by Cala Riley
There’s a calmness in my heart that's been growing over the last few years. After my mom died at the hands of a drunk driver, I was consumed by chaos and anger. I was mad at the driver for taking the only person I ever had in my life. I was mad at her for not holding on. For not taking a different road home that night. For always working late and having to drive home so late. For abandoning me.
Unfair of me, I know, but I couldn’t help it. I was so caught up in my anger, I had no place for anything else.
Not my newfound cousin. Not my aunt and uncle who only wanted to provide for me. Certainly not for Reed and his family.
Slowly but surely, the people behind me calmed the chaos and gave me peace. Now, instead of the cousin I tried to push away, I have three sisters who love me unconditionally. Alternatively, I have three brothers who have my back and would kill for me. Hell, Keaton took on Reed for me before Reed knew he wanted me. They are my core, my people. People I will go to war for time and time again.
God, I wanted to kill Mr. Yates for the shit he pulled with Tinsley. He hit her. He tried to force her into a marriage she didn’t want. Who does that? Thankfully, he’s gone now and out of our lives for good. No more trying to use his kids to get ahead. Blackmail is a wonderful thing. His share of the company was equally divided between his kids. Mrs. Yates, well she’s as absent as ever, and we’re all better off without them.
Besides them, I have an aunt and an uncle who are more like parental units for me, showering me with all the love they have in their hearts. They’re truly some of the best people I know. Then there’s my father.
I never imagined I would ever have a father. As a child, I asked about him, but seeing the pain it brought my mother, I couldn’t push the issues. I won’t lie. Finding out who my father was and that he would have loved me all along brought a new wave of anger against my mother at first. I loved her, but I also hated her for keeping me from him. I’ve let that anger go through. Every day since I met him, my father has shown me what a father’s love is all about. He doesn’t push me for more. If all I wanted was to be his friend, he would’ve accepted it. Over the last four years though, I have opened up more. This last Christmas I called him Dad for the first time. The pure emotion on his face told me it was the right choice. I have a father.
With my father came a whole new family I never knew. I have half brothers, who are slowly but surely opening up to me. It’s taken years, but we’re civil now. My niece, who caused trouble for me my last year in school, has gotten the help she needs. We will never be close, but we can be in the same room as each other without it feeling hostile. That’s progress.
Finally, I have Reed, the domineering asshole who wanted me gone when he met me. I bet if I tried now, he would stop at nothing to make sure I stayed. Even if I slipped his grasp, I know he would scour the world until he found me. That’s how Reed is. He loves me wholeheartedly. Much as I can’t breathe when he’s gone, I think he would slowly die without me. We’re a team.
God, I love him.
I didn’t want to, but I do.
Life is all about the journey.
Without the one tragedy in my life that I thought I would never survive, I wouldn’t have these people here with me. I wouldn’t have the family I always wanted but would never ask for. Without my mother taking that road after working late and getting hit by that drunk driver, I would have never come here.
I miss her with every breath I take, but I’m also thankful. Not thankful she died; I could never be thankful for that.
No, I’m thankful for whatever higher being there is up there, that when he decided he needed an angel in my mother, he led me to this world. To the people who would surround me with love and show me what it means to live again.
Right where I'm supposed to be.
“Thank you," I whisper to whoever is listening. “Thank you for my family.”
✽✽✽
Reed
I'm sitting on the deck watching everyone. Years ago we promised Sage we would always do something new for the 4th of July and this year we ended up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Victoria and Sterling come bounding up the stairs. She’s laughing and swatting his hands away from her ass.
"Keep it up, love, I dare you. I'll make you beg," he teases.
"Maybe that's what I'm hoping for," she quips back.
They walk right by me without realizing I’m here, making me shake my head.
I look down at the beach below and see Keaton and Morgan playing in the sand with Amethyst. Morgan and Amethyst's faces are lit up at whatever Keaton’s doing. I look towards the picnic area we have set up to see Finley and Tinsley slow dancing, completely unaware of everyone else.
I was wrong about them. How I never saw it, I don’t know. Sage told me there was more to them, but I never listened. Finley made me a promise to never touch her, and I trusted that.
Too bad fate had other plans.
I rub my chest over my heart where a dull ache has sprouted. I know I didn’t directly do it, but by placing that limitation on him, I hurt both my sister and one of my brothers.
Pushing the thought away, I watch them a moment more, smiling when Finley dips her down, making her laugh.
They’re happy now. That’s all that matters.
I stand up to get a better view, looking for my girl.
There.
Sitting in the sand close to the water all by herself.
Perfect.
I bound down the stairs, heading her way. I ignore Keaton calling my name, bypassing Finley and Tinsley, and going straight for my target.
Once I'm close, I slow my steps. I look up at the sky and blow out a deep breath.
I got this.
I sink down into the sand behind her, pulling her against me. She melts into me instantly.
"What are you doing down here all by your lonesome?" I murmur against her neck before kissing her softly where her neck meets her shoulder.
"Thinking." She sighs.
"About your mom?" I take my hand and gather her hair, pinning it between us to keep it out of our faces, then wrap my arms around her again.
"She loved the 4th," she says wistfully before turning her head to look at me. "I don't know if I've said it today, but thank you."
"For what?"
"For making me happy. For making sure every 4th we do something amazing with our family. For keeping the one tradition I had with my mother. For loving me and showing me every day."
"I'll always try to make every day better than the last."
“I know.” She kisses me softly before turning back to the ocean. “I always knew the ocean was insane, but looking at it while sitting here makes me feel so small and insignificant.”
"You'll never be insignificant to me," I tease. I remove one arm from around her and reach into my pocket, palming the object tucked inside before slowly pulling it out, making sure not to disturb her.
"You say the most romantic things."
"You ready for some more romance?"
"If you say butt stuff, I will elbow you," she warns with a smile on her face.
My dick twitches, but I mentally tell him to stand down. Now is not the time.
"No, not butt stuff." I laugh.
I grab her left hand and rub her ring finger—something I've been doing more and more lately while picturing my ring sitting right there. Claiming her for the entire world to see.
I take the ring in my right hand slip it on her finger.
Perfect.
Sage gasps. "Reed."
"Shh, be quiet. I want this to be just us."
I watch Sage open and close her fist, the light bouncing off her diamond.
"Four years. Four years of biding my time, waiting for this. To make you mine officially and permanently. I love you more than anything. Thank you for the best four years of my life, but I want more. I want to make you my wife. I want to fight with you, make love to you, make babies with you—although I might regret it because, let's face it, our kid
s will be assholes—and I want to spend every day I have on earth with you."
I watch the tears stream down Sage's face as she bites her lip. "Marry me. Be my wife. Be Mrs. Reed Yates. Make me the happiest man on earth. In the universe. Ever."
Sage licks her lips. "What if I want to foster? Would you do that?"
I chuckle at her. She doesn’t even know the depth of my love for her. It’s going to be fun showing her.
"I already looked up what we need to do to get started. I’ve been researching since you mentioned it a couple months ago. The paper work’s at home on my desk."
I squeeze her tighter as Sage sobs quietly before turning in my arms. She grabs my face with both of her hands.
"Of course I'll marry you. I love you so fucking much." We meet in the middle and kiss with everything we have.
Finally, we pull back and she turns back around towards the water. We're both quiet, taking the moment in.
"Seriously, this ring is ridiculously amazing."
I smile. "I hope so. When I went with Sterling to find V's ring, I looked and didn’t like anything. When I got home, I sat down and started researching, trying to find what I wanted. I went down a fucking rabbit hole." I laugh. "Then I stumbled upon a hexagon ring.
“It’s believed that the hexagon represents union and balance, which is fucking brilliant. Who wouldn't want union and balance in a marriage? So, I started putting out feelers for a hexagon-shaped diamond. Took a while, but I found it. I had the jewelry designer who did V's make yours. I wanted the hexagon to be center stage, but wanted diamonds on the band too. Just wait until you see the wedding band. It goes above it, and when the two are together, it makes the hexagon look like it’s wearing a crown. A crown for my queen."
"I love that it’s unique."
"Just like you."
Sage stands and reaches for my hand. I take hers and stand.
"Come on." Sage pulls me towards the house.
"You want to tell everyone now?"
She looks over her shoulder at me. "No, I want to fuck my fiancé. After we're done, then we can tell them."
I stop dead in my tracks and pull her into me.
"Reed," she warns. But I don’t care. I toss her over my shoulder and start running for the house, her laughter following us. I love this woman and will do whatever I have to do to make sure she always laughs just like this.
The End.
✽✽✽
Acknowledgements
Husbands/Family- Thank you for loving us through the crazy and listening to us ramble.
Ashley Estep- Thank you for staying on us to make sure we stayed on schedule.
Louise O’Reilly- Thank you for being you.
Hottree Editing- Thank you for all the comas.
Bloggers/Readers- Thank you for loving our stories as much as we do and spreading the word.
Also by Author
Brighton Academy Series
Unbidden
Unpredictable
Undeniably
Unapologetically
Mafia Royalty Series
Mafia King
Mafia Underboss
Mafia Prince
Author Bio
Cala Riley, better known as Cala and Riley, are a pair of friends with a deep seated love of books and writing. Both Cala and Riley are happily married and each have children, Cala with the four-legged kind while Riley has a mixture of both two-legged and four. While they live apart, that does not affect their connection. They are the true definition of family. What started as an idea that quickly turned into a full-length book and a bond that will never end.
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