Finally Home (Home Series)

Finally Home

by

Ann Vaughn

This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Text copyright @2014
Ann Vaughn

All rights reserved

Cover art by Sommer Stein

Perfect Pear Creative Covers

www.facebook.com/PPCCovers

Cover photo provided by:

CJC Photography

Cover Model:
Adam Rose

For Shilpa "The Editor"...you've stuck by me through thick and thin, been my sounding board, my shoulder to cry on since we were twelve.  I couldn't do this without you, I hope you know that.

For Denise "The Continuity Queen"...you talked me through some hard parts on this one, through some times when I was ready to throw in the towel.  Thanks for sticking with me and helping me see that some times less is more!

For Tabitha "The PA"...thanks for all you do and continue to do for me to keep things running when I've gone MIA and for all the other times in between. 

For Christine "The Warden"...there are no words.  I would not be where I am today without all your help and belief in me.  Thank you doesn't seem to be enough, but all I can say is Thank You for believing in me.

For my Sinful X Sisters: A.D. Justice, A.M. Madden, J.M. Witt, L.L. Collins and the three without initials: Ren Alexander, Skye Turner and Tricia Daniels.  I really can't recall how I got soooo lucky as to be included in this group, I'm sure it was "The Warden" who roped me in, but I thank God every day that I have all of you in my life.  My
Group Therapy Safe Place, as I call our group: I couldn't survive without all of you.  Each and every one of you has helped me through a really tough stretch and I love you all so very, very much.  I really and truly hope that one day I will get to meet all of you face-to-face.  I may bawl my eyes out and hold each of you so tight you'll have to call the white jackets in to haul me away.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all your love and support.

For my Amazingly Awesome Alpha Street Team:  you guys blow me away with your generosity and tireless efforts on my behalf.  Each and every one of you have come to be close friends and people I rely on daily.  I had no idea when Tabitha set up a street team for me that the members would come to mean as much to me as each and every one of you do.  Thank You doesn't seem to be enough for all you do.  I hope you enjoy your time on my Funny Farm.  I know the Guys and Gals of the Home Series love every second of it, especially The Ego, Malibu Ken, Trouble and his Apprentice ;)

Finally, for my husband, my son, and my daughter: I love you all
con todo mi corazon

Special Acknowledgments:

Thanks to Jennifer Reyes from Jen's Book Reviews, who won a contest to name Colt & Sarah's baby boy, Chris.

Thanks to Sommer Stein at Perfect Pear
Creative Covers for being the perfect partner and sounding board for cover designs.  I know that the work you did on the cover for Finally Home was hard but it looks absolutely amazing and I love it!!!!!

Thanks to Chris Correia at CJC Photography for morning chats and advice and all that fun stuff!

And special, special big, huge Texas-sized THANKS to the wonderfully talented A.M. Madden, for two reasons: 1) for checking all my Italian phrases so The Commander sounds authentic in his cursing ;) and 2) for the use of Devil's Lair, Jack and Leila, and Jack and Leila's special song, "The Reaon I Am".

For Adam:

Thanks for being such a good sport and allowing my crazy readers to call you The Commander.  I hope you've enjoyed it all and not thought us all too terribly insane!!  I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.  Thank you for being a part in bringing Finally Home and The Commander to life.

Also available by Ann Vaughn:

Long Way Home

Finding Home

A Home for Christmas

Finally Home

Praise for A Home for Christmas:

"
Another awesome book by Ann Vaughn!! Every book is a homerun for me! They are so well written and draws you in from the very first page. Ann Vaughn has definitely to the top spot on my favorite author list!"
~Tabitha, Amazeballs Book Addict Blog

Praise for Finding Home:

"This book was really good. I loved that it was steamier than the first. Also, characters that were in the first book were brought into this one. Be sure to read Long Way Home before this book. Ann Vaughn did an excellent job writing and has kept me wanting more from her series."
~Christine, Sinful Thoughts Book Blog

Praise for Long Way Home:

"This book will hook you from the beginning.  I was laughing and crying.  I was angry, and at one point I just wanted to hug Shane.  Overall this is an amazing debut by author Ann Vaughn.  Make sure you check it out!"
~Chelsea, Amazeballs Book Blog

Prologue

The Springfield Founders Day Ball was one of the highlights of the social season in the small but affluent town of Springfield, Texas; a suburb of Dallas.  It was held at the estate of the Adtkisson family, Springfield's founding family, and it was by invitation only.  The Ball was the culmination of a weeklong festival, and every year, the social elite of Springfield dressed to the nines and attended the Ball that also served as a fundraiser for the Adtkisson's various charities. 

Mike Casiano hated going to events such as the Founders Day Ball.  He avoided it whenever possible
. Since joining the Navy five years ago, he hadn't been able to attend one.  Now that he was home on leave, his mother would not let him escape going.  He'd forced his best friend, Riley Stanton, to attend as well, though Riley would have had to come anyway, since his mother also wanted him there.  So, now they stood up on the balcony overlooking the ballroom floor, both dressed in their Naval dress white uniforms.  Both were suffering from their mothers trying to set them up with an endless stream of debutantes. Both he and Riley had danced with a few of the ones they couldn't avoid, but for the most part, had remained impassive toward all the girls.  Mike and Riley were both Naval officers and SEALs, which attracted a lot of female attention, but both had decided to put their careers first and not get entangled with any women during their service.  They had one team member, Pete Zigler, who was married; and though it seemed to work well for Zig and his wife, Mike and Riley decided they didn't want to put the burden of worry on someone the way they'd seen Melissa Zigler suffer every time they shipped out.

"Hannah Stevens is on the prowl tonight," Riley said, pulling Mike from his thoughts.  "She's already made the rounds of several of the Adtkisson brothers."

Mike looked down at the dance floor, studying the woman in question.  Hannah was the daughter of one of his father's associates.  She was very pretty, knew it, and was determined to marry someone just as wealthy if not even wealthier, than she already was. 

"My mother tried to get me to dance with her earlier," Mike confessed. 

"Yeah, mine, too.  Think we've been here long enough to satisfy them?" Riley asked.  "I'm ready to get out of this thing and go have a beer."

Mike glanced at his watch.  They'd been there two hours.  Surely, that was enough time to satisfy their mothers' social obligations. A movement at the base of the stairs caught his eye.  He saw Kacee Adtkisson, the Adtkisson's only daughter, and one of her friends.  Kacee, he knew, was about seventeen or eighteen years old.  She was beautiful, the way all the Adtkisson's were, blonde hair, and blue-green eyes.  If their families hadn't been such good friends, Mike might have considered Kacee an interesting prospect as she grew older; but he'd known her since the day she was born and while he could admire her beauty, he knew there could never be anything between them other than a familial affection.  His eyes drifted from Kacee to the petite girl beside her; and felt his heart leap in his chest.  The girl beside Kacee was beyond what words his brain could conjure up at the moment.  Her hair was a pale blonde, bordering on platinum and framed a face that looked like smooth porcelain.  She was wearing
a dress the color of emeralds, and though she was several inches shorter than the statuesque Kacee, he could see that she had some amazing curves going on.

"Who is the girl there with Kacee Adtkisson?" he asked Riley casually, his eyes still on the girl.  When Riley didn't immediately answer, Mike tore his gaze from the beautiful girl and looked over at Riley, surprised to see a bit of an uncomfortable look on his friend's face.  "What?"

Riley rubbed the back of his neck.  "That's my cousin.  Lainey Riley."

That revelation surprised Mike and he turned to look back down a
t the beautiful girl, now seeing the family resemblance.  It hadn't occurred to him that this could be Riley's cousin, because in all the years he'd known Riley and heard him speak of her, he'd always pictured a little girl...not a teenager on the brink of womanhood.

"I guess I always thought she was a lot younger."

"She's seventeen," Riley said, "she's just small for her age."

Mike agreed that she was petite, but that was definitely no little girl he was seeing.  She was absolutely beautiful, b
ut in an ethereal sort of way; like an angel.  Still, he could understand Riley's reluctance; he had a little sister.

"Let's get out of here," Mike said, putting his hat on.

At the base of the stairs, Lainey Riley stood with Kacee Adtkisson, both girls having just left the dance floor after dancing with a couple of guys who both seemed to have two left feet.  The girls were laughing over their adventure when Lainey looked up and saw her cousin, Riley and his friend making their way down the stairs.  She'd had her eye on Riley's friend the whole evening.  She'
d never seen a more handsome guy before in her life.  He had the most unusual eyes she'd ever seen.  Even from across the room, she'd been mesmerized by them.  They were the palest blue she'd ever seen, so light they were nearly translucent, but had a thin, dark blue ring around the edge, making them stand out even more.  He had dark hair and darkly tanned skin, making those eyes just seem to pop.  In his dress white uniform, he overshadowed every other man in the room, which was saying something, since the Adtkisson men were extremely good-looking.

"Riley?" she said when the guys got to the base of the stairs where she and Kacee stood.  "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, Tink, we're outta here.  Enjoy the rest of the evening," he said, then he and his friend walked away.

"Do you know who Riley's friend is?" she asked Kacee, her eyes on his retreating back.

"That's Mike Casiano, Jeannette Chandler-Casiano's son," Kacee told her, referring to Brad Chandler's sister.  Lainey knew Brad Chandler; he was her mother's boss and Kacee's father's best friend and attorney. 

"He is gorgeous."

Kacee laughed.  "Yes, he is...but do his eyes not scare you just a bit?  They kinda give me the creeps."

To Kacee, Lainey just shrugged, but to herself, she thought they were the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen.  In the years to come, Lainey hoped to see Mike Casiano again, but for nearly ten years, he had not returned to the Founders Day Ball.  She learned later that he was Riley's SEAL team leader and
wished that Riley would bring him home with him when he visited but he never did. 

Chapter One

“You’re coming out with us tonight, right?”

Lainey Riley looked up from her computer to see her best friend and business partner, Kacee Adtkisson, standing just inside her office door.  Kacee’s long-distance boyfriend, Connor Douglas, was in town and she wanted everyone to come out to dinner and celebrate with them.

As much as Lainey loved her friend, she didn’t really feel like going out and being the only single girl in their crowd.

“I don’t know, Kace, I’ve got a lot of paperwork to catch up on,” Lainey hedged.

“It’ll all still be here waiting for you on Monday.  Come on, Lain, please?”