A muffled thwack left the muzzle of the gun, and in slow motion as I gazed up, a bright hole blew from the guy’s head, showering me a spray of red.

  “This is what I should have done,” Kalen said as the force of the bullet sent the guy careening backward.

  Then, Kalen was there checking me. And when he found no wounds, he took my mouth in a possessive kiss.

  When he pulled back, he went into action. He took the sheet from the bed to wipe my face before he busied himself making calls. First to the authorities and then to Griffin.

  I was still shell-shocked when the police arrived.

  Had I really just witnessed Kalen killing a man?

  He hadn’t told me what to say, so I was left to decide myself as we were immediately separated as the cops took our individual statements.

  I was taken to the kitchen, still shaken from what had happened. I knew, though, when the EMTs came, they would be removing two dead bodies. I saw none of it. I only heard a gurney being wheeled in and out at some point.

  I told them exactly what happened, putting emphasis on how I thought I was about to die as the man choked me.

  I didn’t see but heard officers talking about a video of the incident. It was at that point I was released to go upstairs. Kalen was still with them, and I wondered if he would be cuffed and taken to jail. Then what?

  Forty-Six

  Kalen didn’t go to jail. We did have to go to the police station to sign statements. Sandy Hill was a known criminal and his fingerprints were on the weapon. That with the fact that a burner phone found on him connected him to the dead real estate agent I’d found in the bathroom, our statements were good enough to exonerate us from any wrongdoing.

  “Are you excited?” Lizzy said.

  “I am, though I’m surprised you’re here.”

  “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  I smiled at my best friend. “Even though there are no toilets except the one in the visitors’ center?”

  She laughed. “It’s an adventure. Besides, anything for my girl.”

  Violet walked in. “They’re getting restless out there.”

  It was weird not seeing myself. Mirrors weren’t considered necessities. We had small handheld ones, but not the full-length kind.

  Lizzy pulled out her phone and Violet gasped.

  “Sorry not sorry. I had to get some pictures. You won’t say anything,” she told my sister.

  She shook her head, and I trusted her.

  “We can look at the pictures when we get to New York,” Lizzy said.

  Violet, her husband, and my parents were coming to New York for my second wedding. Kalen and his father were working on repairing their relationship. He was too ill to make the trip here and the press would accept something big. To throw them off the scent of what we were doing here, we’d announced our wedding nuptials to take place at his father’s estate in a few days, a concession we made to repair the rift between the two.

  My sister would get a taste outside of our community in Pennsylvania and decide if she wanted to stay.

  “This is really happening,” I said to no one.

  The dress had been my mother’s. Because modesty was prime, the only part that was fitted was at my chest. That was only because my breasts were bigger than Mother’s. The rest fell loose and showed no hint of a baby bump. Otherwise, Father might not have agreed to me marrying here.

  Violet was pinching my cheeks, creating in her words, “nature’s makeup,” when my younger sister walked in and said, “Time.”

  She also had no clue about my pregnancy. The only people I’d told were my parents and Violet.

  She looked me over. “You do look pretty, Bailey,” Mary said almost grudgingly.

  “Thanks,” I said, keeping a promise to my father to be a better sister, even the bigger one physically and mentally.

  My youngest brother, John, nodded to everyone as he came in. His job was to escort me part of the way and hand me off to my other brother, Jacob. Then Jacob would pass me to my father who would walk me down the aisle.

  As our hometown band played their version of the “Bridal Chorus,” butterflies took flight in my heart. I wasn’t nervous, but seeing Kalen there on the makeshift altar stole my breath, especially as his eyes never left mine.

  When my father should have handed me off to Kalen, he nodded. Gabe who’d been standing next to his father came down and took my hand. I nearly cried as he was the one to walk me over to Kalen and put my hand in his father’s.

  The ceremony was a blur. I didn’t hear much of anything except when I was asked to repeat.

  “I will love, honor, and obey…”

  Kalen smirked at me when I said it. I was only further annoyed when he was only asked to repeat, “I will love, honor, and cherish.”

  I wanted to call horseshit, but bit my tongue instead as I gave my future husband the stink eye as he tried his best not to laugh at me.

  We were pronounced husband and wife and Kalen was allowed to kiss me. Then I did laugh when I got the most chaste kiss I’d ever gotten from my now husband.

  As we walked down the aisle as man and wife, I teased him.

  “Did my father threaten you with the shotgun?”

  He only grinned.

  The reception followed and the men folk surrounded Kalen, leaving me to stand and watch.

  “I’m so proud of you,” Mother said, coming over and slipping an arm around me in a half-hug.

  “It meant a lot to me to have this here.”

  Though this place couldn’t be my permanent home, it always would be home. I’d had lots of happy memories. A part of me wished Turner could have been here, and the other felt it was right he wasn’t.

  When my younger sister walked over, I prepared for World War III. I braced myself for whatever insult Mary was about to throw my way, especially when Mother excused herself.

  “I was always jealous of you,” she said.

  “There’s nothing to be jealous of.”

  “Of course there is. You always got your way and did things your way.”

  “Not true,” I countered.

  She either hadn’t heard me or chose to ignore me.

  “The boy every girl wanted, wanted you and you let him go.”

  “Mary,” I began, wanting to end this.

  “I’m not finished,” I huffed. “You left.”

  “I wasn’t strong enough to stay. You are. You can bring the change I wasn’t strong enough to. They respect you.”

  She tilted her head as if she were surprised to hear me say that.

  “It’s true. I was too brash and bucked the system. No one would have listened to me. Dad needs you to be the backbone and help him make this place better than it is.”

  “You’re right,” she said.

  Though I’d played to her ego, I meant every word I said.

  Margaret, Mary’s friend who was in love with Turner, came over. “Congratulations, Bailey.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “Turner is finally free of you.”

  And there was the jab I’d expected from my younger sister.

  “Turner was never mine and he was never yours either. He only held your hand to make me jealous. He’s never even kissed you, has he?”

  I probably shouldn’t have said that, but well, Turner deserved better.

  “He might have if you hadn’t strung him along,” she spat.

  “Bailey hadn’t been around for two years and he didn’t try anything. You had your chance. Let it go.”

  Margaret stomped off as I was surprised Mary had stood up for me.

  “I was wrong, petty, and jealous. Turner made his own decisions. I’m sorry he didn’t come back. He would have been a great ally for change. Don’t forget us.”

  I hugged my sister. “Never. We’ll be back. I want to see my new niece or nephew.” I patted her small baby bump.

  Part of me wanted to confess I was with child too, but we were at a good place. Better to leave it at that.

  Everyone danced, including me. I shared a dance with my father and brothers and my youngest sisters, Poppy and Rose. Kalen refused, partly because the dances were more reminiscent of line dances back in the 1800s.

  When I found myself watching, my husband snuck behind me.

  “Time to go,” he whispered.

  “Where?” I said, suddenly onboard for whatever adventure he had in mind.

  “You’ll see.”

  I giggled as we snuck out the back door and ran toward the outskirts of the community.

  “Turner’s,” I said in surprise.

  “He gave me the okay.”

  That surprised me. Had he spoken to Turner since I’d told him about my pregnancy?

  Kalen swung me up and carried me over the threshold. “I need my wife,” he said, taking me into the small bedroom he’d used when he stayed here what now felt like years ago.

  When he closed the door, he caged me in his arms.

  “Don’t even think about the bed.”

  “Why?” I grinned.

  “I know how much you like being fucked against the wall.”

  He stepped back, shrugging out of the coat he’d borrowed. Though the weather was getting warmer, nights were still chilly. Then he pulled the tunic over his head.

  “I might have to invest in some of these pants,” he said.

  “Easy access?” I asked, as he only had to tug a little for the flap to give way.

  “Now tell me, wife, what do you have under that dress?”

  “I think I’m going to miss lass.”

  He came close, his arm muscles flexing as he caged me in again.

  “You’ll always be lass.”

  “What about Miss Glicks?”

  “You’re Mrs. Brinner-King unless I’m angry with you.”

  “Then I’m what?”

  “I guess you’ll have to wait and find out,” he said, gathering handfuls of fabric to reveal my bare pussy.

  “Now this makes me happy,” he said, hoisting me up and impaling me on his cock.

  “I love you,” I said.

  “And I you… lass.”

  Lizzy—

  “What’s got you pissed off?” Matt asked.

  I downed the scotch I’d gotten. “Nothing.”

  He didn’t believe me, probably the twin thing. I could never lie to him.

  “Is it that asshole who walked you down the aisle?”

  I glared at him. “You make it sound like we were getting married. He escorted me.”

  “Just let me know if I need to punch him.”

  I sighed, seriously considering it. “No. I don’t want to ruin Bailey’s wedding.”

  “Second wedding, you mean. The lucky bastard.”

  “You were too late.”

  “I know. Don’t remind me,” he said, eyeing the crowd.

  “Keep your dick out of my friends, Matty,” I said.

  Some girls from college had begged for an invite. I’d talked Bailey into letting them come.

  “I can’t make promises,” Matt said and strolled off.

  I turned to order another scotch and came face to face with him.

  “Hiding from me? Or are you waiting for Griff?”

  “Why would I do either? You mean nothing to me. And Griff and I are just friends.”

  Oh, Kalen’s best friend was hotter than hot, but too much of a flirt. We would clash in the worst way.

  He leaned down, giving me a whiff of his delicious scent.

  “That’s not how I saw it.”

  “Saw what?” I asked.

  “You and me.”

  “We fucked. So what?” I said.

  “I’m not used to women ghosting me.”

  I shrugged. “You had my number. You didn’t use it.”

  “I don’t chase women.”

  I eyed him up and down. “Yet here you are.”

  “You look tense and I know exactly how to work that out of you.”

  Images of the things we’d done, things I’d tried flashed in my head.

  I held his gaze. “I don’t fuck liars.”

  “I didn’t lie,” he groused.

  “I asked you the question.”

  “Not the right one,” he countered.

  “Okay, Connor King, or should I call you Striker? Not telling me you were Kalen’s brother is a breach of trust I’ll never forgive.”

  I took a step around him, but he caught my arm, electric shocks shooting all the way to my core.

  “Let me make it up to you, princess.”

  I peeled his hand off like it disgusted me when I really did want to screw his brains out just one more time.

  “Not going to happen,” I said, dropping his hand.

  “I’ll have you again.”

  “Not in this lifetime.”

  As I walked away, I heard him say, “We will see about that.”

  Epilogue

  I paced the halls with my hands clasped as if I was in prayer. The lass wasn’t making it easy for me.

  Lizzy found me with a humorous grin on her face. “What are you doing out here?”

  “She kicked me out,” I grumbled.

  Lizzy giggled. “What did she say?”

  Absently staring ahead but not really seeing, I said, “She called me an asshat wanker bawbag cocksucker who did this to her.”

  She cracked up when I saw nothing funny. Women. Nothing I said or did up to this point changed her mind about letting me back in to see my wee bairn born.

  “She’s been hanging out with Griff far too much,” she offered.

  Finally, I glanced at her. “And I’m going to kick his arse for teaching my wife to curse in Gaelic.”

  While Lizzy let out another round of snickers, Bailey yelled out, “Is that you, Lizzy? Is that fannie jobbie dobber out there with you?”

  “Jobbie, that’s a new one,” Lizzy said to me before yelling back, “He’s out here.” Then she focused on me. “What’s a jobbie?”

  “It’s like shite. Something wee bairns might say if they could get away with it.”

  “Tell him to get his arse back in here,” Bailey said like she was possessed.

  Lizzy’s eyes twinkled. Holding her hand out toward the door, she said, “Get in there, Dad.”

  I frowned at her before pushing through the door. My wife, beautiful even with sweat plastering her beautiful red hair to her head, turned her furious eyes on me.

  “Lass,” I said, taking her hand just as the doctor said. “Just one more push.”

  “You said that the last time,” she yelled at the doc as she bore down just like the nurse told her to. She crushed my hand in a bone-jarring grip. It wasn’t my first time experiencing her adrenaline-induced superhuman strength.

  “You have no right to look grumpy,” she spat. “Damn grumpy but gorgeous man,” she muttered more to herself. Then her eyes met mine as pain lanced through her. “We are never doing this again.”

  I nodded. The urge to protect her was strong even when there was absolutely nothing I could do to save her from this. I fisted my free hand, hoping the doc was right and this would be the final push.

  “I need the name of a good lawyer,” she cried out. “This is cruel and unusual punishment, grounds for divorce, right?” She aimed that last comment at Lizzy.

  The nurses and doctor might have had a good laugh, but they had no idea that was never going to happen despite the determination in her eyes.

  Once the bairn was born and she healed, we’d revisit her words. An idea of spanking her ass would have gotten me hard if she didn’t call out like the devil had taken over her body.

  When a wail let out, Bailey let my hand go. I watched in wonder as the lungs on that wee babe defied its size.

  “Looks like you have a son.”

  We’d chosen to wait to find out what we were having, or rather Bailey had. I just went along for the ride. A son. I bent over and kissed the lass before my wee laddie was placed in her arms.

  “Aw, look at little Kalen Jeremy.” We decided, at her urging, to name him after me. I agreed, but switched the order of our names. “And we’ll call him Jeremy.”

  Only people who didn’t know me well called me Jeremy. So in our house, we would be called by different names.

  When she held him out for me to hold, I looked into his light blue eyes with a hint of green. I pushed back the tiny blue and pink striped hat to see what I’d noticed before. He had a tiny crop of dark red hair.

  “My son,” I said, amazed for the second time. “Your big sister Corrine and big brother Gabe are at home with both your grandmothers and aunts.”

  I’d thought of Corrine, our first, and how she and Gabe had stolen my heart. Looking at my newest son, I knew I had room for a third.

  Nothing in my life had been the same since Bailey Glicks, now Bailey King. She’d torn my plans to pieces in a hotel bathroom.

  There was nothing I would change, even all the bad, because out of that I came to appreciate the good.

  When my youngest son let out a tiny yawn, I thought I’d be prepared for the swell in my chest. I wasn’t any more than I’d been the first time, with Corrine since I hadn’t been there for Gabe’s birth.

  “And we’re so doing this again, right, honey?”

  I stared at my wife before nodding. “Whatever you want, lass.”

  She’d given me everything I needed when she became my wife.

  Her father had warned me that Bailey, like all his daughters, was his heart. If I hurt hers, I would be hurting his. It had been his way of letting me know he’d hunt me down and take care of things if that happened.

  Then a few months later, when I looked into my daughter Corrine’s eyes, I truly understood his meaning.

  She was born with a shock of black hair like mine and eyes like her mother’s. And just like that, my daughter had me wrapped around her tiny fingers.

  It was a good thing both companies were thriving, because if she asked me to buy her the moon, I’d buy a rocket too in order to plant a flag on the surface, promptly renaming it Corrine’s Moon.

  Lizzy, our bairn’s godmother, came in and watched over our son as I sat next to my wife. I heard Griff, proud godfather, in the hall ranting, “Where is the wee dude? His Uncle Griff needs to start his lessons about chasing the wee lasses, starting with these nurses.”