"Fine, I’ll go," Emily said.
"No, Auntie Em," Ash said quickly. "I think Hellie can handle it."
"Ash, she’s with Violet, Stevie and Josie now—"
"Uncle Richard, can you switch off with her? They’re much more afraid of Hellie than they are anyone else."
"Of course, AJ."
Richard opened the door to Violet’s room, and Hellie came out a moment later. "What’s up?" she asked when she came into the living room.
"Apparently—" Zainab began.
"Louie and Harry are fighting over Lucy’s affections again," Ash said quickly, trying to hide how much he lit up when she was around.
"And Jude’s doing what?"
"Distributing weapons."
"Let’s go," Hellie sighed as she turned around and hit Ash on the back. Ash looked like he was going to fall over, then followed her up the stairs.
Emily was deep in thought. "You know, maybe a younger man would be a good thing for Hellie. That way she can be the dominant one in the relationship."
Miranda wrinkled her nose. "Hellie would be the dominant one if she were dating a thirty-year-old."
"Miranda!" Michael railed.
"Don’t worry, man," Mitch said. "Hellie isn’t into blondes."
"What’s the harm?" Miranda smiled, as she took Olivia from her husband. "He’s twelve, how serious can that be?"
"Ash!" Michael shouted as he ran up the stairs.
By the time Michael got to the foot of the stairs, all the noises from the twins’ room had quieted, and Hellie was letting Ash show her the family photos on the wall. She’d seen them a thousand times, but it was one of her favorite things in the Abbot house.
The first picture was the framed picture of Stephen Asher Abbot, Ash’s older brother. Ash knew that Hellie was just a little bit older than he would have been, and when he had been younger, he liked to pretend that Hellie was his big sister. But as he got older, he liked to have her around for other reasons.
The second picture was of Zainab and Richard’s wedding party. Zainab and Richard were kissing, and everyone else was laughing. Ash was there too, as Miranda was five months pregnant with him, though just barely showing.
The third picture was of Michael holding newborn Ash in the hospital. Hellie remembered meeting him for the very first time and thinking how red and mad he looked. The next pictures were of Michael and Miranda’s wedding. Hellie had been just over three when she’d been their flower girl, so her memories of the event were pretty hazy. Still, she always remembered Michael fighting back tears as he swore that he was going to spend the rest of his life being the man Miranda deserved, and Miranda gently telling him that she wasn’t going to be afraid of loving Michael anymore. Hellie hadn’t understood all of that—she still didn’t—but that had been the foundation for all of her romantic expectations, which explained in large part why she was so blasé about every guy her age who had ever asked her out. Ash was in the pictures too, a tiny bundle being held by either or both of his parents at any one time.
What no one knew at the time, except for Michael and Miranda, was that Judah Abbot was there too. For their first anniversary picture, Miranda was holding dark-haired, blue-eyed baby Judah and Michael was holding year-old Ash.
Four years later, Ash and Jude were grinning as their parents held dark-haired, brown-eyed Harel and red-headed Katherine. Miranda looked like she was almost embarrassed by her good fortune, but Michael grinned from ear to ear.
The next big photo was of Jessie and Martin’s wedding party. Hellie had been old enough to be a junior bridesmaid there, and Ash had been a junior groomsmen. Lucy was the flower girl, and Louie was the ring bearer. Hellie remembered crossing her fingers the entire ceremony that he wouldn’t lose the ring. Hellie and Ash were placed together, just like the adults, like a little couple. Hellie always laughed when she saw that, and always missed the hopeful look on Ash’s face.
The next picture was of Asher and Hellie at the beach in Magnolia, flanking babies Violet, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, red-headed Josie and dark haired Stevie. Hellie remembered that day that Miranda had wiped a tear even as she smiled, and that Michael had kissed her on the forehead, trying to fight his own tears. Something else she didn't understand.
In the center were two pictures that always pulled at Hellie’s heart. The first was of a red-headed man and his pretty, thin, dark-haired wife on their wedding day. She was dressed in a fancy, long-sleeved, white gown and pulled back veil. He was wearing a tuxedo, but there was nothing else that was formal about him. Hellie could see him in both Michael and Ash.
The other picture was of an ethereally beautiful blonde, green-eyed woman pressing her cheek to a handsome if slightly unkempt young man with blue eyes and lots of curly dark hair. Hellie had never had to ask who they were, because it was obvious how much Miranda took after both of them.
But that wasn’t her favorite picture of all. Near the picture of Jessie and Martin’s wedding was one in a heart-shaped frame of Michael and Miranda smiling at the camera as their faces were pressed together. Michael grinned as he held her and looked out onto the world. She had never seen anyone as happy with life. Miranda smiled her beautiful smile, though perhaps a little more shyly, as if she still couldn’t believe her luck and didn’t want it to go away.
Hellie sighed. "You are so lucky, Ash. Your parents are so in love with each other."
"Actually, it’s sort of gross," Ash said as he wrinkled his nose. "I mean, I got the whole birds and the bees thing by the time Harry and Katy came along, and I just don’t get how they can—"
"You don’t think it’s nice that they’re like that?"
"Your parents aren’t?" Ash asked conspiratorially.
"Gee, Ash, I don’t know," Hellie said as she rolled her eyes. "My parents love each other, but your parents—" She smiled. "They just seem like they’re made for each other."
"They are related," Ash said, trying to sound light.
"That’s not what I mean," Hellie said, remembering why she didn’t usually have these conversations. "They seem to light up when the other’s in the room and it’s sort of hard to imagine one without the other."
Ash sighed as Hellie looked at the smiling heart picture. "They always say," he said bravely, "that they’re two parts of the same whole."
"Yeah," Hellie smiled. "That’s a good way to put it."
"You ever think—" Ash began, but before he could they both jumped as Katy let out a bone-chilling scream.
"Uh oh," Hellie said as she lead Ash back into the room.
Michael had stood watching them the entire time. When they left, he felt a hand in his. He squeezed it.
"I think I remember seeing that look before," Miranda whispered as she put her hands around Michael’s waist.
He turned around and stepped down. "Yeah, but you didn’t know what it meant."
"I don’t think you did either."
"I do now."
"I don’t think you have to worry about Hellie taking advantage of Ash’s feelings. First of all, she seems completely oblivious—"
"She’ll get it soon enough."
"Second of all, he’s three years younger. It’s beneath her at this point to entertain the thought."
"He’s a head taller than she is, and not bad looking, if I do say so myself."
"He is one of the handsomest boys I’ve ever seen, but I have to say, I’m partial to dark hair myself."
Michael put his arms around her waist. "Don’t joke, honey. I don’t want to see his heart get broken."
"I think I know what that’s like," she whispered as she put her arms around his back.
"So let’s make sure it doesn’t happen."
She smiled. "No, honey. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine."
"How can you be so sure?" It pained Michael more than he could say to think that any of his children, but especially his firstborn, should ever know the misery he’d suffered through until Miranda had married him in front of all of thei
r friends and family.
"Because he has us," Miranda whispered. "Because he has all of those people downstairs. And he’s never going to be alone."
Michael looked at her beautiful eyes and felt, for the millionth time, as if he might melt into them. "Neither are you," he whispered at last.
"And neither are you," she said.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Emily, Miranda, Jessie and Zainab have been with me, in varying forms, since my earliest teens. I literally grew up with them, and it was my job to make sure they grew up. The first four volumes of The New Pioneers were written to do just that.
Spoiler alert: the next installments are written in different voices and some of the subjects will be darker. However, the stories take place in the same universe, and many of the characters you've already met will be featured in the sequels. And while some of them won't be Romances with a capital R, there will always be romantic elements.
Thank you so much for coming along for the ride with me so far; please stick around for more!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful yet again to my hard working editor, Heather Austin; I wouldn't even try to do this without her. Keri Knutson gave me another gorgeous cover that perfectly captured my heroine. Caroline Fardig is one of the funniest and most talented writers I've met; I'm so touched that she took the time out to read my book and give me valuable feedback. Erin Cawood and Danielle-Claude Ngontang-Mba have been my go-to sounding boards and helped keep me sane. Huge thanks to the Goddesses (they know who they are) and the authors of Indie Writers Unite! on Facebook. While we may go back and forth about how useful social media is to get our work out to readers, it's an awesome way to connect with other writers.
Thank you again to friends and family that cheered me on throughout this adventure: Sheryl Light, Ginnette Powell, Tina Stanton, Nicole DeSmet, Suzanne Nam, Penelope Nam-Stephen, Eileen Prince, Donna Dedrick Nam, Liseli Mulala, Odessa Cozzolino, Karen Idra Kaiser, Allie Gillies, Kay Froebel, Lisette Brodey, Michael Nam-Krane and, last but not least, the little Nam-Kranes, Samantha, Jazmyn, Jacob and Simon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Nam-Krane is a writer in Boston-proper. The Smartest Girl in the Room and The Family You Choose were published in 2013, and An Engagement (A New Pioneers Short Story) and The China Doll were published in 2014.
In 2012 she wrote the History section of her sister Suzanne Nam’s Moon Thailand (Moon Handbooks).
Please join her mail list to find out first about new releases and connect with Deborah Nam-Krane on any of the following sites:
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A book reviewer for Amazon for the last decade, she is grateful for all of the reader reviews she has received so far. After sales, they are the best promotion a new author can get. If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review on the retail site you purchased from, Goodreads, your blog or wherever you share your opinions.
Let's Move On (The New Pioneers Book 4) Page 21