by Natalie Ann
Copyright 2019 Natalie Ann
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without a written consent.
Author’s Note
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
The Road Series-See where it all started!!
Lucas and Brooke’s Story- Road to Recovery
Jack and Cori’s Story – Road to Redemption
Mac and Beth’s Story- Road to Reality
Ryan and Kaitlin’s Story- Road to Reason
The All Series
William and Isabel’s Story — All for Love
Ben and Presley’s Story – All or Nothing
Phil and Sophia’s Story – All of Me
Alec and Brynn’s Story – All the Way
Sean and Carly’s Story — All I Want
Drew and Jordyn’s Story— All My Love
Finn and Olivia’s Story—All About You
The Lake Placid Series
Nick Buchanan and Mallory Denning – Second Chance
Max Hamilton and Quinn Baker – Give Me A Chance
Caleb Ryder and Celeste McGuire – Our Chance
Cole McGuire and Rene Buchanan – Take A Chance
Zach Monroe and Amber Deacon- Deserve A Chance
Trevor Miles and Riley Hamilton – Last Chance
The Fierce Five Series
Brody Fierce and Aimee Reed - Brody
Aiden Fierce and Nic Moretti- Aiden
Mason Fierce and Jessica Corning- Mason
Cade Fierce and Alex Marshall - Cade
Ella Fierce and Travis McKinley- Ella
Love Collection
Vin Steele and Piper Fielding – Secret Love
Jared Hawk and Shelby McDonald – True Love
Erik McMann and Sheldon Case – Finding Love
Connor Landers and Melissa Mahoney- Beach Love
Ian Price and Cam Mason- Intense Love
Liam Sullivan and Ali Rogers- Autumn Love
Owen Taylor and Jill Duncan – Holiday Love
Chase Martin and Noelle Bennett- Christmas Love
Zeke Collins and Kendall Hendricks – Winter Love
Troy Walker and Meena Dawson- Chasing Love
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Ella Fierce is the lone girl of the Fierce Five. She’s calm. She’s cool. She’s collected. The rock of the quintuplets. Only no one knows she crumbles like a ten-day-old stale cookie left out on the counter unwrapped when it comes to men. And if she has her way, no one ever will.
Travis McKinley suffered an unthinkable loss forcing him to reevaluate his life and priorities. All those things that made him who he was—all those things that made him a strong protector—were now floating away in the wind. He’d failed those closest to him and he wasn’t sure he’d ever even want to succeed again. Until Ella Fierce. The only problem? She all but chews him up and spits him out every time she sees him.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Up to Something
Push Her Buttons
Everything About Him
Work Up the Nerve
Ask for It
Dropped Her Guard
Never a Good Time
Funny Memory
Interfering Ways
Anything Personal
A Kick In The Butt
Only One
Driving Force
Waiting for My Ride
Occurred to Her
Just See You
My Favorite
Some Lunatic
Share Something
Broken a Lesser Man
All Business
Special Bond
Been So Wrong
Strength and Tenderness
A Human Factor
Not Her Name
Subtle Threat
Feel Welcome
Going to Mean Something
Now I Know
Until Travis
Tackle This Demon
Sick and Tired
Not Possible
Another Shock
Epilogue
Prologue
Ella heard the knock at the door and lifted her head from the pillow. “Yes?”
“Can I come in, Ella?” her mother asked.
Her mother normally didn’t ask, but she guessed storming out of the living room and slamming the door was enough for everyone to ask permission if she wanted to be bothered. She didn’t usually lose her temper like she had, as she prided herself on being calm, cool, and collected at all times. Even as a teen.
Someone had to be the stable one of the Fierce Five and it was always her.
She had twenty minutes up here to get it out of her system, but it didn’t seem to be enough with her mother knocking on the door ready to barge in even if Ella told her no.
She flopped her head back down and wiped her tears on the pillowcase, then flipped it over and rolled off the bed. “Just a minute,” she said. She knew her mother was impatient, but she would wait when she thought one of her children needed it.
Walking into her bathroom quickly, she blew her nose, knuckled away a few more stray offenders, and splashed her face with cold water.
It wasn’t helping. She still looked like she’d been balling her eyes out in her pillowcase and she wondered why she was trying to hide that fact from anyone.
Because she never cried. Ever. It was a sign of weakness, and being the only girl of the Fierce Five made her want to be even stronger than them. She wanted to be Superwoman and they could be Batman’s sidekicks.
She went back into her room and looked around to make sure nothing was out of place, not that it ever was. She was extremely organized. She’d had no choice. That was how she was able to figure out if one of her brothers tampered with anything in her room.
“Hi, Mom,” she said, opening the door.
She turned her back and walked to her bed, then sat down and picked her pillow up, hugging it to her chest. She didn’t often show a vulnerable side, but she felt the time called for it since they all knew she was throwing a “hissy fit” as Cade shouted to her when she stormed out after his announcement.
She hadn’t realized her mother had her hands behind her back until she sat down and pushed them out in front of her, bearing her gift like the biggest prize in Charlotte, and said, “I brought us chocolate to share.”
There was a king-sized Hershey bar staring at her. She wanted to growl at her mother for tempting her, but instead reached for the whole thing and opened it up, then broke a piece off. “I’m not sharing.”
Her mother patted her hand. “You’re making a bigger deal out of this than it is.”
“I don’t think so,” she argued. “Why can’t I have anything to myself?”
“Ella. I get it. But you knew that one of the boys was going to go to the same college as you. We’ve been talking about this for a good year.”
She sniffled some more. She was hoping she could avoid it. She’d been so good at talking her brothers and parents out of everything, or talking them into something. No one gathered information and planned it out
like her.
“Why Cade? Of all of them, why him? I’ll never get a boyfriend now,” she said as more fresh tears rolled down her face.
“First off, Cade is the best choice because, between you and me, I think he’s the one that might need someone to watch out for him, not the other way around. But don’t you dare tell a soul I said that.”
Ella felt her lips twitch. “Probably. But he’s also the worst of them when it comes to me around guys.”
“Well, now. You did that to yourself, Ella.”
She narrowed her eyes at her mother, who just continued to stare at her with a cocky smirk on her lips. “I don’t need them watching out for me or scaring everyone I like away.”
“You’re the youngest of five. Four older, bigger brothers who are going to protect and watch out for you your entire life. If you find a guy and he can’t handle your brothers, then he’s not worth it.”
She’d always thought the same thing, but it was getting annoying. “I had to all but beg someone to go to the prom with me this year. Do you know how humiliating that is?”
“Again,” her mother said, “that’s your own doing. It’s just a date. Your brothers wouldn’t terrorize a boy for one date. At least I don’t think they would. No, they wouldn’t.” Her mother’s head was shaking side to side after it’d been bobbing up and down.
“It’s not my fault that most guys are intimidated by me. If I use the logic of them having to accept my brothers, then they have to accept that I’m a strong woman.”
“Oh, Ella,” her mother said, patting her leg this time. Her mother was always touchy feely…unlike Ella herself. “You have so much to learn. You’re a strong woman and it’s a great trait to have. One I have myself. But when you find the right man, you’ll find you don’t always have to be so strong.”
“I don’t think so. I’m not ever relying on any man for anything.”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “You’re young. You’ll figure it out. Trust me, there’s time to find a guy, and when you do, you’ll find all these things you thought you wanted to be won’t make a difference.”
She didn’t believe a word her mother was saying. “I doubt it.”
“Trust me, Ella. Your time will come and when it does, it’s going to knock you and that pride of yours on your skinny little butt.”
Up to Something
Fourteen years later
“Mom,” Ella said. “I didn’t want to spend all day here. What is it that you’re looking for? Didn’t you buy enough stuff before Christmas?”
“I can’t stop myself from buying clothes for Jake and Jeremy. They look so much like Mason, and Jessica said they’re growing out of everything. Just like your brothers did. Jessica’s still recovering. She told me that the boys needed clothes.”
Ella rolled her eyes. Her twin nephews were five weeks old. Yes, Jessica had a C-section and was still recovering, but she wasn’t so weak that she couldn’t run to the store or order clothes online if the boys needed anything.
Which they didn’t because Ella alone had purchased over ten outfits for each of them for Christmas, all in the next size. Her mother was up to something and she was trying to figure out what it was. Thankfully, Ella was known for an abundance of patience. Something her mother lacked.
“Then why haven’t we gone into one children’s department store? You keep dragging me to women’s departments.”
“I don’t understand, Ella. You always loved to shop before.”
“I love to shop all the time, but I’m busy at work and I don’t really need anything with Christmas only being last week. You bought me a bunch of clothes, along with everyone else.”
“That’s because we all know how much you love clothes,” her mother said, bobbing her head up and down like she had all of Ella’s life. She’d never stop doing that either and Ella wondered if it was possible for someone to suffer a concussion from it with the speed her mother exhibited.
“Let’s go get some lunch and have a seat. Then you can tell me what this trip to the mall is all about before I go back to work.”
“You never take a day off. Why can’t you stay away for one full day?” her mother asked when they sat down in a booth at a restaurant in the mall. “Why can’t we just have a girl’s day to ourselves? One full day?”
She felt the tug of guilt, but since she’d spent several girls’ days with her mother in the past two months, she wasn’t falling for it today. “Because I’ve got too much work to do and no one else can do it but me.”
“Teach someone,” her mother argued.
Ella snorted out a laugh that had no humor in it at all. “It’s not that simple. There are things only the five of us do and know about.”
“There are nine of you now. Show one of the other girls how to do something.”
“Aimee has no desire to learn anything in the office. She runs the bar with Brody and it’s her thing. She’s good at it and she likes working with Cade and Aiden when it comes to food and promotions in the bar.”
“That’s true. What a good fit Aimee was for Brody.”
“You’d know. You found her.” Ella never suspected it until her third brother started dating someone seriously. None of them dated anyone seriously for years, and then they started dropping like flies caught in a web.
Her mother ignored her. “Fine. Then ask Nic.”
“Nic is in the kitchen with Aiden. She has her hands full and she doesn’t like working in an office. Again, she’s with Cade when it comes to taking pictures for the promotions and when she isn’t doing that, she is doing all the paperwork that Aiden can’t stand to do.”
“That’s another good fit too. I’ve been blessed with two wonderful daughters-in-law.”
“Again. You picked out Nic too.” She was just waiting for her mother to finally admit it.
“Speaking of daughters-in-law, I can’t wait until Mason and Jessica get married this summer.”
“You love having all these weddings so close together.”
“Of course I do. What mother doesn’t want to see her kids settled down? Jessica told me that she and Mason are each going to hold one of the twins during the ceremony. How sweet is that going to be?”
“Very sweet,” Ella agreed. Then again, Mason was always the sweet one of the group.
“Now we just need Cade and Alex to pick a date. I hope they don’t wait too long.”
“Just tell me the truth, Mom. You picked out Alex too. Why can’t you admit it to me? Everyone knows except Cade and Alex.”
“You’re not going to tell them, are you?” her mother asked frantically. She never had a poker face as much as she’d thought she did.
That was almost an admission, which Ella wanted to point out, but chose to store it away for another day. “Would it matter? Brody, Aiden, and Mason know they were set up and they aren’t upset over it.”
“Give Cade some more time. Speaking of that…if they aren’t upset over it, then why are you so set against me finding someone for you?”
“Don’t even think about going behind my back and doing that. I’m the only one who was on to you. I’ve got my eye on you right now.”
“Such a smart girl you are, Ella. Which is why I’m not going to go behind your back.” Before Ella could say anything, her mother turned to two men in suits at the table next to them. “Are either of you single? My daughter is. Isn’t she just lovely?”
“Mom,” Ella said, her face turning red. “Ignore her. She hasn’t taken her meds today and just blurts things out without thought if we don’t keep a tight rein on her.”
“Ella Marie,” her mother said, her jaw dropping. “What a horrible thing to say about your mother.”
The two men were laughing at them now. “Sorry, I’m married,” one man said.
The other said, “I’m not, but have a girlfriend. I know a few guys that might be interested though if you’re up for a blind date.”
“Take them up on it, Ella,” her mother urged. “You haven’t b
een on a date in way too long.”
Talk about mortification. Ella turned to the men, put her best business face on and said, “No, thank you. Sorry to interrupt your lunch.” Then she turned back to her mother. “That’s just rotten and you know it.”
“I said I wouldn’t go behind your back. I might as well do it in front of you now.”
“You’re impossible,” Ella said.
“You wouldn’t have me any other way.”
***
“Honey, I’m home,” Jolene shouted two hours later. “Gavin, where are you?”
“I’m in the kitchen,” he shouted back. Their house was always filled with yelling. Four big loud sons, her husband the biggest of all the boys in the house, and her and Ella. Everyone was always talking over the other.
“I didn’t have any luck today,” she said, dropping her bags on the floor.
Her husband of thirty-seven years looked down at her loot. “You could have fooled me.”
She waved her hand. “I always have luck shopping. I got the grandkids some clothes and toys.”
“As if they don’t have enough from what you filled under the tree this year. We’re going to have to get a bigger tree and put it in the larger family room next year,” he said.
She smiled at him, then walked over and gave him a loud smacking kiss. “I remember a time you wouldn’t have considered a tree, let alone Christmas decorations in the bar.”
“Then some smooth-talking beautiful woman told me to stop being a Bah Humbug and get over myself.”
“Aren’t you so glad you listened to me all those years ago?” she asked, loving that he wrapped her up tight in his arms just now. She’d never grow tired of being held by him and she wanted all her children to experience a love like she’d had for almost four decades.
“I am. So tell me what you aren’t having luck with if it wasn’t shopping?”
“Ella. I tried to introduce her to two very nice men in suits at the restaurant during lunch and asked if they wanted to take her on a date.”