Full Circle (Rockin' Country #3) (24 page)

He had a seat on the couch beside her and pulled her close. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’ve told you that before, but now it feels like it means so much more.” He looked over to where Everett lay in his bassinet and felt his heart skip a beat. His son looked like the perfect mix between him and Hannah. He had his hair and her eyes.

“I hope he has your dimples.” She smiled sleepily as she snuggled up to him. “I really hope he has your dimples.”

“Well, I hope he has your temperament, because we all know that my temper gets me into trouble.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist, glad to finally be able to snuggle against him again without her belly in the way. “It does, but it’s also super sexy, and it only comes out when others deserve it.”

“If anybody messes with him, they’re going to see my temper on full display,” he vowed.

They sat in awe as they watched their son.

“I wonder if he’ll be a gifted athlete or if he’ll be musically inclined,” Hannah whispered.

“I’d say with the both of us around he’s going to have to be musically inclined.”

She nodded. “I’ll support him in whatever he wants to do.”

“I know you will, we both will.”

“Is it bad that I’m already thinking about having to leave him in a few months?” Garrett asked, dreading it.

“No, it makes you a good dad,” she assured him, which brought her to another subject. “Do you think that Jared’s going to be ready by then?”

“I hope so.” He kissed her forehead. “I sent him a picture of Everett, and he actually replied back to me, so I think he’s getting better. We’ve had a few conversations, and it seems as if he’s more aware of his surroundings, he knows more of what he wants out of life. I hope he can keep this up.”

Hannah agreed, not only for her husband, but for Shell too, and for the little boy who lay in his bassinet oblivious to the world. He needed his uncle as much as the rest of them.

*  *  *

Valentine’s Day 2016

“A
re you sure you’re okay with him by yourself?” Hannah worried, even though she’d left her son with her best friend before. She always worried.

Shell rolled her eyes. “For the hundredth time, we’re good. EJ will probably sleep all night anyway, and Havock’s here to make sure that nobody gets in who shouldn’t. We’re good. It’s time for mom and dad to go off duty.”

It was hard to call them mom and dad still, but Garrett and Hannah were the epitome of what she thought parents should be. They shared duties and took turns changing diapers; Hannah wasn’t always the one to get up in the middle of the night, and Garrett more than pulled his weight. Tonight was their night to go out and have a good time. The first night they were going to take for themselves since EJ had been born.

“It’s so different from last Valentine’s Day.” Hannah bit her lip.

“It is, but we can’t help the circumstances, and I’m okay with that. I have to be,” Shell told her. “So you and Garrett need to take advantage of my less than awesome Valentine’s Day and make the most of it.”

Hannah smiled sadly at her. “We will, but if you need anything, please give us a call.”

“We’ll be fine,” she told her again. “Now you two crazy kids…go!”

Pushing them out of the door, she glanced at EJ, who sat in his vibrating seat, and Havock, who lay protectively in front of him. “I thought they’d never leave. Are you two crazy boys ready to party?”

Two hours later, and Shell was bored out of her mind. EJ was asleep, and Havock lay on the couch with her. It was in these times she missed Jared the most. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out the letter he’d written her to tell her he loved her. More than anything, she wished those words remained true. Brushing back the tears she’d cried too many of in the last few months, she cursed as the doorbell rang.

“How much do you want to bet it’s the grandmother making sure I’m taking care of her pride and joy up to her standards?” Shell talked to Havock as they made their way to the door. When she opened it, her mouth dropped. Standing in front of her was the man she hadn’t seen in months, the one who wouldn’t accept her calls, wouldn’t take her visits, the one who had broken her heart into a million pieces.

“What are you doing here?”

Jared thrust a bouquet of roses towards her. “I’m here to do whatever it takes to win you back and prove to you just how much I love you.”

For one second, her heart thawed and she wanted to take the flowers he offered her. Then she remembered the sadness, the worry, and she slammed the door in his face. That was the most satisfying thing she’d ever done in her life, and if he thought he could win her back with a simple bouquet of flowers, he had another thing coming. He had a lot of groveling to do before they could make their own story come full circle.

The End!

* * *
 
Jared & Shell’s turn will be coming to you in fall 2015
 
* * *

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I wanted to personally say thank you for purchasing this book. Reaper and Harmony are two of my favorite characters that I’ve ever written. Where “Heaven Hill” is my dark and gritty – “Rockin’ Country” is my light and fluffy. “Rockin’ Country” is actually more my personality than my other series of books. With this series, you get a little more of ‘me’.

I love music, I love Nashville, and I’m a huge follower of all things celebrity.

That’s why this series was born.

It’s meant to be fun, not take itself too seriously, and to be the ultimate love story.

I hope that’s what you got from it and I hope you’ve enjoyed their ride~

<3 Laramie

Meant To Be

Heaven Hill Series #1

D
enise Cunningham pulled back the curtains covering the window pane in her front door with shaky hands. The knock that had sounded moments before wasn’t the gentle knock of a friend over for a visit. Staring back at her through the glass, she saw two Warren County Sheriff’s deputies holding papers. Dread rolled up in her throat as her stomach began to churn. She let the blinds fall and took two deep breaths before she unlocked the door and faced the men standing on the other side. As she stepped out, the brightness of the sun assaulted her eyes, the warmth of the summer day made it even more difficult to breathe past the lump in her throat.

“Denise Cunningham?” The taller of the two asked.

Not trusting her voice, she could only nod her head in acknowledgement of who she was.

With cold efficiency, he handed her the papers in his hands. “Denise Cunningham, I’m serving you with papers from Kentucky Housing.” He produced a pen and requested her signature.

In minutes it was over. The scene she had dreaded most over the last few months had come to fruition. Unless she could come up with six months back mortgage, she would lose her home. She stood frozen in shock as the officers walked away from the door and headed back to their patrol car. It almost made her laugh—the fact that they felt she, a single mother, was dangerous enough to warrant two deputies. As they pulled away, she realized her neighbors watched. Shame and embarrassment caused her face to burn as she slammed her door shut.

Tears came now, along with shakes that wracked her body. “God, please help me,” she whispered as she opened the packet of paperwork they had left with her. “What am I going to do?” Through the tears, she read the legal papers in her trembling hands. The amount due was more than she had seen in years. Especially now that her hours had recently been cut. She was officially screwed.

The shrill ringing of her cell phone broke into her freakout. A number she had never seen before displayed on the screen, and she wondered if she should answer it. Along with the money she owed on her home, she owed thousands to credit card companies. They had also begun to hound her. Should she take the chance and answer it or let the voicemail pick it up? As she debated, her finger hit the
accept
button of its own accord.

“Hello?”

“Denise, this is Roni,” the voice on the other end greeted.

Roni was in fact Sharon Walker, another employee at the big box store where Denise had found a temporary job. They’d only spoken a time or two, and Denise hadn’t actually been sure the other woman would ever call her. To say this was a surprise was an understatement. But at this point, anything that took her mind off of what had just happened was welcome.

“Hey, Roni.”

“Did I catch you at a bad time? It took you a while to answer. I’m gonna ask you for a favor, so if you can’t do it, just let me know,” she forged ahead in a rush.

A bad time? Was it couth to tell a mere acquaintance that your home was about to be foreclosed on?

Clearing her throat Denise said, “Not at all. What can I help you with?” Accepting a favor for someone would possibly get her out of the house, the house that soon would no longer be hers. The walls were closing in, and she needed something to do. She needed something to work out halfway good for once instead of all the gloom and doom.

“Can you cover my shift for me tonight? I’ve got a little bit of an emergency with my brother, and I’m gonna need a few hours.”

Denise bit her lip. She had heard rumblings about Roni’s brother. Word around town had it that he was part of a major outlaw biker gang called the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club. Whatever Roni would be doing to help her brother would probably be illegal. Would that make Denise an accomplice?

“Would it make you a what?” Roni asked as Denise stood frozen with the phone to her ear.

Shit. She’d said that out loud. “Nevermind. I’ll cover for you. What time do I have to be there?” Anything would be better than sitting here, worrying about things she had no control over.

Roni rattled off a time that would only allow her minutes to get dressed, head out the door, and make it there just in time to clock in. Quickly they hung up. Depression threatening to take over, Denise shoved the packet of paperwork under the pillow of her couch. With any luck neither of her children would see it. Their lives had been in as much upheaval as hers. They didn’t need to see this too—she felt like a failure as their mother.

Pulling out of her Plum Springs subdivision, Denise made her way to Louisville road which took her to the interstate. The interstate would take her less time than going through town. She made sure to take in her surroundings. Unless a miracle happened or she hit the lottery, her days living in this neighborhood were numbered. A red light stopped her right before she hit the interstate. To the left, blue lights could be seen swirling on top of police cars. Men were being handcuffed and put in back seats two at a time. It wasn’t unusual to see arrests right next to the interstate, but this time she noticed an influx of motorcycles. The gas station on Duntov Way, situated between a fast food restaurant and a liquor store, usually didn’t see a lot of motorcycles. The exception being Harley Weekend at the local dragstrip. With keen eyes, she got a good look at the patches that adorned the backs of the leather vests, or cuts as they called them, the men wore.

“Fuck,” she breathed, recognizing the patch on most of the men. The Heaven Hill insignia inside a skull. The bottom rocker on the cut indicated this was the Bowling Green Chapter.

It was the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club, and, if she wasn’t mistaken, she had just seen Roni’s brother get put in the back of a sheriff’s patrol car. Probably by the same officers that had just served her. If there was one thing she knew, it was that all hell was about to break loose in small-town Kentucky.

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Meant to Be
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