Perfect Excuse (Mason Creek Book 11)

by A. D. Justice

  It’ll be nice to slow down when we get home with the baby. I’m taking at least the first four months off work to spend that time devoted to my family.

  If I don’t die of a panic attack on the way to the hospital first.

  The first pain hits hard and fast out of nowhere, stealing my breath away. “What was that?” I thought labor pains started easy and built up over time. That wasn’t what I expected at all.

  “They say every delivery is different. Maybe this means it’ll be over sooner rather than later so you’ll have an easier time. Let’s get your seat belt on so we can get out of here.” He pulls the strap across me and clicks me in tight. After a sweet kiss, he closes the door and jogs around the front of the truck.

  “We’re starting our new adventure today, babe. You can do this, my love, and I’ll be beside you every second of the way.”

  He holds my hand all the way to the hospital in Billings. When the second pang hit, I noted the time so we could tell the doctor how far apart my contractions were coming. When we reach the hospital, they’re right at five minutes apart and gaining strength. About the time fear tries to grip me, another contraction hits and my brain decides it’s best to simply get this part done and over with.

  I agree wholeheartedly.

  “Okay, Momma, we’ll take good care of you now. Just concentrate on breathing as much as possible through the pain until we get you ready for the epidural. After that, it’ll be much easier on you.” The nurse with the sweet smile and tender disposition helps me into a wheelchair and carts me away to a private room.

  “Ry?”

  “Right behind you, babe. They’d need the entire Army here to keep me out.”

  After all the poking, prodding, and invasion of any privacy and modesty I thought I had, I’m finally able to relax in the bed. The meter spikes with each contraction, but I don’t feel a thing. It’s wonderful.

  Epidurals: Five stars. Highly recommend.

  The sweet nurse comes back in my room to check me, finding Ryder lying on the twin bed beside me. “If you’re in the bed, I have to see how far you’re dilated too. Nurse’s rules, doctor’s orders. Spread ‘em, Dad.” She pops the elastic band on her glove.

  “I’m up. I’m up.” Ryder jumps five feet away from the bed, making us both laugh.

  She measures my progress and smiles warmly up at me. “It’s time, Mom. The head is crowning, and this baby is pushing its way out. Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl?”

  “No, we didn’t find out. We wanted to be surprised. We’ll be thrilled either way.” I reach for Ryder’s hand. “Are you ready to meet our baby, Daddy?”

  “Absolutely, and I’ll never let go.” He kisses the back of my hand. “My baby Momma.”

  Another nurse joins us to lead Ryder to the delivery room while my nurse disconnects the fetal monitor. When she wheels me into the delivery room, Ryder waits with a sterile cap on his head and gown over his clothes. The doctor moves his seat between my legs and tells me when to push. Ryder acts as my cheerleader and my back support, and I bear down as hard and as long as I can each time.

  Then the most precious words I’ve ever heard fill my ears. “Liv, our baby girl is so beautiful, just like her mommy.”

  The nurse cleans her off and gives her to Ryder. He kisses her cheek and murmurs declarations of love against her skin as he crosses the room toward me. Then he places her on my chest, and I cuddle her against me. Ryder wraps his arms around us both, and we stare at her in complete amazement. The nurse snaps a picture of the three of us huddled together with an instant camera.

  “What a beautiful family.” She hands the photo to Ryder, and he holds it up for me to see. “What’s her name?”

  “Ryleigh Elise King.” Ryder and I answer at the same time then look at each other.

  “Ryder, I’m so in love with her… and with you.”

  “I love you, babe, with everything I am. You’ve made me the happiest and luckiest man in the world.”

  He means every word of it, but I know the truth. I’m the luckiest person who ever lived. Nowhere in the world would I find another man like my husband. Ryder and Ryleigh are the shining sun, and my entire universe revolves around them. Even as I lie here, cocooned in all the love I could ever ask for, I know trials and problems will come in the future because none of us can escape them. We’ll cross those roads when we reach them.

  No matter what we face, we’ll do it together… and that’s as perfect as life gets.

  Thank you for reading Perfect Excuse! I hope you enjoyed it. I love creating these characters and walking the streets of their little town with them.

  If this is your first time visiting Mason Creek, there’s so much more to our little town. Don’t miss these fabulous books!

  Mason Creek, Montana. The perfect fictional small-town. Come on over and join us.

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  From first loves to old flames, this small town is big on second chances and new beginnings.

  A picture-perfect postcard town, where everyone feels at home... and everybody under the Montana sky knows your business.

  Get lost here... find yourself here.

  Welcome to Mason Creek

  12 Books by 12 different authors.

  Perfect Risk by CA Harms

  Perfect Song by Lauren Runow

  Perfect Love by A.M. Hargrove

  Perfect Night by Terri E. Laine

  Perfect Tragedy by Jennifer Miller

  Perfect Escape by Cary Hart

  Perfect Summer by Bethany Lopez

  Perfect Embrace by Kaylee Ryan

  Perfect Kiss by Lacey Black

  Perfect Mess by Fabiola Francisco

  Perfect Excuse by A.D. Justice

  Perfect Secret by Molly McLain

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  ALL I WANT

  Rod

  The Past

  Ten months out of the year, I’m nine years older than my sister, Juliana. But for two months, our numerical age aligns perfectly at ten years apart.

  Who would have ever believed those two months could end up being a “make us or break us” deal?

  “How is she?” Dad asked from Juliana’s doorway, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t wake her. He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest and a worried expression on his face.

  “She’s had a rough day, but she seems to be resting easier now.” My gaze drifted back to my little sister and a swell of protectiveness filled my chest. Unlike other older siblings who resented not being the only child, I welcomed her into the family with open arms when she was born. Being an only child sucked, and I wanted to be a big brother.

  “She needs her medicine refilled tonight. If she wakes up sick again, we can’t let her get dehydrated. Do we have the money to afford it?” Mom moved to stand beside Dad, but she’d fixed her worried eyes on Juliana.

  “We don’t have a choice, Debbie. If our bills have to wait, they’ll just be late. Don’t stress over that, babe. Give me a few minutes and I’ll go to the twenty-four-hour pharmacy.” Dad turned his head and watched Mom for several long seconds. I remember the scene like it was yesterday because it struck me as so odd. His daughter was the one he should be focused on, yet he stared at Mom as if it he was seeing her for the first time.

  “Thank you, Chris. I know you’ve already had a long day at work. I can go if you’d rather stay home.”

  “No, babe, I’m okay. I have a feeling your day has been worse than mine.” He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then disappeared into the other room for several minutes.

  Mom took his place holding up the doorframe. That’s when bits and pieces of adult conversations I’d heard over the past couple of years started to make sense. Mom was still relatively young, only in her early thirties.
She’d married and had me when she was still a teenager. Then Juliana came along ten years later as a big surprise. The strain of holding our little family together was beginning to show in her face.

  “I’m leaving now,” Dad announced when he reappeared. “I love you.” He stroked Mom’s face with his fingertips and she instinctively leaned into his touch.

  “I love you too, Chris.”

  Then he walked over to me and motioned for me to stand. When I complied, he wrapped his arms around me and embraced me in a tight hug. “If I haven’t told you lately, I just want you to know what a wonderful son you are, Rod. You’ve had to grow up way before your time, but I’m proud of the man you’ve become. I love you, son.”

  “Love you too, Dad.”

  Careful not to wake her, he leaned over Juliana and placed light kisses on her cheek and forehead. “I love you, my little precious girl.” He straightened and turned his attention back to Mom. “She feels warm again. I think her fever is returning.”

  “We may end up in the emergency room tonight. I’m doing everything I can to avoid it.” Mom scraped her hand over her face, fighting the anxiety of a potential hospital bill we couldn’t afford to pay.

  “Some things can’t be helped, Debbie. We all do the best we can.” Dad shrugged, but the heavy weight on his shoulders only amplified the effort that simple move took.

  When he moved toward the door, Mom sent him out with her usual request. “Be careful, honey, and drive safely.”

  Dad looked over his shoulder. He wore a forlorn expression and forced a smile as he nodded.

  When he didn’t return home within the hour, Mom started to worry about him. She began running through the telltale signs of wringing her hands and looking out the window every few minutes for headlights. At hour number two, she called all the emergency rooms around Atlanta, one after the other, asking about a man who might fit his description. But her search was in vain. After a few hours with no word, she called his buddies, profusely apologizing for waking up the ones who answered.

  Despite her efforts, she had no luck finding him anywhere. I kept my vigil beside Juliana’s bed the entire night, holding a wet washcloth to her head to help bring her fever down. I wiped her mouth when the little fluid she had in her came back up and held her hand to reassure her she wouldn’t die on my watch.

  Sometime very early the next morning, I fell asleep in the sentinel position beside her bed in case she needed me again. Mom didn’t get one wink of sleep, though. She paced the floor until small streams of sunlight broke through the blinds, shedding light on the dining room table. That’s when she saw it, the note Dad had left in a place where he knew we wouldn’t find it right away.

  What lower-middle-class family ate their meals in a formal dining room?

  Some people call it a “Dear John” letter. I call it the coward’s way out.

  Dear Debbie,

  I’m sorry, but the life you want is not the life I want.

  Please don’t look for me.

  I just can’t do this anymore.

  Chris

  This was his family.

  This was his wife, his son, and his daughter.

  He deserted us, knowing Juliana desperately needed that medicine to get well. He did this, knowing Mom needed her husband and his kids needed their father. But this meant nothing to him in the end. The life he wanted was out there somewhere, in a place where we weren’t. Whatever he was searching for was obviously better than we were. Something waited for him that was more exciting. He had something new that made him want to get up in the morning and come home at night.

  We never knew what we did wrong to make him walk out and leave. None of us had a clue. The coward left that bullshit note and didn’t bother to even send us a fucking postcard in all the years that followed. I was only fourteen when I was left to help pick up the pieces of our tattered lives. He destroyed everything when he chose the absolute worst time to have a midlife crisis.

  As for his whereabouts, I don’t know if Mom ever looked for him after she found that note. I sure as hell didn’t look for him either. Our grandparents on his side of the family were devastated by his actions. He was still their son, and they loved him just the same, though. Truthfully, that only made me more bitter about the entire situation because that was a direct insult to my worth. That resentment emerged every time they tried to bring up the subject.

  Juliana and I went to visit them one weekend when I was sixteen and she was six. Even at her tender age, she understood what Chris had done to us as a family, although she wasn’t as aggressive about his betrayal as I was. When Grandma brought him up around me, it always resulted in a showdown.

  “Chris is your father, Rod. You should call and talk to him.” She felt it was her place to push us back together, always hoping for a family reconciliation. “A growing boy needs to spend time with his dad.”

  “Are you talking about the loser who left to go buy medicine for a sick little girl then never came back home? Didn’t call. Didn’t send money. Didn’t care if we had food on the table, clothes to wear, or if we were even still alive. Is that who you’re calling my father?” I loosely crossed my arms and gave her a disinterested glare.

  Her eyes teared up, and she put her hand over her heart, maybe trying to keep it from breaking in two, but my response ended the conversation. At least she never tried to justify his actions. That would’ve sent me over the edge and she wouldn’t have seen me again. When he left, my heart turned to stone. Fitting, since that’s also my last name.

  Still, Grandma and Grandpa tried to give us hints or some other small clue as to his whereabouts, hoping Juliana and I would contact him on our own. But neither of us took the bait. By that time, he was dead to me anyway, and I didn’t want him to come back or try to make amends for anything. Watching Mom wear herself out to feed, clothe, and keep a roof over our heads during those years had sealed Chris’s fate with me.

  During the four years after he left us, I did everything I could to help Mom keep us alive. When she worked extra shifts at the carpet mill, I played with Juliana, read her books, cooked her meals with what little food we had, and made sure she took her bath every night. When Mom came home after spending eighteen to twenty hours on her feet, working in a hot warehouse-style building, she somehow still made time to ask about our days, our grades, and our friends. We never felt as though we were a burden or that we came last to her.

  Grandma and Grandpa tried to pick up some of his slack. They knew Christmas and birthday presents were luxury items our pitiful little family couldn’t afford to waste wishes on, much less spend money to buy. They made sure the major holidays and milestones were covered. On my sixteenth birthday, an old beater car appeared in our driveway and mysteriously never had an unpaid car insurance bill. Then, there was the Dell laptop and printer they insisted I needed so I could do my homework and get into a good college.

  While Mom worked and Juliana slept, I studied every computer language book I could find until I could code new programs in my sleep. Technology was growing by leaps and bounds and only seemed to be more promising in the future. That’s where I set my sights from an early age. Fueled by vengeance, but determined, nonetheless, I vowed our little family would never struggle again.

  Keep reading here: ALL I WANT

  Afterword

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for taking the time to read this book and visit the fictional town of Mason Creek, Montana. The other authors in this collaboration and I fell in love with this place and the characters who live there. We sincerely hope you love it too and visit all the characters we’ve created for the full experience.

  While I always strive to make every book as realistic and entertaining as possible, I reserve the right to use creative license where I deem necessary in my books. In the case of Ryder and Livvy, Montana does not have the “no sex during a legal separation” rule. However, Georgia does have that rule, so the requirement is valid somewhere… just not in Mason Cre
ek.

  Please don’t use this book as your legal guide. It is for entertainment purposes only.

  Lots of love,

  A.D. Justice

  Books by A.D. Justice

  Steele Security Series

  Wicked Games (Book 1)

  Wicked Ties (Book 2)

  Wicked Nights (Book 3)

  Wicked Intentions (Book 4)

  Wicked Shadows (Book 5)

  Crossing Lines Series

  Fine Line

  Blurred Line

  Hard Line

  All of Me Series

  All I Want

  All I Need

  The Vault Series

  Warning Part One

  Warning Part Two

  Warning Part Three

  The Crazy Series

  Crazy Maybe (Book 1)

  Crazy Baby (Book 2)

  Crazy Love (Book 3, Free Short Story)

  Dominic Powers Series

  Her Dom (Book 1)

  Her Dom’s Lesson (Book 2)

  Covis Realm, Easthaven Crest Series

  Cloaked

  Deceived

  Unveiled

  Stand—alone Novels

  Saving Grace

  Completely Captivated

  Intent

  Mistletoe Not Required

  Immortal Envy

  Just One Summer

  About the Author

  A.D. Justice is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of several series and stand-alone romance novels in various romance genres, including romantic suspense, contemporary, and paranormal.

  When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her alpha male husband in the Northwest Georgia mountains. They’re living out their own HEA, frequently on horseback with a dog in tow.