Happily Ever Alpha: Until More (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by S. Van Horne

  Shaking my head to get her off my mind, I reach out toward Mads again. I don’t want to think of her during my vacation. One of the reasons I came here was to get away from her memory. I have a bigger obligation than thinking of the one who stole my heart, and smashed it all at the same time.

  “Mads,” I gently shake my sister’s shoulder again. “It’s time to wake up, sweet girl.”

  “I don’t want to get up,” Maddison moans.

  “Come on. Don’t you want to go swimming in the pretty blue water?” At the mention of swimming, Maddison pops up from under the covers.

  “Swimming, really, bubby?” The excitement on her pretty face has a grin forming on mine.

  “Yep! Better hurry before we miss the dolphins,” I tickle her and the sound of her laughter makes my heart smile. She may be sixteen, but mentally, due to the autism, she’s on a six-year-old level.

  Letting her up, my smile grows even bigger as she chatters happily about all the pretty shells she’s going to find. Having the ability to see her light up the way she does . . . makes everything I’ve done in so far in my life worth it. I just wish I had someone to share it with.

  My face feels like it’s going to crack with how much it has smiled so far today. We just finished swimming with the dolphins and seeing Maddison have fun, without the fear of being in a large crowd, is worth all the money it cost for the private tour. I planned several things for her to do while we're here. She can handle small crowds, but when it gets too crowded, she loses her center of gravity. Being close to others makes her skin crawl. She describes it as ants crawling over her skin when people are too close, or touch her. The doctors explained it means she's touch sensitive.

  With that diagnosis, we’re careful with our outings. Needing small crowds or private activities takes a hit on my wallet since they always cost more. But it’s worth it for her safety. Some businesses have been very accommodating, even going as far to charge us the regular price, but giving us a private lesson. I’ve found that many Hawaiians are very warm and welcoming to families with special needs.

  My eyes are drawn to a secluded beach that's off in the distance. From what I can tell, there isn’t a soul on it.

  That would be a great place to take Maddison so she can collect shells before lunch.

  Getting the tour guide's attention, I wait while he slowly makes his way across the boat toward Maddison and me.

  “Can you tell me how to get to that beach over there?” I shout over the waves when he bends toward me.

  He nods after glancing back, then leans in. “It belongs to the families that live there. A private beach. But I’m sure they won't mind you taking your sister there. When we pull in, I’ll give you directions.”

  Smiling, I nod my thanks and turn back to look out over the water. I’m so glad I came on this vacation.

  I lag behind Maddison as she runs along the beach picking up shells and placing them into her bucket we bought on our way here. The tour guide wrote out directions from their dock to here, as well as how to get to the hut we rented for the week.

  “Hi, I’m Maddison Elaine. What’s your name?” Mads calls, and I look up to see her talking to two children, a little boy and a little girl.

  “We aren’t allowed to tell our names. What do you have in your hand?” the boy says, right as the girl yells out, “I’m Melanie!”

  My chuckle carries out over the waves that are crashing on the shore. The little boy gives her a stern look, and it hits me that she's the youngest of the two and doesn’t understand that she shouldn’t share her name with strangers.

  “Who in the fuck are you, and why are you near my children?”

  To the left, a huge man storms toward Maddison. This isn’t going to be good. She’s going to break down, and I’m not close enough to stop it. As quickly as possible, I begin to rush toward them. When I finally reach her, my arms wrap around her. Pulling her to me, my hands start rubbing her back trying to calm her.

  “Is she okay, Daddy?” the boy murmurs as they watch my sister trying to pull me closer.

  “She’s okay. She just didn’t like how your daddy sounded. It scared her. Maddison’s autistic, and she doesn’t like loud noises,” I explain quietly as I continue to rub her back and arms.

  “What’s that?” the girl asks scrunching up her nose.

  “It means she’s special and thinks differently,” the man says softly.

  “I apologize for just showing up. The tour guide said that the owners wouldn’t mind if we came. If you would like us to leave, I understand, and will as soon as I can calm her down.”

  “Daddy can help. He always knows how to make me stop crying,” the girl states and smiles up at him. His face softens as he reaches his hand out to her. Mads softly cries out again and clutches me tighter.

  “Mads, it’s okay, sweet girl. Breathe.” My hands make their way to her shoulders and I squeeze her hard, following the instructions that I was taught to make her feel grounded.

  “Conti,” a soft gasp to the left has my face turning quickly toward a voice I never dreamed I'd hear again. My breath catches as I see Crystal staring back at me. An arm wraps around her shoulder as the pregnant woman standing next to her tries to comfort her.

  Anger starts to build again when I remember the last conversation we had. The urge to scream at her is fierce.

  “The guy?” the man murmurs then glances back at me. “I think something isn’t what you thought it was.” She just stares at us and nods. “I’m Kai. This is my wife, Myla and these two are our children, Maxim and Melanie. Why don’t you come up to the house? I think you might need a quieter place to help her relax.”

  All I can do is nod; the need to get Maddison in a calm environment would go a long way in stopping the episode. Also, opening my mouth won’t help things right now. The need to tell her to get the fuck away from us is rushing through my veins. Turning and walking behind Crystal, Kai, Myla and his children, I can’t help but think . . . this isn’t the vacation I was hoping to have.

  Two

  CRYSTAL

  One year ago . . .

  Kansas City, Missouri

  The bartender slides my margarita in front of me with a nod. Smiling my thanks, I hand him a ten. “Keep the change,” I murmur then glance again toward the door.

  Brittany’s supposed to be arriving any moment. Britt is my friend from my college days. When she called and said she was in the same town as me currently, excitement rushed me and I was looking forward to spending time with her. With both of our jobs, it’s difficult at times to meet up. However, today's been a day from hell.

  What started out as a fantastic day at an author signing event I was attending turned to chaos in a blink of an eye. Two women were kidnapped from the hallway restroom. Britt was working undercover with the FBI and was part of the sting that was set up to protect Len and Sara. Thankfully, they were able to find them quickly and nothing major happened. Well, other than one of the women, Len, went into labor with her twins.

  After Brittany left the hospital, she called asking me to meet her at the PBR Big Sky bar, which is in the Power and Light district, in a few hours. She had to fill out some paperwork, but she needed a drink. And honestly, I agreed with her.

  Something brushes my back and a bolt of electricity hits me, traveling up my spine.

  “A shot of patron and a Corona, please,” a sexy voice drawls out behind me, causing my body to tighten with desire.

  Turning, I look over my shoulder. I now wish I didn’t, because my panties are officially ruined. My breath catches in my throat at what I’m seeing and my body screams, Fuck me, now!

  Breathtakingly handsome doesn’t even begin to describe the God behind me.

  Light brown hair, deep green eyes, at least six feet three inches tall and muscles . . . lots of muscles.

  “Hey, C,” Brittany says my nickname from my left tearing my gaze away from the sexy man. The man had me so drawn in that I didn’t even notice her arrival. “Make i
t a double, please. Great minds and all that huh, Conti?”

  Who the fuck is Conti?

  “Fuck, this day has been shit. I need a drink to unwind,” that sexy voice replies.

  The moment our eyes meet I begin to second guess my thoughts on insta love. Yeah, I may write it from time to time, but never in a million years did I believe it was true.

  Until this moment.

  “Britt, why don’t you introduce me to this beautiful woman in front of me?” His eyes never leave mine as he speaks to her.

  “Conti, this is a good friend of mine, Crystal. C, this gentleman is a co-worker turned friend, Conti.” Britt reaches over me and grabs one of the shots the bartender put in front of Conti.

  “Nice to meet you.” He picks up my hand and brings it to his lips.

  Right then and there, the exact moment his lips touch my skin, I know my life has changed for the better.

  “Shit. Mari,” Conti’s voice startles me out of my sleep. “What’s wrong with Mads? Let me talk to her.”

  He carefully slides out from behind me and I hold my breath; listening as he moves across the hotel room.

  “Hey, my special, sweet girl. What’s wrong?”

  The door to the bathroom closes and I quickly rise out of bed, rushing around as he attempts to calm down the girl on the phone. This isn’t what I thought would happen when I thought of a future with him. There's one thing I know for certain; I’ll never be the other woman in a man's life.

  The night before rushes to me and tears start to sting the back of my eyes. Especially since I told him that he made me feel things that nobody has ever made me feel before. Hell, I even told him I’ve never slept with a guy I just met, but there was just something about him. Now, I’m heartbroken over the fact that the guy I felt so much for, must have a family.

  Realization that I’m now an adulteress has the tears coming even faster. Glancing back at the bathroom door, I hurry to get out of the room because there’s no way I can ever face him again.

  CONTI

  Eleven months after Kansas City . . .

  Angela and Curt's Wedding

  Shaking my head at my friend Curt, and his antics with his new wife, I slowly twist my head to the right to make sure Crystal hasn’t left yet. I’ve been trying to contact her for eleven fucking months now.

  Walking out of that hotel bathroom to an empty room confused the fuck out of me. At first, I thought she went to grab us some breakfast. No way did I think she walked away after having the night we did. When she turned to me in that bar, my breath caught in my throat. She was breathtaking. Dark brown hair, deep brown eyes, olive tan skin and a smile that would stop traffic. Her body was curvy in the right places and caused my dick to jump in my pants. He wanted to pound the fuck out of her. And I was right there agreeing with him.

  The feeling that she was mine and that one day she would be my wife rushed my veins. I knew that there would never be anyone else again that would measure up to her. When she told me that she never did things like that and that something about me drew her to me . . . I knew then that we were on the same page. The way her breath picked up and her eyes dilated when she took me in over her shoulder at the bar, had me wanting to drag her back to my hotel. The need to own all of her was so damn strong that it took me by surprise. My mind knew that by the end of the night she would be mine and there was no fucking going back to the life I had before.

  After two drinks, we both switched to water while Brittany drank. About midnight, we were both ripping each other’s clothes off in my hotel room after we put Brittany in hers. There was no stopping the need that consumed us. When three in the morning finally hit, we knocked out, with talk of spending the day together before she had to head back home.

  So imagine my surprise when I found her gone. For two days she ignored not only my attempts to contact her, but Brittany’s too. Then I got a call from the FBI that there was a huge case I was needed on. A media shit storm that Curt, Fisher and myself were ready to kill the news stations over for dragging us in front of the world.

  If I never see a news crew again, it’ll be too soon.

  Since I was mixed up with that until recently, coming to Nebraska to confront her wasn’t possible. When Curt said she would be at the wedding, as she was Angela’s maid of honor, it was my chance to finally confront her about what happened that morning.

  Watching as she gives her toast and then embraces the bride and groom, my mind starts to plan how I’m going to speak with her in private. The clinking of the ice in my drink as I slowly sip is the only thing that breaks my thoughts for a second. My lips start to tip up into a smile; I’ll catch her before she leaves.

  For now, I’ll just bide my time and watch her from afar.

  “Crystal, we need to talk.” My footsteps echo on the tile as I quickly follow her out of the reception. Angela and Curt left an hour ago and I waited while she finished her ‘M.O.H.’ duties.

  “No, we do not need to talk, Conti,”. She walks out of the double doors. “My best friend just got married and left for her honeymoon. I have things to get done so they can enjoy their time together, without worrying if items will be returned so they can get their deposits.” She rushes to her car parked in the parking lot.

  “I want to know why you left the hotel without at least a goodbye. I thought—” Her outburst cuts me off.

  “You thought what? That I would be okay with you, Mari and your, special, sweet girl?” she says the word "special" with disgust. Hearing her say that has me stopping in my tracks. She must have talked to Brittany about Maddison and found out she has Autism, and that I use the word special to play down the meaning behind it.

  She climbs in her car and the pain of watching her is like a knife stabbing deep into my chest. Those words coming from her mouth the way they did . . . well, they just changed everything.

  Three

  CRYSTAL

  Present . . .

  Conti carefully guides the young looking girl to the lounge. My gaze slowly takes her in, and it hits me that she’s very young. However, she isn’t young enough to be his daughter which has my mind racing, trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.

  Confusion isn’t something I like to feel. The need for answers is tugging at me but I'm unsure on how to ask. Deciding it might take a while to calm her from whatever is going on with her, I offer to go and prepare lunch. Sensing I need some time to wrap my brain around what just happened, Myla reluctantly agrees.

  My brain is on auto pilot as I make the sandwiches for everyone. Conti’s voice floats through the open window as he explains more about his sister and her disability. The phone rings, and my breath stops when a woman’s voice comes out loud and clear on the speaker. Conti begins to explain what happened and asks Mari how he can calm her down faster. Nothing is making sense anymore.

  As he continues to speak to her about Maddison, my heart begins to beat harder in my chest. The moment I hear Conti end the call, and then explain to Kai that she's his live-in nurse that helps with Maddison’s care . . . dread fills my stomach.

  I was wrong about that morning. I fucked up, royally.

  We could’ve been together all along. This whole fucking time I wasn’t the other woman like I stupidly assumed. Things would’ve been so much different if I hadn't let my pride and judgements get in the way.

  The fucked up thing is, it's all my fault. Knowing I had a way to find out the truth, but I just didn’t want to do it, is now the biggest regret that I’ve made in my life so far. Brittany would’ve cleared everything up, but of course, my stubborn ass wouldn’t speak with her. She called me dozens of times leaving messages to please call her, confused as she didn’t know what was going on. The only thing that stopped me from calling her or answering was my heart. It was pissed the fuck off thinking that she lied to me about how good of a guy he truly was. I'd asked her about him before I went to the hotel room with him.

  She said he was an amazing detective, and reminded her a lot o
f Curt, a man that Conti and she had worked with for years. Explaining how the past few weeks she'd grown to care for him as a big brother and that she trusted him with her life, was a shocker since she doesn’t tend to trust people easily. Those revelations are what had me assuming she would lie for him if I asked her about Maddison and Mari. People lie for their co-workers often, especially ones they feel are like family.

  Cutting ties with her without saying a word, was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. And now one of the worst things I’ve ever done. All because I was too chicken-shit to talk about that night with her. Now, I’m unsure how to make it right with not only her, but also with Conti.

  Conti lifts his sleeping sister off his lap and carries her into the room that Kai’s leading him too. She passed out about fifteen minutes ago after eating a bit of food. Myla’s getting her kids down as well. Which leaves me trying to decide if I can make it out of the house and to mine before he’s done getting her settled for a short nap.

  “Don’t even think about leaving,” Kai says as I start to move. “You two need to talk, and the sooner you do, the better. This man changed your world, and you left all because of a conversation that should have happened but didn’t.”

  “Changed her world? Really? She crushed mine. She said all she needed to when she called my sister special that night,” Conti growls as he re-enters the room.

  Confusion fills my mind as I try to figure out what the fuck he’s talking about. It hits me that he got things confused that night after the reception.

  Fuck, Kai’s right. We’re going to need to talk.

  CONTI

  Hearing Kai tell her that we need to talk brings back all the anger I felt from that one night when I tried to talk to her.