by Julia Goda
Bobby was going whole hog with her case. Once she’d learned the ordeal Ashley had been through—and Logan didn’t know everything, but he knew enough to want to rip Ashley’s father apart limb from limb every time he saw her or thought about her—she had stopped at nothing to get the bastard arrested. She’d been successful, though he was now out on bail until his hearing. Which meant Ashley was never left alone, not even at home. When Jesse couldn’t be with her after school—Ashley had transferred to Jesse and Chloe’s school when she moved in with them and had started just a couple of days ago—he’d drop her off at the shelter, where she’d hang with the kids in the common room or help whoever needed an extra hand. She was starting to come out of her shell more and more. It was amazing to watch. He didn’t see her every day, but Rainey kept him up to date. He’d known she was great at her job and loved what she did, but now that she was his and shared her thoughts and feelings with him, he knew that to be even truer.
Just last night, she’d asked him to keep an eye on Matt when he was training. Matt, of course, had lost their sparring duel and had to pay up, meaning he had to attend a session with the tutor. The day he did, Rainey had come home equally proud and frustrated. Matt was a smart kid, though he hadn’t known how smart until Rainey told him what the tutor had reported. Still, once he paid his debt, Matt didn’t want to hear anything about schooling or tutoring, and shut down everyone who even remotely brought it up. He’d actually disappeared for three days after the session, from the shelter as well as the gym, and had come back moody and short-tempered, which wasn’t like him at all. He was now back to his laid-back and witty persona, but Rainey was worried, so of course, Logan was keeping an eye on things for her when she wasn’t around; not to mention he himself was worried as well. Matt wasn’t just a smart kid, he was also very talented in the ring. Combine the two, and he could be dynamite if he stuck with it. Logan had made it his mission to take Matt under his wing whenever he had time, and so far, Matt was responding to the attention and training positively.
“You’re right. She’ll get there eventually.” Rainey took him out of his thoughts and brought him back to the present.
He smiled to himself. “You ready to have me crawl all over you for an hour and a half three times a week with your kids watching?”
She giggled. “I’m always ready to have you crawl all over me.”
That was the damn truth.
And Logan couldn’t be happier about that fact.
He rolled into her until she was on her back looking up at him covering her. They hadn’t made love tonight yet. The day had been so emotional, he thought she’d prefer some quiet time while they were snuggling. But the look in her eyes told him a different story. It was hot and needy and loving. But before he brought them the ecstasy they both craved, he had to make sure she was all right.
“You okay, baby,” he whispered as he stroked her cheekbone gently with his thumb and studied her face.
“More than okay. I don’t think I’ve ever been as okay as I am right now.”
“You sure? Nothing on your mind you need to talk about?”
“No, baby. Everything is good.”
“Good.” He softly rubbed his nose along the side of hers before he brushed her lips and whispered against them, “Then let me give you what we both want.”
“Okay,” she breathed.
He closed his eyes and touched her tongue with his before he proceeded in loving his Rainey.
Epilogue
Rainey
THE NOISE IN THE HUGE Las Vegas arena was deafening. I could hear it through the walls.
“You okay, baby?” Logan squeezed my hand he was holding in the one that wasn’t currently being taped.
I returned the squeeze and smiled at him as I nodded my head. “Of course.”
“You know I’ve got this.”
“I do.” And I did. He always did. My husband hadn’t lost a single fight in two and a half years, though that didn’t mean he didn’t have to sustain any hits or didn’t get hurt. Watching his beautiful body get punched and bruised wasn’t fun, not in the slightest; in fact, I winced just thinking about it.
Logan pulled me closer until our foreheads touched and all I could see was the intensity in his eyes. “And even if I don’t, it’ll still be you and me going home to our beautiful baby girl. Together.”
My smile turned into a happy grin. “Right.”
Yes, Logan had knocked me up that first time we had sex. He had been extremely smug when we found out. And also over the moon happy, meaning I couldn’t help but be happy too. He didn’t hesitate in sliding a ring on my finger, asking me to marry him only two months after we had started dating, then making me his wife a month after he won his first title when I was four months pregnant. We had a simple but beautiful wedding with less than forty people in attendance. I didn’t need all the pomp and stress of a huge-ass wedding, didn’t like it, and neither did Logan, so we kept it low-key and invited only the people who meant something to us before we took off on our honeymoon. I will never forget the moment I walked down the aisle toward the man I was going to happily spend the rest of my life with. It was the most beautiful moment in my life, until I watched Logan hold our daughter in his arms for the first time five months later. That moment would be forever seared into my brain, my strong husband holding the tiny bundle that was our daughter swaddled in a blanket in the crook of his arm, his lips at her head whispering to her softly, love and contentment shining bright in his eyes. I couldn’t wait for him to hold our son just like that.
I lifted my hand and touched my thumb to his eyebrow, then his cheek and last, his mouth, before I kissed him softly.
“Time for you to find your seat, Rainey.” My dad had Logan’s gloves in his hand, ready to slide them on my husband’s hands. It was indeed time for me to go.
Things between my father and me were good now. Solid. It hadn’t always been easy. Letting go of the resentment and finding my way back to trusting him had had its ups and downs, even though I understood where he had been coming from. It still didn’t negate the fact he had let it get that far. But he worked hard for it and never gave up, didn’t let me push him away, always searched me out after a fight, determined to make things up to me. He did the same with my mom, though with Ben in the picture and Mom being the sweetest and most forgiving person in the world, he didn’t have to work as hard. I knew it had been tough on him, watching her with Ben, especially on their wedding day, but he had also known that that ship had sailed, and he wanted her happy. To my surprise, Ben and dad had become good friends, but then again, they both knew Mom and I were happy, and that’s what they were all about. They both doted on their granddaughter, our almost two-year-old Princess Sophie. It was adorable and a joy to watch. I swear to god Sophie didn’t touch the floor for the first year of her life. Between Logan and the two of them, she was always being carried or held. I didn’t complain though; it was too beautiful. And I wanted my daughter to receive as much love as she possibly could.
“Go find your seat, baby,” Logan whispered against my mouth before he pressed his against mine again. Then he bent over and kissed my protruding, six-month-pregnant stomach. “You go and watch your daddy fight, and keep your mommy safe while you do it.” Yes, I couldn’t wait for our son to arrive.
I squeezed Logan’s hand one last time then slid off the table and walked to the door, where I was met by one of the bodyguards who would escort me to my seat.
When we hit the arena, I let my eyes roam up and down the rows as we walked. People were shouting and cheering, clapping and stomping their feet, impatient for the two fighters to appear. I saw signs with my husband’s name on them, held up mostly by women, but I also noticed some in men’s hands, heard his name screeched and hollered. I smiled to myself, proud my man could elicit such a reaction, such devotion from so many people. I was just as excited as they were, maybe more so, even though I was still somewhat anxious and a little worried. Of course I was. Though it
had nothing to do with the fear of him leaving me if he lost. That fear had been extinguished. But my husband was going to be up in that ring in mere minutes, trying to beat the shit out of his opponent to defend his title. He was good, the best. His fighter name wasn’t ‘The Drill’ for nothing. He packed a punch that could figuratively drill his opponents into the ground. I was confident he would win this fight, but I also knew he wouldn’t do that untouched. But watching my man do what he loved to do and be successful doing it, supporting him through everything that came with, it made me proud to be by his side.
I laid my hand on my stomach and drew gentle circles, trying to soothe my son’s obvious excitement. He wasn’t even born yet, but I had to confess I dreaded the moment he would step into the ring for the first time. But if his kicking and hitting in there were any indication, he would come out punching like a champ. He did this every time I walked into the gym, which was to say, pretty much every day. Logan loved it. We were already his perfect family, his dream come true, but his son being a third-generation boxer would be the cherry on top. At least that’s what he said. What he tried to ignore was the fact our daughter couldn’t get enough of boxing either.
Sophie was everyone’s angel, had everyone who met her, especially men, wrapped around her little finger. She had her father’s blazing blue eyes and my raven-black hair. And I might be biased because she is my daughter, but the combination of the two was the most stunning thing I had ever seen. She was a beauty, and I feared for the boys who would undoubtedly get an eyeful and try to make a move on her. Her father was a boxer, a famous one at that, which meant most of his friends were boxers too, and so were her grandfather and his friends. She was loved and protected by a lot of badasses who would happily kick any boy’s ass who even looked at her funny. I could only imagine the rampage they would all go on when she got her heart broken for the first time.
I found my ringside seat next to Rita, whose face was alight with excitement and anxiousness just as much as mine probably was. She never missed any of her son’s fights, always sat next to me, both of us cheering Logan on when he got a hit in, flinching when he took one. On my other side sat Lizzy and Cole. Tonight was the first time they’d see Logan fight in an arena like this.
“Wow,” Lizzy said when I turned to her. “This is something else.”
I grinned at her. “Wait until they come in. You won’t be able to hear yourself think.”
“Holy crap.”
My grin grew bigger.
Lizzy and Cole were still beautiful together, though ever since their little girl, Rosie, was born, then their son, Quinn, that beauty had settled even more, if that was possible. We saw a lot of them and our daughters were best friends. As I hoped our sons would be too. All our kids were currently upstairs in my mom and Ben’s hotel suite; they had taken over babysitting duty for the night. Tonight wasn’t just Lizzy and Cole’s first fight night; it was also their first date since Quinn was born four months ago. So after the fight and all that went with it, the four of us were going out for a late dinner and drinks, then we would each go to our respective suites and enjoy the rest of the night in privacy.
Bobby was supposed to come up with her man as well, but she had to cancel at the last minute. I missed Bobby, and so did Lizzy. We visited her as often as we could, and she’d come up a few times as well since she left Boston a little over a year ago. But our friend was happy living the small-town life in the Rocky Mountains. And after the ordeal she’d survived this past winter, we couldn’t be happier that she was finally happy.
My eyes went to the ring when the announcer got everyone’s attention and greeted the challenger, then the lights went down and the music went up as Dexter “The Killer” Kinsley made his way down the long walkway to the ring. I watched and assessed as he took off his robe and started to lightly bounce on his feet, swinging his arms and shoulders, keeping his muscles warm. I had watched numerous tapes with Logan as he learned about his opponent. Dexter was known for being brutal, so I had been more worried and anxious than I usually was when I’d learned Logan would be fighting him. But now I knew everything there was to know about him, his strengths, but also his weaknesses, one of his biggest being his cockiness. Cockiness almost always translated into stupidity, in the ring even more so than in everyday life. He also tended to drop his right, which was a huge disadvantage when you fought a Southpaw like Logan.
“Holy shit!” Lizzy’s shout brought me out of my thoughts, and my smile grew huge when the announcer stepped back into the middle of the ring and spoke into his microphone. The screams got so loud we could hardly hear him as he introduced Logan. I got out of my seat and stood, proudly watching and clapping as my husband entered the ring, feeling Rita, Lizzy, and Cole do the same. As soon as he hit the floor, Logan’s eyes found me and stayed locked with mine while my dad took off his robe. Then he stood and lifted his gloved hand, and just like my father had always done before his fights, he touched it to his heart, then raised it to his mouth and kissed it. Unlike my father, when he dropped his hand and started slightly bouncing, he kept his eyes on mine and mouthed, “Love you, baby,” then waited for my return “Love you too” before he turned and rolled his head and shoulders, his focus on the fight, on his promise that he had this.
And I felt safe in the trust and belief that my man indeed had this.
He always did.
No matter the outcome of the fight.
The End
About the Author
Julia Goda is the author of the Cedar Creek Series and The Girl Series, which so far include two romance novels each but have lots more stories to come.
When she is not in her writing cave, she enjoys reading, drinking coffee, eating good food, and listening to rock music.
Julia has lived in Germany and in the US (Virginia, and Colorado, where she fell in love with Boulder and the Rocky Mountains.) Her current home is Southern Alberta, Canada, where she lives close enough to the Rockies with her husband and two crazy Labs to enjoy the beauty and excitement that is mountain living.
Connect with Julia Goda:
www.juliagoda.com
www.facebook.com/juliagodaauthor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/juliagoda
Google: www.google.com/+JuliaGoda
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/Julia_Goda
Twitter: julia_goda
Enjoy Other Titles by Julia Goda
The Cedar Creek Series
Bent Not Broken
Be Here Now
The Girl Series
Wrong Side Girl
All titles available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.