by C. Lesbirel
“Twins,” Hope whispers just loud enough for me to hear.
“Twins,” I repeat, processing the idea of two tiny Parker’s.
Hope’s small smile spreads to an excited grin, and its infectious sparkle has me grinning, too.
I grab her hand and lift it to my lips, kissing the back of it and feeling like I might burst with anxiety, excitement and overwhelming happiness.
* * *
Hope
One Year Later
* * *
Watching the world go by from the deck of the traditional green and red canal boat, my thoughts wander to this last year and how far we’ve come as a family. Both literally and metaphorically speaking.
Sullivan has kept to his word and then some with flying me and the twins to the most beautiful places in the world. Of all the places we’ve visited so far, The Netherlands has to be my favorite. There’s something so nostalgic about being back in the country where I first told Sullivan about the babies, and probably the place where I first realized how strong my feelings are for him.
Zoe and Zack are happily snacking on their fruit pops in their double stroller on the deck with Sullivan chatting to them about something or nothing. Probably trying to get them to recite the parts of an aircraft, again.
I wonder how much they are actually taking in of the gorgeous, cobbled streets lined by tall, colorful houses.
Lifting my face to the sun, I remove my straw sun hat, placing it next to me and exhale a deep breath, suddenly understanding the gypsy mentality that home could be anywhere.
With a glance back to my man, I know that home for me is wherever he is. How the hell did I get so lucky to have three people as amazing as those three love me as much as they do?
“You okay, golden girl?” Sullivan interrupts my thoughts, and I nod my head, not wanting the rare quiet moment to end. With two small twins, moments like this one are sacred and should be savored until the last second.
“You know, I was thinking about that loophole you found in my recording contract.”
“Yeah?” He arches an eyebrow, probably surprised to hear me mention my music, as I seldom did anymore.
“I had this idea, similar to what you were saying about being able to put my own music out. If that’s true, then I could perform any new music live, right?”
“There’s no reason why not. As long as you don’t try and sign with anyone else, you’re good. I mean, you’d have to do everything yourself to produce the tracks. If you’re going to perform them live, you’d have to put the whole show together. But, it’s not impossible.”
“So, there’s nothing stopping me from taking this new music on tour?”
“Nothing technical. Although, these two little horrors might throw a wrench in the works.” He grins. I roll my eyes and grab a baby wipe as Zack and Zoe are playfully splattering blueberries all over each other and getting purple juice on their matching Parisian white velour overall sets. Zoe has a little pink onesie under hers and Zack a baby blue one. They are the sweetest little outfits I’ve ever seen. Or at least, they were until my two little monkeys turned them dark purple.
“I think it could be fun.” I shrug, wiping down their hands and getting a healthy bunch of blueberry in my hair when Zack grabs a loose wave. “I owe my fans a tour, and this time I can do it the right way. Smaller, more intimate gigs for my true fans. Just me and my guitar on stage and you guys seeing the world with me. What do you think?”
“I think if it makes you happy and you promise not to work yourself into the ground again, then I’m in.”
“What about work? You can’t just fly me around forever.”
“Actually, I can do just that. But I’m sure we can figure something out in terms of logistics. You can hire me as your personal tour pilot, it’ll be just like before plus two. I can even cover some other flights when you're not working and have some down time with double trouble.”
“I dunno. Do you really think we could make it work?”
“What do you think, kiddos? Do we wanna go on tour with Mommy? Say yeah!” he shouts as he holds out a palm to hi-five them both, and they slap their tiny palms against his.
“I love you guys.” I smile at Sullivan, and he throws me his signature flirty wink back.
“We love you, Hope Carson-soon to be Parker.”
“What? I told you, I’m not even thinking about getting engaged at this point. We have more than enough going on to keep us busy.”
“Yeah, I heard you. I wasn’t exactly thinking about babies when these two beauties came along. Life happens, Hope. I guess it is okay to be the passenger sometimes.”
“I never thought I’d hear those words come from your lips.”
“I never thought I’d say them.” He smiles, turning his attention back to Zack and Zoe, and I lean back in my seat feeling blissfully relaxed.
Maybe he’s right. Sometimes being the passenger isn’t so bad after all.
The End
TAKE ME NOW
COCKPIT SERIES, BOOK 4
* * *
C. LESBIREL
BRITNEY BELL
Prologue
Kaci
I give in to the tears and let them free fall down my face. I knew today would be the hardest one of my life, but nothing could have prepared me for the sight of my dad being lowered into the ground.
The words spoken by the pastor during the service keep echoing around my mind. “Ryan was a man who loved without limits, and that includes his love of the slopes. He was a man of honor who lived his life to the fullest with as much passion as possible, and that’s what we will remember most about him.”
What does it matter how much passion he had if he’s gone?
What was the point of all that skill and love for skiing if he’ll never see another mountain again?
None of it makes sense or seems fair, and however hard I try to stay strong for my mom, I know there’s nothing I can do to numb the pain she’s feeling because it’s killing me, too.
She squeezes my hand, and I sense eyes on us as our turn comes around to step forward. We step in sync. Side by side. Together, and I'm acutely aware that this is how it will always be from now on.
All of the times we’d shared together as a family of three are over, and we’ve been thrown into a new chapter that neither of us are prepared for.
Reaching forward, I toss a single rose and watch as it floats down and bounces when it hits the coffin that contains a huge piece of my heart.
A piece I’ll never get back.
Falling to my knees, I let out all of the heartache I’ve been trying to contain these last few days spill out of me like an avalanche.
After what feels like an age, my mom pulls me to my feet, and the pastor continues with his words. I switch off from them… from everything. Letting the world around me continue while I focus on breathing and existing enough to remain standing and support my mom as her own tears engulf her.
When we make it back to the wake, I discover a different photo of my dad on every table. He’s smiling in all of them. I’m at his side in most of them also, and there’s snow in every one of the shots.
“You okay, kiddo?” Our family friend and a good friend of my dad’s, Harvey Parker, wraps an arm around me as I regard one of the photos.
I don’t give an answer. What could I possibly say?
“Time is a great healer, Kaci. Your dad would have been proud of you today.”
“He certainly would, honey, and you and your mom are going to be just fine. You know we’re always here for you, whatever you need. Promise me you’ll pick up the phone if the time comes?” his wife Caroline chips in.
“Thanks. You’re such good friends, and I’m glad you could make it today. It means a lot to me and my mom.”
“We wouldn’t have been anywhere else.” Caroline offers a warm smile, and it’s comforting to see all of the Parker’s around the table of our humble cafe.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the food alone.” Su
llivan shrugs, picking up a home baked bread roll.
“Exactly. Have you tried the cemen dip?” Mom interjects, swiftly scooping up a bowl of Turkish sauce from the buffet and holding it under his nose.
Even on a day like today she can’t resist trying to push her weird international cuisines on anyone who is willing to give them a time of day.
“I’m sorry, what?” Sullivan arches a brow, and his twin Shiloh grins a wicked grin.
“The semen, Sully. You have to give it a try.”
Sullivan’s expression is both mortified and confused at the same time, causing me to burst out laughing and Shiloh to join in. My mom's shake of the head and expression of despair only makes us laugh harder.
“What about you, Jaxon, you look like you could use something decent to eat, or do you exist on protein bars now?
“I think I’m good.” Jaxon smirks and reaches past the cemen dip to grab a chicken skewer.
The smile on my lips feels strange, and a pang of guilt hits as though I shouldn’t be happy on a day like this one. My eyes fall to another picture frame holding an image of Dad and I wearing one of his medals. It’s looped around both our necks, and we’re both grinning from ear to ear.
“Next stop the Olympics, baby,” I can still hear him whispering in my ear.
“Great photo. Where were you?” Mason Parker appears behind me, and I’m instantly consumed by his familiar citrus aroma.
“France. This was his first time winning gold.”
“He looks happy. You both do.”
“We were,” I choke out, my stomach clenching into a tight knot and fresh tears threaten to fall.
Dang, I bet I look a hot mess after all the crying I’ve done today, and Mason is staring right at me while I have balloons for eyes.
“Now you’ll be doing it for the both of you,” he murmurs under his breath.
My head shakes side to side involuntarily.
“I won’t be doing anything for anyone.”
“Don’t be crazy, I’ve seen you doing your thing on the slopes, you’re dope.”
“Thanks, but I can’t carry on without him. It’s all I’ve been able to think about since we lost him. My skiing days are done. That was our thing. It wouldn’t be the same without him. Besides, he was my coach.”
“You can always get another coach.”
“That’s the thing.” My chest squeezes and tears threaten to spill for the millionth time. “I wouldn’t want one.”
“Never say, never. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Thanks, but would you quit being so nice to me. It’s kind of weird.”
“What do you mean? I’m always nice to you.”
“No, you’re not. You’re usually a jerk. Last Christmas you were the first one to make fun of my ski jacket.”
“Oh, come on, who wears a rainbow ski jacket when they are past the age of five years old?”
“I liked the colors,” I reply as the oldest of the Parker’s, Liam, approaches closely followed by the elusive Warren.
“Be careful. You know what they say about getting advice from Mason Parker,” Liam warns.
“Never take advice from Mason Parker,” Warren chips in, and Mason’s smile fades to a steely glare in his big brother's direction.
“I wouldn’t take advice from any of you,” I deadpan, and Liam whistles through pursed lips giving me credit for my sass.
“Watch out for her, Mase.” Warren nudges Mason’s shoulder with his own. “The small ones are always the feistiest.”
“Oh, it’s not like that. Kaci knows her limits, we’ve been friends too long.”
And there it was. The friendship bomb he always drops so willingly and the one I try not to feel wounded by. Every. Single. Time.
I smile through gritted teeth, and he casually squeezes my shoulders, shaking me playfully; the way he always did when we were together.
Heat spirals down from his fingertips to every inch of my body, and I wonder whether somewhere in that devastatingly gorgeous head of his, he knows exactly what effect he has on me.
* * *
Find out what happens next. Layer up because it's cold as balls where your headed, but you know what they say, cold hands/warm heart. Let's find out if it's true with Mason's story...
~ Take Me Now, Cockpit Series, Book 4
* * *
THANK YOU & PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW
Thank you so much for reading Take Me Completely, Cockpit Series, Book 3!
Please take a moment to leave a review.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Continue seeing the Parker siblings and come along for the ride to enjoy the journey all across the world throughout the rest of the Cockpit Series.
Cockpit Christmas, Prequel
Take Me Away, Book 1
Take Me Anywhere, Book 2
Take Me Completely, Book 3
Take Me Now, Book 4
Take Me Forever, Book 5
Take Me Home, Book 6
Connect with us
We love connecting with readers! Please follow us and get first-hand knowledge of upcoming releases and other surprises coming this year.
Visit the Cockpit Series Website for more details.
Join Clare’s Newsletter
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Clare’s Flamboyance:
https://clarelesbirel.com/clares-flamboyance/
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Britney’s Caravan:
https://authorbritneybell.wixsite.com/mysite/britney-s-escapers
Acknowledgments
First off, we have to give huge love and thanks to our families for believing in us and supporting our dream. You are our reason for everything.
Secondly, we would like to thank Ange, Karen and Tara for always being the first people to read our work and help us take it to the next level. You inspire us to be the best writers we can be with your honest feedback and love for our Parker boys. We love you.
To all of the bloggers and book friends who have supported us along the way, we are super grateful and love all of you for taking a chance on us and shouting from the rooftops about our stories.
Autumn Archer, we are blessed to call you our friend and can’t wait until the day we get to squeeze you in real life. Thank you for being an all-round unicorn.
Inspire Formatting & Cover Design, thank you for the beautiful covers and the formatting for the ebooks and paperbacks in this series.
Love2ReadRomance, you have been a Godsend, and your Indie Tool Box makes the difficult seem easy, which we are so grateful for.
To our author friends and book sisters, you know who you are, and you rock. You ladies are so talented, and we learn every day and are constantly inspired by your strength and determination. We are so happy to be on this journey with you, and we love you endlessly.
Most of all, we want to thank YOU. Whether you’re a HEA Chaser, one of Britney’s Dreamers or new to our books, we are so thankful that you took a chance on our Cockpit Series and hopefully fell in love with one of our Pilots. We started this series to create an escape from everyday life, and now more than ever, we know that everyone deserves a HEA in their day!
Before you go: You probably see it a lot, but that’s because it’s important. Indie authors like us need reviews to be able to keep on going. Amazon recognizes the authors with the most reviews and gives them more visibility... We would love for that to be us! Please consider leaving a review, it only needs to be a sentence of two to make a huge difference. Xoxo
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