Flip My Life Read online

  Written and Created By: Jennifer Foor

  Copyright © 2016 Jennifer Foor

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Art: JMF PUBLISHING /Shutterstock

  This book is a written act of fiction. Any places, characters, or similarities are purely coincidence. If certain places or characters are referenced it is for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book is not allowed to be offered for sale, discounted, or free on any sites by anyone other than JENNIFER FOOR. To reiterate: This book may ONLY be distributed by Jennifer Foor, the owner and Author of this series.

  DOWNLOADING EPUB COPIES IS A FRADULENT ACT.

  Want a master list of my books for sale in reading order?

  Mitchell Family Series

  1. Letting Go

  2. Folding Hearts

  3. Raging Love

  4. Risking Fate

  5. Wrapping Up

  6. Wanting More

  7. Saving Us

  8. Blinding Trust

  9. Losing Him

  10. Loving Her

  Mitchell Healy

  11. Noah

  12. Isabella

  13. Christian

  14. Merry Mitchell Affair

  15. Jake

  16. Jax

  17. Addison

  18. Cassie

  19. Jingle All the Mitchell Way

  20. Cammie

  21. Callie

  22. Joshua

  23. Rockin’ Around The Mitchell Tree

  Seven Year Itch Series

  24. Binge

  25. Bereft

  26. Belong

  27. Because

  28. Bound

  Twisted Twin Series

  29. Twinsequences one

  30. Twinsequences two

  Love’s Duet

  31.Love’s Suicide

  32. Love Survives

  Bank shot Romance Series

  33. Hustle Him

  34. Hustle Me

  35. Lustly

  36. Wrong Side of Rock Bottom

  37. Happily Ever Never

  38. Moth

  The Kin Series

  39. Repair Me

  40. Replace Me

  41. Renew Me

  42. Remember Me

  43. Reject Me

  44. Redeem Me

  45. Diary of a Male Maid

  Oyster Cove Series

  46. Salt Water Wounds

  47. Half Shelled Heart

  48. Waves of Despair

  49. Sea of Solitude

  50. Summer Maintenance

  51. Riding it Out

  52. Frigid Affair

  53. Hope’s Chance

  54. Hope’s Last Chance

  Mitchell Family Series Coloring Book volume one

  Mom’s Day off Coloring Book

  Chapter 1

  The old Ford truck has been leaking oil for a couple months now, yet Eli procrastinated fixing it on account of laziness. He has enough on his plate with a new job title and lots more responsibility. That’s not even counting the new home situation he still hasn’t been able to wrap his head around.

  Living with his current girlfriend wasn’t his first choice, but when her divorce was finalized with her ex, she was forced to sell the family home with little means to start over fresh. She’s been a stay at home mother since her seven-year-old son was born. Her job experience consists of waiting tables and taking her clothes off for money, which happened to be how she met her first husband. It’s her track record that appealed to Eli. He likes women with multiple skills in and out of the bedroom. As much as he feels smothered by the instant family situation, he enjoys coming home to a hot meal and getting laid whenever he sees fit.

  On his own since he was fresh out of high school, Eli appreciates his independence. The last thing he wants is a nagging female making simple decisions for him.

  Being under the truck working gives him some much needed space. Ever since his girlfriend moved in he's been finding more outdoor manly type of jobs to occupy him, and avoid the awkwardness of spending his time in a family environment.

  Six years is a long time to live a reclusive lifestyle. He's become accustomed to worrying about himself and no one else.

  The Marine Corp helped him strive. Eli has been on reserve duty for the last several years after being promoted to Corporal. Any modicum of success he’s experienced in his personal and professional life since then can be directly attributed to the years he spent on active duty. Afghanistan not only taught him how to survive, but also how to live.

  There isn’t a day that goes by that he doesn’t reflect on the common sense leadership lessons it provided him. He uses that learned knowledge while making business decisions for his future.

  At only eighteen years of age, Eli was taught to make sound decisions; with an extra added emphasis on being prompt. He was taught to methodically analyze decisions; weighing the pros and cons while minimizing risks. In other words, to do his best to gain as much information as he can, then use his intuition, experience, and expertise to fill in the rest. It’s always better to make a decision and execute aggressively with partial information than it is to wait and make a perfect decision too late. In Eli’s case, at eighteen years of age, risking the future of those of he loved, he was faced with this type of action.

  He’s learned about the chaos when being under fire, and how to manage high risk situations. He’s learned life isn’t about himself. Eli stands by his decision to protect others first.

  He’s been able to endure uncertainty. It’s made him a stronger man.

  But it doesn’t change the past. Nothing can. Some wounds are left scarred for a lifetime.

  When the leak is repaired, Eli remains under the truck while appreciating the solitude it brings him. It's not until he sees feet standing in the driveway that he knows that break is over.

  Sighing heavily, Eli scoots from underneath the vehicle until he sees Michelle standing with one hand on her hip while the other holds his phone. "Some chick named Siobhan is on the phone. She says it's urgent."

  Having gone years without hearing that name, Eli hesitates before snatching the device from his girlfriend's hand. He catches an accusatory glance before turning his back to her in order to answer the awaiting caller.

  "Hello?"

  "Elias, it's me."

  "Yeah, I gathered as much."

  The question in his mind lingers. Why has she called? She's been divorced from his dad for more than a year now. He only knows this because she reached out to him. It still can’t repair what has been broken, or take away the lifetime of lies he has to hold onto.

  Unless she's manipulated her way back in his bed, he doesn't understand the call, especially when he made it so vividly clear to her that they were never to speak again.

  "It's your father." Her voice breaks. "He passed away last night. I went to drop off Jonathan and we found him in the recliner."

  He can hardly comprehend what she's saying because it's unbelievable. There's no way. Dad was always as healthy as an ox. We used to joke that he'd outlive his own kids. "What did you just say? Is this some sick joke to get me to come home, you're pathetic."

  "I'm not lying. I'd never do that. The coroner is here at the house now. The police said they'll do an autopsy for the cause of death. I just spoke with him last night. He said he was taking Jonathan camping for the weekend. His truck is already packed with the supplies. I thought he was just sleeping."

  Pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve stress, El
i calms down from his first inclination and realizes the severity of the situation.

  His father is dead; the man he left behind six years ago because he couldn't live with the lie he was holding inside of him. He'd abandoned his own life to escape the guilt he experienced. For six years Eli blamed himself for what went down and more so when it came to the broken hearts he was responsible for with his decision.

  "Elias, are you still there?"

  "I'm here."

  "You need to come home. I know what you promised, but there's no way around it. Decisions need to be made."

  "Yeah, I get it. The earliest I can be there is tomorrow. I'll pack a bag and get on the road."

  "Why not fly? If it's money I can -."

  Eli cuts his ex-stepmother off before she's able to finish.

  "It's not about the money. I don't fly. I'm driving, end of story. Don't do anything until I get there. As far as I'm concerned you're not even entitled to pick out a casket."

  Hanging up before she's able to argue, Eli turns around to see Michelle awaiting an explanation. Like the story he's used since arriving in New Orleans, all of his family died when he was a kid and he's been alone ever since. Now he has to either come clean or fabricate another lie to attach to the already long list of stories he wishes he could take back.

  "Who is Siobhan? Who died?"

  "My dad," he replies with a clenched jaw.

  Her eyes double in size as the truth radiates through his already skeptical mind "I thought he was already dead."

  "We weren't close."

  "What happened? You must hate the man to keep him a secret."

  "You don't know a damn thing about it. I'm not going to stand here and explain it either. I need to get on the road."

  She begins to follow him. "Eli, wait. I'll go with you. Let me call Luke's father and see if he can watch him."

  This is exactly why she should have never moved in. Eli isn't used to waiting on someone. He wants to get in his truck and go. He needs the long ride to settle his doubts and come to terms with what he's about to arrive to. Having just learned of his father's passing, he can't complicate things further by having a nagging girlfriend added to the mix.

  Leaving his old rusted truck where it sits, Eli heads inside the quaint home he managed to purchase out of foreclosure a year back. It needed a lot of work, but since that’s what he does for a living it was a fun job to take on. There’s still a couple rooms that need repair, but he’s not in a rush.

  Michelle follows him to the master suite and stands behind him as he packs. Eli hasn’t shown any emotions regarding the death of his father, and she’s curious about why. Why lie? What happened in his past that caused him to recuse having a family? “Are you sure you don’t want me to go?”

  “I told you already, I’ll be fine alone. It’ll only take a couple of days and then I’ll be back. Hold down the fort.”

  She takes a seat on the mattress they both share. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  He’s on his last nerve and lashes out with his reply. “No! I’m good. Haven’t spoke to the man in years. If I wanted to talk about it I would have done it before I left home.”

  He doesn’t lean over to kiss her when he tosses his bag over his shoulder and heads out of the room. Michelle knows Eli is upset, but she remains silent knowing he could say things she doesn’t want to hear, and since leaving a verbally abusive ex, it’s the last thing she needs to happen in this new relationship.

  Eli’s always been secretive, or more mysterious. He doesn’t talk about his past. Sometimes it’s almost like he doesn’t know how to express feelings. Michelle thinks he cares about her and her son, but at times like this she questions if this type of relationship can last. She watches him walk out the door praying he’ll come back, but something in the pit of her stomach says otherwise.

  Chapter 2

  A country tune plays on the radio of the Dodge Hemi truck he uses as his everyday vehicle. With one hand tightly clenched to the wheel, Eli stares at the approaching headlights on the opposite side of the road. Each one represents all the times he could have traveled home to make amends.

  The loss of his father is a shock. As much as he wants to blame himself, he knows his leaving only caused his father a temporary pain. At the time he had a wife who’d do anything to make him happy, and another son on the way to replace him.

  He’d only ever heard from his father once; a birthday card sent to the wrong address and eventually forwarded.

  Eli hasn’t stepped foot in his town since the night of his eighteenth birthday. He’d been sweating bullets, contemplating what he could do to get out of the mess he’d created. He knew there was no way he could look into his father’s eyes and keep up with such a heinous betrayal. Eli always said he’d take it to the grave, though now he wonders if Siobhan will start telling the truth. After all, the one person he’d been trying to protect is gone. It no longer matters who he hurts, because quite frankly, he doesn’t give a shit.

  Eli knows people are going to ask where he’s been and why he’s never returned. He’s facing a lot of opinionated ex-friends and neighbors who will push until they understand what makes someone up and leave without a goodbye. They’re going to want to know why the high school prom king walked out on the promises he made to his queen, and the undeniable guilt he’s felt over it every single day since then. Without a literal pot to piss in, Eli had to do something drastic. At the time, the Marines was his best bet. For the next four years he became someone different. The once young buck, thin and naïve turned into a solid mass of muscle with stature to his name. Still enlisted as a Marine Reserve out of Lafayette, Louisiana, he only has to report for duty once a month or during emergency situations. The rest of his time is spent doing what he loves. Fixing up old homes. He purchased his first foreclosure after his last stint in Afghanistan. Knowing he wasn’t going to return to field duty, he had to have something to fall back on. Having done construction throughout high school, during the summers, Eli used his experience to his benefit.

  The first project took him seven months. When it was all said and done he pocketed forty grand. The second house made him just as much. The third allowed him to really take his craft to a whole new level. It was a two story antebellum that required a full gut out. Nearly a year later he finished and it sold for half a million bucks.

  Eli took some of his money and bought the small rancher he resides in. It’s nothing spectacular, but seemed to be enough for his needs, up until he had to rehome a woman and her child. Now he feels smothered.

  While continuing the long trek to Georgia, Eli tries to remember his father and the special relationship they used to have. His mother died a long time ago, leaving just the two of them to bond.

  Being a single father of a ten year old, they spent most of their free time fishing or doing small projects around the house. His father was a religious man, and he can recall him closing out each night reading scriptures from his family bible. Eli wonders if he continued the same routine after he’d gone, or if Siobhan changed everything about the man he used to know so well.

  The mere thought of her makes his skin crawl. The lengths that woman was willing to go to keep his father happy would make anyone writhe. At the same time, Eli knew how desperate she’d been. She’d done it out of love, and as much as it sickens him to think he’d been a part of it, he knows his father died with a full heart.

  It’s been years since Eli shed a tear. So much has changed. He no longer considers what could have been if he’d just stayed. He’s moved forward, which is exactly what everyone else should have done. Now, hopefully, he’s nothing but a faded memory. Returning to town won’t change that. What’s done can’t be rewritten.

  There’s no going back and fixing the heart he shattered into a million pieces. It’s not possible. He made his bed and it’s his responsibility to lie in it.

  It’s the wee hours of the morning when Eli makes it to town. He’s exhausted, far too tired to realize the
shock and pain he’s experiencing. Hoping the key still remains hidden on a magnet attached to the old mailbox, he feels around in the dark. Not even the porch light illuminates the dark wrap around porch surrounded by woods. His father always liked his privacy. Just as Eli is about to give up, his fingers come in contact with a familiar shape. He tugs and releases the hold of the magnet before sticking the key into the door.

  The first thing Eli notices before turning on the light is the stale smell. It’s musty inside, like the place hasn’t been kept up. Flicking on the light, Eli is taken back in time. It’s as if nothing has changed. Not even the furniture has been rearranged. The same old curtains still hang around the windows. Old folding snack tables are situated around the plaid printed sofa. Newspapers are strewn across the ottoman, and the recliner is worn and on it’s last leg.

  Then it really hits Eli. His father was found dead in the recliner. He spent his last moments on this earth in that wretched piece of furniture he should have thrown away years before.

  Eli takes a seat on the ottoman and stares at the worn leather material covering his father’s special seat. His hand runs across the arm, and as he does it he closes his eyes and takes in the familiarity of the space.

  Eli feels a warn rush of emotions trying to escape his eyes. He’s been trained to be tough, to keep his feelings at bay. Marines don’t cry. They fight through the situation until they’re able to put it behind them.

  But Eli isn’t just a Marine. He’s a son. He’s a man who abandoned his past life because he was a coward. Now he’ll never get to apologize. He’ll never have the opportunity to right his wrongs.

  When Eli falls victim to his own exhaustion he makes his way upstairs to his old room, passing by the walls full of photographs documenting a life that seems so long ago.

  Entering his room triggers more memories he wishes would wait until he’s rested his mind. Six years is a long time to leave a room sit, but it’s obvious that’s what his father did. Maybe he was too disgusted to enter. Perhaps the thought of being remotely close to the son who walked away was too much for the middle-aged man to comprehend. Whatever the case, it’s like a fossilized time capsule just waiting to be rediscovered.