The Race

by Alice Ward

  Hunter stood next to Lillie, who was looking much better than the first time I saw her. She had gained a little weight and looked much healthier, and I suspected love had added some rosiness to her cheeks.

  She’d been doing so well after spending over ten months in the California rehab center and was now immersing herself in plans for a second shelter after Caleb purchased the Good Samaritan that he’d installed sprinklers in.

  I was so happy for her and Caleb and Hunter that when she followed with cups, I was ready to face whatever happened today with a smile.

  My younger siblings had done well setting up the table, and even a few neighbors were trickling over to join the residents of the house. Kyle stood in front of the grill, flipping burgers and discussing sauces with Hawk.

  “Sis! Sis!” Honey and Isabella came running past Grace, who was stacking paper plates, and stopped in front of me, holding what might’ve been the prettiest dolls I’d ever seen. “Uncle Caleb got us dolls that look like us!”

  I took a closer look and saw that the dolls did indeed share a lot of the features the girls possessed. I looked to Caleb and he just smiled in that slightly nervous way he had earlier. I was pretty sure that he enjoyed giving gifts just as much as Honey and Isabella enjoyed getting them, but something was still wrong.

  “How beautiful. Did you tell Caleb thank you?”

  “Thank you!” they shouted in unison then dashed off, and as I watched them wrap the dolls in tiny blankets, I pushed my worry away. I knew, especially in Isabella’s case, that too much of their childhood had been spent with worry and making do.

  I crossed to Caleb and planted a kiss on his cheek. He pulled me to his side, letting his arm wrap around my waist.

  “I think Hunter is flirting with your sister.” I gestured to his friend, who was leaning in closer than necessary to carry on a conversation with Lillie.

  “I think he is,” Caleb said with a frown.

  “They both look happy.”

  I’d known there was something between the two the night Lillie went off to rehab in California, but I hadn’t realized it was as deep as it appeared to be. She’d been home for a month and according to Caleb, he’d barely seen Hunter outside of work because they’d been spending all their free time together.

  “I knew he had feelings for her, but she’s way too nice for him,” Caleb grumbled.

  I held in a laugh as Caleb’s frown grew deeper when Hunter’s hand gripped Lillie’s arm. In a teasing voice, I said, “Maybe she likes a bad boy.”

  Caleb’s eyebrows shot up. “Hmm. She wouldn’t be the first woman I know like that,” Caleb said, equally amused. “But who said Hunter was a bad boy?”

  “Refresh my memory. Who dragged you to an illegal fight in an abandoned parking garage?”

  “Ah, you have a point.”

  “Hey, everybody!” Colby called. “Come get it!”

  We watched as the residents of the house got in line to fill their plates.

  When everyone had lined up, I pulled on his arm. “C’mon, I’m starving.”

  “You know I’d never let that happen.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a laugh. “If you had your way, you would package me in Bubble Wrap and have someone feed me at scientifically perfected intervals.”

  “That’s actually not a bad idea…”

  I joshed his arm before grabbing both of us a paper plate from the table. “Don’t you even think about it.”

  He raised his hands solemnly as if he were making an oath. “Consider it gone, dismissed to the void forever.”

  “Good.”

  We waited in line with my family and neighbors, even Caleb’s father had showed up for the cookout. We all sat on folding chairs or around tables that had been set up. More neighbors and associates of Caleb’s trickled in until we had a real crowd going.

  I thought back to when Mama and Sage and I had struggled to support the family without Dad. We never would have been able to afford a meal this extravagant. Now, we could if we wanted. We could afford to throw a party this big after a year of fighting and endorsements, and of course all of Caleb’s doting. We were finally in a much better position than we had been since we lost Dad.

  And I owed all of it to the man beside me.

  My heart panged at the idea that he wasn’t telling me something, and I found myself studying him uncertainly. Sage was telling him and Caleb’s dad a joke and both of them were laughing, while Honey and Isabella ate at their feet.

  Andre must have rolled up sometime while I was inside, because he was sitting on the ground on a blanket with his wife and their adopted baby, letting Clementine exclaim over the toddler’s tiny fingers and toes.

  Mama was boasting about Colby’s skills to anyone who would listen while he blushed vibrantly as he helped dish out the burgers.

  It was such a warm scene, and for the first time since Dad passed, I felt well and truly whole.

  I was so intent on cherishing the moment, burning it into my brain so I never forgot it, that I didn’t notice that Caleb had stood up. It wasn’t until he cleared his throat and asked for everyone’s attention that I snapped out of it.

  “Thank you everyone for coming today,” he said, his voice booming and confident. “As some of you may know, this is a celebration of opening the second edition of Good Samaritan Shelter, as well as the return of my sister and Cherry’s three-zero streak. We have so much to celebrate, but it’s also even more than that. This is a celebration of new beginnings.”

  Caleb paused and seemed to gather his thoughts, then his eyes landed on me. Something in his gaze made a string of giddiness draw up in my stomach, making it clench.

  “Cherry is the most hardworking, deserving woman I know. She has never taken anything given to her for granted, and to be honest, she hasn’t had a hell of a lot given to her but has worked for every portion.”

  I blushed at the compliment, wondering what the hell he was doing. Caleb wasn’t the type for overdrawn speeches for no reason, which meant that all of this had to have a point. But what could it be? I looked around at the faces of the others for a clue, and Neddie, the guard from Caleb’s building, winked and grinned.

  “This family, the Bowers, are some of the warmest, kindest people that I have ever met. They have welcomed me with open arms and made me a part of a unit that I never thought I would be able to experience.” Caleb dug in his pocket. “So, for that reason and many more, Cherry, I’ve been waiting to give you this.”

  Walking slowly to me, his shining blue eyes on mine, he pulled a small black box out of his pocket. I had no idea what to do. The whole world changed to white and tilted. My fingertips went numb as he opened the box and revealed… two sets of keys.

  “Miss Cherry Bowers, I have bought a house that’s perfect for us. Would you do me the honor of moving in with me?”

  All the air rushed out of my lungs as Mama made a horrified sound. I stood in stunned silence for a second as everyone at the party watched without breathing.

  Move in with him?

  “After… well, I guess I should ask first.” Before I could say a word, his other hand dipped into his other pocket, and he dropped down on one knee. “Cherry, will you marry me?”

  “I—” came out of me as my eyes went to Mama, whose hands were covering her mouth. There was a quick twist of guilt for even thinking about leaving my mama and brothers and sisters.

  “Did you really think I would leave them behind?” He pulled out a ring of more keys. “I probably should have mentioned that I also purchased the house next door. It’s a five bedroom, three and a half bath. Plenty of room for all of them, and I’m having a covered walk added to connect the two houses.”

  I gasped, tears I’d been holding back spilling over, so shocked that no words would come out.

  He stood, wrapping his arms around me and planting a solid kiss on my mouth. “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes!” I shrieked as I fell into him.

  A cheer rose from those aro
und us, and I blushed furiously. My family rushed in for a hug.

  “You knew!” I said as Mama took me into her arms. “You had to know!”

  “Of course, my fighter,” she said, eyes twinkling. “Who do you think helped pick out the houses?”

  I couldn’t believe it. Set up by my own mother!

  But I couldn’t be happier. I didn’t think there had been a more perfect moment in existence.

  Even though I’d closed myself off to the thought of ever having a significant other, I had found my forever in the arms of Caleb Birchmeir.

  With my family and friends gathered around me and the love we all kept strong, I knew that this was just another beginning.

  Perhaps even the best one yet.

  THE END

  Continue on to read a special sneak peek of my recent release, The Escape.

  A Sneak Peek

  THE ESCAPE

  Alice Ward

  CHAPTER ONE

  Maddie

  “Yes, she will do nicely.”

  Through willpower alone, I suppressed a shudder as my future husband lifted my chin and scrutinized my features. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he asked me to open my mouth so that he could inspect my teeth. I dreaded what he would be free to inspect in three months’ time, after our… I swallowed hard. After our wedding.

  I jerked my face away from his increasingly tighter grip, but he just grinned, looking genuinely pleased. “Ah, you show some backbone. Unexpected…” he leaned closer, his breath hot against the side of my face, “but I like that.” His nostrils flared, as did the black pupils within his almost equally black eyes. “Fight me, Princess. It’s exciting. But be warned, I fight back.”

  Refusing to look away from him, refusing to show weakness, I forced my breath to remain steady as his fingers trailed down my arm. Nausea roiled in my belly, but I refused to allow my distress to show. I couldn’t. No, I wouldn’t. Even though one question rang in my ears.

  How had it come to this?

  As the fifth daughter of Phillipe and Jacqueline Birgitta, King and Queen of Aldcliff, I had been born with one purpose… to marry well. After daring to be born a female, my entire existence had been formed and molded into creating the perfect wife to any man my father deemed a suitable match.

  But this?

  Only hours before, my father had told me in no uncertain terms that this man would be my destiny, and that his ties to the Cesacaia fortune were too great for my “antics” to get in the way.

  “You are nearly twenty-one, my dear, and I’ve allowed your diversion of your royal duties to go on for far too long,” Papa said after I’d been abruptly woken. “You will fulfill your duties. The contract has been signed. It is done.”

  I had been hastily bathed and dressed in the body covering lace dress I currently found myself in. The dress itself was a contradiction, covering me from chin to ankle to wrist, although it clung to my every curve, challenging the purist feel of the morning gown.

  After I was properly prepared, I’d been presented to the man before me.

  The man I knew was my worst fear come true.

  My four older sisters had been lucky. They were matched well and appeared to be happy with the lives chosen for them. Well… if not happy, then content. I’d seen them all only a month before, when they and their growing families had traveled back for my father’s birthday celebration. It had been quite the event, the King of Aldcliff turning fifty. Heads of State from all over Europe had descended on our small island to wish him well. Photographs of the event had swept across the globe, or so I’d been told.

  From what I’d since learned, the photographs of me were what had captured Prince Vitalievich’s attention. He just so happened to be in the market for another bride. And I just so happened to be on the seller’s block.

  I met the dark eyes of Prince Vitalievich and lifted my chin. His grin grew broader, his eyes impossibly darker. His gaze was like a knife slicing my skin.

  Goose bumps raised on my arms, a reflex so involuntary I didn’t know they were there until I shivered. He seemed pleased as his hand moved up my arm, then down to take my hand, the soft palm and perfectly manicured nails an indication of the pampered life he led.

  “I see I affect you too, Princess. If we were alone, I’d see just how affected you were…” his voice was low, intimate in the space between us, “everywhere.”

  Tears stung the backs of my eyes, and I widened them, forcing the traitorous tears away. I knew what he was implying. I’d been taught the ways of pleasing a man — anatomically, at least. It was part of my tutoring for the role in which I was born. To become the perfect wife, and to keep my husband satisfied in every way possible.

  But my body had never been touched.

  Not this intimately. This suggestively.

  I had never been left alone with a man. Not that my life had been feared for. Only my virginity. Yet another value I’d bring to the table.

  I waited for the guards to come forward, to shove him away. To protect me as I’d been protected these past twenty years. No one dared touched royalty. A hand wasn’t even extended to me until I extended mine first. This freedom he was taking with me was outrageous.

  But they didn’t, and when Prince Vitalievich stepped even closer, the tips of his shoes touching mine, his thumb brushed over my breast as his hand moved up my arm again.

  To my horror, my nipple contracted. Not from desire but from cold. From fear.

  If this man would be so forward as to touch me this way in front of my parents and the royal guards… I shuddered again, hating myself for the weakness the involuntary movement portrayed. My heart was pounding in my ears. Horror clogging my throat.

  I didn’t move. I didn’t say a word or make a sound. My breath had grown so shallow that my chest barely moved in and out.

  I was frozen.

  The perfect wife… seen but not heard.

  Over the years, this position had been trained and ingrained in me. Face relaxed. Shoulders back. Hands serenely at my sides. I was able to stand at this level of attention for hours, maintaining my posture and focus through the most tedious of events.

  And I knew, from the outside, just how serene I appeared. I’d been forced to study my every action and be fully conscious of my presence my entire life. I’d stood in front of mirrors, re-watched video taken of my performance as instructors pointed out any flaws.

  Now, I knew my outward appearance was perfect.

  Inside, though, I was screaming. Clawing. Begging.

  Papa… no. Please… no.

  “Madeleina is a fine choice,” my father said from his throne, sipping from a golden glass of wine, even at this early hour, and looking very pleased. He didn’t meet my eyes when I looked his way. “As I told you before, she has a high spirit that I’m sure you’ll find pleasing.”

  A grin spread on the prince’s face, and although I’d only met this man less than an hour ago, I already knew him well. Knew what he was thinking. He was looking forward to breaking my spirit. And I would have no choice but to let him. Or fight him at every turn.

  “Yes,” the prince said. “Her spirit pleases me greatly.”

  A month away from twenty-one, I’d delayed this day as long as possible. My elder sisters had been matched and married by their eighteenth year, all mothers by my age. I shouldn’t have waited. I shouldn’t have begged for more time. I should have married the sixty-seven-year-old oil billionaire who wanted me last year. Or the one before him, or any of the ones before that one.

  Anyone but this dark-eyed monster in front of me now.

  From what little I’d learned since being awoken this morning, my father and the prince had been in negotiations for the past two weeks. The link between our two countries would be powerful.

  And I was to be that fragile link.

  Me, and the sons I would be expected to provide after the prince’s other wives had born only daughters.

  There was no more time. No more begging.
/>   “It is time you honor your country,” Papa said earlier, while I was still in my dressing gown, disheveled and stunned.

  “Please. No. I—”

  He held up a hand. “I told you, it is done. Be prepared to meet your betrothed in two hours’ time. The ceremony will take place in late August.”

  I stared at him. Three months? I had only three months to prepare.

  “An engagement announcement and party will be held in your honor next week. Then, we shall sail for the mainland the following day.”

  I was growing lightheaded, but one word broke through the haze. “Sail, Father?”

  He nodded, his eyes sparkling as his first smile of our meeting appeared. “Your prince is gifting our family with a yacht for the voyage. It’s a beauty too.”

  It was like a slap. I was being traded for a boat. Or at least the vessel was part of my payment package, and the realization had made me cold with fury.

  “We will sail to Monaco, then fly to Paris, where an array of engagement celebrations will take place.” Papa smiled, but it was more of a baring of teeth. “The voyage will give you time to get to know each other better.”

  At that time, I didn’t even know the name of man I’d be marrying, and yet my stomach had curled and churned, nearly turning in on itself.

  Now, I knew to whom I’d be speaking my vows.

  And I instinctively knew there would be no happy ever after that I’d dreamed of.

  Once, my eldest sister had somehow smuggled in a romance novel. A tall man with long, flowing blond hair graced the cover, a beautiful brunette standing before him, her gown falling down her shoulders, nearly revealing her breasts.

  I’d read the book a dozen times, at least. Probably more, based on how the pages had torn away from the binding. Other than the fact that it was the only book I’d ever read that hadn’t been approved by my many tutors, something else stood out to me.

  The novel had been set in the 19th century, where women were property to be used as men pleased. Sold to the highest bidder or used as a bargaining chip. And the women had no say as to their destiny.