“Yes, sweetheart, what’s up?” I ask Abby.
“Blake and the girls are over there by the snacks, can I go hang out with them?” her voice meek and unsure. We’re still maneuvering through our new relationship, but we’re doing well. It’s an adjustment for everyone, but I’m glad Abby has decided to live with us full-time.
“Absolutely. Stay with the group and don’t leave the building. Deal?”
“Deal.” She leans down and lands a kiss on Ryker’s cheek and takes off toward the kids. It still amazes me how much she looks like her mother. She’s a petite little thing with the same wavy blonde hair, which she insists on having up off her neck. She prefers jeans and Tshirts to dresses and ribbons which makes life super easy on me.
Vivian’s kids have completely accepted her and included her in their world, which I’m thankful for. These people have become more than friends, they are my family…the family I’ve always wanted.
Vivian bounces down the aisle, her eyes scanning the rows, more than likely looking for her children. When her eyes land on me, she offers a gentle smile.
“They’re over at the snack table,” I tell her while standing to give her a hug, her usual greeting.
“Thank you. I should have guessed. They wandered away from their seat after my speech,” she says, directing her line of sight to the snacks and waving at the kids. “How are you guys?” she asks, taking Ryker’s hand and playing with his fingers.
“Things are good. You know Jen would have liked to have been here,” I offer.
“Oh, Casen, I know,” she smiles. “It means a lot that you and the kids are here. We’ve been working on opening this at-risk youth foundation for almost a year; I’m happy to see it finally come to fruition. I think this was the perfect way to honor my dad’s memory.”
I look around the room, the main banquet room for the foundation, which will be used for events to raise more money to keep the foundation going. It’s decorated elegantly; the whole building was put together well. I would expect nothing less from Brooks and Vivian. “Everything looks fantastic, Viv. You guys should be proud of what you’re accomplishing here. I wish something like this was available when I was a kid.”
“Thank you, Casen that means a lot.” Her eyes look past me and a huge grin breaks across her face. “I can’t believe she made it.”
I turn around toward the entrance to look at who’s caught Vivian’s attention. The second I see her, I find a smile, which matches Vivian’s. When Jen sees us, she rushes down the rows and throws her arms around Ryker and me. “Everything is done,” she whispers. “We’re legally a family now.”
She then turns to Vivian and bear hugs her as well. “I am so proud of you, Viv. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” she says, her voice breaking with emotion.
“Thank you, Jen. How are you even here? I didn’t think you would make it,” Vivian asks, breaking away from the embrace.
“Preston didn’t protest anything, he signed over all rights. My aunt was there to sign all the necessary paperwork. It’s done, Abby is legally ours,” she sighs with a smile.
This has been a long road, one that led both her and Abby to counseling to come to grips with the past and their current relationship. After paternity tests were completed and it was established that Preston was in fact Abby’s father, we petitioned to have his paternity rights revoked. Thankfully, it didn’t require a legal fight, since he willingly signed whatever was needed to silence what he had done to Jen. The statute of limitations on the rape expired, but the courtroom of public opinion can be just as brutal; Preston is smart enough to know that.
“Did your mother show up?” I inquire. I’m not sure whether now is the time to address it or not, but I can’t help but ask. Her mother and this court hearing have been weighing on her. Since Jen’s parent’s divorce was finalized, the two have slowly been working on rebuilding their relationship, but this hearing was like facing all of those demons again for her.
Jen’s eyes cast down to the floor. Immediately, I reach out and grasp her hand to give it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. My touch draws her attention back to me and her eyes meet mine.
“I didn’t invite her. I just couldn’t,” she explains. “I asked her to go to dinner with us tomorrow to celebrate, but I just couldn’t have her there. It would have been too much.”
Seeing the emotion build in her eyes, I pull her close and wrap my arm her. “It’s alright, sparky. You don’t have to explain,” I murmur. Jen nods into my chest and relaxes into me. Our moment is short lived though, as Ryker begins to whine from being smashed between us.
“Sorry little man,” Jen chuckles as we pull away from one another. “I’m going to go let Abby know,” she adds, kissing me and Ryker before running over to the kids and gathering Abby in her arms.
It’s hard to believe a few months ago I almost lost her. When they wheeled her away to the operating room, I thought it was over. Seeing her open her eyes after surgery in the recovery room gave me a relief I don’t think I’ll ever find a comparison for. It was the worst and best day of my life.
Noticing Jen’s departure from the conversation, Carly and Campbell hustle to mine and Vivian’s side.
“Give me that baby,” Carly says, taking Ryker from my arms and snuggling him against her shoulder. “Ah, I love that smell,” she adds, inhaling deeply.
“What? Has he pooped?” I ask.
“No,” she laughs. “Baby smell. I think you need to let me babysit more often.”
“Anytime.”
“Enough baby talk, she’ll be back any minute. Let me see it,” Campbell interrupts.
“Did Lakin get the camper all ready for us?” I ask her.
“Everything is good to go,” she answers quickly. “We got back this morning.”
“We?” I question, but she ignores me and gestures to move it along.
I grab the diaper bag and unzip the inside pocket where I had stashed the ring. I knew the girls would want to put their seal of approval on it, so I brought it just in case. The three of them circle around me to shield any viewing eyes.
“Really? The diaper bag?” Vivian asks disapprovingly.
“What? It’s the one place Jen wouldn’t look,” I explain. “I love her, but when is the last time she changed a diaper? Seriously, girls.”
They giggle and agree, but once again Campbell pushes us along by grabbing the black velvet box from my hand and snapping it open. The shimmer from the diamond prompts them all to sharply inhale.
Vivian and Campbell both squeal.
“Gorgeous.”
“It really is, good job, Casen.”
“It’s yellow,” Carly says confused. “You know it’s supposed to be an engagement ring, right?”
“It’s a canary diamond…the color of dandelions,” I explain.
“I don’t get it,” she says.
I take the ring from Campbell and run my fingers around the yellow stone and the two white diamonds, which sit on either side, signifying our children. Looking across the room, I find Jen looking right back at me. Her playful smile makes me smile as well, our love silently being expressed. She is what I’ve been waiting for…the weed amongst the flowers, the dandelion amongst the roses.
My eyes follow her as she moves in our direction. “Don’t worry, girls,” I say keeping my eyes glued to my future bride. “She’ll understand.”
The End
LOOK FOR CAMPBELL AND CARLY’S STORIES EARLY 2015.
REVIEWS MAKE THE INDIE BOOK WORLD GO AROUND. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BOOK ON AMAZON.
Jen Andrews
The Reason (Book One of the Just Say Yes Series)
This is book one of three for characters Zoey and Andy.
Zoey James is in a funk. She has been through more in her twenty-three years than most people have experienced in their entire lives. After her ex-husband tries to take everything she’s worked so hard for, she makes one rule: Never date someone she works with.
&n
bsp; When her father’s newly hired mechanic moves into the apartment above their family-run business, Zoey’s lonely life is flipped upside down.
As a teenager, New Zealand native, Andy Tate’s family is tragically killed in an accident, and he is taken in by his aunt and uncle. Andy is pulled away from the only place he’s ever known as home, and moved halfway around the world to Northern California.
Ten years and one failed marriage later, Andy finds himself living in a new city, with a new job at James Racing, and living in an apartment next door to Zoey, his new boss’s beautiful and damaged daughter.
After an interesting chain of events over one weekend, Andy and Zoey form an unexpected bond. Even though he’s the only one who can get through to her, she will do all that she can to keep him at a distance and not break her one rule.
Will Andy be the reason for Zoey to start living her life again, or will she continue on her downward spiral, until she finally hits rock bottom?
Book two, Just Say Yes, is also available.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M7N1Q6U
A.D. Ellis
For Nicky, A Torey Hope Novel Book 1
bit.ly/NickyAmazon
Elizabeth Decker views herself as shy, totally average, and pretty much insignificant. She’s nothing special, at least not compared to her little sister, Audrey. Elizabeth is content with her plain and lonely future; she’s too insecure to contemplate a relationship thanks to her sister. Audrey is a bombshell and uses this to get what she wants. She’s a girl who will stop at nothing to control anyone and everything around her. She craves power and doesn’t care if she has to hurt Elizabeth to get it.
Nathaniel Morgan has spent his whole life fighting for his twin brother, Nicholas. Somewhere along the way, he lost himself. Now he’s just getting by. He’s devoted to his family, but emotionally detached from the women he burns through like wildfire. He has no plans of getting into something as complicated and committed as a “relationship”.
Nicholas Morgan has placed the new librarian, Miss Elizabeth, on a pedestal and is begging her to meet his twin brother, Nathaniel. Elizabeth and Nathaniel agree to meet, for Nicky. Both are caught off-guard when unexpected sparks fly between them. This was not in their plans. Will Nathaniel and Elizabeth be able to escape a past that still plagues them? Or, will the past, suspicions, and insecurities come between them one too many times?
**This is a contemporary new adult romance. It should only be read by ages 18+ due to adult themes and situations. This book is a standalone but should be read before book 2 in the series. This book is not a cliffhanger.
Because of Beckett, A Torey Hope Novel Book 2 by A.D. Ellis also available.
bit.ly/BeckettAmazon
Connect with A.D. Ellis
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For Nicky, A Torey Hope Novel Book 1
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Because of Beckett, A Torey Hope Novel Book 2
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V.L. Brock
Seeking Nirvana, (Dark Evoke, #1)
****CONTAINS AN ELEMENT OF PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE, AND IS THEREFORE ONLY RECOMMENDED TO READERS OVER THE AGE OF 18****
They say that old habits die hard, and twenty-seven year old, Kady Jenson, is about to discover how true that statement actually is.
Waking up in the hospital with a complete stranger at her bedside should have caused panic and confusion, but for a reason unknown to her, Kady finds herself drawn and calmed by the presence of the rugged, devastatingly handsome man with the pleasant Irish brogue.
It’s when she discovers that she has just woken from a four day coma, with a three year void in her memory, which spawns confusion and panic.
Kady soon comes to realize that things change with time, and not only appearances.
Not only is the sexual chemistry she once shared with her long-term boyfriend, now a long-ago memory, but Kady also begins to unconsciously fall back into unremembered habits, and with each day, the increasing sense of foreboding becomes increasingly harder to ignore.
Left on her own when her boyfriend goes on a business trip, Kady seeks help from the Irish stranger as they go on a quest together, in a race against time, to piece the puzzle together.
This is the first instalment of The Dark Evoke Series, and is therefore NOT intended as a standalone novel.
US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L0PA3OC
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L0PA3OC?%2AVersion%2A=1&%2Aentries%2A=0
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20758520-seeking-nirvana?from_search=true
Eluding Nirvana (Dark Evoke, #2), coming October 5th.
Transcending Nirvana (Dark Evoke, #3), TBA
Lead Him Not Into Temptation (Redemption Book 2) Page 16