by Molly O'Hare
Stumbling Into Forever
Stumbling Through Life Book Two
Molly O’Hare
Copyright 2019 Molly O’Hare
eBook License Notes
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form. Stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means. This includes, but is not limited to, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied without prior consent of the author & publisher. All characters and towns are figments of the author’s imagination and bear no resemblance to any person living or deceased if there is any resemblance it is entirely coincidental.
Cover model: iStock photo
Cover art: Wildelake Creative
Disclaimer: This title is intended for mature audiences due to adult situations and languages.
Molly O’Hare
Be You Publishing, LLC
www.MollyOHareauthor.com
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Teased by Fire Sneak Peek
Also by Molly O’Hare
About the Author
Acknowledgments
First, I want to thank every reader that fell in love with Ben and Holly just as I did. Without you all, this story would have never come around.
There are so many people I want to thank.
Richelle Emory, I could not have done this without you. It’s not even a question. There were so many days I wanted to give up, but you were always there for me. You kept me grounded and sane. Without you, this book wouldn’t be here. I still can’t believe we’ve only known each other for a year when it feels like forever. GW all the way!
I know I always thank Angela Verdenius, and I probably always will. She was the one that pushed me to publish my first book. Without her, none of this would have been possible.
Annika Martin - you have always been such an inspiration to me. From day one you’ve supported me and helped me grow as an author. I am so unbelievably thankful for you.
Britt, Ari, and Julia – you took me under your wings and let me soar. I will never be able to find the words to truly express what you mean to me. So, I won’t even try. You already know how much I love you.
Karen – My editor and friend. You’ve been there since before day one. I will forever be in your debt for you telling me to follow my dreams. Without that, I wouldn’t be here. At all.
Sheridan – you’re perfect. You’ve helped me in so many ways. I truly love you.
Jody – even though we haven’t known each other long, I am so grateful for you. You’ve taught me so much. You inspire me every day. Thank you for being you, and thank you for always making sure I don’t get lazy.
Christina, Leslee, my tribe, everyone that has helped support me, you all mean the world to me. Without you all, I wouldn’t be here. Each day I am humbled by all that you do, for me and everyone else in this community. Thank you.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the Holly’s out there looking for your Ben. He’s out there. And, for all the Holly’s that have their Ben’s, Rock on!
Also, in good old Molly O’Hare fashion, you are amazing. You are beautiful, you are special. You are a mother fucking unicorn. Rock your stuff, because no one is just like you and that’s amazing.
Go forth and keep kicking ass.
And if no one has told you today, I will: You are fucking perfect.
Xoxo
Chapter One
“Drop that donut right now, Waffles or so help me I’m gonna murder you and enjoy it!”
Ben Richman heard his wife, Holly, yelling from their kitchen. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he removed their cat Twitch from his lap and made his way through the house to investigate.
What has she gotten herself into now? A smirk spread across his face.
“Don’t you run away from me, Waffles! That’s mine and you know it!” The growl Ben heard coming from Holly had him laughing. Leave it to her to argue with a dog. Then again, this was Lord Waffles they were talking about. Arguing with him was a must, as Ben had come to find out since meeting Holly and her overly opinionated, high and mighty Corgi.
As he rounded the corner, he saw his oh so graceful wife, running around the kitchen island chasing after their dog.
The same dog that just so happened to have Holly’s last donut in his mouth.
As Waffles ran past where Ben stood, the dog had the gall to eye him, almost begging to get the crazy lady to stop chasing him.
Figures. Ben rolled his eyes.
He’d be lying if he didn’t say there was a part of him that wanted to watch the catastrophe he was sure was about to happen. Everyone knew whatever Waffles wanted, Waffles got, and if that meant destroying everything in his wake, or taking his mother’s last donut, even though he knew he’d be staring death in the eyes, he’d do it. Everyone was beneath Waffles, and he made sure they knew it. Including his mother, who clearly wanted that last donut bad enough, she’d fight for it.
Ben shook his head with a sigh. As much as he’d like to watch the explosion, there was another part of him, a bigger part, that wanted to make sure no one ended up on the floor in a pile of blood because they banged their head against the countertop.
And by no one, he meant Holly.
Better get this over with.
“Grace, stop chasing him before you end up on your ass.” He laughed as he stepped into the kitchen.
Ben had learned a thing or two after being married to Holly for the better part of a year, and there was no doubt in his mind what was coming next.
He strategically placed his hands out in front of him.
Within seconds, Holly came barreling into his arms at full speed. Although Ben was prepared, he somehow lost his footing causing them both to cascade onto the floor with a loud oomph.
“Ahh!” Holly screamed as they landed.
The moment they were on the floor she tried to jump off him. You know that fight-or-flight instinct? Ben wasn’t having any of it though. He held onto her hips keeping her locked in place on top of him.
“What on earth am I going to do with you, Grace?” Ben chuckled, as he helped Holly straighten herself so she was now straddling his waist.
“Where in the world did you freakin’ come from?” Holly huffed while she pushed her auburn hair out of her face. She didn’t wait for an answer, instead she scanned the room for any sign of his holiness.
As if on cue, Lord Waffles walked passed them with the donut in his mouth and an extra pep in his step.
Holly growled as she narrowed her eyes at the betraying bastard. The moment Waffles shot her a wink, Ben had to stop her from lunging.
Ben’s brows shot to the ceiling when Waffles winked at him too.
Waffles freaking winked at him.
No matter how many times he’d seen Waffles demand his peasants listen to him, Ben still couldn’t beli
eve it. For a dog, he sure did have a lot of quirks. In the name of veterinary medicine, maybe he should study him, possibly resea-
“You knew that was mine!” Holly made a second lunge for Waffles as he happily chomped on his treasure taunting her.
Thank god Ben’s reflexes were sharp, that’s what happens after spending years having to wrestle Rottweilers. And clearly, Holly couldn’t be trusted not to strangle their dog right now.
In one swift movement, Ben grabbed onto Holly’s hips flipping her onto her back and under him with ease. “It’s too late now, Grace. You wouldn’t want it after he’s slobbered all over it anyway.”
“Says you!” Holly glared at him. “That was my last peanut butter and glazed donut. I’ve been saving it until I reached my word count. He knew that! We talked about it in great detail when I was struggling to hit my next two thousand words. He did this on purpose.” Holly’s eyes snapped to Waffles who was swallowing the last bite before licking his lips. “I’m gonna remember this the next time you need something.” She glared at him before she threw her head back onto the floor in defeat. “That was my donut.”
The pout that spread across Holly’s mouth had Ben laughing.
And he wondered where Waffles got his flair for the dramatics?
“I’ll buy you more.” Ben shook his head in amusement before bending to kiss Holly lightly on the lips. As he looked down at his wife, a smile ran across his face. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have found Holly. Even though that meeting involved her getting hit in the face with a rogue Frisbee, which now knowing Holly wasn’t all that surprising. She was, after all, a master at tripping on thin air, falling over, and if you looked up the word klutz in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of her, with the title walking disaster under it. But to him, she was absolutely perfect in every way. From her lush hips down to the deep hunter green of her eyes.
Holly was made for him.
“It won’t be the same,” she protested as she pushed the palm of her hand to his chest and gave a nudge. “And stop calling me Grace! You jumped in front of me. It was your fault I ended up crashing into you. Not mine. What was I supposed to do? You came out of freakin’ nowhere!”
Ben threw his head back and burst out laughing.
When he heard a growl, he winked at Holly. “I don’t know, Grace. How about stop?”
“As if I could stop. Once this load starts a-movin’ nothing is stopping it.”
Ben brows shot to the ceiling. “Excuse me?”
Panic flashed through Holly’s eyes.
Good. After all this time you should know better than to say shit like that.
Before Ben could say anything more, though, Ripley came bouncing into the kitchen, with Twitch right on her tail.
“Oh, oh, Ripley, baby girl, come save your momma,” Holly cooed at their other dog, Ripley their Australian shepherd.
Ripley quickly made her way over to Holly’s face and started licking. “That’s not saving me!” Holly squirmed as she did her best to avoid the onslaught of kisses coming from Ripley.
That’s when Ben felt something nudge his arm.
He looked down to see Twitch — rightly named so because of the slight twitch he has in his head from some punk kid poisoning him when he was a kitten.
Twitch jumped onto Holly’s chest trying to lick at her face just as Ripley was, causing Ben to laugh harder.
Somewhere along the lines, Twitch had taken to Ripley like she was his own mother and converted himself into being a dog.
Where Ripley went. Twitch went.
Whatever Ripley did. Twitch did.
His heart warmed at the memories of Ripley and Waffles play fighting and Twitch trying to jump in and hold his own. The play fighting only lasted a few seconds before Ripley would grab Twitch in her mouth and take him away from the fight.
Go figure. Protective. Just like Holly.
Although right now, Holly looked more like she wanted to throttle Waffles rather than protect him.
Twitch looked at Ripley before assessing they were still kissing their mother. So, he dove back in.
At this point, Ben was positive all their animals were certifiably insane. And with their ringmaster, Lord Waffles, with plans of world domination, calling most of the shots he’d given up trying to make any sense of it.
And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Life was always an adventure between their pets and Holly.
Oh, and Ben couldn’t forget Mildred. Holly’s completely inappropriate older coworker at the local library. Whenever Mildred was around, things always got interesting.
Ben pushed himself off Holly before grabbing onto her arms yanking her to her feet. “Up you go, Grace.”
“I’m going to put arsenic in your dinner tonight.”
“That’d be a welcomed taste with your cooking.” At Holly’s narrowed eyes he barked out a laugh. “Come on. You know it’s true. Sexy, talented, outspoken, kind-hearted, feisty, best writer in the world you are, a chef you ain’t. Or do you want me to bring up the time you almost burnt the house down when you tried to make chicken tenders?”
Another growl came from Holly. “That wasn’t my fault!”
“Yes, my bad, that’s right it was the chicken’s fault.”
“Damn right it was! Plus, I was only trying to be nice and feed you and John because you guys were working hard moving my crap in.”
“Oh, we got a break from moving your shit in when we had to call the fire department.” Ben smirked at her narrowed eyes and thinned lips.
“Am I ever going to live that down?”
“No.” Ben’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Hey, at least I’m not as bad as John.”
Annoyed Holly jerked herself away from him and grabbed her bag. “You and John can kiss my ass.”
When she started for the front door Ben hollered after her, “Where do you think you’re going?”
From over her shoulder, Holly shot him an evil look. “Out to get more donuts.”
At the word “donut” Waffles ran to Holly’s side and started jumping. Well, if you can consider whatever Waffles does with his tiny little legs jumping.
“Not for you!” Holly sidestepped Waffles shooting her glare from Ben to their dog.
Holly almost made it all the way to the front door without an incident.
Almost.
As she moved through the hallway, she tripped over an invisible crack and stumbled. Without looking back at Ben, she quickly righted herself before blowing her hair out of her face.
Ben did a quick assessment of her to make sure she was okay. When he realized she was fine, he let out a laugh.
As Ben opened his mouth to tell her to bring him back some donuts too, Holly did what she was known for. She tripped over the entranceway and nearly fell right out of the door.
Ben had to bite back his joy, as his smile spread from ear to ear. Never a dull moment.
Holly straightened herself with a huff as she hiked her bag higher onto her shoulder. Once she was composed, she turned to face him with narrowed eyes. “Not. A. Word.”
Ben held his hands up in surrender as he bit his lip, trying and failing to keep from laughing.
The second Holly turned from him and stomped out of the door, he shouted, “And you wonder why I’ll never stop calling you Grace!”
Chapter Two
Holly plopped the box of donuts onto her desk as she threw herself into her chair with a sigh.
Universe, if you love me at all, please let today be an easy day.
“What did ya bring me?” Mildred, Holly’s coworker, made her way towards Holly with her eyes honed in on the box.
Holly had to do a double take. Seriously, like where in the hell had Mildred come from? For an old woman, she sure was fast.
Before Holly could even register Mildred had her sights on Holly’s delectable goodies, the old hag had one of the donuts shoved into her mouth.
“Damn, this is good,” Mildred mumbled arou
nd the food.
Holly’s eyes widened for a brief second trying to stop her brain from short-circuiting. Wasn’t it a known rule older woman needed to watch their sugar intake? Holly watched as Mildred chomped on the donut.
Clearly not.
Holly rolled her eyes before opening the box to grab a peanut butter and glazed donut. “I know. That’s why I bought them.”
“Mine!” Mildred snatched the donut from Holly’s hand bringing it to her mouth before taking a big bite. “You don’t need any sweets when you got that hunk of burning man meat to satisfy all your cravings.” Mildred took another bite of the donut as Holly watched in horror.
I’ll kill her! No one would blame me!
“Cat got your tongue there, missy?” Mildred winked. “Or, should I say dog got your tongue?” She licked the remainder of the peanut butter glaze off her fingers with a pop. “You get it? ‘Cause you have dogs.”
Do not kill your coworker. Do not kill your coworker. Holly narrowed her eyes at her. “I also have a cat. You know, Mildred, you are so unbelievably lucky I already ate one on the way here. If I hadn’t, you’d be a dead woman.” Holly opened the box and blindly grabbed for a tasty treat making sure not to break eye contact with the old hag.