“I love you so much, and I thought you’d been shot.”
He tightened his hold on her. “I love you enough to not be stupid and get myself shot.”
She leaned back. “You love me?”
“I would really like to spend forever showing you just how much.”
“I want that. I want you and forever.” She touched her lips to his and melted against him as he deepened the kiss. The chaos around them was drowned out. The cameras were gone. It was her and the man she loved. The man with whom she wanted to build a life, have children, and watch sunsets until she was too old to bake any longer.
They kissed until she fought for air, and when he broke the kiss, he cupped her cheek. “Marry me.”
She nodded. “Yes.” She’d watched him get shot. Life was short, and whatever time she had left, she wanted to spend it with him.
He set his forehead against hers. “I love you, Sophia.”
“I love you so much, Gunner.”
Epilogue
Six years later…
Sophia smiled into the camera as the cameraman counted down the end of the show. Her syndicated show on Food Time Network. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gunner standing off to the side, holding their two-year-old son, Franklin.
In the last six years, her life had changed more than just a little, and so had Gunner’s, including the end of his night terrors.
The fifth season of Celebrity Proposal was a hit. Ratings and viewership exploded partly because of Gwendolyn’s meltdown—which led to psychiatric help for her—and partly because of Sophia and Gunner’s relationship. Not only did it help Hillary’s career, but Sophia’s subscriber list grew exponentially as well.
After popping the question at the end of the show, Gunner had resigned from the Guardian Group and moved to California. Another nine months later, they’d been married, framed by the trees and lake at his childhood home in South Carolina. They’d even purchased a vacation home not too far from his parents.
Not long after the wedding, she’d been approached to do a show for the network. After a ton of discussion with Gunner, she’d decided to take the job. The celebration of her success had led to the dark-haired chubby baby boy he was holding in his arms. And that baby was the light of their lives.
With the cut of the cameras, Sophia made her way to Gunner, lifting on her toes to kiss him and then Franklin. “How did I do?”
Gunner smiled. “You’re always great. Isn’t that right, buddy? Momma is fantastic, huh?”
Franklin babbled and giggled as she kissed his cheek again and tickled his tummy.
“Thank you for supporting me. I know I’ve been saying it, but it means the world to me.” He had been more than supportive, taking on the role of stay-at-home dad and allowing her to pursue something she’d dreamed of doing.
He kissed Franklin and then her. “You two mean the world to me, and I don’t care where we are or what we’re doing as long as we’re together.”
She couldn’t picture a better life for herself. “I love you, Gunner.”
Wrapping his arm around her and pulling her flush with him, he sighed and said, “I love you. I love both of you.”
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Want to know what happens with Ryder? He’s been hiding a secret. Can find the hope he’s lost? Turn the page to read the first chapter of The Ranger’s Hope!
Sneak Peek! The Ranger’s Hope Chapter 1
Yawning, Ryder Whitlock set his elbow on the desk and put his head in his hand. The screen blurred as he stared at it. He was so exhausted. Hot Tamales weren’t even working anymore. Actually, nothing was working anymore, and his nightmares were only getting worse.
“Tired?” Mia asked.
“I’m fine.”
She perched on the edge of his desk and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Shovel that somewhere else. I know you’re not.”
Until Mia came along, Ryder had flown under the radar. He was the happy-go-lucky guy of the group. Always parked in front of his computer with his candy. At twenty-six, he was the youngest in the group, and no one paid much attention to him. Well, Pam, their former boss and founder of the Guardian Group, had once confronted him, but he’d managed to put her mind at ease. Not Mia. She just wouldn’t let it go.
When she’d met and married Noah, his current boss, and started working with Ryder, she’d picked up on his struggle. What she didn’t understand was that there was no fixing his problem. He’d seen a counselor, more than one. He’d tried the techniques they’d suggested. Over a year of his life spent in session after session, talking about what happened, and for what? Nothing had changed. He was still plagued with sleepless nights and nightmares.
“Really, I’m fine, Mia.”
“No, you’re not,” Noah said as he stepped inside the office where Mia and Ryder worked. “And I think it’s time we addressed it.”
Ryder quickly stood, raking a hand through his hair. “What? Mia!” She’d ratted him out?
She turned to Ryder and took his face in her hands. “I love you like a brother, and I’ve watched you hurt for months.”
He pulled away. “But you’re supposed to be on my side. You said you wouldn’t say anything.”
Noah held up his hand. “And she didn’t until recently, but she’s my wife, and she’s worried about you. We made some calls, and we think we have a solution.”
“Calls? Solution?”
“You’re taking some time off, and you’re going to be working with a group called Rescues for Vets,” Mia said.
“What?”
Noah gripped his shoulder. “It’s a program for returning vets to be matched with a rescue dog as emotional support.”
Ryder froze. Emotional support? He wasn’t some pathetic weakling. He’d deal with this problem on his own. Yeah, he was tired a lot, but he didn’t need help. “I don’t have the energy to mess with a dog. I’m busy.” Ryder could barely control his temper. He jerked away from Noah. “I don’t need emotional support or whatever it is you think a dog will do for me.”
“You’ll either work with them, or…” Noah paused, glancing at Mia. “I can’t do it.”
Mia took a deep breath and stepped between Ryder and Noah. “Do you care about me or Noah at all?”
Ryder’s eyebrows knitted together. What kind of question was that? “Of course I do. I love all of you.”
“Well, we love you just as much,” Mia said as she stepped closer. “Please, do this for me. I’m so worried about you, Ryder. Not sleeping. You can’t keep going like this.” She paused. “It’s even located in your hometown, Palm Shores, maybe a mile or two from your house. My friend Kennedy is the director. I’ve asked her for a favor, and I’ve only told her you might be interested.”
He swallowed hard as he looked at her. When had Palm Shores, North Carolina, become home to a veteran’s program?
“I know what you’re thinking.” Mia sighed. “You’re thinking it’ll make you look sad and weak, but it won’t. It’ll make you look like a fighter. It’ll make you look like someone who doesn’t stop searching for solutions.”
Ryder shook his head. “It won’t—”
Mia held up her hand. “The worst that can happen is that you give a shelter animal a place to stay while they find a permanent home. The best, you find a companion animal that helps you. Why not try?”
Why not? Because he couldn’t. He couldn’t have anyone or anything depending on him. What if he let them down again? What if he didn’t get things right like last time? “No, I’ll figure out something else.”
Noah shook his head. “No, Ryder. You need this. The appointment is already set up, and you’re going to give it a chance.”
“But—”
“It’s either this or you’re out.” Noah wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Ryder’s lungs
felt deprived of all their air. Not working at the Guardian Group? That was all he had. It was the only safe place he could turn to. How could Noah do this to him? “You’d cut me out? I’ve devoted my life to this group.”
Pamela Williams had started the group a few years ago when her husband was murdered. He’d left her enough money to do great things, and she’d started the Guardian Group as a way to give back. They helped protect people who had run out of options.
“Yeah, you have, and I don’t want to lose you. You’re one of my closest friends, but Mia’s right. This could help you.”
“You don’t understand.” Ryder knew the instant it left his mouth that it was the wrong thing to say to Noah.
Their last Army Ranger mission in Africa, they’d been captured. All of them held. A deal had been reached with the guerillas holding them, and at the last minute, Noah and Kolby had been held back. The two of them had endured even worse torture than Ryder and the rest of the company.
His friend’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t understand?”
Mia made a time-out sign with her hands. “Stop.” She turned to Noah and pointed to the door. “Out.”
His lips pinched together. “I’m the boss here, ya know.”
She held his gaze as a lone eyebrow slowly lifted. Noah might be the boss, but Mia had him wrapped around her finger.
“Okay, this is your rodeo,” Noah said and walked to the door. “I do understand, Ryder. It wouldn’t have mattered what your intel said, I’d still have made the same call. You need to let it go. I was the commander. I sent us in. I bear the responsibility of all of it. Not you.” With that, he shut the door, leaving Ryder alone with Mia.
Mia’s shoulders rounded. “Ryder, other than Noah, you are my best friend in the world. It breaks my heart to see you hurting. You have a home you never stay at, you never go anywhere in public unless it’s work-related. It’s time to face this. You need help.”
He raked his hand through his hair. She wasn’t backing down, and coupled with Noah’s threat? Was there even a choice? “You’re going to make me do this, aren’t you?”
“I don’t want to make you do it. I want you to love all of us enough to try.”
Why did she have to put it like that? “All right. I’ll do it, but you know this won’t work. Noah can say he’d have made the same call, but I’ll never know that for sure. Neither will he. It was my fault, and I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to put that behind me.”
“All I want is for you to try. That’s all.”
Try. It sounded so easy, but he knew it’d be anything but.
* * *
Kennedy Crenshaw threw her phone onto the floorboard of her sixties VW Bug, parked it in front of the Rescue for Vets building, and leaned her head against the back of the seat. She never would have thought she’d be twenty-six and thinking her life was never going to be anything but a mess. Marrying Abel while working on her doctorate had been…it hadn’t been a mistake then. It had turned into one. They’d only lasted three years.
Why couldn’t she just escape him? What would it take? Even with a new number, her ex-husband had found her again. She’d moved to the tiny beach town of Palm Shores, North Carolina, to get away from him and all the problems that seemed to follow him.
Most likely, her parents had talked to his dad and thought nothing of giving her number to them. Why would they? His dad was a good man, just…blind to Abel and his manipulations. She couldn’t blame him because she’d been blind too, and she was a trained professional.
It had been almost a year. Thanks to his prison sentence, she’d made it nearly twelve months without hearing from him. His message was to let her know he’d received early parole and that he’d be getting out soon. She’d hoped he’d be forced to stay the entire sentence. It seemed she was the only one who dealt with the consequences of his gambling.
Normally, she’d be in a flurry of packing the few belongings she had and trucking it. The people he associated with weren’t nice people. That’s why she’d left home and moved so many times in the last year, and she was sick of it. People were always looking for Abel and making her life a mess in the process. She’d wanted out of that world, and moving seemed the only way.
She’d divorced him shortly after he was arraigned. By the time the trial had started, she was free. Of course, he’d contested it, but the looming prison sentence didn’t help his case. The prosecution had called it a slam dunk, and Abel was facing at least a year-long term.
In her mind, it had been long enough that there was no reason for anyone to come looking for her anymore. Unlike all the other times, this time she couldn’t pack up and leave in the middle of the night. This was her life, and she’d found her place. Okay, maybe that was taking it a bit too far, but she wanted it to be her place. If Abel found her, she’d just tell him she was done enabling him. That he’d have to figure out his own problems because she was done.
This time, she wasn’t leaving. There were dogs and veterans counting on her, and she’d made promises that she couldn’t…wouldn’t break this time. One, in particular, was Ryder Whitlock. His case had intrigued her.
Mia Milan, now Mia Wolf, an old college friend of hers had called and told Kennedy about him. He was having trouble sleeping, and lately, he’d started having panic attacks when he went out in public. Which made sense to Kennedy. She’d seen that before, where someone’s problems started out small and grew bigger. Other than what he was dealing with, Mia had been a little cryptic in what he did for a living. Something about a computer expert for some firm.
All Kennedy knew was that he needed help, and she’d spent the last two weeks evaluating dogs for him. So far, she’d narrowed it down to six. Once she met him, she’d narrow it even further. These six dogs ranged from tiny to huge. She’d learned that not all veterans wanted the gigantic slobbery dog. Some wanted the tiny ankle biter, which was hysterical. To see a big guy walking around with a pug was always going to be funny to her.
Willow Hart walked in front of Kennedy’s car. “Hey,” Willow said as she stopped.
With the window down, Kennedy poked her head out and worked to keep Abel’s message to herself. “Hi, Willow.” Willow and the people who started the organization, the ones who hired her as the director of Rescues for Vets, knew nothing about Kennedy’s ex-husband, and she wanted to keep it that way. “Ready for the day?”
Her friend looked up, and Kennedy did the same. Bright blue sky. Fluffy, slow-flowing clouds. Could the place be any prettier? “I’m definitely ready,” Willow said.
Kennedy brought her gaze to Willow’s. “Me too. I’m expecting a client in a few hours.” It was a good thing, too. She needed to walk a few of the dogs and work some of their energy out before Ryder got there, especially Rufus. Plus, it would give her time to get her mind in the right place.
Rufus, the Belgian Malinois, had been surrendered to the Durham shelter three hours away. The owner had run out of patience with his behavior. Kennedy had gotten a call, went to meet him, and couldn’t leave without him. Why didn’t people do their research before getting a dog? Belgians were working dogs. They needed a job. Like all working breeds, these dogs were smart, and they could be incredibly destructive. Still, Rufus was the perfect dog for this program. He got a job, and a veteran got a friend.
After Kennedy gathered her things, she stepped out of the car, used her hip to shut the door, and followed Willow. They’d only moved to the new facility, a historic house-turned-business on Grand Street, a few months ago after an anonymous donation. The outside was in rough shape, but the inside was a step up in space.
It was so much nicer than the strip mall office they’d been using. The house was only a few miles from the beach, and since it was an older property, there was more land as well. They’d converted the bedrooms into offices, and the same donor had built a few kennels to get them started, even going so far as to provide UV lights to cut down on diseases.
Willow laughed, pulling Kennedy from her tho
ughts as the sound of dogs barking filtered from the kennels attached to the back of the home. “Guess we’ll both be walking a few dogs this morning.”
Kennedy nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to start with Rufus. I suspect he’ll give me the same look as every morning. The innocent ‘I don’t know how that bed blew up.’” She laughed. “Do you have everything handled here?”
Willow nodded. “Sure.”
Stopping by her office, Kennedy dropped her stuff off and then made her way to Rufus’s kennel. Sure enough, his bed was nothing but shreds and stuffing. “Oh, Rufus, that bed was to sleep on.”
He wagged his tail, giving her a goofy grin. What a difference from three months ago. He’d gone from cowering in the corner to energetic and happy. It had taken some time to gain his trust, but she’d worked harder with him than she’d ever worked with a dog. There was something different about him, and it made her wonder about his history. Mostly, her gut told her Rufus belonged to someone, she just didn’t know who yet.
Grabbing the leash hanging next to his kennel, she pulled open the door. “Ready for a walk?”
He spun around. Bark! Bark! Bark!
“I’ll take that as an enthusiastic yes.” She laughed as she hooked the leash to his collar, and he immediately sat to her right. “You’re such a good boy.” She hadn’t taught him that. He knew a lot of commands, which seemed to support her theory that Rufus wasn’t just some shelter dog.
He pawed the ground, eating up the praise.
Out of the area where they housed the dogs, Kennedy took a path that led directly to the beach. Of the places she and Rufus loved to walk, it was there. It not only seemed to calm her but him as well. Plus, she loved the scenery.
As they reached the sand, she leaned against a tree and used her toes to slip off her shoes. She’d come back for them once their walk was over. One of the things she loved about this sleepy beach town was that things always stayed where you left them.
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