According to Dad, she was seeing a therapist to work on her issues, and that was something.
“Jo,” Gran said. “Where’s that handsome husband of yours?”
“He’s somewhere over there.” I waved. “I think he’s talking to his dad.”
She looked at the house. “It’s so much bigger,” Gran said.
It was. Grant had worked hand in hand with contractors to keep the cost down to add a second level. Since they were the same people the mayor and other investors were using to build, that also kept the cost down since they were doing work in the area already.
My dad had also given us a generous amount of cash as a wedding gift, even when the economy was recovering. When we tried not to take it, he’d said he owed me so much more.
“Jolene.”
I looked over and found my mother cuddling my sleeping baby boy.
“Teddy is such a sweet boy,” she said and cooed at him.
We’d named our son after Grant’s father.
Then, surprising me, she came over and awkwardly hugged me. It was brief, but a rush of tears pricked my eyes as Dad came over.
Though he didn’t say it, I could see the “she’s trying” in his expression.
“I have to go find Grant,” I hastily said, trying to contain my emotions. “Can you keep Teddy and Gracie for a second?”
When the three of them nodded, I rushed off, not wanting to cry in front of them.
I didn’t know Grant had seen me until he showed up seconds later where I hid behind the house.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, cupping my face.
“Nothing,” I said, tears streaming down.
Grant smirked, and damn him for making me laugh.
“Are you pregnant again?”
My jaw dropped because Teddy was barely four months old. I playfully slapped at his arm.
“I better not be,” I said.
“You are,” he said, chuckling. “I think I’m familiar with the signs now. But what set you off?”
I couldn’t lie to him. We had that utter trust with one another. “Mom hugged me out of the blue.”
He nodded and said, “You are pregnant.”
“I’m not,” I said, beginning to cry.
He wiped a tear from my face before drawing me close. “She loves you,” he murmured.
“I know, but it’s just weird. She’s holding Teddy and I’m wondering if she held me that same way, with the same look of awe on her face.”
“I’m sure she did. She just didn’t know how to handle opinionated little you. That threw her, I bet.”
I half-laughed and half-cried. “I wasn’t opinionated.”
He laughed harder. “Yes, you are, and I love that about you.”
“Grant.” A boy’s voice interrupted our conversation.
When I saw who it was, I felt my face relax. Grant’s brothers, Alex and Andrew, came around the corner. They’d become a fixture in our lives. When they had a break from college, they would get on a plane to come and see us, which made my husband extremely happy.
“You have visitors,” the other twin said.
Then I did laugh as they always seemed to finish each other’s thoughts and sentences.
There were a lot of people at our house, so it wasn’t exactly surprising. Still, Grant threaded his fingers through mine as we went to find out who our mystery guests were.
They weren’t hard to spot when practically every woman in proximity was drooling.
When we reached Liam and the two men with him, I had a hard time not noticing how incredibly hot they were. In fact, I glanced around for Stacy, wondering if she’d seen.
Grant clapped Liam on the back. It was good to see him and looking happy. So much had happened. His misadventures in New York read like folklore. The kind of thing you told at gatherings. But it wasn’t my story to tell, so I kept my mouth shut, leaving him to share.
Then Grant held out a hand to one of the men. “Connor.”
I recognized the name. He was one of Grant’s uncle’s sons. They shook and then Grant was saying, “Kalen, what brings the two of you here?”
It was Kalen who held out a thick envelope. “Sorry to intrude. We didn’t know—” He waved a hand around at the setup in the yard.
“No, it’s okay. You’re family. Now what’s this about?” Grant asked, taking the envelope and holding it up.
“Fixing an injustice. Grandfather didn’t write your dad out of his will completely. Not exactly. He left you your dad’s share. Unfortunately, our dad pretended not to know where you were. When Liam showed up, it all came out. It’s taken some time and legal maneuvers, but it’s all yours. I did take the liberty of investing it for you while we worked it out. It’s quite a bit more than the original amount.”
Grant shakily opened the envelope and scanned it. Then he held it up for me to see. I didn’t read, but my eyes trained on the amount boldly listed and I about peed my pants. My husband was a very rich man, even more than my father had been before the economic downturn.
“Take a seat, everyone,” the coordinator said.
“We should go,” Connor said.
“No, stay,” Grant said, waving toward some open chairs.
Liam left too after giving me a welcome peck on the cheek.
When we were alone, I said, “What are you going to do with that money?”
Grant shrugged. “Give some to Dad if he’ll take it. And invest with your father if he’ll let me.”
He’d gotten his job back with the airline and had earned his captain’s stripes.
“Will you still fly?”
He nodded and said, “Always.”
But then he was ushered to the front to stand by his father before the “Wedding March” began to play. Gracie tossed flowers everywhere as I snapped photo after photo. Then Natalie appeared and my heart warmed, happy that Grant’s dad was finally with the love of his life like my dad was with my mom.
It was the next day before everyone left that turned out to be the most exciting day for me, not including my wedding or birth of my children. But it ranked up there.
Our family and friends reconvened at the airpark early that morning.
Grant squeezed my hand. “You can do it.”
He led me to the awaiting Cessna and helped me inside. Behind the wheel, I checked all the gauges and spoke into the headset for clearance, which Ted had hired someone else to do.
“You can do it, baby,” Grant encouraged again.
With butterflies bursting from my belly, as they always did when he called me baby, I began the acceleration down the runway. It hadn’t been a goal of mine to fly, but when Grant started teaching his brothers, I’d gotten curious.
So much had changed from my first meeting of the arrogant pilot. He’d become my savior in so many ways since that first day. Most importantly, he taught me love and that it meant that two people never gave up on each other.
As the plane lifted off the ground under my power, I felt completely free and happy. With my two kids—I found myself placing a hand over my belly—and maybe another, along with my arrogant savior, I could conquer all, especially with his unconditional love.
Cocky Hero World
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Thank You
I’d like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to read my novel. Above all, I hope you loved it. If you did, I would love it if you could spare just a few more minutes to leave a review on your favorite e-tailer. If you do, could you be so kind and not leave any spoilers about the story?
Check out my website for an opportunity to read a bonus epilogue.
Thanks so muc
h!
If you loved this book…
Want to know more about Kalen, Grant’s NY cousin?
Read his story in the King Maker series:
Money Man
Queen of Men
King Maker
Want to know more about Connor, Grant’s NY cousin?
Read his story in Kingdom Come.
Want to know more about Liam, Grant’s cousin or maybe brother?
Read his story in King Me.
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Acknowledgments
Without READERS, none of this is possible. For that, my humble THANK YOU.
Thank you to my beta readers. Diane & Kelly:
Diane Y. Ploude - Thank you for being such a rockstar. You are the helping hand always there before anyone ask.
Kelly Reed-Brunet— I can’t say enough. You’ve been the cheerleader I needed. Always there with a kind heart and word when I need it!!
Thank you to Paige Smith. You always finds time to squeeze me in for an edit. You understand my crazy typing errors like no one else.
Thank you to Virginia Tesi Carey for squeezing me in and polishing up the manuscript. I can’t thank you enough. You rock!
Thanks to Letitia Hasser @ RBA Designs | Romantic Book Affairs for a fantastic cover!!!
To Rafe: Your awesomeness knows no bounds. This picture is just perfect.
about this author
Terri E. Laine, USA Today bestselling author, left a lucrative career as a CPA to pursue her love for writing. Outside of her roles as a wife and mother of three, she’s always been a dreamer and as such became an avid reader at a young age.
Many years later, she got a crazy idea to write a novel and set out to try to publish it. With over a dozen titles published under various pen names, the rest is history. Her journey has been a blessing, and a dream realized. She looks forward to many more memories to come.
STALK ME AT
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I have several upcoming releases, make sure to sign up for my newsletter or check my website for details.
www.terrielaine.com
Also by Terri E. Laine
King Maker Trilogy
Money Man
Queen of Men
King Maker
King Maker Spinoff
Kingdom Come
Kingdom Fall
King Me
Him standalone series
Because Of Him
Captivated by Him
Chasing Butterflies standalone series
Chasing Butterflies
Catching Fireflies
Changing Hearts
Craving Dragonflies
Songs for Cricket
Blinded by You Duet
Honey
Sugar
Married in Vegas standalone series
Married in Vegas: In His Arms
Absolutely Mine
Other standalone books
Ride or Die
Thirty-Five and Single
other books co-authored
by Terri E. Laine
Cruel and Beautiful
A Mess of A Man
One Wrong Choice
A Beautiful Sin
Sidelined
Fastball
Hooked
Worth Every Risk
A Beautiful Sin
Arrogant Savior: A Hero Club Novel Page 16
