by Sienna Parks
My mom and dad have settled in to life here in Cricket. It was a big adjustment, and for a time, my mom seemed to get worse due to all the changes, but the good days outweigh the bad. My dad enjoys living so close to the mountains and loves being included in camping, hunting, and fishing trips.
Travis’s parents have been wonderful. After a frosty start, his mom and I have found a way to be friends. I still see a hint of trepidation in her eyes at times, but she adores Maisie and Eli—that’s all I need.
Babs has taken it upon herself to visit my mom at least three times a week, and they’ve become good friends. Some days are easier than others, but Babs takes it in her stride. It hasn’t been as easy for me to adjust. I walk down every morning to check on Mom, and unfortunately she doesn’t know I’m her daughter. I’ve become a dear friend to her, and I have had to make peace with the reality of her condition.
Today is a great day. My dad called early, his voice thick with tears as he asked me to bring my family down to meet her. He explained that she woke up this morning and was completely lucid. It’s never happened before and having to explain to her what’s happening was hard for him. I can’t begin to imagine what it feels like to wake up one morning to find out you have no memory of the past two years of your life. Living in a different home and being told you have a degenerative disease. It’s a lot to process, but my mom was always a practical woman. She knows this won’t last.
Lucid days are rare, and doctors don’t know why they happen, but when they do, it’s a treasure. We’ve been given that gift on a bright Saturday morning. Travis and Eli are coming with me this morning. We sat down with Eli to explain that she’ll seem different today, but he was just so excited to see Grandma Margot feeling better.
Trav made breakfast and packed it up so we could share a meal with them. We make the short walk in silence, my heart pounding at the thought of having my mom back if only for a few hours. The moment we arrive, Travis takes Maisie from my arms with a reassuring kiss.
“You can do this, wildcat. Make the most of today. I’ll be right here.”
I open the door to see my mom sitting at the kitchen table, her hands intertwined with my dad’s, the look of a girl in love twinkling in her longing gaze. She turns at the sound of the door closing behind us, and when her eyes find mine, the recognition I see shining back at me is my undoing.
“Mom?”
“Hi, sweetheart.” Her eyes fill with tears as she takes in the sight of my family standing next to me. I run into her arms, holding her tight, sobbing like a child. Even her smell is different today—she’s wearing her favorite perfume. It’s the comforting scent of my childhood, and I didn’t even realize how much I missed it.
“I’ve missed you so much, Mom. I have so much to tell you.”
“I’m so sorry, darling. I hate that I’m putting you through such hell. Not knowing you seems so unimaginable to me.” Through my tears, I squeeze her close.
“Don’t ever apologize to me. You didn’t ask for this. I love you, Mom. We’re still friends even when you don’t know me.”
“I love you so much, my sweet girl. I want to know everything. Tell me about your life. It’s likely that I only have today.” The thought that she’ll wake up tomorrow with no memory of this is devastating, but I push it to the back of my mind for now. I don’t want to spend precious moments with her worrying about tomorrow.
I turn to Travis and beckon Eli to my side.
“Mom, this is my husband, Travis, and this is my son, Elijah. The tiny one is Maisie. She’s three weeks old.” My mom’s eyes fill with tears as she steps toward them memorizing every little detail. Eli is quick to run into her arms.
“Hi, Grama Mago. I’m Eli. We pway Snap and Go Fish a wot. You’re a fun gama.”
“Hi, little one. I’m really glad to hear we hang out together.” He takes her by the hand, leading her over to where Travis cradles Maisie.
“Hi, Margot. I’m Travis. Would you like to hold your granddaughter?” I focus on the calming tone of his voice trying to slow my racing heart. My dad comes alongside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as we watch my mom… the woman we love so dearly… holding her granddaughter for the first time knowing who she is.
It’s a moment I’ll hold dear for the rest of my life. I was heartbroken when I brought Maisie down the day we got home from the hospital. My mom held her and told me how cute she was, but there was something missing—the look that I see in her eyes now as she gazes adoringly at her granddaughter.
When she can tear herself away from staring at her, she looks to Travis.
“Matthew told me what you’ve done for us. I can’t express my gratitude. He tells me you’re a wonderful husband to my baby girl and an even better father to these two. I wish we’d had a chance to get to know each other better.”
“Me, too. You’re family. I’d do anything for Juliet. We still have good times together, Margot. It’s sad that you don’t remember, but if there’s one thing that stays with you today, somewhere in your subconscious, let it be that you’re safe here surrounded by people who love you no matter what. Every version of you.”
My heart is fit to burst as I watch them interact. I’ve often wondered what my mom would think of him. Would she think it strange that we live out here in the middle of nowhere? She remembers me as a city girl through and through. It’s wonderful to see her so in love with my father once more. She dotes on Eli getting to know everything about him and his sweet personality.
Maisie spends hours nestled happily in her grandmother’s arms asleep and unaware of the joy she brings. We spend the day catching up and just enjoying one another’s company. My dad sits spellbound at her side savoring every second. And, as the day draws to a close, I know I need to allow them some time to say their goodbyes before she awakes a stranger in her own house tomorrow morning.
Leaving her is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. With tears streaming down my face, I pull her into my arms for the millionth time today.
“I love you, Mom. I do today, and I will tomorrow. I’m going to come down, and we’ll play Black Jack and have Sunday dinner like we do every week.” I can barely choke out the words past the grief constricting my airway. “We’ll laugh, and I’ll be your good friend, Juliet. I’m always going to love you, and I’ll always be here. I’ll always be your daughter.”
She wipes the tears from my eyes the way she did when I was a little.
“And I will always be your mom. I love you so much, Juliet. You’ve become a beautiful woman, and I’m so proud of you. You’re an amazing mother and a lucky wife.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Travis interjects.
“And don’t you forget it. You take care of my baby girl, you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am. You have my word.”
“You’re a good man, Travis. I’m glad you two found each other. God works in mysterious ways, and it isn’t our place to question him.”
I tell her I love her one last time before I say goodbye. Crying the whole way home, Eli holds my hand tight.
“Don’t be sad, Mommy. Gama isn’t going to heaven. She gets to stay with us. Me and Maisie will always stay with you. And Daddy, too. We wove you wots and wots and wots.” Just like that, he changes my perspective. As much as it pains me to see my mom suffering from Alzheimer’s, I still get to hold her in my arms and tell her I love her. Sometimes it seems harder than if she’d died, but today was such a beautiful treasure.
If I’d lost her two years ago, she’d never have met Travis, Eli, or Maisie, and as I stare down at the little boy squeezing my hand, I realize how lucky I am. I’m surrounded by love, family, and endless possibilities.
When the kids are asleep, I crawl into bed beside Travis taking advantage of the few hours before Maisie will need to be fed again. He pulls me close positioning me in the crook of his arm.
“You holding up okay, wildcat? I know today was hard, but I’m so proud of you.”
“I’m exhausted. Ment
ally, physically, and emotionally. I’m glad you got a chance to really meet her, and that she got to see the kids and truly understand she has grandchildren. It meant the world to me.”
“You mean the world to me. I’ll keep my promise to her. I’ll always look after you, Jules. No matter what life throws at us, we’ll face it together.”
“I love you, Trav. Thank you so much for today. You were my rock.”
“Always.”
I find my peace and gentle slumber in the arms of the man I love, safe in the knowledge that fate brought us together. Every day with him is a gift, and I plan to enjoy every single second with him on this adventure we call life.
Epilogue 2
Travis
Five Years Later
I never imagined my life could turn out this way. There was a time when I thought I’d never be happy again, but here I am, sitting on the back porch of the cabin watching my beautiful wife and kids as they run and play together, their laughter echoing through the trees.
Juliet’s belly is beginning to show, our third child is due in five months. She’s breathtaking, and I find myself falling more in love with her every day.
Eli is almost ten, and I’m so proud of the boy he’s grown into. He’s going to be a great man one day, and I feel incredibly blessed to watch him change and evolve. He attends the local middle school and has started playing football. It’s not something I would’ve considered when we lived at the cabin full time, but he found his own path, and I won’t stand in his way if he wants to pursue it beyond school.
Maisie is a force to be reckoned with just like her mother. Irresistibly cute, she has me wrapped around her little finger. I can’t say no to her, and she already knows it. God help me when she’s a teenager. Having a daughter is a completely different experience than a son. In some ways, I feel she’s more fragile than Eli, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The day she was born, I was a wreck. Jules made it to full term and had a textbook birth. Maisie was the picture of health, and two days after she came into the world, we were able to take her home. To share that experience with her mother seems so commonplace, I doubt it crosses most people’s mind to contemplate a different reality. Seeing our daughter for the first time was… transcendent.
It was so hard to watch Jules in pain, and I worried about every little detail, but she’s stronger than I give her credit for. I could never do what she did. Someone should warn husbands about childbirth. It’s brutal, and I was useless. I’m already anxious about Jules going through it all again for this baby.
She continues to amaze me every single day as a mother, a daughter, a lover, and a friend. I tried to convince her to go back to journalism a few years back, but she wouldn’t hear of it. I think her perspective has changed so drastically, she doesn’t see a place for herself there anymore. Instead, she’s channeled her talents into various other avenues.
An avid fundraiser for Alzheimer’s research, she started her own foundation last year, and it’s thriving. We’re always hopeful that there will be a breakthrough in treatment now that researchers are focused on isolating the genetic markers for the disease. Juliet made the decision to be tested for the gene after Maisie was born. I didn’t want her to do it, worried it would change her life if it came back positive. As always, she was more concerned about our family. She had to know if she could possibly have passed it down to Maisie.
It was negative.
As for me… I’ve learned to indulge my love of mountain life with my passion for football. Remaining out of the spotlight is still imperative, especially as our family grows, but in the age of technology, I’ve set up a blog and live feed on gamedays. I commentate on whichever games I choose, and I don’t have to worry about reporters hounding me wherever I go. After the first six months, ESPN bought the rights and have been dealing with the logistical side of things ever since. It allows me to do what I love and reach a wide audience without ever having to leave the comfort of our home in Montana.
I contacted Fletch, and he comes down to visit quite often now. He and Jules have become great friends, although his nighttime exploits grate on her at times. He doesn’t exactly go in for the long-term relationships. More like treat ‘em and street ‘em. He adores Eli and Maisie, and they love their Uncle Fletch.
Juliet leaves the kids to play and takes a seat by my side.
“You okay? You seem quiet.”
“Just admiring my family from a distance.” She ruffles my hair pulling me close so only I can here.
“I’d like to admire you later… naked and writhing beneath me while I ride you.” Pregnancy makes her twice as horny, and that’s just fine with me. I can’t get enough of her. She still affects me in every way imaginable—the warmth of her touch, her soft lips against mine, or the scent of her hair in the morning breeze.
“You’re a dirty little minx with all these hormones, wildcat.”
“Are you complaining?” Her wry smile tells me she already knows the answer to her question.
“Never. Anytime, anywhere. I’m always ready for you.”
“That’s why I love you, my wild, rugged mountain man.”
“Is that the only reason?” I run my fingers down her neck to the swell of her breasts.
“One of many reasons, Travis Thorburn.”
I’ve had my fair share of heartache in life, but as I get older, I realize the importance of making the most of where you find yourself now. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, but that’s no reason to fear the future. I lost myself for a long time, unable to face my past, but I couldn’t find a way forward until I realized where I’d been.
Juliet is my north—Eli and Maisie, my east and west. I look forward to welcoming a new life into our world a few months from now. He or she will be our south—the final piece. My family means everything to me, they are my compass. As long as I have them, I will always find my way.
The End
Page ahead to begin Bonus Book One – Mustang Daddy by Sienna Parks
MUSTANG DADDY
SIENNA PARKS
A SINGLE DADDY, SMALL TOWN, SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE
Copyright
COPYRIGHT 2017 PRISM HEART PRESS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COVER DESIGN: Louisa Maggio
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For My Babies
Watching you laugh and love,
is the greatest gift
I could ever ask for.
You are my heart.
Description
A.B.
I thought moving back to Kingsbury Falls would be good for me… until I saw him.
Maddox Hale was my high school sweetheart, and the best friend I ever had.
We shared all th
e important firsts together, but when faced with making him choose between me and the life he wanted, I made the decision for him. I left without a word, or an explanation.
Now I’m back, and so is he… with his daughter.
Maddox
A.B. Clark broke my heart and made me swear I would never return to my hometown. I left to become a champion bull rider. Eleven years later, I moved back, with a wife and a baby on the way. Now I’m a single daddy, running the family ranch. My daughter is the only woman in my life… until A.B. shows up, throwing my world into disarray. I don’t know if trust can ever be earned after it’s been broken, but she makes me want to believe in the possibility.
With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Dr. A.B. Clark sets out to win back not just the trust, but the heart of her first and only love, single daddy Maddox Hale. With the best intentions, not to break his heart a second time, A.B. is faced with a decision that could risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.
Can Maddox risk not only his, but his daughter’s heart being broken by the one woman who sets his world on fire?
Mustang Daddy is a wild ride of small town, epic romance. An emotional, heartfelt, sexy and sassy love story that will restore your faith in second chances.
Prologue