by Rachel Hanna
“Yes?” she answered with his lips reverberating against hers.
“We need to deal with a few things back up there,” he said, pointing at the school.
“Now?” she said in a whining tone as she pulled back from him.
“I think so, honey,” he said. “First, I’ll probably need to explain myself to the principal…”
“Why?”
“Because I clocked that guy several times in the jaw before security could get there.”
“Grant! Oh, gosh, I hope you don’t lose your job over this!”
He put his finger over her lips to quiet her. “Bella, listen to me. I’m a grown man capable of making my own decisions. I will protect those I love, and you and Ethan are at the top of that list now. You never have to worry about that jackass again, okay? Whatever it takes. You let me worry about it, okay?” Bella nodded. She had never had someone assure her like Grant did, and it just made her love him even more.
They held hands as they walked back up the hill and over to the elementary school. A crowd of people were gathered out front, and their faces were all focused on Bella holding Grant’s hand as they walked into the school. After a long talk with the principal and security, Grant drove them home and left Bella’s car in the parking lot.
Grant called Roslyn to see if Ethan could spend the night, which of course was perfectly fine. As they pulled into Grant’s driveway, Bella felt conflicted about the evening. A wonderful man that she could trust had professed his love to her, but she felt so guilty for keeping something from him that could end his career.
“Grant? Before we go in, I need to say something.”
“Okay. What is it?” he asked, smiling at her as he caressed her cheek.
“I need to apologize to you for keeping my recent past a secret. I just didn’t want you to look at me differently. I was hoping it would never come up.”
“Bella, it’s okay,” he said.
“No, it’s not. I knew I loved you, and yet I was willing to keep something so important from you. It’s just that I have never been in a real, loving, committed relationship, and I had no idea how to act. I’ve spent my whole life acting like a tough girl, but you made me feel vulnerable.”
“You’re right. People who are in love should never keep secrets. That’s why I brought you here to my house, Bella, because I’ve been keeping a big secret too. And I hope you don’t change your mind about me when I tell you,” he said taking a big breath in as he opened his door and came around to open hers. Bella didn’t say anything as he unlocked the door to the house and turned on the lights. She was more than terrified that he would tell her something so horrible she’d have no choice but to leave him already. Her stomach churned as he walked over to his desk and opened the drawer to retrieve some papers and an old newspaper.
“Grant, you’re scaring me,” she said softly as she stood across the living room looking at him.
“You might want to sit down,” he said. She sat on the sofa as he sat across from her on the coffee table. “I guess the best way to do this is just to let you look at it yourself.” He handed her the stack of papers, and she began to look through them. The first thing she noticed was that the newspaper was a story on her mother’s death. A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at the picture of her mother that was taken the Christmas before she was killed in the accident.
Next, she noticed some legal paperwork with Scott Crawford’s name on it. She looked up at Grant. “I don’t understand. Scott Crawford was the drunk driver who killed my mother. Why do you have this paperwork? What is this?”
“That is appeal paperwork from a case against him about four years ago.”
“Why do you have it?” she asked, cocking her head in confusion.
“Because he’s my brother.”
“What?” she asked as her mouth dropped open.
“Well, he’s my half-brother…”
“How could you keep that from me, Grant?” she asked before catching herself in the most hypocritical thing she’d ever said. “Sorry. I guess I have no room to talk.”
“No, you have every right to be mad, Bella. I just didn’t want to hurt you even more. I had no idea who you were when we first met, but when I saw a picture of your mother and put the pieces together, I realized that Scott was the driver.”
“Why do you have different last names?”
“Same mother, different fathers. He was raised by his Dad, though. We didn’t grow up together. Scott was always in trouble. He had a bad drinking problem as a teenager, and he was in and out of rehab, juvy, all of it. Finally, it culminated in your mother’s death. I’m so sorry, Bella,” he said hanging his head.
“Does Ros know?” she asked quietly.
“She does now. I told her a few days ago.”
“Does she know about my porn past too?”
“No, but I think we should tell her before she hears it through the grapevine.”
“Of course. So where is this Scott Crawford now? I mean, I know he’s not still in prison for my mother’s death.”
“He got out in his mid-twenties, but got into the wrong crowd and ended up driving the getaway car in a gas station robbery in Clayton Springs. He’s in prison again, this time for ten years. He sent me a copy of his appeal paperwork a couple of years ago asking for help to get out of it, but I refused because I know he did it. Bella, I’m sorry I kept it from you. I promise that I have no relationship with Scott, but I can tell you that he’s never been okay since he killed your mother. I don’t think he ever will be… The question is where does this leave us?”
Bella stood up and looked down at the man she loved as she took his hand and pulled him up to face her.
“I’ll tell you where this leaves us, Grant Brady. It leaves us as two flawed people who love each other so much that they will never keep a secret again,” she said as she went up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
“You forgive me?” he asked with his dimpled smile in full effect.
“Of course I do,” she said seductively into his ear as she nibbled on it.
“Bella… You’re getting something started…” he groaned.
“I know,” she said as she trailed kisses down his neck. “Let’s take this somewhere more comfortable…”
“Are you sure, Bella? I don’t want you to feel pressured. I can wait,” he said as his hands caressed up and down her back.
“Do you want to wait?” she asked as she started to tug on his shirt.
“No…” he said, laughing.
“Then, stop talking,” she said. Grant picked her up with a jolt and took her down the hallway to his bedroom. Moments later, sweaters and pants were flying across the room.
Bella was lying across the bed without a stitch of clothing between her and Grant. He stopped for a moment to look at her in the glare of moonlight streaming through the window.
“My God, Bella. You are one stunning woman,” he moaned as he began to trail kisses from her mouth to her neck. As he made his way past her collarbone and into the valley between her breasts, Bella arched to connect closer with him. She’d never felt so nervous about having sex with a man, but as Grant told her, she’d never made love before.
His mouth was like a well-oiled machine as it made its way down the front of her body, paying respect to each of her breasts with his tongue. As he flicked and tugged at her sensitive, pert nipples, she moaned and ran her fingers through his thick hair. “Grant…”
Moments later, his mouth was on the move again as he explored the depths of her. His warm mouth covered her mound of nerves in one swift motion, teasing her with his tongue just at the tip of it before moving in circles like an airplane with nowhere to land. Her hips bucked and arched as he used his shoulders to move her legs further apart. Sinking one finger inside of her, he continued his work as she exploded into him in the most intense orgasm of her life. Love overwhelmed her as she realized that he’d just given her something no one else ever had.
“You okay?�
� he asked after a moment, realizing that Bella was softly crying. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, sitting up quickly.
“No, no… You were perfect,” she said. “I feel so silly!”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I’m crying during sex,” she said, laughing through the tears. “It’s just that…”
“What is it, honey?”
“I was overcome with love for you. I’ve never felt that powerful of an emotion…” she said. “I need to feel you inside of me, Grant,” she said as she pulled him down on top of her. He reached into his nightstand and took out a condom. Before she knew it, he’d rolled it on and was poised above her.
“I love you, Bella. I just want you to hear me say it one more time before we connect this way. I’m here for you for good. No one will hurt my Bella ever again,” he said as he slid into her with a moan. “Oh, you feel so good, Bella,” he said as he rocked into her over and over again. As they moved together, he leaned down and took her bottom lip in his sending a second set of shockwaves through Bella’s body as she joined him in an unbelievable release that seemed to wash away everything in her world, if only for a moment.
“Wow…” she purred as he rolled to the side and pulled her against him. “That was…”
“What love feels like,” he said, completing her sentence.
“Thank you,” she said as she closed her eyes and slept for the first time in years.
Epilogue
“Ethan, stop running through this house!” Bella shouted as Ethan did what seemed like the tenth lap through the kitchen. Desperately trying to make a Thanksgiving turkey for the first time in her life, she was in no mood to deal with a crazy eight year old boy who wasn’t listening.
“It’s Grant’s fault!” Ethan yelled as he made his eleventh pass through the kitchen, this time with Grant chasing him with a can of silly string.
“Grant Brady, you’d better stop it before I have to take you over my knee!” she said as she grabbed him around the waist in the kitchen.
“Ooohh… That sounds like an invitation,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Too bad we have company coming soon, because I would take you in there and rock your world,” he whispered in her ear.
“Promises, promises,” she said as she slapped his chest and went back to turkey preparations.
For the first time in her life, Bella was hosting Thanksgiving at her home for Grant, Roslyn, Sharon and Howie. She was so happy to have this new extended family that loved her as much as she loved them. The last year had been amazing even after her embarrassing “outing” at the PTA meeting.
When Nathan was arrested for using underage girls in his videos, his website and all movies he had produced were taken offline. Of course, Bella knew there were bootleg copies all over the world, but she was no longer Desiree Drake and would never have to be her again.
Grant wasn’t fired, but he was put on administrative leave for a month for punching Nathan. It was basically a slap on the wrist, and his career had moved forward just fine. Bella was worried what the townspeople would think of her, but things didn’t seem to be any different. What she realized was that the people who truly knew her loved her no matter what, and she didn’t have to explain herself to them. Unconditional love was a new and foreign concept to her, but she was willingly accepting it.
When Grant suggested that they move in together last spring, she told him no because she was determined to set the best example possible for young Ethan. Living two doors down meant that they could still spend all the time in the world together, anyway, and Grant was a wonderful mentor for Ethan.
Bella was finally settling into small-town life as a single mother to Ethan. She watched him grow every day and prayed that Lori would be happy with the job she was doing.
As her guests started to arrive for Thanksgiving dinner, laughter filled the house. Bella was always happy to hear the sounds of people having fun in her house since she’d never had that kind of home growing up. Determined to make Ethan’s life as close to “Leave It to Beaver” as she could, she had become active in the PTA, was room mother for his class, and even volunteered to be his Cub Scout leader. Her transformation came only after she quietly made a vow to herself to allow the old Bella to finally die so that the new one could live. She had to let those past demons go so that she could fully love Grant, Ethan and herself. It was a work in progress, of course, but it was something she worked on every single day of her life.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Grant said, standing up as he clinked his spoon against his glass of iced tea.
“Oh, Lord, one of my grandson’s speeches,” Roslyn said, giggling.
“Very funny, Grandma… I’m being serious. This is a very important toast,” he said, shooting her a knowing glance. “This time last year, I’d just met a wonderful woman named Bella Clay. She was a bit difficult to deal with in the beginning, such as when I found her hanging feet first out of the fig tree…”
Everyone roared with laughter as Bella’s face turned red. “I could have finished those lights by myself!” she said, pointing at him.
“Not upside down in a tree, you couldn’t,” he said, shaking his head. “Anyway, back to my toast. In all seriousness, I thought that I would never find love in my life, and I know Bella felt the same way. We both came to each other damaged by others and by life and by circumstances. But we have grown together this past year in ways that I could never have imagined. I am grateful and honored to call her my girlfriend, but I would be so much more grateful to have the honor of calling her my wife.”
Bella’s jaw dropped as she realized what he was doing. Lowering to one knee beside her chair, Grant pulled out a blue box and opened it to reveal a stunning princess cut diamond solitaire.
“Oh, my God…” Bella said through tears.
“Bella Clay, will you marry me?” he asked with his own eyes welling with tears.
“Absolutely!” she yelled as she hugged him tightly. He pulled back just long enough to slip the ring on her finger and then picked her up and swung her around the kitchen while everyone clapped.
Thanksgiving quickly turned into Bella’s favorite holiday as she knew that she had the one thing she’d always wanted - true and lifelong love.
The End
** Please feel free to leave a review of this book at Amazon.com! **
More Books By Rachel Hanna:
Safe: http://www.amazon.com/Safe-Beginnings-Series-Romance-ebook/dp/B009OWG7C0
Second Chance: http://www.amazon.com/Second-Chance-Shannon-Beginnings-ebook/dp/B008SNXQ1G
Messages: http://www.amazon.com/Messages-Romantic-Suspense-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0091Z6KH2
Love In The Falls: http://www.amazon.com/Love-The-Falls-Beginnings-ebook/dp/B009FMVNGE
Christmas In Magnolia Cove: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-In-Magnolia-Cove-ebook/dp/B009ZMIBU0
For more by Rachel Hanna and to find out about her newest romance novel, connect with her at:
www.RachelHannaRomance.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelhannaromance
Twitter: @RachelHannaBook
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author.
The scanning, uploading, and/or distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the prior written permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law.
All characters are fictitious and not based upon any real person, alive or dead.
Copyright Rachel Hanna 2012
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