Evergreen Series

Jack and I had everything. Then in one brutal instant, the universe tilted on its side, discarding us into black nothingness.

Now Jack is obsessed with revenge, and I’m desperate to leave the night of our anniversary behind me. When we’re not fighting, the only way we communicate is in the bedroom. 

With nothing left to lose, I write a goodbye letter and head for my mother’s empty house, three hours away from Jack, where I quickly meet a neighbor who helps me find a job.

My new neighbor—handsome ex-soldier Isaac Evans—is complicated. Nevertheless, we form a fast friendship, bonding over a mutual desire to create something beautiful from the wreckage of our lives.

But despite the distance between us, Jack and I are still trying to make things work—fighting and playing dirtier than ever. And he doesn’t appreciate my new friendship with Isaac. Not one damn bit.

Two to six weeks. That’s how long it takes, on average, to get a divorce in Oregon.

With Jack convinced I betrayed him, I expect to be served divorce papers within hours of moving out. But weeks pass without word from Jack, and the papers never arrive. Though my heart isn’t ready to give up on him, I can’t shake the feeling that we may be better off apart. And Isaac is more than happy to help me move on.

But just as I begin to build some semblance of a life and career, a new and improved Jack arrives on my doorstep. Divorce papers are the furthest thing from his mind as he delivers news that both shatters me and restores my faith in the love we shared. But is it too late for us?

With Jack determined to correct his past mistakes, and to help me cope with the news about Junior’s murderer, I find myself hardly able to function, my soul weighed down by renewed grief and crippling guilt.

When I confess my sins to Jack, watching the light in his blue eyes go dim with every word I speak, I know I will not soon be forgiven. Maybe I don’t deserve forgiveness.

When I confess my new predicament to Isaac, I’m met with words of comfort and an apology that leaves me reeling with regret. 

I am truly my own worst enemy.

But I refuse to give up. With a renewed sense of purpose, I am determined to weed out my destructive habits and bloom into the person and the mother I was meant to be.