Defining Moments (A Moments In Time Love Story 2) Read Free

Melisa had entered each other’s lives during a time when both of them were broken, but their friendship was the glue that had held them together.
    “Stop teasing,” Melisa scoffed. She missed her pre-pregnancy figure. Unlike Carlene, she had never been a tall, slim, long-legged woman, but she did once have curves to die for. Right now, she felt like a thirty-seven-year-old dumpling. But despite her complaints, she was enjoying her pregnancy—six months and feeling strong. Nothing wonderful came for free. The unflattering changes to her body were a small price to pay for creating a miracle. For the occasion, she had made an effort to look nice. She’d put on some makeup and instead of a ponytail, she let her red hair fall in ringlets around her shoulders, complimenting the chocolate-brown chiffon cocktail dress she’d bought last week at Ronny’s. She didn’t stray from her beloved ballerinas, however. She felt more beautiful when she was comfortable.
    “No, I mean it.” Carlene sat at the kitchen table.
    “Where are Daria and Nick?”
    “Nick is helping the others hang up the decorations faster than Daria can get to them.” As she thought of her husband and daughter, Carlene’s eyes brightened, like the sun appearing from behind rainclouds. She didn’t care that Nick was a millionaire. She knew in her heart that even if the jewelry, the expensive clothes, the cars, and the mansions were taken away, as long as she had him, she would feel like the richest woman on earth.
    Melisa used a dishcloth to wipe icing off her finger, wishing she could lick it off. Since she had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, she was watching every piece of food she ate. She would take no risks when it came to the baby they had worked so hard for. Luckily, she was an expert baker who didn’t have to taste a cake to know it was the right kind of sweet. Sometimes she asked someone else to have a taste, but not always.
    “I don’t get why Heat wanted decorations,” Melisa said with a small sigh.
    “He wants your birthday and baby shower to be beautiful.”
    Melisa smiled as she wiped down the kitchen counter until not a crumb was left in sight. “I’m joking. I kind of like it. I never got to celebrate my birthday as a child, since it was the day that reminded my mother of my father’s death. After he died, she spent all my birthdays drunk, and instead of partying with my friends, I cleaned up her vomit.” She’d forgiven her mother eventually, especially after she herself had experienced how easy it was to believe in the escape alcohol promised. After her ex-husband, Scott, had died, she had lived each moment for the next drop of oblivion.
    Carlene stood up and laid a hand on Melisa’s shoulder. “I know. I’m glad your life is good now.”
    “Me too. I can’t believe I married another fireman.” While married to Scott, Melisa had always lived in fear of something happening to him during a fire. Eventually, her fears materialized, and he died on the job. Now that she was married to Heat, she tried on a daily basis to push negative thoughts out of her mind, in case they came true. Life was too short to live in fear. “I never thought we’d leave Oasis.”
    Carlene nodded. “The world outside looked so frightening through its windows.”
    Oasis was the homeless shelter where they’d met after both of their lives had crumbled. Both had lost the men they thought were the loves of their lives. Melisa was an alcoholic and a gambling addict, and Carlene was contemplating suicide. With the help of Oasis, they both began to recover. Even after they grew strong enough to face the world, they remained at the shelter, living and working as members of the staff, helping others like themselves overcome their demons.
    Until fate yanked them back into the worlds they’d left behind.
    “Okay, I’ll go and keep Daria from ripping open your presents. Take it easy in here. No cleaning like a madwoman. You need your strength to