“Dad, seriously, this has to stop. You don’t get to decide, because I love Aaron. I may have been confused about a lot of things, and scared, and terrified, but Aaron…finding him and taking a chance to be myself again with him is the only right thing I’ve done.”
“I know, Brittany. That’s what I’m trying to say. I may not have believed he cared for you the way you needed, and maybe I did blame him for everything that happened. I just want to say I’m sorry, and I hear you. So does your sister.”
She squeezed the phone, and Aaron waited, his hands shoved in his jeans pockets, his dark T-shirt clinging to his magnificent chest.
“But you’ll never really accept him,” she said, feeling such sadness and loss, wishing her mom were here now, because she’d have taken both her dad and sister aside and ended this nonsense. It was a skill she had, and without her, the family was so unbalanced. After all these years, Brittany was only seeing it now.
“I’m saying we’ll try.”
“Yes,” Susan said. “We’re family, Brittany. I may not like your choice, but we’ll try for you.”
At least that was something. As she said goodbye, she felt as if the door that seemed to have slammed shut days ago had been cracked open. She’d made something right that had seemed so damaged and lost. She took in Aaron, who was so different now. He was her beginning.
“It’s the entire middle of our relationship that’s missing,” she said. “I realized after you left and I sat here. Those lost years… We had our beginning, and I love you so much that not having you, it hurt to breathe. You’re not the same, I’m not the same, but you’re still you, and you’re still that missing piece, and I don’t want to have a life without you. I love you so much that I realized that if something happened to pull you away from me again, it would be more than I could stand. I know I would survive, but not all of me would. You’re that piece of happiness I’ve lost.” She pressed her hands to her chest, feeling her heart beating. “I have you back, but I haven’t let myself really feel you and live again. I don’t want to hold back, Aaron, or do this halfway. I called my family because I couldn’t leave it the way it was. It was tearing me apart. I need peace and love, not to be put in a position to choose. But I would have.”
He nodded. “I heard.” He reached out, touched her cheek lightly, and then dropped his hand. “I still hate them for what they did to you, to us, for stealing away all these years, but I won’t make you choose. I won’t make you keep them from your life.”
“Our life.” She had to make him understand.
He smiled and stepped in closer, sliding his hands around her back and lifting her, holding her against him. “I love you,” he said. “I loved you then and never stopped. That’s not something that can be shut off. I may have stumbled a bit, though, like you, trying to figure out where we go from here.”
She slid her hand around his neck, feeling him and how steady he was. “I don’t want to be anywhere else,” she said, and he lowered his head and kissed her.
As he pulled away, he smiled. “We’ve got a lot of missing years to catch up on,” he said, then lifted her in his arms and kissed her again as he started around to the bedroom, and as he lowered her onto the bed, he said, “and I intend to make each moment count.”
33
Houston was hopping. The crowds were crazy. The noise was electric. Aaron was walking from the locker room, his robe on, his hood up, Jim beside him, one hand on his shoulder. His heart was pounding as he walked past security, taking in the fans screaming on their feet as the announcer called out his name. Hands reached out to him from the end-row seats. Security was there holding back the fans. There were signs, cheering, ramped-up energy. As the cage closed in and the front row appeared, he took in his brothers, Chase, Vic, Luc, and Tom. They reached out, each one, and patted his shoulder from the seats he’d reserved. Then there was Brittany, who looked so pretty in a white sundress, and his sister Madison. His family, his entire family was here.
“You guys, this is for you,” he yelled out to them before grabbing Brittany and kissing her long and deep, hearing the fans go crazy.
He was hauled up into the cage and saw his opponent in the ring—the shaved head, the dark expression, a man ready to fight. He started moving in place and took one last look over to his family. Bouncing in place, he got in the zone, but it didn’t hurt, didn’t blind him anymore. The pain was gone. There was nothing left of the heartache and anger that had driven him before. That was another life, another man. What he did now as the bell rang and he bounced on his toes was smile, because this fight was all about him, his family, and all that mattered. And he pointed to his girl, to his family, before lunging in and landing the first punch.
What’s coming next
Don’t Hide From Me
Sometimes what we can’t see is standing right in front of us all along.
From a Readers’ Favorite award—winning author and “queen of the family saga” (Aherman): Luc McCabe is a man on the edge. Not only has he given up on his ideal happily ever after, which includes a man who’ll love him and children of his own. He’s leaving behind his old life that has been only about endings.
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What Luc doesn’t realize is sometimes love happens unexpectedly.
Available from all retailers: CLICK HERE to order your copy from all retailers.
READ AN EXCERPT FROM DON’T HIDE FROM ME
Luc pushed himself the last mile over a path still damp from an overnight shower. The humidity had already cranked up, though, sticking his T-shirt and shorts to his skin. He ran through Lincoln Park, his earbuds plugged in as he listened to his playlist, spanning Eminem to U2, which drowned out the sounds of the midmorning Chicago rush.
This was his last run, his last night in Chicago—a city that held nothing but endings for him. His entire life had been all about finding his place, but he had never fit in. Unsettled, that was it. He had always needed to fit into situations instead of the other way around. He often wondered whether anyone truly knew who he was, or would he continue to keep everyone close to him at a distance? He realized he had always tried to conform to be included, in his family, his job, his life.
He pushed himself to a sprint, pumping his arms, his new Adidas runners pounding the ground as he circled the park for two and a half miles. The gate was just ahead, and he pushed through, welcoming the burn just as the playlist shuffled to Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” It had been his and Bruce’s song, a song he now hated, and it filled him with memories of everything that hadn’t worked.
He yanked his earbuds out and slowed to a walk, dragging in each breath, his army-green T-shirt soaked with sweat, and beads of it trickled down his neck as he walked it off, not looking into the face of anyone who passed. His iPhone chirped a ridiculous bird call, and he pulled it out, seeing a picture of his brother.
“This is the second time today you’ve called,” Luc said, swiping at the sweat on his forehead. “Even for you, this is a little much.”
“Just checking on where you’re at,” Chase said. He sounded distracted and to the point.
“I’m running—or was. Finished packing. The movers are arriving this afternoon, and then I’m heading to the airport. Anything else, Mom, or do you want me to call you again as I’m leaving?”
He didn’t miss the chuckle. At times, Chase needed to organize everyone and everything as if he specialized in everyone else’s problems. Luc had never let his brother organize or fix him, though, and he never would. “Sorry, habits,” Chase said. “Listen. I was wondering if you could do something for me.”
Luc pulled the phone away and stared at it, then took in the clear and sunny day in the park, staring up at the sky. “Uh, I’m not sure I heard you right. You need help from me?”
“Stop being a smartass, would you?”
Luc couldn’t help wondering what was up, considering Chase never asked anyone for help—not that Vic, Aaron, or even he did either. It was just that Chase was alway
s shoving his nose in everywhere, trying to fix each of them. This was a first on so many levels. “Couldn’t help myself. I thought for a second the world had tilted on its axis.”
“It’s just a simple yes or no, Luc,” Chase said. Now he sounded irritated and short, which wasn’t like him. Maybe Luc should have been worried.
“It goes without saying,” he said. “Just ask. You know I will.” He circled the edge of the park, taking in people crossing at the lights, everyone in a hurry, impatient, the cars stopped.
“Rose is in Chicago, closing up some personal financial matters. I’m not really happy about it, but since her ex has been served for divorce, there are some delicate issues that still need to be resolved there.”
“Whoa, wait, what do you mean, delicate?” Luc said. “Didn’t you say her ex was that senator who used her as a punching bag?” He was sure that was what Chase had said, or maybe it had been Aaron. When Chase met Rose, she had been hiding from the scumbag she was married to, believing he’d eventually kill her.
“I did say that, which is why I’m hoping you’ll hang beside her, get her on the plane with you. I have to finish up here or I’d be there. I have Billy Jo and can’t leave. For some reason, Rose didn’t want to wait. She’s developed this confidence, thinking Travis won’t touch her now after the sit-down I had with him. She thinks I’ve made sure he’ll behave—which I have, but he’s a politician, so his word means nothing.”
“A sit-down, what? Are you kidding?” Then again, this was Chase. That was what he did with everyone and everything.
“He’s a successful man, ambitious, with a one-way focus on the White House. A scandal of this nature, him being an abuser of women, that isn’t something he’d want made public. It would hurt him. I made sure he understood just how much. It was necessary, but still, he is who he is: a monster who wouldn’t think twice about pulling some underhanded shit. Wouldn’t put it past him to pull something, now that he knows where Rose is. He probably even knows she’s in Chicago.”
“So you want me to babysit your girl?”
“I want you to show up and glue yourself to her side until she finishes her business, and then get her to the airport with you. She’ll get on a flight to Salem, and Vic will pick you both up. I’ll meet you at Vic’s, and then I’ll be able to breathe a little easier.”
Maybe that was it, the unease he was hearing in his brother’s voice. Chase lived and breathed drama, problems, solving what others couldn’t, but this was the first time Luc had heard something in his brother’s voice that made him stop and really focus on what he wasn’t saying. Chase never asked for help, and Luc was well aware that he’d never once called on him this way before.
“She’ll be fine,” Luc said. “Just tell me where she is. I’ll leave now.”
“She’s booked into the Hyatt downtown, room 403. I told her to stay put until you get there. And, Luc, thank you.” Chase sighed on the other end.
“Don’t mention it,” Luc said, and as he hung up, he also breathed a little easier. Not only had Chase backed off from giving him the third degree about what his plans were, from prying into his business, love life, and everything else that had gone to shit, for the first time ever he was the one reaching out to Luc for help.
Luc looked up to the sky, expecting to see pigs flying.
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Please Leave a Review
Thank you for reading Don’t Run From Me. I really hope you enjoyed reading all about Aaron and Brittany. This is a brand new series of brothers Vic, Chase, Aaron, & Luc, along with their sister Claudia who will appear in future books. The McCabe Brothers is a dark romance series that will continue much like The Friessens. If any of you missed Leave the Light On where Vic McCabe, friend to Neil Friessen was introduced you can click here to grab your copy now, included free with Family First. If you enjoyed Don’t Run From Me then I’d love to ask you a favor and have you go back to wherever you purchased this eBook from and leave a review, or click here for a direct link back to your retailer of choice. Even just a few kind words really does mean a lot.
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Although this book and all my books have been edited and proofed, editors, proofreaders, and I are all human. If you spot a typo, please email me at [email protected] and let me know. Also, I would like to thank everyone who has emailed and told all their family and friends about my books. If you’d like to know more about my other books, please scroll to the next section or visit my website at www.LorhainneEckhart.com.
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All the best,
Lorhainne Eckhart
Other works available
It begins May 31 - A BRAND NEW SERIES
The Parker Sisters, a spinoff of the romance series Married in Montana from a Readers’ Favorite award—winning author and “queen of the family saga” (Aherman)
The Parker Sisters
Thrill of the Chase
The Dating Game
Play Hard to Get
What We Can’t Have
Go Your Own Way
The Parker Sisters: The Complete Collection
He stopped for an accident and stumbled upon the one woman he’d been looking for all his life.
From a Readers’ Favorite award-winning author and the “queen of the family saga” (Aherman) comes The Parker Sisters, a new spinoff of the Married in Montana series.
To everyone who doesn’t know her, dependable EMT Taz Parker is strong, capable, and confident. However, everything about her job terrifies her. She lives in a small Wyoming town, with four sisters, an overprotective father, and no dating prospects on the horizon, considering the lack of available men in the area. That is until one rainy night, while transporting a patient to the next town, she stumbles upon an accident.
* * *
Jerry O’Rourke is only passing through town when he witnesses a roadside accident. When he stops to help at the grisly scene, there’s only so much he can do, so he flags down a passing ambulance. A pretty EMT stops to help, and Jerry is unable to resist her.
* * *
Even though he lives in another state, Jerry seeks out Taz just one more time—but what he encounters is a naive young woman from a big family. Taz is beautiful and innocent, and he wonders where she’s been all his life. When he sets his sights on her, he soon realizes that the strong ties Taz has with her family could make having her far more difficult than he could have ever imagined.
* * *
Click here to download your copy of Thrill of the Chase and keep reading
Chapter 1
Taz wanted a hot bath, a good book, and a slice of Hoover’s Meat Lover’s Paradise, the specialty pizza at the Dog House. In fact, she could see herself wrapped in her fluffy lavender robe, wool socks on her feet, curled up on the sofa, digging into that first slice, which would comfort her after a lousy day at the station. Her workplace was a run-down double wide, all the town of Kaycee could provide for its EMTs, and her arrogant partner from Buffalo was four years her junior.
Today, she had rushed to a scene only to be turned away by a chauvinistic good ol’ boy who’d rather have died than be rescued by a woman. Taz hadn’t minded the fact that the idiot saw her as a member of the weaker sex or the fact that he’d insisted Bradley Dunlop, a.k.a. her arrogant partner, who was still in training, be the one to administer first aid. It hadn’t been a big deal, even considering the man had had a hatchet sticking out of his back. How he’d managed that feat, she hadn’t a clue.
Even though Bradley looked about twelve and weighed only one twenty, the balding overweight man had insisted he was his guy because, being male, he’d know more about what he was doing. That was laughable, considering Bradley still had to be reminded of some pretty basic rules—for example, that when h
e stepped out of the ambulance after getting the call, he needed to assess the scene and take a few commonsense steps. Look left, look right, and don’t forget to look up.
She could hear the victim caterwauling and listened to the back and forth as she stood five steps away, that is, after she’d cut down the smoldering tree branch the guy had been sitting under. If Bradley had only looked up and assessed the scene as he was supposed to have done, he’d have seen it was only moments away from falling onto the shirtless idiot, whose fat belly was sticking out over his ripped blue jeans. She took in what she supposed was the barn, or rather a shed with rotted boards, a door hanging from one hinge, and rusty farm implements and piles of black garbage bags scattered everywhere, obviously the source of the rank odor that had hit her as she first stepped out of the rig.
“So how, again, did you get an ax in your back?” Bradley asked. He was on the ground, squatting, wrapping the gushing wound. Blood was pooling on the gauze, and the man was glassy eyed. Taz had to bite her tongue, fighting the urge to correct Bradley. It was a hatchet, not an ax. Big difference.
“I tripped. Goddamn fool woman didn’t put the thing back, and next thing I knew, I had this blade jammed in my back.”
Taz took in Wilma, the wife of the idiot on the ground, who was also standing five feet back. She wasn’t a looker and appeared to be in her fifties, with salt and pepper hair that seemed to give her a bad hair day every day. She was wearing a faded house dress with an apron overtop, her face overly wrinkled, her eyes tired. She crossed her bony arms across her skinny chest. Her lips were thin, and she was shaking her head.
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