by Zoe Hart
When I opened the kennel, I realized it was Dolly Mama. “Bishop? How long have you had this?”
I mean, I knew the answer. Lark had to be inconsolable without her baby. I sent a message right away. A picture of a no worse for the wear Dolly Mama with a question.
Where are you staying? I want to bring Dolly Mama home.
Given the number of times I’d been ignored, I half expected to not receive a response. Instead, almost immediately she replied: Braxton’s. And then she sent me the address.
Thank you. I’ll make sure our daughter has her baby back today.
Seconds later, there was a knock on my door. I opened it and found my father standing there looking angry. His eyes were narrowed. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “And how did you find me?”
“My PI did a title search. I’m not the only one with connections.” He glared at me. “May I come in?”
I nodded and stepped aside. I expected this conversation would proceed far differently than those in the past. After all, this time he couldn’t fall back on how I owed him, how he owned me. This time, I was in my house.
“I see you’re moved in. Sort of.” He glanced about the place. “Small, but nice, I suppose.”
“Thanks.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why are you here?”
“I take it you’ve quit the company. You have your money and you’ve left the family business.” He moved to stand in the entry to the hall. I guessed he was looking for Taryn and Lark.
“They aren’t here. She left me last weekend after your visit.” I stayed close to the door, ready to open it for him the minute he stepped out of line.
“I see. You should be thanking me.” My father turned to face me. Behind him, Bishop growled. “Are you going to tell your dog to stand down?”
“He was trained to recognize a threat. I’ll let him do his job.” To Bishop, I commanded, “Sit.”
“So, what are you going to do with your life now? Nothing? Just be a big disappointment?” He moved toward me, never taking his eyes off my dog.
“Not even close. I just won your contract. I’ll be leaving for the Middle East in three weeks. We’re moving our first shipment of dogs.” I watched his reaction.
His eyes flashed with anger. “It was you.”
“Yes. It was me. And they will always pick me because I’m not trying to fleece the government and rip dogs away from their handlers.” I took a few steps until I was in his face. “You tried to steal Bishop from me. I won’t forget that. You treated my daughter and the woman I love like they were less than worthy, like they were gold diggers. I won’t forget that either.” I moved to open the door. I had a lot to manage today and time was flying. “Time to go. I’m going to win back my future wife and your granddaughter, whether you like it or not.”
“You’ll regret this. All of it,” he snapped.
Bishop growled loudly and my father flinched. “Hold,” I ordered. Bishop did as he was told, but he wasn’t backing down and neither was I.
“Goodbye, Father.” I motioned for him to leave. Once he was outside, I started to close it, but he stopped me.
“You’ve never stood up to me before,” he noted. “I blame her.”
I laughed. “Blame the Marines. Blame my upbringing. Most of all, blame yourself. The only reason I didn’t stand up to you was because you held my life, my livelihood over my head. Now, I don’t need you, but I do need them.”
I shut the door and turned to Bishop. My phone vibrated. The jeweler was letting me know the ring was ready for pickup. “Back in your kennel, Bishop. I need to go get Mommy and Lark.”
He understood me. Or at least he recognized their names. He rushed down the hall to his kennel. I followed him and shut the door.
Then I grabbed my keys and hopped in the truck. I made it to the jeweler just before closing. The ring was stunning, just how I imagined it. I’d told him I wanted a three-stone ring to celebrate our past, present, and future. For the band, I’d requested infinity symbols on both sides.
“It’s perfect,” I murmured.
“Should I start work on the matching wedding band?” the jeweler asked with a smile.
I grinned. “Let’s see if she says yes first. I’ll let you know.”
I was trying to be funny, but I was filled with doubts. All of them. Still, the fact that she had responded today gave me hope. By the time I left the jeweler and made the drive back to Bessemer Bay, it was already closing in on eight at night. I knew that Lark would want to go to bed soon and I didn’t want to blow everything, but I had to take Bishop out before he had an accident and grab Dolly Mama while I was home.
And that’s how I made it to Braxton’s place by nearly nine. Taryn’s vehicle was parked out front. It was happening. I took a few deep breaths, knocked on the door, and waited. I wasn’t surprised when Braxton answered the door. I wasn’t even surprised that he seemed to be expecting me.
“You’re too late,” he grumbled.
“Hey, it’s never too late if I’m willing to work on it. Lark gave me this address earlier. I came as quickly as I could.” I forced a smile as my heart thudded in my chest.
“No, you’re too late, as in she’s gone.” He stepped aside to let me in.
I glanced out at the parking lot. “Her car is out there.”
“She’s with Peyton. It’s the reunion.” Braxton seemed thoroughly annoyed.
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to do next. I didn’t have a backup plan. Then I heard her.
“Daddy? Is that you?” Lark came galloping out to greet me.
“You were supposed to be asleep, bird,” Braxton noted.
Lark ignored him and grinned when she saw me holding her baby. “Dolly Mama!” She was holding Bishop’s monkey. “We traded,” she explained.
Bishop was smart, but I doubted his ability to understand a trade. I was so happy to see her, I dropped to my knees. “Baby bird! I’ve missed you.”
She threw herself into my arms. “I missed you, too, Daddy.” Then she realized I had a box in one hand. “Hey, what’s that?”
“I bought a present for Mommy.” I opened it to show her the ring.
Braxton whistled. “That’s a lot of love right there.”
His friend, Cash, stood up from the couch to take a peek. “Damn, man. You’re serious.”
I looked at Braxton and stood up while still holding my daughter. “Think she’ll forgive me? Think she’ll say yes?”
“She’s not expecting you,” Braxton began.
“But…she replied.” I frowned. Her absence was an unexpected development.
“Yeah. About that. I replied.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Taryn has been miserable without you. She misses you something fierce, but I don’t know if she’ll consider marrying you after what happened with your dad.”
“I fixed it. I quit. I started my own company.” I was blurting out all the things I’d done to try and make it right. Everything but telling Taryn and expressing my feelings. I looked at Lark. “I love you, sweet girl. And I want to spend the rest of my life making this up to you and Mommy. Do you mind if I ask her to marry me?”
Lark smiled. “Be my guest.” She gestured widely.
“Beauty and the Beast?” I asked Braxton.
“Please take them off my hands,” he joked. “Be my guest.” He gestured and bowed.
“So where can I find her? I don’t want to waste another minute.” I studied Braxton.
“The dunes. They’re at the afterparty.”
I grinned. This couldn’t be more perfect. But first, I was going to tuck in Lark.
20
Taryn
I didn’t want to be there. Seriously, of all the places that I could be in the world…there was almost the last place I’d want to be, other than in a room with Hawk’s father. That might be worse, but here was a close second.
“We don’t have to stay long,” Peyton announced the minute we parked. “We’ll circle the groups, we’ll say hi to a few
old friends, and then we’ll leave.” She shrugged, but I knew she wanted this. She was so happy now, being with Cash. They’d spent the night at the dinner. He’d promised her two dances. And as soon as he’d fulfilled his promises, they’d come back to Braxton’s.
Meanwhile, I’d barely had time to get ready. We’d gone to the beach earlier, an area far from the lake house because I didn’t want to run into Hawk. I wasn’t ready. I was still hurt and mad.
Then I took a shower after dinner to get the sand off, which in retrospect made little sense as I was now trekking through it again to reach the bonfires. I’d left my phone charging in the kitchen. And I came out with my hair in towel to Braxton looking guilty. Usually that meant he was going to try to convince me to respond to a text from Hawk. I thought I’d shown incredible restraint in not replying to any thus far.
I wanted to, don’t get me wrong, but he had yet to say the right thing. “Is there another text I need to ignore?” I asked him as I reached for my phone.
“Nope. Everything is good.” He smiled at me while he and Lark shared a look.
“What’s going on with you two?” I moved closer, phone in hand. I glanced at the screen. No notifications, other than the one from Peyton warning me that I’d better be ready when she arrived. I groaned. “I’m going to dry my hair, and then it’s bedtime for you, Lark.”
She nodded. “I love you, Mommy. You look really pretty.”
I smirked. “Thank you, Lark.” Then I looked at Braxton. “Teaching her your ways already? You always used to say that when you wanted to distract me.”
He held up his hands in surrender. And I mostly gave up. Peyton would be here before long and I wanted to get the dunes over with.
Though I didn’t want to go, I couldn’t help but think it was time for me to build some happy memories there. Maybe, for once, that would happen. I glanced around to see if I recognized any faces while Peyton and I took a seat. To my horror, we were seated directly across from Drew.
“I swear you do these things on purpose,” I muttered to Peyton.
“I just looked for a spot big enough to accommodate our bulbous behinds.” She snickered.
“I prefer to think of mine as voluptuous,” I replied.
“I liked to think of it as practically perfect,” Drew noted from across the fire.
I was about to respond and warn him not to think about my butt at all, but a voice from behind me spoke first.
“Do yourself a favor and don’t come near Taryn’s glorious ass,” Hawk snapped.
A few of his old friends came over to greet him. Obviously, they hadn’t anticipated his arrival any more than I had. I glanced at Peyton. “We should go.”
She shook her head. “No. I think we should stay. You always wanted a proposal at the dunes.” She nodded behind me.
I turned to find Hawk down on one knee, his face level with mine. “What are you doing?”
“Something I would’ve done a long time ago, if I hadn’t been forced to go into the military by my father.” Hawk cleared his throat.
Before he could speak more, I interrupted. “I don’t think we should have this conversation here.”
“Taryn, I can’t think of a better place to have it.” Hawk smiled. “This was where we met when I saved you from public humiliation brought on by this asshole.” He gestured to Drew.
Drew was about to stand up and say something when one of Hawk’s friends positioned himself behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’d sit, asshole.”
“Thanks, Roman.” Hawk turned his attention back to me. “Here’s the thing, Taryn. I know why you’re mad. And I couldn’t try to win you back until I had fixed things, every single thing. It took some time, but I’ve changed. My situation has changed.”
I rolled my eyes. “In a week? What could’ve changed in a week?”
“His house is ready,” Roman announced. “I know. I remodeled it.”
I nodded. “Congratulations.”
“It’s your house,” Hawk murmured. “I didn’t realize it until I went to help you move, but I bought your house. And Roman helped me remodel it to your specifications. I want to share it with you, you and Lark.”
“You made me homeless?” I snapped.
“And I also gave you a place to live.” He looked so sheepish, I knew I couldn’t blame him for buying the cottage.
“That’s not enough,” I murmured. “Your dad. Your job.” I figured he’d go away after I pointed this out, his tail completely between his legs to lick his wounds. In my cottage.
“That’s the best part of all.” He leaned closer. “I quit. I started my own company. I have a contract for transporting dogs from the Middle East to Michigan.” Hawk grinned.
“Just like your father,” I sighed.
He shook his head. “Nothing like my father. I’m not selling them out from under their handlers. I’m reuniting the handlers with their dogs. And I’m going to have those that aren’t claimed trained to help wounded warriors.” He reached out and cupped my face. I closed my eyes to try to stay strong. “It was never about the money for me, Taryn. It was about having money, a job, and a place to live to support my family. As soon as I could, I left. I quit. I went out on my own.”
I opened my eyes and looked into his. He meant it. “You’ll never go back? You’ll stand up for us?” That was what mattered most to me.
“No chance.” Hawk shook his head vehemently. “Here’s the thing. I’m going to need a good veterinarian. I thought maybe I could help you go back to school, fulfill your dream. Lark starts kindergarten in the fall.”
My eyes widened. “You mean it?”
He nodded. “There’s one thing you should know. I’m not like my father. I can’t just send anyone to go travel with these dogs.”
I licked my lips. “Go on.”
“I’m going to have to do it. I want these dogs treated right. I want them safe until they are reunited with their handlers. This means traveling a few days every time there’s a shipment.”
I nodded. “About once a month.”
“Sounds about right,” Hawk agreed. “The rest of the time I’ll spend with my family, if you could find it in your heart to marry me, make it official.”
“Are you asking?” I smiled and raised a brow in challenge.
“I’m already on one knee.” He shifted slightly and opened the box for me to see. Even in the firelight, it sparkled impressively. “Taryn Curtis, will you marry me?”
“I should ask Lark before I commit,” I teased.
“I already did. She said yes. So now we’re just waiting on you.” He grinned.
“Yes,” I murmured as he slid the ring onto my finger. The crowd erupted, except for Drew, who stalked off. I thought my face was going to break, I was smiling so widely. Then I paused. “You spoke to Lark?”
“Braxton replied to my message,” he began. “Come with me. There’s something I want to show you.”
I looked at Peyton. She sighed. “I know. I’m on my own again.”
“Actually, you have Cash waiting on you at Braxton’s. When I left, they were playing video games.” Hawk snickered.
He gave me a piggyback ride to the truck. Peyton followed us to the vehicles. Then we hugged and parted ways. “Peyton, you should stop by the cottage tomorrow,” Hawk suggested.
She nodded and waved before driving away. We climbed into the truck and Hawk reached out and held my hand. I sent Braxton a text: I said yes. He’s taking me to the cottage. Be back later.
Then we pulled up at the cottage. The lights were on and I realized Braxton’s vehicle was there. Hawk groaned. “I never changed the locks.”
I laughed and hopped out of the vehicle, racing to the front door. I waited a minute for Hawk to catch up, then I opened it and gasped. “Holy wow!” The place looked amazing. Even better than I imagined it.
Lark raced out of her room, Braxton trailing behind her. “Can we stay the night, Daddy?” she asked.
“Mommy’s going to
marry me. You can stay forever.” He held open his arms and she launched herself at him.
I smiled. It was everything I ever wanted and more. “Forever has a nice ring to it.”
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Read Chapter 1 from Levi, Rivals & Reunions: 2
Everly
“And that’s why assisted suicide should be legal,” I said into the microphone ending my argument.
There was a polite round of clapping in the auditorium. Most of the seats weren’t even full but I didn’t care. This debate team was basically my life. Between Sabine and me, the other team didn’t stand a chance.
I wouldn’t say we were the stars… wait. Yes, I would.
It wasn’t gloating. It was just fact. She and I researched everything until no counterpoint could surprise us nor would it go unanswered. That was just how we worked and it was also why we had so many wins in our columns.
The only person in the audience that I cared about was Levi Elliot. Super-hot editor of the school newspaper, talented photographer, and my boyfriend. He came to every match to support me and report on it for the paper. Having him there with me gave me an extra boost of confidence.
Bessemer Bay High School’s debate team was almost legendary. We’d won the state debate championship every year for the last three years. The only sad part was that this was both Sabine and my last year. As seniors we were co-captains and we’d chosen our teammates wisely in the hope that we’d be leaving our precious baby, the team, in good hands.
They better not let us down.
Levi kept snapping pictures long after the debate finished and we waited for our scores though that was just a formality at this point. This wasn’t a championship and it wasn’t even a tournament. We were just debating another high school which made it like practice for us.
The debate moderator took the podium as our team and there’s held our breaths.