Authors: Brenda Kennedy
The dark cloud consumes me. I don’t fight it,
I welcome it. I want to be numb. I fall limp in my seat, unable to
move, unable to speak, unable to hear. I see what looks like
arguing, Robert stands and so does Drake. Bruce and the other
attorney also stand. The judge bangs his gavel over and over and it
doesn’t do any good. Robert moves to the front of the desk we are
sitting at and he looks mad. I just want to sleep, I am so tired. I
want to go home. I blink and breath, it’s all I’m capable of. My
mind shuts down and finally I’m completely numb.
Robert
When that dickhead judge said Jamie belongs
to Drake and Chelsea, I wanted to beat him like I want to beat
Kennedy. When I stood, the wooden chair I was sitting on fell
behind me. I went to the front of the desk ready to beat down the
first person I saw. I see Drake and start to go after him. “Yeah,
motherfucker, come and get it.”
Someone grabs me, and I continue on my quest
to beat that son of a bitch down. Someone else grabs me and holds
me back. I fight to get loose, but I can’t move. I hear the judge’s
gavel banging repeatedly and I remember where we are. The jailers
loosen my hold and I push them away. I straighten my shoulders,
move my neck side to side and take my seat back with
Leah.
The judge speaks, but I don’t listen. That’s
what I pay Bruce for. I reach for Leah’s hand and she doesn’t
respond. I try to intertwine out fingers and she’s limp. I look
down at her and she is staring straight ahead. She has a steady
stream of tears but doesn’t make a sound. “Robert?” Bruce says.
“They want to continue this next week when you and Drake calm
down.”
“
Yeah, fine,
whatever.”
I’m not calm now and I won’t be
then either.
Bruce walks Leah and me out to our car. She
doesn’t say bye to Bruce and she doesn’t say anything on the ride
home. I’m afraid her depression has come back. I’m afraid of what
this will do to her. “Gracie will be hungry when we get home,” I
say, trying to get her mind on something other than Jamie and
Madison.
“
I’m tired, will you feed
her?”
I look at her and she is expressionless. “I
will, Baby, you just rest.” I call Sue to give her a head's up of
what happened. When we get home Sue, Tim, and I help Leah into bed.
She doesn’t say anything other than she’s tired. Sue cries and Tim
looks fearful. I know she is back into her depressive state. I
asked her did she want to see Gracie and she doesn’t. “I just need
to sleep.”
Once Leah is in bed, I close the bedroom door
so she can rest. I call her doctor to see if he’ll make a house
call. For the right amount of money, anyone will do almost
anything. He’ll be over tomorrow.
I warm a bottle up for Gracie and feed her as
I tell Dad, Mom, Tim, and Sue everything that happened in court.
When I tell them about Jamie, Mom and Sue cry. The thought of
someone exhuming her body, makes me sick.
“
What are you going to
do?” Tim asks and everyone looks at me.
“
I have to talk to Leah. I
can’t let them move Jamie. I can’t lose her
again.”
That night everyone stays at the house. It’s
like mourning Jamie all over again. Leah doesn’t eat and she
doesn’t get out of bed, either. I tend the Gracie’s needs although
Mom and Sue offer. I try to get Leah involved in her feeding but
she sleeps.
The next morning when I
walk downstairs, no one is around. I smell coffee and the
television is on Bay News 9.
Two good
things: local news and hot coffee.
I walk to the coffee pot and fill an extra-large mug to the
brim with black coffee. I look outside and the grandparents are on
the deck with Gracie. I smile when I see how many people love her.
There is breaking news about a six-year-girl who was abducted from
her bedroom during the early morning hours.
There are some sick bastards in the world.
I look at the television and the headlines
flashes,
Amber Alert for Madison
Sinclair
.
Books by Brenda Kennedy
Please follow Robert and
Leah’s story in
One Last Fight, Round
Three
: of
The
Fighting to Survive Trilogy
.
Other books written by this author
include:
The
Starting Over
Trilogy
Book One:
A New Beginning
Book Two:
Saving Angel
Book Three:
Destined to Love
The Freedom
Trilogy
Book One:
Shattered Dreams
Book Two:
Broken Lives
Book Three:
Mending Hearts
Against the Odds
is Round Two of
The
Fighting to Survive Trilogy.
Round One:
A Life Worth Fighting
Round Two:
Against the Odds…
coming
in 2015
Round Three:
One Last Fight
…coming in
2015
I support Indie Authors. If you read this
book, please take the time to go to the purchasing site and give it
a review. Independent authors count on your reviews to get the word
out about our books. Thank you for taking the time to read my books
and taking the extra time to review them. I appreciate it very
much.
Disclaimer: People and places in this book
have been used fictitiously and without malice.
Acknowledgments
My husband, Rex: Thank you for supporting me
and for coming with me on this ride. Thank you for understanding
that just because I am in my pajamas, I am indeed working. You are
my partner for life and I love you.
My Children: Carey, John,
Derek, Nikki, Chastidy, Rex, Brittany, Amanda, and Katie: Thank you
for reminding me what is important every single day. I love
you.
My Grandchildren: Desmond,
Samantha, Autumn, Evan, Derek, Dayquan, Darius, Draden, Alyssa,
Hailey, Lucca, Tanner, Giovanni, Cain, Lelila, Kylie, DeVonte’,
Adrienne, Amaya, Dominic, Damien, Caden, and Gemma: Thank you for
reminding me that I am somebody; I am your grandma and nothing else
matters. I love you all.
My sisters and brothers: George, Martha,
Rosa, Carla, and Frank: Thank you for your support. I love
you.
My other brother,
David:
Without you, I wouldn’t have been
able to publish the first book. Thank you for making my ideas
better and for all you do. Editing, proofreading, polishing,
formatting, ideas, articles, and research websites. See, I do pay
attention. Thank you. Thank you for pushing me until I get it
right. Maybe someday, I’ll learn the right place to put the commas.
I love you and I can never thank you enough. David writes
collections of anecdotes such as
The
Funniest People in Comedy
, and he retells
classics in such books as
William
Shakespeare’s
Macbeth
: A Retelling in Prose
. His books
can also be found for sale on all leading online sale
platforms.
Thank you to my daughters: Carey, Brittany,
Amanda: Thank you for all your help at book signings, and with the
book swag. I couldn’t have done them without you.
A very special thank you to Amy Linda Valdez
for sharing her memories with me about her son, Matthew Caden.
Caden, you have a very special Mom and I am glad to know her.
R.I.P. and fly with the angels.
Christina Badder, Owner and Operator of CBB
Productions: My P.A., and my friend. Thank you for taking care of
all of my promotional needs. The blog tours, author spotlights,
book cover reveals, give-a-ways, Rafflecopters, Thunderclap
campaigns, ARC’s, and everything that I don’t know that you do or
things I forgot to mention. I hope you know how much I appreciate
your hard work and dedication. Looking forward to actually maybe
doing a book signing with you. Girl, I love your work and your
dedication. One more thing I need to thank you for is this book
cover, and for the other covers in this trilogy. You are so amazing
and I am so glad I found you. I plan on keeping you,
forever.
Thank you to my Beta readers: There are too
many to list and I don’t want to forget anyone. I appreciate you
all, more than you know. I appreciate your honest opinions and
reviews. I love the bond that we have developed and I appreciate
that I can trust you. Thank you for encouraging me to write and for
giving me ideas. You never disappoint. I love you guys!
Thank you to “Brenda’s Street Talkers,” for
pimping my books, making teasers and banners, and just for the love
and support I receive from you every day. I love you
girls.
Thank you to all the
bloggers who shared in the author’s spotlight and the blog tour
for
Against the Odds
. I appreciate you more than you know.
A very special thank you to my fellow author
friends who help me every day, even when you don’t realize you
are.
To my readers: Thank you for reading and
reviewing my books. Thank you to my loyal readers who have followed
me from the beginning and to those who are new to my
books.
Thank you to Natalie
Grasso Photography for the stunning cover photo and to my niece and
nephew, Deanna and Jeremiah Fouch for allowing me to use their
personal and private photo. Well, not so private now. You can
follow Natalie at
https://www.facebook.com/Nataliegrassophotography?fref=ts
and
http://nataliegrassophotography.com/
Info for David Bruce, My
Brother
Smashwords (Books for Sale, and Free
Books)
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bruceb
Wordpress Blog
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com
About the Author
When I first started
writing, I wanted to write about real people whom others could
relate to with real-life problems and real jobs. I love to read
about the billionaire 20-something-year-old, but knew this wasn’t
the kind of story I want to write. When my first trilogy,
The Starting Over Trilogy
, took form, I was thrilled to be able to make the book as
close to realistic as I could.
I wanted to touch on
real-life problems. Not because I want to show the weakness in my
characters or to show the disturbing truth, but because I wanted to
show my characters’ strengths.
The
Starting Over
Trilogy
dealt with domestic
violence: a problem that is all too familiar to too many women and
men.
Next came
The Freedom Trilogy,
a
spinoff of
The Starting Over
Trilogy
. My book started off with the
All-American military family and the real problems some face during
deployment. I picked my daughter’s brain and used her real emotions
during the deployment stage. Thank you, Amanda. Then the story
turned to drug abuse and rehabilitation.
This book,
Against the Odds
,
focuses on battles as a boxer and trying to move forward from the
death of a child and depression. It also focuses on a child who was
switched at birth and the emotional heartache that both families
face. I hope to show Leah’s strengths and Bobby’s compassionate
side while still showing the true battles of everyday
life.
I hope in my future books I am still able to
continue to write about problems most of us face while continuing
to give my characters their happily ever after, that they
deserve.
One a lighter note:
I moved to sunny Florida in 2006 and never looked
back. I love fresh squeezed lemonade, crushed ice, teacups,
wineglasses, non-franchise restaurants, ice cream cones, boating,
picnics, cookouts, throwing parties, lace, white wine, mojitos,
strawberry margaritas, white linen tablecloths, fresh flowers, and
Pinterest. I also love to read and write and to spend time with my
family.
My books, thus far, have been inspired by the
things I love and the people who influence me, every single day, to
be a better person.
You may follow me on:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brenda-Kennedy-Author
https://twitter.com/BrendaKennedy_
https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
https://www.pinterest.com/brendakennedy06/