Uncovered Desires_A Single Mom Alpha Male Protector Romance

by Kelli Walker

  And Dom was in the best-looking tuxedo I’d ever seen on a young man.

  I walked down the steps and held out my hand to receive her from Dom. I led her up the steps as we stood in front of DeShawn and everyone else. But all I saw were her eyes. Her dazzling eyes so full of grace and excitement and happiness. I wanted to flip the veil over and draw her into my body. Into my lips. Into my bed. Jackson and Bella had agreed to stay at our house for a week with the boys so I could jet Isabelle off to a romantic tropical vacation in Bora Bora. A very stark change from the chillier-than-normal winter that had settled over Texas.

  Then, DeShawn’s voice ripped me from my trance.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to hitch this wonderful couple standing in front of me. So, if anyone objects, you can sit down and shut up because don’t none of us care.”

  I bent over with laughter as Isabelle’s shoulders shook with her giggles.

  “I don’t have anything else written down other than that,” DeShawn said. “So, let’s get to the vows. You guys have them written, right?”

  “We do,” I said.

  “Then Tristan, you first.”

  I drew in a deep breath and locked eyes with Isabelle before the speech I had memorized started falling from my lips.

  “You are, without a doubt, the most remarkable woman, Isabelle. Your strength and your expertise and your independence is something to be admired by everyone. Not just women. And the unconditional love you hold in your heart for your community surpasses anything I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to get a second chance at being a husband, but I want you to know that I will never take it for granted. I will never abuse that privilege. And I will never abandon you. None of you. You and your sons? You’re my family now. And the promise I made you a month ago still stand. I will always be here to love you, provide for you, and protect you. All three of you. Forever,” I said.

  “Four of us,” Isabelle said.

  I furrowed my brow as my mind faltered in my speech.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  I heard Bella squeal as Isabelle released my hands. She turned around to face her best friend and I watched the two of them whisper about something. And when Isabelle turned around, she had this glossy black and white photo between her fingers.

  “You'll have to make that promise to the four of us,” Isabelle said.

  “What!?” DeShawn exclaimed. “Ma, are you serious?”

  “What is that? Let me see,” Dom said.

  She held out the photo to me and I took it from her grasp, looking at the fuzzy outline. White and black fuzz surrounded the entire picture, with numbers and dates I didn’t take the time to figure out. All I could focus on was the small sac-like structure in the middle of it with a little bean bouncing around in the middle of it.

  My lips parted in shock as my eyes rose back to Isabelle.

  “Tristan, never in my life did I think I’d ever open up to another man. When I was taken advantage of, it made me fearful of men. And when my father kicked me out, it made me despise them. And then, when DeShawn’s father did what he did, it made me swear them off altogether. I took on being a mother and pushed everything else off a cliff. Never once did I consider dating, or marriage, or anything like that. I figured, ‘hey. I’ve got my boys. What more could I want?’ And then, you happened.”

  My eyes glistened over with tears as I looked back down at the photo.

  “Not once in my life did I ever think I’d open myself up--mind, body, and soul--to any man. Ever. And not only have I been able to do that with you, but now?”

  I watched her hand come into my vision as she placed it on top of mine.

  “Now, I get to create a family with him,” Isabelle said. “A family all my own. So when you promise me you’ll protect us, what you need to understand is that I make you that same promise, Tristan. I promise to love you, and protect you, and guide you no matter what. When you can no longer shoulder it. When you can no longer find the strength to do it. When you get so fed up with life you want to shut the door and quit, I want you to know that I’ll always be there. We’ll all be there. The four of us.”

  I looked over at Dom and found his eyes wide as he stared down at the picture. My eyes panned over to Bella as she stood by Isabelle, watching our every move. I even looked back at Jackson and found him smiling so hard he was beginning to rub his cheeks.

  Then, my gaze found DeShawn.

  “Finish it,” I said.

  His eyes whipped up from the picture before he straightened his back and cleared his throat.

  “By the power vested in me by the State of Texas and the internet itself, I pronounce you two married. Now kiss Ma and brace yourself, because it looks like our family’s getting bigger by the second.”

  I reached for Isabelle’s veil and flipped it over as quickly as I could. I wrapped her up into my arms and dipped her back, pressing my lips firmly against hers. I felt her arms slink around my neck. I felt her smile press against my mouth. I felt her pull herself into me as the sharp corners of that picture grazed the nape of my neck.

  Holy hell. We were pregnant.

  Everyone erupted into applause as I stood Isabelle back up into her feet. My forehead fell to hers and I heard her giggling. Filling my ears with that beautifully breathtaking sound. I opened my eyes and cupped her cheek, my arm still holding her close to my body.

  “I love you,” I said. “And I promise, with everything I am, I will always be here for the four of you.”

  And before she could respond, I scooped her up into my arms and walked her down the aisle.

  “Does this mean more alcohol for me!?” Jackson called after us.

  “Why don’t you follow us downstairs and find out?” I exclaimed.

  Then all of us headed down to the restaurant on the main level and opened the doors to the community. Music played and people ordered food and drinks while congratulating us on our nuptials. DeShawn wore his robe all night, bragging about how he got to marry his Ma. Dom danced with a couple of the girls that had come in with their parents while Jackson and Bella disappeared completely from view. But I didn’t care. None of it mattered. Where they had gone or what they were doing, it had no bearing on the celebration taking place. All that mattered as Isabelle sat in my lap was the fact that I was really holding two people.

  My newly-wedded bride and my child.

  “I love you,” I said as I dipped my lips to her stomach.

  I kissed her belly button as Isabelle’s hand ran through my hair.

  “And I can’t wait to meet you,” I said with a whisper. “I can’t wait for you to meet the family that’s been created for you.”

  Epilogue

  Epilogue - Isabelle - One Year Later

  The sound of the front door opening woke me from a dead sleep. And with the way Tristan bolted upright, I knew he’d heard the same thing. My heart slammed against my chest as I reached over for Jenny, pulling her from the three-sided bassinet. I held her close to me, feeling her soft snores against my naked chest. Tristan’s feet hit the floor and he paused, listening as footsteps fell softly onto the kitchen floor.

  He put his finger to his lips as my arms trembled around my little girl.

  I watched him pull on shorts as I moved myself from the bed. I slipped my robe on, being careful not to wake Jenny. She was only four months old, and her crying would surely alert the intruders to where we were. Tristan grabbed a baseball bat from behind the door and looked back one last time, and tears rushed my eyes. Who was in our home? What did they want?

  And the second Tristan pulled the door open, two massive shadows burst into the room.

  “Surprise!”

  I screamed first in fear, then with delight. Jenny woke up from a dead sleep, crying her eyes out at all the commotion. Tristan flipped on the light as relief flooded my veins, and I opened my arm for my boys.

  “Hey, Ma,” DeShawn said as he wrapped his arms around m
e.

  “Come here, Jenny. Did the big brothers scare you?” Dom asked as he took his sister from my arms.

  “The big brothers scared all of us,” Tristan said as he tossed the bat into the corner.

  “Sorry,” DeShawn said as he released me. “We figured we could surprise you guys early.”

  “And what a surprise it is. Come here, Dom,” I said.

  I reached over and pulled my son’s head into my lips for a kiss.

  “Next time, call first,” Tristan said.

  “Sorry, Pa,” DeShawn said as he embraced him. “But… Merry Christmas?”

  “Not for another five days,” Dom said. “Technically.”

  “Come here,” I said as I reached out for Jenny. “She’ll need her swing to get her back to sleep.”

  “Does that mean we’re all headed to the living room?” Tristan asked.

  “Sounds like it,” Dom said with a smile.

  Everyone embraced before we all headed to the living room. I put Jenny in her swing and turned her to face the wall. It always settled her down whenever she was riled up. I sat onto the couch and felt Tristan’s arms slip around my waist, pulling me into him closely. DeShawn went and figured out how to turn on the Christmas Tree while Dom turned on the television, navigating to a Hallmark movie that was playing at four o’clock in the morning.

  “I thought you guys weren’t coming in until Christmas Eve?” I asked.

  “Eh, semantics,” Dom said with a grin.

  “Plus, we figured you guys would want to do something for your one-year anniversary. So, we’re here to watch Jenny so you two can go out,” DeShawn said.

  “You guys will have to fight Bella on that. I already booked her as the babysitter,” I said.

  “Then fight we shall! She’s our baby sister anyway. We trump great-godmother Bella,” Dom said.

  “Dear Lord, don’t let her hear you call her that,” I said.

  The four of us laughed as I patted the couch beside me. Dom dropped down beside me while DeShawn sat next to Tristan, and Jenny’s cries started to taper off. The Christmas tree spun on its moving stand, filling our home with twinkling colored lights. It felt so good to have my boys home for the holidays. We didn’t have them for Thanksgiving because of studying and extra curricular activities, so I demanded to see them for Christmas.

  But getting five extra days with them? It was the best gift I could’ve been given.

  “So, tell us about college,” Tristan said. “You boys keeping up your grades?”

  “All A’s,” Dom said with a smile.

  “That doesn’t shock me in the slightest,” I said. “How’s football going, DeShawn?”

  “The Baylor Bears are stronger than ever this year,” he said with a proud smile. “I’m second-string, but the coach says that with some extra training and not dropping off my workouts over the summer, he might start me my sophomore year.”

  “That’s my boy,” Tristan said as he pulled DeShawn into a hug. “I told you, you can do it.”

  “I can’t believe how cold it is outside right now,” Dom said.

  “Do you believe they’re actually calling for snow this year?” I asked. “On Christmas, no less.”

  “I’ve never had a White Christmas before,” DeShawn said.

  “Me neither,” Dom said.

  “Wait, have none of you experienced a white Christmas?” Tristan asked.

  “No, you Northerner,” I said with a grin. “None of us have.”

  “Well, that’ll have to change next year. Make sure you boys carve out time for us in your studies, because I’m booking us all a trip to New York for Christmas,” Tristan said. “Their white Christmases are the best.”

  “Oh! Oh! Can we go see the Rockefeller Tree?” Dom asked.

  “What if we went for Christmas and stayed through their New Year’s bash?” DeShawn asked.

  “Settle down, guys,” I said with a giggle. “That’s an entire year off.”

  “Doesn't mean we can’t get excited about it, though,” Tristan said with a smile.

  “Of course, the three men would gang up on me. Jenny needs to hurry up and grow up. I need someone on my side,” I said.

  “No can do,” Tristan said before he kissed my temple. “Jenny’s going to stay my little girl forever.”

  “We came with gifts, too,” Dom said.

  “Tee, you wanna help us get them out of the truck?” DeShawn asked.

  “Actually, first? I want to give you boys your Christmas gift,” Tristan said.

  “You want to do this now?” I asked.

  I looked over at him and he nodded at me, his eyes full of anxiousness and excitement.

  “What’d you get us?” DeShawn said.

  “A present now? Sign me up,” Dom said.

  “You guys stay here. I’ll go get them,” Tristan said.

  I waited there patiently with my boys, but inside I was just as nervous as Tristan was. We had batted the idea around for months before settling on doing it. And I wasn’t sure how it was going to go over with my sons. DeShawn scooted over to me and I put my hands on their knees as Tristan emerged with two manilla envelopes. He handed one to each of them and knelt in front of us, watching as confusion washed over their features.

  “What’s this?” DeShawn asked.

  “Open it up and see,” Tristan said.

  The boys got to work on pulling out the documents, and suddenly their faces dropped.

  “I know you guys are eighteen. I know that, in the eyes of this country, you're fully grown and capable of running your lives as you see fit. But to me? Your my boys. My sons. You’re just as much mine as Jenny is.”

  “These are adoption papers,” DeShawn said.

  “But you can’t adopt us,” Dom said.

  “But I can still become a legal guardian,” Tristan said. “Those papers are binding legal documents and, if you sign them, they appoint me as your legal guardian. And I’ve already signed them at the bottom and had them witnessed. All we would have to do it take it to a notary, have it signed by you guys, then we can file them away with the courts.”

  I squeezed their knees and watched as their eyes danced over the papers. I couldn't read their expressions and my eyes flickered over to Tristan. I saw him growing nervous. I saw him second-guessing himself. I watched him draw in a deep breath, ready to backtrack his entire plan to try and salvage our Christmas.

  Until DeShawn threw himself off the couch and wrapped his arms around him.

  “You wanna be my Dad,” DeShawn said.

  Dom tossed himself into Tristan’s other arm as tears rushed my eyes.

  “Yes,” Dom said. “Yes, a million times over, Dad.”

  Tears rushed Tristan’s eyes as he buried his face into their shoulders. I cupped my hands over my mouth as the soft snores of my infant girl emanated from the swing in the corner. Fast asleep, unaware of the incredible moment that was taking place. I watched Tristan hug my boys for the first time after officially becoming ‘our boys’.

  Though, to be fair, they were ‘our boys’ before this moment.

  “Yes,” DeShawn said. “When can we do this? When can we make this happen?”

  “We can go to the notary tomorrow,” Tristan said. “We can get it done first thing in the morning.”

  I wiped the tears away from my eyes before I slid to the floor. I scooted towards my boys and wrapped them all up as the four of us cried underneath the lighting of our Christmas tree. I pressed kisses to all of their heads and closed my eyes, smiling as the wind quickly kicked up outside.

  “Ma. Look.”

  I turned to look out the window as we all stood to our feet. DeShawn and Dom took Tristan’s hands, leading him over to the window. I followed behind them before sliding underneath Tristan’s arm, watching as he held his family close to him. The first few snowflakes of the winter season pattered against the window, and as we stood there the clouds unleashed. Dumping buckets of snow onto the ground and slowly turning our little hometo
wn into a winter wonderland.

  “Merry Christmas,” I said as I looked around at my boys.

  We all peeked down at Jenny, who was fast asleep with her lips parted and pouted.

  “Merry Christmas,” Tristan said.

  Standing together as a family, we enjoyed the temporary destination life had stopped us at. I reached down for Jenny and stopped the swing, then unbuckled her and drew her into my arms. I cradled her close to me as the men in my life surrounded me, and the four of us stood to watch the snow come down harder.

  My family.

  My life.

  Surrounding me for our first-ever snowy white Christmas.

  “Cinnamon rolls?” Tristan asked.

  My stomach growled out a resounding ‘yes’ before he kissed my cheek.

  “Cinnamon rolls and milk coming right up,” he said.

  Also by Kelli Walker

  Baby Daddy, Everything I Want: (Billionaire Romance)

  Protected: A Second Chance Baby Daddy Romance

  Sleeping With The Truth: An Office Love Baby Daddy Romance

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