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    Only One
    Only One
    Only One
    Ebook115 pages1 hour

    Only One

    By Tammy Falkner

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    He knows the value of life.

    She's still learning.

    What would you do if you had one last moment to say goodbye? Would you take it?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTammy Falkner
    Release dateAug 12, 2014
    ISBN9781634550000

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    Reviews for Only One

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved this story!! There's so much packed into this novella you won't want to put it down until you've reached the last page! Spending the summer with the mother who abandoned her years ago is the last thing Carrie wants but what seems like the worst summer of her life may just be the summer that changes her life forever. This story is emotional, real, and at times a little fun! And that Reed family once again shows us why we all want to be like them.

      Grab this book, some tissues (trust me you'll need them), and sit back and enjoy a lazy afternoon with a great book. I highly recommend it.
    • 3/5
      I am a huge Tammy Falkner fan. I admit to stalking her twitter and facebook in hopes of glimpses of what’s to come. I’ve been waiting for this book to be released for months, when it originally was supposed to be out before Proving Paul’s Promise (which I reviewed last month). Mrs. Falkner didn’t give any hints what this novella would be about, besides the title and the Reed connection, until she posted the first chapter online the other day. Up until then, based on the title, I thought Only One was going to tell the tale of how Henry fell in love with his beloved wife. Boy was I surprised (and slightly disappointed) when I found out it was about completely new characters!Only One is the story of two recent high school grads, Nick and Carrie, who used to spend summers together during their childhoods. Family issues cause the lovebirds to drift apart, until Carrie returns to spend the summer with her mother. I would say the biggest aspect of the novella isn’t the romances, but the importance of forgiveness and family. I did enjoy Nick and Carrie together, but I was left wanting more. We didn’t get to see the couple together as much as I would have hoped and the happily-for-now, fade to black ending was annoying after such an emotional roller coaster.The Reed brothers and their families were very present in Only One. Taking place a few months after the epilogue of PPP, we see how fame is treating them and learn some exciting news. Seth has a small role in this novella, so I’m hoping when he finally gets his time to shine, maybe we’ll get to revisit Carrie and Nick.I enjoyed Only One, but not as much as I’ve loved the Reed brother’s books or the previous novellas. The writing was great, I even teared up, but I felt too much was left open-ended, and secondary characters unexplored. Maybe it was intentional, but with ZZZ’s characters already announced, and the future series in the works, I don’t know when Mrs. Falkner would have time to come back to Nick and Carrie’s friends and beach town.

    Book preview

    Only One - Tammy Falkner

    Only One

    by Tammy Falkner

    Night Shift Publishing

    For Candace

    Copyright © 2014 by Tammy Falkner

    Only One

    First Edition

    Night Shift Publishing

    Cover design by Tammy Falkner

    Cover photo by Vladimir Nikulin | Dreamstime.com

    ISBN-13: 978-1-63455-000-0

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

    This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

    Nick

    Sunlight streams through my window and offends the backs of my eyelids. I look over at the blond head that’s tucked against the pillow next to mine. Who the heck is that? I brush her hair from her face and groan inwardly. How the hell did Jack get in my bed? Her name is Jackie, and I’ve known her all my life. Sometimes I wake up, and she’s found her way into my bed. I don’t even remember inviting her into it last night, but that’s not always necessary in Jack’s world. She does what she wants, when she wants.

    My guess is that things weren’t great at home and her dad started swinging again, so she came here. That part doesn’t bother me. Why she’s in my bed is a whole other topic. I let her sleep and roll out of bed.

    I’m just glad I wore boxers when I went to bed. Not that Jack hasn’t seen me naked. I’ve seen all of her, and she’s seen all of me, but that’s just because she gets drunk often and I have to drag her naked ass home. We never have and never will have sex. Ever.

    We’re best friends, with no jealousy. Our relationship is free and easy, and we’re not territorial when it comes to relationships with other people. That’s what’s so great about us. Sometimes the loneliness overtakes me and I cave in to the need to feel someone close to me. Jackie doesn’t mind. I’m a guy and I absolutely hate to be alone. Sometimes the quiet becomes more than I can bear.

    I walk into the kitchen and find my roommate Malone with his hand in the cookie jar. Literally, elbows deep in my mom’s Winnie the Pooh container.

    He grins at me, a lock of his dark hair falling over his eye. Morning, he says, and then he crams a handful of cookies in his mouth. When he’s done chewing, he looks at me and waggles his brows. Jack find you last night?

    Apparently, I mutter. Who let her in?

    I couldn’t leave her outside.

    Why did she pick my bed?

    He shrugs. She was wrecked.

    She always is. Next time, put her on the couch, will you?

    He looks at me sheepishly. I tried that last night, but she wanted you, man.

    Yeah, but I don’t want her. At least not permanently. Not for more than what we already have. Did Marty come home last night? I ask. I don’t know why I feel the need to check up on our last roommate. She doesn’t even sleep here every night. She’s older than we are—twenty-one compared to our nineteen. She’s like the mother we never wanted when she’s here, making us clean up behind ourselves and put the toilet seat down. But she pays her rent, and that’s all I need. I can’t afford this place by myself, no matter how many jobs I have.

    I look around. It’s not much, but it’s mine. I remember when my parents bought it. They were so proud. It’s a trailer in a lot about the size of a postage stamp, but it’s on the coast, and it’s valuable to me just because of the memories.

    Haven’t seen Marty, Malone says. He goes and knocks softly on her door, and then opens it and sticks his head in. Nope, he says. Not here. He scratches his bare stomach. I think I’m going back to bed.

    Did you eat all the cookies? I lift Pooh’s head and look down. He left me some Oreo dust. Jackass, I mutter.

    He laughs and goes into his room. The door closes behind him.

    I sort through the mail on the counter and get excited when I see a letter from Patty Michaels. I open it up and look at the check. Mrs. Michaels pays me to keep up her yard when she’s not here. Usually, she just sends a check each month—a generous check—and I never hear from her otherwise, unless I need to meet the exterminator or something for her. But a note falls out of the envelope.

    Nick,

    I’ll be arriving after graduation. Can you be sure the AC is serviced, open the house, and tidy up the yard? We’ll see you in a week!

    Best,

    Patty Michaels

    My heart drops all the way down to my toes. If the Michaels’ are coming to the beach, then that means Carrie’s coming back to the beach. Carrie is their daughter. She hasn’t been here in at least three summers. Not since her parents separated.

    Carrie is the one who got away. She was my first kiss. My first snuggle with a girl with boobs. My first boner in the arms of a girl. My first love. She was fourteen and I was fifteen the last time I saw her. Can you fall in love that young? My heart says you can.

    Carrie was different from anyone I’d ever met. She could make me laugh and make me cry all in the same breath. One glance from her and I knew what I wanted for the rest of my life.

    I’d seen the example of what love could be in my parents, so I felt like I knew it when I found it. Then she left and never came back. Life went on, but it hasn’t been the life I wanted. Or at least not after my parents died.

    I jerk myself from my memories and look at Mrs. Michaels’ note again. Carrie’s coming back to the beach. I whistle as I go back into my room. Jack snuggles into my pillow, and I realize she’s not wearing anything but her panties. The covers are pushed down around her feet and she’s on her stomach, her arms tucked down at her sides.

    I sit down on the side of the bed and brush her hair back. She mumbles something I can’t understand.

    Jack, I whisper.

    She doesn’t stir.

    Jack, I say a little louder.

    She moans into my pillow but doesn’t open her eyes.

    Jack! I shout. She opens her eyes and looks at me, squinting against the sunlight. I trace a little circle against her back. Hey, pretty girl, I say. She smiles into the pillow, but she still doesn’t move. You have to get out of here.

    Where am I supposed to go? she asks.

    I don’t care where you go, but you can’t stay in my bed. I mean it. She can’t, because Carrie is coming back. I’m not sure what day, but I sure as hell don’t want her to find Jack in my bed when she does get here. Where are your clothes?

    She shrugs.

    Did you have clothes on when you got here?

    She sits up, clutching my sheets against her chest. I don’t remember, she admits.

    You have to stop doing that, I warn.

    I know. She flops back down against my pillow.

    I ruck one of my shirts up in my hands and slip it over her head. She sticks her arms in the holes and tries to close her eyes again. Out! I say. I pull her legs over the side of the bed and tug on the shirt she’s wearing until she sits up. Now.

    She stands up, tilting on her wobbly legs like a newborn colt. She walks toward the door.

    Hey, Jack, I say softly. She looks back at me, her eyes mere slits.

    What?

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