LILY

BNR848

Disclaimer: The publicly recognized characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plots are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

This is a sappy, sweet, love story. It's long (very long) because I enjoy telling the back story. It's the final of the love stories for the Castle children. I started with Red which told Alexis' story, then Jake (which is my favorite), Reese which challenged me, and now finally Lily.

Lily has been over a year in the making. In this time I experienced a tragic loss which as you would understand kept me away from working on this tale. I hope you enjoy Lily's love story. It is 61 chapters, with a very short epilogue. Don't be dismayed my chapters are short.

Take a front row seat and watch as Lily Castle falls in love.

Special shout-out to wendykw and mbeckettcastle, who encouraged me to finish and post Lily. Thank you for your support.

CHAPTER 1

Flinging her shoes off as she entered her apartment, Lily Castle had had a rough day. A look at the mess reminded her she needed to move in once and for all. She'd been back in D.C. nine months, it was time. She looked around, sighed and went about finding her running shoes. She needed to let out this pent-up frustration, and murder was not an option.

She made quick work of stripping off her clothes and getting into her running gear, but she was still minus one shoe. Finally locating the wayward sneaker, she grabbed her phone secured her earbuds and headed towards Embassy Row.

Popular with all types of runners, Embassy Row provides a medium level run with great sights. Listed as a unique run on running blogs, it takes you along some of Washington's popular attractions. Among those she enjoys the most were the US Naval Observatory and the National Cathedral. Reaching the Cathedral always gave her a sense of peace; something she needed today.

Until today she had not regretted her move to D.C. Today, however, had tested her resolve, her patience and above all her desire to stay out of federal prison. The two-hour conference call had left her not only with homicidal thoughts but also a stress headache. Patrick Mulrooney, with two o's as his assistant had emphasized, was a pain in the ass.

The decision to return to D.C. had not been easy. She liked being back in New York, close to her family, especially her mom and dad. On days like today, she missed her mom the most. The whole family had gotten behind the D.C. move. It was a phenomenal opportunity and one she would enjoy. In 2019, National Endowments for the Arts had been defunded and eliminated as an agency. But with the support of millions of people, and generous benefactors the once thriving agency had morphed into a non-profit organization. Under a new name, the artistic community had managed to salvage a number of programs. They set up shop in New York and went about backing the arts. By 2040, with broad support and offices in New York, D.C. and Los Angeles, it was one of the primary patrons for arts and education. Early on she'd had the chance to work at the D.C. office, but after a year she had returned home.

Now, she'd been given a second chance. In her second term, the President had made it a priority to return the National Endowments for the Arts to its former glory as a federal agency. The days of cutting and gutting arts and science long gone, the public was in support of the initiative. The idea was to reestablish the agency with a coordinated effort from both the public and private sector, a partnership of sorts. Lily Castle had been one of the first hires. So back to D.C. she went.