by Lexi Blake
“I can sit in a car.” She looked down at Poppy in her arms. Her daughter was sleeping since it was midafternoon and she seemed to like to sleep through the day and demand milk all night long. Though at least she’d managed to get Poppy to latch properly. That had been hard work, and worrying that her baby was getting enough to eat had briefly distracted her from worrying about her husband’s life.
“You’re not supposed to drive for a few weeks.” Holly sounded like she’d been told exactly what to say, as though Caleb had prepared her for this argument. “Or be in a car as a passenger for a long period of time. There are bumps in the road and the seatbelt would be uncomfortable. Henry wants you safe.” She turned Nell’s way. “They should be here soon. Are you worried?”
“About what?”
“About how you’re going to feel when you see him?” Holly moved to sit on the bed across from Nell. “I know you had made up when he was taken, but you’d also been through something traumatic. That can bond two people in the moment. Have you realized you’re still mad at him?”
She’d thought a lot about this in those hours when she couldn’t sleep. “No. I forgave him and I have to move on. I can’t keep going back to it, so no, I’m not still mad at him. I’m torn because I hate the fact that I want those people to never come after him again, and there’s only one solution and I sent it out in the world. I did it to protect my husband and my child, and I have to live with it.”
“You think those men will kill the people who took Henry?” Holly asked. “That Kayla woman seemed nice. I’m worried about her going into such a dangerous mission.”
She’d gotten to know Taggart. Tennessee Smith, not so much. But Kayla was a doll, and she’d kept Nell informed on every part of the mission that she possibly could. Those phone calls from Kayla Summers had been a lifeline.
“Oh, I’m fairly certain Ian was ready to burn down the entire cartel,” she admitted. “And that’s what bothers me, but I’ll get over it. Having to make that call…I know it’s not the same, but it’s a bit of what Henry had to do over the years. It’s hard to make those calls, but they’re necessary.”
“It haunts you even when you know you would do the same thing a million times over,” Holly said. She’d been the one to pull the trigger once, and Nell wouldn’t change a thing.
“It doesn’t change my mind that a nonviolent world is the best world, but there are times when it’s necessary.” She would do anything to protect her child.
There was the sound of tires crunching in the snow and Nell felt her heart flutter.
Holly was on her feet in an instant. “They’re here. Give me Poppy and get up carefully.”
Holly should be studying nursing because she’d been all over her like one. Nell could already feel tears welling as she looked down at her baby. “Daddy’s home.”
Poppy gave her that smile that everyone claimed was actually gas, but Nell knew better. She passed her over to Holly and got to her feet as quickly as she could. Holly had been right about moving as much as possible. She was already walking better, and it was a good thing because she really wanted to run.
Tears were pouring down her face because she could feel him. She wasn’t sure why or how, but she could feel him close, and it was like she was warm again.
Stef was opening the door and then Henry was walking through, and he only had eyes for her.
“Nell. Nell, baby, I’m so sorry,” he was saying as he moved to her.
She shook her head and then she was in his arms. “No. I’m sorry. I should have understood. It doesn’t matter. You’re all right.”
She laid her head against his chest and listened to his heart beating.
Henry stroked her hair. “I thought I wasn’t going to see you again. You did so good, baby. You did exactly what you should have.”
She sniffled and pulled back because they weren’t complete. Holly came forward and then Henry’s eyes went wide and he held out his arms.
“God, I thought I wasn’t going to see her again.” He took their daughter into his arms, cradling her gently.
“She missed her father,” Nell whispered.
“John Bishop has a kid. I never thought I would see the day.” Tennessee Smith stood in the hall, a smile on his face.
He wasn’t alone. They’d dropped Kayla off in LA, but Ian and Ten had chosen to stay and take Henry all the way home before making their way back to Dallas.
“I’m Henry Flanders,” Henry insisted.
This was what they needed to get right. “You’re both, and you need to feel free to be both, Henry. You’re the sum of all your parts, and ignoring the John Bishop part of your life didn’t work for us. You have to be okay with all of yourself, or how can we teach the same to Poppy?”
“I can work on that. I want her to be happy.” He drew Nell close. “I want you to be happy.”
He said it in an almost questioning way, as if he would walk away if she told him that was what it took for her to be happy.
That was the furthest thing from the truth. She needed him—all of him. “Seeing you safe makes me so happy. Having you home makes me the happiest. Don’t ever leave again.”
His lips kicked up. “I didn’t mean to leave this time.”
She glanced over at Ian. “Is it over?”
The big man gave her a nod. “We had a good talk and everyone’s agreed that Henry knows nothing.”
Everyone thought she was naïve. “Did you at least kill them in a humane fashion?”
It was Ian’s turn to grin. “If by humane you mean did I kill a dude, take his balls, and turn them into a chew toy for my dog, then yes.” He brightened. “Hey, when you think about it, I reduced human garbage. I reused some body parts and I totally recycled because there’s a bunch of ground that got some human fertilizer.”
She wasn’t sure Ian got the point, but she smiled anyway.
Henry winced. “Sorry about that, baby.”
She wasn’t. “Can we go home now?”
He kissed her forehead. “There is nothing I want more.”
She sighed in relief. It was time to finally bring their daughter home.
Spring
Epilogue
May had come and she was back where she’d been before, although this time she wasn’t the one lying in a hospital bed, staring down at a newborn.
“I can’t believe I have a baby.” Holly stared at her daughter. Little Amelia Burke-Markov had a single curl of dark hair on the top of her head. She was adorable, and her two dads already doted on her.
Of course one of them had delivered her despite the fact that he shouldn’t have. Caleb had upgraded both of the rooms in the clinic that was now rated as a small hospital.
“She’s so beautiful.”
Life seemed beautiful right now. Poppy was sleeping through the night and she and Henry were…they were playing again. Oh, they often got interrupted, but they weren’t going to let that part of their relationship go.
After all, they’d learned that they could get through anything as long as they were together.
The door opened and Laura walked through, Sierra in a sling around her body and a bag from Stella’s in her hand. “Did you hear that big guy who helped save Henry bought Hiram’s old place?”
Henry had made that happen. “Yes, Ian’s not planning on staying here all the time, but he’s bringing his family up this summer. He’s got two girls and two boys. His wife seems nice. They got a membership to Mountain and Valley.”
She missed going up to the retreat, but that time would come again. She had no doubt. For now she would sink into being Poppy’s mom and enjoying this time of her life.
Laura set their lunch down and frowned Nell’s way. “I heard he’s already put in for a permit to build on to the cabin.”
Nell gasped. “That cabin is a historical landmark.”
“No, it isn’t,” Holly corrected. “It’s kind of rundown.”
It was lovingly used, and Ian should be able to see that.
“It is the home of the first mayor of Bliss and should be honored as such. And if you believe Hiram, it’s where the great battle with the bear was fought. Now you know I firmly believe we should leave bears alone, but that fight with one of nature’s most magnificent predators formed many of the stories about Bliss over the years. How could he even think about changing a thing?”
“Well, he bought it and it’s his property, and like I said, a little rundown,” Holly began.
Laura shook her head. “No. Let her run with this. Come on. Don’t you want to see Nell take on the big bad ex-CIA guy?”
“The last time she did, she tamed him and now he wears Birkenstocks with socks and eats tofu,” Holly pointed out.
“Sometimes my feet get cold.” Henry was standing in the doorway. He had a sling wrapped around his body, their baby tucked happily inside. He took her wherever he could, always gentle and loving with their daughter. When he worked in his shop, he would bring her bouncy seat out and talk to her the whole time. “What’s this about Ian renovating Hiram’s old place? That’s a historical landmark.”
Laura’s lips had turned up in a mischievous grin. “Not technically. I think we’ll have to have a town hall to discuss it.”
Nell stood, a fire coming back into her that she hadn’t felt in forever. “And I shall protest Mr. Taggart. But we should also have his wife out to our club. I’ve heard she’s shot many a son of a bitch, and she makes excellent lemon tea cakes.”
“Then she’ll fit right in,” Holly replied.
“Are you ready, baby?” Henry asked. “We’ve got that protest at the Stop ’n’ Shop. I’ve put Poppy in her Fight the Patriarchy onesie.”
Then they were ready to go.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” she promised because she didn’t let a day go by without spending time with her sisters.
“Go get ’em, Nell,” Laura said.
It was time to make the world a better place. A more blissful place.
As a family.
Lucy, Michael, and Ty, and all of Bliss will return in Far From Bliss.
Author’s Note
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Bayou Dreaming
Butterfly Bayou, Book 3
By Lexi Blake
Coming December 1, 2020
Click here to purchase.
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake’s heartfelt contemporary romance set in Louisiana's Butterfly Bayou.
Roxanne King left the big city looking for a simpler life, but after years of proving herself on a SWAT team in New York City, being deputy in a sleepy Louisiana parish is something of an adjustment. She's settling in, but she knows she made some mistakes in the beginning--Zep Guidry being the worst of them. Zep drifts through life on his looks and Cajun charm. Roxie learned the hard way he's not for her.
Zep is a man who knows what he wants, and what he wants is Roxie. He's just not sure how to get her. They spent one hot night together a year before and now all the lovely deputy seems interested in doing to him is arresting him. He's not used to a woman he can't charm, but Roxie seems immune. He's determined to win her back by any means necessary. Including becoming the kind of man she desires.
And when Roxie's past comes calling, it might be the opportunity Zep needs to show Roxie that the town bad boy might just be the man of her dreams.
* * * *
The door opened and Lila walked in. “I’ve got good news and bad news. You do have a concussion, but it’s minor and my brother says the rest of your brain looks great. So you’ll be fine, but I either need to send you to the hospital for observation for the day or someone needs to stay with you.”
“I’ll be fine.” She wasn’t about to go to the hospital. No way. “Just give me some instructions and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll be completely in my hair because, like I said, I need to know someone is watching you for the next twelve hours,” Lila explained. “I can do that by driving you an hour and a half to the hospital, checking you in, and then having someone pick you up late in the evening. Or you can have a friend stay with you today. I would tell you to hang out here at the clinic, but we’re closed this morning. I’m going to Noelle’s science fair. If we can ever trick another NP to come down here, well, we’ll still be closed sometimes.”
It was weird since hospitals didn’t close in New York, but this clinic was the nearest thing they had to a hospital in Papillon. Lila would definitely insist on driving her since she wasn’t even letting her lie on the couch by herself. There was no way Lila would let her get behind the wheel.
“I swear I’ll be cool,” she promised. “I’ll sign one of those forms and everything will be okay. I don’t mind signing it.”
“You want to sign an AMA?” Lila’s eyes had widened slightly but not in a surprised way. Nope. Roxie knew that look. It was the “dumbass said what” look.
“You’re not leaving against medical advice,” Armie declared with a frown.
She didn’t have anyone to call. She quickly went through the short list of people she knew well enough to ask for a favor. She pretty much only knew the guys she worked with. She worked and then went home. She got the occasional beer, and sometimes she hung out with Lila. That was the sum of who she might be able to ask.
Major was working. He would have been called in to take over the rest of her shift and his own. Armie would be at his daughter’s school event. Vince would be working with Major, and the fourth deputy, Chris, had recently hired on and was moving today.
The door opened and Zep walked in, Daisy on a leash, though she obviously wasn’t trained. She squirmed and strained against the leash the minute she got in the room.
“Sorry, I wanted to make sure you were all right before I head into Houma,” he said. “Also wanted to give you the chance to say good-bye to Daisy.”
If she didn’t find someone to “watch” over her, Armie would likely do it himself. Or they would have to spend their whole day driving back and forth to the hospital. He would miss his daughter’s science fair, and it wasn’t some elementary event where they showed off homemade volcanoes. Noelle was in her senior year of high school and competing for scholarships.
Also, she might save the puppy from having to go to some horrible shelter.
She looked at Zep. She knew what she was about to say was a mistake, but she didn’t see that she had any other choice. She was desperate. “I need someone to make sure I can wake up every couple of hours.”
Zep stopped and looked around as though trying to make sure she was talking to him. “You want me to call my sister or something?”
His sister and her husband, Harrison Jefferys, owned a B and B, the nicest one in town. That could be the solution. She could check in for the day and sleep on the couch in the great room. She’d heard their family dog was almost like a nanny to their little boy. Maybe he could be a nurse, too. “Does she have any rooms open?”
Armie huffed and Lila started shaking her head as though they both knew she planned to ask a dog to help her out before she’d ask the human male in the room.
Zep nodded as though that was what he’d expected. “Sorry. I was talking to Sera and Harry last night and they’re completely booked. They’ve got a big family coming down for the week. From somewhere back East.”
Then she didn’t have a choice. She closed her eyes and wished the ground would swallow her up. It would be easier than doing what she had to do now. She sighed and opened her eyes because the ground was still firm beneath her. “Would you do it?”
The slowest, sexiest smile crossed his face. “I can definitely wake you up,
darlin’. Though I’m more used to putting pretty ladies to sleep. Wait. That came out wrong. Never mind. I can do it.”
She already regretted the choice.
About Lexi Blake
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings.
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Facebook: Lexi Blake
Twitter: authorlexiblake
Website: www.lexiblake.net/
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Other Books by Lexi Blake
Click to purchase
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Masters and Mercenaries
The Dom Who Loved Me
The Men With The Golden Cuffs
A Dom is Forever
On Her Master’s Secret Service
Sanctum: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Love and Let Die
Unconditional: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Dungeon Royale
Dungeon Games: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
A View to a Thrill
Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
You Only Love Twice
Luscious: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped
Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Master No
Just One Taste: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped 2