“There are phones, Frankie!” he snapped. “Phones and planes. Hell, you could have gotten into your car and driven back to Montana!”
She nodded, but couldn’t speak. There was silence for a long time, then she finally whispered, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
“What were you wrong about?”
Normally, Frankie might have become angry. But she understood why Kade needed more from her.
“I was wrong to leave you like I did. I should have stayed and talked it out.”
“What’s going to happen when you get scared next time?”
She snuggled against him, beginning to feel better. “I’m going to run away and hide,” she teased.
He landed a solid swat to her behind. Frankie laughed, wiggling against him. “Ow!” she nipped his earlobe. “That hurt.”
He shifted their bodies so that she was cradled in his arms. “I’ve been hurting ever since you left me in Miami, Frankie. Every damn day, I’ve been angry and missing you, furious that you are so incredibly stubborn.”
She stared up at him, stroking his cheek. “Is that why you came here to me?”
“Yes. I couldn’t stay away any longer. I wanted you to come to me, but then I spoke to Janus and Linc. They told me how you were trying to kill yourself, slowly.”
She sighed, all teasing gone now. “Not killing myself,” she muttered.
He nodded slowly. “Punishing yourself,” he corrected, his voice deep and husky. “But if you’d come back to me, there would have been no need to punish yourself. Or me.”
“I won’t do it again.”
He sighed and kissed her. “Yes. You will.” He kissed her more deeply this time. “Wait until you get pregnant. You’ll run scared again when that happens.”
His words struck something deep down inside of her. The idea of becoming pregnant was so terrifying that she cringed, almost falling out of his arms and onto the floor.
“No kids!”
His arms tightened comfortingly and he kissed her again. “No kids for a long time. Not until you’re ready.”
That seemed to still the quaking inside her and she tightened her arms around his neck. “Thank you!”
He looked at her, amusement in his eyes. “You come across as so tough and fierce, Frankie. But deep down inside, you’re just a creampuff, aren’t you?”
She kissed him. “Don’t tell anyone!”
He threw back his head, laughing. “Sorry to tell you this, but my brothers already know. As do their wives.”
She rolled her eyes and snuggled up against him. “What are you going to do about your father?”
“You mean Edward Meyers?”
“He’s your father, Kade.”
“No, he lost the right to call himself anyone’s father when he kicked us out of his life.”
“Right. So, are you going to accept his money? It’s your birthright.”
“Not a chance. I want nothing to do with his money.”
She laughed. “Since you are worth about ten times his net worth, it’s easier to say that.”
He chuckled softly. “Yeah, it’s easier to ignore money when I don’t need it. I’m not sure I would have been so opposed to the idea when I was growing up.”
She looked at him, her eyes searching his. “Was it really that bad?”
“Yeah,” he said, softly. “It really was. There were days my mom went without dinner, pretending she was stuffed from some work party she’d gone to, just so that I could eat the last can of beans in the house.”
“That’s horrible,” Frankie gasped. “I had no idea!”
“Edward did. He visited her once. He knew that we’d lived in poverty. He sneered at my mother.” He sighed and leaned back, one hand draped across her lap, the other still wrapped around her back. “That was also the day that I decided to make more money than him. I vowed to myself that I’d never touch anything of his. Ever.”
“How old were you?”
“Eight. I remember that day clearly because I’d been held back in my math class and wasn’t allowed to eat lunch. We had no food in the house, so I was starving that night. I was able to go to school the next day and get the subsidized breakfast. It was always embarrassing that I was one of the few kids who arrived early in order to get the free breakfast. But that day, I didn’t care. It was also the day I started to study harder. I knew that an education was the only way I was going to make it out of that kind of life. The only way I was going to beat that man and make him eat his words.”
“And you did,” she said softly. Kissing him was the most natural thing at that moment. “I’m proud of you.”
“You are going to marry me, right?”
She stared at her hand, the diamond glittering on her fingers. Then she looked up at him. “Are you sure that you want to marry a coward like me?” she asked carefully.
“You’re only a coward when it comes to emotions. Now that I know that, I know how to handle you.”
She laughed. “Good. Then yes, I’ll marry you. And I’ll have kids with you. Lots of kids. In about ten years, we’ll start.”
He laughed, and kissed her again. “I love you, Frankie.”
“I love you too, Kade.”
Epilogue
Frankie waddled out to the back porch, squinting into the sunshine. “Kade!” she bellowed, resting a hand on her round belly.
A half a second later, Kade’s head poked out of the door of one of the barns. “Frankie?” he called out. “Are you okay?”
Frankie smiled, her heart warmed by his concern. “I’m fine,” she called back. “Just wanted to let you know that everyone will be here in a few minutes.”
Kade stepped out of the barn, dusting off his hands as he moved across the yard towards her. When he was only a foot away, he looked down at her. “How do you feel?”
Frankie rubbed her hands over her round belly, grinning. “Really good,” she told him with a delighted smile. “If I’d known how great it feels to be pregnant, I would have done this a long time ago!”
Kade groaned, feigning a shudder, but he moved closer, resting his hands on her belly as he bent to kiss her. “I don’t know if I can take another pregnancy like this one,” he warned her.
Frankie laughed, shaking her head. “You love it,” she argued.
He chuckled and kissed her again. “Yeah, I do. If I’d known that you’d be this sexually voracious, I would have convinced you to get pregnant years ago,” he mocked.
Frankie laughed, but at that moment, several cars appeared on the horizon. “They’re here,” she whispered. “You’re going to have to behave now.”
He sighed. “Right. Behave.”
Frankie took his hand. “No crazy horse rides with your nieces and nephews,” she admonished.
“Right, like they are going to let us do that?” he teased. “And besides, it’s Janus and Linc who love galloping around out in the fields. The kids just encourage their antics.”
Frankie shuddered, her hand tightening around his. “Just…don’t tell me about it, okay?”
Kade laughed, pulling her against his side as they stepped out onto the porch to watch Kade’s half siblings arrive. Three cars pulled up and Frankie smiled, excited to see her friends and sisters-in-law again. Yeah, this was going to be a great week!
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Keep scrolling for a sneak preview of “An Unexpected Affair” – Brock
and Evie’s story! I hope that you enjoy it!
Excerpt to “An Unexpected Affair”
Release Date: June 18, 2021
Get Brock and Evie’s Story HERE!
The miserable scent of fear and desperation was thick in the room. Evie Monroe stepped into the small, cramped space, tugging her ragged baseball cap lower over her eyes as she looked around for a chair.
Unfortunately, Evie hadn’t arrived early enough to snag a seat and the waiting room was only standing room now.
Didn’t matter, she thought with gritty determination as she walked over to the metal table and added her name to the sign in sheet. She could do this!
Moving back to a far corner of the room, she pulled the script out of her bag and pretended to do what all of the others were doing; looked over the audition lines. But instead of mentally going over the script one more time, she looked around, peering through the fake glasses she’d donned as a disguise, sizing up the competition.
Good grief, it had been a long time since she’d had to sit in a casting call room. Not since she’d been five years old had she endured the humiliation and desperation of an open casting call. Banishing those miserable memories, Evie tugged her ball cap lower, praying that her disguise was effective.
Two miserable, sweaty hours later, she heard, “Evelyn Munroe!”
Jumping to her feet, Evie grabbed her bag. “That’s me,” she said and nervously walked towards the tired woman who had been calling out names about in approximate ten minute intervals. The receptionist had probably started out the day enthusiastically, but it was now five o’clock in the afternoon and she looked burned out and irritated with the repetitious task.
“This way,” the receptionist intoned without any inflection to her voice, leading Evie down the same hallway the poor woman had traveled about a hundred times already that day. She paused by a door, took a deep breath, then pushed open the door. “Evelyn Munroe,” she announced, then stepped back to allow Evie to enter the small room.
Evie nodded her thanks, but the woman had already pulled the door closed. Evie understood the poor woman’s expression. Too many people had come to Las Angeles with stars in their eyes only to realize the movie industry was well known for chewing people up and spitting them out.
Pushing the receptionist out of her mind, she took a deep breath as she turned to face the judges. Goodness, what was she doing?! Why was she here? Why was she putting herself through this horror?!
“Ready?” one of the men sitting behind a long folding table asked, seeming to be just as defeated and painfully bored as the receptionist.
“Read page six of the script,” a woman instructed flatly.
That’s when the third member of the panel glanced up.
Stunned, Evie stared. It couldn’t be! No way! Brock Severson?
“Whenever you are ready,” he prompted, obviously just as exhausted and uninterested as the others, but trying to be polite as he shifted on the plastic chair set up behind a cheap, faux-wood folding table.
No, it couldn’t be. Brock Severson was a former actor who had stepped behind the camera! As a producer and director, he was one of the most sought after directors in the industry!
“Ms…” the female judge glanced down at the name on the paper impatiently, “Munroe, we don’t have time for gawking. Either read the lines or leave so we can bring in the next person.”
Right! Casting call! Movie of a lifetime! This was her chance to get away from the ridiculous sitcoms and romantic comedies…the only roles she’d been offered. This was her break! This was her opportunity to prove that she was more than just a pretty face and perky boobs!
“Right!” She dug into her bag that was, thankfully, still hanging on her shoulder. She pulled out a pair of spike heels. Part of her character, she’d thought when she’d read the script.
Walking over to the wall, she put the shoes down and slipped them on, dumped her bag, and turned, tugging her ball cap down again.
Moving back to the middle of the open space, she dropped the script on the floor. Breathed in. Closed her eyes and…heard an impatient sigh from one of the judges as she slowly let the breath out. When she opened her eyes again, she was centered. She was in character. Correction, she WAS Lucy Decroix!
Stalking across the room, she led with her shoulders, trying to convey her eagerness. “Senator, you know me. You know what I can do!”
Someone from the table supplied the next line. “Look, I know that you’re John Decroix’s daughter, but that doesn’t mean…!”
“Forget my father!” Evie snapped, impatiently slicing through the air with one hand. “I’m the one that can get this job done. If you don’t think so, then tell me that.” She scowled at the blank wall, pretending that her counterpart was there instead. “But don’t dismiss me simply because of who my father is.”
There was a long silence, then someone gave the next line. “You’re just a girl.”
Evie defiantly lifted her chin, her lips pressed together into a thin line of indignation. “So, which is it, Senator? Are you arguing that I can’t get the job done because of my father’s reputation? Or because I have breasts?”
There was a long pause, because she’d changed the words. The actual line was “…because I’m female.” But Evie thought her version was more powerful.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Relief surged through her. They weren’t going to kick her out for changing the line. Not yet, at least. “Neither issue is relevant. Dismissing me for either reason means you’re an idiot. You know I can get the job done and you’re just being a sexist pig.”
There was a moment of silence and Evie went for broke. Turning, she stared at the female judge through the lightly tinted glasses. “Should I go on to the next scene?”
The three judges stared at her and Evie could feel it. They were interested! She knew it! She’d nailed it! This role was perfect for her and she’d practiced this scene a zillion times!
Still, she fought not to glance at the tall man with his legs stretched out in front of him. Long legs, she thought, seeing them out of the corner of her eye.
“Sure. Why not?”
She nodded curtly. Turning, Evie hurried over to the spike heels and slipped her sneakers off, pushing her feet into the pumps. She took another moment to re-center her mind, then casually strolled into a new position, and nodded to the line reader.
“Hey there, pretty lady. What brings you to this bar?”
Evie’s stern expression changed. Her features softened and she pulled her glasses off. “Why, Senator,” her lips curled upwards as she added a slight southern accent, her body language shifting to one of unspoken sexual innuendo. “I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.” Leading with her hips this time, she walked over to the wall and, with a coy glance over her shoulder, toed off her shoes, allowing her lashes to lower ever so slightly as she pulled her toe back suggestively. “I would have gotten here a lot sooner if I’d known you were here.”
“Does your daddy know that you’re here?”
Evie giggled girlishly. “Of course my daddy doesn’t know I’m here,” she whispered, leaning forward seductively. “He’d probably spank me if he knew!” That was another line she’d added. Evie knew that adding lines to a casting call wasn’t just bad. It was pretty much forbidden. But she didn’t care. The scripted lines needed help and she knew how they should have been written! “Maybe you could fill in for my daddy,” she purred, letting her tongue dart out to wet her lips.
Brock stared, his heart pounding in his chest. This was it! This woman was who they’d been waiting for! Damn, just watching her, seeing the small changes in her body language and the subtle ways that she shifted her head, angling it just slightly, teasing, her silver eyes seeming to sparkle as she went through the lines.
She was perfect! Damn it, they’d been doing these damned casting calls for almost a week and none of the people who had read so far had even come close! But this woman…she was brillian
t! She wasn’t just playing the part “right”. She WAS the part! Somehow, this beautiful woman had become ‘Lucy’!
“Go to scene three!” he ordered, standing up and moving around the table.
Instantly, her body language shifted again. Her shoulders pulled back and her hand reached out, as if sliding along an imaginary table. “I told you not to do it,” she whispered throatily. The woman walked with her hips first. Sauntering. But no, that wasn’t exactly right. Her movements were more…more of a slither. Yes, that was right. This stunningly beautiful woman literally slithered across the audition space and her voice dripped with triumph! “But you ignored me, didn’t you?” She leaned forward. “They all do,” she whispered, as if saying the words into the man’s ear as he lay on the table. “And they all…die.”
The slight hesitation before she said that last word was exactly right. Exactly the way he had pictured the scene…but it was more. So much more when this woman said it!
“Cut!” Brock snapped. Turning away, stood up, tossing the script down onto the folding table. “Thank you.”
The brunette frowned, but he ignored her as he settled his hands on his hips, watching her startled expression. The “Thank you” was movie industry speak for “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
Get Brock and Evie’s Story HERE!
After Hours Desire (Forsaken Sons Book 3) Page 13