Book Title: Leap of Faith
Author: ML Rodriguez
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
I met Jake when I was seventeen and at eighteen, I became his wife. The years that followed were enchanted, like a fairy tale romance.
Then, in the blink of an eye, my perfect world unraveled—I lost a part of myself and my dreams shattered around me.
At twenty-five, I was left a widow, pregnant, and mother of two.
Fast forward almost five years—I exist but I don’t “live.” I had to learn to live without him, with only our memories and my tears. I raised our children, and I lived his dream, without a thought to myself.
That is, until the day at the stoplight, when a pair of violet eyes stared back at me. In that moment, the numbness started to disappear, and lightning hit, changing my world once again.
Excerpt #1
“What the fuck?!” I yell at her. “Are you telling me I’m gonna die? That I’m gonna leave my wife and my child alone?”
I want to choke the life out of this fake bitch. What the fuck is she trying to pull?
“I am telling you your fortune,” she says with pity in her eyes. “You are a good man and are needed for a higher power than here. You are to be a guardian, a protector of man. It is an honor that comes with much sacrifice.”
“No! This is fuckin’ bullshit!” I yell at her and rise, knocking my chair over and not caring. I want to see my so-called future, so I reach for the crystal ball.
“No!” She yells but is too slow to stop me.
As my hands touch the crystal ball, a bright light explodes and I feel a shock go through my body. A flood of images runs through my mind, taking my breath away, and I fall to my knees.
I’m on the ground for several minutes before I shake my head to clear it and look up at Gitana, but I don’t see her. She’s gone and I’m alone. I stand and scan the small tent. She’s just disappeared…into thin air. As I turn in a slow circle, I see the crystal ball shattered, pieces scattered throughout the tent.
What the hell just happened? What were those images? Were they really my future? But, they can’t be, I tell myself as I right my chair and sit with my head in my hands. Those images can’t be my future—it has to be all this mystical crap that’s fucking with my head.
After several minutes, I get to my feet and turn to walk out, spooked out of my ever-lovin’ mind. Before leaving, I feel a gust of wind against my face and I hear the word, “Guardian,” eerily whispered, sending chills down my spine. I make a dash to the exit and try to forget the creepy-as-fuck things I saw and heard in there. As I step outside I look around and find one of my treasures.
“Hey, baby,” I hear Faith say, as she comes and gives me a kiss. “Everything okay, love?”
I nod. I bring her body flush with mine and I kiss her like my life depends on it. “I love you always and forever, mi tesoro. You and Rylee are my world,” I tell her, looking into her eyes. “Let’s get out of here.” I put my arm around her and take Rylee’s hand in mine. Together we walk away from the tent.
When Rylee asks, I tell her the Gypsy woman said I’d live a long life filled with riches and love. I laugh and tell her I didn’t expect to hear otherwise.
Except, that’s not what the old lady told me.
That day, my life changed—the old Gypsy was right. Like she predicted, years later I met a ghost with purple eyes. The one I was to give my world and treasures to, to watch over and love, to be there because, like that old woman said, I would face death once and win, but the second time…
The second time, I would face death.
I would die.
Leap of Faith © Copyright 2015 by ML Rodriguez
ML is currently stationed overseas with her very supportive and loving husband and two beautiful little monsters. When she’s not writing down her “ideas,” she can be found trying to catch up on piles of laundry and house work or with her Kindle in hand hiding in her bathroom. Her obsessions are Luke Bryan, coffee, dark chocolate, the color purple, and romance novels—the happily ever after kind, of course.
After years of comments from her husband to write and a chance meeting by the city pool that involved a “Fan Girl” moment, ML decided to take a leap of faith into the amazing and exciting world of writing.
To all the wonderful people who will read her work—hate it, like it, love it—thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on her. ♥
