Collecting the Pieces

by L. A. Fiore

  He leaned in, his lips touching mine when he whispered, “Let’s climb into the back of your car and celebrate the moment properly.”

  I couldn’t help the eye roll.

  “On second thought, let’s go back to the cabin since I plan on celebrating all night.” All the air left my lungs in a rush as he stood and threw me over his shoulder.

  “Abel, I can walk.”

  “I know, but this is so much more fun. Wanted to do this that day in the alley.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, looking like you do and throwing out that attitude, fucking hot as hell.”

  Enjoying that little insight I hadn’t realized we reached his bike until he dropped me gently to my feet. “And now mine.”

  “I think I was even then.”

  “I know you were.”

  “Smug bastard.”

  “But right.”

  He reached for my hand, ran his thumb over his ring, before straddling his bike. “Let’s go, babe, we’re burning daylight.”

  I climbed on, linked my hands at his waist and rested my chin on his shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

  His head twisted, “I’m already home, baby, but let’s get back to the cabin so I can celebrate with my woman properly.”

  God, I loved him and feeling playful I asked, “What’s considered properly?”

  “Naked.”

  His engine drowned out my laugh and his and then we were rolling down the street, me holding him so tightly it was hard to say where I ended and he began and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  “Doc, I’ll help you.”

  “I’m fine, Abel.”

  “Babe, wait for me.”

  Her exaggerated exhale started the bout of giggles that came from the back seat. Looking back at our two-year-old daughter, Annie, I grinned. She was the spitting image of Doc right down to the attitude. I wasn’t sure about kids, didn’t know the kind of father I would be having the kind of father I had, but as soon as she was born it was like a piece of my heart that had been missing had found its way home. “What are you giggling about, baby girl?”

  “Help me up.” Her hands were raised as she wiggled her fingers.

  “Let me get mama out first.”

  “Poppy kiss mama.”

  Sidney’s head lowered, her shoulders shaking with laughter. Annie had started this about a month ago. Caught Doc and me kissing in the kitchen and now demanded we do it at her beck and call.

  “Not now.”

  Her lower lip turned into a pout, but then a puppy walked by the truck and she forgot all about me not kissing her mama. I hadn’t forgotten about it though, intended to sneak a few while we searched for our Christmas tree.

  Coming around to Sidney, Cain standing at her side, I couldn’t believe she wanted to come. She was due any day now. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit in the truck?”

  “It’s tradition, Abel, all of us looking for the tree together.”

  She was very big on traditions, ones we shared with our friends and family and ones that were just ours. I gave her shit about it, but I loved the traditions we were creating too. “You get tired, I want to know.”

  “Okay.”

  Her hand moved down my cheek, her eyes taking on that softness I’d grown used to seeing in the four years we’d been married. “Love you.”

  Poppy did kiss mama, long and hard. Annie clapped in approval before I took her from her car seat. Usually she wanted up on my shoulders, a total daddy’s girl, but since Doc started showing Annie usually stayed close to her. Like right now, they walked ahead of me with Cain between them. Doc was pointing to trees and Annie rejected them with a shake of her head. Like her mom, Annie loved all things Christmas. At one point, they stopped and stared. I knew they’d found the tree, but it was the sight of Sidney running her hand down Annie’s hair that had an ache burning in my chest. She did that a lot, something so simple, and yet the love behind the gesture humbled me. A family of my very own, un-fucking-believable.

  Annie was sleeping by the fire. Cain lay next to her. His affection shifted a bit after she was born. Annie didn’t make a move without Cain right at her side. It seemed fitting, I had Abel and Annie had Cain. I never thought I’d feel so loved, so complete. All that happened in my life, every bump in the road, every ray of light had all led me here. Standing in a rustic cabin in Wyoming, my baby girl sleeping with her wolf, my son kicking me in the belly and my heart in the kitchen pouring me eggnog. I was blessed and every day I took a moment to appreciate just how much. Sandbar rubbed up against my leg. Even he had settled in, found his place. He walked from me and curled up at Annie’s back near where Tigger and Stuart were sleeping.

  I reached for an ornament and then froze. My water broke. Abel walked into the room, took one look at me and froze too.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My water broke.”

  He didn’t hesitate, moving to the phone to call Ichabod. We had a list of people, went down that list when we needed people to watch Annie. Otherwise, they fought about it. “It’s time.” He hung up and called Jasper. They were staying at Hellar Farm for both Christmas and the birth. “It’s time. Ichabod is on his way. We’ll see you at the hospital.”

  He moved to me, his hands coming to rest on my stomach. “I’ll get your bag in the truck. As soon as Ichabod gets here, we’ll go. You okay? Do you need anything?”

  I linked my fingers through his. “Just you.”

  “You’ve got that.” He pressed his lips to mine and let them linger. “In case I forget to tell you later, thank you.”

  I smiled because I never tired of seeing the softer side of Abel. “For your son?”

  “For my life.” And for just a flash, I saw the depth of what that meant to him, before his lips turned up into a grin. He kissed me then strolled to our bedroom. Yep, I was blessed.

  Twelve hours of labor and two of pushing and our son entered the world. For the next several hours, my room was a parade of people coming to welcome him. Rylee and Jayce arrived first, their son, Michael, holding on tightly to his daddy’s hand.

  “Oh my God, he’s so beautiful. Look at his little hands,” Rylee cooed while Jayce grinned. Her gaze moved to mine before she whispered, “All the pieces make a life.”

  I reached for Rylee’s hand. She was so right.

  Duncan and Carly came in next and seeing Carly’s round belly had tears prickling my eyes. She had found her way, she had conquered her addiction, and now they were expecting their first child in a few months. Mimi made her co-owner of the floral shop with the intent of handing it over to her when she retired. And Duncan had the racing branch of Hellar Farm growing at an obscene rate. He too had found his place and Domino, Speckled Egg’s colt, was a racing champion.

  Jasper and Lauren, who were grandparents to Annie, she even called them grandma and grandpa, followed after. Lauren’s face went soft when she held our son, a part of her thinking of Jake I was sure. “What’s his name?”

  Abel, who hadn’t left my side, looked to me. “I named Annie. It’s your turn, Abel.”

  “I’d like to name him after Tiny, his given name, but not for a first name.”

  “What is Tiny’s real name?”

  “Percival.”

  No wonder he went by Tiny. Jasper was more kind in his response. “It’s a strong name.”

  The look Abel shot Jasper had us all laughing.

  “And the first name?” I asked.

  “Family, I never really understood the concept, not until you, Doc. But it isn’t about blood and DNA. It’s about the people in your life that mean something, the ones you turn to in times of great joy and pain. It’s the ones that lift you up or hold you up, the ones who leave you with more of yourself than you had without them. My son, I’d like to name him Jake because he left Sidney with more of herself than she had without him and she has given me more of myself than I had without her.”

  The sob burned up my throat, not from pain, but love f
or this man. “God, I love you.”

  He touched his lips to mine, but his focus shifted to Jasper and Lauren. Both were very quiet, touching baby Jake as tears streamed down their faces. Lauren’s head lifted, her hazel eyes shining in tears. “Thank you.”

  Baby Jake was asleep in my arms, Annie slept between Abel and me and Abel’s head was on my pillow as he touched Jake’s toes. “He’s beautiful.”

  “He is. He looks just like you. Those pale eyes and black hair.”

  “We make good looking kids, babe. We should have at least two more.”

  “Okay.”

  “Just like that.”

  I looked into those pale eyes. “Kids with you, yeah, just like that.”

  His hand spread over my belly. “How are you feeling?”

  “Sore, but okay.”

  “He’s a big boy.”

  “Just like his daddy.”

  “You do know what this means, right?”

  “No.”

  “You’re going to be healing for a while, so looks like I’ll be getting you on your knees quite a bit in the next few months.”

  And even feeling drained, exhausted, sore from pushing his son out of me, my body sizzled at the thought. Still. “Your children are here.”

  “Yeah, babe, because you were on your knees.”

  “Parenthood has not matured you at all.”

  “Nope.”

  “I’m glad. I like you just the way you are.”

  Humor shifted to tenderness before he said, “Had someone told me I’d ever be here, my children pressed close and you looking at me like that, I’d have told them they were fucking nuts. Never been so happy to be wrong. You thanked me once for bringing you back to life. Thank you for giving me a life.”

  I kissed him, couldn’t form a reply even if I wanted to, the emotions were too close to the surface. At ten, I had wondered where I would end up, who would ever want me, who would ever love me. I held Jake tighter, touched Annie’s hair and kissed Abel deeper. My answer was all around me.

  Sometimes you write a book that just tears you up and this was that book for me. Creating such a wonderful character in Jake and knowing his fate was hard. But the backstory for Sidney and Jake was needed to make the parallel to Abel and Sidney’s story. I love Sidney and how she just keeps going even when life is constantly knocking her down. And Abel, he is my very favorite of all the male leads I’ve written. He’s cocky, arrogant and yet an undeniably good person. Sheridan, Wyoming is a real town, one that I have never been to but would really like to visit. I took creative license in how I described it, all but the mountains that really rest up against the town like a magnificent sentry.

  Tigger was named after my own Tigger—an orange Maine Coon who died a few years ago. He was my sidekick, always with me, even came when I called him. And when my first-born came home, like Cain and Annie, there are no pictures of her without him standing in the background. Losing him was like losing a little piece of myself.

  Stuart was named after my first car that I gave to my sister. For almost twenty-four years he got her where she had to go. It’s a car, but me, my kids, my sister and even my husband cried seeing the tow truck driving him away.

  And Sandbar, fashioned after our cat Salem—handsome as sin and nasty to the core, unless you’re feeding him.

  To the Beta Beauties who not only give fantastic feedback on story flow and character development, but who I also consider my friends, even having never personally met most of you. A love of books brought us together, but it’s just plain old love that keeps us together. You’re the best and I am working on t-shirts…Audrey, Amber, Ana Kristina, Andie, Dawn, Devine, Donna, Kellyanne, Kimmy, Lauren, Markella, Meredith, Michelle, Raj, Sarah, Sue, Trish and Yolanda.

  Trish Bacher—the Editor in Heels—my copy editor. Once again your attention to detail astounds me. I love collaborating with you and can’t wait for the next project.

  Thank you, Amy Giles, for your proofreading expertise. And thanks for reaching out for no other reason than your love of books and Indie authors. I believe this is the start of a fabulous relationship.

  Melissa Stevens, the Illustrated Author. I am in awe of you. The typeset you’ve created is incredible. And the title page art, the painting of Abel you created, it’s like you climbed into my brain and captured the exact image I was hoping to bring to life. You are amazing.

  Lisa DeSpain, I don’t know how you get into the code of the document and bring all the typeset to life for the eBook. I think if I did know the how of it my eyes would roll into the back of my head, but it’s a work of art when you’re done. Thank you.

  Hang Le, the bar was set high because I simply adore your covers and yet you completely blew me away. I freaking love this cover. It so perfectly represents the story and is just visually exquisite. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  To my twin sister, Audrey, and Michelle, my sister from another mother, who read all of my books first—your tireless support means more than I could ever say. And one of these days we’ll all be on the same side of the Atlantic. I’ll buy the first round.

  To my husband and children, love is not strong enough a word.

  And Artemis, my precious dog who never leaves my side—my companion and my friend. I love you beautiful girl.

  The Beautifully series…

  Beautifully Damaged

  Beautifully Forgotten

  Beautifully Decadent

  The Harrington Maine series

  Waiting for the One

  Just Me

  Standalones

  His Light in the Dark

  A Glimpse of the Dream

  Always and Forever

  Collecting the Pieces

  Devil You Know coming 2017

  TBD Title coming 2017

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  Contact me through email at: lafiore.publishing@gmail.com

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