by K. L. Kreig
But then her fears came true. Nora started having problems similar to when she was pregnant with Hazel. She had pretty severe morning sickness and developed light spotting at ten weeks. Went into false labor once at the four-month mark. We thought we were going to lose the baby. Things were touch and go for a while and she was on complete bed rest for several weeks. Then, like divine intervention, the spotting stopped, the cramps went away, and her OB said as long as she took it easy, she could be up and around.
To be safe, she’s taken a leave of absence from work until after the baby’s born. It’s been hard for her, but I’m not unhappy in the least. Her sole goal right now is to take care of our children while I take care of her.
“I love you, Nora Colloway.” I hook a finger under her chin and tip her head to the right angle so I can kiss her.
“I love you back, Connelly Colloway,” she replies against my wet lips before pressing hers to them again.
“Hey, mind if I run a quick bath?” Ash interrupts looking completely disheveled, a filthy dirty, dripping one-year-old in his arms. Alyse is right behind him, calm as a cucumber, cooing at their daughter whose legs are flailing as she giggles. “Lila landed in a mud puddle before I could stop her.”
I want to laugh, but I know I don’t dare. I’ll be him this time next year.
Ah, fuck it.
“Go ahead. Yuck it up, brother. You’ll get your due.”
“Looking forward to it,” I reply, meaning every syllable. “Hey, see if Hazel wants to help. She loves that stuff.”
“Will do.”
Ash and Alyse head inside just as my mom and Bob plod up the steps, taking the chairs next to us. Nora tries to get up, but I stop her. She glares. I laugh. Life is good.
“How’s the mother-to-be doing today?” my mom asks Nora, patting her lovingly on the leg.
“Good, Barb. Thanks for asking.” I hear the smile before I see it.
“How come you’re sweet to her but sour to me?”
“Just the way it is, son,” my mother answers for my wife. She and Nora giggle, like they have an inside joke, while Bob shrugs his shoulders in an empathetic gesture.
“This has been a great day, Conn. We should make this a tradition,” Bob says, grabbing hold of my mom’s hand. My mother is glowing…like a newlywed. But they aren’t yet, although we hope they will be soon. Bob has been trying unsuccessfully to convince Barb Colloway to marry him. All us kids have given her our blessing, knowing it’s what Dad would have wanted. I think she’ll cave soon.
“I think we will, Bob.” I nod.
“Your sister able to make it for dinner, Nora?” Bob asks. Even though everyone knows Ella isn’t technically Nora’s sister now, no one acknowledges it, especially Nora and Ella. To them, they will always be sisters.
“She said she’d try.” I don’t hold out hope Ella will show. I don’t know what’s going on with her lately, but she’s been conspicuously absent and it’s upsetting Nora. I try to stay out of “sister stuff,” but I’ll have to get on Ella about that. I don’t want Nora under any stress whatsoever. I kiss Nora’s temple. She snuggles closer.
We fall quiet and I take a deep breath full of sublime gratitude.
With my wife and unborn child in my arms, we sit on our wraparound porch and I gaze out at the backyard. There, Gray and Livia push their giggling boys on the massive swing set big enough for a park. At three months along, Livia is barely showing, pregnant with just one this time. Gender still unknown.
Luke and Addy battle it out with lawn darts while three-month-old Charlotte naps in the crib upstairs.
Carl, the self-professed Master Griller, is cooking up brats and burgers, insistent that I take care of Nora while he takes care of the food. I didn’t put up too much of a fight.
Landyn is even here, arriving a short time ago. She’s part of the family after all, in so many ways, so it’s not a surprise she’s spending the day with us. What is the surprise, however, is who she brought with her: Cooper Jensen. They look a little friendly, too. I had no idea she was dating anyone, let alone Mr. Jensen. I’ll have to dig into that more another day. Right now, all I want to do is revel in being with my family.
“All right, food’s up!” Carl yells, prompting my mom into action. She runs inside to get the side dishes while Carl sets a giant platter on the twelve-foot custom outdoor table we had made for the patio, just for get-togethers like this.
Nora goes to follow her. I clamp her to me. “Just a minute.”
She glares at me with ire in her gleaming green eyes. My redhead is firing up again. “I can carry a salad, you know.”
I hold in a snicker. “Yes. I know.”
“Then let me up.”
“In a second. Answer a question first.”
She cocks her head. “The answer is yes.”
“You don’t know the question yet,” I tell her, chuckling.
“Then it’s a definite no.”
Laughing, I pull her close and whisper, “Are you happy, Nora?”
Tipping her head and softening her face, she presses my scruffy cheeks between her tiny hands, kissing me so slow and so soft I immediately harden. It’s been weeks since I’ve rocked inside her inviting heat. Sex is a no-no right now, but it’s forced us to be creative. Let’s just say we’ve eaten a lot of late-night meals off of each other, discovering several new erogenous zones.
“Bursting with it. You?”
“Blissfully content,” I reply, bringing her mouth again to mine. The truth is, I’ve never been fucking happier in my entire life, every day better than the last.
“Hey, you two lovebirds, food’s getting cold,” Livia yells. A glance in her direction shows we’re the last ones to the table.
I groan, wanting only to spend some naked time alone with my wife. “Why did we do this again?” I grumble, only half kidding.
“Come on, lover boy.” Standing, she grabs my hand, yanks me up, and wraps herself around me. “You’ll have plenty of time to keep me naked in bed since your mom is taking Hazel tomorrow for the next two weeks.”
“Mmm, how could I forget?” I nibble her neck, thinking of the many places we have yet to christen in the house.
“Come on.” She takes me by the hand, leading me down the steps. Her sexy ass, which has filled out nicely with her pregnancy, is what really pulls me forward. “Let’s go have another first.”
“Sounds perfect,” I reply, a smile the size of Texas on my face.
As I slide into an empty space at the table, Nora by my side, I take a moment to let my gaze meander over my family. Food is passed. Laughter rings. Voices get progressively louder. Grant cries when he drops his sippy cup on the ground. It’s utter chaos, but I’d give everything I own to experience this single second over and over again.
The Colloway boys have all battled tirelessly for our second chance at love and family and futures with women who almost slipped through our fingers. Women who were always meant to be ours. It hasn’t been easy. Each of us has had our own obstacles to overcome…our own demons to slay…our own souls to search.
As I told Gray a few months back, though, nothing worth winning is ever easy. Nothing worth having comes without sacrifice, wounds, or scars. And nothing worth holding on to comes without paying the ultimate price: your very soul. But if you’re with the right person, you won’t even know that piece of you is missing because that space is not dark and empty.
It’s whole and complete: filled with your other half.
~ The End ~
My musical inspiration for writing Destination Connelly
“Sorry” by Art of Dying
“Breathe Into Me” by Red
“Room To Breathe” by You Me At Six
“Pieces” by Red
“Your Love Is a Song” by Switchfoot
“Gave It All Away” by Red
“Apologize” by OneRepublic
“From Where You Are” by Lifehouse
“Start Again” by Red
�
�Breaking Inside” by Shinedown
“Never Be the Same” by Red
“Not Strong Enough” by Apocalyptica
“Mystery of You” by Red
“Fight to Forget” by Red
“Wait For Me” by Theory of a Deadman
“Yours Again” by Red
“Stay” by Rihanna
“Part That’s Holding On” by Red
“Say It” by Evans Blue
“Casual Sex” by My Darkest Days
“Thread” by Flyleaf
“Secrets” by OneRepublic
“Best Is Yet to Come” by Red
“Second Chance” by Shinedown
Other Works by K.L. Kreig
The Regent Vampire Lords series:
Surrendering
Belonging
Reawakening
Evading
The Colloway Brothers series:
Forsaking Gray
Undeniably Asher
Luke’s Absolution
Destination Connelly
Have you met the other Colloway brothers yet? If not, start at the beginning of a series reviewers are raving about!
“This series is absolutely amazing. Brilliant. Intense. Passionate. Suspenseful. K. L. Kreig really brought her all when she introduced us to the Colloway brothers." ~ Renee Entress's Blog
“The Colloway brothers are some of the most swoon-worthy, panty-soaking, endearingly flawed men in contemporary romance today. They are full of grit, intelligence, and sex appeal that will leave you breathless and begging for more.” ~ Rachel Caid, Author of the Finding Home series
Babbles….
This is bittersweet. The end of a series, which I spent months conceptualizing and writing. Each story, while very different, carried the same overarching theme: forgiveness, second chances, and alpha men who knew what they wanted from the word go. What would life be without those? I can’t tell you how much these brothers mean to me and how much I’ve enjoyed sharing them with you. I hope they will forever be a part of your lives, just as they will be mine. Who knows…maybe somewhere down the road, we’ll meet them again. I have a couple spin-offs in mind. We’ll just have to see where they may go.
If you noticed my musical inspiration, you may nave noticed a theme. I wrote this entire series to Red, a band I happened to stumble across on Octane one day—a Christian rock band, I would come to find out later! Their words spoke to me exactly as if these characters did. Their feelings became my characters’ emotions. Give them a listen, maybe. They’re awesome and their lyrics are meaningful.
The stats I gave around lung cancer are all true, sadly. It’s such an underdiscussed disease and so very hard to detect until it’s almost too late. A nonsmoker, my mother-in-law, Alice, died of lung cancer at a horribly young age of sixty-seven. And she was also the inspiration for Barb Colloway. She was a selfless, amazing woman, the likes of which I doubt I’ll ever meet again. Her life left an impression on so many and I can only hope to be half the woman she was. I miss her every single day.
Writing a book is a solitary process. Producing it, however, takes a village and I have so many people to thank.
Nikki, your fantastically tight editing blows me away. Your education on comma placement is endearing but wasted! You’re worth every penny I pay you. Heather, your friendship, support, and encouragement on down days is always the kick in the pants I need. Rachel, my sounding board, you may like Miller Light, but I can look past that one little character flaw. Love you to pieces, my friend. Angie, Desirae, Trena, Kay Su, Michele, Sophie, Tina and countless other blogger friends who have reached out to me individually about these boys. Thanks for your unconditional support and pimping of me. It doesn’t seem like enough, but it’s all I have.
Friends, family, bloggers, authors, betas, pimpers, and most importantly MY READERS: if you had a hand in this, if you supported me in any way, shape, or form, you know who you are and you know I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am nothing but sincerely, eternally grateful for your belief in me.
Finally, after forty some years, I have found my true passion in life. I may never be a best seller, I may never win writing awards, I may never be able to make a true living at doing what I love, but I don’t even care. Every message and each e-mail I get from someone who wanted to personally reach out to me and praise me for how my work touched them in some way is truly a surreal feeling and that’s why I do this. Because you all encourage me. For that, I thank you.
For the love of God…help an author out! LEAVE A REVIEW on Goodreads, Amazon, or wherever. Even one or two sentences or simply rating the book is helpful for other readers. Reviews are critical to getting a book exposure in this vast sea of great reads.
About the Author
This is the hardest part…talking about myself.
I’m just a regular ol’ Midwest girl who likes Game of Thrones and is obsessed with Modern Family and The Goldbergs. I run, I eat, I run, I eat. It’s a vicious cycle. I love carbs, but there’s a love-hate relationship with my ass and thighs. Mostly hate. I like a good cocktail (oh hell…who am I kidding? I love any cocktail). I’m a huge creature of habit, but I’ll tell you I’m flexible. I read every single day and if I don’t get a chance…watch the hell out, I’m a raving bitch. My iPad and I: BFFs. I’m direct and I make no apologies for it. I swear too much. I love alternative music and in my next life, I want to be a badass female rocker. I hate, hate, hate spiders, telemarketers, liver, acne, winter, and loose hairs that fall down my shirt (don’t ask, it’s a thing).
I have a great job (no…truly it is) outside of writing. My kids and my husband are my entire world and I’d never have made it this far without them. My soul mate husband of over twenty-eight years provides unwavering support and my two grown children know the types of books I write and they don’t judge their mom anyway (and my daughter is a beta reader even…yes, that can be awkward…very).
I’m sincerely humbled by each and every like on my Facebook page or sign up for my newsletter or outreach from someone who has read and loved my books. I still can’t get over the great support. The romance book community is a wonderful and supportive one. I’ve made more friends since I started this journey than I’ve made in my life and I’m a pretty affable person. It’s surreal. I’m pretty sure it always will be.
In short, I am blessed…and I know it.
If you’re a stalker, the first step is to admit it. After that, you can find me in a lot of places, all of which I use with irregular frequency.
In this day and age, with so many great authors and so many new releases, it’s challenging to keep up with it all, so if you don’t want to miss when my next book is releasing, sign up for my newsletter here. Promise, no spamming and you’ll only get it when I have something important to say.
Facebook
Kreig’s Babes private fan FB page
Website
Goodreads
Twitter
TSU
On Instagram and Pinterest as klkreig
E-mail: [email protected]
FORSAKING GRAY (Available Now)
Livia
I see him across the room. I’m utterly breathless.
My heart races.
My stomach flutters.
My soul disintegrates into a pile of scattered ashes once again.
I’m a complete fucking mess. No muscle will obey my command to move, even my eyelids. They refuse to take away his image for even a second.
Why is he here?
I shouldn’t be taking this risk. I shouldn’t be openly ogling him, but I can’t look away. Holy mother of perfection…he’s everything I remember and more. As breathtaking as the very first time I laid eyes on him. He’s every woman’s fantasy, probably men too. I see other women watching him and I want to scratch their eyes out. Some blatantly stare, as I do. Some sneak sly glances so their spouses or dates won’t notice.
Foolish.
Of course their dates notice a textbook male specimen such as
him in the room. All other men are busy pissing in a circle around their women to ward him away.
As if sensing my weighty stare, his eyes lock with mine. Neither of us moves.
The woman dripping off his arm, hanging on his every word, seems oblivious to our connection. Every sound fades away as we stare into each other’s eyes from across the ballroom. Eyes I’m all too familiar with but haven’t seen in what seems like a lifetime. Eyes that haunt me.
God, I miss him with a raw ache that intensifies daily.
“Wow, look at that fine piece of ass. He’s fuckable,” whispers one of my best friends, Kamryn, following my stare.
The best of my life.
He starts across the room in my direction, his date all but forgotten as he leaves her in his dust. She’s calling after him, but he simply waves his hand in dismissal, not bothering to look back. His angry eyes never leave mine, his full lips drawn in a tight thin line.
Oh shit. Time to go.
“Kam, I’m not really feeling well, sweetie. I’ll call you in the morning after my interview.” I’m frantic to escape. I turn to leave, heels clicking as I quickly walk toward the exit. Kamryn practically runs to keep up.
“Let me call my driver for you, hon.”
I call over my shoulder as I race toward my escape. “No, no. It’s fine. There are plenty of cabs out front. I’ll just hop in one and be home in no time. Really, it’s fine.”
Her grip is like an iron fist around my arm as she maneuvers me back to face her. Kam frowns, clearly not believing the blatant lie I threw her way. Whatever. Over her shoulder I estimate he’s just fifty feet from where we now stand and moving at a clipped pace. As if by divine intervention, he’s stopped by a buxom blonde whose nipples are ready to fall out of her slutty dress any second. One deep breath and pop, they’re free. He shakes her off, heading in my direction once again. Can’t blame her for trying.