Wild Child (A Soul Sister Novel Book 1)

by Audrey Carlan

I picked her up and stood barefoot in the grass cuddling the precious angel. “You bought us a dog,” I whispered through the tears. I’d always wanted a dog.

  He casually walked down the stairs, put his hand to the fur baby, and pet her. “I knew you wanted one along with a family one day. I love dogs. And I thought it might be good to have something that’s loving but can be protective when trained, which I plan to do as soon as she’s a bit older. Then I’ll feel more comfortable when I have to travel and leave you alone.”

  “I love her so much,” I confided, kissing the soft brown of her nose.

  “I can tell. So does this mean you’re moving in today?” He grinned.

  I nodded. “We don’t have a bed.”

  “Which is why Ryan and his buddy should be arriving any time with mine.”

  I let my pretty girl down and walked right into Jonah’s chest. He wrapped his arms around me as I hugged him tight, pressing my ear over his heart so I could hear it beating.

  “You’ve made me so happy, Jonah. I’m not sure what to do with it all. I feel like it’s going to explode out of me, and I’ll be a pile of goo on the ground.”

  He chuckled and cupped the back of my head until I lifted my chin and our gazes met. Blue eyes to a dark espresso brown I planned to live my entire life looking into and loving for the rest of my days.

  “After everything we’ve been through, Simone, after Tabby, and Helen, we deserve this. We deserve to carve out some happy for ourselves without feeling guilty.”

  My bottom lip trembled as the emotions soared through my form. “I want to believe that. I really do. It’s just so hard after such loss.”

  He nodded and cupped my cheek. “That’s why we need to live every single day to the fullest. Starting with making this house our home. Naming our fur baby.”

  I chuckled and looked at the gorgeous girl pawing at Jonah’s pant leg. “What about Amber?”

  He ducked down and scooped up the dog. He pointed her body so her muzzle was facing him. “How’s about Amber? Do you like that name?”

  The dog licked his face. Then again, she probably would have done that anyway.

  “She likes it. Amber it is.”

  I smiled and petted our dog. “Welcome home, Amber. We’re your parents and we’re going to give you so much love and tons of treats!” I promised and snuggled her soft neck. She licked my cheek.

  “Hey, yo! Can someone open up the door! We got a giant bed out here!” We heard Ryan calling from the side of the house.

  I laughed and dashed up the steps, jetted through my gorgeous house, and opened the front door.

  Shockingly, it wasn’t just Ryan at the door. It was our entire family. His parents and brother. My mother and sisters all holding boxes. A small moving truck was parked behind Jonah’s car.

  “Wh-what are you guys all doing here?”

  Blessing nudged her way through holding a box with my name on it. “Moving our sister into her new home, of course.”

  I clasped both of my cheeks and spun around. “Did you do this too?”

  He held up our pretty girl. “Mama is happy, Amber.”

  “Aw, you named her Amber.” Charlie cooed at my dog as she set down a box in the open space and reached for the dog. “Look, your auntie is a redhead too.”

  I went over to Jonah smiling with stupid girly happy tears in my eyes. I held up my hands in the air. “I’m so happy!”

  He tugged me into his arms and laid a hot and heavy one on me.

  Later that night, after all of the boxes were moved in, we ordered pizza and beer for everyone. We still had to unpack what we had and go out and buy furniture but we were in our own bed, Amber curled in a cute little dog bed on Jonah’s side so he could take her out regularly to potty train.

  Jonah and I had just made love for the first time in our house.

  He twiddled my fingers over the bare thigh that I had slung across his naked form. My head was to his warm chest and I was listening to his heartbeat.

  “You like our home, baby?” he asked.

  I grinned against his chest then kissed him there. “Love is the word I’d use. I can see us being blissfully happy here.”

  He hummed happily but kept playing with my fingers. “And that marriage idea…how’s that percolating in your mind?”

  “Honestly, planning a wedding is not something I’ve ever had a desire to do. Though I’d marry you if it was something super small.”

  “I had the big shindig traditional thing with Helen. I wouldn’t want that either. Plus, we now have a decent mortgage and a basement to renovate,” he added thoughtfully.

  “This is true. I think that will be fun though. We can take our time, do it how we want.”

  “What about a destination wedding?” he hinted.

  “Like Vegas?” I scrunched my nose. I’d spent a lot of time working in bars and smoky spaces over the years. Plus, I was not the type to gamble away my hard-earned dollars.

  He groaned. “Not my scene. I was thinking more along the lines of Hawaii.”

  “I’ve never been to Hawaii,” I breathed, awe in my tone.

  “You in a sundress, me in a linen shirt and khakis. The beach, flowers in your hair, the sun at our backs. Nothing but you and me and a man of the cloth.”

  I traced my fingers down his chest. “Sounds beautiful but I think my sisters, mother, and your parents would be pretty disappointed if they didn’t get to participate. I have another idea?”

  “Yeah?” he murmured, sounding tired.

  “What about here? We have a small service and reception in the backyard. Then Hawaii for the honeymoon.”

  “Now you’re talking.” He cupped my head and kissed me slow and sweet. “So, when I ask you to marry me really soon, pretend to be surprised okay?” He yawned.

  I grinned and put my head back over his chest. “Okay. Just give it some time. We need to set up our house first and I need a little more time at my job before I tell them I need a couple weeks off for a wedding and honeymoon.”

  Jonah wrapped his arms around me and tucked me close. “Deal.”

  I waited a few minutes, and as sleep started to take me, I pressed my hand over Jonah’s heart and asked him the same question he’d asked me. “You happy, baby?”

  He hugged me close and kissed the top of my head before he answered. “I’ve never been happier than I am lying in our bed, in our house, beside you, our dog safe in her bed, with a bright future ahead of us.”

  I sighed and snuggled into the man I knew in my heart I’d spend the rest of my life loving.

  And for the first time in a month, I slept the entire night through, held in the safety of my man’s arms, without a single nightmare marring the happiness in my life.

  The End

  If you want to read more in the world of the Kerrighan foster sisters, check out Addison’s book in Wild Beauty. Each book will be a complete but interconnected standalone novel. I may write three total books of select sisters or one for each. It all depends on the muse and the readership.

  Read a sneak peek of Addy’s book on the next pages.

  WILD BEAUTY (A SOUL SISTER NOVEL)—SNEAK PEEK

  Click. The camera flashed and I was back there.

  In that chair.

  That dark, freezing cold basement, with rats and other vermin scurrying around my feet.

  My chest was tied with thick, uncompromising ropes. My arms zip tied, forearms up so he could continue with his torture.

  I glanced down at the blistered, ravaged tissue of my forearms with a detached, vacant assessment. Seeing the torn, bleeding, black wounds on my arms in the only way I could—as if they weren’t mine. The scent of burnt flesh seared my nostrils. I desperately held back my need to vomit as my mouth watered around the cloth gag. It was tied so tight it dug into the edges of my mouth, abrading the sensitive tissue every time I attempted to free myself.

  Another camera flash.

  “Addison…” A somewhat familiar voice reverberated in the cavernou
s space around me. My mind swirled as I tried to focus on that tone. It was kind. Compassionate. Connected to someone I loved.

  Blessing.

  Click.

  I shuddered at the sound and shook where I stood, skyrocketing back into that dreaded chair.

  The masked attacker was coming back.

  He would continue hurting me.

  He was going to kill me just like all those other women.

  My only hope was they’d find him before they got to my sister Simone. If she were spared, my soul would be free. I could die knowing she was safe.

  I had no idea when I got off that plane and met the driver out front of the airport holding a sign with my name on it that I was willingly walking straight into my own personal Hell. He looked the part. Wore all black. Had a Town Car. Knew my name, when I was to arrive. Everything.

  Smart girls knew better.

  And I was a smart girl. Mama Kerri made sure all of her foster daughters got the appropriate education, graduating high school with good grades. I had a dream and worked toward making that dream a reality. She told us there was no mountain too high when it came to our life and career goals. I believed her. Took everything she said as gospel and worked my ass off…literally.

  I was one of the most coveted plus-size models in the industry. I had millions in the bank. But there was no amount of money in the world that would save me from the Backseat Strangler.

  “Addison, honey, you’re scaring me!” Blessing’s voice broke me out of a cold sweat and catapulted me back to the present. I shook like a leaf where I stood under the unnaturally hot lights of the backdrop for the photoshoot.

  “Where am I?” I trembled in her arms.

  Blessing put her hands to the sides of my neck. They were cool and steady. I shivered in her arms. She placed her face directly in front of mine, her dark eyes fixated on me. I locked onto those familiar loving eyes like they were my talisman. The only connection I had to my safe place.

  “Addy, you are in the middle of a photoshoot,” she said calmly.

  I shook my head. “He’s here…” I choked out on a guttural whisper.

  She shook her head, her black curls bouncing along with her. “Boo, he’s not. He’s dead. You’re in the middle of a shoot in downtown Chicago. Behind me are your clients and the photographer.”

  I looked over her shoulder at the myriad of bodies standing around and staring at us. I clenched my jaw realizing I’d had another moment. That’s what we were calling them. “Moments.” Which was essentially a really kind way of describing my mini-freak-outs. I lost all time, space, or any sense of where I actually was and found myself stuck back in that basement with a serial killer. The place where both Simone and I watched our sister Tabitha sacrifice herself in order to save us.

  Tears filled my eyes and started to fall.

  “Okay, that’s a wrap. Bring me her robe.” Blessing snapped her fingers to the young fashion design student that she had mentoring under her.

  The girl brought my robe and Blessing helped me put it on over the delicate pink bra and panty set I wore.

  I wrapped my frozen form and allowed the soft chenille fabric to remind me there were soft and beautiful things I could count on to bring me back to the here and now. Something sizzled in the air, an electricity I felt tease the air forcing me to look up.

  Click.

  The photographer on the job, took a random, candid shot. He was positioned at the lens, his face hidden behind his equipment. I hadn’t been concerned with who was behind the camera, only that this was my first job back after the incident. Now I needed to see the individual or I might go back to when “he” was taking pictures and filming me.

  All I was able to see was the man’s long sandy brownish blond hair falling around his shoulders. He moved his face and his brown-eyed gaze met mine.

  It was as if in that second, he’d seen right through my eyes to the empty, broken, frightened woman beneath the perfect hair and makeup.

  Click.

  I twitched as gooseflesh rose on my skin, but as long as I was looking into those earthy, tranquil brown eyes, I felt grounded. No longer floating aimlessly across an endless expanse of deep, pitch black waters with no hope for shore. But in his eyes, I found my footing. I curled my toes against the cool floor, cementing where I was in that moment.

  This man, the photographer with his soulful eyes, trimmed beard, and mustache held me centered to the here and now with a single look. No longer was I wading back into the dark memory of that night when my entire life changed.

  I removed the robe, stared into his gaze, and handed the robe to Blessing. “I’m okay. I’m going to finish.”

  “You sure? You don’t have to. The clients understand what you’ve gone through. They’ve agreed to photoshop the scars marring your arms, but I know them well. They’ll understand if you’re not ready,” she assured me.

  I shook my head, my gaze set on the photographer.

  I lifted my chin toward him. “I’ve never seen you before.”

  One side of his lips twitched up into a small yet sexy smile. “I’m new to fashion photography. And if you’re okay to continue, I’d love to finish.” His gaze darted to the lens. “We’ve gotten some great shots. Most of them after you took a breather. You’re a wild beauty. The camera loves you.”

  I smiled. “That’s what they all say when a half-naked woman is standing in front of them.”

  He chuckled and the rich baritone sound warmed my body from the inside out.

  “I’m Addison Michaels-Kerrighan. And you are?”

  “Killian Fitzpatrick.”

  Interesting name for an intriguing man.

  “You ready to continue or do you want a break?” he asked, no hint of judgement in his tone.

  I pursed my lips. “As long as you don’t hide behind the camera,” I stated shakily then added a soft, “Please and thank you. Apparently, faceless men behind cameras are a new trigger for one of my moments.” I shared that, but then balked at my own stupidity. I had no idea why I’d give up something so personal to someone I didn’t know, besides the fact that he had honest, kind eyes, great hair, and a sexy smile.

  “I’m here for you, whatever you need.”

  Surprisingly, I laughed. “Again, that’s what they all say,” I teased, taking a deep breath and letting out all the fear and ugliness that had crept up. I shook my arms and legs as though I were flinging off water, but mostly was just trying to fling off the negative tragedy that plagued my every waking minute. “Just get a good shot.”

  “With you, Addison, I’m not sure there are any bad shots. Though I think with a little time and focus, we could find magic together.” His voice had a warm, comforting tone, laced with a hint of innuendo.

  My cheeks heated and I quirked my head and smirked.

  Click.

  I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek of Wild Beauty, the next soul sister novel. Order your copy now.

  Soul Sister Novels

  Wild Child

  Wild Beauty

  Wish Series

  What the Heart Wants

  To Catch a Dream

  Love Under Quarantine

  Biker Beauties

  Biker Babe

  Biker Beloved

  Biker Brit

  Biker Boss

  International Guy Series

  Paris

  New York

  Copenhagen

  Milan

  San Francisco

  Montreal

  London

  Berlin

  Washington, D.C.

  Madrid

  Rio

  Los Angeles

  Lotus House Series

  Resisting Roots

  Sacred Serenity

  Divine Desire

  Limitless Love

  Silent Sins

  Intimate Intuition

  Enlightened End

  Trinity Series

  Body

  Mind

  Soul

  Lifer />
  Fate

  Calendar Girl

  January

  February

  March

  April

  May

  June

  July

  August

  September

  October

  November

  December

  Falling Series

  Angel Falling

  London Falling

  Justice Falling

  Justice Falling

  To my husband, Eric, for supporting me in everything I do. I love you more.

  To the world’s greatest PA, Jeananna Goodall, it’s all your fault this book went crazy suspenseful! I blame your addiction on Criminal Minds and your love of cops and special agents. It turned out amazing and I loved every second of writing it. Our numerous plot phone conversations were hilarious. Phrases like, “I don’t want to hurt her too much,” and “I’m definitely killing off that chick,” were warped and also hilarious. Thank you for always being willing to dive into the creative brain with me and toss around ideas. It truly makes the process so much fun and feel less lonely. Love you, woman!

  To Jeanne De Vita my personal editor for not only blasting through this manuscript and making it better, but for always being so positive. You are a true gem in this literary world and this novel would NOT have been completed and released on time without your help. Thank you for being part of Team AC and taking that position seriously. I hope every new author out there, or person wanting to be a writer attends the Romance Writing Academy. They will not only gain expert knowledge but will feel supported and part of a team. You rock lady! Interested people should check it out! www.romancewritingacademy.com

  To my alpha beta team Tracey Wilson-Vuolo, Tammy Hamilton-Green, Gabby McEachern, Elaine Hennig, and Dorothy Bircher for being the absolute best cheerleading beta team in the world. You ladies are my safe place. My touchstone. I can’t imagine not having you at my back. Thank you from deep within my soul. I adore each and every one of you.

  To my literary agent Amy Tannenbaum, with Jane Rotrosen Agency, for always knowing exactly how to make me feel special, and finding all my babies the right homes.