by Tori Fox
“Dada!” I see my two-year-old in my mom’s arms reaching for me.
“Hi baby girl,” I say as I grab hold of her, smothering kisses all over her face while she laughs. “How’s my favorite Azalea?”
“Snacks. I’m so hungryyy,” she cries and I chuckle as I set her in her booster seat next to my wife.
“I swear that kid eats more than all you boys did at that age,” my mom says as she carries a plate over to Azalea.
“She’s a growing kid, Ma, what do you expect?”
I sit next to my wife as I take in the scene around me. All my brothers are here, even Everett. I never thought the day would come, but he met someone who encouraged him to stop letting his past hold him back.
I smile as I watch the family banter back and forth with each other. Asher fakes a smile at me and I know he is dealing with a lot, being put in a place he never thought he would have to deal with. But I give him a reassuring nod. I know he will succeed.
Carson wraps his arm around his wife. His hand going to her belly. She is due the same week as Anna. Hunter and I have a bet who is going to be born first. Anna would kill me if she knew we were betting on the babies but I only did it because I know Anna is going to give birth to our second baby girl first. This pregnancy has been rough on her, the doctors think it’s because of her age. We know this will be our last child but we are both happy. We’ve already named her, Dahlia, another flower to add to our wild bunch. And she is living up to her name, no doubt she will be a feisty one I am going to have to keep a close eye on.
Hunter laughs with Mason as the two of them give each other a hard time over who knows what. Hunter’s wife and Mason’s fiancée snicker at them as they sip on wine.
Anna pulls on my arm and I hold her hand as she waddles down the steps. “Ugh, is this baby going to come anytime soon? I feel like a balloon.”
I chuckle as I wrap an arm around her. “Mayberry, you still have two more months.”
“Remind me why we wanted to have another kid?”
I press a kiss to her cheek as I whisper in her ear. “It was an accident.”
“Because you and your penis can never leave me alone.”
I pull her into the field of wildflowers she planted at our new house. Once she was pregnant with Azalea, we knew we needed a bigger home. I miss our first home together, all the memories it had, the good and the bad, but this one is completely ours.
We picked it out together and made it our own. It’s nestled into the mountains at the edge of a valley. The back of the house overlooks the ridges, but the best part was the open field that came with our property. Anna spent months prepping the field so we could have our own wildflower field like the one where I proposed in South Carolina.
I think this one is even better. On the outskirts of the field you can see a small building that we built as Anna’s recording studio. Ever since she sold her first song, she has been sought out by labels, producers, and bands. She doesn’t choose genres but let’s the music write itself. She’s helped with writing for rock bands and pop singers. She even helped launch the career of a young country singer a few years ago that led her to win a few Grammys. I’ve always said her music was magical.
As for me, I recently accepted a promotion as lieutenant. It gives me the stability to provide for my family and not risk my life every day by being in the field.
I pull Anna into the wildflowers, far from view of our family. “I don’t think it’s my penis that’s the problem. Not to mention the date of conception for Dahlia was Halloween and I recall quite clearly you putting on that police officer costume for me.”
“Is that what happened, Detective?”
“It’s lieutenant now.”
She twirls in my arms, her dress spinning up to her waist, revealing green lace panties, my favorite. “Mmm I like detective better,” she says, her voice raspy.
I pull her into me, her round stomach pressing into mine. “Whatever you say, my crazy wildflower.”
THE END
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Also by Tori Fox
The White Creek Series
Missing Pieces
Broken Pieces
Forgotten Pieces
The Broken Lyrics Duet
The Ghost of You
The Fate of Us
Other novels
Desolation: A Salvation Society Novel
(coming 2021)
Burnout: An Everyday Heroes Novel
(coming March 2021)
Acknowledgments
I can’t believe this is book five! How the hell have I written five books?!
I am so grateful for each and everyone one of you who have read one or all of my books, you are what keeps me writing. And I have so many more stories to tell!
Bill, another book down. One step closer.
Ellie at My Brother’s Editor, thank you for dealing with my constant emails and making this book what it is.
Juliana at Jersey Girl Design, you killed it again!
Amanda Walker, thank you for all you do.
Kiki , Kristina, and everyone at The Next Step PR, thank you for your hard work on this series. I promise one day I will answer all my emails and messages faster! You all are amazing!
About the Author
Tori Fox is the author of contemporary romance with a little bit of angst and a whole lot of sexy. Besides writing you can find her curled up on the couch with her dog reading a book, yelling at the TV during a hockey game or at a karaoke bar singing her heart out. No matter where she is there will always be a bottle of champagne near. Tori lives above the clouds with her husband in the Rocky Mountains.
You can find Tori on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
@ToriFoxBooks
For the latest news and releases visit
torifoxbooks.com
