Read The Exception for Free Online Page A

of the car, I walked up to the porch, and his wife, Lonnie, got up from her chair and hugged me.
    “You’re back.” She smiled. “Look at you. It’s been what? Two years since you were here last.”
    “Yeah.” I hugged her tightly.
    “I’ll go get Ano. He’ll be so surprised.”
    As she went inside to get her husband, I said hello to all his family members. When Ano opened the creaky storm door, he stopped when he saw me.
    “Jillian.” He held out his arms.
    “Hi, Ano.”
    “It’s good to see you again, girl. What’s been going on in that humdrum life of yours?”
    I took in a deep breath. “I was supposed to get married yesterday.”
    Ano looked at me and cocked his head. “And you bailed, didn’t you?”
    “Yep. I sure did.”
    “Good for you. You know I never liked that little weasel. Come inside and I’ll make us some herbal tea.”
    “I’ll make it, dear,” Lonnie spoke. “The two of you go sit down and talk.”
    He led me out the patio door, and we took seats in the lounge chairs that faced the water.
    “So, you finally decided it was time to go find yourself.”
    “Yeah. Pretty much. I just walked away from the only life I’d ever known.”
    “How does it feel?”
    “It feels great, but also a little scary.”
    “Are you questioning yourself for leaving?”
    “No. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”
    “Good. It’ll make your journey a little easier. But I will warn you, Jillian, in order to continue on with your journey, you need to become fearless of what you may discover and how your life will change.”
    “I know. I understand that.” I looked down.
    “What you find out about yourself will be with you forever and there will be no escaping it.”
    “Here you are,” Lonnie spoke as she handed us our tea.
    “Thank you, Lonnie.” I smiled.
    “Thank you, my love.” Ano took hold of his wife’s hand and kissed it.
    They had the kind of relationship that I’d always dreamed of. Every time I visited them growing up, their bond seemed stronger. They had the kind of love that was rare. Unlike my parents, who were at each other’s throats 24/7.
    “You two are really something special.” I smiled at Ano.
    He reached over and placed his hand on mine. “You, my friend, will have a love like ours someday.”
    “I hope so.” A small smile crossed my lips.
    “You will. You’re a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul. I want you to remember one thing.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Your journey won’t be complete until you make peace with those who love you.”
    “I can never go back there, Ano.” I looked at the water.
    “You can and you will. You say that now, but once you get further along and become more aware of who you truly are, you’ll know it’s the right thing to do. You’ve come a long way since the day I found you hiding in that cave when you were just ten years old, but this time, I’m not convincing you to go back. That’s something you need to do on your own and on your own terms. You’ll know when the time is right. Sometimes you need to get lost to be found.”
    After having dinner with the family, it was time for me to head back to the hotel. As I was in my suite, pouring a glass of wine, there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, I was surprised to see Drew standing there.
    “Hi.”
    “Hi.” He smiled.
    “Come on in.”
    As soon as he stepped through the door, I looked down the hall.
    “What are you doing?” he asked.
    “Where’s Jess?”
    “She’s up in the room. I saw you come back to the hotel and I wanted to talk to you for a minute.”
    “Oh. Okay. What’s up? Do you want some wine?” I asked as I picked up my glass.
    “No, thank you. If by chance you run into me and Jess, could you please not mention that we ran into each other today and the whole paddle board thing?”
    “Why?” I asked with a twisted face.
    Drew placed his hands in his pockets. “She’s a very jealous person and she would take it the wrong