ve obviously interrupted them and she isn’t happy, but if you ask me this girl should be doing her damn job instead of gossiping with her coworker.

I’m sorry, I hate to… It’s just, is there any word yet on Eva Monroe? I mean it has been almost two hours and most of us out here don’t even know if she is… My voice trails off as tears sting the back of my throat. I look down at the counter before glancing back up to meet the two ladies' eyes. We would just appreciate any news if you have it?

My plea for help is met with a roll of the eyes that reminds me of the girl somewhere in this God-forsaken hospital that just may or may not be fighting for her life after the argument we got in earlier today.

I told you, sir, she starts to respond flippantly. The doctor will be out with any news once there is some. Nothing has changed hospital policy in the last few minutes since the last time you asked.

I smile sarcastically at them and angrily push off the counter walking to the right towards Rex and Gwen. Pacing back and forth in front of the two of them, I glance up to see Rex pull Gwen in close for a hug and whisper something in her ear - and although I know grief always brings out a different side in people, it is still strange to see the two of them so close.

I don’t want to keep you from anything, I don’t want to make you regret anything in life.

Her words ring out in my head and I can’t shake them. Regret. Mistakes. Forever. Eva’s words flash in my brain and I find myself instinctively pulling my fist up and making it collide with a nearby wall. The punch and pain don’t hurt nearly as bad as the regret weighing down my heart- and as everyone turns to look at me, I catch the eye of Gwen still standing next to Rex.

What did you do, Noah? Gwen asks in an angry tone. What did you say to her? Rex grabs a hold of her shoulders slightly as she makes her way towards me. I glance behind Gwen to hear him quietly shushing her in her ear.

Did you do this? Gwen begins to cry. Her voice now escalates higher. What the fuck did you say to her?

I flinch and avert my eyes to the floor as tears begin to well inside them. I swallow over a lump in my throat as my mouth goes dry and I have no words, nothing to say to Eva’s best friend right in front of me demanding answers that I can’t give. I did this. I pushed her away. I’m the reason we are standing in this waiting room right now wondering if Eva is alive or dead.

Gwen’s shrill yell is worse than I have ever heard before as she takes a few steps toward me and yells, I’ve already lost one sister you bastard! I can’t lose her!

My eyes shoot up as my defenses kick in. You can’t lose her? I begin to yell back. Do you think I did this on purpose? Do you think I would ever wish that the woman I love more than anything would be laying somewhere in this hospital in God only knows what condition? I love her Gwen. Damn it I love her more than I could ever even love myself! I’d trade places with her in an instant if I knew I could!

Rex steps in between the two of us and pulls Gwen into his arms. Running his fingers through her hair, she sobs uncontrollably into his chest. Looking up at me, Rex gives me an understanding look laced with an acknowledgment between the two of us not to push it right now. I start to walk away when I hear Gwen whisper into his chest. I tried to warn Eva about you. I tried to make her listen.

I stop dead in my tracks and turn to face Gwen, still sobbing and soaking Rex’s shirt. He catches my eye and gives me an inquisitive look which tells me he is just as surprised to hear this confession as I am. Just as I am about to speak, the big doors leading back into the E.R. open, and two doctors come walking out deep in conversation. They stop briefly to discuss something before walking further into the waiting room. 

Who here is the family of Eva Monroe? One of the two men says before the other walks off in the direction of the cafeteria.

Rex waves Michael in from outside as Gwen and I both look at each other wondering who should answer. The doctor stands in front of everyone in the room waiting for a response. Before I can decide what kind of trouble I may get in for lying, the fear of the doctor walking away and leaving us without word takes over and I can’t wait any longer to know what has happened. Where she is? What condition she is in? And most importantly, when can I see her?

I am! I find myself stammering. I get a heated look from Gwen who obviously isn’t too happy, but to hell with her right now. I look over to see Rex has successfully waved Micheal back into the room, and the two of them are hurriedly making their way over to us.

I mean, we all are. I manage to respond as the four of