by Kristi Gold
Kevin was amazed that in spite of a short planning time frame, at least for Leah, the ceremony had happened without a hitch, except for an understandably bewildered pastor. “I almost lost it when Reverend Aldine kept getting us mixed up.”
“I know,” Kieran said. “He came real close to marrying us to the wrong women.”
Kevin laughed. “Yeah, and I thought me wearing a tux and you going with the suit and tie would remedy that.”
“I told you to get your hair cut, Kev.”
He had to admit, they were now the definition of identical twins. At one time he would’ve rather eaten nails than have anyone mistake him for his brother. Now he was honored. Only one more change in his life to add to all the others. “I’m going to cut it all off before we move. I just thought it might be fun to see who we could confuse, like in the old days.”
Kieran loosened his tie and unbuttoned his jacket. “I’m ready for a different kind of fun, and it ain’t gonna happen until I get Erica out of here.”
Kevin recalled Erica’s no-sex-until-the-ceremony rule. That had to suck for his brother. Big-time. “I’m surprised you’re walking straight since you’ve been doing without for weeks.”
Kieran smirked. “Actually, that only lasted about four days.”
Not at all a shock to Kevin. “You couldn’t hold out, could you?”
“Erica couldn’t. She came by the house one night and I made her beg for it.”
Yeah, right. “For what? About two minutes?”
“Try thirty seconds.”
They shared in another laugh before Kieran looked around and said, “Is this a kid menagerie or what?”
Kevin had to agree with that. To their left, Devin’s oldest son, Sean, along with Logan’s stepson, J.D., were on their hands and knees, playing hide-and-seek beneath the round tables set out for the reception, while Lucy and Maddie wove in and out of the nearby bushes, their skirts hiked up to their knees. Then came the baby section. With Patrick in her arms, Jenna was seated next to Corri, who was playing keep-away-the-cake with her toddler, Emma. And that left Kevin’s and Kieran’s families. To their right, Stormy had Carly balanced on her hip while Erica and Leah looked on.
Leah…
Kevin would never forget seeing her walk down the aisle wearing the white strapless wedding dress that contrasted with her golden skin. He would always remember the way she looked at him, as though he mattered more than anything else on earth. He’d never seen her look more beautiful, except in the mornings when she’d waken him with a kiss. And also at night when she held their daughter in her arms. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve her, but he refused to question it any longer. He accepted that he’d been blessed and that their time had finally come.
Dermot stood and rapped a spoon on his champagne glass, signaling the moment had arrived for the traditional wedding toast, which earned him a cautioning look from Lucy. Kevin and Kieran rejoined their wives and they all stood together, arms around waists to await the O’Brien patriarch’s words of wisdom.
Leah leaned toward Kevin and whispered, “I’ve heard I should prepare for anything.”
“You’re right,” Kevin said. “With Dad, whatever comes to his mind shoots out of his mouth.”
After clearing his throat and garnering everyone’s attention, Dermot began. “First, I stand in honor of my youngest lads, once known as the last O’Briens standing, before they took the fall today. To Kieran, may your love for your bride be as big as those blasted biceps. And Erica, may you always be the sun in his morn and the zing in his treadmill. And may you give me another grandchild within the year.”
Dermot waited long enough for the laughter to die down before he held up his glass in Kevin and Leah’s direction, his expression much more somber than before. “And to my son, Kevin. I never thought I would live long enough to see you wed. A short year ago, I am certain you did not believe you would live to see it, either. But here you are, with your bonnie bride and your little daughter, having weathered the storms. Although distance may separate us after this day, we know that you must go where your heart leads you, and your heart now belongs to Leah. Kieran, Erica, Kevin and Leah, long life to you all.”
As the crowd broke out in “Hear, hear,” Kevin smiled at Leah and she smiled back. Then he kissed her to a round of applause. Once they parted, he noticed that Kieran was still engaging in some serious mouth-to-mouth with Erica. “Knock it off, Kieran,” he said. “Here comes Mom.”
Kieran instantly broke all contact with his wife and looked around, only to find Lucy still seated at the table with their dad. “Real funny, Kev.”
Kevin couldn’t help but laugh, even when Leah elbowed him in the side and said, “Be nice to your brother. Remember, he’s the one who saved us from going to the courthouse.”
Erica muffled her own laughter behind her hand before she added, “Leah tells me you’ve already sold your house, Kevin.”
“Yeah, and it’s a good thing since we put an offer on a restored farmhouse when we visited her folks last weekend.”
Kieran shook his head. “I’m trying to picture you living in a farmhouse in some rural town.”
“Noble Oak is only fifteen minutes from Jackson, and it’s a huge farmhouse,” Leah said. “Three stories with five bedrooms.”
Bedrooms that Kevin hoped to fill with kids one day, either biological or adopted. Anything to make Leah happy. “A year ago, I couldn’t imagine it either, Kieran.”
But like his father, he would willingly go wherever life with Leah and Carly led him. And he was looking forward to it.
EPILOGUE
Mississippi
Three years later
“DADDY, Daddy!”
Kevin spun around in his chair and braced for the curly-headed bundle of exuberance before she landed in his lap. She hugged him hard around the neck then leaned back and stared at him with all the excitement of a major league baseball player who’d just won the series. “Kiss me night.”
He popped a kiss on her cheek and set her on her feet about the time a frowning Leah walked in. “Looks like Mom’s not happy with you right now, kiddo.”
“I’ve already put her in bed once and told her you’d be in shortly.”
Carly went from escape artist to angel in about three seconds. “I kissed Daddy.”
Leah pointed behind her. “Now that you’ve done that, it’s time for bed. You have a playdate in the morning.”
Carly turned to Kevin again. “Kiss the baby.”
“I’ve already kissed P.J.,” he said. “And he’s already asleep, which is where you should be.”
“Not P.J., silly daddy.” She pointed at her mother’s stomach. “That baby.”
Leah gave him a sly grin as she sauntered over to him. Man, oh, man, she could still send him on a slow burn at any given moment with that look. He lifted the bottom of her blouse with one hand, clasped her hip with the other and pressed his lips against the slight bulge in her belly. This particular baby had been two years in the making following several less-than-pleasant procedures and a little help from science. But success had never tasted so sweet.
He looked up at Leah and presented his own smile. “I’ll kiss the baby some more a little later.”
Carly giggled and rushed away, seemingly satisfied over the turn of events. Leah climbed into his lap and kissed him in earnest. A down-and-dirty kiss designed to distract him, like she hadn’t done that already just by walking into his office. “How long before you come to bed, you sexy stud?”
“If you get out of here, I might make it in fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes, tops. I just have to knock out my final column.”
She studied his eyes for a long moment. “Are you sad over leaving the column behind?”
He would be sadder if he’d had to leave her behind. “Maybe a little. But I’m looking forward to the challenge of owning a magazine.” He’d purchased and begun to revamp a regional sports magazine. Fortunately, he had a good editorial crew in place, which
left him time to care for Carly and their newest addition, Paul James, the ten-month-old abandoned boy who’d come to them through the free clinic where Leah worked part-time. He’d been born drug-addicted with several other medical problems due to his premature birth. They’d agreed to adopt him even knowing his care involved a long-term commitment. But Kevin didn’t shy away from commitment these days.
Leah slid off his lap and blew him a kiss as she backed toward the door. “Hurry up. My hormones are in an uproar.”
So was a major part of Kevin’s anatomy. “You bet. Now leave before I strip you right here and take you for a ride on the carpet.”
“Promises, promises,” she said as she closed the door behind her.
Getting back to business, Kevin whirled the chair around and poised his hands on the computer’s keyboard. He’d obsessed for days how to end the column he’d written for several years. Then something occurred to him—he was finally ready to finish the column he’d discarded the day that Leah had come back into his life. The same day he’d found out about his daughter.
O’Brien’s Sports Scene
August
Final Edition
Four years ago, I learned that facing death can change your life, and not necessarily in a bad way. Knowing you might not survive a disease is like quarterbacking a team during a playoff game, seven points down with fourth and goal to go, twenty seconds away from ending a season. But I was blessed enough to pull through it with the help of family and friends and, most important, the woman who eventually became my wife. You’ve all seen me write about her before—Leah, the best-looking physician on the face of the earth. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t around during my actual battle with the anemia that almost did me in, but she definitely had a hand in saving my life afterward. So did another person who means more to me than I can express.
She’s my Hail Mary pass, my three-pointer at the buzzer, my walk-off home run in the tenth inning. More than that, she’s the highlight of my day and I can’t imagine my life without her.
Her name is Carly, she’s three years old and about as tiny as a golf tee. But she’s got a big smile and a bigger heart and she can already play catch. Imagine that.
Simply stated, she is the best thing I’ve ever done. The best part of me. The very best mistake I’ve ever made.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5048-6
HIS BEST MISTAKE
Copyright © 2010 by Kristi Goldberg.
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*The Royal Wager
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