by Cee Bowerman
“I’ll tell you the one that’s going to get her,” Lena started. “Tell her who you are, Violet.”
“I’m a writer,” Violet said shyly.
“She writes under two pen names: Victor Meridian and Victoria Mardin,” Lena said in an exaggerated stage whisper.
“No. Way.” I was shocked to the core. Then the fan girl set in and I snatched my purse off the ground where I’d dropped it when I sat down a few minutes ago. I pulled the newest paperback I’d bought out of the bag. I’d been carrying it around and reading it every chance I got. It was dogeared and a little crumpled, but I was enjoying every word of it. “Will you sign my book later?”
“Sure.” Violet blushed at my request, but agreed sweetly. “I would love to do that.”
“It can wait,” Lena told me. “She’s your next door neighbor after all. You’ll be seeing her often.”
“That is so cool,” I whispered. “I mean, of course it’s awesome that your sister is a singer, but you’re Victor Meridian!”
“Is this the part where the woman snaps and boils a rabbit or something?” Liberty laughed. “Down girl!”
I blushed to the roots of my hair, but laughed along with the women. When London came back over and sat down after her phone call, the youngest sister took great joy in telling her that I was not a fan of her music, but I was in love with their sister Violet’s work.
“I think I’m going to write a heroine in one of my books and base it off your Aunt Sandy. That woman is a pistol!” Violet said in awe. “She was a drill sergeant today, whipping those men into line. I think they were a little afraid of her, but when she said something nice, they just beamed. I want to be her when I grow up.”
“She’s awesome,” I agreed. “And when she finds out who you are, she’ll have a fit. Will you sign her books too?”
“How about I just give you a box full of all my work and you can give it to her. All my stuff is in Mace’s library if you want to read it and I’ll give you copies of the new stuff as it’s released.”
“That’s so awesome!” I smiled, but then as if a switch had been flipped, my emotional pendulum swung the other way. A sob came bursting out with no warning. “You’re all just so sweet.”
“Oh, honey.” Lena got out of her chair and sat down beside me, pulling me close to her chest in a tight hug. “I think everything just hit you all at once, didn’t it? We’re all family here, sweetheart. Let it all out.”
I blubbered incoherently while the women around me all got closer and tried to give me comfort. Lena was right. It had hit me all at once. I’d shot my brother not even 24 hours ago. Everything I’d worked so hard to collect and make a home with was gone now, covered in gasoline by a crazy man who was set on killing me and watching my body burn. I’d agreed to move myself and my kids into Mace’s house after only having known him for six weeks, and every possession I had left was boxed up inside his garage.
“There’s just so much going on,” I said through my crying.
“It’s moving so fast, it’s hard to keep up, I’m sure.” Loni was on my other side now and I could feel her hand rubbing back and forth across my shoulders. “We’re here for you, sweetheart - whatever you need.”
“I’m so lucky.” I sobbed again, realizing that yes, even though my life was crazy, I was still lucky. By meeting Lena, I’d met Mace and was now surrounded by his brothers and extended family. My kids would grow up with the kind of support I’d only felt on the rare occasions when I was allowed to stay with my Aunt Sandy and Uncle Tink.
My kids would have this life - the big family, the large house, the love - for the rest of their lives.
“Liquor, coffee, or water?” I heard Liberty ask. “I don’t know what the fuck to do. Do I hug her? Like a group thing?”
“Shut up,” Violet whispered back. “Go get a bottle of water for her. Geez.”
I giggled through my tears and then I felt Lena’s shoulders move too.
“See? This is what it’s like to have sisters,” Loni grumbled. “You’ll get so sick of us, you’ll be growling at Liberty in no time.”
“Hey!” I heard Liberty call out from the patio door. “I heard that!”
Loni, Violet, and Lena all laughed with me and I felt the sadness just drain away. I was sitting here surrounded by love.
“Thank you,” I sniffed as Lena let me go. “Thank you so much for listening to me.”
“Anytime, babe.” Lena smiled as she put my hair back over my shoulder. I reached up and wiped the tears off my face as I sniffled again.
“We’ve got your back.” Loni patted my shoulder before she moved back to the chair she’d been sitting in before. “Even Liberty. She’ll find someone’s ass to kick while Violet plots their death. I’ll just use your heartbreak and your inspirational rise from the ashes in my lyrics. Lena will watch over all of us and yell when we fuck something up.”
“That sounds wonderful,” I said honestly.
“Yeah, it’s not in the handbook you get when you fall for a Conner, but I’ll just tell you a few things now. You’ve just inherited a bunch of smelly, nosy brothers. You’ve also got us girls. You’ll have the twins to snuggle any time. Oh, and if you even try to use some sort of tool to do something, you’ll have every man in a three mile radius telling you that you’re doing it wrong. You can never run around your house naked or half dressed because not a damn one of them knows how to knock. But if and when you need something, you’ll have an army at your back,” Lena told me seriously. “I’m sure I’ve forgotten something.”
“Luckily, their mother taught them all good manners and you’ll never have to lift anything heavy again,” Loni chimed in. “And she’s right about the tools. Just pick up a damn screwdriver and they get hives. Oh, you’ll also never have a matching set of dishes again. We’ve got to come up with a system for that.”
“That tool thing happened with Mace already. It almost killed him to watch me use a knife on some screws at my house.” I laughed. “I guess that must run in their family.”
“They don’t even tease you if they hear something they shouldn’t!” Violet said happily. When I looked up at her she blushed, “Apparently, Angus and I got a little loud and one of the windows in our house was open.”
“Yeah, the guys don’t tease her about it, but we do.” Liberty laughed as she handed me a bottle of water. “Big sis is a screamer. Who knew?”
“Shut up,” Violet hissed.
“Thank you,” I told the women around me. “Thank you for letting me in and then letting me have a little freak out.”
“You’ll get your payback with these three.” Liberty rolled her eyes. “When Lena wants to kill Finn, she calls us and we all get together and stir a cauldron for a while before she just up and forgives him like it was nothing.”
I laughed at the image and told her, “I’ll make sure I have a big spoon handy to help stir.”
“You do that, honey. And if you need us, we’re all just up the street one direction or another.” Lena sat up a little straighter and then tilted her head when a sound came out of the baby monitor she was holding. “Well, that’s my warning bell. I’ve got about three minutes to get over there before all hell breaks loose.”
“I’ll come help,” Liberty stood up with Lena and started toward the patio door. “Nice to meet you, Reba!”
“It was nice to meet you too,” I called out as my gaze went out to the men in the yard with my kids.
The two youngest twins were sitting under a tree listening to Vada go on about something, relaxed and content to listen to my little girl as she rambled.
Mace and Angus were on their knees in the grass with Cyrus between them and they seemed to be making some sort of diagram with sticks and rocks. The Ros and Finn were off in a little cluster on the other side of the yard doing the same sort of thing.
“It’s like a yard full of good looking men for us to ogle. Kind of like viewing animals in their natural habitat.” As if they’d heard us and wanted t
o show off their animal side, Angus started yelling at Tavin who had just walked past him.
“Did you just crop dust me?”
Tavin took off running with Vada laughing right behind him as Angus jumped up and chased the two.
“Yep, that’s my guy.” Loni sighed dramatically. “Look at him go.”
Violet and I couldn’t hold in our laughter. As I wiped away happy tears this time, I saw Mace on his way across the grass toward us.
Behind him, the rest of the brothers and my kids were wrestling each other and running around. It looked like chaos, but my man was walking away from it to come to me.
“That escalated quickly,” Violet chuckled. “I’m going to help Angus.”
“I think Tavin could use some support.” Loni stood up and started for the grass. I saw beyond her that Tavin was on his back in the grass with Cyrus holding down one arm and Vada holding down the other. Chess was across Tavin’s legs and one of the Ros was helping to hold him down while Angus and the other Ro gave him a red belly. Finn was walking toward his house holding onto another baby monitor. He’d occasionally glance back at his family and shake his head.
“You okay, Reba?” Mace asked as he got closer to me. “Have you been crying?”
“Yeah,” I admitted as I smiled up at my future. “At first, they were stressful, sad tears, but they turned into happy laughing tears pretty quickly.”
“Good.” Mace smiled as he pulled me up into his arms. “That’s what I want for you, sweetheart. Happiness and laughter.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Reba.” Mace started toward the patio door, pulling me behind him. “Now let’s go lock ourselves in the bedroom and make out for a little bit while the kids help kill my brother.”
For a man who’d never had kids of his own, I was happy that he already knew the drill.
I followed Mace, my love and my future, into our house, ready to start our lives together.
EPILOGUE
“I’m okay with being the shining example of what not to do.”
Travis
10 years later
REBA
“Hi, Travis!” I heard one of my younger kids say politely after they opened the door. Then, as if he didn’t have the manners God gave a goat, he yelled, “Mom! Travis is here!”
“Thanks buddy, I’m right here. Go let Cyrus and Vada know.” I laughed from a few feet away. “Come on in, Travis.”
“Hey, Reba.” My ex-husband walked into the kitchen holding a gift. “Am I too early?”
“Not at all,” I said and smiled over at him. “Mace is out getting the grill ready. You’re the first one here, but that will give you a chance to relax with the kids for a few minutes before the craziness starts.”
“I can’t believe Cy is old enough to graduate.” Travis shook his head as he took a seat at the bar. I opened a container of cookies I’d made the day before and started arranging them on a serving platter. “Honestly, I can’t believe I’m here with you guys to help celebrate.”
“It was dicey there for a while,” I admitted with a laugh. “But you came out the other side. I’m proud of you, you know.”
I hadn’t ever said that to Travis, even though I’d felt that way for a few years now. After a stint in prison for his crimes, he’d been released and followed all the rules of his parole. He’d stayed clean and sober, moved back to Texas, and worked as a laborer at Mace’s company for quite a while before he was promoted up the ranks to the foreman position he held now.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without you and Mace, Reba. I’m so lucky that you took a chance and let me back in.”
“You’re family after all.”
“For a long time, I didn’t deserve that title.”
“You’re right, but that’s water under the bridge now. Our kids are almost grown, and they’re ready to start lives of their own. I’m glad you are around to help us guide them.”
“I’m okay with being the shining example of what not to do.” Travis chuckled.
“Nah,” Mace shook his head as he came into the kitchen, having heard our conversation. “It’s not just that, man. It is a little bit, but you’re also a good example of what happens when you put your mind to something. Your perseverance outshadows your fuck ups at this point.”
“Thanks,” Trav said without meeting Mace’s eyes.
“Hey, Trav.” Cyrus hugged his father when he walked into the room. “I’m glad you made it!”
“Of course.” Travis held onto Cyrus for a few seconds longer than normal and smiled when he pulled away. “Turning 18 is a big deal. I wouldn’t miss it!”
“Cy, grab you and Trav a water and get your dad a cold beer. The three of you go out and grunt like cavemen while the meat cooks and let me have a minute or two in peace.” I walked past the guys and put the plate of cookies down on the dining room table where I had almost everything else already set up.
When I walked back into the kitchen, Mace was waiting for me.
“Come here, honey.” Mace pulled me into his arms. “You need some more time to cry?”
“I do.” I admitted.
“I know he’s still your baby, but he’s just about grown now.”
“I know.” I nodded and then rested my head on Mace’s chest as he rubbed my back. “It’s not just that.”
“Then what is it, Reba? I haven’t seen you this emotional since the last time you were...oh my God. Are you pregnant?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Holy shit.”
The tears were streaming down my face now, wetting the front of Mace’s shirt. “I thought we were done. I think it happened the weekend you took me fishing.”
“Are you not happy?” Mace asked gently.
“I’m very happy,” I said as I sniffed. “Are you?”
“Fuck yeah.” Mace squeezed me tight for a second and then pushed me away just a little bit so he could see my face. “I love you, Reba Conner.”
“I love you too, Mace. Thank you for being my forever even if you do enjoy keeping me barefoot and pregnant.”
“Mmmm,” Mace growled in my ear. “I like pregnant Reba almost as much as I like tipsy Reba.”
“Tipsy is how I got pregnant!”
“Yeah, well.” Mace kissed me long and slow for a few minutes before he pulled away. “I can’t wait to tell my brothers.”
“Me big man. Me knock up my woman.” I grunted, making fun of my husband and his need to brag to his brothers.
“I’m just adding to our next generation of employees,” Mace schemed. “Got to keep the costs down, you know? That’s easier when you hire from within the family.”
“I’ll let the other wives know that’s the evil plan.” I pushed at his chest. “But I don’t want to say anything today. It’s Cyrus’s day.”
“Got it. Speaking of, I’m going to head outside. I’ve got a project in the works and need to see if Travis can take the lead on it.”
“Thank you, Mace, for all you’ve done for me and our kids. And even for Travis.”
“Without him and his craziness, I wouldn’t have you and our kids. I know it’s a weird situation, but it works for us.”
“It does and that’s because of you. You’re a good, strong man, Mace Conner.”
“Even a good man is only as strong as the woman by his side, baby. I can do anything with you.”
THE END
Check out Cee Bowerman on Facebook. You can also find information about the author and her books on www.ceebowermanbooks.com.
Look for the next books in the series that follow the Conner brothers through life, love, fame, heartache, and everything in between. Make sure to visit around Rojo, Texas with the Texas Knights and the Texas Kings series also!
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About the Author
Cee
Bowerman is proud, lifelong resident of Texas. She is married to her own long haired, tattooed biker and is the proud mom to three mostly adult kids - a daughter and two sons. She believes in love, second chances, rescue dogs, and happily ever after.
Cee received her first romance novel along with a bag of other books from her Granny when she was recovering from surgery at 15. She has been hooked on reading romances ever since. For years, she had a dream of writing her own series of stories, but motherhood and all the other grown up responsibilities kept getting in the way. Luckily, with the support of her family and the encouragement of her son, she purchased a computer and let her dreams become a reality.
You can find her on Facebook @ceebowerman or online at www.ceebowermanbooks.com.
Look for more fun romances in this series in the coming months and get updates on the Facebook page for more information on characters and stories that are in progress.