More Than Forever (Providence Series Book 2)

by Moore,Mary B

  I drained the bottle and put it on the ground next to me and lifted up the new one. Every year, I did this same thing, and every year, I swore I’d never do it again.

  Stripping off, I walked down to the water and took a final slug before screwing the cap on and tossing the bottle behind me hearing it thud somewhere on the grass.

  Walking into the water, I let it cool me down and floated on my back staring up at the blurry stars above me.

  “It’s gone…”

  Bonus

  SCENE

  Luke

  “I wonder how he got on?” Ren snorted as we walked up to the front door of our house. We’d agreed to let Cole watch the babies while we took the women for their appointments with Doctor Conlan. The babies were two weeks old and the doctor had wanted to give Isla a checkup just to see how she was healing after giving birth to two babies over six pounds. Maya was thirty-three weeks and doing well, after hearing Isla giving birth, though, I think she was a bit more nervous. I’d also replaced their couch, even though she’d sworn that it wasn’t necessary, but it seemed like the fairest thing to do.

  As we opened the door we heard the sounds of Frozen’s Let It Go playing from the family room with Cole singing along and all tip toed in its direction.

  “This is where Disney went wrong, Dewi,” Cole spoke in a baby voice, and I looked around the door to see him lying on his back with Dewi lying on his chest as Matius slept in his swinging chair beside them. He liked his space while he was sleeping, whereas Dewi was the one who wanted contact a majority of the time and let it be known - loudly. “They’ll tell you about a princess who lived with seven men, but that’s not okay. And you definitely don’t go around kissing guys who say they’re princes either! Then there’s the jumping from bed to bed,” he shifted her as she wiggled on his chest. “That Goldilocks was a dirty little girl! You listen to Uncle Cole; he’ll keep you on the right track.”

  Isla’s shoulders were shuddering in front of me as she laughed quietly, but I had to admit he had a point. Flashes of the future and Dewi kissing boys and jumping from bed to bed went through my mind and I started to panic.

  “Shall we sing Let It Go again one more time? Oh if you insist!” He said, standing up and holding her in one arm as he danced around the room singing and not getting one word wrong. What the fuck?

  Ren stood beside me watching in horrified fascination as his brother basically kicked Frozen’s ass, and then pointed the remote at the TV and put on Bippity-Boppity Boo. Dewi let out a noise like she was giggling and I swear my babies were more advanced than any other ever had been by their age because they totally giggled and smiled even though people said that it was just wind.

  He was just doing a pirouette thing and I was getting ready to storm in and yell at him for not holding my child properly when the most horrendous wet sounding fart sounded and we watched as my beautiful little girl started out of the sides of her diaper all over her Uncle’s stomach.

  Maya was gagging beside us and Isla was full out laughing while Cole slowly turned toward us and stood stiffly with the confusing amount of baby crap sliding down his tee; she was tiny, where the hell did it come from?

  Ren backed away from the door as he slowly walked toward us and passed Dewi to Isla and then ran out of the front door and vomited over the edge of the porch. “Scissors! Get the scissors!” He yelled in between gags as Isla walked up to the nursery. I don’t know how she did it, I needed my nose pegged and my t-shirt over it when I changed their diapers. I also had a box of disposable gloves at every diaper station after a sticky shit incident. That stuff was adamant that it wasn’t coming off.

  Maya walked into the kitchen and walked back and out the front door just as Cole’s yells changed to screams of “get it off me! get it off!”

  Ren turned to look at me with pity in his eyes. “That was fucking disgusting man, sucks that you’ve got that times two!”

  Watching Cole roll around the grass screaming, I replied, “Yeah, but you’ve got that too!” And turned to go and get my son, who was making waking sounds.

  I know what I’d rather have!

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  This cover was absolutely amazing to create with SK Designs. I wanted there to be symbolism and sentimentality all over it and that’s what we got.

  Out of the window, you can see the skyline of Singapore which was my home away from home for 7 years. I love that place dearly. However, as Montgomery Co is an architectural firm,it shows their success by the fact they're taking on contracts in Singla. It's prestigious, wealthy, the government are rigid about who builds there and what is built too so it proves the success of the Montgomerys and kinda why Luke did what he did in book one.

  The black and white/gray and the one color showing through resembles that not everything is black and white, a lot like Luke's supposed infidelity to Isla in book one. There's color there- but only some of it is showing a lot like the truth.......

  I have this thing about symbolism and sentimentality so to put the two together on the cover is like Christmas for me! It's like the micro pig proposal in book one and people thinking wtf? Where is she going with this? And then Ren justifies it the way he does (no spoilers in case you haven’t read book one) and it becomes something beautiful yet unique and memorable. Better than a "will you marry me?" And it turned him from an alpha-alpha into a romantic, deeper thinking guy than people gave him credit for. Up until that point I wanted him to be the strong guy, but by doing that if you read back over when Maya gets hurt you appreciate his feelings more.

  You’ll also notice the mention of Neil and Seal Security throughout the book. These characters come from S Van Horne’s book One More Time available at:

  https://www.amazon.com/One-More-Time-Book-ebook/dp/B01KS3PIFK

  More of her characters will start to appear in my books as we head towards our joint book that will be published next year. I’m delighted to say, Neil and his guys find the bad guys that Coleman, Baz and Mace couldn’t….mwahahahaha!!!

  I hope you enjoy this book as much as I loved writing it!

  M xoxo

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  A BRAND NEW NOVEL COMING SOON FROM

  C.M. STEELE

  Taking Whatever He Wants

  Copyright ©2016

  EXCERPT

  The sky was starting to darken and it was only four in the afternoon. A quick storm was on its way in. I was going to be in some serious trouble if I didn’t get to my destination in before the skies rained down on me. I was starting a new job in a new town. I’d done that type of job for the past year, but I needed to make a change, a massive change in scenery. So far it this trip was definitely that. I thought about college, but it wasn’t in the cards at the moment. Saving money was what I needed to do. Living in a big city made that very difficult. Everything was three times the price including the rent. So hopefully I could make some extra cash to save with a lot more hours.

  I hated the way the sky was looking. It was getting uglier by the second. I turned up my music louder, rocking out to some Zeppelin on the radio to shake my nervousness. I had the wire for the car thing, but I left in the apartment I shared with a roommate, a man I’d soon rather forget. There was no way in hell I was going back to get it. Fucking creep.

  Thankfully my boss was my cousin. I knew I could trust him to have my back. Brent wasn’t too picky about what time I got there as long as I got there. I came from the plain states with its flat roads. Hell if I was accustomed to the winding roads or the uneven terrains. It was like death wish central up in this area. He had been on the money; I was over my head because my driving skills weren’t up to par. My old dark
blue Chevy Malibu was taking a beating. It was a long drive, but my only way of traveling with my things. I didn’t know if I could make it all the way to his place before my car crapped out. Fingers crossed that nothing else would need to be fixed before I got to the destination. I stopped halfway because my gas gauge had been broken and I ran out of gas. It had been through years and years of car rental abuse before I got it and I sure as hell didn’t have the funds to repair the car like it should have been.

  I looked down at my smartphone. Not really a smart move on a winding road, but I thought I was lost. I had to be; there was nothing but a cracked road and tons of trees. The navigation was off. I had to hurry up and set it. Thanks for location on the phone.

  “Three hundred feet and your destination will be on your left,” the female voice on Google Maps said. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked back up just at the right time. There was branch lying halfway in the middle of the road. I swerved just in time to get only run over a small part of it. Though I made it safely out of that mess, my tire didn’t. I pulled into the bar’s parking lot with my limping car hobbling into the first available spot. Closing my eyes, I thought about the positive. This was a way better situation for me because there was no way I was going to go crawling to my mother and her husband and I couldn’t go back to my life back in Chicago. I had to make it here.

  Before I could even get out of my car, my cousin rushed out the door to the bar and straight over to me. He had a massive smile on his handsome face. He had the looks of a lady killer but a heart of gold. One day he’d find the right one. If he found the wrong one, I might have to gut her.

  “You made it, Yaya,” Brent shouted. His giant frame scooped me up and hugged me close before spinning me around. I laughed at the big buffoon. He was my favorite cousin and like the brother I never had. We were both the outcasts in our family. For one reason or another we never quite fit in with the others. I didn’t know if it was because I had been too outspoken and Brent going against the grain and starting his own business, but whatever it was we were estranged from the rest. It didn’t matter because he and I were the best of friends.

  “Yeah, I made it, but not without casualties,” I said, pointing my head toward my rear driver’s side tire. It looked sad. My poor beaten down ride was on its last limbs and I made it worse.

  “Oh shit, what did you do to it?” He walked over to flat tire and squatted down to see the mess I made. He ran his hands over it then shook his head at me. “The rim is dented as fuck.”

  “There’s a tree halfway in the road and I didn’t see it until it was too late. My tire hit the edge of it and popped on the spot. I assume me driving it the rest of the way is what bent the rim.”

  “Don’t worry too much. I’ll call the guys down the road to take a look at it and have it fixed by the end of the day. So you want to get settled in upstairs before I show you around?”

  “Sounds great. I can’t pay a lot so I hope they’re reasonable.” I was really worried about the cost of a new tire. I didn’t have the money for a new tire. Maybe if they had a used one, that would work with my budget.

  “Don’t fret. I got this. Besides they are reasonable. It’s the tourists that get their pockets picked at the gift shops.”

  “Thanks, and I’ll pay you back.”

  “No you won’t. Now come on. Let’s get your shit and move it on up.” I only had two bags packed because I didn’t want to give Mike any chance of catching me alone in the apartment again. He’d gotten out of hand the day before yesterday and that was one time too many. I hadn’t told Brent and I wouldn’t. There was no way in hell that he would be rational about the situation. Brent would be doing life if he found out the details.

  He helped me take my bags out of the trunk, then we walked around to the back entrance to his place. He had two bedrooms up there, so I wasn’t going to be sleeping on the couch. I could do a happy dance just for that. My body was sore from the drive.

  “I don’t have chicks up here, so you don’t have to worry about that. Besides for next ten days, I’ll be on vacation and you will have to hold down the fort.” He unlocked the door and opened it to a huge loft looking space. Wood was everywhere from the floors to the walls and the wood beams supporting the ceiling. Most of the space was open except for the private areas. It looked like a great bachelor pad, fully loaded with a huge flat screen and sports memorabilia all around the room. I wondered how much sports stuff would be there. Brent was a Cowboys fan, but since we were in Colorado, I bet everything downstairs had to be about the Denver Broncos.

  “Going any place special?” I asked, looking into the kitchen area which was only separated by a half-wall breakfast nook. He probably told me, but my mind had been in a different world when he asked me to come down.

  “Yeah, a trip to the Bahamas, baby. I need a real getaway for a change.” Brent and I were five years apart in age and although it didn’t come between us. He’d been a grownup for so long that I knew he needed a break from reality. With money he won gambling on his 21st birthday in Vegas, he opened up this place. It came as a shock to the family, but he loved his bar.

  We walked up the stairs and he opened the door on the right. “Here’s your room. It’s not very big, but I hope it works.” The room was pretty big and looked like a guy who hurried to make it look like a woman used this room.

  I turned to face at him with a big smile and rushed to hug him tight. “Thanks, Brent. Really thanks.”

  “Hell, you were doing me the favor.” He never took credit for anything. Some woman was going to be a lucky broad one day.

  “But it came just at the right time,” I admitted.

  His expression changed. Brent growled, grabbing my hand in his. “And one day you’re going to let me know who the SOB is that left that mark on your wrist.”

  I pulled it away gently. “Not until you can keep yourself from going to prison or committing prison worthy offenses,” I warned him. I knew that he was just being protective, but I had to be the same way.

  “Do you remember that time at the banks of the DuPage River when I knocked out Bobby Stevens because he tried to kiss you after you told him to drop dead,” he said, reminding me that he had always been there, even when we were seven and twelve.

  “He didn’t listen, but this is different,” I said. I had to remind him this was a risky subject to discuss.

  “Yeah it’s more serious. We were kids. When a grown man puts his hands on a woman he deserves to get his ass handed to him and then some. Sweet Yaya, tell me he didn’t do anything that’s going to make me find him, did he?” I knew right away what he meant.

  “No, he didn’t. Trust me when I say that nothing more than angry tug on my wrist. I promise. So don’t look at me like that.”

  “I love you, Sonya. I can’t have anyone hurt you.” There was that ridged voice that came through gritted teeth when he was worried about me.

  “I promise I’m going to be just fine. Now do you want to show me the ropes so you can spend some time in paradise starting tomorrow?”

  “Sure thing, but let me give the shop a call. You start getting settled.”

  Brent walked out of the room, pulling his cell from his pocket and gave me a wink before disappearing from sight. I plopped down on the bed. It was comfortable. I didn’t want to put away my things, I just wanted to rest for a minute. Sleep wasn’t something I had much of in the past twenty-four hours.

  Thinking about the fight with Mike as I was leaving our shared apartment, I couldn’t imagine how things would end up between us. How could I have not noticed that he wanted me? How could I not notice that dangerous look in his eyes? I was glad to be away from him. I didn’t care that I wouldn’t get my things back and that he probably sold everything or tossed it. We were only roommates for a year and never once were we romantically involved. In fact, I heard him bring home women sometimes and could even hear them fucking. There were no signs that I could see, but the mark on my wrist was evidence that I missed
something.

  Brent knocked on the wood trim of the door. “Hey, sleeping beauty. Are you ready for the grand tour?”

  I arched my brow at him. “I wasn’t sleeping, but yeah boss. Show me your badass bar.”

  I hopped off the bed and straightened my clothes. “So... they’re going to come and fix your car. It’ll be done in the next two hours. They usually busy, but the owner’s going to send one of his best to check it out.”

  “Thanks, B. Really, I can work to pay it off.”

  “Honey, I wouldn’t let you do that. Besides, I had to call them so they can pull the branch off the road before someone else crashed into it on the way to my bar. I don’t need people trying to sue.”

  “People can sue you for that?” I asked with a twisted expression. I didn’t get people sometimes.

  “Well it’s a part of my property, so I never doubt someone, particularly a tourist, being a major dick and suing for the last ten dollars in my pocket,” he grumbled.

  “And the pack of Big Red gum,” I laughed.

  “Oh, no. Don’t say that. I couldn’t lose my gum.” He grabbed at his chest, like he was going to pass out from such a thought. He’d been chewing Big Red gum since we were kids. It’s like his favorite. I don’t know how he could do it. I knew it tasted good, but it made my tongue raw after a couple pieces.

  “There’s a name for that, you know?” I teased with wide eyes and a big innocent smile.

  “I know I have an oral fixation, but it could be worse.”