by Ash, Nikki
“Tristan? What are you doing bud? The twins are only three months old. You know they sleep a lot.”
“You told me to watch them. This is the first time you both left them. I had to make sure to watch them good.”
“He hasn’t left that spot since you both left. He takes being a big brother very seriously,” my mother says.
“You’re the best big brother,” I point out to Tristan, making his face light up. I sit down next to him, looking at my beautiful little girls, remembering the night I thought for sure I would never get to meet them.
The bright lights.
The crunching sound.
The screaming.
The silence.
For the briefest moment, I thought for sure fate was fucking with me, and presenting me with the most sick, twisted form of déjà vu. The ambulance was called and when we got to the hospital, I wasn’t allowed in the back with Tristan because legally, I wasn’t his father. The nurse broke the rules and let me know Tristan had a couple bruises on his head but was otherwise perfect.
Ashley was rushed back to be assessed and after a thorough check had nothing more than a broken arm. The babies both had perfect heart beats and the doctor said everything looked good. It was a close call, but for whatever reason, we were all protected. Ashley swears Gabby and Gabe were our guardian angels, looking down and protecting us.
The next day, since the hospital insisted on keeping the two of them over night to be monitored, we made it to our destination. I purchased a cabin near Bentley and Kayla’s so we could continue our tradition of skiing during the holidays. We spent the rest of the week at the resort taking it easy, and once we returned home I doted on Ashley the entire rest of her pregnancy.
After the accident at the hospital, and the doctors refusing to talk to me about Tristan since I wasn’t his legal guardian, Ashley and I filed the papers with the court for me to legally adopt Tristan, only to find out the papers that asshole Tyler gave her were fake. I hired a PI to locate him, and we found out he was killed shortly after taking the money from Ashley, a fight gone bad. Since he was no longer living, it made it easy for me to adopt Tristan, officially making him my son four months later.
Two months after me legally becoming Tristan’s father, Morgan and Emma made me a father of three. They graced us with their presence on September 2nd via Caesarean. Morgan was brought into the world first weighing 5 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 inches long. Emma came next at 6 lbs. even and 20 ½ inches long.
Once the twins were six weeks old, we brought them to Denver to meet my grandparents and I am glad we did because a few days later, my grandmother passed away in her sleep. We stayed for the funeral and flew home a few days afterward. Now we are back for Thanksgiving, since we are planning to go to Breckenridge for Christmas.
Morgan starts stretching her tiny arms out and Tristan jumps up to make sure she is ok. He is not a fan of them crying, at all.
“She’s ok, bud.”
“Mom, I think she’s hungry. Grab her a bottle.”
Emma starts wiggling as well. “Mom, wait!” Ashley looks back at him from the doorway. “Emma needs one, too. Hurry before they cry.”
I look over at my wife and smile. She holds back her laugh. “Sure thing.”
Both babies start to whine, waking up more, ready to be fed. “Dad, grab Emma and I’ll pat Morgan.”
When I don’t pick her up quick enough, Tristan says, “Dad, now!”
“Tristan, you know it’s ok for them to cry, right?”
He looks at me like I just told him he would never be allowed to fight again. “Ok, ok. Got it.”
I pick up my sweet princess, talking softly to her as she continues to stretch. Before the crying starts, Ashley hands me a bottle and I pop it right into Emma’s mouth.
Ashley picks up Morgan and once Tristan is situated sitting Indian style with a nursing pillow in his lap—We bought it just for him to hold the babies so he could feed them—Ashley sets Morgan down and hands Tristan the bottle. Morgan starts to whimper but Tristan puts the nipple into her mouth before it gets loud. “Whew, that was close,” he says dead serious.
We all look at each other, holding in our laughter.
Ashley
I look around at the people in front of me. Tristan is feeding Morgan, softly patting her head, and Kaden is feeding Emma. The night of our wedding, when we got into that car accident, I knew we would all be ok. Many people don’t believe in ghosts and angels but after that night I am not one of them.
When the car hit us, I know what I saw, two pairs of angel wings flying above. I believe Gabrielle and Gabe were watching us from above that night and protected us, and nobody will ever tell me any different.
When we came to Denver to visit Kaden’s family, I insisted on needing a few minutes alone with Gabrielle and Gabe at the cemetery. I needed to thank them for shielding us and protecting us from harm’s way. Kaden doesn’t really believe it or understand. I don’t blame him. Unless you saw the wings the way I saw them, it’s hard to convince someone to believe.
I sit down in front of the two headstones and place a single rose on the top of Gabrielle’s. ‘Hey there, I’m Ashley. Although you probably know that, since you are up in heaven looking down on us. I just wanted to say thank you for protecting us. I just want you to know that I am going to make sure Kaden is always happy. I have seen the pictures of you two and I know how much you loved each other. Your love is one people wish for their entire lives and I promise to live every day loving him the way you would have. Thank you for being our guardian angel that night.’
Turning to Gabe’s headstone, I place a set of boxing gloves. ‘Thank you for protecting us. Your daddy misses you every day. Soon you will have a couple of siblings. I will make sure they know you saved them that night.’
“Hey Ash, you ready to go home?” I shake myself out of my memory and see both babies are fed and smiling. Tristan is staring at Morgan in awe and Kaden’s parents are both smiling at us.
“Yep, I sure am.”
Kaden and I both stand up. He hands me Emma but before releasing her, pulls me close to him, giving me a kiss. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you, more.”
Kaden
Eight years later…
I’m sitting on top of the picnic table in the backyard staring at my wife’s ass while she lays out on her towel in the grass next to Hayley, Kayla, and Liz. They are all talking quietly and every now and then I hear my wife giggle. I love that fucking giggle. They all stand up at the same time. Hayley walks with Ashley toward the table where Caleb and I are sitting, while Kayla and Liz walk toward Bentley and Cooper who are dicking around on the four wheelers.
“Hey dad,” Tristan throws the wet towel at me from the four-wheeler he’s cleaning. “After dinner, can you drop me off at Bella’s to study for our finals.”
“Yeah, sure but why didn’t she come over for dinner.”
“She needed to study… just like I do.”
Caleb is sitting next to me texting on his phone, looking frustrated but I can’t think about what has him annoyed when my wife is getting closer to me in her tiny bikini. Even after having three kids, my wife’s body is banging.
“I’m going to go start dinner.” She gives me a chaste kiss before walking inside. Hayley sits down next to Caleb. “Everything ok?”
“Yeah, just texting with Marco. I don’t think we are going to win this battle, Hayles.”
“I’m going to miss him like crazy, but Caleb, we have to let him go and spread his wings. He’ll be twenty-one in six months.”
I decide to give them a few minutes to talk and follow my sexy wife inside the house.
“Ash,” I call out.
“In here.”
I find her in our room changing out of her bathing suit, but before she can put her feet into her shorts to put them on, I grab her by her hips and pick her up placing her on top of our dresser.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she giggles
. “I need to start dinner.”
“How about I just eat you, instead?”
“Hmm… that would be great but what would everyone else eat?”
“Fuck them.” I spread my wife’s legs and pull her to the edge of the dresser, my tongue darting out straight to her clit.
“Kaden, we have company!” The last word comes out in a long moan and I know I’ve got her.
“Fuck them.” I repeat. I start to tongue fuck her, circling her hard nub, then gliding my tongue up and down her sex. She moans louder.
“Shh… Ash. We have company,” I mock her words.
“Fuck them,” she growls out as I bite down on her clit. Her hands go to my hair and she pushes my face into her pussy needing more. As she moans my name, I bring my hand up to her inner thigh, fingertips brushing her pussy lips. Inserting one, then two fingers deep in her, my wife begins to buck in pleasure. “Play with your nipples, baby,” I say before I continue to devour her pussy with my fingers and tongue. A few minutes later and Ashley is praying to the gods as she comes all over my face.
Not even waiting for her to come down from her orgasmic high, I stand up, grab her off the dresser and turn her around bending her over the edge of the dresser. My cock slides right into her slick pussy and I still for a second, willing my dick to cooperate so I don’t come in seconds.
“Kaden, what are you waiting for? Fuck me.” And I do. Grabbing a hold of Ashley’s hips, I begin to pound into her pussy from behind. The edge of the dresser keeps her in place as I fuck her hard. With the mirror in front of us, my eyes lock in on hers, filled with lust and love, the same way I feel. Reaching around the front of her, I massage circles on her hard nub. Already sensitive from her just orgasming, she squirms and moans, her eyes never leaving mine.
When her moans get louder and her sex clenches tight around my cock, I know she is close. I pick up the pace, pounding deeper and harder, and seconds later Ashley is coming, her eyes roll back, her lids closing briefly. The vision alone has me coming right behind her.
We both stand there for a minute, me still inside her, both of us catching our breath. Then I lean down and give her a kiss on her shoulder. She gives me a small smile that always makes my heart rate pick up.
This woman is my missing puzzle piece and I am so damn blessed to get to spend the rest of our lives, putting our puzzle together.
* * *
“Kaden, can you go out back and tell all the kids to wash up for dinner. And please tell Tristan not to walk through the house with mud all over his boots again.” Ashley is in the kitchen cooking dinner and Hayley is sitting on the counter talking to her while she cooks. Kayla and Bentley are bringing dishes out to the picnic tables, and Cooper and Liz are somewhere around here.
“Sure thing.” I walk out back to see Emma and Tristan washing down their four-wheelers with the help of Nathan, Liz and Cooper’s son, and Chloe, and Faith, Bentley and Kayla’s two little girls. The rain came through yesterday which means today was the perfect day to go mudding.
I look for Morgan and see her, Lilly, and Mackenzie sitting in the grass gossiping just like mini versions of their moms.
Lilly is Liz and Coopers seven-year-old daughter. Liz found out shortly after Ashley gave birth to the twins that she was pregnant. After cussing Cooper out for knocking her up once again, she got excited that she and Ashley would have kids less than a year apart. Lilly, Morgan, and Mackenzie are all inseparable.
“Hey dad, can you bring us to Lilly’s house when you drop off Tristan?”
“No way! We aren’t babysitting you guys. You can hang out here with the rest of the circus. We have actual studying to do.”
“Your brother needs to study for his finals. He only has three years left before he goes off to college. He needs to keep his grades up.”
“Dad, can we all go to the gym tomorrow?” Emma yells.
“Sure.”
“Ugh! I don’t want to go to the gym. You know I hate it there, and so does Lilly and Mackenzie. It’s smelly and gross.” Morgan crosses her arms over her chest pouting adorably like a mini-version of Ashley.
“You don’t have to go. So, stop pouting and go wash up for dinner.”
“Damn I’m hungry,” Caleb says, looking up from his phone as I sit down at the table.
“Everything ok?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I’m just worried about Marco. I get he needs to find his place in the world, but can’t he find it while training at Cooper’s gym?”
“The training facility in San Diego is a good one, and he will be staying with people he knows. He will be fine,” Cooper says, sitting down next to his wife.
“After his last win, he thinks he’s rolling in the dough. He doesn’t understand how quickly that paycheck will run out,” Caleb says.
“Then he’ll learn,” I point out.
We all sit down at the table and start scooping up the food. Ashley is an amazing cook.
“Mom, Dad said I can go to the gym with him tomorrow.” Emma shovels piles of food onto her plate then starts digging in. While both girls look like mini-versions of Ashley, Emma without a doubt has my personality and love of fighting. She is always begging to go to the gym with Tristan and me.
“Ok, sweetie.” I give my wife a wink and she rewards me with a smile in return.
I look around the table at my wife, our three kids, and our friends that are more like family, and thank God once again for the people in my life. I will never understand how, that horrible night, Ashley, Tristan and our babies weren’t taken from me, but I stopped questioning how this world works a long time ago. I have learned to count each and every blessing and to be thankful for each day we are given. To love those around you like it’s your last day, and never take a single moment for granted. To this day, Ashley swears it was Gabrielle and Gabe who saved us and although, I sometimes give her a hard time about it, I would love to believe that was the case.
The End
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The Fighting Series
WANT MORE OF THE FIGHTING GANG?
Now available: Fighting ‘round the Christmas Tree: A Fighting Series Novella
Now Available! Bella’s story: Tapping Out
CURIOUS to know what happens to Giovanni in Fighting for your Love?
Now Available: Bordello: A Mob Romance
Keeping reading for a sneak peek into Fighting ‘round the Christmas Tree, Tapping out, and Bordello.
Fighting ‘round the Christmas Tree
(Excerpt from Chapter One)
Cooper
“No, Elsa! Stay away from the damn tree.” For the millionth time since we got this damned dog I am shooing her away from the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree that Liz insists we put up every year the day before Thanksgiving so we can decorate it on Thanksgiving. The Christmas tree she says she needs to look at during the month of December because it’s so pretty and is filled with so many memories. The Christmas tree that never has a single damn present under it because every year we leave the day after the kids get out of school for winter break and head to Breckenridge for two weeks to celebrate Christmas with our family and friends. The Christmas tree she makes me take down before we leave so it doesn’t die while we are away because god forbid the poor tree be brown and dead when we return home. Are you doing the math, here? Yep! That means this damn Christmas tree is up for two damn weeks! During which time, I spend countless hours yelling at the goddamn dog to stay away from the goddamn tree.
“Cooper, honey. Can you please stop yelling at the poor dog? You know she’s getting older. She is just trying to find a comfy spot to lay down.” Are you listening to this crap? The dog has been rolling around under the tree, knocking the ornaments off the branches since the first Christmas we got her. At least she will be staying at the dog daycare while we are away this year.
Tapping Out
(Excerpt)
One
Bella
Two lines mean pregnant. One line means not.
Two lines. Pregnant.
One line. Not.
I sit on the edge of the tub in the bathroom with the door locked. My head is down as I stare at the tiled floor. There are thirty-four tiles. One is cracked. The grout is dirty. I should buy better cleaning supplies. The test said three minutes. It’s probably been closer to ten but I can’t look. Will the test still be accurate if I don’t look right away? Maybe I should take another one just in case.
Two lines and my life changes.
One line and nothing changes.
“Bella! You have been in there forever. Are we still going to dinner? The shower isn’t even running. Gina is going to be here any minute.” When I don’t respond, Tristan knocks on the door, again. “Bella!”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I yell through the door praying he can’t hear the tremble in my voice. If he knows I’m freaking out, he will without a doubt force his way in here to find out what’s going on, and right now, Tristan is probably the last person I want knowing what’s going on.
Taking a deep breath, I stand up and walk slowly toward the counter silently praying for one line, like praying now is going to make a difference, like if I pray right this second, the results will miraculously change in my favor. The second line will just disappear and all will be right with the world. Maybe I don’t need a miracle. Maybe there’s only one line. Maybe I am freaking out over nothing. I swear to God if there’s only one line, I am getting on birth control today! Not that I’ll need it, because if I’m not pregnant, I’m never having sex again! Ok, maybe not never again but not anytime in the near future.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. After holding it in for a few seconds, I let out a slow exhale. Nope, doesn’t work, I’m still freaking out. I open my eyes and stare at the test.