Showing results by author "Kaylee Ryan" in All Categories

No matter how much you plan or try to prepare for what’s to come, life always sends you on an alternate path. We’re taking each curve in the road as it bends. Except what do you do when you don’t see the curve coming? We’re struggling, learning to navigate in total darkness.  

Cooper: Reese Latham was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. At eight-years-old, we vowed to be best friends for the rest of our lives, thinking nothing could ever change that. We were both wrong - we made mistakes, and grew apart. Until I realized living without her wasn’t an option. I was almost too late...but I wouldn’t stand by and watch her walk down the aisle to another man. She might not choose me, but I’ll spend the rest of my life proving I’m all in.  

Life is full of ups and downs. Events that shape who you are, even those that are filled with heartbreak and tragedy. What do you do when actions bring devastation? How do you pick up the pieces and keep moving forward? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour. One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected fall.

When my best friend Aubrey asked me to tag along to an event with her, I never could have imagined that it would be the day that my life changed forever. He's arrogant and demanding and doesn't take a hint. Landon Barker, the quarterback for the Hermosa Beach Trojans, is a player on and off of the field. He's got his sights set on me as his next play, but I see right through him. Aubrey says I'm overreacting, that I should give him a chance. What she doesn't realize is men like Landon don't fall for the girl next door.

They tell you that a parent's love is all consuming. I never put much thought into it. Not until the minute I heard her take her first breath. That little girl is my world. I'd do anything to protect her. My ex signed over her rights, and her family vowed that my daughter didn't exist. Now that she's gone, they want my little girl. They're trying to say I can't give her what she needs.

Cooper Reeves was the boy-next-door. Every milestone, every memory of my youth was entangled with his. We were inseparable...until college. It wasn't his friends, girls, or even sports that came between us - it was me. Tired of being in the friend zone, I finally made a move. Turns out it was the wrong one. Cooper walked away to play his first year of professional football and left me behind with a broken heart. 

I'm the girl who doesn't let anyone in. My world was shattered and turned upside down in one night. Since then I've been trying to live, if that's what you call it, but fighting the anxiety of what happened and trusting others is hard. Each day is a struggle to reach for the unknown. I watched my father give my mother the world and the stars. She took everything from him, then left him as a broken man with nothing to live for. I told myself I'd never fall in love. I'm guarding my heart and emotions, only looking out for number one.

I'm making strides in the world of dirt late model racing. With back-to-back championships under my belt, I'm determined to win a third and be the youngest driver in history to do so. I'm going to make it happen. My career is my focus. That is until the ultimate distraction in the form of a redheaded bombshell drops into my life.

They say the mistakes of our past shape our future. That we’re molded from experience, from heartache, and from pain. What happens when your past is riddled with regrets? How do you see through the fog, to navigate the path to your future? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour. One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected odds.

Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, the universe decides to tilt your world on its axis. I had a plan, and I was moving forward until the day my world was flipped upside down. It’s a challenge I wasn’t prepared for, but one I had to face. How do you combine the life you thought you had to the one you’re living? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour. One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected bond.

Tatum Thompson is living the dream. Her life is perfect; with a loving boyfriend and loving parents, and as a soon-to-be college graduate, how can life get better? Life is good until it isn't. When tragedy strikes, Tatum runs to Josh, only to find him in a compromising position with someone else. Turning away from the only life she knew, Tatum is forced to alter her life plan. Blaise Richards is a tattoo artist who moonlights as a volunteer firefighter. Lies and deception leave his broken heart closed until the beautiful green-eyed girl casts her spell over him.

He's sexy and irresistible. I've done my best to ignore the magnetism that flows between us. I don't need complications in my life. I can't get wrapped up in his world, the last thing I need is to get attached to a professional athlete. I don’t have time for heartbreak.

Expect the unexpected. That's what they say, but it's easier said than done. How do you expect a change so huge it rocks you to your core? How do you prepare yourself for an event that will alter your life forever? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour. One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected reality. 

There comes a point in your life where you have to say enough is enough. I wasted my college years on a guy who played with my head, played with my heart. I was blinded by the fairy tale, the one that didn't exist. The day I gave up on the idea of happily ever after, my focus became me. Moving forward and establishing my career. Until one day.... I didn't expect him. My new boss, a six foot two, inked rock god. I believed I was working for the record label - I was wrong.

It took one night with her to know she was my forever. It took one minute for me to climb out of bed and drive away from her. It’s taken me three years to confess that leaving her behind was the biggest mistake of my life. I won’t stop until she knows what she means to me. I’ll convince her to listen to her heart.

It’s been years since I’ve been back in this small town of West Virginia for more than a day or two. Spending time here brings back a lot of fond memories. When I stopped by an old friend’s bar, I was expecting to grab a drink and catch up. What I didn’t expect was her. We share an undeniable attraction, but we continue to fight it. Until one night in Vegas changes everything.

“Surprise me.” The words fell from my lips before I even realized what I was saying. Didn’t matter, though, they were true. I’m ready to start our forever. I want the future he and I have spent hours talking about, but I’ve never had the courage to reach out and grab it. Now I do. I knew on our first date: She was the girl I was going to marry. I told her so every chance I could get. Even went as far as asking more times than I can count, but never on one knee. I knew that she wasn’t ready, but I needed her to know that I was.

I had everything I ever wanted, living the dream, at least that's what I always thought. The night we met, we had an instant attraction, but she was with someone else. When we reunited a few months later, that pull was still there, stronger than ever. So strong that even though she was hundreds of miles away, I pursued her. I told myself that I just wanted to get to know her. Deep down I knew it was more.

I've always been the guy who plays the field. I like variety and my career ensures that I can have my pick of women. Until her... I've always been the girl who wants more. I want the white picket fence, the two-point-five kids and the dog. That's what all little girls grow up dreaming about. Until him... Why is it that she's all I can see? I no longer want the variety instead all I want is her. I won't stop until she believes that she's mine. I assure you...

Life is a series of events, one leading you to another. The hell I lived through with my drug-addicted parents led me to the Marine Corps. Committing my life to my country was easy. My brothers were my family - all I had and all I needed. I wasn’t looking for her, but I should have known life had other plans. It led me to her.