by D. L. Roan
“I now pronounce you husbands and wife,” the officiant said. “You may kiss your bride.”
Breezy leapt into Connor’s arms. She kissed him hard and deep, tasting her husband, her friend, her lover. “I love you so much,” she said and kissed him again.
“I love you, too, baby.”
She was still reeling from Connor’s kiss when Carson swept her up and spun her around. He pressed his lips to hers with a desperate groan. “God, I thought we’d never get to this part,” he said against her lips. He tilted his head and devoured her mouth, his tongue sweeping along hers in a frantic search for more.
She giggled when he spun her around again and rushed to the back of the platform, ducking behind one of the large decorative pillars out of sight of their guests. Laughter and loud whistles filled the air as their guests cheered. He pressed her up against the pillar and deepened his kiss, his chest heaving with each thrilled breath. When he pulled away, his eyes glistened with more tears, even as he smiled down at her. “I’ll never forget this day,” he said, his forehead resting against hers, their excited breaths mingling in the winter air.
Breezy smiled back up at her beautiful twin husband. “Neither will I.”
The sun was only just setting as they finished posing for photographs and made their way into the reception tent. Gabby and Olivia had been a Godsend when it came to decorating. If she thought the ceremony tent was dreamy, the reception tent was breathtaking, a winter wonderland complete with candles and crystals everywhere the eye could see. Even the vases that held the iris centerpieces on the tables had been carved from ice.
When dinner had been served and the cake had been cut, she met Henry on the dance floor for her first of four father-daughter dances. Matt, Mason and Grey had all welcomed her into their family with open arms and carefully crafted—and mostly hysterical—words of wisdom about their sons.
As the whiskey flowed and the music grew louder, she sat in Connor’s lap at their table, her legs draped over Carson’s knees as he massaged her aching calves. She watched Daniel and Cade slow dance to one of Carson’s songs and couldn’t help but think of Jonah. She searched the crowd and found him standing alone in the far corner, his hands in his pockets, his earbuds stuffed into his ears.
He’d changed in the months since he was attacked. He’d made a full recovery physically, but emotionally he was a mess. Some of his earlier anger had subsided, but he’d become increasingly withdrawn. She understood why, knowing what was wrong and not being able to talk to him about it, or tell anyone, only intensified her concern.
Carson had tried to talk to him several times, but that only made him more combative. He never told anyone what happened. Sherriff Gunnar eventually closed the case. With no victim statement, there wasn’t much he could do. He did arrest Dirk Grunion for assaulting Pryce, but the charges were dropped when Pryce recanted his statement and social services learned that he had already been removed from the home.
Since then, both he and Jonah had turned eighteen, but had made no attempts that she knew of to reconnect. She’d driven to Carlton a few times to see Pryce, but he’d refused her visits. In the meantime, Jonah had buried himself in his schoolwork, even quit football. He’d doubled his class load and asked his parents to allow him to graduate early, which he did a week before Christmas.
What his parents didn’t know was that, on that same day, he’d driven over to Butte and taken his ASVAB test to join the Marines. He was scheduled to leave for boot camp in three weeks.
Connor and Carson had been stunned. They’d tried to talk him out of it, but Jonah’s mind was made up. There was nothing wrong with joining the military if that was something he truly wanted to do with his life, but she knew that wasn’t the case. He was running.
He’d said he was going to wait until after their wedding to tell his parents. She didn’t know how they would react. She couldn’t help but think in some small way they’d be devastated to see him leave in such a state. And she was scared for him. Henry and Olivia had been crushed when they lost their son to the war in Afghanistan. That war was over, but it seemed as if every day there was a new threat, more countries on the brink of new wars.
“Has Jonah told Gabby and the dads yet?” she asked Connor and Carson as she watched him from across the room.
“No,” Carson said with a sigh. “I think he’s going to tell them tomorrow.”
‘I’m just glad we won’t be here when he does,” Connor said. “Mom and Dani are going to flip.”
Breezy tugged her legs from Carson’s lap and stuffed her feet back into her boots.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I’m going to ask your brother to dance.”
Of course Jonah declined, but she refused to take no for an answer, pulling him out into the center of the dance floor. He didn’t speak, and she was okay with that for a while, but before the song ended and he could escape back into his shell, she knew she had to say something.
“Jonah I want you to—”
“Please don’t try to talk me out of it,” he said. “I can’t believe they even told you.”
“I’m not going to try to talk you out of anything.” Breezy tipped her head back and looked up at him. “Jonah, I know more about what’s going on with you than you think.”
“I doubt that,” he said with a huff.
“I know Pryce loves you—or at least he did. Let me finish,” she said when he tried to pull away from her. People danced all around them as they stood still in the middle of the dance floor. She didn’t care. She fisted her hands into the sleeves of his dress shirt and held him there until she could say what she’d wanted to say for months.
“I know that you think you have to leave, and maybe you do, but not even a million miles can separate you from who you are or where you came from. No matter what happens, wherever you go, how bad things get, your brothers and I, your entire family, will always be here for you. We love all of you, Jonah, even those parts you’re not ready to share with us. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Jonah closed his eyes and sucked in a ragged breath before he gave her a silent nod.
“This thing with Pryce, whatever it is, whatever it was,” she continued, “I know you’re hurting. That hurt will either go away or it won’t, and if it doesn’t, then I expect you to come back here and fight for what’s yours. You hear me? Never give up on someone you love.” She glanced over to the table where Connor and Carson sat watching them. “I’ve loved your brothers since the first day I saw them, and I came so close to never telling them.” She took his large hand in both of hers, determined to make him understand. “Just say you’ll never give up, okay?”
Jonah nodded again and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a crushing hug. “It doesn’t count unless you say it.”
“Okay,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ll never give up.”
“Promise?”
“I promise,” he said with a reluctant grin. “You’re almost as bad as Dani. You know that?”
“I’m a fast learner,” Breezy said and pulled him down so she could kiss him on the cheek. “You aren’t leaving until we get back, right?”
“Na. I’ll be here.”
“You better be,” she said and gave him one last hug before she watched him walk away.
Her husbands joined her on the dance floor, their love and warmth soothing the sadness in her heart for their brother.
Husbands. She looked up at Carson as he took her in his arms, then back at Connor behind her, smiling his beautiful smile.
Nope, she still couldn’t believe it.
~*~*~ A True Love Story Never Ends ~*~*~
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of
Rock Star Cowboys: The Honeymoon
Destination undisclosed. No paparazzi. No harassing photogs or hovering drones. Finally Connor and Carson get Breezy all to themselves on the honeymoon of a lifetime and they aren’t about to let a moment go
to waste!
The McLendon Family Saga Reading Order
The Heart of Falcon Ridge
A McLendon Christmas
Rock Star Cowboys
Rock Star Cowboys: The Honeymoon
Thank You!
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If you like ménage romance, check out DL’s standalone ménage,
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Playing by the rules has never gotten Jayne Simon anywhere but trapped in a dull, humdrum life with a string of boring boyfriends. The one and only time she throws caution to the wind, embracing her inner freak and her deepest fantasy, Jayne gets much more than she bargained for.
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Irresistible CEO, Devin Kirk, was only doing Blake a favor by agreeing to spend one hot night with a woman he'd never see, fulfilling her blindfold fantasy. Since they were both wearing blindfolds, she’d never know the difference, right? What he didn't count on was having the best night of his life.
When the blindfolds come off, and all the cards are on the table, Jayne, Blake and Devin find their hearts in a tangled knot they're not certain they want to untie. Is three a crowd, or can they give their unconventional affair a chance to become the kind of love they never dreamed possible?
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