by Carian Cole
“Is that your husband outside?” one of the nurses asks.
“No…it’s his brother. My husband is on his way.”
“Are you really married to the Valentines? From the rock band?” the younger nurse whispers at me.
“Just one of them,” I reply. “Can we please just focus on the baby? And for the record, Asher is married and he doesn’t have a girlfriend.” I shake my head at them.
The contractions become more frequent, and Storm still hasn’t arrived. Asher pulls up a chair and holds my hand, letting me squeeze his through the pain.
“Where is he?” I ask. “Shouldn’t he be here by now?”
“He’s probably stuck in traffic. Don’t worry. I’ll stay here with you.”
We just came from the same direction Storm is travelling, and we didn’t see any traffic. Horrible visions flash through my mind. This is like the movies where the husband never shows up because he either skipped out of town or was in a horrible accident.
“Is he really okay?” I ask, searching Asher’s eyes for any telltale clues. He smiles reassuringly, his eyes staying on mine.
“He’s fine. Just relax and think about your little girl.”
“Has he texted you since we got here?” My own phone has been silent. No calls or texts.
His expression remains calm as he shakes his head. “No. But don’t worry.”
Asking me to not worry is like asking me to sprout wings and fly to the moon. It will never happen. It’s simply impossible.
I wipe the tears off my cheeks. “Okay. I’m trying. You don’t have to hold my hand.”
“I want to,” he says softly. “It’s nice feeling you squeeze mine back.”
I nod in silent understanding. I can’t even imagine how much he misses Ember and everything they had together. It’s heartbreaking to even think about. If anything ever happened to Storm, I don’t know how I could live through it.
And where is he? I glance at the clock on the wall and realize a lot of time has passed, more than an hour, at least.
Suddenly my room door opens, and Storm rushes in with the biggest smile on his face, all out of breath.
“I ran from the parking lot.” He throws his coat on the other chair and sits on the edge of the bed, taking my other hand and leaning down to kiss me. “I never should have gone to that fucking hardware store. I had a feeling she was coming today.”
I cling to him with relief, not wanting to let him go. “I was so worried,” I whisper.
“I ran out of gas, and my fucking phone battery died. I had to start walking.”
“Oh my God.” I can picture him walking down the side of the highway, cars flying by him, his long hair blowing in the wind.
“Are you serious?” Asher asks, letting go of my hand and rising from the chair so Storm can take his place.
“Dead serious. Some dude picked me up and recognized me. He was acting all crazy, taking pictures of me and asking me to go to a bar with him and sing karaoke or some shit. I told him I just looked like the guy from the band and I was really just a construction worker. I thought that nut was gonna kidnap my ass.”
“You’re a crazy-person magnet. I’m so glad you’re here,” I lace my fingers into his.
“I was getting here no matter what, babe. I would have walked the entire way if I had to.”
“Where’s your car?” Asher asks. “I’ll have it taken care of and brought here.”
“It’s down the road about twenty miles, by that new hotel.”
As soon as Asher leaves Storm kisses me again. “I didn’t mean to make you worry. Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”
“I’m fine now that you’re here. She’s early but the doctor said it’s okay,” I tell him.
He lets out a deep breath and grins, his entire face lighting up. “This is it,” he says. “Our baby bean is coming.”
This is it—we’re having a baby. Our lives will never be the same.
My labor lasts three hours, with Storm right at my side, breathing with me, crying with me, and making me and everyone else in the room laugh.
After a lot of pushing and quite a bit of pain, our little bean arrives—screaming, with a full head of dark hair —weighing five pounds and three ounces. Storm proudly cuts the cord, the nurses clean her up, and he takes her from them carefully, as if she were made of the finest crystal. Seeing him carry our tiny baby to me is a sight that will forever be burned in the memories of my mind. He kisses her wrinkled forehead before he lays her in my arms.
“She looks like a little angel,” I whisper as I check her itty-bitty fingers and toes and her perfect little ears and smooth her hair that insists on sticking right back up. She has huge soulful eyes, and I hope they’re green like Storm’s.
“This is Winter Raven Valentine,” he says softly, holding onto her little hand.
Oh, her name is so perfectly beautiful, I can’t think of any other name that would suit her.
“It’s perfect,” I murmur. “Just like her. And you.”
Lifting my chin, he softly kisses my lips. “And you. We love you.”
Epilogue
Seventeen Years Later
Her blue eyes are begging for it, following it hungrily as it sways back and forth in front of her face, letting it bump across her nose. She opens her mouth for it, pink tongue hanging out.
“No…” I warn. “Don’t touch.”
A tiny drip of drool forms in the corner of her mouth.
“You want that bone bad, don’t you?”
She whines and inches closer to me.
“No, no, no…you have to wait. The anticipation is the best part.”
Evie appears in the doorway and eyes me, lying on the living room floor. “Storm, stop teasing that puppy. Dinner’s ready, can you put her in her crate?”
“I’m not teasing her, I’m training her.” I hold my hand out to the puppy, with the bone in my palm. “Okay, take it.”
The malamute pup gingerly takes the bone from my hand. I rub her fuzzy head as she chews it; then I bring her to her crate in the corner of the living room so we can eat dinner without a twelve-week-old puppy running around.
I join Evie in the kitchen, hugging her from behind as she spoons chicken and dumplings onto two plates.
“That smells almost as good as you,” I whisper against her ear. “Where’s the kids?”
She turns and hands me a plate. “Winter is with a friend and Hale is at Jimmy’s house playing video games.”
“So we have the house to ourselves tonight?”
Her smile is sweet and sultry. “We do.”
It’s about fucking time. Now that the kids are teens, they’re in and out of the house like it’s a revolving door.
I sit at the kitchen table, and Evie takes her usual seat across from me. Our eyes meet, and we grin at the same time. “Hot tub?” I suggest, licking my lips.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
A night with Evie in the hot tub under the stars is exactly what I need after spending a week in the studio with the band, hammering out new songs.
The front door opens and shuts, and we exchange a surprised glance as Winter enters the room, holding hands with a guy with dark hair almost as long as mine, a half-sleeve tattoo, and snake-bite piercings in his lips.
I slowly put down my fork and look at my seventeen-year-old daughter—a young replica of Evie with her black hair, sweet smile and light eyes—wearing pink chucks, one of my old black leather jackets, and a white T-shirt that says “I love bad boys” across the front.
Oh, fuck no.
“Mom, Daddy…this is Kody.” Her face lights up with pride like she’s presenting a prestigious award.
“And he is…?” I ask.
Evie kicks me under the table. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Kody,” Evie says. “Winter’s told me all about you. Are you two hungry?”
“We’re going to the diner, Mom.”
“No, thank you, Mrs. Valentine. Winter just wanted me to
meet you both now that we’re dating.”
“Dating?” I repeat.
“Daddy…”
Kody steps toward me and holds out his hand for me to shake. “Mr. Valentine, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m a huge fan. Ashes & Embers was the first band I ever saw in concert. You’re why I started playing guitar.”
This kid should know that making me feel old isn’t exactly a great first impression. I shake his hand but narrow my eyes at him. “Is that why you’re dating my daughter?”
“No, sir. I didn’t even know who she was when I met her.”
I lean back in my chair and check this kid out. I knew someday my little girl was gonna show up with a guy just like this. She grew up with a family of rock stars; it made sense she’d be drawn to a little metal-head. I just don’t want her being used because she’s related to famous musicians. I’ll kick this kid’s ass if he hurts my firstborn.
Chewing the inside of my lip, I cock my head to the side, not sure he’s telling me the truth. “How’d you two meet, then?”
“Um…” he glances nervously at Winter. “She backed into me on my motorcycle with her car in a parking lot.”
Winter jumps in. “I was barely moving, Daddy. I didn’t see him.” She leans closer to Kody. “He didn’t even get hurt, I swear.”
“I had a wicked bruise on my leg, but it’s no big deal. She was freaking out, though, worried she broke my leg or that she wrecked her car.” He talks faster under my stare. “It was just a little dent in her fender. I stayed with her until she calmed down, and I offered to fix the dent for her, and we just kinda kept seeing each other.”
Evie and I look at each other and smile, shaking our heads at the irony. We already know how this story ends.
“What kind of bike?” I ask him.
“It’s a Harley, sir.”
“Did she fuck it up when she hit you?”
“Dad!”
Kody laughs. “Just a few scratches.”
“So…we’re going now. Okay?” Winter asks anxiously.
“Have fun,” Evie says. “Try to be home by midnight.”
“Not before then,” I add. I want my alone time with my wife.
“I’ll have her home at midnight,” Kody says as they turn to leave.
“Hey, Kody?” I call out. “Next time you’re here, we’ll jam a little.”
“Wow, seriously?” he asks.
“Sure.”
Winter drops his hand, runs to me, and throws her arms around me. “Thank you, Daddy. I really like him,” she whispers.
“I know, sweetheart. I know.”
After they leave, Evie smiles at me, reading my mind. My wife always knows what’s going through my head. She stands and comes over to hug me reassuringly. “It’s okay for her to grow up, Storm. She’ll always be your little girl.”
“I know…it’s just happening so fast.” I feel like just yesterday I was pushing her around in a stroller; now she’s going on a date with a guy in a car with long hair and tattoos and fucking piercings.
“They remind me of us,” she says. “She tells me all about him. He’s a lot like you.”
I blow out a long breath. “I think we just met our future son-in-law.”
Later that night, as we’re in the hot tub with our legs and arms wrapped around each other, the first snow flurries of the season start to fall in that slow, almost suspended-in-time way.
We gaze up at the sky together, watching the flakes come down and disappear in midair in the rising steam of the tub.
“The snow always reminds me of falling in love with you,” Evie says softly. “I wish I could catch one and keep it forever.”
“Hmmm…” I brush my lips across hers and linger there. “Do you need something to remind you?”
“Nope…how could I ever forget falling in love with you?” Her hands wander up and down my back, her nails trailing along my flesh. My eyes close, savoring the feeling of her touch, loving it just as much as the first time she touched me.
“Just checking.” I move my hands from her outer thighs to her waist. “Come upstairs with me. I want to give you your anniversary present.”
Her head tilts, and she looks just like the puppy does when I make a weird noise. “Now? Our anniversary is two months away.”
“I know, but tonight feels like the right time.” Her brow furrows and her hands halt on my back. “Don’t get yourself all amped up with worry, baby. It’s all good. I promise.”
The puppy follows us upstairs, her big paws clomping on the carpet behind us. I stop on the landing to look out one of the windows overlooking the driveway, and the puppy stops and sits at my feet, looking up at me expectantly. I’m still waiting for her to tell me her name.
Evie tugs at my hand. “Storm…its not midnight yet. They’ve got two more hours.” She kisses my shoulder. “Which means we have two more hours,” she hints.
I look at her out of the corner of my eye, still scanning the street to make sure that kid isn’t parked out there making out with my daughter.
“Good. That’s just enough time to lick you into an orgasmic coma. But first you get your present.”
“You went shopping early this year. I’m impressed.” She climbs up on the bed while the puppy grabs one of her bones and hauls it onto her dog bed under the window.
I disappear into my walk-in closet to get Evie’s gift from its hiding place. “Actually,” I sit on the bed next to her. “I wasn’t looking for this. I found it by accident when we played in New York a few months ago and I said, ‘Fuck, that’s perfect for Evie.’”
She looks adorable and sexy sitting cross-legged, wearing nothing but one of my soft flannel shirts, unbuttoned to the middle of her chest, teasing me with a glimpse of her cleavage.
“Found it? Like in the street?”
“No. In an antique store.”
“What were you doing in an antique store?”
“Asher and I were grabbing a quick lunch, and it was next to the deli. He’s always on the hunt for skeleton keys.”
She nods. “Ah. I can’t wait to see what it is.”
“Close your eyes.”
I can’t help but laugh when she screws her eyes shut tight and nibbles her lower lip, waiting, struggling not to peek.
Man, I love this woman.
I take her right hand and slowly slide the ring onto her finger.
Her mouth forms a surprised O.
I lean closer to her and kiss her lips. “Now you can look.”
Her eyes fly open, and she stares at the two carats of diamonds on her finger, cut and arranged in the shape of a perfect snowflake.
“Oh my God…it’s my forever snowflake!” She tears her eyes off the ring to look at me. “I can’t believe you found a diamond snowflake. By accident!”
“When you said that earlier about wanting one, I just couldn’t wait to give it to you.”
“I love it.” Her voice is soft and serious. “I know I tell you I love you all the time…” She looks down at the ring for a second then lifts her head to meet my eyes. “But it’s just not enough. You really are the most amazing husband, and the best father. You put up with all my quirks, and you always make me feel safe and loved. Every night I lie in bed and watch you sleep, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to share my life with you. I’m still falling more and more in love with you every day.”
I squeeze her hand. “Okay…since we’re confessing…every time you tell me you love me, it’s like hearing it for the first time again. You’re a kick-ass mom. You’re the hottest, sweetest wife on the planet. When you’re watching me sleep? I’m dreaming about you and how fuckin’ lucky I am. I’m not done falling in love with you either, and ya know what? I’m never going to stop.”
She peeks up at me nervously from the curtain of her hair. “Even if I’m pregnant?”
My heart surges with shock and excitement. “Holy shit, baby! Are you serious?”
“I am. I took eight tests this morning. I’m just as surprised a
s you are.”
I push her onto her back and kiss her softly and deeply, gently laying my hand on her stomach, already in love with the third little life in there.
“Thank you,” I whisper against her lips. “That’s the best early anniversary present you could have given me.”
Before she passed away, Gram told me my unborn child would come back to me someday, and I would know immediately.
And I know.
My life, my family, and my heart are complete.
The End
Who’s Next?
About the Author
I HAVE A passion for the bad boys—those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles, and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose (and then find again), the loves of their lives. The Devils Wolves series is a spin off series from Ashes & Embers, but can be read as standalones.
Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets. I spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you so much for reading this book. I hope you enjoyed seeing my first book couple again as much as I did. And yes, you will be seeing them again.
I don’t like to publish names for privacy reasons. But I hope you amazing gals who are on my team know how grateful I am to have you at my side. Each of you mean the world to me and I wouldn’t be able to write these books without you. Thank you for being there for me, helping me out when I need it, and listening to me vent or ramble about ideas or issues when I’m stuck in my own head.