“I’m thinkin’ ‘bout takin’ a trip out there soon just to check up on things.”
“I think that would be a good idea. You could stay for a week or two and give Bradley a break.”
“I don’t know if I’d wanna stay that long…” he trailed off.
“Well, I’ll come with ya if it helps,” I smiled.
Flynn had put his ranch hand on full-time duty, and Bradley checked in every once in a while, to see how things were going. Flynn had traveled back once since he’d arrived in Paris and when he came back, I could tell he had missed me. We stayed up that entire night feeding each other food and making love to one another on my couch, and when I’d woken up that morning he wouldn’t even let me go take a damn shower!
So, I knew that me going with him would help him to actually go back and check on things.
“I think I’d like that,” Flynn smirked.
“I know,” I winked.
Flynn and I had also moved out of the heart of the city. It was a massive transition for me, but because Flynn was determined to learn how to drive and have a car of his own, transportation was no longer an issue. I still took the busses and trains into town, but he was now able to get around on his own. I knew he liked the freedom.,
I came home one day to see all our things packed in the one truck he found in all of Paris, and I had no fucking clue what was up to his sleeve. He just told me he had a surprise for me, and when I looked up at my apartment, I could see other people already moving into it.
I jumped into his truck, fuming at the idea that he’d subleased my apartment without telling me about it, but when we hit the outskirts of the city, and the hills began to roll, I felt sort of like I was at home. My eyes darted along the wineries and vineyards, and beautiful sprawling French mansions peppered the roads we were traveling down, and when we took a sharp right and hit a gravel driveway, all the memories from the past few years came barreling back to my mind.
College. Flynn. His encouragement throughout my college years. The summer horse camps I helped with. Flynn’s home. The horse accident. How he cared for me. The first time I told him I loved him. The way he looked at the airport as I was leaving.
It all came flooding back, but tears crested my eyes when the beautiful home that was sitting at the end of it came into view.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
“It still needs some work, but that’s sort of what I do,” Flynn smiled.
“Holy shi-... this is ours!?” I shrieked.
“Yep. Closed on it today. I was lucky to find a sub-lease that was lookin’ for a place quick.”
I slammed myself out of his truck and went running to the porch, and when I saw the beautiful rocking chairs over in the corner, I felt my tears streaming down my face.
And then, I heard whinnying in the background.
“Flynn…?” I asked.
“Come on,” he smiled.
I ran and took his hand, and he led me around back, and when the backyard came into view, I was absolutely stunned. Three horses were in the field with two different foals, and five bulls were over in another part of the yard altogether. Hills upon hills sprawled out in the background, and there was a silver barn way off in the distance.
“That’s the heifer barn. There’s seven of ‘em in there. And don’t worry, I plan to ride the horses out to it until I can get me a four-wheeler or somethin’.”
“Flynn! I breathed.
Apparently, one of the people he ran into at the rodeo owned this farm at one point, but were actually switching their profession and looking to sell. He’d injured himself pretty badly and was losing money bringing in people to take care of the animals he trained and took after they were retired from the rodeo circuit, and that shit was right up Flynn’s alley. The price he quoted included all the animals, and Flynn simply couldn’t turn it down.
Not when there were animals involved.
“I’m sorry, I’m just still in shock with the house,” I said after I swallowed a massive bite.
“I know, but I think I got somethin’ that’ll trump it,” Flynn smirked.
“Jesus, Flynn. I can’t handle anything else. Can’t ya just let a woman’s heart rest a bit?” I asked.
“Not a chance,” he murmured.
I giggled and took a drink of my water, and when I turned my head back around to him, there was a little box in his hand. I froze, feeling my entire body lock up with shock, and when I slowly panned my eyes up to his face, he clicked the box open and showed me what was inside.
It was a beautiful diamond ring glistening in the dim light of the restaurant, and everyone around us had stilled to watch and listen.
“Chelsea August, you are, single-handedly, the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Ya make me feel at home in a city that I shouldn’t belong in, ya warm my body at night after I’ve been fightin’ with them damn bulls, and watchin’ you do what you love day in and day out lets me know I pushed you to do the right thing in college.”
Tears of joy trickled down my cheeks as my gaze slowly rose to his.
“When your mama called me that day, I thought I’d lost you. I thought that I’d never get a chance to ever tell you I loved you again, or hold you close to me and kiss those sweet lips of yours, or even cuddle you into my side while we watched a movie. I saw all them memories slip away from me, and it made me sick.”
I heard sniffling around us while tears glistened in Flynn’s eyes, and I couldn’t help but wrap my small hands around his wrists that were suspended with the ring in midair.
“I prayed to God that night that if He pulled you outta this… if you came back to me… I’d do all the things I never thought I’d get to do with you ever again. I’d take you on adventures, and I’d kiss your lips at night, and I’d hunker down behind you just to make sure you were safe every single time you slept.”
“Oh, Flynn,” I choked out.
“Chelsea August, I love every single part of you. I have since I was 19, and I will until I’m 109. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
The entire restaurant fell under a hushed state, and a smile bloomed deep across my cheeks. My body was shaking, and my legs were trembling, but when I shot myself into Flynn’s lap and crashed my lips onto his, the entire restaurant erupted into cheers and chants of congratulations.
“Yes, Flynn,” I whispered into his lips, “I will marry you and together we’ll make a beautiful family.”
He took that beautiful ring out of the box and slid it onto my finger. “A family?” He asked, eyes hopeful.
I laughed, “Yeah, that last appointment was more than I bargained for with the doctor. We’re having a baby!”
He kissed my lips and then all over my face. I relished in his touch, my eyes wet even though I was laughing.
He stood up and announced to the whole place, “I’m going to be a father!”
Everyone applauded and that’s when something was set on our table.
“Courtesy of the owner,” the waiter nodded. “Toutes nos félicitations.”
And when we opened up the little envelope, it was a note that simply read, “On The House.”
“I love you, Flynn,” I smiled through my tears.
“And I love you, Chelsea,” he smiled back.
2X the Heat
2x The Heat
A Ménage Firefighter Romance
By Nicole Elliot
Hi Kittens!
So this book is dirty as sin. If you’re not into crazy wild sexy times then this book isn’t for you. If you are… well, you’re in for a treat!
1
Bree
I heaved a long sigh and ran my hands through my hair. I’d been staring at my laptop screen for hours now, looking for jobs online, and I hadn’t found anything remotely satisfying yet. Seriously, how hard could it be to find a decent, well-paying job that wouldn’t require me to spend twelve hours at work almost seven days in a week?
I had no options. I hadn’t gone to college
because I hadn’t been able to afford it, and even now, several years later, the situation hadn’t changed at all. I was still penniless and unable to pursue my dreams. I lived in a rundown building with my aging grandmother, Agnes, and we were literally stuck here. I was taking care of her, and all duties and responsibilities lay on me.
“Come on,” I muttered, punching my touchpad too harshly.
Our apartment, which we’d been renting for years now, was cruddy and pretty ancient. It was so old, actually, that I feared the ceiling would come down on us one day. There was mold everywhere, covering the cracked walls that had transformed from their original white color into yellow, and the musty smell all around was everlasting. My room was so small that I barely had place for my desk, bookshelf, and bed, and spending time in it often felt suffocating.
I didn’t like our apartment in the least, but I didn’t know where else to go. Renting any other place was out of the question, because the prices in Seattle were unreasonably high. This was the best we could find with our limited funds.
“Bree, dear? It’s so late, and you’re still awake?” My grandmother entered the living room, a deep frown twisting her face.
She was near her seventies, grays in her shoulder-length hair almost matching the grayish color of her eyes. They usually glimmered with calm, but now they reflected her concern, and something tightened in my chest. I didn’t like worrying her unnecessarily, so I never complained to her how overwhelmed I was with all the responsibility.
She wasn’t sick or anything. She just grew more tired each day, because her age was getting to her. She moved slower and couldn’t do as much around the house as she could before. She often looked pale, her fragile-looking, wrinkled hands shaking whenever she carried something, and it was difficult seeing her this way. She’d always been enthusiastic and full of energy, but she changed these last few years, and it was a bitter reminder that she wouldn’t always be next to me.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, refusing to think about this. “I’m sorry. I’m just searching for a job. We need money, you and I both know it, so I wanted to stay up until I finally found something...” My voice died. I felt like a disappointment. Apparently, I wasn’t able to find even a simple job, let alone keep us afloat.
She came right behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders, massaging the spots that ached the most. She always knew what I needed. Her massage helped me get over the stress and lessened the stiffness of my muscles.
“Honey, it’s okay,” she said in a soothing way. “You don’t have to beat yourself up about it. I’m sure you’ll find a job soon. I have faith in you.”
I sighed and rolled my head in circles, popping my joints. “Yeah? Well, I’ve been looking for weeks now, and there is still nothing. Nothing good, I mean. Some of them don’t pay enough, and others have some absurd conditions. Then there is the issue with the location. I want to be near you so I could come quickly if something happens—”
“Stop worrying needlessly. I’m fine. You don’t have to be concerned about me at all. You’re already doing all you can, and I don’t want to see you so stressed. You need to relax and live your life. You’re too young to worry this much.”
It was easy for her to say that. I knew she only wanted the best for me, and she was in no condition to work, obviously, but I couldn’t relax when everything depended on me. We had no one. My parents weren’t even worth mentioning.
My mom had drug issues, and nobody knew where she was, doing whatever she could to get her next fix. I’d never gotten along with her—not that I wanted to really. She’d never been a proper mother figure to me, missing for the most part of my childhood. My grandmother had been the one who took me in and treated me like I was her own daughter, and I was eternally grateful to her for that.
My dad, on the other hand, was never in the picture. He’d left my mother and me when I was two, and he never looked back. I only knew his name. I’d never even seen his picture, and I had no clue about his whereabouts. I preferred it that way, though. I couldn’t bring myself to think about him or care.
“What about you? Why are you still awake?”
“I said to myself I was going to read one more chapter and go to bed, but that one chapter turned into ten, and before I knew it, they were having their happily ever after.”
I turned to look at her, cracking a huge smile. My grandmother’s weakness was her historical romance novels.
“I guess that the bad guy received an eternal punishment for his wrongdoings in the end?”
She nodded, her face showing her satisfaction with the story’s conclusion. “Dead and buried.”
I erupted into laughter, wishing I could get lost in those fictional worlds too. I could be able to escape the everyday stresses that way, but unlike my grandmother, I wasn’t that easily distracted.
“If only the real life was so magical.”
She brushed her hand across my cheek, pouring all her love into this gentle touch. Her eyes held mine with warmth and care. “It will be one day. I’m sure that everything will come into its place soon.”
I surely hoped so. I wanted to make a life for myself and do what I loved. I was smart, and I wanted to be able to go to college and be a teacher one day, like I’d always wanted, but money was still an issue. I liked working with children, and I had a passion for teaching. It would fulfill me.
“How can you be so sure? I mean, I get it. I have to stay positive and strong, but it’s so difficult when we’re struggling so much. I’ve been without a job for so long, and our savings are almost completely depleted.”
“You’re smart, Bree. You’ll find the answer. I remember waiting for a job for more than five years! Imagine that. Those were different times, and if there wasn’t your grandfather, Thomas, we wouldn’t be able to survive at all, but I believed things would be okay in the end, and they were.”
Her eyes clouded for a moment at the mention of my grandfather. He’d died from cancer before I even met him, so all I knew about him came from what my grandmother had told me. According to her, he was a kind man who liked to help everyone, and people liked him. He was a sailor, often away from home, but their marriage was always strong—their love never dying, just like in the romance stories my grandmother constantly read.
Maybe that’s why she read so much, trying to remind her of her own great love story.
“Do you miss him, Granny?”
She sat on the sofa next to me. “Every day, but I know he is in a better place, so I don’t feel sad. I have so many fond memories of him, and they are enough.”
I took her hand. “If only people nowadays could have the kind of love you and he had. I feel like love isn’t what it was before.”
She squeezed my hand. “Love is the same, honey. You just haven’t found the right person for you. You’re such a beautiful girl, and I have no doubt that some prince in a shining armor will come soon and sweep you off your feet.”
I returned her smile. “You think? All I’d been seeing lately are some immature jerks who don’t even know what they want in their life.”
“There are those kinds of people too, yes, but don’t dismiss all men as unworthy.”
So far my experiences with men weren’t positive at all. My first boyfriend cheated on me, and my second boyfriend was an alcoholic. Then I had a series of short relationships that didn’t lead anywhere because I wasn’t able to build any deeper connection with them. All they cared about was themselves. Their career. Their families. Their lives.
It was never about me, or us. So much for men putting women first. Not in my experience, not yet anyway.
“I wish I could meet someone as sweet and thoughtful as your Thomas. Someone as romantic and caring as him.” Maybe this mystery man would even help me with a solution to my epic financial problems.
Ha. As if.
“Oh, you will. I already imagine you with six children, two dogs, and a gorgeous looking husband in a huge house next to the sea.”
; “Granny, your imagination knows no boundaries.” I shook my head. “That happens only in movies.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong. It happens to those who believe, so you should believe in it.”
“If you say so.”
She was right, though. Lately I was feeling down and slightly pessimistic, which wasn’t usual for me, maybe I should listen to her more. She always gave me good advice and only wanted the best for me.
“I know so.” She tapped my hand and stood up. “Alright. I’m ready to go to bed now. I hope you won’t stay much longer out here.” She caressed my hair. “You need your beauty sleep, gotta find that prince, right?” She winked at me.
I snorted. “Don’t worry. Let me just finish this and I’ll go to bed too.”
“Okay. I love you, Bree.”
My heart swelled and I smiled at her. Seriously, why was I so worried about everything when I had her next to me? I had this wonderful woman who loved me more than anything, and she was always there to cheer me up and support me, no matter what I did or how bad things were.
“I love you too, Granny. Thank you for the advice. You’re right, I know you are. Everything will be okay. Things are a bit complicated now, but they can’t be like that forever. Right?”
“Absolutely. That’s the spirit. Good night.”
“Good night.”
I watched her leave, feeling better. I looked back at my screen, rubbing my tired eyes. I’d been without a job before and we’d managed, so I had to believe something would come up soon. Nothing came out of negativity and doubt. Nothing good anyway.
I went to one more job search website and skimmed over its contents, thinking about that mysterious guy who would sweep me off my feet, like my grandmother had said. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was like and when I was going to meet him.
My insides churned with anticipation. What if he was going to ride up on the horse soon? What if the right man for me was right around the corner? Could I really be able to experience the love my grandparents had shared?
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