I pulled back and said, “This past year, babe, it’s been the best year of my life.”
“It’s been a pretty good one,” she replied casually. I tickled her for that and she shrieked, but I didn’t let up until she breathlessly said, “Okay, okay! Best... Year… Ever!”
“Damn straight.” I gently nipped at her lip. “Can we please leave now and try to catch an early flight?”
“No, Lane!” she laughed. “Do you have any idea how hard it would be to change tickets for eight adults and three kids? Impossible. You’ll just have to be patient,” she chided.
“We can meet everyone else there. I mean, just the four of us go early.”
“You’re as bad as a little kid waiting to go to Disney World.”
I smirked. “You in a bikini for six glorious days is my Disney World, babe.”
“Get out of here and let me finish our packing.” She shoved me toward the door with a grin on her face. As I was heading down the hall, she poked her head out and shouted, “Oh, and put your shirt back on! I don’t need Em ogling your body anymore.”
I laughed and Em shouted, “You can’t keep him clothed this entire trip, my dear friend. I’ll get my eye-candy, don’t you worry.” She winked at me and Jaxon rolled his eyes.
I slipped a gray tank over my head, one that dipped down enough around the neck not to rub my tattoo. I plopped down on my couch and watched my front door open again as Charlie walked in with Jace’s secretary, Josephine. Raegan and I apparently had an open-door policy in this house, since no one seemed to care to knock anymore.
“Charlie!” Kate shouted. “You’re going to the beach, too?”
“Sure am, babe.” He lifted his suitcase to show her the evidence.
Charlie still worked for the force up in New York, but he seemed to be venturing down south more and more these days. I invited him and Mateo along on our vacation because I wanted to thank both of them. Those two guys were crucial, not only in my mission to find Kate, but in helping me maintain my sanity. Charlie was on the case every second he could, always keeping me up-to-date when he received new information. He became my eyes and ears, and I would never be able to thank him enough.
Mateo had helped me navigate the underground fight clubs, and he played a critical role in helping me keeping tabs on Flores. Even though I wasn’t able to bring Kate back on my own—I had Rae to thank for that—Mateo had been there every step of the way, willing to assist me at the drop of a dime.
Unfortunately, he had to decline our invite since he was already on another case, helping to try and bring another family back together. The guy was good to the core. He did, however, accept my gift of a pricey bottle of whiskey and said that maybe he would be able to catch us on our next trip.
Recently, Charlie had taken a liking to Jace’s secretary, who he met a few months ago when he came down to see us. Josephine was tagging along on the trip as well. Charlie said it was just so that he wouldn’t be the odd man out in a group of couples, but the way they were holding hands and giving each other lovey-dovey eyes told me it was probably a little more than that.
“Yeah Kate, Charlie’s gonna babysit you and Braden every night so I can take Mama out,” I bellowed.
Charlie shot me a glare and quickly turned his charming smile back to my daughter. “I’d never pass up an opportunity to hang out with you, little lady.”
Raegan finally made her way back into the living room and sat down on the couch next to me. Her head rested on my chest and I brushed my fingers through her long, silky hair. Everyone else eventually wandered into the living room, finding a spot wherever they could. Braden sat down on my leg and Kate crawled up onto Raegan’s lap.
This was my family. Everyone in this room I happily called my family. We didn’t have the same blood running through our veins, but that didn’t mean we loved each other any less. Each one of us would go to the ends of the Earth for one another. This was the life I had always wanted for my future family. I never knew it was possible for a group of people to mesh together in the most randomly wonderful way, but I loved them all.
Especially the three squeezed in around me. The little boy in my lap that exuded the same fierce sense of protectiveness for his family that I did. The little girl that could bring us all to tears with laughter on a daily basis. And the beautiful woman next to me that radiated strength, determination, and the deepest love I had ever felt. They were the ones I would fight for every day.
A little over a year ago, I was wallowing in my own misery. I was told it was time to finally move on, that what I wanted just may not be obtainable anymore. But life was a funny bastard. Sometimes it gave you what you always wanted, and then it liked to throw in a little extra you never knew you needed. Call me greedy, but I wanted it all. And I’d be damned if it was going to take it from me again.
- Acknowledgements –
From the bottom of my heart, a huge thank you goes out to my editor, S.G. Thomas! You answer my late night emails, you are so dang picky and keep me on my toes. You clean up my grammar and make sure I don’t switch to some weird tense. You are definitely a ball-buster. It should go on your business card! You are one-of-a-kind, and I’m so glad we found each other through Beautiful Broken Rules. You make my story stronger and you understand my characters almost as much as I do. Please don’t ever leave me!
To my writing group, AS101, I am extremely grateful for your endless help. Especially, Brooke Cumberland who without a doubt is probably the nicest person I have never actually met. You never stop helping and I just hope that we can all return the favor in some way.
To all the blogs that send messages and support my books, a million thank you’s would never be enough.
And to of course, my husband. You do it all and then some. Every girl deserves a guy like you in their life.