“Everything will work out as it should.” I kissed her again. This time it was a little gentler but with a whole lot more need. This woman completed me. I would never be half the man I am without her.
“I love you, Addie Mae.”
“I love you, too. I promise.”
Four years later . . .
“Dada! Choco malk—choco malk, dada!” Mason chanted, pounding his empty sippy cup against the tray on his high chair.
“Hang on, buddy. Daddy will get it in a second,” he said, trying to juggle between Mason’s demand and cleaning up the mess Ethan had made all over himself, his high chair, and the four‑foot radius around him. I giggled silently, not wanting to wake Kennedy, who finally fell asleep in my arms.
Before finding out I was pregnant with the twins, I never envisioned my life would have taken the route it did. Somehow, everything worked out for the better. I was happily married to my high school sweetheart and the man of my dreams, we had three beautiful children, and life couldn’t get better.
“Boys, give daddy a break, will you?” RJ’s voice hinted at frustration, and I loved him more for being patient through it. As far as he knew, I was still in bed nursing our seven‑month‑old baby girl.
“Mama!” Ethan yelled in his little voice as he looked around.
“No, son, Mama is resting with your sister,” RJ said, finally throwing a wad of baby wipes into the trash and grabbing the carton of chocolate milk from the fridge. Mason was holding his cup upside down above his head, waiting. His smile was so wide it made his pudgy cheeks look like two big donut holes.
“All right, give Daddy your cup—Ethan, no!” RJ lunged to the side in time to catch Ethan before he toppled out of his high chair. “Buddy . . .” He took a deep breath and puffed it out before scooping Ethan up in one arm and filling Mason’s cup with his free hand. “You boys are gonna give your poor dad a heart attack.”
“Hey, guys, what’s going on?” I pretended as if I had just come in as I rocked Kennedy in my arms.
“Oh, thank God, babe.” RJ sighed, and his tight features relaxed. He leaned into me and pressed a lingering kiss to my lips before bending to kiss Kennedy’s forehead. “How’s daddy’s princess?”
“I think she’s better now that she’s full. Did you want me to put her down and come back to help with the boys?”
By the look in his eyes, he wanted to tell me no and that he had it all under control, but he couldn’t. “That would be awesome.”
I smiled and gave him a wink. “I’ll be right back.”
“I love you.” He kissed me again.
“I love you, too.”
He nodded, and the relief shone on his handsome features.
Back in Kennedy’s nursery, she went down without a peep. She scrunched up her little body like a frog, and her thumb made it to her tiny mouth. For the last few months, it became her tell‑all sign that she was content.
I couldn’t believe we were living this life. I’d wanted it for so long but didn’t think we would have it. Things really do happen for a reason, and ’til this day, RJ and I truly believed that Tyler had a silent hand in bringing the two of us back together.
I turned on the baby monitor, blew a kiss to my sleeping angel, left her to nap, and went back to eavesdropping on RJ and our boys, which was becoming one of my new favorite things. This time it was a little quieter, and when I looked to see what was going on, I found RJ on the floor, wiping up the remaining mess while Ethan lay pressed to RJ’s back, his small arms squeezed tight around his daddy’s neck. Mason had fallen asleep with his head on the tray of his highchair, and his arm dangled off the side, his sippy cup seconds from falling out of his loosening grip.
“This daddy thing is a lot harder than I thought,” RJ mumbled. “Now that we have your little sister, I think we’re good. What do you think?” he asked Ethan. “She has her two big brothers to protect her when I’m not around and they are awake, anyway.” He patted Ethan’s little arm. “No matter how crazy you boys make me, though, you know I love you, right?”
“Luv you, dad‑dee,” Ethan answered softly, content hanging off his daddy’s back.
“That’s good to know, buddy, but could you do your daddy a favor?” Ethan nodded, and his entire two foot body jerked against RJ. “Could you maybe not make such a mess next time?”
Standing there watching them, I wondered how he was going to take the news. Having three little ones all under the age of three and one more on the way didn’t leave much time for us as husband and wife.
From the very beginning of our relationship, RJ had been a very loving and affectionate man, but I didn’t think he realized just how far we would have to push Addie and RJ to the side once the children came into the picture.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I knew he loved our children, and in the beginning he made it very clear he wanted a lot of mini-mes running around. It was why the comment he just made had me a bit worried.
RJ peeled Ethan from his back and brought him to sit in his lap. “You know your Uncle Tyler would have been so proud of you and your brother? I wish he had gotten to see the two of you.”
I choked. It had been well over four years since Tyler died, and while RJ had learned to cope pretty well, on random occasions he would still get choked up at the mention of his name.
“You’re so much like him, always getting into mischief.” He chuckled softly. “It’s a good thing Mommy said we could only name one of you after him. Hopefully, Mason over there doesn’t follow in your footsteps.” He chuckled again. “As long as you don’t wear cowboy hats and want to fly fighter jets then I think we’ll be okay.” RJ kissed his chubby cheek. “I don’t think mommy could handle it otherwise.”
Ethan sat there in his lap listening to the raspy soothing sound of RJ’s voice, and it melted me to my core. This man—this unbelievably loving and caring, not to mention unrelenting, was mine and we had three little versions of the two of us to make us better.
RJ reached over and took Mason’s cup right as it was about to make its descent. I looked from one angel to the next as I walked in and sat next to them on the kitchen floor. Ethan took one look at me, removed himself from RJ, and crawled onto my lap. Wrapping his arms around my neck, he rested his head on my shoulder. “Mom‑mee!”
“I see how you are,” RJ joked and gently ruffled our son’s hair. The boys were handsome, just like their daddy, and both had thick brown hair, light caramel‑colored eyes, and his perfectly set nose. RJ gave me a kiss, and the second our lips touched, the heat sparked.
“Hmm. How is it you always taste like bubble gum?” He pulled away and put his finger to his lips, signaling that Ethan had fallen asleep. “Kennedy asleep?” he whispered, and the mischief started swirling in his eyes. “Wanna help me put these two in their rooms?”
I nodded and then smiled, liking where this was going. Alone time with my husband was always appreciated. RJ stood and held his hand out and I placed my hand in his, grateful for the support. Getting up off the kitchen floor with a toddler in my arms was no easy task. RJ wrapped his arm around my waist and brought me closer to his bare chest.
“I love you so much.” His lips traveled down the side of my neck, and I found it almost comical that he easily forgot I had our son in my arms. “Hmm, you are so damn sexy, you know that?” His hands slid to my ass where he grabbed a fistful, pulling me closer to his growing erection, and his warm lips latched onto my earlobe. “I wanna make love to you and say all those dirty things you like when I’m tongue deep in you—” he whispered in my ear.
My knees buckled, and I blurted, “I’m pregnant.”
His body froze, all movements ceased to exist.
What a mood killer.
“Babe?” I think I sent him into shock. He was barely breathing. My current thought being he better not leave me hanging after teasing my hormones like he did, igniting that raging fire.
“I’ll grab Mason.” It was all he said before he turned and gently picked
up his sleeping son.
By the time I had Ethan tucked safely in his toddler bed, RJ came stalking through the room with Mason, the tension building in his arms. I moved to Mason’s bed, pulling the covers back and lay our son down. He pressed a soft kiss to one boy’s forehead before moving to the other and doing the same. With his back toward me, all I heard was, “Meet me in our room.”
This could go one of two ways: really well or very bad. I was rooting for really well. So, I took a few minutes to calm my overactive nerves. By RJ’s lack of expression, I wasn’t sure what was going on in that head of his.
Wringing my hands together, I slowly entered our bedroom.
“The kids good?” he asked in a flat voice and turned to face me. I nodded and swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Good. First things first.” RJ stepped toward me with purpose, wrapped his strong hand behind my neck, and pulled me closer to him. “Do you know how much I love you?” I nodded, but that wasn’t good enough for him. “Nuh uh.” He slid his finger under my chin, lifting it until our eyes met. “Addie Mae, do you know how much I love you?”
“I do.”
“Then why do your eyes doubt your words?” His hand caressed the side of my face. He rubbed his thumb across my bottom lip, and I worked hard to hold back the tears that had no business falling.
I shrugged. “Because,” my voice sounded small, and I knew deep down there was no reason to feel like this, “I know our together time has dwindled since having children.”
“Addie?” His voice was firm yet gentle. “I have to agree, but do you think I regret having this many children with you?”
I laughed in nervous reaction and could hear the shakiness in my voice when I answered, “I hope not, or we’re in a lot of trouble.”
“Addie,” he said matter‑of‑factly. “I am so blessed. You and our children mean the world to me. I would be absolutely nothing in this life if I didn’t have each of you beside me.” His mouth descended against mine, leaving me breathless. With each swirl of his tongue, he reminded me how much I meant to him, how much he loved me.
“I love you,” I said breathily into our kiss.
Moving to hold my face between his strong but gentle hands, he broke away from our kiss. Resting his forehead to mine, he caught his breath, and I bit the side of my lip, happy that I was the reason for his reactions.
“I love you.” He pulled back enough so we were eye to eye. “How did I get so lucky?”
I didn’t need to answer. We were both lucky to have found each other again.
“Babe, I gotta admit.” He stole another quick kiss before continuing, “Hearing you say you’re pregnant again did freak me out a little. We just had Kennedy.”
“I know.”
“I might be selfish, but my little freak out was only because I miss you sometimes.” He shook his head and chuckled. “That sounded stupid. What I meant was I miss having you all to myself. We can’t be as spontaneous like we used to be.” His arms slid around my waist, securing me to him. “But I love that you’re pregnant, and I love our babies, but you know what I love even more?” I looked down into his eyes. “I love you, and the fact that it’s you having my babies. That we kept our promise, and it’s only been us—it’s only ever been us.”
I choked. He was the sweetest man alive. How this strong, sometimes hot-headed man could be so gentle and loving was beyond me.
I grabbed his face and reminded my husband how grateful I was, for him, for our ever‑growing family, and most of all for keeping our promise.
RJ scooped me up into his arms and set me gently on the bed before sliding in behind me. I yawned and snuggled deeper into the covers and my husband’s warmth.
“Babe. You know what’s really gonna suck?”
“What?” I asked through a yawn.
“Paying for college.”
The End
With each book that I publish, I will never be able to express just how grateful I am for the support of so many people.
For anyone who has read any of my books, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, please know I appreciate you taking the time to read the words, which at times were not easy to write.
To my family (aka husband and kids) thank you for being patient with me, when all I wanted to do was write. And a special thank you, to my daughter for reading my books and pimping me out. I love you!!
Stephanie B., Thank you, for everything. I think you know just how much weight that one word holds when it comes to you and me. xo
John P., Thank you for your patience and time, when creating my covers. Your work is greatly appreciated.
Cattigan, Crystal, Heather, Kristin, Jennifer, Suzanne, and Lea, you ladies are amazing, and I thank you for taking the time out to beta read for me. More importantly I’m beyond appreciative of the honest feedback. *blowing kisses to each of you*
P.s. Crystal, your excitement is infectious. And I appreciate all your extra help. Thank you, lady!
Anna, thank you being there. Your support through this crazy ride is greatly appreciated. Also for your help with my blurb for this story, you saved me. . . big time! Muah!!
To Amanda, Rachel, and Anu thank you for helping me with the important information I probably would’ve taken ions to find without your help. Thank you, so much!
To the bloggers, who support authors and their work. It would be near impossible to get our books out without your help. Thank you so much!!
Julie Deaton, thank you for polishing my work and your kind words.
Linda at Sassy Savvy Fabulous PR & Marketing, thank you for your time and efforts I getting my book out to the bloggers and readers. I appreciate all your help.
Stacey with Champagne Formats, thank you for always giving my books (and others as well) that special added touch. You are truly amazing at what you do.
To my reader group, thank you for supporting me and my books.
My editor, Ashely Williams, thank you for not only working so hard to get my stories where they need to be, but for the friendship and laughs along the way.
At an adolescent age Nicole took a strong liking to reading and even had a pipe dream of writing her own book. But of course, life and growing up put reading on the far end back burner. Now she is excited to say that her dream has finally come true.
A hopeless romantic, she has a love for romance novels which she credits her late, mother passing on to her and now an even stronger love to write her own stories.
She loves to travel (when time and her pocketbook allows), is a die‑hard country music fan and would love to hear from you.
Please visit her website:
www.authornicolerichard.com
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SHE’S BEAUTIFUL SERIES
The Beauty of Grace
Waiting on Faith
Reclaiming Us
Between Him and Us – Coming Soon
Standalone Short Story
Forever Yours
Reclaiming Us Page 30