Stone Heart_A Single Mom & Mountain Man Romance

by Rye Hart

  “It’ll be fine,” I said. “Just think, you’ve gone weeks without seeing him, and now, he’s right inside that door.”

  Sarah smiled and tried to remain calm. When we could finally go into the classroom, we were ushered into three seats at the very back. I could see Sean standing at the front of the classroom, his eyes focused on the notes in front of him. A smile spread across my face when he finally looked up and his eyes fell on us. He waved, and the kids waved back, practically jumping out of their seats.

  I’d never been prouder of Sean as I sat there and listened to his speech. He said so many wise, intelligent things about the art of writing children’s books. My mind was racing with his every word, but what was most impressive was how many applauded him for choosing such a difficult subject.

  “You know,” he said after someone brought it up. “Just over two years ago, my kids lost their mother. She died from cancer, and it shook all of us deeply. But they were both so young that there wasn’t much I could say to comfort them. They barely understood what happened, and because of that, I felt lost and hopeless. My own emotions were nothing compared to theirs, and I found myself wishing for a way to break through to them. About a year later, I thought of an idea for a book. It was hard at first. Writing didn’t come easily to me, and I had to push myself a lot. I had the support of so many amazing people though, and eventually, it worked. I wrote the book, and well, here we are now.”

  The room erupted in applause, and I joined in, slamming my hands together frantically. Just listening to Sean talk was enough to make my heart race. As I watched him finish out the class, I became more desperate to be near him. I hadn’t felt his lips against mine in far too long, and when we were finally able to walk over to him, I threw myself at him with desperation.

  He laughed and caught me, kissing me quickly before turning to greet the kids. Tommy and Sarah both erupted in stories they just had to tell him. It took hours for them to quiet down enough for me to get a word in, but I didn’t mind. I was just happy to be there with Sean, in Chicago, while he lived out his dream.

  ***

  That night, we were all exhausted but starving. Sean had made us a reservation at a fancy restaurant across town, but none of us were up for it. Instead, we went downstairs to the hotel restaurant and ordered dinner. Tommy and Sarah were both surprisingly wide awake throughout the entire meal. I expected them to be falling asleep in their soup bowls, but they weren’t. They kept glancing at Sean nervously.

  As we ordered our dessert and talked about the rest of Sean’s tour, I found myself waking up a bit too. There was so much excitement in the air around us that my exhaustion faded from my body. I laughed and talked with Sean and the kids for what felt like hours, until finally it was almost time to head upstairs.

  “It’s getting late,” I said sadly. “We should probably get them to bed.”

  “Not just yet,” Sean said with a smile. “There are a few things I want to say to you first.”

  “Okay,” I said slowly. “Is everything okay?”

  “That’s just it,” Sean said. “Everything is okay. Actually, it’s much more than okay, and that’s all because of you.”

  “What?” I asked nervously. When I glanced at Tommy and Sarah, I saw that they were both smiling widely at me.

  “You see,” Sean said. “Ever since we met you, things started to change. All three of us were so sad for so long that we didn’t think we would ever be happy again. I know I didn’t feel like I’d ever find love again. But then you came into our lives and changed everything. You made me feel like I could really be myself again, like I could finally be happy. This past year has been the best year of my life for so many reasons. I got closer to my kids, I finished my book, and I found you. You, Emily Ward, are the reason for my happiness. None of this would be possible without you.”

  I felt my heart racing inside my chest. My stomach was full of butterflies, and I knew what was coming next. Sean and I had talked about marriage before but never seriously. It was always just a nice idea. Something to dream about for the future. When we sat down to dinner together, I never imagined he would propose, but that’s exactly what he was doing.

  “Emily,” he continued. “You know how much I love you. I could spend all night telling you just what you mean to me, but you already know. I trust you with my children, with the two most important things in my world. That, more than anything, is proof enough of my love for you. I never, ever want to live a day on this earth without you by my side.”

  I felt tears falling down my cheeks uncontrollably.

  “Before I ask you my question I want to tell you something. I know how important it is to you to open your daycare center, and I genuinely believe in your vision. I know you can make a difference in the lives of so many children. I want to personally invest into your center and we can start the ground work on it right away or wait a little while whenever you are ready.”

  “Sean, I don’t know what you say. I love you so much!”

  He paused and turned to Tommy. Tommy dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. He handed it to his dad and then turned to face me. His little eight-year-old face smiled up at me, full of innocence and love.

  “I was really sad after my mom died,” Tommy said softly. “Really sad. We didn’t talk about it much, but I know Dad and Sarah were sad too. Now, I don’t feel sad anymore. I still miss my mom, and I always will, but I think you’re kind of like a mom too. You take care of us. You love us.”

  “Yeah,” Sarah said, jumping up and walking over to me. “I love you a lot. I don’t really remember my mommy very much anymore. I still think about her a lot, and I think she’d really like you. She would want you to take care of us and Daddy. She still loves us, just like you do.”

  “Emily,” Sean said, pulling my attention back to him. He was kneeling in front of me, his hands outstretched, holding open the box.

  Inside was a sparkling diamond ring that took my breath away. I felt tears slide down my cheeks as I stared at it, my mouth hanging open. When I finally looked back at Sean’s face, he was crying too. He cleared his throat and held the box out to me.

  “Emily Ward,” he said softly. “I am so in love with you. You are the piece that was missing from our family, and now, we’re all whole again. So, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife and spending the rest of your life as part of this little family?”

  I couldn’t speak. My throat felt tight, and tears were still streaming freely down my cheeks. I cried with earnest, unable to stop. Finally, I nodded my head and fell into Sean’s arms. He caught me and kissed me quickly, wrapping his arms around my body and holding me tightly against him.

  I sobbed into his chest while the kids surrounded us with hugs. Sarah wedged herself between us for a group hug, and then Tommy did the same. We held the kids and all laughed together, happier than we could ever remember being.

  That night, Sean and I tucked the kids in bed in their room and then closed the door. We had adjoining rooms and were eager to be alone. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. Everything had already been said, and when we fell into each other’s arms, it felt like coming home.

  We made love that night, slow and sweet. Our eyes never once fell from each other’s faces, and our hands never stilled as they moved across each other’s bodies. Sean whispered, “I love you” in my ear, over and over again, creating the perfect soundtrack to the perfect night.

  The End

  RYE HART SNEAK PEEKS

  HER BEST MEN

  A Reverse Harem Romance

  PROLOGUE

  Andrew pulled me off the couch and crashed his lips into mine. I melted into his embrace, feeling the brothers surrounding me. Andrew's muscles were twitching, and his cock was throbbing, and he was aching to be close to me.

  As the guys undressed me, happiness shot through my veins. I missed them. More than I could stand.

  “I missed you guys so much,” I said in a whisper, trying not t
o cry. “Thank you for not giving up when I did.”

  “We’ll never give up on ya, pretty lady,” Andrew said. “But I know how you can make it up to us.”

  His voice was hot against my ear as I leaned into his naked body.

  “How’s that?” I asked.

  “I want you to show us how you pleasured yourself in all those fantasies as a teenager,” Andrew said. “I think we all wanna see what we do to ya.”

  I shuddered at the thought as I took their hands and led them into my bedroom.

  I opened my nightstand and pulled out my vibrator. They gathered around my bed, their cocks hard and dripping for me.

  I laid down with my legs spread wide, watching as Andrew and Caleb both licked their lips. I grinned as I turned on the vibrator, running the thick toy down my body. I traced it around my nipples, pulling them to hard peaks with the vibrations.

  I squirmed as my free hand ran through my hair, biting my lip and putting on a show for them. I could hear their hands rubbing their dicks, their eyes hooked on me as the vibrator traveled closer to my wet pussy.

  I traced it around my swollen clit as my heels pressed into the mattress.

  I cupped my tit with my free hand, tugging at my nipple and sighing with relief. My juices were dripping, glistening against the hole I knew Andrew was already eyeing.

  I slid the thick toy deep inside of me, bucking relentlessly against it as I watched them tug on their cocks. I moaned their names, chanting for their bodies as I felt my orgasm rising up throughout my body.

  Before my back could collapse to the bed, Andrew reached for the toy. He pulled it from my body.

  "You're so fucking hot. Get ready to come again on top of me, baby. We’ll give you the wildest fucking night of your life."

  I knew he wouldn’t disappoint.

  CHAPTER 1

  KATIE

  “It is a beautiful place,” I said.

  I gazed out the window of the bathroom, slightly disoriented, as I looked across the fields. So much had changed over the past eight years. I couldn’t imagine it ever being the same.

  God, I missed the carefree girl I once was. Maybe, a part of me came back in desperation to find her.

  With emotions overpowering me, I was relieved to have my best friend and maid of honor, Lizzie, by my side. She was a southern fire cracker like none other.

  “This is somethin outta a movie. I never thought them rowdy O’Conner brothers woulda done all this.” Lizzie said.

  “What did she say?” Whitney asked.

  “My accent’s not that bad woman! Git ya ears checked,” Lizzie said.

  Whitney and Lizzie were still getting acquainted. Whitney and I met in college in New York, and she flew to Texas to join me for the wedding.

  I giggled. “She’s talking about the O’Conner brothers becoming so rich,” I said.

  The O’Conner brothers had been my next door neighbors and brother’s best friends since elementary school.

  My mother called them the “talk of the town,” mostly because there were four boys, and all of them were predisposed to being the center of gossip in one fashion or another. Maybe it had to do with them being the most eligible bachelors in town.

  I had the biggest crush on them growing up.

  Since my brother was the protective type, I mostly enjoyed the company of the O’Conners as friends and kept my feelings private. The only person I opened up to was Lizzie. It wasn’t until my eighteenth birthday when feelings manifested into physical touches, kisses, and mischievous looks. We never went all the way, but man did I want them all badly.

  Besides my physical attraction, I also fell for their characters. If I got angry, I could count on them to be home to play sports with me, or take me out fishing or camping.

  We had the best of times together. I could outrun them and out-spit them. Often times, I could throw balls farther and kick balls harder than any one of them could.

  What can I say? I tarnished their egos and I was exquisite at it. Lucky for me, we built a strong bond, nevertheless.

  And, years later, while my mom was in the hospital, they’d setup times to visit her and kept me company there. They never ceased to make me feel loved during one of the toughest times of my life.

  “The five of you were like peas in a pod. Always hangin’ ‘round, attached at the hips. I’m shocked you didn’t date none of ‘em. Too late now. You’ll be off the market thanks to that city boy.” Lizzie said.

  My fiancé, Michael, was emotionally there for me during my mom’s chemo. I would have been a mess in New York if it wouldn’t have been for him. He held me up when I could no longer hold myself up.

  He was human, which meant he had his faults, but I credited him for getting me through my mother’s death. When she first got sick, he was there to hold me and let me cry. When my mother wasted away from the worst of her chemo treatments, he was the one to fly me back and forth, so I could bounce between Texas and New York.

  And when my mother died, he was the one that not only arranged her funeral for me but paid for it as well. The brothers offered to help, but I didn’t want to trouble them especially since they were so busy with business.

  My mother’s sickness came as a shock to everyone.

  She worked hard all her life but had always managed to keep a positive outlook on things. She kept herself as healthy as she could and went on long walks to keep herself physically active. Out of all the things to ail her, cancer was the last thing anyone could’ve ever expected.

  “You still hangin’ in there?” Lizzie asked.

  “Do you guys think I’m making the right decision? Please be honest.” I probed.

  “Glad you finally asked someone,” Lizzie said. “Though you coulda done it before your damn rehearsal dinner.”

  “Get off it, Liz,” Whitney said. “This is serious.”

  “Yes, it is. If you want my solid opinion, Michael’s a shitbag,” Lizzie said.

  “He’s got his good points,” Whitney said. “But, too be honest, I’m not sure they outweigh the bad.”

  “He was there through everything with my mother,” I said.

  “Them O’Conner brothers were, too,” Lizzie said.

  “They’ve always been there. We’ve been friends forever.” I said. “But Michael? He was shocking.”

  “And you like that about him?” Whitney asked.

  “I don’t know. Everyone has their faults, Whitney. Even me. But that doesn’t negate what he did for me while my mother was dying. All the flights he paid for, and the funeral he helped me plan. When I figured out my mom didn’t have life insurance, he stepped in without a second thought. He paid off the house so it wouldn’t rest on my shoulders and paid for the funeral.”

  “If you like money, them O’Conner brothers got a ton of it,” Lizzie said.

  “I get it. I know where you stand. You want me to end up with one of them, but that’s not happening.”

  “Why not?” Whitney asked.

  “Well for one, I’m an engaged woman. Two, they’re my brother’s friends. And three, they could have snagged me years ago but that never happened. It wasn’t meant to be.”

  “Come on, you were hardly legal and on your eighteenth birthday you were ready to jet off to New York. Can’t blame them for not wanting to get locked up or get their teeth knocked in by your brother. You know how protective that boy is. Plus, you were a lot to handle,” Lizzie said.

  “I wasn’t that bad in high school,” I said.

  “You were a firecracker. Super competitive. A girl like you was too much for one man to handle.” Lizzie said.

  “I didn’t know you in high school, but I can vouch for that, too. When I met you freshman year of college, you were the center of the party,” Whitney said.

  “Things change. People change. Look, I don’t want to hop into the arms of another man. I’m only wondering if I should be hopping into the arms of this man,” I said.

  “He changed ya,” Lizzie said. “You’re w
ay more timid. You ain’t the same girl I knew.”

  “High school was seven years ago. I hope I’m not the same person,” I said.

  “He did change you,” Whitney agreed with Lizzie.

  “Losing my mother changed me,” I said.

  “Look, you wanted our opinion, so there it is,” Lizzie said. “Don’t marry the man. He’s an asshole.”

  “This shouldn’t be news to you, but that man checks out women while you’re right there. He’ll be the first to cheat on you and the last to feel bad about it. Don’t think you have to marry him because he threw some money around and was there when your mother passed. You don’t owe him anything.”

  “He’s never cheated on me. If he had, we’d never be here. And, Michael was there during the hardest time of my life,” I said. “I owe him a lot.”

  “You don’t owe no man shit,” Lizzie said. “That’s another way he’s changed ya. Got you hangin’ in there like a hair on a biscuit ‘cause he’s got you thinkin’ you owe him shit.”

  “A hair on a biscuit? Are you for real?” Whitney asked.

  “Welcome to Texas, sweet cheeks,” Lizzie said with a grin.

  I knew they were right, but my mind was swirling too much to say anything. It was my rehearsal dinner the night before my wedding, and I was beyond nervous. I was getting cold feet. That was all this was. There was no way in hell I was making the wrong decision. Michael was a good man. Lizzie and Whitney meant well, but they didn’t know him like I did.

  “Come on,” I said. “Let’s get back out there.”

  “Told ya,” Lizzie said.

  “Told you what?” I asked.

  “I bet Whitney here twenty bucks you’d still go out there and get yourself married,” Lizzie said.

  “Really, Whitney? Gambling’s illegal in the State of Texas,” I said.

  “Glad to see that bar exam did you some good,” Whitney said with a smile. “But Lizzie was right. I figured us talking to you would snap some sense into that head of yours.”