Happily married to her college sweetheart, Poppy lived a blessed life with the husband of her dreams. Then everything changed. She is no longer a wife. She is no longer the envy of her single friends. Now, people look at her with pity as they whisper a single word behind her back.
Widow.
Years after her husbandโs tragic death, years of pain and sorrow and wishing for the life sheโll never get back, Poppy decides to finish Jamieโs birthday list. Sheโll do the things he wanted to most. Because maybe, just maybe, if she can complete his list, she can start to live again.
Poppy expects going through the birthday list will be hard. She expects it to hurt. But what she doesnโt expect is Cole. Could the man who delivered the news of her husbandโs death and shattered her heart be the one to help her put it back together again?
In Devney Perryโs THE BIRTHDAY LIST, a woman tries to rebuild her life in small-town Montana after the unexpected death of her husband.
Intimate and poignant, the narrative centers on how Poppy Maysen fulfills her late husbandโs birthday listโa bucket list of sorts she hopes will help her start over, and learn to let go.
Everything changed the day an officer knocked on her door hours after her husband, Jamie, should have gotten home. Itโs been five grief-ridden years, and still she wears her rings, mourns the life they should have had. Poppy is a widowโฆ sheโs been stuck in a life defined by the absence of him, but sheโs finally hoping to start living again. Her new restaurant, The Maysen Jar, is about to open, and sheโs determined to complete Jamieโs birthday list filled with all the crazy things he wanted to do in life.
She never expected to see Cole Goodman again. Never expected her breath to hitch when she saw him. Never expected him to stir up feelings she wasnโt ready for, especially considering the way theyโd first met: he had been the one to deliver the soul-shattering news that Jamie had died.
Together, Poppy and Cole tackle Jamieโs list, finding love and healing along the way.
THE BIRTHDAY LIST is a lovely, feel-good, slow-burn love story about love and loss, about second chances and not letting life slip away when youโve been dealt a horrible blow. Written with so much heart, this moving tale will leave you feeling happy, satisfied and hopeful.
My kitchen, something Iโd designed to be large and spacious, was suddenly too small. The air conditioning that I kept running on high must have just quit working because my entire body was on fire. And I had forgotten how to make a grilled cheese sandwich as the knife sat motionless in my hand.
โWhat did you think of karate last night?โ Cole asked, breaking the silence.
Dinner. This is just dinner. Breathe.
I forced some air into my lungs, then pushed away from the table to turn on the flat-iron grill. โIt was interesting but Iโm already getting sore. Especially my arms. I imagine by tomorrow my entire body will be on strike.โ
He chuckled. โYeah. Itโs a tough workout. Are you sure you wonโt try it again?โ
โIโm sure.โ I went back to the table and brushed four slices of bread with some olive oil, then spread on a thin layer of homemade pesto before adding the cheese and tomato. โTo be honest, I only came for a one-time deal. I hope that doesnโt offend your instructor.โ
โNah, he doesnโt care. But why only the one time? Was it a dare or something?โ
โItโs, umย .ย .ย . from this list.โ
โA list?โ
Explaining Jamieโs birthday list was so personal that only a few people knew about it. Even fewer knew I was going through it myself. Yet, for some reason, I wanted to tell Cole. โMy husband, Jamie, he put together this birthday list. It was like his bucket list, except he separated out everything to do by year before certain birthdays. Taking a karate class was something he wanted to do before he turned twenty-six.โ
Cole nodded. โAnd youโre going through his list.โ
โI am.โ I was ready to defend the list and why I was going through it, but his eyes werenโt full of concern or judgment or questions. They justย .ย .ย . understood.
He understood without a word.
โInteresting idea. What else is on this list, if you donโt mind me asking?โ
โNot at all.โ I resumed sandwich assembly. โJamie put twenty-two things on the list. Most of them are silly, but totally him. He added some things he found on the internet he thought sounded cool. Others were goofy things he dreamed up or things he didnโt get to do as a kid. Jump in green Jell-O. Have a paint fight. Things like that. Some were more serious, like buying me this restaurant.โ
Cole leaned over to pluck three oranges out of the fruit bowl on the table. โHave you done many of them yet?โ
โNo, not even close.โ I smiled as he started juggling the oranges. โIโve only marked off three. The restaurant. The karate class. And skydiving.โ
Cole dropped an orange and it rolled across the table. โSkydiving?โ
I laughed at the shock on his face. โYouโre not the only one surprised I did it. But yeah. I went last month.โ
While Cole picked up the fallen orange and resumed juggling, I took the sandwiches to the grill, setting them down on the hot metal. Then I rushed out of the kitchen and into the dining room, where all of the lights were off and the sign on the door had been flipped to Closed. With two sets of silverware and a couple of plates, I hustled back into the kitchen to set down the place settings and flip the sandwiches. Then I went to the fridge and got out a jar of salad.
โHere.โ I handed the jar to Cole. โUse those muscles and shake this up.โ
He grinned and put back his oranges before he started shaking. โOkay. Back to skydiving. You left me with a cliffhanger.โ
I smiled. โIt was the one item on the list that scared me, so I decided to just get it over with before I chickened out.โ
He slid the salad jar across the table. The dressing that had been underneath a layer of vegetables and lettuce was now coating the glass. โAnd what did you think?โ
โI actually loved it. The pilot said something before I jumped that really clicked. He said, โIf you want to go swimming, you get out of the boat. Same is true with flying. You have to get out of the plane.โ So I did. I was strapped to this hippy with dreadlocks and bad breath, but he was so cool. The whole crew made it fun.โ
โWould you ever go again?โ
โNope.โ I popped the p to emphasize my point.
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