by Lily Cahill
Emily grinned at Grace and started toward the house. Even at the bottom of the stairs, she could hear the rambunctious twins screeching inside the house. Emily glanced at Grace, trying not to frown. Grace didn’t like to talk about it, but Emily knew she and Bret had been trying for a baby for quite a while now. There was even talk of going to a specialist. Emily’s heart twisted. She hoped being around all the Hart kids wouldn’t be too much for them.
They were just at the top step, with Chase and Bret behind them loaded up with bags, when Aurelie came bolting out the front door. She launched her little body into Emily’s arms and started talking a mile a minute, mostly about seeing Winnie again and all the pictures she’d drawn for her. Drew popped his head around the open front door and beckoned them inside, an oven mitt on each hand and a baking sheet of fresh cookies held out.
The entire group piled in, and there was a jumble of talking, laughing, and hugging.
“Your arm!” That was Drew, pointing at Emily’s latest tattoo, a small, stylized “Winnie” scrawled on the inside of her forearm.
“Blame your brother for that. I can’t stop with the tattoos!”
Drew yanked her into a big hug, then turned to his brothers. The twins were running circles around their legs and Aurelie was kissing Winnie’s head over and over. Grace smiled at Aurelie as the girl stayed gentle with the baby even though Emily could see her practically quivering with excitement.
“Aura,” came a voice on the stairs.
Emily looked up to see Nina coming down the stairs, a black tunic stretched over her growing baby belly. Emily glanced again at Grace. She was still smiling, but there was a sadness at the corners of her lips, and her eyes turned down.
Emily plucked Winnie out of Grace’s arms and handed the baby to Chase, who was currently shouting over his shoulder at Bret and Drew as Oliver and Jeremiah clung to his legs. Chase cast a quick glance at Grace, and Emily nodded, a quiet understanding passing between them. Then Emily hooked her arm through Grace’s and led her outside to the deck.
The silence pressed in on them, just the sun and the breeze through the trees. The two women leaned against the deck railing and stared out into the forest for a minute. It was nice, away from noise and chatter.
Emily could clearly remember the pain of wanting a baby so badly, a physical ache she could feel in her heart. She and Chase tried so hard, and when each month passed, the sense of loss grew. The sense that Emily had failed as a woman had become a solid weight in her shoulders.
It’d been a trying time for her and Chase’s relationship. Thank god they had the distraction of work during those bleak ten months. They’d finally conceived Winnie while on a much-needed vacation to France.
But the thing she remembered most of all was being ashamed, of being tired of answering the gentle prodding of Tiff, Nina, and her mother. They meant well, she knew that, but Emily had seen them as fruitful women and herself as somehow deficient, lacking.
“How’s Mateo,” Emily said, breaking the silence. “He’s coming for the bonfire?”
Grace’s smile was wide and warm. The love she felt for her little brother shone on her eyes. “Yeah. You know he converted the old barn at the farmhouse into a studio? He’s been taking commissions for his acrylic pieces and Missoula brought him in for a street art mural last month.” Grace shook her head in wonderment. “My little brother, a college graduate and an artist.”
“And he has his first show coming up, right?”
Grace nodded. “Nina’s helping him write his personal statement for the show. It’ll be this winter.”
Emily eyed the sliding door back to the cabin then leaned in conspiratorially. “I know we’re not supposed to talk work, but you need to leave some room on your calendar this February. Chase and I are planning a big even for our artists to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Ursa Major.”
She and Chase had been saving up for months to take all ten of their artists on the trip. It’d be expensive, but it was worth it. Ursa Major had become one of the most successful imprints within Epoch Records. They had scores of hit songs, three Grammys, and several successful tours to show for their five years of hard work. They wanted to celebrate everything they’d achieved.
Emily grinned, then whispered, “We’re taking everyone to France.”
Grace’s brow furrowed. “In February?”
“Yeah. You and Bret will be done with your tour, so it’ll be perfect.”
Grace was still frowning. “Actually, Em. I’ve got—”
The sliding door whispered open and Chase stuck his head out. “No business talk!”
Emily laughed guiltily, but Chase grinned.
“Tiff and Jax and the boys are here!”
BOX SET - EXCLUSIVE BONUS STORY
Tiff
TIFF FELT LIKE SHE WAS still trying to catch her breath. She hadn’t felt properly rested in at least seventy-two hours. She could tell Jax felt the same way as he heavily dropped their bags inside the door.
Devon, their oldest boy, and Liam jumped at their uncles, talking over each other to relay the saga of getting from Japan to Montana.
And it was a saga. Long flights, missed connections, an incident with a scalding coffee and a fried tablet. Tiff met Jax’s weary eyes and sighed. It was chaotic, but it was nice to be back in the states. It’d been too long.
“Boys!” Jax clapped his hands to get the boys’ attention. “Why don’t you and your cousins carry your bags downstairs? You guys are all doing a big sleepover down there, right?”
The kids cheered and started dragging bags toward the steps, and Jax ambled over to Chase, who was holding a sleeping Winnie.
“You can stay with us, Winnie,” Jax said with a smile.
With thumps and shouts and general disarray, the kids all made it downstairs, and there was sudden quiet. The adults all shared glances, then sighed.
Tiff crossed to Nina and softly touched the woman’s stomach. “Sorry for not being here to help. I can take over with whatever you need.”
Tiff felt Jax’s arm sling around her shoulders. “Drew’s got it under control. You deserve to sit on a couch with a beer.”
Tiff didn’t have the energy to put up much of a fight. She settled into one of the deep leather couches in the great room and let her eyes fall closed. She was almost asleep when a cold glass pressed against her thigh made her jolt up. Jax plopped onto the couch and handed one of the beers over as Tiff lifted her feet onto his lap.
“How is it being back in the states?” Bret asked, settling into the seat opposite them.
Tiff and Jax shared a look, then a smile.
“It feels good,” Jax said.
“We’ve been gone too long,” Tiff added, nodding.
Jax grinned. “Though I will miss being a househusband while my amazing wife teaches at university.”
Chase leaned over the back of the couch and patted his brother’s shoulder. “You always were a disappointment,” he said with an exaggerated sigh.
Tiff laughed. “First of all, I was just an adjunct in the photography department. And second,” she said, eyeing Jax. “You wrote some amazing commercial jingles for Japanese soda.”
They stared at each other and broke out into a hum from one of the jingles that really caught on in Japan.
Emily, standing at the opening to the dining room with Grace, quirked a grin. “Man, Jax. Japan is really going to miss you and your jingles.”
Tiff shared a look with Jax. “We’re all going to miss Japan right back,” she said. “And the boys adored Tokyo. But we’ve been living outside the U.S. for three years now. It’s time to come home.”
“So, what’s next?” Nina asked.
“We’re headed to northern Wisconsin for the fall for a photo assignment I picked up for a travel magazine. Then …,” Tiff shrugged.
Part of what she loved about the life she and Jax had made together was their ability to make their home anywhere, as long as they were together. The boys had been to
more countries in their short lives than Tiff had been to when she was twenty. But it was always nice to know they had somewhere permanent to return to. And here—Montana—may just be that permanent spot.
Jax looked at his brothers. “We’re thinking of staying at the Hart ranch with Uncle Mac for the winter while we decide what to do next.”
Nina smiled widely. “It’ll be nice to have you guys close. Then maybe I can stop attempting to cook and just let Tiff feed me.”
Tiff laughed. “Gladly,” she said. “As long as it doesn’t require a ten-hour flight.” She groaned and stretched her neck, still stiff from the travel. And her feet were as swollen as they’d been when she was eight months pregnant.
Jax set down his beer and rubbed Tiff’s feet. “A ten-hour flight, a missed flight in Seattle, a bus to Spokane, and the sketchiest prop plane over the mountains to Missoula. Yeah, I think we’re done with long-haul travel for a while.”
“Right,” Tiff said, looking at Nina. “I take it back. We’re never leaving this couch.”
The men and women settled in the sort of comfortable silence that only comes after years of being a family. Tiff looked around at her family, her heart growing big with love.
All the hassle and stress to get here was worth it to spend time with these people.
BOX SET - EXCLUSIVE BONUS STORY
Grace
THE LAST STREAKS OF SUNLIGHT had faded from orange to red to purple overhead. Grace sat on a long nestled into Bret’s warm side, nodding off as she stared at the giant bonfire.
Grace’s eyes felt heavy with sleep, but she didn’t want to miss a minute of this vacation. Every person important to her was gathered around this bonfire. Mateo was chatting easily with Drew and Nina—the two selfless, wonderful people who had become surrogate parents to him while he was in college and she and Bret were on tour. The kids were snuggled up in sweatshirts and sitting on blankets by the fire. Tiff was kneeling among them, helping each kid roast marshmallows with sticks Drew had helped them find during a walk in the woods.
Grace leaned her head on Bret’s shoulder, and he wrapped his strong arm around her. Her eyes drifted closed just as the first few notes from Jax on the guitar wafted over her. At her ear, Bret joined in the music with his wonderfully rich voice. It settled over her skin like a warm blanket. Grace blinked her heavy eyes open and peered up at him, smiling.
She sat up tall and harmonized with him, their voices naturally attuning to each other. Across from them, Drew lifted his fiddle to his chin, and Chase played a hand drum. It was the music of their childhood, of their ancestors, and it drifted and lilted around them, weaving around the fire and the children and the thick forest.
They played and sang, one song leading into another and another. The older kids joined in, lifting their little voices in the songs they heard from their parents while the smaller kids danced around the fire. Grace gently touched the corners of her eyes to stop the tears from falling.
She and Bret had put so much of themselves into touring and recording albums. They’d just wrapped up the tour for their third album, “Big Sky Blue” and were finally, finally preparing for a real break.
This, this right here. It was exactly what they needed. Grace loved creating music with Bret. They were partners in every sense. But sitting around this bonfire with her family, the music was stripped of artifice, of the need to perform. Grace joined hands with Bret and let the music take hold.
Five years now, they’d been meeting up for these bonfires, these little slices of family. No matter where they were all living or what they were doing—touring with a new book, doing press for a new artist, leading clans of shifters—they all came home. Every year was a bit different. New jobs, new projects, new babies.
Next year, too, would be different. Grace gently placed her hand against her stomach, chills running over her skin thinking of what their family would look like next year. She felt eyes on her and looked up to find Bret staring at her, his blue eyes open and warm as a summer sea. He smiled, then nodded.
But before Grace could share their news, Jax looked around at his brothers.
“I missed this,” he said, looking in turn to Chase, Drew, and Bret.
Chase shared a glance with Emily. “Me too. It feels good to make music together again. Maybe ….”
“Maybe it’s time to see if Wild Harts has more music in them,” Drew added.
Bret and Grace shared a look. “Really?”
Grace loved playing with Bret, but she knew he missed playing with his brothers. And with her news ….
Bret squeezed Grace’s hand, his eyebrows raised in question. Could this really work? Could Wild Harts really get back together for one final album?
The questions in Grace’s heart turned to certainty. She squeezed Bret’s hand back, and he smiled wide.
“One more album?” He said to his brothers. “Wild Harts … maybe not so wild anymore.”
The four brothers stood and joined in a tight circle as their wives and children looked on. They were speaking, but too low for Grace or the others to hear. But she didn’t mind. This seemed like something the Hart brothers needed to share just between them.
They stepped back a step from each other, then Bret looked at Grace for a long moment.
“Now seems as good a time to share some other news,” he began.
Grace smiled wide and looked at her family. “We’re having a baby.”
The tears she’d been holding back spilled over her lashes as her family hugged her, congratulated her. Mateo grabbed her into a tight hug, his eyes shining, then clapped Bret on the shoulder. Even little Aurelie ran over and gently touched Grace’s stomach, though she was still too early in the pregnancy to be showing.
Holding both of Grace’s shoulders, Emily grinned. “Maybe instead of France, we’ll do the big Ursa Major party here, on Hart land.”
Grace met her sister’s eyes. “I’d like that.”
“No more work talk!” Chase shouted, then started playing his drum again. It was a rollicking song, one that had the children and adults alike singing loudly and dancing around the fire.
Grace sat back down on the log at the edge of the firelight and watched the sparks flicker up into the air. The flames leapt and danced and seemed to lick at the stars. Grace leaned her head back and stared up at the vast black universe, pinpricked with a million billion stars. Right now, each and every one seemed to be staring down at this little family in this little clearing on this little world.
Grace smiled up at the twinkling stars and felt certain she felt them smiling back down on her.
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If you liked Kings of the Fire , you’ll love Lily Cahill’s series, Alpha Bear Princes.
Read on for a sneak peek!
Alpha Bear Princes:
Prince Hudson
Chapter One
Kay
KAY WALKED INTO THE STATELY bar at the Glenarm Hotel looking like a million bucks. She’d spent the last two hours making sure of it. Her berry-colored dress was selected specifically for the way it hugged her curves without revealing too much. She had on her highest heels to make her seem as tall and thin as possible and her hair and makeup were done to perfection.
She wanted Chase to regret breaking up with her. She wanted it to hurt.
If she was being honest with herself, she wanted even more.
Kay had thought Chase might call when she arrived in Chicago, but she hadn’t expected her phone to ring practically the minute she landed. Though she tried to restrain her hopes, they kept rising like a helium balloon.
It’s just a friendly drink, she chided herself. Nothing more.
But was it? Maybe over six months apart had given him time to reconsider.
She did a quick scan of the bar, looking for Chase.
Her eyes landed on a tall man s
itting alone at a table, engrossed in his smartphone. She recognized his face, but only from magazines. It was Hudson Royce! It didn’t seem possible, but he looked even better than he did in photographs.
He was a hard man to miss—big and tall, all muscle and chiseled jawline. He looked more like a pro football player than the successful CEO he was. Kay felt wave of heat pass over her just at the sight of him. Which, she supposed, was natural. He was the most eligible bachelor in Chicago.
Then something else struck her about him. He looked a lot like someone else she knew—a man named Elliott who was pursuing her best friend, Laila. The resemblance was actually uncanny. The two men were both large—tall and broad and muscular. They both had deep blue eyes and a strong chin.
But Hudson was much more tailored than Elliott. Elliott’s hair was a mop of unruly waves—much like his carefree personality. Hudson’s hair was cut shorter and brushed smoothly back, giving an impression of control and intention. And he was so damn handsome she had to force herself to stop looking at him.
She was here to meet Chase. But, looking around more, she saw he wasn’t here yet.
Damn.
She’d shown up a few minutes late hoping to make a grand entrance. Oh, well. She’d freshen up in the ladies room and give him a few more minutes.
Kay stepped inside the restroom and immediately felt uncomfortable. Three women—tall, blond women who looked enough alike that they could be sisters—were huddled together, arguing in whispers.
“We both talked to him. No luck.” one of the girls said. “Just do it, Annika,”
“Why?” the woman who must be Annika asked. “He saw me already. It didn’t work.”
“We need to be sure. Walk past him one more time.”
“This is pointless,” Annika protested. “And humiliating. He’s obviously not interested.”
“So make him interested.”
Their voices quieted the moment they realized she was there. She stepped into a stall to give them some privacy, but soon heard their heels clicking on the marble tile and the door swinging shut behind them.