Extreme Devotion

by Kay Manis

  I laughed at the protective nature he’d already discovered for his unborn baby. He was so amazing.

  “I think this baby will be loved and protected its entire life, whether it’s a boy or girl, or both.”

  “Both!” His hands flew up to his head. “Are you having fucking twins, Hindley?”

  “No.” I laughed. “The doctor only heard one heartbeat.”

  “That shit’s not funny, at all.”

  “Actually, it was pretty funny.” I giggled.

  “God, I love the sound of your laughter,” he sighed.

  “What about me? Do you love me?”

  “Always.” His blue eyes focused on mine. “I’ll always love you, Hindley.”

  “Forever?” I asked.

  He leaned in and pressed his mouth to my ear. “F-O-R-E-V-E-R,” he spelled out.

  I nodded. “Forever.”

  Thank you for reading Extreme Devotion.

  The first two books in the X-Treme Love Series deal with serious real-life issues. If you or someone you know needs help, please click the Resources section of this book to find additional information.

  Be sure to turn the page for a sneak peek at

  Extreme Sacrifice: X-Treme Love Series, Book 3

  Dana and Peter’s love story

  Dana Di Grazio is fearless and feisty, but struggling to find her purpose in life. Hiding behind a hardened exterior, she’s erected walls to protect herself from the devastating losses of her past. When thrust into the role of caretaker for pro motocross rider, Peter Fontenot, she must sacrifice her own boundaries in order to care for him. Fear soon sets in when Dana realizes Peter may be the first man capable of breaking down her walls.

  When a motorcycle accident forces extreme sports champion, Peter Fontenot to rely on a foul-mouthed, Italian spitfire, he’s surprised to find himself drawn to someone so crass and ill-suited. Suddenly, Peter must rethink the expectations of his well-planned life. Dana is the one thing he doesn’t want, but the only thing he can’t live without.

  Can the spark between two opposites create a lasting fire? Or will it detonate an explosion that leaves them both alone…forever.

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  X-Treme Love Series, Books 1-4

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  Book 2: Extreme Devotion

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  Book 3: Extreme Sacrifice

  Book 4: Extreme Trust

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  Excerpt from Extreme Sacrifice

  X-Treme Love Series, Book 3

  -DANA-

  I barely recognized the once dilapidated warehouse as I entered the skating venue, located on Austin’s east side of town. The area wasn’t exactly the safest for a single gal like me, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

  This was the first time our city had hosted the X Games and people were coming out for the event like dollar bills at a titty bar. Most of these idiots didn’t know shit about extreme sports. They were only here for the cameras. My reasons to brave this crazy-ass crowd ran deeper than the event itself though.

  My good friend Leif Jennings had done an amazing job refurbishing the space into an extreme skate park. Leif’s company, Fly by Nite Skate Park Development, won the bid to design this year’s skateboarding venue. It was really a no-brainer—he lived here, he employed people from here, and he was the best at his craft.

  “Dana!” someone shouted from down below. I turned my head toward the familiar voice that had been a part of my life for over twenty years, ever since Ms. Alferia had paired us up as badminton partners in second grade. As our eyes connected, we both traveled back in time, turning seven all over again—jumping up and down, and squealing like we hadn’t seen each other in ages. I flew down the stairs in double-time, nearly tripping over myself to get to her.

  “Hindley!” I screamed as I wrapped her in my arms.

  Hindley Hagen was my best friend. Well, now her name was Hindley Gregor since marrying Leif’s best friend, pro skateboarder Rory Gregor. Hindley and I had been inseparable since elementary school, done everything together our entire lives, and we held no secrets.

  Well, almost none.

  “Oh, my God, I can’t believe you’re here!” I yelled, holding on to her like the security blanket she’d always been for me. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “We’ve missed you too,” she whispered.

  “Oww!” I shouted as a searing pain shot through my scalp. The familiar tug on my hair was an instant reminder of the bundle of joy I really wanted to see, the reason I’d braved the crowds. I leaned back to gaze at the most amazing face I’d ever seen. Her bright blue eyes, blonde ringlet hair, pouty, rose-tinted lips and chubby cheeks were my reward. I didn’t want to admit it, but she looked a lot like her daddy, and acted like him too. There was no denying it. This little creature belonged to my best friend and her husband, and I loved her every bit as much as they did.

  “Hey, Squirt,” I teased as Hindley’s daughter, Abbi, giggled in devilish joy. Hindley and I couldn’t help but join in.

  “Don’t encourage her,” Hindley admonished.

  “Who, me? Auntie Dana, encourage my niece’s unruly behavior? What in the world would ever make you believe I could do such a thing?” Hindley stared at me for a nanosecond before we both burst into laughter.

  “Come here, Abbi Wabbi,” I cooed, yanking her out of Hindley’s arms. “Who loves their Auntie Dana?” I asked in my most genuine baby talk. Usually I made fun of dumbasses who talked to babies like that, but when it came to Abbi, I willingly tossed out every ounce of self-respect.

  “Meh, meh, meh!” Abbi replied. I lifted the toddler high in the air, placing bubbly kisses along the exposed skin of her belly. Her laughter filled the air and was just as infectious as her mother’s. God, I missed Hindley and Rory and their beautiful baby girl, Abigail Adele. She’d been named after me, both of us sharing the same middle name as my mother. Everyone called her Abbi though since the day she was born.

  “I can’t believe how big she is.” It always amazed me how much Abbi had changed every time I saw her.

  “She’s almost sixteen months now and has eight teeth,” Hindl
ey proudly announced.

  I’d always wondered why new moms gave the age of their kid in weeks and months, instead of years like the rest of us. And why had milestones like how many teeth they had, how many hours they slept consistently through the night, or if they were pissing and pooping in a toilet, suddenly become major news stories? Hindley was my best friend though and I loved every morsel of information she offered me about anything related to my precious Abbi.

  “Show Aunt Dana all your teeth, big girl,” Hindley encouraged her baby. Abbi locked her lips and shook her head and I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction. If Abbi didn’t want to do something, she wasn’t going to do it, just like her momma.

  “You don’t want to show Auntie Dana your teeth?” I sulked in the most pathetic voice I could muster, hoping to coax her. There was no way Abbi was going to show me her array of teeth, no matter how much I pouted. I’d have to try another approach if I wanted to see her new pearly whites.

  “Well, if you had teeth, I was going to take you downstairs and get you some nachos, but…” Suddenly, Abbi clapped her pudgy hands together and squealed in anticipation, folding her arms around my neck like we were magnetized.

  “Well, I guess we know what she’s motivated by.” Hindley smirked.

  “Like mother, like daughter, apparently.”

  “You know she can’t eat nachos, right?”

  “I’ll let the cheese soak ’em until they’re good and soggy, won’t I, Abbi?” I poked my finger in her belly, tickling her relentlessly.

  I had no idea you could love something or someone as much as I did Abbi. Right from the start, I’d worshiped the little squirt. If she wanted it, I got it for her, no questions asked. That’s what aunts were for, right?

  Hindley and Rory were on the road so much with his skating, I didn’t get to spend nearly enough time with Abbi. I had to take every opportunity I could to spoil her rotten. Thanks to webcams and mobile chatting, I never went more than a few days without seeing her precious face.

  Rory and Hindley lived in California, but rarely stayed there. Rory was constantly on the road, competing in extreme sports competitions around the world. After they discovered Hindley was pregnant, they started flying back to Austin at least once a month, wanting to spend time with family and friends and keep a watchful eye on Rory’s youth center.

  The facility, Shelly’s Hangout, was named in memory of Rory’s sister who’d died of a drug overdose as a teenager. The center helped at-risk youth get the tutoring, counseling and playtime they needed in a fun, nurturing and safe environment. It was equipped with large classrooms and an amazing skatepark designed by Leif. I even volunteered there from time to time.

  The entire project had been Rory’s idea, brought on by his own struggles with illiteracy as an adult. The facility was such a huge success that the City of Austin actually asked Rory and Hindley to work in a joint venture with them to develop other centers around town. It was a major accomplishment for Rory and a testament to how far he’d come in such a short amount of time. He said he owed all of his success, whether in the classroom or on the track, to his beautiful wife, Hindley. They were inseparable, and although I was so gloriously happy for the two of them, I’d be lying if I didn’t confess I was a little jealous too.

  When Hindley’s pregnancy progressed to the point where she could no longer travel, she and Rory decided to stay in Austin until the baby was born so she could be around her family, which included me. Before I could even bat an eye, they were back on the road again with infant Abbi in tow. Rory said there was no way he’d leave either one of them behind, and Hindley said there was no way she’d ever stop him from competing. As long as they were all together, they were happy, and that made me happy, even though I missed them all terribly.

  Sometimes, it hurt that Hindley had moved on without me. But then other times, like these, when I could revel in all that was Abbi and spend time spoiling her, I forgot about my own desolate future.

  Since Leif lived in Austin full-time, his parents, Kara and Jack Jennings, decided to trade in the cool mountain air of Denver for the stifling heat of Austin. They wanted to be closer not only to Leif but to Rory as well. Kara and Jack had basically adopted Rory at the age of sixteen when they found him living alone in a skatepark, a scared and abandoned teenager.

  I also think Kara and Jack moved here because they secretly hoped Leif and I would someday tie the knot and have a shitload of kids, but that was never going to happen.

  Leif was my best friend, second only to Hindley, and I loved him dearly. Everyone wanted Leif and me to become romantically involved and that only made our decision to remain just friends even harder for people to understand as they tried to push us together.

  Leif was everything to me, but it had never been like that for us. We tried to tell everyone but no one ever listened. Instead, they were insistent that one day we’d realize our friendship had blossomed into something much stronger. They were so fuckin’ clueless. I could have assured them that day would never happen, but that was Leif’s story and was best kept close to my heart.

  “Ready, Squirt?” I asked Abbi as I bounced her on my hip. She nodded enthusiastically. “Let’s go. See ya, Momma!” I shouted over my shoulder, giving Hindley no opportunity to resist the kidnapping of her daughter.

  I half jogged down the ramp toward the concession stand, watching Abbi’s beautiful blonde ringlets bounce with every step, her giggles echoing throughout the vast underground cavern.

  Rory’s first event wasn’t scheduled for another few hours, but already, the crowds were growing. Since the X Games was an international event, everyone was primping and priming, getting ready for the cameras. Normally, the crowd wouldn’t have affected me that much. But now it meant the lines at the concession stand were longer and that made people more unruly than usual. Abbi would turn irritable and impatient if we didn’t get nachos quick, and I knew those two things combined would turn lethal for me and those around us.

  “You’re just like your daddy, you know that, Squirt?”

  “Da-da.”

  “That’s right. He’s your daddy, isn’t he?” She bobbed her head in silent jubilee. Abbi adored Rory. And he was such a wonderful father. I laughed, remembering him as he blubbered and cried the minute they placed Abbi in his arms. Rory was a natural, his fatherly instincts kicking in the second Abbi was born, and it hurt me that he’d ever doubted his own parental abilities. Hindley and Rory had overcome so many obstacles. Knowing their lives were so full now, after going through such turmoil in the beginning of their relationship, brought immeasurable joy to my heart. It also brought out the green-eyed monster in me a little too. A little? Girl, you’re a lotta green-eyed jealous.

  “Dah-nah,” Abbi called out to me in distress, stroking my face with her pudgy hand, her gentle act bringing me back to the present and reminding me of the good things in my life.

  “Oh, my God, I can’t believe you just said my name.” I grinned. She slid her chubby little arms around my neck and nestled into my shoulder as I inhaled her delicious baby scent.

  I rubbed Abbi’s back, working my way up through her curly locks. “I love you, little Squirt,” I whispered in her ear. One of her hands slowly slipped down my back as she began to rhythmically pat me. This was exactly what I needed, unconditional love from the little girl who’d captured my heart the instant she was born.

  “What can I get you two pretty ladies?” The attendant’s voice rang out from behind the counter, breaking our moment.

  “One order of large nachos, please.”

  “Yah!” Abbi clapped.

  “Anything to drink, hun?”

  I turned my attention to Abbi. I’m sure Hindley packed some type of nutritious, kiddie fruit drink shit for Abbi, but it was my turn to spoil my niece. “Whatcha want, Squirt?” She looked at me with the most adorable frown. “What do you have?” I asked the attendant.

  “For the little lady there,” he said, looking over at Abbi, “we’ve
got Sprite, Coke, Dr. Pepper and Hi-C Fruit Punch.”

  “See, see, see!” Abbi exclaimed. We both started laughing at her enthusiasm.

  “Hi-C it is, I guess,” I answered. He filled a small cup and secured it with a lid, pointing toward the side of the counter.

  “Straws and napkins are right over there, ladies,” he instructed, giving Abbi a wink as she took the cup in her hands. “And for you, Momma?” he asked.

  “Oh, thank you, but I’m not her mom,” I corrected. “I’m not anyone’s mom at all, actually.” The words rang through my soul with an echo of finality so sharp, my breath caught as my heart spasmed in pain. “I don’t think her momma would ever agree to Hi-C Fruit Punch.” My nervous laughter gave me away. “I’m actually her aunt. Well, not by blood, but still.” Why did I suddenly feel the need to explain my relationship to this guy? Shut up, just shut the fuck up, please.

  “Well then, what will it be for you, sweet Auntie?”

  “What do you have on tap?” I asked. My nerves were beginning to get the best of me already and I knew alcohol would cure what ailed me, even if it was only temporary.

  “Let’s see,” he answered, turning around to look at the choices. “We’ve got Bud, Bud Light, Miller Light, Coors Light and Heineken.” I laughed to myself. Leave it to Texas to carry all domestics and one lone German brew.

  “No local?”

  “’Fraid not, sweetheart.”

  “All right, give me a Heineken, please.”

  “One Heineken, comin’ up. I’ll just need to see some I.D.”