Off Sides

around his neck and burying my face just below his jaw. “Yes, Ryan. I will marry you.”
    His arms tighten around me and I pull my head back. There is so much emotion vibrating between us, I half expect him to give me a scorching X-rated kiss. But I’m sure he remembers the cameras are on us and he instead feathers the softest kiss on my lips, followed by one on my forehead.
    The arena erupts into cheers and Ryan releases his hold on me. He takes the ring and puts it on my finger.
    “I love you so much,” he says softly, so only I can hear.
    I stare at the ring for only a second but then look back into his beautiful eyes. “I love you, too. Now get back out on that ice and kick some Penguin ass.”
    He throws a dazzling smile at me, slaps me on the butt and hustles off. I watch him until he disappears from sight and I wish that my parents could have been here to see this.
    I glance around me and everyone is cheering and smiling at me. Paula and Emily walk up and wrap me in fierce hugs, grabbing my hand to look at the ring. Complete strangers reach out to clap me on the back. I have all of this emotion and vibrancy swirling around me. My heartbeat is working overtime and I’m actually a little dizzy from the onslaught of sensation.
    I swing my gaze back to the ice and I see Ryan is down there skating again.
    Just looking at him, I immediately feel myself calm. Everything comes back into focus. Unbelievable warmth and peace suffuses through me.
    All because of my Ryan...my one and only.

About the Author

    Sawyer Bennett is the pen name for a native North Carolinian and practicing lawyer. When not trying to save the world from injustice, she spends her time trying to get the stories she accumulates in her head down on paper. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Shawn, and their two big dogs, Piper and Atticus.

Learn more about Veteran Homelessness.

Coming April 16, 2013

    Off Limits by Sawyer Bennett

    “There is a vulnerability there, hovering just below the surface. And I want to pick at it until I expose it. Then I want to kiss it."

    Two years ago, Emily Burnham, had an epiphany about the shallowness of her life. And she made it her mission to become a different person…a better woman. Out from under the controlling thumb of her mother, Emily is tasting the real world for the first time. And she likes it.

    Nixon Caldwell has served his time in the Marine Corps, surviving two brutal tours in Afghanistan. He is back home, surrounded by what he likes best…isolation. It's certainly the easiest way to avoid confrontation of the consuming guilt that is weighing him down.

    When an accident brings Emily and Nix together, he soon learns he is not the master of his own fate. Struggling with his own pain, Nix tries to guard himself against Emily’s charms. He wants her in his bed, but he doesn’t want her in his heart.

    Having grabbed life by the horns, Emily wants it all. But is she willing to accept just the small part of himself that Nix is offering? Or can she reach the part of his soul that he has deemed to be Off Limits?