Bellissimo Rilascio (Beautiful Release): The Family Series #3 (26 page)

Class of 2015

School of Deflective Tactics – Head of Class

School of Smart-Ass- Valedictorian

“It looks just like yours. It has a seal and everything.”

“It does look authentic, Bianca, but I assure you this is nothing like mine.”

“Which one? Pick one of the seven, and I’ll bet they match. You ordered yours from a nicer website didn’t you?”

“Mine are real.”

“So’s mine.”

“No, yours was a gift, mine was earned.”

“There you go all pompous and literal. Go get a drink.”

Lynsey comes over, and Bianca grabs her hand. “Lyns this is Doc. Doc this is Lynsey. She may be your next patient, but only if we get this billing issue worked out. You haven’t responded to my demand letter.”

“Your claim has no merit.”

“Okay, but now I can’t put you in my book because you’re not being helpful.”

“Have you written a book?”

“No.”

“Talk to me when you do. Maybe I’ll reconsider.”

“Greedy.”

“Best of luck, Mr. De Luca. She has my number when
you
need it.”

“Baby, is this how all your therapy sessions went?”

“Not all.”

“Define not all.”

“Eighty percent were like that. Maybe ninety. But I made him a better therapist. He was boring me.”

“It’s a miracle he didn’t prescribe you medication.”

“He can’t. He’s a psychologist.”

“So he’s not even a real doctor?”

“He is, but I think that’s why it bothers him when I say his degrees are fake.”

“He took the bait. Rookie mistake 101.”

“He never saw it coming, baby.”

“I’m not surprised.”

The reception goes on for a few more hours before I steal my wife and begin baby-making practice. Practice makes perfect.

Epilogue

All of Us

Seven Years Later

Bronson

My life is one I worked hard for. I’ve learned not to take a moment for granted because it can all be ripped away. For each evil act I witnessed, I was blessed tenfold. Callie and I settled into marriage and family flawlessly because that’s what was always supposed to be. I didn’t exist without her.

Angelo, at eleven, is my spitting image with his aunt’s personality. God help us all. He’s shortstop on his baseball team, and we spend almost every weekend at the ball field. My mom loves it and has charmed all of the other moms. She sees my dad in him, and if he’s half the man he was, then I’m proud. While I don’t want to repeat all my father’s actions, I want to be the dad and husband he was. I have big shoes to fill, but I strive for them everyday.

I watch everyone here celebrating Callie’s thirty-second birthday. She’s as beautiful today as she was the day I married her. Our lives have changed with kids, obligations, and age, but our love is steadfast. I relish in the Saturday mornings the kids jump in our bed demanding donuts and cartoons. Life is what you make it, and I’ve made mine pretty damn perfect.

Callie

He’s still my rock. Bronson Agosto came into my life when I needed him the most. A scared little girl that he nurtured, allowed to grow, and always loved. He showed strength when I was weak, and in doing that, I was able to be strong when he was weak. I pick up our little girl, Lia, and hand her over to her dad. It’s where she was going but couldn’t get through the crowd. It’s where she always is when he’s home . . . his arms. She looks just like me but has his demeanor. Stubborn. Sure. Loving. I don’t think she will ever escape his overprotectiveness. If he thought Bianca and I were bad, he has another thing coming when his daughter and niece hit the teenage years. We waited a while to have her, and she just celebrated her third birthday.

Bianca and I were pregnant together. Our girls are two weeks apart, and chaos ensues whenever they are together. I almost feel bad for the shit we put Bronson through, but I still laugh. Let me tell you, Bianca is not a pleasant pregnant person. Nope. Pregnancy is not for her, so when she did the shit a second time last year, I wanted to move to Timbuktu. I thought about changing my phone number but then realized she lived right next door. Eh, I begged Heath to get neutered, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Said the gun is no good if it’s shooting blanks.

Everyone came out today for my birthday, but this is normal for us. We always have an excuse for a cookout or meal out. We don’t need an excuse, our friendship is our bond. Our strength. I’m blessed to be a part of it. Responsibilities change as life happens, but we all grew up together and began our transition into parenting, marriage and ‘adulthood’ around the same time. As our priorities shifted, our love for one another remained forefront. Family isn’t always blood, but it’s who is in your heart, and these people are embedded in mine.

Dakota

Almost twenty years of friendship is in this room. Lisa, Heath, and Lynsey were added later but are one of us. Time and tribulations couldn’t separate us, we are like the Musketeers . . . one for all and all for one. We’re there for the big moments and the little ones. In the darkest times of my life, they were all there, and space and distance didn’t tarnish our friendships.

I watch my four-year-old son, Adam, run around chasing Bianca’s daughter and have to hold back a laugh when I see Heath getting testy. That won’t be a relationship made in heaven and never will her parents bless it. Lisa and I decided one child was enough for us, and he’s proved to be everything we needed. He’s hell on wheels, no holds barred, all boy. Drives his mother nuts but she wouldn’t trade a minute of it.

My grandparents passed away last year, and I was grateful they got to spoil Adam and start a journey as grandparents and not pseudo-parents. The joy he brought them allowed us to bury everything. Any lingering bitterness disappeared the day Adam was born. The love you feel for your child dulls everything else in your life. It’s your saving grace, your second chance. I’ve had many chances, and I’m lucky to get this one right. With Lisa by my side, she constantly guides me.

Lisa

I’m still overwhelmed by this group. It’s unconventional, but it works. The love and laughter shared is the glue that holds us together. Disagreements begin and end as soon as a cross word leaves our mouths. Our kids play together, pitch tantrums with one another, and if one does, the other four follow. It’s a mess, but it’s one I revel in. The dirt of life is the best for growing lifelong friendships, and that’s what we all have.

Heath

If Dakota doesn’t get his son away from my Princess, I’m going to beat the ever-loving shit out of him and then teach Angelina how to do the same to Adam. Bianca rests her hand on my shoulder and shakes her head. She knows where my head is, but that’s my baby girl. She may look like me, but she is her Momma’s daughter through and through. “Stop it. I’m telling Nana!” my little girl screams at her cohort. I wonder where she got that.

Marriage and fatherhood are everything I dreamt and more. Each day is still a challenge with my wife, but I knew that when I dove head first in love with her and wouldn’t expect anything less. Not from her. Not with her.

We visit my dad often, but with the addition of our kids, he is here a lot. It’s good to see the joy on his face and hopefully it eases some of the past regrets. We all have them, and learning to leave them behind is a lesson we all struggle with. It nearly destroyed my life once, and I learned then to move on from them. Family and future are what I live for now.

Bianca

Holy shit people need to sew their vaginas shut. No more kids. Five. Count them if you can, but they move too fast. And the noise they make. I secretly love it, but I can’t let anyone know that. My little boy, barely walking, struggles to squirm out of my arms to go wrestle with the rest of them. Lorenzo looks like Heath and my dad. He has his dad’s personality, and I thank the heavens above because my little tyrant Angelina is me . . . and it isn’t pretty at my house on most days. The shit she says . . .

I listen to Bronson bitch about the latest NASCAR schedule and something about points to the chase . . . I swear he’d bitch if you hung him with a new rope. Always something to gripe about. In all fairness, we aged him faster than normal. I look at Lia and Angelina and giggle when I catch Callie’s eye. Oh yeah, it’s on. Those girls are going to kill their daddies.

Darkness and light were created and extinguished in this group. Through it all we managed to hang on. We are ride or die bitches. All in. Hard core. But follow that shit up with a pedicure and massage. I’m not totally thug. Dr. Adams still hasn’t responded to my demand letter, but I still haven’t written a book. Maybe I will if I can talk Callie into doing it with me. If not, she can go fuck herself.

Lynsey

I sit back and observe. That’s what I do, and boy have I learned a lot. I’ve learned what I want from life when I look around at this group. They are family. They are united. I have a mouth like a steel trap. I don’t share. But maybe one day soon I’ll have enough to say to fill a book.
#comingsoon.

Playlist

Fix You by Coldplay

Secondhand Smoke by Kelsea Ballerini

Breathe Me by Sia

Let it Out by Mia Sable

I Got the Boy by Jana Kramer

Angel Eyes by The Jeff Healey Band

Acknowledgements

This never gets easy. I'm always afraid of leaving someone out. I already gave Stephie her kudos but she's greedy and will want somethiing else . . . so to you- I flove you. It's that simple.

My readers- THANK YOU! I published two years ago not knowing anything and I'll be honest I never expected it to be this hard to get my name out there, have someone take a chance on my words . . . so those of you who did I am beyond grateful and in love with you. XOXO

Bloggers- I hate that term. It sounds like it's less than it is. You tirelessly support us, help get the word out, buy, read, review . . . and lets face it, there are some assholes out there who want to ruin it but THANKS for sticking it out and doing what you love so we can continue to do what we love.

My betas- Your notes kill me, just like my misplaced commas and mispelled words kill you. I love getting your notes and thank you for not telling me I suck.

Ummmm- I think I'm out of words so for anyone I've slighted or forgot, I own it, I'm completely unorganized and write this on the fly because no matter what I say, who I thank it isn't enough. THANK YOU!!!!

Other Works by Leigh Ann Lunsford

Not Enough (Parker Siblings, #1)

Amazon:
 
http://amzn.to/1QQcy8Z

GR link: 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18777327

Brielle Parker has her life in front of her; she just does not know how to live it. After years of not being enough for her parents, or the dreams she once had, how did one man Colby James show her she was actually more than enough?

Raised by her grandparents with her three siblings, Brielle was loved, no doubt. However, her grandparents were taken too soon, and she was left with her older sibling to try to raise her younger ones. She couldn’t help but let the doubts take over her life. Would she ever be enough? Then Colby walked in and changed everything, and just when she was facing her fears and falling in love for the first time, Colby ripped her heart out. 

Will they be able to get past their mistakes to live the life they both want? Did Colby finally break Brielle when all he wanted to do was protect and love her? You can rebound from some mistakes, but some you just have to learn from and walk away. The love they have is true and pure, but will they finally be enough for each other?

Not Leaving (Parker Siblings, #2)

Amazon: 
http://amzn.to/1NEi8Ls

GR link: 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20562403

Addison Parker has loved one boy all her life, Tyler James. She met him the first day of school after moving to Tennessee to live with her grandparents. Through death, raising her younger siblings, betrayal, and heartbreak, he has been there. She has forgiven him for many things, but this time when he leaves, she decides he is not her future anymore. 

Tyler James loves Addison Parker. He has made mistakes, but his love is always constant. He wants to be with her, but through lies and misunderstandings it doesn’t seem possible anymore. When a single moment changes his future, will he be able to come back and pick up the pieces of their relationship, or did he finally break all of her faith in him?

Not Hiding (Parker Siblings, #3)

Amazon:  
http://amzn.to/1QQcHJM

GR link: 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21857409

Cambree Parker has finally flown the nest and headed off to college in a different state, truly alone for the first time. Trying to escape from her sisters shadows, she runs from the lies and deceit that have plagued her family for years, and from the boy who stole her heart and shredded it in the process. Once there, she realizes her freedom is not all she hoped it would be. She misses her family, thinks of Max daily, and when she decides she wants to take control, she is attacked, leaving her family to fear for their safety. Can she protect her heart and remain safe when the source of her heartache has taken up permanent residence by her side?