Past & Present Collide
Past & Present
Collide
Amanda Kay
Copyright ©
Amanda Kay, Author
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from the Author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events or persons, living or dead are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names or featured names are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or in part, mechanically or electronically, constitutes a copyright violation.
Published in the United States of American in June 2014; Copyright 2014 by Amanda Kay.
The right of the Authors Name to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by them in accordance with The Copyright, Designs and Patent Act of 1988.
Self-published by Amanda Kay
Cover art by Amanda Kay & Createspace; stock photos (dollarphotoclub.com)
Copyright 2014 ©
Kindle Edition
Language: English
Dedicated:
To my soul mate and best friend who chose to serve his country by joining
The United States Navy. Matthew I love you with all my heart and you are truly my hero.
Book Note:
This book is being republished after being taken off the market and completely reedited.
My family encouraged me to do this saying they loved this story.
So I present Kylie and Derek.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Acknowledgements
Can I just thank everyone and be done?
No there are so many people. First to the readers this book is for you. I hope you fall in love with Kylie and Derek, when I wrote them a couple years ago I loved them, but I knew the book needed improvement. I hope I have achieved that now.
To my PA Jen for being by my side always, and supporting me so much, I truly wouldn’t be able to do this without you.
To my Street Team: Amanda’s Fairies every single one of you rocks. Your support and unending devotion is amazing, my mind is blown every day by all of you.
To my family, my husband especially; thank you for your love and support. Every day with you and our kids is blessing.
To the bloggers, thank you for all that you do for us indie authors and authors in general without your dedication we wouldn’t be able to truly live out our dreams.
Prologue
1942
Kaylie sat at her dining room table in the brand new home her and her fiancé David had just bought. She stared at her engagement ring. They were supposed to get married Christmas Day 1941, but a week after the bombing of Pearl Harbor he had been selected to go over to Germany. She was now three days shy of her eighteenth birthday and he had been gone for two months with no letters. Finally she was staring at a letter from him. She had been secretly glad their wedding had been postponed, but she could never tell him that. She was so young she wanted to experience so much, but her mother had told her she was making the right choice. David was a good man, and getting married and starting a family would be the best thing for her. Although, she wasn’t as confident about that little notion from her mother as she should have been. She slowly pealed the envelope open bracing herself for his words, words she hadn’t seen or heard for two months now.
My Dearest Kaylie,
I know I haven’t written since I left for war and for that I am truly sorry my love. This is the first chance I have gotten. I miss you so much Kaylie and I am so sorry we had to postpone our wedding. I have been told my company won’t be over here much longer as we have almost fulfilled the needs for us. This means we can get married very soon my dearest. Nothing in this world would make me happier then to marry you as soon possible. I will write again soon and I hope I get to hear from you.
All My Love,
David
She decided he was at least owed a letter so she went to their wooden hutch and opened the drawer where she kept her stationary and pens. Returning to the table she thought long and hard about her letter. This would be tough, but she had to tell him she was happy for the postponement because it gave her time to think, time she desperately needed.
My Dearest David,
I received your letter today and I was both overjoyed and confused. I love you with all my heart, but I am glad we were able to have this time apart it has given me some time to think about us and our future. I love you that I am sure of, but I worry that marriage might not be the right thing for us at this moment. I have been told so many things the last few months that my head has been very clouded with mixed thoughts and emotions. I am using this time to sort through it all so that we can begin our lives together hopefully when you get back, but please be patient with me as I figure out not only my head but my heart as well. You have always been there for me and I want to be there for you too, but I need time to just sort through the mess. This by no means is a goodbye letter it is a please keep writing and forgive me as I process things while you are away.
Please be careful over there I wouldn’t want to receive news that you have been hurt as that would devastate me, because despite my confusion I still love you very much. I promise I will have everything figured out by the time you return from the war.
I am asking for a little patience. I believe you are very capable of giving me that. Take care my love and I will see you soon.
Yours,
Kaylie
As she walked the letter to the mailbox at the end of the long drive she thought long and hard about whether or not she should send it. She decided that he needed to know that she had a lot of mixed feelings but that she would keep her promise and figure out why she was having them and a way to sort through them so that they could begin a future when he returned, with that she closed the mailbox and proceeded back up the drive to the porch. She sat in the porch swing and stared at their initials K&D forever, carved into the swing back it made her smile. David had carved their initials two days before he had received his orders for Germany, and it was always something that brought her comfort despite her confusion, this was their home and he was her rock. Why she was having uneasy feelings now bothered her, but getting married now seemed like a hard step.
ONE MONTH LATER
Kaylie once again sat at her dining room table staring at a letter from David. Things were very different this time though. She was leaving heading for a big city she was all packed this was just one more thing to do write a goodbye letter. She first wanted to read David’s words and braced herself to make the tough decision to go through with leaving. She wanted to explore the country and the world she didn’t want to fall into this getting married at eighteen and having a family by nineteen. Sure it was the way of the times, but it wasn’t her way. She was bound and determined to live her life.
My Dearest Kaylie,
I understand the confusion you have been feeling,
I know there has been a lot of pressure on you to do this. I hope you figure things out and that I am your ultimate choice. I don’t want to lose you, but I am also willing to wait till you are ready. Please know I am sorry if you ever felt pressured by me to get married I only wanted to make you happy. I hope I still get that chance. I really don’t know what else I can say, so I will just say this I love you Kaylie don’t ever forget that.
David
She felt the tears well up in hers eyes she loved David she really did, but she had to do this for her. She hoped he would understand and that maybe one day they would find their way back to each other, but deep down she knew this would be their end. She grabbed her pen and began what would be her final letter to her love David.
Dearest David,
Please know that these next words won’t be easy for me at all. I have indeed had enough time to sort through the mess, and I now know that I can’t do this. I love you I truly do, and if one day we find our way back to each other it would be the most amazing reunion I could imagine. For now though I need to spread my wings and grow. I won’t tell you where I am going, because I know you would try to find me. Know this is not easy for me, because I do love you so, but I have to live my life and I know I can’t marry you. Please forgive me for any heartache I may have caused you in this process. I love you always.
Goodbye,
Kaylie
With tears now falling freely onto the letter she silently slipped off her engagement ring and placed it on the letter standing to grab her things and leaving through the door looking back one last time at her former life. Wiping her eyes she shut the door and headed towards the bus station only a few blocks away.
Chapter 1
PRESENT DAY
Kylie sat at her dining room table sipping on her coffee staring at the latest letter from her fiancé Derek. He was in the Army and was currently was overseas, leaving her alone and confused about him and their life together. She wasn’t sure of the reason, but lately when a letter came from him she dreaded opening it. They were getting married in October and the closer it got the more dread and confusion she felt. The wedding was four months away and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to get married.
Placing her coffee cup on the table she reached for the letter taking a deep breath as she prepared to read his words to her. She unfolded it and her green eyes focused on the words as she began to read:
My Dearest Kylie,
I hope this letter finds you well; I miss you so very much. I am comforted by the fact that we will be getting married in only a few more months.
Kylie sighed as she read as usual Derek wasted no time bringing up the wedding. She sighed again taking a sip of her coffee preparing herself to continue.
I have something very important to tell you my love. I am very sorry for the words I am about to write. Please believe me when I say I don’t like keeping things from you, but I felt I needed to wait till the time felt right. Three months ago before I left for overseas I did something that has the guys over here with me thinking I am crazy. I now feel with the wedding approaching that it is time to tell you I bought us a house, a house I know we can begin our future in and build into something wonderful for our lives together.
As the words spilled off the page Kylie’s green eyes fluttered first with complete shock and confusion by his words then it was quickly replaced with anger.
“How dare him!” She shouted to the empty apartment.
As the anger subsided a bit the shock took over again, “He bought a house, he bought a house,” she whispered over and over to herself trying to get it to sink in. As she processed his words she pulled on her strawberry blonde ponytail. Her green eyes slowly returned to the letter bracing herself for the rest of his words knowing he had kept this from her was slowly depleting the air from her lungs. He had never kept anything from her. She knew he had clear reasons behind his choice, and that thought caused her the most unease.
I know my love you are shocked and confused about this news, and I know I should have consulted you. Please know I had my reasons though. Ones you will understand later, but not now.
Anger took a hold of her again as she stared at Derek’s words realization hit her that he wasn’t going to share his reasons for doing this in this letter. She didn’t understand but decided she needed to give him the benefit of the doubt. Something Derek had always been good about when it came to her and her temperamental attitude. She shook her head pushing her ponytail from her shoulder. She glanced back down at the letter determined to finish reading his words even though her mind was now spinning in a million different directions.
Inside the envelope is a key. I know what you are thinking believe me when I say I wanted to tell you so many other times and that I did this for us. To give us a fresh start one we could use after we get married. My beautiful girl please know I love you and I only want to make your dreams come true and this house is a perfect fit. You have always been a talented home designer, and even though you have only been out of school a year and we are both only twenty-three; I know this is right. The home, the wedding, our future, everything will be perfect.
Take the key, move in to the house get out of your one bedroom apartment, and believe me when I say this house is your dream house. It is old, but with modern touches to make life easier without taking the charm of the house away, the charm that comes from a house built in the late 1930s and early 1940s. I promise my love that is exactly what this house is. I know that once you clear your head you will fall in love with the house, just like I did when I thought about the memories we could make there. Know; please know there is nothing in this world more important to me then you and all I want to do for the rest of my life is to make you happy.
Love Always,
Derek
The letter dropped to the table and her hands covered her eyes as she felt the tears fall from her eyes. Derek was kind and good to her he had never lied to her once. Come to think of it this was the first time he had kept something from her. It made her thoughts wander to his reasoning behind it. She wondered why he wouldn’t share them with her. She did love Derek and the confusion she had been feeling since before he left had only gotten worse since he had been away. She dreaded days she had wedding planning stuff to do to the point of feeling ill when she would think about it, and now he had bought a house without consulting her, one he promises she’ll love. How the hell does he know that? She thought as she wiped more tears from her eyes, glancing over at the envelope that he stated contained the key to this mystery house. She decided with new resolve and curiosity that the only option was to at least check it out the house for her own peace of mind.
She reached for the plain white envelope that now seemed more like a grenade. She held out her palm and slowly turned the envelope over catching the bronze key as it tumbled out. Attached to the key was a key chain with a hand written address on it. Her green eyes stared at for a long moment before laying it to rest on the table.
As she finished her coffee she glanced at the key through every sip. Once she was finished she walked to the small kitchen and rinsed the cup out before heading to her room to dress. She returned to the kitchen in fifteen minutes dressed in jeans, white sneakers, and a light blue quarter sleeve shirt. She walked over to her table and slowly picked up the key, once in her hand shed headed for the door grabbing her purse and cell phone right before she exited. She locked the apartment behind her and headed down to her silver SUV.
The drive to the house was twenty minutes long. When she finally pulled into the drive her mouth turned up into a little smile the house was perfect. It was a light yellow two story cottage with light green shutters that shouted to her ‘you’re home.’
She let her thoughts wander to what her life with Derek would be like here, and she couldn’t deny that the thought made her smile. Maybe Derek hadn’t made a bad choice about the house, she still wished he hadn’t kept it from her, but she understood that something convinced him he needed to wait
. She knew deep down that those reasons would reveal themselves in time she just had to be patient.
Chapter 2
She pulled to the top of the drive and stopped the car. Admiring the porch and porch swing, she sighed so far it was everything she had hoped for. She got out of the car, and slowly walked towards the house. She paused to look over the porch swing that had caught her eye when her car came to a stop. As she studied the wooden swing something suddenly caught her eye the initials K&D 1941. She gasped a little unsure of what to make of the initials that represented hers’ and Derek’s. It seemed very surreal, and something deep inside told her this wasn’t going to be a coincidence. This meant something, but what exactly? She turned her focus to the door, her unease still very present, and her confusion regarding the house and Derek growing. However, she decided she needed to do this. She needed to check out everything that encompassed this house. As she unlocked the door she took a deep breath closing her eyes as she pushed it open. She exhaled, opened her eyes now focused and determined and stepped inside to what was supposed to be home. She walked through the downstairs slowly admiring the simplicity the house provided. Everything from the furniture to the woodwork in the kitchen and living room was just perfect. As she approached the edge of the kitchen and dining area she noticed the white folded piece of paper on the countertop. KYLIE, she rubbed her fingers across her name and proceeded to pick up the letter, retreating to the living room unsure of what to expect now. She unfolded it and her eyes traveled down to his words.
Dearest Kylie,