Finally

by R. L. Mathewson

  She was mean, Devin decided as he sat there, uncaring that he was fucking pouting. When it became more than obvious that his wife didn’t care that he was pouting, he narrowed his eyes on her until he got bored and decided to get some work done. With that in mind, he got up and started to head upstairs only to turn around with a sigh as he went to find out who was knocking on his door.

  He opened the door and-

  “You owe me,” Ben said, dropping a duffle bag by the door before heading over to the couch and immediately grunted when the kids tackled him.

  “What’s going on?” Devin asked, watching as his wife climbed to her feet, pausing to scratch Bradford behind the ears before she leaned down and kissed each giggling child on the cheek before turning around with a satisfied sigh and headed upstairs, leaving him standing there wondering if he’d missed something.

  When it became obvious that no one was planning on filling him in, Devin headed upstairs and-

  “Are you here to worship me?”

  -felt his lips pull up into a pleased smile when he walked into his bedroom and saw his wife lying on their bed with only a sheet covering her.

  “I might be,” he murmured, running his gaze over his wife, taking in the devious little smile that told him that she was up to something as he closed their bedroom door behind him. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “I’m giving you an opportunity to worship me,” Charlie said, nodding regally as she gestured for him to get on with it.

  Chuckling, Devin pulled off his boots and tossed them aside. “That’s ummm, very generous of you,” he said, reaching back to pull his shirt off.

  “I know,” she said, lying back against the pillows as she watched him.

  “And Ben?” he asked, reaching for his belt.

  “Has generously volunteered to watch the kids for the weekend,” she said, nodding solemnly.

  “Volunteered?” he murmured, latching onto the word that caught his attention because he knew his wife well enough to know when she was up to something.

  “I may have had to use blackmail, but since he’d agreed to do it, I feel as though that should count as volunteering,” Charlie explained, making his lips twitch as he shoved his pants off.

  “I see,” Devin said as he pushed his boxers down. “Anything else I should know?’

  “He also volunteered to watch them next weekend, too,” she said, making his lips twitch as he reached down and grabbed hold of the sheet covering her.

  “That was very generous of him,” he said as he slowly pulled the sheet off her, revealing every devastating curve that drove him out of his fucking mind.

  “Wasn’t it, though?” she murmured with a satisfied sigh as she lay there, waiting to be worshipped, something that he was more than happy to do.

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later…

  “You promised us a baby,” Abbi bit out with an accusing glare that was matched by her brother as Devin continued to pace in front of the bathroom, waiting to find out if they were going to have another child that loved to drive him fucking crazy.

  “You guys are brutal,” Devin said, chuckling only to slowly exhale as he glanced back at the bathroom to find Ben staring down at the pregnancy test as he popped a chip in his mouth.

  “Well?” Devin asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he waited for his unofficial brother-in-law to break the news.

  “Still counting down,” Ben said, popping another chip in his mouth as Devin glanced over his shoulder to find his wife running her gaze over the armoire that he made her for Christmas.

  “Give up yet?” he asked, walking over to join her.

  “Never,” Charlie said, shooting him a smile as he reached down and scratched Bradford behind the ears.

  “I’m willing to tell you where the hidden compartments are,” he said as he wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her closer so that he could kiss the side of her neck before adding, “for a price.”

  “I’ll figure it out,” Charlie said with a determined nod as she reached over and ran her fingers over the Celtic design that he’d carved into the side.

  “Are you sure? It would be so easy to tell you…” Devin said, letting his words trail off, knowing just how tempted she was to finally give in.

  It had been eight months since he gave her the armoire and so far, she hadn’t been able to figure out how to open any of the secret compartments that he’d built into the armoire. He’d offered to tell her where they were, but his wife was determined to find them on her own.

  There was a pause and then…

  “What will it cost me?” she asked, making him grin as he thought of all those things that he would love to do with her. Since his parents were in town for the week, he could probably get them to take the kids for the weekend so that he could spend a little quality time alone with his wife.

  It was going to be per-

  “I can show you, mommy,” Dustin said, reaching up and pushed against the Celtic design as he opened the cabinet door at the same time, releasing the lever and making Devin narrow his eyes on the little traitor.

  A small click accompanied the side panel sliding free, making Charlie smile as she leaned down and rewarded Dustin with a kiss that should have been his. “Thank you, sweetie.”

  “You’re welcome, mommy,” Dustin said, shooting him a smug smile that had Devin narrowing his eyes on his son.

  “Traitor,” Devin mumbled as he watched Charlie open the side panel the rest of the way, revealing the Christmas card that he’d placed in there for her, the same one that he’d never actually expected her to find.

  “What’s this?” Charlie asked, shooting him a questioning look.

  “Open it,” Devin said softly as he leaned back against the wall while he watched her, waiting for the moment when she realized just how much he loved her.

  When he wrote it, he’d already resigned himself to living without her, but he hadn’t been able to resist telling her how much he loved her even though he knew that she would probably never read it. It had taken him most of the night to put into words just how much he loved her.

  Throwing him a curious look, Charlie turned the envelope over in her hands and opened it before looking down as she pulled out the piece of paper that he’d placed in there and-

  “Oh, my god,” she mumbled with a watery smile as her eyes teared up and he prepared himself for all the love and adoration that was about to come his way as she read what he wrote and-

  “Thank you, sweetie!” Charlie managed to get out around a sniffle as she reached down and pulled Dustin in her arms as Devin stood there wondering what the hell was going on.

  “You’re welcome, mommy!” Dustin said with an adorable smile as Charlie gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

  “Test is done,” Ben said as he walked into the room and threw himself across the bed, looking bored while Devin tried to make sense out of what was happening.

  “Why is he getting my kisses?” he demanded as Charlie placed the folded piece of paper in his hand with a murmured, “That was so sweet,” before heading to the bathroom.

  “It’s positive by the way,” Ben said, only to chuckle when Abbi jumped on him a split second later.

  “A baby? Really? We’re having a baby!” his baby girl said with a gasp of excitement as Devin felt his lips pull up into a huge grin as he opened the folded piece of paper in his hands only to feel that smile slowly die when he read the words neatly written across the paper in crayon.

  You’re the best mommy in the world. I love you!

  Love,

  Dustin

  Eyes narrowing, Devin looked up to find Dustin watching him with a devious smile as he said, “And that’s why you’re not cut out for world domination,” shooting him a wink before he ran over to hug Charlie when she stepped out of the bathroom, leaving Devin standing there, somewhat terrified that his son was really going to drop his ass off on a deserted island one day.

  Then again, that
might not be so bad, Devin thought as he walked over and pulled his beautiful wife into his arms, deciding that he’d just have to take her with him because there was no way in hell that he was ever going to let her go.

  Coming this December…

  Misunderstood

  A Neighbor from Hell YA Novel

  Excerpt

  Prologue

  “Yeah, I’m not doing it,” Sebastian said as he stared down at his mother’s latest attempt to…

  Well, he wasn’t exactly sure what it was supposed to be, but he knew that he didn’t want to put the gray/greenish, crumbling, oozing substance in his mouth. But the problem was that he’d been dared by his brothers, who were both standing next to him, pointing flashlights on the gooey mess as they took turns poking it with a spoon because none of them wanted to touch it with their bare hands.

  “Then you forfeit,” Jonathan, his twin brother and the reason that they were all down here, said with a satisfied sigh as he reached over and plucked the iPad that their mother let Sebastian borrow, out of his hands.

  “Wait. I want a turn!” Mathew said loudly, earning a glare, which was the only warning that he was going to get if he got them in trouble.

  “You weren’t in on this,” Jonathan pointed out.

  “It was implied!” Mathew hissed as he pushed the sleeves of his Scooby-Doo pajamas up, slowly exhaled, picked up the spoon and dug in and right before they had a chance to see if their little brother would survive, they heard it.

  The sound of a door opening.

  “Go!” Sebastian mouthed to his brother as they both slapped their hands over their little brother’s mouth, grabbed an arm, and pulled him towards the back stairs.

  “The brownies!” Jonathan whispered, making him frown until he remembered the gray mess they’d left on the counter.

  Knowing just how badly this would end if their parents caught them out of bed, Sebastian released his hold on his little brother and mouthed, “Go!” before making his way back to the mess that he never would have guessed was brownies, slapped the foil on top of the pan, carried it back to the fridge, and slid it back onto the bottom shelf next to what his mother had claimed was macaroni and cheese. As soon as he was done, Sebastian clicked the flashlight off and headed back towards the stairs.

  In seconds, he was racing up the stairs, down the hallway, and sneaking into his room where he plucked the iPad out of his brother’s hands before climbing out the window with a satisfied sigh.

  “Oh, come on!” Jonathan, who just happened to be afraid of heights, bit out quietly as he blindly reached out, too afraid to venture out any further than that as Sebastian crouched down on the small roof just out of reach of their bedroom window.

  “Oh, is this what you wanted?” Sebastian asked innocently as he held up their mother’s iPad just out of reach of his brother’s mad grab.

  “It’s my turn!” Jonathan said with a murderous glare as he leaned out the window another inch, but sadly, that just wasn’t going to be enough to reach him.

  “You’re right,” Sebastian said, nodding solemnly even as he shifted on the roof so that he could shoot a glance at their sister Jessica’s window to make sure that they hadn’t woken her up.

  “So, you’re going to give it to me?” Jonathan asked, making Sebastian shake his head with a disappointed sigh, because really, his brother of all people should know better.

  “I would. I really would,” Sebastian said, returning his attention back to the iPad in his hands as he pulled up Radcliffe Academy’s homepage, curious about the classes they were offering this fall.

  “You could have just said no,” Jonathan said with a resigned sigh as he returned to the safety of their room.

  “I could have, but then how would you learn?” Sebastian asked, shooting his brother a wink as he stuffed the iPad inside his sweatshirt.

  “Just don’t drop it. I want to check out the extracurriculars they offer before tomorrow,” Jonathan said as he grabbed a book off their desk and dropped down on the bottom bunk where he would most likely fall asleep before Sebastian came back.

  “I won’t,” Sebastian said, chuckling as he slowly made his way past his sister’s window.

  As soon as he came to the edge of the roof, he lowered himself to the next level and made his way to the chimney where he spent most of his time reading to get a break from his family. He loved them, he truly did, but sometimes he just needed a break. Since they were all afraid of heights, this worked out well for him.

  It also didn’t hurt that this particular spot was close to his parents’ room and he’d be able to hear if they decided to check on them, which would give him plenty of time to get back to the safety of his room and climb back in bed before they made good on all those promises to wring his neck if they caught him on the roof again. Until then, Sebastian was going to sit here and check out the insanely cool school that was going to save him from spending another year doing the workbooks that his mother downloaded from the internet.

  He loved spending time with his mother and studying whatever he wanted, but he missed school. He missed gym class, missed hanging out with his friends, being able to get a new book every day from the library, being taught instead of watching videos and doing busy work. For the past year, his parents had been trying to get them into a new school, hoping to find a private school that would take them without costing a fortune, but thanks to their school records, none of the schools around here had been willing to accept them.

  Except for Radcliffe Academy.

  His mother had gone to bat for them, calling and emailing the school every week for the past year until the school finally gave in and allowed them to take the entrance exam. When their test results came in, the school had offered them a scholarship and now, they were going to one of the best schools in the country and he couldn’t wait. They’d have to take two buses to get there, but it would be worth it, especially if-

  “Baby, please stop crying,” Sebastian heard his father say, making him frown as he looked up from his iPad.

  Curious, Sebastian shifted to the edge of the roof and looked past the chimney. When he heard the unmistakable sounds of his mother crying, something that he’d never heard before, he found himself shoving the iPad back in his sweatshirt and carefully moving around the chimney so that he could make sure that his mother was okay.

  “Shhh, baby, please. Everything is going to be okay,” his father said while Sebastian watched his father through the window as he pulled his mother into his arms and closed his eyes. “It will be fine.”

  “No, it won’t,” his mother said around a choked sob as she wrapped her arms around his father and pressed her face against his chest.

  “We’ll figure something out. We always do,” he promised, but from the look on his father’s face, Sebastian could tell that he really didn’t believe it.

  Sebastian swallowed nervously as he knelt there, watching his parents, more terrified than he’d ever been in his life because he’d never seen his parents like this. When something bad happened, his parents usually teased each other until one of them was smiling and he knew that everything was going to be okay. But now…

  He was absolutely terrified.

  “How are we supposed to choose?” his mother asked.

  “I don’t know, Zoe,” his father said, making him frown.

  “I can’t do this.”

  “We’ll make it work,” his father promised.

  “How are we supposed to come up with forty thousand dollars every year for the next six years?” his mother asked, making his stomach drop.

  “I don’t know.”

  “How are we supposed to decide who gets to go to this school and have a real chance and which one stays here while we fumble our way through homeschooling him? I can’t do it, Trevor. I can’t do that to them,” his mother said as she held on tightly to his father while Sebastian sat there, realizing just how much his parents had been hiding from them.

  They hadn’t offered bot
h of them a scholarship.

  Radcliffe Academy had only offered one of them a scholarship, which meant that one of them wasn’t going. It meant that one of them wasn’t going anywhere. It meant six more years of workbooks at the kitchen table, running errands with their mother, and trying not to die of boredom.

  “I don’t think they expect us to choose, sweetheart. Sebastian got the higher score,” his father said as Sebastian sat there breathing a sigh of relief.

  That is until his mother spoke.

  “What about Jonathan?”

  “He can do another year of homeschooling, sweetheart. In the meantime, we’ll save every penny we get our hands on and we can send him next year,” his father promised as Sebastian wordlessly turned around and slowly made his way back to his bedroom.

  “It’s about time,” Jonathan said, grinning as he sat up and tossed his book aside when Sebastian crawled back through the window. “I can’t decide if I want to join the robotics team or the soccer team. Both would be cool, but the robotics team gets a trip to Disney if they win. We should both join. We’d definitely win then.”

  “Here,” Sebastian said hollowly as he pulled the iPad out of his sweatshirt and handed it to his brother.

  “You’re done?” his brother asked, looking surprised.

  “Yeah, I’m done,” Sebastian said, nodding absently as he climbed onto the top bunk, laid down, and closed his eyes.

  Other titles by R.L. Mathewson:

  The Anger Management Series:

  Devastated

  The Pyte/Sentinel Series:

  Tall, Dark & Lonely

  Without Regret

  Tall, Dark & Heartless

  Tall, Silent & Lethal

  Fated

  Tall, Dark & Furious

  The Hollywood Hearts Series:

  A Humble Heart

  A Reclusive Heart