“This is gorgeous,” Zoey was saying as she looked out into the expanse of my yard. “Is that a barn out there?”
“It is,” I replied, looking out at the classically red structure that sat about a half mile away from the house. “It’s empty, except for the riding lawnmower and a tractor that the previous owners left behind. I’m not here enough to have animals or anything yet, maybe if I move here permanently someday.”
“So you have a barn, that’s practically empty?” she remarked, causing me to look at her curiously, then her question from earlier came to me.
“You want to have a barn dance,” I said as more of a statement than a question.
I ran my hand down her long hair, which was free and hanging down past her shoulders, realizing I’d give her anything, even if it was a damn barn dance.
“I really do,” she replied wistfully, swinging away from the railing to launch herself into my arms.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
“What’s that?”
“You plan your dance for Halloween, and ask my mom to help, throw in a hayride or some shit, you’ll have her eating out of the palm of your hands.”
Zoey pulled back, her wide eyes on me.
“Really?”
“Hell yeah,” I replied, leaning down to drop a kiss on the tip of her pretty little nose. “If there’s one thing Annabeth Lewis loves, it’s a party.”
“Awesome.”
I ran my nose along the length of hers and whispered softly, “I’m happy you’re here.”
“Me too.”
“And I’m sorry my mom’s being a little difficult, but you give her some time, just be you, and let her help you plan the town’s first-ever barn dance, and I promise, she’ll love you as much as I do.”
“Okay.”
“Now, what do you say I grab you a glass of wine, I get a beer, and we sit over on that porch swing a while.”
“That sounds perfect.”
We sat out on the swing, talking about our plans for the immediate future. I had my son up in his room happily playing video games, and the woman I loved curled up next to me on my porch, and I knew without a doubt I was the luckiest man in the world.
Epilogue
“Does this stay or go?” Chloe asked, pointing to my cardboard cutout of R2D2.
“Um, stay, but I’ll move it to my office,” I replied, then went back to packing up my books.
It had been five months since I made the decision to get on that plane and go to Gabe, and our lives had been moving at warp speed since.
We’d split a lot of time between North Carolina and Cherry Springs, going there for all of the holidays, and taking Chloe and Chris along with us. Rather than rent a house here, I’d told Gabe he should just move in with me, which he had … happily. We’d finished off a bonus room over my garage and turned it into my office and were busy moving everything up there to give us more space in the main part of the house. He hadn’t moved a bunch of stuff in, but keeping my office downstairs didn’t work, especially since I needed silence to write, and he always had some sort of sport playing on the television.
It was weird, living with another person and sharing space, but I found that even the annoying things he did didn’t outweigh the fact that I was the happiest I’d ever been.
My Young Adult series was complete and I’d finished the press tour before Thanksgiving, and my time travel book had been sold to a new publishing house, which made me excited, but terribly nervous. Now I was beginning a new series. It was about a zombie apocalypse, set in the nineteen seventies, and took place in Cherry Springs.
The town inspired me. The small-town feel, the way everyone knew each other and looked out for one another. So that got me thinking, what if one of their local sweethearts, a real “girl next door” type, contracted a disease on spring break on a remote island, and became a zombie. How would the town react? Would they hide her secret from the world, protect her? Or would they turn against her, kill her, and try to keep it a secret?
I didn’t have all the details worked out yet, but Gabe and I were moving to his place in Spring Creek for a few months to help me get in the right headspace.
We were already planning to bring Chris out for his spring break, Easter, and Memorial Day, then for the summer, but I knew both he and Gabe were going to miss each other fiercely. They’d grown incredibly close over the last few months.
“Have you thought any more about moving with us to Cherry Springs?” I asked Chloe, nervous about bringing it up again. I didn’t want her to feel pressured, but I really wanted her to come. “You can go back to school, and I know Chris wouldn’t mind…”
“I’m still thinking about it, okay?” Chloe asked, giving me a look. One that screamed, stop asking that question.
“Okay,” I replied softly, then added, “I think Reardon would be happy if you moved there.”
Chloe looked up at me, her face full of confusion.
“Why? Reardon doesn’t even like me.”
Boy, my sister sure could blind.
“Uh, yeah, he does … I think he likes you a lot, and not in the friendly sort of way.”
“Shut up! You’re delusional, Zoey. You’ve got stars in your eyes, and you’re seeing things that aren’t there.”
“If you say so,” I muttered, thinking I shouldn’t push my luck when she was already annoyed with me. And maybe I did want everyone to find love because I had, but I’d seen the way Reardon looked at her when he thought no one was watching.
“Hey, babe, you ready?” Gabe called as he walked in the front door, then said, “Hi, Chloe.”
“Hey, Gabe.”
“Honey, I don’t know if now’s the best time,” I started, looking at the boxes scattered throughout my living room.
“You need to eat,” Gabe argued. “So I’m going to feed you. C’mon, we’ll be back in less than an hour.”
“I don’t want to leave Chloe…”
“Go,” Chloe urged.
“Okay,” I said, throwing up my hands, even though it made me twitchy to leave things half done.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked for the third time since we left the house.
Gabe just smirked and didn’t answer. Just like he had every other time I’d asked.
I folded my hands with a huff and bounced back in my seat, staring out the window as we passed a sign stating Moore Cove Falls was at the next turn. I watched as Gabe swung the car that way, then pulled to a stop and parked. He got out, popped the trunk, and pulled out a picnic basket and a blanket.
“We’re having a picnic?” I asked, my little tantrum over as I realized how sweet my man was. Again.
“Yes, my little impatient love,” Gabe said with a smile, then offered me his arm.
It wasn’t a hard hike, but it was a beautiful one.
When we got to the base of the waterfall, Gabe spread the blanket out on a beautiful large rock and placed the picnic basket on top, then took my hand, and walked us over to the falls.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said, staring at the clear water cascading down the jagged stone surface.
“It’s not our waterfall, but I still hoped it would be the perfect spot,” he said, and when I shifted to ask him perfect for what, I saw him lowering to his knees.
My right hand came to my mouth, trembling as I looked down at my handsome man.
He gripped my left hand, his hands shaking slightly as he looked up at me, his eyes full of love, hope, and promise.
“Zoey,” he began, and I whimpered behind my palm. “I’ve never met a woman like you before in my life. Funny, gorgeous, smart, and sexy as hell. I love the way you’re always watching, taking things in, and storing them away in that brilliant mind of yours. I love your addiction to Red Vines, and the relationship you share with my son. Your open heart, generosity, and belief in me is unwavering, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving to you that mine is the same. Be with me … No matter where our lives take us next, or
what happens, I know that I can deal with it, if you’re by my side. Please, Zoey Zahn, say you’ll make my dreams a reality, and become my wife.”
Gabe pulled a small blue box out of his jacket pocket and opened it, revealing a gorgeous heart-shaped diamond ring, with more diamonds lining the band.
I stood there for a few seconds, staring at the ring and trying to memorize everything he said word for word so I could transcribe it later and keep it with me forever, then I shouted, “Yes, Gabriel Lewis, nothing would make me happier.”
He slid the ring on my finger, then jumped up with a Whoop! and lifted me, swinging me in a circle as we both laughed happily.
As I leaned down and captured his laughter with my lips, I thought about how perfect this moment was, a beautiful story that we could share forever, and decided that this was enough happiness to fill up this moment in our life.
I’d wait until we were settled in our home in Cherry Springs to tell him I was pregnant.
THE END
Sneak Peek of Too Complicated, book 2 in The Lewis Cousins Series
Chapter One ~ Reardon
I sighed as I watched the family of ducks waddle into the pond from my seat on the wooden bench at Cherry Springs Pond. I often crossed the street from my Law Office in the afternoon to eat lunch and enjoy some fresh air. It was good for me to get out from behind my desk, and look at something other than paperwork and my computer.
Usually, it had a calming effect and helped relieve any stress I may be feeling from work, but today, my shitty mood had nothing to do with work.
It was one hundred percent due to Chloe Zahn.
Gorgeous, smart, independent, complicated, Chloe Zahn.
I’d first seen Chloe the night she hooked up with my cousin, Gabe, at his first Super Bowl Party about fourteen years ago. Neither of us saw her again until last summer, when she came to Gabe’s summer camp to tell him that the boy who’d just spent a week at his camp, was actually his son.
If that wasn’t shocking enough, Gabe had, fortunately, or unfortunately, depending how you looked at it, fallen for her sister Zoey, and Chloe’s declaration caused a whole lot of confusion and turmoil.
Luckily, things had worked out between Gabe, Zoey, Chris, and Chloe, and now they were one big, but weird, happy family.
Things got even more complicated when they all decided to make Cherry Spring’s their home, Chloe included, and were moving quickly, so everyone would be settled and have plenty of time to plan Gabe and Zoey’s wedding, which was coming up in four short weeks.
Why was I in a bad mood over Chloe moving to town, when everything was obviously going well with the soon to be blended family? Because I’d wanted Chloe since the second I saw her across that smoky bar when I was a young, dorky law student, and she’d walked straight into the arms of my cousin.
In my mind, she’d always been the one who got away.
Little did I know, all the years I’d been remembering her and wondering what could have been, she was raising her and Gabe’s son alone, never thinking twice about me. I wasn’t even a blip on her radar.
Tossing the last of my corned beef on rye to the ducks, I stood tall and stretched, then turned to head back to my office, yelling hello to familiar faces along the way.
Cherry Springs was the kind of place where everyone knew not only your name, but who you had a crush on in elementary school, and how you got that cut on your upper lip. (Bike accident.)
I loved everything about it.
“How’s your momma, Reardon?”
I paused outside the door to my office, and turned to see old Mrs. Dingle coming toward me from the coffee shop on the corner.
“She’s doing really good, Mrs. Dingle, all ready for the Easter Parade,” I replied with an easy smile. One of the great aspects of living here was the people, and as the only lawyer in town, I always thought it was part of my job to take the time to stay on friendly terms with everyone.
It had driven my ex, Becca nuts, the way people were always stopping us to talk, expecting us to spend time catching up, when all she was worried about was getting back to the city and hitting up the hottest new restaurants and clubs. I must have been crazy to think she’d ever want to get married and settle down here, but I’d definitely considered asking her.
Thank God I came to my senses before I did.
“Wonderful,” the much smaller woman replied. At six foot six inches, I was used to towering over everyone, but Mrs. Dingle was probably a flat five foot. “I know Annabeth is over the moon about young Christopher, and now Zoey is pregnant, too, I’m sure your momma would like a grandbaby someday soon, what are you waiting for, son? A big strapping boy like you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a woman to settle down with.”
I felt my face redden, but this was a conversation I was used to having. Even more so now that Gabe had given his parents not one, but two grandbabies to fawn over. It was making the other Lewis matrons antsy.
“I’m doing my best, ma’am.”
“Well, don’t dawdle,” she said, then her face turned sly when she added, “Hmmm, she’s a nice prospect.”
I turned to see who Mrs. Dingle was looking at, then froze when I saw Chloe walking down the sidewalk, her gaze on the gazebo across the street.
Right before she could walk in to me, I cleared my throat, and she stopped, startled.
When Chloe recognized that it was me, she gave an unsure smile and said, “Oh, uh, hello, Reardon.”
“Chloe,” I replied with a stiff nod, cursing myself silently. I was always such a moron around her. First, I’d been resentful of the fact that she’d picked Gabe, then wary when she showed up with a teenaged son, saying it was his. The lawyer in me had taken over, and I’d come off pretty harsh until we knew she was telling the truth. I knew she thought I didn’t trust her, didn’t like her, and I’d done nothing to dissuade her from believing that. It was better than her knowing the way I really felt.
After an awkward pause, during which I noticed that her long dark hair was hanging straight and shiny down her back, and her large brown, doe eyes were watching me warily, her smile dropped and she said, “I’m just looking around, acquainting myself with my new home… I’m sure you have to get back to work, uh, see you tonight.”
“Tonight?” I asked dumbly, apparently being in her presence made me a total idiot.
“Dinner at Zoey and Gabe’s?” she said slowly, and I remembered that they’d invited me over to help welcome Chloe to town, permanently. I knew Dillon and Jasmine were going, but I’d been planning on begging off for work, but now, if I didn’t show after talking with Chloe about it, she’d think I was avoiding her.
Which had definitely been my plan.
“Oh, yeah, right, see you there,” I replied, then turned before I stuttered around any more and let myself into my office.
I was a funny, confident, successful man. I’d dated a number of women, and could even be considered a catch, why then, did I always turn into my geeky high school alter ego whenever I was around Chloe?
I’d dated beautiful women before, what made her different?
I needed a distraction, something to get me through the night without making a complete ass of myself.
She’s just a girl… right? Pulling my phone from my inside pocket, I scrolled down until I found the name I wanted and pressed send.
“Shauna, hey, how’s it going?” I asked, when the whisper soft voice answered. “Great, yeah, me too. Hey, I was wondering… I know it’s last minute, but are you busy tonight? Care to join me at a family dinner? Six o’clock? Perfect, see you then.”
Sexy, single, and always ready for a good time, Shauna was just who I needed to help get my mind off of the fact that Chloe, the one woman I wanted, but could never have, was in my life to stay.
Chapter One of Imperfect Harmony (House of Archer, #1) by Raine Thomas
Archer wanted blood. Hot temper burned in his chest as he stormed down the tunnels of the venue where he and the rest of
Suddenly Something had just wrapped up another concert.
He’d absolutely had it.
Catching up with the band’s lead singer, Brandon Evans, Archer grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and got right in his face. “I’m so sick of your shit, Brandon!” When Brandon snorted and tried to shrug him off, Archer tightened his hold. “No way. You’re not walking away this time, you prick.”
“Archer, now isn’t the time for this,” came a female voice from behind them.
Archer whipped his head around to pin Regina Greene, Suddenly Something’s manager, with a dangerous glare. “It’s never the right time, Regina. Back the hell off.”
Brandon smirked and nodded dismissively at Regina. She gave them each warning looks before clipping away on her ice pick heels in the direction of the security guards manning the end of the long tunnel. Archer figured she was telling the guards to keep anyone from entering the tunnel while his “conversation” with Brandon took place. God forbid word got out to the public about the band members arguing.
“What are you whining about now, Archie?” Brandon asked in a bored voice, leaning negligently against the tunnel wall.
Archer’s already seething temper threatened to ignite over Brandon’s use of the hated nickname. “You know why I’m pissed, Brandon. You stepped all over my vocals tonight. You’ve been doing it more and more and I’m sick of it.”
Brandon rolled his eyes. “Who the hell cares? No one comes to hear you sing. You’re the backup vocalist, Archie. I’m the lead singer. It’s time you got that through your huge head.”
“My huge head?” Archer echoed. “You’re the one who seems to think this group revolves around you.”
“That’s because it does,” Brandon retorted. “I’m the face of Suddenly Something. You’re nothing.”
The barbed comment hit a bull’s eye, but Archer wasn’t about to let Brandon know it. “That’s bullshit. I’ve played a big part in our success. Hell, I’m more talented than you and you know it. That’s why you keep trying to step over me.”