by Rae Daniel
I look up at Jim a moment later and whisper, “Meet Bradley and Adam, your sons.”
Jim bursts into tears at the same moment that I do and grabs hold of all of us. We’ve got one hell of a wild ride ahead of us, but knowing how fantastic of a man he is and how much he loves me and our boys, I know it will be the best ride ever.
Jim
She’s mine. She has been mine from the moment that I laid eyes on her, but since the wedding it has become official and everyone in the world knows it.
When I proposed to her with my grandmother's ring I was worried that it might be a bit too antique for her taste. But being that wonderful woman that she is, and being my soul mate, she loved it. It served my grandmother and grandfather well during their sixty-five years of marriage and I know it will ring true for ours.
I was actually surprised when my grandmother gave the ring to me rather than to my older brothers. I had introduced her to Anne shortly after we started dating. Not five minutes later, she pulled me to the side and placed the ring box into my hand saying, “Don’t waste another minute.”
She was right. Sadly, I wasted nearly a month because of my stupid confusion and refusal to get to the bottom of it. Never again. Anne is my wife and mother of my two boys. I will move heaven and earth to make sure everything is right between us. Everything.
I didn’t care if we had children or not, if we had a girl, a boy, twins, triplets or a dog only. I had Anne and if that was all that I was going to get, so be it. She is more than enough. By some grace of God we were blessed with twins.
Since they were born, I’ve been doing a scan to make sure they are healthy. It’s the doctor in me, and the fact that they are mine. I don’t want anything to happen to them if I can help it.
“Stop poking and prodding at them, you are going to give them a complex!”
My wife knows me too well, I can’t believe that I thought I was getting away with it.
“I’m not going to give them a complex. The first few days after they are born are the most critical. I want to make sure that if anything comes up, we can deal with it immediately.”
“While you are dealing with things immediately, why don’t you deal with their diapers immediately? It’s poopie clean-up time!”
She always knows how to get a smile out of me. And yes, talk of poopie makes me smile. It must be love.
As I turn to take care of some stinky baby business, I hear noises out in the hallway.
“Renee, we have to talk.”
“Not right now, Ben. You know they just had a baby right? My priorities are with them right now, as should yours be.”
“My priorities are with them but you are here and you have been avoiding me for months and months. We need to talk.”
“I’ve not been avoiding you, I’ve been busy.”
The next thing we hear is a thump and some muffled sounds. We look at each other and sort of roll our eyes. These two are two of the blindest, most stubborn people. Neither will admit to the other that they love each other, it’s a bit comical.
Before too long, Renee is coming into the room and is slightly out of breath. Ben comes in right behind her and tries to put his hand on her waist. To my absolute shock, she throws off his hand and kicks him in the shin, causing him to bend over with an ‘oomph’ sounds escaping his lips.
I manage to separate them while warning them, “Kids, kids, no fighting or I’ll put you in time out.”
Renee ignores me and runs right over to my wife. “Anne, I am so excited to hold the baby! Please let me hold, steal, and raise at least one of them as my own.”
Anne turns to her with her most sarcastic smile and says, “You can hold, but that’s it. If I see you whip your breast out to try and breastfeed my child I will go all ‘Hand that Rocks the Cradle’ on you!”
That gets a laugh out of all of us as Renee rushes around the room to hold Bradley. She’s been talking about this day ever since Anne announced she was pregnant. While the women coo and fuss over the babies, Ben and I step back and watch.
Glancing over at Ben, I see a look of longing on his face as he watches the scene unfold. I’m not sure who he’s watching but from what I know, it’s probably Renee.
As Renee moves around to now pick up Adam, I see Ben’s gaze move with her and my suspicions are confirmed. He’s in love with Renee to the point that it’s almost sick. Maybe one day, those two will figure it out and stop wasting time. I know from personal experience that it’s the best move you can make. Ever.
Acknowledgements
I have to first and foremost thank my wonderful family. Writing anything for publication is not a thing that happens by itself. There are many late nights, early mornings and nothing ends on a Friday. It is a twenty-four seven kind of job and I couldn’t have gotten it done without their understanding and unwavering support. Love you!
To the best friends that a girl could have. Renee, Ris, Amber, Michelle and Berto. You all are fantastic and never once told me that I was crazy for wanting to do this. You all instantly supported me and were there to be my sounding board, day and night. Literally. Thank you so much for all of your help, for being my beta readers, for being there to bounce my ideas off of you, and for your honest feedback. You all rock!
Lester, thank you so much for all of your hard work and late nights working on my cover art. I owe you so much for your artistic talents and will forever be thankful for your help!
To the most fantastic editors, authors and friends a girl could have. Celia Aaron & Sloane Howell, you all are absolutely some of the most wonderful writers, editors and genuinely the nicest people that I have ever had the chance to get to know. I have been delighted to work with you all on your own writing projects and look forward to working with you both much more in the future. I couldn’t have done any of this without the two of you. Thank you!
And last but certainly not least, readers like you! Thank you so much for taking the time out to read my debut novella. I would greatly appreciate for you to tell a friend. Also, if you feel like leaving a review on either Amazon or GoodReads, it would be greatly appreciated! Authors cannot “build it and they will come”, it’s the time and devotion given by readers like you that help drive the word. Thank you!
About the Author
Born in the midwest, Rae Daniel has been telling stories her entire life. After earning her degree in History from Old Dominion University, she found her niche in the professional world as an analyst. In her analytical roll, she found that compiling her research into “stories” for her upper management team, gave her the confidence to start to write all the other stories that were running around in her head.
Rae is also the founder of GetYourSmutOn.com, a romance book review website. Within the first six months of operation she was being asked to write reviews for independent, USA Today, and NY Times best selling romance authors from around the world.
When she is not writing, she is living a charming life in North Carolina with her husband and two kids. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading and drinking wine. (PS, not necessarily in that order) :)
A Note from the Author
Thank you so much for reading my debut novella ‘When I Make You Mine’! I am so excited to share it with you and hope that you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will admit, some parts of the story were taken from my real life, but I definitely won’t say which! Watch out for the remaining three books in the series!
I would love for you to spread the word and leave a review on your own blog, Amazon or GoodReads, or all of the above! It would be greatly appreciated! Authors, especially new ones like myself, rely on reviews from fantastic readers like you. Thank you in advance!
Also, feel free to connect with me on my social sites and website. I would absolutely love to hear from you! Check me out at the following sites below:
Twitter: @AuthorRaeDaniel
Facebook: @AuthorRaeDaniel
Website: RaeDanielAuthor.com
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e of Contents
Chapter One: The Douchebag
Chapter Two: The Hospital
Chapter Three: Observation
Chapter Four: Recovery
Chapter Five: The Follow-up
Chapter Six: Girl Talk
Chapter Seven: The House Call
Chapter Eight: Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
Chapter Nine: The Laundry
Chapter Ten: The Other Guy
Chapter Eleven: The Next Steps
Chapter Twelve: The Diner
Chapter Thirteen: The Reveal
Epilogue
Table of Contents
Chapter One: The Douchebag
Chapter Two: The Hospital
Chapter Three: Observation
Chapter Four: Recovery
Chapter Five: The Follow-up
Chapter Six: Girl Talk
Chapter Seven: The House Call
Chapter Eight: Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
Chapter Nine: The Laundry
Chapter Ten: The Other Guy
Chapter Eleven: The Next Steps
Chapter Twelve: The Diner
Chapter Thirteen: The Reveal
Epilogue