“OK, come on. Sit down.” Julie steered her over to the sofa. “Toast with butter and Nutella coming right up.”
“Thanks.” Tammy massaged her stomach gingerly. “Come on, kiddo… just give Mama a bit of a break, yeah?”
Julie shook her head. “She’s your daughter, Tammy, so don’t expect reason to work on her.”
“I know, I know,” Tammy moaned. “Mom says it’s total karma.”
“You want to lie down for a few minutes?”
“Believe it or not, that makes it worse.”
“Tea?”
“Yeah, please. Weak, OK?”
“Sure.” Julie bustled over to the cheery kitchen. “So Sonia must be thrilled that it’s a girl. She keeps putting flowery headbands and pink socks on Davie.”
Tammy laughed. “Yeah. She says she’ll enjoy being a big sister to Davie and this little one, at least until Vicky comes through.”
“Does Vicky know this?”
“Yep. Phil’s on board with Sonia, so I suspect that that kid may get a third sibling soon enough.”
“God, I hope so.” Julie put the kettle on to boil. “Phil’s an incredible Dad, huh? Whenever he hugs Sonia, I swear my heart melts just a bit more.”
“I know. These strong, sweet men, huh?” Tammy sighed. “Rob’s gone crazy and I mean that sincerely. Buying magazines and drooling over the princess bedrooms. He drags me in to every baby shop we pass in Denver to stare at cribs and clothes. I think he’ll max out his credit card next week, when we finally go and start buying stuff for the nursery.”
“Oh, it’s ready?” Julie popped the bread in the toaster. “That didn’t take long.”
“Yeah, Rob paid through the nose to get things wrapped up quickly.” She grinned. “Don’t be surprised if the man comes begging for a raise soon, Jules.”
Julie giggled. “Tell him that if he asked, he’d get one.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep.”
“Well, good because we need a cash infusion.”
“No kidding.” Julie poured the boiling water in to the mug. “Babies cost an arm and a leg, I swear.”
“Not just babies.” Tammy took a deep breath. “Weddings, too.”
Julie damn near dropped the kettle. “No!”
“Yes!”
“Oh, Tammy… my God!” Julie rushed across the living room to her friend, then paused. “You gonna puke on me if I hug you?”
“Fifty-fifty chance.”
“I’ll take the risk.” Julie sat next to Tammy and hugged her gently. “I’m so, so happy for you guys.” She looked at Tammy’s hand. “Uh – where’s the ring?”
“Here.” Tammy produced it from her jeans pocket. “I knew you’d spot it the second I walked in the door and I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Put it on!” Julie said. “Let’s see this rock.”
Tammy slid it on her slim finger and the women stared down at the simple ring, delighted.
“It’s gorgeous, Tammy.”
“Yeah, well, I’d better enjoy it while I can. I may be hawking it to pay for diapers soon enough.”
“Truth.”
“Jules?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we book Open Skies for the wedding reception? In mid-August?” She glanced at her gently-rounded stomach. “Just before the sprog makes an appearance in the world?”
Julie suddenly wasn’t sure if she wanted to leap with excitement or fall flat on her face in exhaustion. Three weddings in less than two months? Well, why the hell not? This was what life was all about, wasn’t it? Love and babies and Champagne and cake and dancing? The more of it everyone had, the better.
“Yeah, absolutely. Just the reception?”
“Yes. Rob’s family is pretty traditional so the wedding will be in a church in Denver – but we both want the reception here.”
“Perfect.”
“Really? It’s not too much, with Vicky and Phil’s wedding one month earlier?”
Julie’s eyes sparkled. “And Annabeth’s and Eric’s one week earlier.”
Tammy gasped. “No!”
“Yes!”
“Shut. Up. When did you find out?”
“About an hour ago. Amazing, huh?”
“God, yes. They deserve it… they’ve really been through it, huh?”
"Ooooh. And guess who Mattie will be bringing to the weddings?"
"I have no idea," Tammy said, stunned. "She's seeing someone?"
"Yep. It's very new and they're taking it slow... but she's been seeing Lyle."
"Lyle Hawkins? The lawyer?" Tammy said in disbelief, trying to imagine free-spirited, silver-eyed Mattie with quiet, sober Lyle. "How the hell did that happen?"
"Well, they met at our wedding and he called her out-of-the-blue about two months ago and asked her to dinner, according to Jake."
"Wow." Tammy paused. "How long ago did her husband die?"
"More than twenty years."
"Then she's definitely long overdue for a good man, huh?" Tammy glanced at the kitchen counter. “Oh. The toast is done, I think.”
“Your tea, too. Hang on.”
Tammy watched her best friend in the kitchen, loving to see her so happy and at peace. When Julie had first come to Open Skies, her intention had been to sell the damn place and never look back. Tammy shuddered now at what Julie would have missed – what we’d both have missed – if Julie had done that. No Jake, no Rob, no Davie, no baby girl inside her. No friends who were more like family at this point. God, what would their lives have been?
Thinking about family brought something else to mind now and she paused, wondering if she should ask. In the end, she decided to go ahead.
“Hey, Jules?”
“Yeah?” Julie was thickly spreading two pieces of toast with Nutella and trying not to gag. The stuff was vile, but if it worked for Tammy, she wasn’t about to knock it. And was it really so much worse than full-fat peanut butter?
“I was just wondering… any word from Maria? Is she – is she ready to come back?”
Julie brought the toast and tea over, set them on the coffee table. “I spoke to her this morning, too. She says she and Dillon have found a place in between Denver and Clarity and they’re moving next week. She wants to come back to work the week after.”
Tammy heaved a sigh of relief. “Really? She’s OK to be back here after all that happened?”
“She says yes. She misses us and Dillon’s done everything humanly possible to help her cope.”
“It was so great of you to hold on to her job for this long. Most employers wouldn’t have.”
Julie shrugged. “Maria’s family and that’s the end of it. She needed time and space and she got it. It wasn’t like keeping her job open for her was a hard decision to make.”
“And her sister? Gabi?”
Julie smiled. “I really think that being close to Gabi these past nine months has been good for both of them, after what they went through.”
“I can imagine.” Tammy shook her dark head. “Those poor women.”
“They’re tough as hell and they have good men in their lives. They pulled each other through, too, in that amazing way that only sisters can.”
“Yeah.” Tammy took her hand. “And best friends who are exactly like sisters.”
Julie squeezed her hand in response. “Eat, sweetie. I’ll go make some fresh coffee for me and Jake.”
As she stood and stared out the window at the Rockies, Julie thought about her life before Open Skies. It had been such a cold and closed life, she saw now, one which didn't invite in love in any way, shape or form. But look at her world now: she was surrounded by nothing but love and she loved in return. She was blessed with a husband, a son, a home, good friends.
Julie Everett had arrived at Open Skies an angry, lonely woman determi
ned to get the hell away and out as fast as humanly possible. But she'd stayed and opened her heart to the ranch and its people... and the end result was Julie Weston.
Yes, Julie Weston had a good life, one worth cherishing. She lived with her arms wide open to every bit of love and joy and passion that came her way. She raised her coffee cup to the mountains and toasted her amazing, open life.
**
Dear Reader,
I very much hope that you enjoyed following the individual and group stories of the ‘Open Skies' characters. With this book, their stories conclude, since ‘Open Life’ is the final book in this series. ‘Open Skies’, Jake and Julie’s story, was my first romance book ever and it (and the series) will always hold a special place in my heart.
If you’d like to read Gabi and Aidan’s full story and catch up a bit with Maria and Dillon, you can do so in ‘Killer Curves’ (Dangerous Curves #3). It will be published on March 3rd, 2015 and the first two books in the ‘Dangerous Curves’ series ('Dangerous Curves', Jax and Sarah's story and 'Hard Curves', King and Naomi's story) are already available on Amazon.
If you want to know when ‘Killer Curves’ is available for purchase, please check on my website at: marysoljames.com or one of my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook and my blog). I will be announcing its release in all of these places.
Thank you so much for reading!
Marysol
About the author
Marysol James is the author of the 'Open Skies', ‘Fighting For Love’, 'Unseen Enemy' and 'Dangerous Curves' series.
She writes steamy, sexy, slinky romances which feature strong, complex women and equally fascinating men. Marysol is interested in producing well-written and passionate stories with characters who learn to let go of control and to trust – both in and out of the bedroom.
Her stories are very sensual (very!), and offer smart plots, a bit of humor, and lots of character development, so her books will appeal to readers who want emotional connection as well as sexuality.
When not writing, Marysol can be found swimming, doing yoga, listening to music and drinking coffee. To stay up-to-date with her, visit her official author website at www.marysoljames.com
By the same author
The ‘Open Skies’ Series:
Open Skies (Open Skies #1)
Open Arms (Open Skies #2)
Open Eyes (Open Skies #3)
Open Heart (Open Skies #4)
Open Life (Open Skies #5)
The ‘Fighting For Love’ Series:
Fighting Hard (Fighting For Love #1)
Fighting Strong (Fighting For Love #2)
Fighting Love (Fighting For Love #3)
Fighting History (Fighting For Love #4)
Fighting Back (Fighting For Love #5)
PUBLICATION DATE: April 2015
The ‘Unseen Enemy’ Series:
Enemy Within (Unseen Enemy #1)
Enemy Outside (Unseen Enemy #2)
Enemy Mine (Unseen Enemy #3)
Enemy From The Past (Unseen Enemy #4)
Solid Muscle (Unseen Enemy #5)
PUBLICATION DATE: March 2015
Solid Steel (Unseen Enemy #6)
PUBLICATION DATE: April 2015
The ‘Dangerous Curves’ Series:
Dangerous Curves (Dangerous Curves #1)
Hard Curves (Dangerous Curves #2)
Killer Curves (Dangerous Curves #3)
PUBLICATION DATE: March 2015
Gentle Curves (Dangerous Curves #4)
PUBLICATION DATE: May 2015
Open Life (Open Skies #5) Page 20