“Elle, I’m sorry. About everything.”
“I know. I also know it wasn’t your fault. You did everything in your power to fix this.”
I take in a huge breath, feeling like I’m breathing for the first time since last night. “You forgive me?”
She breaks into a thoughtful smile, her expression a mixture of sadness and hope. “You have nothing to be forgiven for. Do you forgive me for all of the mean and accusatory things I said to you?”
I nod and reach my hands between the bars to cradle her face.
“Well,” she says, “now that we’ve got that settled, let’s get you out of here.” She turns to head back to the office.
“No, wait!”
“You don’t… want to leave?” she asks, like I may have lost my mind.
“I do want to leave, but I have something I need to say to you before I do.”
She nods heavily, a hint of fear in her eyes. “Okay.”
I search her face, feeling the burn of love and fear crash head-on in my gut. “I need to know how you feel, Elle.”
“How I feel?”
Fuck caution. I’m done with it!
“I’m deeply and irreversibly in love with you, Elle Amanda Hayes. When you’re in my arms, it feels like… home.”
“Oh, Connor…”
“Please, Elle, just let me get all the words out before you stop me.” At least I can tell her how I feel, even if it’s only once. Even if she doesn’t reciprocate. “I know I ruined everything, and that you hate me, even if you do forgive me. But I’ll never be the same. You’ve touched my life and put roots into my heart. You make me feel like that teenager again, the one who held your hand and gave you your first kiss. You make me feel. You’ve made me come alive. The way I was before all the responsibilities and trying to prove myself to people who don’t even matter.”
Her beautiful blue eyes make me long for more.
“Now I only want to prove myself to you. You make me better. You reminded me of who I am and what I believe. And what I want. You helped me find my way back to myself. This tat”—I pull my tee shirt up over my heart—“with the compass and sacred geometry, I got it directly after our second meeting at the courthouse.”
Her eyes drop to the ink, and her eyebrows knit in concentration.
“I was so fucking confused and conflicted. Everything about the case was screaming ‘wrong’ at me, but it was so hard to pay attention over the distractions.” I drop my shirt and place a gentle finger under her chin to lift her eyes to mine again. “Then, there you were. I knew who you were the moment that St. Sophia pendant fell from the neckline of your blouse.”
Her mouth falls open with a little gasp.
“I believe the universe brought you back to me. It’s like I’ve been waiting for you to find me all this time.”
Tears fall gently from her eyes and drop over my hands. Could she be feeling the same?
“I’ve been part of your past, now I want to be your future. I want to take on the world with you, Elle. I want to face the best and the worst with you by my side. If you’ll let me.”
The space around us fades away until all I can see is her.
My voice is rough and raw. “I’ve become fiercely protective of you, and of Jackson, Max and Lily. I swear, I will never desert you.”
We stand for a moment, suspended in time. I keep quiet now, giving her a chance to respond. Her delicate hands are on mine, mine still holding the curve of her jaw, our eyes locked.
“Ms. Hayes, is everything alright?” Officer Barrett’s voice sounds from behind her. “Are you ready to go?”
I shake my head, my pulse beating hard in my ears. “I don’t want to go anywhere without you.”
“If you could, please unlock the door,” she requests.
“You’ll have to… back up from one another.”
Reluctantly, I let her go and take a step back. Her silence is a painful rejection. How could I have expected anything else?
The door slides open with a noisy ruckus, and I feel fabric being pushed against my hand. It’s one of my cellmates. I realize all of them have been silent through our whole exchange. Now the guy who woke me up is handing me my jacket.
He returns it with sad eyes. “Hard hit, man.”
I fist the jacket and step out of the cell, just as the door begins to slide back closed.
“Connor?” Elle breathes softly.
My tone is husky. “Yes?”
She comes close and laces her fingers around the back of my neck. “I want to be your future. Because I am deeply and irreversibly in love with you, Connor Ian Callahan.”
I stutter in disbelief. “You… love me?”
“So much.”
“SHE LOVES ME!” I shout as I pick her up and hold her close against my chest.
She wraps her arms and legs around my torso, and when our lips meet, it’s like a blazing wildfire and the warmth of a home’s hearth all in the same moment.
The inmates behind us let out a loud cheer and applaud, and Officer Barrett joins in.
Elle and I can’t stop laughing.
It feels damn good!
Elle
LOW IN MY belly, electricity twists and churns as I sit at one of the long, dark wood tables in front of the judge’s bench.
I twist my neck to peek behind me. Cade and Debra sit in the front row with Anya. Behind them are Talon, Liam, Quinn, Adrienne and Gwen. All came to lend moral support.
Connor opens his briefcase and sets out three manila folders.
This is it. I wring my hands. Connor notices and gently untangles my fingers, giving my hand a tender, reassuring squeeze. As if he believes everything is going to be alright after all.
Do I dare believe it?
I scan the clock on the courtroom wall. Ten more minutes.
God, I’m so nervous! My mind wanders back through the events of the past three months that led us here.
After Connor had confessed his love for me from the inside of a jail cell, we spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms. Mainly sleeping because we were both exhausted. The following week, we pressed charges against the Harrison and Smith law firm, Judge Andrews and Whitmore Prescott. Connor had found evidence that tied them to the thug that had attacked me at the courthouse, along with payoffs to other individuals, and other criminal connections. He even made contact with people who would willingly testify. Connor explained we were filing civil and criminal lawsuits and an emergency injunction to protect the children. Less than twenty-four hours later, Jackson, Max and Lily were back together again, safely under the roof of North House.
Files and personal computers were seized from Harrison’s, Andrew’s, and Prescott’s home and business offices. Along with many other unsavory and criminal activities that law enforcement is still sifting through, we found out they’d denied nearly thirty families who came forward to foster all three of the kids. My application had been buried with the others.
Connor promised that together we’d do everything we could to get me custody of the kids. And that’s exactly what we did. Cade and Debra gave personal recommendations to the new judge overseeing the case, and my application was brought to the top of the pile. Liam and Quinn graciously offered me one of their rental properties at a vast discount. It’s a beautiful, five-bedroom house in one of the city’s best neighborhoods with a huge fenced-in yard. Connor and his brothers even spent a weekend building a wooden swing set and playhouse. Debra, Quinn and Sophie took me shopping for furnishings until the house had everything it needed to become a home.
It had become a real family affair.
“All rise.” The bailiff’s voice brings me back to myself.
The judge asks me a series of questions. Cade and Debra have both already signed sworn statements for my character references—as did several others; the court acknowledges this. The whole court proceeding takes less than half an hour.
The judge concludes, “Because of the extraordinary circumstances, inc
luding Ms. Hayes’s strong, established relationship with the children and the fact that she’s cared for them while they’ve been at North House, I am waiving the time that the children would normally have to reside with a foster parent before adoption. The Prescott children will live with Ms. Hayes, while Mr. and Mrs. North act as their caseworkers during the next sixty-days, at the end of which time, Ms. Hayes will become their legally adoptive mother.”
The gavel touches down, and I feel a burning sensation in my lungs as I breathe for the first time since he started his judgement. The Norths cheer and applaud as Connor scoops me into his arms.
It takes a moment for the reality to sink in. Then I sob.
As Connor and I pull up the driveway, we see three little faces peeking between the curtains through the windows. They disappear and, like a whirlwind, the kids come storming out through the front yard to meet us, with Samson on their heels.
“Well?!” Jackson exclaims, wide-eyed. “What happened?”
I’m so overwhelmed with love and joy—it spreads from my heart and consumes my soul. I smile and nod. New tears of happiness brim in my eyes, blurring my vision.
“We’re yours? For real?” Max shouts delightedly.
“Forever?” Jackson asks, making sure.
“You’re all mine,” I promise. This long, arduous road has finally been traveled. “Forever.”
“MOMMY!” Lily leaps into my arms.
Jackson and Max grab around my waist and legs and I kneel on the ground to embrace them all.
“Mommy.” Max tastes the word. “That sounds really good.”
A flash of pain crosses Jackson’s features, and I put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to call me—”
“No,” he says, cutting me off. “I like the sound of it… Mom.” He smiles softly. “She’d like it, too. She’d want this for us.”
Connor comes over and joins us, setting his strong arms like a protective shield around the four of us.
“So,” Max starts, “if everything’s okay now, why are you crying?”
“Because she’s so happy,” Connor whispers into our hair.
“Oh. Is it a girl thing?” Jackson inquires as he lifts his eyes up to Connor.
“No, son, it’s not.” Connor whisks away the tears falling from his own cheeks.
Jackson smiles and buries his head deeper into the group. A moment later, Samson barks and shoves himself into the center of our circle. We burst with happy, deeply contented laughter.
Suddenly, a fresh snowfall begins to drift around us. Snow in May! Only in Minnesota.
Beautiful white, clean crystals flurry about us like magic. I see snow like that now—like magic—and a new beginning.
I gaze into the sky amidst the floating fairies and give grateful thanks for all that is mine.
I’ve never had anything or anyone to call my own. Now, I have everything I’ve ever wanted.
Snowflakes light onto my lashes, and immediately I’m brought back to the wish I made when I stood outside the doors of The Core as I went in for my interview.
I wished for a family.
Elle
TAKING ONE DELIBERATE, slow step at a time, to soak up the peaceful atmosphere of the quiet house, I work my way down the plush carpeted staircase. The soft fibers massage the bottom of my feet and in between my toes. The house is warm and cozy. Soon I see our fifteen-foot Christmas tree that’s positioned grandly in the main room, it’s dazzling white strands of light twinkling in the darkness and casting a soft glow over the room.
I remember last Christmas; I had been a wreck, trying to find Lily and Max after they’d gotten moved to new foster homes. A year later, here we are celebrating in our own home. We recently purchased the house from Liam and Quinn. They gave us the family discount. Connor opened his own law firm. In the six months it’s been opened, it’s already become very successful. With the criminal indictments and charges brought against Harrison, Prescott and Andrews, Connor earned himself an even more powerful reputation, as he’d been the one to expose their illustrious criminal careers. Callahan and Associates has had quite a windfall of clientele. His practice specializes in humanitarian and civil rights law. Of course, he still makes plenty of time for his work at North House and The Core—and especially for us.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Connor says, perched on the sofa, a novel on his lap and two cups of chai tea sitting on coasters. “Are they all asleep?”
I nod. “Yes. And I’m lucky I didn’t go down with them.”
“I’m the lucky one.”
“Oh yeah?” I snuggle next to him, laying my head on his shoulder. “Why is that?”
“Because I have you.” He presses his warm lips against the top of my head. “And them. Your hair smells so good.”
He reaches his hand between us and cops a feel of my breast.
“Right here on the sofa could be risky,” I warn.
“Can’t yet.” He laughs. “I have a Christmas present for you.”
Connor leans over, lifts his dark-colored briefcase onto his lap and reaches inside.
“Ooo!” I wiggle excitedly. “Secret Christmas Eve presents with just the two of us!” How romantic! “A new tradition! I’ll go to my stash and pick one for you!”
“Not this time.” He slows my roll with a hand to my thigh.
“Why?” I feel a little deflation in my happy bubble. “I have the perfect one for you.”
He shakes his head. “This time it’s all about you.”
He pulls out a small white velvet jewelry box wrapped in a simple golden ribbon.
Trying not to think ahead of myself about what could be in the little box, I clamp my mouth closed and press my lips together.
Then he drops on one knee before me and captures my eyes.
“I always thought true love was a fairytale,” Connor begins, “because I never felt it until I found you.”
He lifts the lid and I catch my breath. A dainty ring sits nestled in the velvet lining. A golden band cradles a delicate gemstone of garnet.
“Elle…”
I might burst from sheer happiness.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” I nod fervently. “Yes!”
Joyful laughter quakes through his chest as he gently slides the smooth metal up my finger, then stands to embrace me.
I wrap my arms around him.
“I know you’re not into diamonds,” he says, “and that garnets are your favorite—”
I bring my hands to his face, feeling the rough stubble against my fingertips. “I love you, Connor. It’s perfect.”
“You’re perfect.” He presses his lips to mine. My blood warms and electricity crackles between us, sending shivers up my skin while my heart pounds in my chest. I taste the sweet hints of chai spice and know I’ll remember this moment always.
“You and the children are my world, Elle.”
“I know.” Happy tears spill over the rims of my eyes. “You’re ours too.”
His eyes trace the ring, my hand and then my body. “God, that looks good on you. It’ll look really incredible when you have nothing else on you—except me.”
“Connor!” I giggle, admiring the symbol of our pledge.
His fingers reach into his back pocket. He takes out his phone. “The Only Exception” from Paramore plays. I’m immediately transported back to our first slow dance and how he whistled the melody as he walked down the hall.
“Dance with me.”
We sway to the music. His warm breath at my ear, he sings the chorus to me.
When the song ends, we collapse to the sofa, where he holds me in his arms, then quietly slips two more gifts onto the table.
A white envelope lays atop a large manila envelope.
I wiggle around to see his face. “What’s this?”
His expression is different now, maybe even heavy.
“Open the white one first, carefully.”
“Okay.” I nod. “Two plane tickets to… L
ittle Rock, Arkansas.” I’m dumbfounded. “Little Rock doesn’t have a reputation for being a lover’s getaway.”
Without words, he puts the large envelope in my hand. The air in my lungs quickens, and I can feel my adrenaline begin to spike.
“What is this, Connor?”
“Just open it,” he urges gently.
I lift the metal tabs, fold over the edge and pour the contents out onto the table.
“Oh my God.” I fling my hands up over my mouth to conceal a gasp. My chest heaves for oxygen. “How did you…? Where did you…?”
“I know a lot of people who know a lot of people.”
Tentatively, I reach my fingers out over the photograph, almost afraid it’ll somehow have wings and fly away before I can grasp it.
It’s my brother. He’s about nine in the photograph. He looks so sad. It’s like a headshot, or rather a mug shot, for foster care. The photographer couldn’t be bothered to wait for him to produce a smile. Maybe he wouldn’t have anyway.
Beside it is another picture of a long, lanky teenage boy. Probably around seventeen, the age my brother would be now. He’s wearing denim jeans, shit-kicker work boots and a black tee shirt, standing in front of an older model Ford truck. A barn is in the background. He’s smiling and it’s genuine. He’s beautiful.
“Is this…?”
“Alex. Yes, Elle. Present day.”
All the air presses from my body.
“Present… You…?” I stammer. “He…” I swallow hard. “He’s in Arkansas?” I try to rationalize this. “My brother, Alex… is in Arkansas?”
Connor watches me carefully. “Yes.”
“Oh my God!” My mind catches up to the situation unfolding. “YOU FOUND HIM? YOU FOUND ALEX! YOU BOUGHT US TICKETS! YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE HE IS!”
“Now you do too.” He nods lovingly. “The tickets are for the first week in January. His phone number is on that piece of paper.”
I inhale a deep, shuddering breath. “I can… call him?”
“As much as you’d like.”
Risk: An Enemies to Lovers, Second Chance Romance Standalone (Brothers of Ink and Steel) Page 27