by A. K. Evans
“Are you alright with that?”
“Am I alright with what?”
“Me remaining a library assistant for the time being,” I answered. “I won’t be bringing in nearly as much money as I would if I were a librarian and there will be two more mouths to feed. I want to get there and it’s important to me that I contribute financially. It’s just that it won’t be as much as it could be.”
Dom carefully shifted us on the bed, so I was on my back and he was up against my side, his head propped up in his hand. “If you decided not to go back to work ever again, I wouldn’t care. I can take care of us, Ekko. There’s plenty of money already in the bank and Levi pays me well. I don’t need to because I’ve been smart with my money, but I’d work my ass off if I had to just to take care of us and give you everything you deserve.”
I loved him so much.
I pressed my hand to his chest and said, “Let’s work on getting me out of my lease. That apartment was just a place to live. Until now, I haven’t ever had a place to call home. Your heart feels a lot like home. And I think I want to stay there a while.”
“You’re going to stay there forever, sugar.”
I grinned at him. “Yeah, I am.”
Dom gave me his dimples. Then, he kissed my cheek before moving down and kissing my belly.
“Goodnight, babies,” he whispered there. When his face was in front of mine, he kissed me on my lips. He pulled back an inch. His voice was low. “Good night, Ekko. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Dom turned out the light, rolled toward me again, and tucked me tight to his body, my back to his front. We fell asleep with his hand splayed over my abdomen, protecting our babies the only way he could.
“It looks adorable.”
“Are you sure, Kate?”
“Positive. Now, let’s get you out of here so you can knock him off his feet.”
It was the first Saturday in May and I was nineteen weeks pregnant. I was also a bride. A week after Dom and I found out we were having twins, he proposed to me. Of course, I said yes.
I had assumed we would wait until after the babies were born, but Dom didn’t want to wait. I didn’t want to be a very pregnant bride, so we compromised with a quick wedding. When his family found out that we were planning to get married within less than three months, his mom went crazy.
“That’s not enough time!” his mom panicked.
“It’s quick, but we’ll help,” Kendall chimed in.
Jojo was bursting with excitement, “I’m always up for a reason to have a celebration. This will be so much fun.”
Outnumbered, Dom’s mother had no choice but to hop on the wagon and dive into the planning with us. To be honest, I didn’t need the fancy wedding and I expressed that from the beginning. They respected my wishes, left the big decisions up to me, and took care of a lot of the small details. The problem for me was that I was trying to plan a wedding while I was still working every day and while I was in my first trimester. I was constantly tired and really sick most days.
About a week into my second trimester, I started feeling better, but that was only a month ago. So much of the work for the wedding had already been done. I did wait until that point to go in search of a dress and I took my bridesmaids with me.
I never thought I’d ever have women there to stand by my side if I ever got married. I would have been grateful to have one, but I was fortunate to have four. Elle, Kendall, and Jojo were my bridesmaids; Kate was my maid of honor. She was still with Brett and they, too, had gotten engaged. She wasn’t planning to get married until next year, so there was still plenty of time.
When it came to the guys, Dom had so many people he could have asked to stand up for him, but in the end, it was Colton who was his best man while Memphis, Levi, and Lorenzo stood in as his groomsmen.
The day had arrived, and I was finally ready to go see Dom. I decided I wanted us to have an intimate moment together before the actual ceremony, so we arranged to have a ‘first-look’ done. After Elle enlisted the help of her friend and Lexi’s sister-in-law, Nikki, to do my hair and makeup, the girls got me in my dress and were ready to whisk me away to see my groom.
My only concern was my bump. I had started showing a few weeks ago and what I once thought would be cute was now concerning me. The whole reason I wanted to have the wedding sooner rather than later was that I didn’t want to be an overly pregnant bride.
I chose a draped satin gown, so while it was very comfortable, it showed every curve of my body. I loved the dress so much when I tried it on because it looked fantastic, but I now had a much larger bump.
I frowned at Kate. “I just think I should have purchased some shapewear or something.”
She took me by the hand and gave me a pep talk. “Ekko, you are gorgeous. You’ve got the most amazing man waiting to see you in your spectacular wedding gown.” She put her hand on my belly. “This right here is going to be one of the things he remembers most about this day. Seeing you in this dress, marrying him, while you’re carrying the babies the two of you made inside you. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about, babe. It’s beautiful.”
“She’s right,” Kendall added.
“You are one smokin’ hot, mama. My brother is seriously the luckiest man in the world,” Jojo chimed in.
“Let’s not forget that shapewear is the worst!” Kendall advised. “You’d be so uncomfortable.”
Elle came and stood beside me. She wrapped her arm around my waist and assured me, “It would be a mistake to try and hide this, love. And Dom would not like seeing you trying to hide your bump either.”
“Okay, I guess we can go then,” I agreed.
The girls and I left the bridal suite at the wedding venue and they walked with me down to where I was going to be meeting Dom before our outdoor ceremony.
Our photographer, Emme James Cunningham, would be there to capture the moment for us. During the planning of the wedding, Dom suggested Emme as the photographer. I hadn’t known when I met her at Elle’s wedding and she was pregnant with twins that it was her profession, but I didn’t hesitate to agree to booking her.
Sure enough, I arrived and found that Emme already had Dom facing the opposite direction. The smile on her face grew as she said something to Dom. Emme waved at me to come forward so I kept my eyes on Dom and walked toward him. It was hard to not look at him. He was stunning in his tux, and I was only seeing him from the back.
The closer I got, Emme gave some instruction, but she eventually backed away and took photos from a distance as we had our moment.
I reached out and wrapped my hand around Dom’s bicep. He turned around, took one look at me, and lost his composure. Seeing my big, strong, tough guy break down with just that single glance at me made me tear up.
He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. “You look amazing,” he whispered in my ear.
I laughed and assured him, “It wasn’t this snug when I bought it.”
Dom looked in my eyes and smiled at me. “You’re beautiful and this dress looks perfect on you.”
“Thank you, baby.”
He gave me a sweet kiss on the lips before he knelt down in front of me and pressed a kiss to my belly. Every morning when we woke up and every night before we went to sleep, Dom would kiss our babies. He rested his forehead there for a moment and finally stood to take me in his arms again.
“You are the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on.”
With my arms around his neck, Dom had lifted me off the ground and spun me around. When he set me back down on my feet, he framed my face with his hands. “I love you so much, Ekko.”
“I love you too, Dom.”
Dom kissed me again before he urged, “Come on. Let’s go get married.”
I held on to his arm as he walked me back to where my girls were waiting for me.
Hours later, I had officially had the best day of my entire life. I was married and happy. Dom and I had a beautiful
wedding ceremony followed by a reception, where he truly was the life of the party.
My life was wonderful. It had turned out better than I imagined, better than in the books I’d read. And even though, I’d been kidnapped and nearly killed, I’d survived and came out stronger. I didn’t have to worry about my safety either because George and Johnathan were both in prison after having a whole slew of charges thrown at them, the most notable being kidnapping, arson, and attempted murder.
As I sat down to take a break after most of the guests had left, I realized just how wonderful my life was. I’d endured so many tragic life experiences, but in the end, I got my happily-ever-after with the man of my dreams.
“Are you ready to go get our wedding night celebration started, Mrs. Moore?”
“I would love to, Mr. Moore, but my feet hurt.”
Dom bent down and scooped me up in his arms. “Looks like I’ll have to give you a massage first.”
With that, Dom carried me to our room, where we continued to celebrate our love.
Two and a half months later, we bought a bigger home for our family.
At the beginning of October, our precious Hendrix and our darling Grace were born. And just like that, Hank and Gracie became the center of our lives.
Preview of Solitude
“Do you think I’ll ever make it there?”
“Without a doubt. You’re the hardest working, seven-year-old ice skater I know, Rocco. If you keep practicing, you’ll end up in the NHL as a first-round draft pick.”
“I’m going to be eight soon,” Rocco reminded me.
I laughed. “I know. And then you’ll be the best eight-year-old ice skater that ever lived.”
Rocco turned sideways and started jumping up and down beside me. “Do you really mean that?”
“I’d never lie to you, Rocky.”
My little brother and I were walking home as quickly as possible. It was Friday and the minute we got home from school we grabbed our skates, sticks, and a puck before we took off to the frozen pond not far from our house.
Mom didn’t mind and mostly insisted that we get out of the house to play while we could. She trusted me to always look out for my younger brother. I had just turned thirteen and in two months, he’d be eight.
Given the opportunity, Rocco would spend all day, every day on the ice. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t my thing, I’d go and play hockey with my brother because he loved it that much. And when you lived the life we did, we’d needed something good that made us happy. My something good was making sure that Rocco was oblivious to anything else but hockey.
As we turned the corner onto our street, I looked down the block and saw the car in the driveway. I knew we weren’t late; I’d kept track of the time. He was back early and that was rarely a good thing.
Not wanting to worry Rocco, but also wanting to make sure he wasn’t going to witness anything bad, I came up with a plan.
“Hey, how about we have a campout tonight?” I suggested.
“A campout?” he wondered. “We’re going to sleep outside?”
I shook my head as I picked up the pace. Rocco didn’t miss a beat and kept right up with me. “It’s January. We’d probably freeze if we did it outside, but we can pretend to have one inside. You can choose where we do it. My room or yours?”
“You mean we can turn my room into a campsite?” he bubbled with excitement.
“Sure.”
“What about a fire?” he asked curiously.
Realizing I didn’t have much time left, I explained, “We won’t have a real fire, but we’ve got plenty of blankets to keep us warm. I have some ideas, but I’ll need your help.”
He looked up at me with wide eyes, waiting for additional instructions.
“We both know you’re the best hockey player there is, Roc,” I started, noticing the smile on his face growing by the second. “We need to see just how great of a camper you can be. I’ll make sure I get our food for the campout. But when we get back, you need to go right to your room and get everything you can find to keep the bears out.”
His eyes grew even wider. “The bears?”
“Yep,” I answered. “Can you do that? Can you make sure you’ve got everything ready so the bears don’t come eat our dinner or give us any trouble?”
He puffed up his chest and proudly announced, “I can do that. I’ll make sure I keep us safe from the bears!”
We made it to the driveway and walked in through the open garage door. I turned toward Rocco, took the hockey stick from him, and put them away in the corner of the garage. He put his skates back where they belonged, right next to mine.
Just before we walked inside, I instructed, “Remember, bud, go right to your room and get everything you can find to keep the bears away.”
He gave me a nod of determination.
Walking inside, I was surprised to find it silent. Rocco took off toward his room while I rounded the corner and walked into the kitchen. Mom was standing at the stove, plating dinner.
“Sorry, Mom. I didn’t know he was coming back early,” I apologized.
Her sad eyes came to mine. She spoke quietly, “It’s not your fault, darling. I didn’t know either. How about dinner in your room tonight? Can you keep your eye on Rocco for me?”
“Yeah,” I promised. “Where is he?”
She jerked her head in the opposite direction. “In the shower.”
I didn’t respond. I gave my mom a look filled with worry. She saw it and immediately tried to reassure me, “Everything’s fine, Lorenzo. Just make sure you watch out for Rocco, okay?”
“I will, Mom, but…” I trailed off.
“But what?”
“Is anyone ever going to watch out for you?”
Her lips trembled and her eyes started to get watery. “Don’t worry about me,” she whispered. “You just keep being the best big brother. Promise me you’ll always do that.”
“I promise.”
She handed me two plates and ordered gently, “Go, darling.”
I took the plates from my mom and watched as she started to give me the look. It was one she always gave me. Whenever I saw it, I knew she was proud of me.
“I love you, Mom.”
She walked over, held my face in her hands, and moved her thumbs back and forth across my cheeks. “I love you, Lorenzo.”
After she pressed a kiss to my cheek and one to the top of my head, she let me go. Even though I didn’t want to leave her alone, I walked out of the kitchen toward Rocco’s room. Once there, I found him prepared for our campout.
“I’ve got all of our stuff ready,” he declared proudly.
“Good job, Rocco. I’m going to go grab a few things from my room and I’ll be right back,” I stated as I set the plates down on the floor in the middle of the room.
“Okay.”
My room was right next to Rocco’s, so I quickly ran out of his room to mine and got a few things I’d need to distract him. When I walked back in, he was sitting on the floor on the massive pile of blankets and pillows waiting for me.
I had finished most of my dinner and Rocco was about halfway through when he informed me, “I’m thirsty.”
“I’ll get you a drink,” I said as I stood.
Suddenly, we heard the yelling.
Our father.
Rocco’s frightened eyes came to mine.
He struggled to ask, “What if the bear gets you?”
“The bear won’t get me, Rocky.” I bent down and pulled one of the flashlights I’d gotten from my room out of the pile and handed it to him. “Here. Hide under the blanket with this until I get back.”
He nodded slowly and took the flashlight from me.
Once he was underneath the covers, I went to get him a drink. As I walked down the hall, I could hear my mom crying.
My stomach started feeling funny. I hated this.
Hated it.
I made it to the doorway of the kitchen to hear my father scolding her. “You’re
nothing but a lazy, fat ass!”
Mom stayed quiet. She was sitting in the chair at the kitchen table while my father hovered over her.
He didn’t stop. “I go to work every day to make the money that buys the food here and somehow you can’t seem to ever make anything the way I like it. I’m beginning to think you do it on purpose.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. I thought my mom made the best food.
She started to push the chair back away from the table so she could stand. She began apologizing, “I’m sorry, Vinny. I can make you something else—”
That’s when he cut her off and did something I hadn’t ever seen him do.
For the last five years, Dad had been getting angrier and angrier. He used to just yell. I noticed my mom crying more often. She was always happy when she was with Rocco and me. But when Dad was around, she never smiled. Over the years, his yelling turned to pushing. I eventually started seeing the bruises on her arms frequently and her legs occasionally. Sometimes, I’d stare at them, and if she noticed me looking, she’d quickly try to cover them up or distract me.
But never.
I’d never seen him strike her in the face.
Not until tonight.
I knew I’d never forget the sound of his hand as it connected with her cheek or the way it felt when I saw her head snap to the side. But most of all, I’ll never forget the look in my father’s eyes when my mom, with her hand covering the side of her face and tears filling her eyes, whispered, “Lorenzo.”
I didn’t know what the look meant, I just knew I’d never forget it.
“What are you doing out here?” he shouted.
I jumped back a step.
“Darling, go back to your room,” my mom begged.
I tried to swallow, but it felt like something was stuck in my throat. “Rocco,” I started, but my voice didn’t sound like my own. My throat hurt. “Rocco needed a drink.”
My mom quickly moved out from where she was and got a drink for my brother and me.
Handing them to me, she pleaded softly, “Please stay in your room.”
Come with me. Because I’m so scared for you, Mom.
