“I’m hungry, mommy,” Lanie said, tossing her backpack down.
“The troops are back,” Brayden said entering the kitchen. “Is that where the backpack goes, Lane?”
Lanie sighed. “I’m tired, daddy.”
“Put the pack away and you can take a nap.”
She rolled her eyes, putting her backpack on the table where she’d do her homework later. “I’m going to feed Jack,” she said of her shrimp, named after Jacques from the movie, Finding Nemo.
He smiled wide, but it faltered when he saw me. “Is something wrong?”
“Ah…”
“Mommy?” Noah rushed into the kitchen, his face filled with panic. “George is upside down and not swimming.”
“Uh oh,” Brayden said. I could see he was torn between checking in with me and dealing with Noah and his probably dead fish.
“Go deal with George,” I said. “I’ll make a snack for them.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. We can talk later.” Later would be better. We had a lot to process and it shouldn’t be done in front of the kids.
Since Brayden sold the business and was home pretty much full time, I learned that it was definitely easier to parent with two people than alone. I’d been afraid that having Brayden at home most of the time would eventually get old. Especially for him. But the truth was, life was calmer. He still occasionally consulted with the business, but mostly he worked at home on the foundation, which I helped him with. He was involved with the kids, usually getting them up, while I did the pick-up. He attended their sports practices and events.
A month ago, he was with me when I had my next post-cancer check-up. At that time, all was well and we were able to breathe a sigh of relief until the next visit. All in all, life was good. No, it was wonderful. Nearly perfect.
Today, was a regular day, except of course, my doctors visit and the loss of George. Dealing with George’s death was difficult under normal circumstances, but having come through the health scare of a lifetime, I was reminded at how much loss hurts.
Later in the evening, when the kids were doing homework, I saw Brayden staring off.
“Is everything okay?” I asked him, rubbing my hand over his shoulder.
“That fish. It makes me think of…” He didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t have too. I gave him a hug, letting him feel that I was here.
“No kissing,” Lanie yelled at us.
That evening, Brayden spent a little extra time with Noah when it was time for bed. When he finished, he found me looking out the window as I processed what I had to tell him.
“Terra?” His warm, firm hands rested on my shoulders. “What’s going on?”
I turned to look at him. “I went to the doctor today.”
His breath hitched. “What’s wrong? Is the cancer back? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I hated to see the panic in his face. “It’s not cancer.”
His eyes narrowed. “What is it? A tumor?”
I shook my head and took his hand pressing it on my belly. “It’s a baby.”
His gaze shot up to mine, his face filled with shock and confusion. “What?”
“I’m pregnant.”
He continued to look a bit discombobulated. “I thought that couldn’t happen.”
“The doctor says infertility happens to some women and not others.”
“Will it be okay?”
I was having a hard time reading his reaction beyond stunned. Was he happy about this news?
“My gynecologist said that normally they recommend at least two years after treatment, but she feels like eighteen months will be okay.”
He stared at me, bringing his hands to my cheeks. “You’re a fucking goddess, you know that.”
“Does that mean you’re okay with this? I mean the kids are bigger now. Lanie will be eight and Noah six when the baby comes. Some of our travel plans will need to be put on hold.”
“This is a gift. A reward for all we’ve been through,” he said. He frowned again. “Are you unhappy about this?”
I shook my head. “No. To be honest, it makes me feel like a whole woman again. I know it’s silly but…”
“Oh baby.” He pulled me to him, cradling me in his arms. “The kids are going to love having a baby around. And I’m going to be here to help with everything. Feeding. Diapers. All of it. This time I’m going to get it right.”
I lifted my head to look up at him. “You didn’t get it wrong before.”
He smiled. “I missed a lot. I don’t want to miss anything this time.” He kissed me and then laughed. “I suppose it was inevitable, wasn’t it?”
“Oh?” I smiled up at him, so happy that he was excited by the news. “How’s that?”
“We have a lot of sex. I haven’t used a condom since the doctor said it was okay to stop.”
During my treatments, the doctor said Brayden should use a condom, not just to prevent pregnancy, but also to keep him from being exposed to the toxins from chemotherapy.”
“I’ve been on the pill again,” I said. “But then, remember I had the flu and that virus. I missed a few days and was on antibiotics. I guess that combo made the pill ineffective.”
He shook his head. “No. It’s my super amazing sperm and your Goddess eggs.”
I laughed. “You’re right. There’s no stopping your sperm.” I rested my head against his chest. “You are happy about this, right?”
“Ecstatic. You keep giving me more than I deserve. I’m so fucking grateful at the life I have. I’m not sure how I got so lucky, but I’m going to take it.”
“It’s not luck and you do deserve it. We’re lucky that we have the financial resources to create our lives. That was you. You did that for us. Your hard work. Your commitment to us. You’re the one that’s amazing. If your mom was here, she’d be so proud of you.”
He dropped his forehead to rest against mine. “I would have liked to have the opportunity to help her achieve her dreams. She died too young. Before I could do that.”
“She lives on in here,” I said pressing my hand to his heart.
We held each other for a moment, then Brayden said, “We need to celebrate.”
“How?”
He tugged me toward the bedroom. “Well, champagne is out, so I guess we’ll just have to make love.”
“That’s your answer to everything.” I laughed as I let him lead me to bed.
“It’s the solution to everything.” He took me in his arms again. “Everything is about love. Showing you my love. What could be more poignant than that?”
He had a point. “Nothing. You’re right. This baby, Lanie and Noah, are a living testament to our love.”
“It’s a good love, Terra. Strong. Deep. Pure.”
I nodded. At one time, it was an imperfect love, but today, I couldn’t imagine anyone had what Brayden and I did. Not that it was perfect, but it was about as close as two people could get.
As he lay me back, and settled his body over mine, I took him in my arms, savoring my life. I was healthy, with a new life growing inside me. I had two wonderful children. And I had a man who worshiped me. A woman couldn’t ask for more than that.
Enjoyed this series?
Get the next book in the series, ‘Eight Long Years’ here.
Eight Long Years is an emotional secret baby, second chance romance and book five in the Heart of Hope series.
Reasons why you want to read it:
✔️Second Chance
✔️Secret Baby (yeah, I know you love this one)
✔️Brother’s Best Friend (oh my…)
✔️Ex Military (yes, he’s over protective and too alpha)
✔️Boss Employee Forbidden Relationship (is there any trope we missed here?)
✔️A very satisfying and tearjerking HEA.
Read on for a sneak peek of Eight Long Years.
Excerpt: Eight Long Years
A Second Chance Secret Baby Romance
Description
April… my best friend’s sister.
Her and I have been torn apart for eight years.
I never thought she’d leave me after I joined the military.
But her letter shredded me to pieces.
She’d clearly told me that we weren’t meant to be.
That everything we felt for each other was meaningless.
I didn’t believe her.
And I shouldn’t have.
There was something else at play.
April is my best friend’s little sister and he’s overprotective of her.
There’s still time to find out the truth.
Because I’m returning home.
And April is no longer just my ex girlfriend.
She’s also my employee.
My forbidden, tempting, and gorgeous employee.
And she’s hiding a secret.
A huge secret that I should’ve known about years ago.
I don’t think I could forgive her for keeping it from me.
But first… I have to find out what kept us apart.
And how I can make her mine forever.
Prologue
April
I want Jude Mason to be my first.
I looked at the diary entry I’d made when I was sixteen. My sentiments hadn’t changed in the last two years. I wanted to give my V-card to my brother’s best friend. But I didn’t just want to have sex. I wanted him to like me the way I’d liked him since I was fourteen years old. I’d gone from having a crush, to an infatuation, and now love.
When my brother first brought Jude home to play video games, I was eleven years old. My brother August was a freshman in high school and having a hard time of it. He was the proverbial nerd with big glasses, scrawny build, and more interested in cerebral activities than sports. In many ways, his friendship with Jude was odd since they were opposites. Jude, unlike us, came from a poor and somewhat dysfunctional family. Even at fourteen, he’d been strong and athletic. But, he was also smart, and while a little rough around the edges, he was nice. He and my brother were partnered in some sort of science experiment, and since then they’d been friends. Perhaps it was because Jude, for all his good looks and natural athleticism, was also a bit of an outsider as he never really bought into school culture, so maybe his friendship with my brother made total sense.
At eleven, I just thought they were boring and annoying. It wasn’t until I was about thirteen, and first noticing boys, that I took notice of Jude. He was sixteen and drove a used motorcycle that he bought with his own money saved in his part-time construction job. When the weather was nice, he’d cruise over and then he and my brother, in the new car my parents bought for him, would drive to the river to swim. I often tagged along as the annoying little sister.
By the time I was sixteen, I was full on head-over-heels in love with him. I not only wanted to give him my V-card, I wanted to marry him. All over my diary were flowery signatures of Mrs. April Mason. While now at eighteen, I thought those signatures and hearts were silly, my feelings and desires for Jude were as strong as ever.
He was my brother’s best friend, but over the years, especially when my brother left for college four years ago, Jude would still come over usually under the guise of helping with things like mowing the lawn, and over that time we’d become friends too. He once beat up Daniel Kipson for making lewd comments about me when I turned Daniel down for a date. At the time, I hoped it was because Jude was jealous, but then he started dating someone else and I realized he was just being a big brother type.
Of course, that didn’t stop me from loving and lusting after him. I was biding my time and finally, my patience was about to pay off. My parents were off on a weekend overnight trip and August, who had planned to come home this weekend, decided to stay at college in Jamestown to play Dungeons and Dragons or something with his college friends, since they were all graduating and going their own ways soon.
He’d made plans to see Jude too, but when he called to tell me he wasn’t coming home, I told him I’d let Jude know. Yes, it was a lie, because I didn’t let Jude know, but what big brother didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. And if I was lucky, Jude wouldn’t be too disappointed at not finding August here, and in fact, would discover I was much more interesting.
It was a warm day in late May, so I wore a pretty summer dress that accentuated my curves. I wasn’t a petite girl with a thigh gap, a goal I never understood. I like looking like a full-figured woman, not a boy. Underneath my dress, I wore the lacy bra and panties I just bought at Victoria Secret. It was kismet or serendipity that I’d bought the lingerie and then had this opportunity to seduce Jude. I just hoped he liked it and I didn’t end up embarrassing myself.
I sprayed on my mom’s pretty floral perfume, and checked that my nails from yesterday's mani-pedi still looked shiny.
I heard the roar of his motorcycle and it sent shivers of anticipation up my spine. When the doorbell rang, I rushed to it, stopping and taking a quick breath to calm myself before opening it.
I pulled the door open. “Hey Jude.” I smirked as always when I’d sing the greeting like the Beatles song.
He gave his head a quick shake, his slightly overgrown dark blond hair falling over his forehead. “That’s not old or anything.” He stepped inside. “Where’s Aug?”
I shut the door behind him so he couldn’t escape too easily. “Actually, he’s still at school. He changed his mind about coming home.”
Jude’s brow furrowed. “Why didn’t he call me?”
“I was supposed to. I’m sorry. But since you’re here, do you want to hangout? My parents are gone so I’m all by myself.”
He shifted like he was uncomfortable as he looked at me. His light blue eyes that always made me think of stars looked down at my outfit and then up to my face again.
“It looks like you have plans too.”
“No. Just hanging out. We’ve got beer if you want,” I said, knowing he was now twenty-one.
“Sure. Why not.”
It wasn’t a raving acceptance, but I’d take it. We went to the kitchen and I grabbed the pack of six bottles of beer from the refrigerator and then led him back to our sun porch that overlooked the canal with access to the Missouri River.
I continued to bide my time, shooting the breeze with him as he drank one and then a second beer. We sat on the couch together but with some distance between us. For him, I’m sure it was a normal visit. For me, my skin was crawling with agitation and pent up sexual frustration.
We’d just finished talking about my upcoming high school graduation and my plans for the fall, when I asked him, “Was Dina Markem really your first?”
His head jerked back in surprise. “Ah…how’d you know that?”
“My room is next to Auggie’s and I remember hearing you guys talk about your conquests. Or you talk about yours, since Auggie didn’t really have any.”
“Why are you asking me about this?”
“She was older than you, but still what…sixteen, seventeen?”
He studied me. “Something like that. Why?”
“Do you suppose most people graduate from high school having lost their virginity? I mean, even Auggie got laid before he left high school.”
“I’m sure there are some who wait. What’s going on here, April?”
I looked down, knowing that my next words would either scare him away or hopefully have him help put me out of my misery.
“I still have my V-card.” I slanted my gaze toward him to see what he thought about that.
“There’s no shame in that, April. I won’t deny that sex is great, but it’s something you need to be ready for.” He took a long sip of his beer.
I reached over and got another bottle for him.
“That’s the thing, Jude. I feel ready. And I really don’t want to go to college as a virgin.”
He took the bottle I handed to him and set it on the table beside the couch. “That’s not a good enough reason to fuck.”
>
My girly parts lit up at his use of the word fuck. I wondered if he talked dirty like that when he was doing the deed.
“You should have feelings for the guy and he should have feelings for you. Respect you.”
“Do you respect me, Jude?”
He blinked at me a bit stunned. “Well, yes but—”
Taking a chance, I moved closer to him. “I want you to be my first.”
“Ah hell, April. I’m….ah…that’s really sweet but I can’t.”
“Why? Are you seeing someone already?” I tried to push away the embarrassment and disappointment.
“Well…no. But you’re August’s sister. I couldn’t do that two him.”
I pursed my lips. “First, you’re not doing it to him, you’re doing it to me. Second, if my brother respects and trusts you, then that makes you the perfect candidate, doesn’t it?”
He shifted, tugging at the pant leg of his jeans. I saw a long ridge and realized that his dick was hard. I gasped at the idea of that. He was turned on by me.
“Did you plan this?”
“Yes. I’m not going to college as a virgin. If I do it with some local jerk, he’ll probably talk about it, ruining my reputation. You’d have to go beat him up. Or you could do it, because I know you’d be discrete. I want it to be you.”
“Jesus, April.” He ran his hands through his hair.
“Is it just Auggie that makes you stop? Wouldn’t you want me?”
His blue eyes seemed darker as they looked at me. “Yes.”
“Yes, it’s Auggie or yes you would want me.”
He looked down and uttered, “Fuck.” He let out a breath and lifted his gaze to me. “Yes, to both. You’re beautiful and sexy, so yes, of course, I’d want you. But Aug would want to kick my ass and I’d have to let him because you just don’t fuck your friend’s sister.”
I could undress and hope that his sex urges took over. Or I could try a new angle.
Heart of Hope: Books 1-4 Page 87