Proof of Love by C. M. Albert

Author:C. M. Albert [Albert, C. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
Publisher: Flower Work Press
Published: 2018-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

I’D GOTTEN ALONG just fine these past few years with my head down, working hard to make a difference in our community. Then Dez breezed into town. I knew none of this was her fault, but in just a few short days, my heart had gone through more roller-coaster dips and dives and corkscrew turns than it had in years, since I had struggled with my post-attack demons—the ones that led me to destroy my art studio, sell my house, and tell the paparazzi to go fuck itself during a drug-induced Twitter rant. Needless to say, they left me the fuck alone after that, and national attention faded just as quickly as it came.

My heart still ached most days, not being in the studio firing up the huge iron sculptures I once created from nothing. But my heart lacked the passion and my body lacked a second arm. Not that I couldn’t do it. I’d met so many inspiring amputee survivors while recovering—many who’d lost limbs in battle. Those men and women seemed unstoppable, letting nothing hold them back. Hell, I’d even received a face-to-face pep talk from Bethany Hamilton, who knew more than anyone what I was going through. Fuck. She’d gotten back on her surfboard a month after her shark attack, despite losing more than half her blood and suffering from hypovolemic shock. I’ll never forget the advice she gave me while I was lying in the hospital recovering, feeling more than a little sorry for myself. She said, “Mitch, I’ve had the chance to embrace more people with one arm than I ever could with two.”

Those words raced through my mind while I drove to the hospital, praying like hell that Ti survived. For not being someone who prayed, and not even knowing whether there was anyone on the other end of my call, I certainly was doing an awful lot of it these days.

But I was scared that Ti might go into shock from his blood loss, just as I had after losing my arm. Who knew how long he’d been bleeding out in the back of Egan’s truck. But it made me more determined than ever to get our emergency app up and running, and to fight harder for these kids. I could embrace more people now after my life changed than I ever could have while being an artist. People I knew face to face, whom I’d bump into at the market. I smiled, thinking of Dez and our little “run-in.”

Yeah, losing my arm fucking sucked. But Egan was right when he reminded me that I had a bigger purpose—that I was here to help these kids for a reason. I wouldn’t soon forget how important that was after today. If everything in my life hadn’t happened exactly as it had, maybe I wouldn’t be where I was today, racing to the hospital, where people needed me. Where Dez was waiting for me.

I ran full speed into the waiting room, searching for her. She stood up as soon as she saw me, and no words were needed.

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