Outskirts Press, INC.

Can True Love Be Replaced

Drew had all that he wanted in life—a beautiful wife, a bright and alert toddler, a successful small business and then tragedy took it all away. In a freakish accident he lost his wife, son and his own will to live. Money was no longer an issue, the insurance company settled in a huge way. Still he couldn’t beat the depression till he sold every thing and took a road trip that ended in his deceased wife’s hometown in northern Michigan. His first day he sees her jogging and a spark relights his will to fully live again. His desire to know this woman is challenged because her heart belongs to another and that other is a woman. He does learn that she is a former Olympic runner and now is a high school track and cross country coach. The radical fundamentalist pastor in town has made it his goal to drive same sex couples out of town and he has used the pulpit to fire up angry and destructive feelings. Now Drew has taken on the role of fighting bigotry but also protecting her life. The question remains will she love him for his actions or remain in the arms of her lover.

Prologue It struck her as strange that while unbuckling her three-year-old son from his car seat before the flaming oil reached the car she had something else on her mind. For a fraction of a second she thought about what led to this deadly situation. Shelly glared at her husband with fire in her eyes and said “For Christ’s sake, it’s your mother, Drew. Why am I the only one worrying about her birthday gift?” He turned from the desk where he was working on 2nd quarter financials and looked at his wife. “I told you I would get something tomorrow. I need to finish the financial work to make sure there is money to keep our family fed and clothed.” Shelly threw up her arms in disgust and said, “Forget it. Tomorrow will be too late. She’s coming to dinner tonight at our house, and she’ll be expecting something. Damn it, I’ll take Bobby and go right now before it gets too late.” Bobby, their three-year-old, was playing with his Minion characters on the living room floor and whined when his mother took him away from his play. It was a very cold early spring day in Gloucester, and the northeast wind blowing off the ocean made it feel more like winter. Shelly put a coat and hat on Bobby and grabbed her own coat and purse and was out the door. She was still ticked off at Drew and didn’t even acknowledge him when he cautioned her to drive carefully. In fact, his warning to drive carefully made her even angrier, and she slammed the car into reverse, spitting gravel as she backed out the driveway. Their house was on Harrison Avenue, which was a long steep hill that crossed busy Eastern Avenue, the primary road to Rockport. As a result, there was heavy traffic on Eastern Avenue year-round. Shelly threw the car into drive and headed down the hill. The weather had turned nasty, and an icy rain was making the road slick and even her windshield wipers were useless. She was most likely going a little too fast, because when she stepped on the brakes at the bottom of the hill, the car continued to slide through the stop sign and into the middle of Eastern Avenue. In her rush to restart the car, she somehow managed to stall it. Shelly saw the tank truck coming towards her, and observed the panic on the driver’s face as he slammed on his brakes. The freezing rain combined with the speed of the truck only resulted in the truck sliding while the tanker section jackknifed. He tried to stop, but to no avail. The semi-tractor hit the old style granite curb stones with such force that it flipped over, followed by the flipping of the tanker. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as the semi and tanker slid on their sides, leaving a trail of sparks and flowing oil. Shelly was petrified, but breathed a sigh of relief when it looked as if the truck wasn’t going to reach her vehicle. She unbuckled her seat belt and scrambled to the back door of her car. Just as she was opening the door everything changed. The sky lit up like daylight from the burning fuel oil leaking from the tanker, and the heat from the fire felt like a pizza oven. She worked fast to get Bobby out of his car seat, all the while watching the flaming oil running down the street toward her. The last thing she heard as the flames overtook her was Drew yelling her name. It was over quickly for Shelly and Bobby. The intense heat and flames kept anyone foolish enough to try to rescue them from getting close to the car. Drew heard the crash of the truck and ran down the hill fearing that Shelly had been in an accident. What he witnessed was something no one should have to see. Just as he arrived at the corner his wife was opening the back door trying to get to their son when their whole car became engulfed in flaming oil. He knew then, at that time and place, his life would forever be changed.