The Man I’ll Marry
Danielle LeeZwissler
A Young Adult Love Story
Falling for You Book III
©2016 Danielle Lee Zwissler
Firefly & Wisp Books
ISBN-13:
Also published bySmashwords
Copyright © 2016 by:Danielle L. Zwissler
All rights reserved.Except for use in any review, the reproduction or use of this workin whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical orother means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography,photocopying and recording, or in any information storage orretrieval system, is forbidden without the permission of Firefly& Wisp Books.
www.fireflyandwispbooks.com
First Firefly & WispPublishing Printing 2016
All the characters in thisbook are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living ordead is purely coincidental. All work is from the imagination ofthe author.
www.SheWritesRomance.com
Dear Reader,
I’m assuming that you already know aboutKeri and Payton, and of course, all of their ups and downs. If not,you may want to pick up “The Boy Next Door” and “The Boy I Love”before you start this one.
When you’re young, everything seems as ifit’s the only thing in the world, and being in love is such apowerful thing. Keri, at the end of book II, finally figures outwhat she wants…but at what cost?
Payton, our fun-loving good guy, is a bitdepressed to say the least. And to top it all off, Keri decides tocome back to town.
I hope you get the ending that you werehoping for in this series as I’ve had so much fun in writing thisone. Please make sure you read til the very last page where you’llfind a bonus story link on my website to continue this last bit ofKeri and Payton’s life. Until then, have fun, read on, and fall inlove with the boy next door that turns into the man I’ll marry.
As always, thank you!
Much love and happiness,
R Danielle Lee Zwissler
With Thanks,
As always I have some thanks to handout!
To my husband of nearly fifteen years,thanks for all of your love, encouragement and help in coming upwith a pretty fantastic storyline for this book. I loveyou.
To my kids, Ariana and Logan, thanksfor putting up with me taking all of your ‘computer time’ and notalways getting to bed at a decent hour. I love you.
To Everclear -So much for theafterglow--You got me through college, and now you got me throughthis book. You’re even better the second go-round.
ChapterOne
* How about amulligan…*
I stood there,looking at the charred wood, and the sad looking debris where theonce-loved treehouse used to stand. I put my hand up to my mouthand cried, wishing I knew how to fix what I upended in the firstplace. It was summer now, and I hadn’t been back sinceThanksgiving. Payton never called, never answered my emails, nevertexted me back.
Mom even told me it was best that I didn’tvisit. She didn’t tell me why, and now I definitely knew. Hedestroyed everything. Well, Jessup did.
Okay, I did.
I was now twenty, having just celebrated mybirthday last night when I got back to Ohio. My brothers weren’tthere; only Mom. Dad was dead, and Payton, well, I had no ideawhere he was either. It was the first birthday that I’d celebratedwithout both him and my Dad since I could remember, and it feltodd.
Payton didn’t live at home anymore, fromwhat Mom was saying, and I felt as if my heart was cut in littlepieces, unable to be repaired.
Summer was going to suck.
I knelt down in the field that separated ourtwo properties and put my hand up to my eyes as the sun was shiningdown making it hard to see. The field, no longer taken care of inthis area, made me want to puke. Our treehouse, our specialplace—gone. Tears started flowing from my eyes as I fell to theground. Everything was going so horribly. I pulled my cellphone outof my pocket and texted Payton.
*I’m home. Can I see you?*
Who’s this?
*Very funny, Pay.* I shook my head,and wiped at my eyes. I knew I screwed up, but he didn’t have to beso damn mean about it.
Not Pay… This is Jessica.
Jessica… My heart started to hammer in mychest, and I started hitting the keys—angrily.
*Well, can you please tell Payton to callme. It’s important?*
I don’t know who Payton is… I’ve had thisnumber for a few months now. Sorry.
I took a deep breath after reading the textand closed my eyes. He even went to the trouble of canceling hisphone number… A number that he’d had since middle school.
*I’m sorry. Thanks for letting me know.*
No problem.
Before I pocketed the phone, I got up andtook a picture of where the treehouse once stood.
“What are you doing here?” a male voicecalled out.
I hurriedly turned in its direction, hopingthat it was Payton. It wasn’t. It was his brother.
“Hey! How’s it going?” I asked, trying toput a smile onto my face.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Mitchreplied.
I frowned, and could feel my pulse quicken.“I’m…I was just…”
“He’s not here anymore.” Mitch looked downat the burnt ground and shook his head.
I swallowed. “I know.”
“You did this,” he said angrily. “This is onyou.”
I sniffed and tried to swallow down mytears. “I didn’t do what he thought I did.”
Mitch scoffed. “You have no idea what he’sbeen through. He’s left,” Mitch said and gestured toward the house.“Mom’s devastated, and Dad, well, you can imagine how well it hasgone over here since Payton stopped helping out.”
My eyes widened as I looked around thefield. That’s why the place was a mess. “I didn’t…”
“Know? Yeah, I figured as much. You were toobusy out messing around with that college boy, Jessup, to realizeyou had a great guy here. Well, I don’t think he’s pining for youanymore.”
I flinched, and started to sob…loudly. Itwas embarrassing. “I wasn’t messing around with him. He…nothinghappened.”
Mitch wasn’t having any of the conversation.He looked up toward the sky and then shook his head once more.“He’s got a good thing going now, so don’t screw it up.”
“Wh…what do you mean?” I asked, scared toknow the truth.
“He’s working downtown, and he’s datingPatricia Walters. They’ve been thick as thieves since her bigChristmas party.”
I felt my stomach give out, and the bileforced its way up my throat and out. There was no stopping it. Iralphed all over
