Tangled: Emerson Falls, Book 1

by Harlow James

  She pushes me away and swats a hand to my chest playfully before pulling me back to her by my shirt. She crushes her mouth to mine, moaning when our lips meet, igniting desire in my body. I swear, if we had more time, I would escalate this further with no question.

  “Don’t start something we can’t finish, Liv,” I growl against her lips before we part and I see the lust in her eyes.

  “Who said I didn’t plan on finishing it,” she smirks before sinking down to her knees and reaching for my pants. As soon as she pops the button on my jeans, the doorbell rings.

  “Fuck,” I moan while throwing my head back, which makes Olivia laugh at me as she stands.

  “To be continued,” she eyes me over her shoulder as she makes her way to the door to answer it, swaying her hips in that teasing way, enticing me to ignore our guests for a few more minutes.

  I look around my home, the place I never imagined letting a woman into, and see all the touches that Olivia has added for the party. Toasted marshmallow scent fills the room from the candle she has lit on the fireplace and evergreen garland drapes across the mantle with small pine cone accents. An epic Christmas tree stands in the corner of the living room in front of the expansive bay window, dressed in white lights and silver and gold ornaments—classic and breathtaking, just like she is. Red poinsettia plants sit atop every surface to complete the Christmas feel and the smell of the ham roasting in the oven screams holiday feast.

  Olivia opens the door, greeted by Perry and her husband, and their two kids.

  “Hi, guys! Welcome,” she beams as they make their way through the doors and survey the room.

  “Your house is gorgeous, Kane,” Perry compliments while reaching out to hug Olivia and takes the coats from her kids. Perry is dressed in red sweater dress that is as elegant and refined as she is. Her magazine ready family—dressed in coordinating outfits—follows in tow, making me question whether Olivia will make us match our baby at some point in the future. Dear God, I hope not.

  “Thanks, Perry, but it’s our house now. Come on in. There are snacks on the island and I have a movie and games set up in the enclosed patio for the kids. There’s a heater out there too so they won’t get cold,” I explain while showing them over.

  Perry and her husband usher their kids to the entertainment just as Olivia’s parents arrive.

  “My baby girl,” her mom coos as she and Dan enter. “You look so beautiful, already glowing,” she cups Olivia’s cheek before hugging her and then shucking her coat.

  “Thanks, Mom. Although, that just might be sweat,” Olivia wipes across her forehead in jest. “I can’t seem to get comfortable. I’m either freezing cold or burning up.”

  “That’s because you are a human incubator,” Perry chimes in as she comes back into the living room, followed by her husband, Nathan. “Just wait, there are plenty more side effects just waiting for you.”

  “I actually haven’t been feeling too bad, just some nausea and exhaustion, mostly. But Kane has been wonderful in helping any way he can,” Olivia beams up at me, which makes me want to puff my chest out with pride—but I refrain. Instead, I give her a chaste kiss on the lips.

  “I’m just trying to take care of you, babe.”

  “That’s all we could ask for,” Olivia’s dad chimes in, reaching to shake my hand. Having the approval of Olivia’s parents means everything to me. I never want them to doubt my love for her. And after asking for their blessing to marry her last week, I know they don’t. Her mom was thrilled and instantly started to cry. And her dad welcomed me to the family again, just like he did at Thanksgiving. He explained that within just the first few moments of talking to me, he knew I was the one for his daughter. Talk about feeding a man’s ego.

  If Olivia and I have a daughter, I hope I can detect the right man for her in the same way one day.

  “Hey, man!” Drew yells from the door this time as he and Tammy arrive.

  “Hey, bro. Come on in.” I walk over to greet them, kissing Tammy on the cheek as they hang their coats.

  “The place looks gorgeous, Kane,” Tammy says while looking around, her blue eyes twinkling from the reflection of the lights on the tree. “See, I told you all you needed was a woman in your life and then everything would be magical,” she winks at me as Olivia comes up to hug her.

  ‘Tammy! Drew! Thanks for coming,” she declares. I love the fact that my woman gets along so well with my closest friend and his wife. Drew and Tammy are the friends I needed to push and encourage me through the growth I’ve made over the last three years, and now seeing them accept and love Olivia like I do makes all of the heartache and pain worth it.

  These people are my true friends. There are no ulterior motives, not competition or pretense to uphold. They are honest and hardworking and I’m proud to call them friends and extended family.

  “Of course. We wouldn’t have missed it. And you look gorgeous, Liv. Pregnancy agrees with you. I can’t say the same about me though,” Tammy says and then catches herself, covering her mouth with her hand as her eyes goes wide.

  “What? What are you saying?” Olivia whispers while the four of us huddle together.

  Drew smiles and then puts his arm around Tammy. “Tammy’s pregnant again. We just found out a few days ago, but didn’t mean to say anything,” he shrugs, but Olivia and I just smile at each other and then back at our friends.

  “Congrats, man. That’s great,” I hug my friend while the girls do the same.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say anything. It’s still very early and we’re afraid of losing it again, obviously. Plus, I didn’t want to steal your thunder tonight,” Tammy whispers and then I glare over at her.

  “You wouldn’t be stealing anyone’s thunder, Tammy,” Olivia reassures her, bypassing Tammy’s slip, thank God. “But of course, we will keep this between us. And hopefully, everything works out and then we can have our babies together!” She quietly celebrates while both her and Tammy well with tears.

  “That would be fucking awesome,” Drew agrees before we all break apart.

  “Come on! Walk, please,” Amy demands as she shuffles through the door with two kids in front of her and one attached to her hip. Her hair is a mess from the wind and her son who’s currently grabbing a huge chunk of it, her jeans have some sort of stain on the leg, and you can almost see the tears on the verge of falling from her eyes.

  “Come here, Evan!” Olivia says with a motherly voice as she turns from Drew, Tammy, and myself and grabs the baby from Amy’s arms when they stop in the entryway. Seeing her with a child on her hip does things to my heart and has my stomach flipping. She’s going to be the best mom. I can’t wait to watch her love and nurture our child.

  Drew, Tammy, and I move away from the door as Perry comes forward to join Amy and Olivia.

  “Where’s John?” Perry asks Amy once she’s directed the kids to the patio where the rest of them are. Perry’s children are a little older so it’s nice to know they’re partially supervised while the parents can converse.

  Amy’s eyes find the ground as she drops the diaper bag on the floor and peels off her coat. “He’s working late. There’s some mad rush to get something finished before the holidays,” she explains, but it seems she’s more upset about that than she’s letting on.

  Perry shoots a knowing gaze at Olivia as Olivia shakes her head.

  “Okay, well I’m glad you and the kids still came. Clara is working late tonight too, but she should be here soon. She insisted she had to finish a presentation before the weekend. But, come on. Let’s go eat some yummy snacks,” she smiles down at the baby in her arms while leading everyone into the kitchen around the food.

  Everyone chats and nibbles on the appetizers while dinner finishes in the oven. The screaming and laughing of kids in the other room provides a glimpse of our future—but it doesn’t scare me. In fact, it makes me anxious in a good way—a way that shows me what this next chapter of our lives is about to look like. It’s scary but fu
ll of optimism—and my house full of people that care about us assures me we can handle it with everyone’s support.

  “Knock, knock,” Cooper shouts as he comes in through the front door, dressed in his uniform, the tan and green fabric stretched across his broad chest. His radio clings to his vest, which holds a few other tools I’m sure he uses from time to time. The belt wrapped around his waist holding his gun and keys clangs as he walks further inside.

  “Hey, Coop! What are you doing here?” Olivia rushes over to hug her brother with his surprise visit, ruffling his dark hair a bit. We knew he was working tonight, so we didn’t think he’d be able to come.

  “I had to stop by a least for a little bit. I’m on the clock, but one of the other patrol units is on standby in case we get a call. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss tonight,” he says, which makes my gut clench.

  ‘What’s going on tonight?” Olivia asks just as I shoot a wide-eyed look of death at Cooper.

  “Uh, your party, of course,” he tries to recover, but Olivia narrows her eyes at Cooper before directing them to me.

  “You wouldn’t just show up for some party, Coop. Why are you really here?” Her hands find her hips while she stares down her brother, making me sweat.

  This wasn’t how I planned this. I had it all mapped out in my head, and then fucking Cooper had to open his loud mouth. I feel retribution coming for my future brother-in-law in more ways than one.

  “Uh… I…,” Cooper stutters and then looks at me to save him. I point my finger at him and then mimic a punch in my hand, the sound pulling Olivia’s attention back to me. Our friends dart their eyes across the room at each other, waiting to see how I handle this wrench in my plan.

  “Kane?” She turns to me now just as I drop my hands and take a deep breath.

  “Well, this wasn’t how this was supposed to happen… but I guess since almost everyone’s all here, there’s no time like the present,” I concede while walking over to the bags of gifts under the Christmas tree Olivia had wrapped in preparation for the white elephant game we were going to play later. The ring was ready to go in the gift I had strategically placed for Olivia to pick. She would have opened it to show everyone and I was going to drop down on one knee. But apparently life doesn’t go as planned for us.

  And in this moment, I realize that’s okay. In fact, I willingly accept that life with Olivia will constantly be a path of twists and turns and tangled plot lines—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  I pick up the bag and retrieve the black velvet box, standing and turning around to see Olivia watching my every move. Walking up to her, her eyes glance down at the box and she sucks in a deep breath.

  “Olivia,” I say before dropping to a knee in front of her. I hear the shuffle of our family and friends around us, moving closer so they can see and hear. I hope Drew is coming through for me and recording this like I asked.

  “Three years ago, my life was shattered. I was betrayed by the two people closest to me and I never thought I would bounce back from that. But when I saw you dancing away on that stool at Tony’s, something inside of me pulled me to you. What started out as hot and passionate, quickly turned to something more meaningful with the help of a bunch of crickets.”

  Olivia laughs while everyone else around us chuckles. Our friends and family are all familiar with the cricket story by now.

  “You showed me that opening my heart up again was worth the risk. And even though our pasts were intertwined, in some twisted up way, it was my tainted betrayal and your devastating disappointment that brought us together. We healed the cuts both of us had yet to recover from. And now, we’re going to be joined together forever by the life we’ve created,” I reach up to caress her belly.

  “I love you more than I ever thought was possible. I need you and want you more than you will ever know. You’ve put me back together, built me up to be the man I always wanted to be, and I want nothing more than to be that man for you for the rest of our lives.”

  I reach down and open the box and extract the ring—a classic princess cut diamond with smaller diamonds on the band—before reaching for her hand to place the ring on her finger once she says yes.

  “Olivia Walsh, will you marry me?”

  Olivia’s eyes are clouded by tears, but they never leave mine as she smiles down at me so wide, tears cascading down her cheeks, and her hand trembling before she nods.

  “Yes, Kane,” she says, choking out the words through the emotion clogging her throat—but those two words are all I needed to hear. I slide the ring on her finger as our friends and family clap and cheer, filling the room with celebration as I rise and pull her into me for a searing kiss—sealing our commitment to each other in front of everyone.

  “I love you,” I whisper when we part.

  “I love you too, Kane,” she whispers back, peering up at me with the most loving gaze, it makes my heart thump wildly in my chest. This woman is mine. She lured me out of the darkness and showed me the light in my life that was missing—the only light I could have found from her.

  Olivia’s parents interrupt us first, hugging us in congratulations while Olivia and her mom wipe each other’s tears. Her dad pulls me in for a hug and pats me on the back. I wish my parents could have been here, but my dad hates driving in the snow. I told him we would make our way up there to see them soon.

  Perry, Amy, and Tammy all come in next, pulling Olivia’s hand in all directions to scope out her ring, while John, Drew, and Cooper all congratulate me with handshakes and side hugs.

  “Sorry, Kane,” Cooper finally says, hunched over a bit in embarrassment.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get my revenge one day,” I wink at him, which makes him shake his head in laughter.

  “I have no doubt,” he replies, and I thank my lucky stars that I get to have a brother-in-law like Cooper. After he and Dan drilled me at Thanksgiving, the two of us have bonded and become friends. His relationship with Olivia is important to them both, and I’m grateful that I am accepted by one of the most important men in her life.

  “Now we have wedding and baby plans to attend to,” Perry exclaims, and I can already see the wheels turning in her mind.

  The chatter filling my home brings a sense of peace over me while I admire our loved ones sharing in our moment. It’s amazing how much my life has changed in just three months’ time, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Even though it was one hell of a ride to get here, I realize that the tangled mess I thought was my life actually turned out to be a woven masterpiece, with each thread coming together to create something truly beautiful.

  I have the woman of my dreams, the home filled with love and laughter, and a family on the way. Nothing can ruin this.

  “219 this is 141. We’ve got a 12-72 at 1600 Lake Drive. Requesting back-up immediately.”

  Cooper’s radio echoes in the room, drawing the attention of everyone to him.

  “141, 10-4. On my way,” he replies before looking around at all of us. “I’ve got to go. Congrats, sis,” he says while kissing Olivia and then his mom on the cheek, hugging his dad, and then waving goodbye to everyone else before quickly turning and immediately running out of the door.

  “Be careful, Coop!” Olivia’s mom shouts after him just as the door slams shut.

  “What’s a 12-72?” Drew asks, his eyes bouncing around the room.

  “Burglary in progress,” Olivia’s dad answers casually.

  “1600 Lake Drive… isn’t that where Pearson Advertising is?” Perry asks while looking at Amy and Olivia with worry etched on her face.

  “Wait, that’s Clara’s advertising firm!” Amy shouts while the energy in the room shifts immediately.

  “Oh, my God, Kane,” Olivia reaches for me, burying her face in my chest. “What if she’s hurt? What if Cooper and the other deputies don’t get there in time?”

  I rub her back while offering her whatever comfort I can—knowing that there’s nothing we can do but hope and pray that the sheriffs ge
t to her quickly.

  “It’s going to be okay, babe. Clara is strong and help is on the way. If anyone can help her, it’s Cooper,” I say confidently, even though I’m beyond terrified that a member of our tribe is in grave danger.

  THE END

  Want to know what happens to Clara? Stay tuned for Enticed, Clara and Cooper’s story coming in early 2020!

  Acknowledgments

  I started reading romance novels in 2018 about a month after I lost my grandma (the same grandma Olivia refers to in this story—the details regarding her grandma are all real anecdotes from my grandma’s life). At a time when I needed the escape the most, I turned to stories of overcoming loss, working past the obstacles life brings us, and believing in the happily ever after’s. In January of 2019, I started toying with the idea of writing my own book, and started brainstorming ideas with one of my best friends. By the end of March, I had a story and I started typing. Six weeks later, Chasing Hope was done and I got the courage to self-publish.

  My excitement for story-telling only grew from there, and now I am pushing publish on my fifth novel since March of this year!

  Thinking back on this accomplishment brings tears to my eyes. I have found a creative outlet I needed desperately. I have strengthened friendships with people close to me. And I have “met” so many AMAZING people in the romance community through social media—dedicated and generous women who have supported my journey and helped introduce me to new readers.

  I can’t believe that this is where my life has ended up by downloading one book and turning the page. Thank you to every person near and dear in my life that has supported me in this! I would not be where I am right now without you! My husband, my children, my mother, and a few of my very close friends cheer me on from behind the scenes, and it makes me believe that anything is possible.

  Adding the element of T.J. in this story stemmed from a betrayal I experienced from someone I thought was my best friend when I was nineteen. Even though the circumstances were different than the case of Kane and Olivia’s story, I never fail to remember that the person I thought was my friend taught me one of the most important lessons in my life about trust. And if she hadn’t made her decision, I never would have met my husband. Everything works out the way it’s supposed to, and sometimes the people who hurt us the most can also help us in the most unlikely of ways.