by Kelly Moore
I step away from her, covering my boys. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”
“Harsh?” she laughs. “Try delivering a bowling ball out of your vagina.”
I cringe at the thought. “How about we find a compromise?” I pull her back into me.
“The only compromise you get is if you don’t get fixed, you won’t be getting that thing near me.”
“You are one tough woman.” I kiss her pouting lips. “You can’t live without sex any more than I can.”
“Try me.”
“It’s bad enough that I’ve actually had to endure hearing you have sex, but do you have to talk about it too?” Jake walks by carrying a bottle of champagne.
I take Brook’s hand and she waddles beside me. “You’re just jealous. When’s the last time you got laid?”
“Actually, I met someone and I have high hopes for the weekend.” He wears a cheesy smile on his face.
“Really? Are we going to get to meet her?” I ask, following him inside the house.
“Not a chance in hell am I letting her meet you.” He walks straight into the newly designed kitchen and pops the bottle open.
“Why? Are you afraid your better-looking twin may charm her away from you?” Brooklyn’s hand lands upside my head. “Ow!”
“You’re an idiot!” Jake chuckles.
Matthew walks in holding L.J. in one arm and a file in another. He throws it on the counter in front of me and grabs one of the champagne glasses. “It’s finally completed. My last act as President of the United States.” He tips his glass and drinks it down.
“Is that his pardon?” Brooklyn is bouncing up and down clapping her hands. L.J. mimics her.
“Yes, it is. All your sins have been forgiven,” Matthew says.
“I can’t believe it’s finally over.” In my excitement I pick up Brooklyn and twirl her around. When I put her back on her feet, I take L.J. from Matthew and kiss his cheek. I’m finally going to be a man my family can be proud of.
“Uh… John,” Brooklyn says. “I think my water just broke.” She’s standing stock-still looking down at the puddle on the ground.
“Everything is going to be okay. Jake, go get the car.” He takes off running. “Matthew, there is a bag at the foot of our bed. Go get it. I’ll take Brooklyn and John to the car.”
We arrive at the hospital in the middle of a contraction. “Wait, just give me a minute,” Brooklyn yells from the back seat. Her contractions are coming hard and fast and I’m starting to panic.
“I’ll go get a wheelchair.” I run inside the emergency room doors and grab the first one I see. Matthew has Brooklyn on his arm when I make it back to the car. Jake is holding L.J.
“Here. Sit.” I place it behind Brooklyn. She gingerly sits down. I take off in a run.
“Whoa, slow down, you’re making me nauseous.” Brooklyn places her hand on her mouth.
“Sorry, just a little excited.” I slow my pace.
Matthew holds the door open and I take her directly to the triage desk. “Excuse me, but my wife is in labor.”
“Fill out the paperwork and we’ll be right with you,” the nurse says.
“But, she’s having contractions.”
“It’s okay, John. Just fill them out.” Brooklyn pats my hand.
I quickly write in a few pertinent things and hand the clipboard back to her. She stands and says, “Right this way.”
Our group steps into the elevator and gets off on the third floor. The nurse talks to the other nurse at the desk. She smiles sweetly and then tells us we will need to wait out here until the doctor checks her out. She points us in the direction of the waiting room.
Nobody else is in here, so we take over the room. “I’m not very good at this part,” I say, starting to pace the room.
“What part is that?” Matthew asks.
“Waiting.”
He lets out a laugh. “Don’t we all know it. You would only wait a week after you got back to marry my daughter.”
He’s right. I didn’t want to waste any more time, but neither did Brooklyn. We were all crammed into Matthew’s hospital room. She wore a beautifully-fitted white gown with sequins all down it. Her red locks of hair were draped off one shoulder. Her shiny white heels put her right at my height. She was absolutely stunning. At that very moment, I was the luckiest man alive. I had her on one arm and my son on the other. We truly became a family that day. Here we are now, almost nine months later to the date, adding to our family.
I was out back helping build Matthew’s bungalow, when Brooklyn came outside holding a cake and bag of paper plates. I remember thinking it was kind of odd, but she loved to cook so I played along when she asked if I wanted a slice. She laid the cake on a makeshift table and sliced into it. She handed me the plate and I stared at the cake. The frosting was white, but the inside was two different colors. Pink and blue. It took me minute to figure out what she was trying to tell me. I threw the plate on the ground and picked her up off the ground, kissing her like I never had before.
“Mr. Remington, you can come back and see your wife now.” A nurse pops her head into the room.
I turn to look at L.J. who is in the process of ripping up some magazines. “I got him, you go,” Jake says.
“Thanks.” I follow the nurse to Brooklyn’s room. She’s hooked to all kinds of monitors. Fear sets in. “Are you okay?” I point to the machines and she giggles.
“This is all perfectly normal.” I sit on the bed next to her. “I’m already eight centimeters, so it won’t be long now.
I watch the monitor as the lines start going up. “What does that mean?” I figure it out when I start to lose all the feeling in my hand from the death grip Brooklyn has on it. “Oh, okay, breathe. We practiced this in Lamaze class.” She nods her head. Her hand starts to loosen and I know her contraction is easing up.
An hour later, the room is filled with nurses and a doctor. Brooklyn has been pushing for almost thirty minutes. “I see the baby’s head,” the doctor announces.
I move around where I can see and Brook yanks me back. “I don’t want you passing out like your brother.” I stay where she wants me until our daughter makes her arrival and I get to cut the cord. I don’t know what all the fuss was with Jake, she’s beautiful.
The nurse wraps a blanket around her and hands her to me. “She’s got a set of lungs,” I say, laying her on Brooklyn. “She looks like you.” I kiss Brooklyn on the head and sit down beside her.
A few minutes later the doctor leaves and the nurse has our daughter all cleaned up. She’s settled down, but she is wide-eyed. “She has your eyes,” Brooklyn coos.
Her tiny hand has a tight grip on my little finger. “I can see hints of red in her hair already.”
Jake and Matthew barge into the room, spoiling our moment. Jake hands me John and he and Matthew fight over who is going to hold the baby. Brooklyn and I laugh at them.
“So, does my new granddaughter have a name?” he asks, leaning over Jake’s shoulder looking at her.
“We named her Jacquelyn.” Brooklyn says. I watch for it to register on Matthew’s face.
“After your mother.” His eyes start to water. “She would be so proud of you.”
I lean over and kiss Brooklyn on the lips. “I’m proud of you, too. You’re such a remarkable woman. All of our lives are better because of you, including the millions of people who were cured of cancer. I don’t deserve you, but I plan on being the man you need for the rest of our lives together. John and Jacquelyn will never know what my life was like before. All they will ever know is how much they are loved, and how much I love and cherish their mother.”
“I love you too, John,” she whispers as she kisses me softly.
Sneak Peek at Hold Onto Me
Prologue
Jake
I’m leaning over the motor of a 1976 Camaro I’m working on when the shop phone rings. I jump and smack the back of my head on the hood.
“Damn it,”
I grumble as I rub the knot that’s left behind.
I wipe my hands on the dirty shop rag I had stuffed in my back pocket as I make my way over to the phone.
“Remington Auto Shop.”
“Hey, Jake. It’s Glenn. How you doing, man?”
I fall down into my chair that sets behind my flat metal desk. “Good. When you coming to pick up the El Camino I finished a week ago?” I ask, looking over at the shiny back vehicle that’s taking up space in my garage.
“That’s actually what I was calling about. I don’t think I’m going to make it down anytime soon. I’m swamped at work.”
I sit up suddenly. “I need this thing out of my shop, man.”
He takes a deep breath that I can hear over the phone. “I know. That’s why I called to ask if you could bring it to me. I’ll throw in a good tip for you.”
My hand absentmindedly runs through my thick, dark hair while I think it over. I wouldn’t mind getting the extra money, especially with a baby on the way. But that also means I would have to take a day off of work to do so. “How much of a tip are we talking? I have work here that needs to be finished.”
“How’s an extra grand sound?”
“One thousand dollars and I want the money back that I have to put in gas to get there.”
“Deal,” he agrees.
“All right. It’s still early, so I’ll bring it up now.”
“Perfect. You’re a lifesaver. I should be getting home from work around five this evening. What time do you think you’ll make it in?”
I look at my watch. It’s about a four-hour drive, and I’ll need to load my bike up in the back before I leave so I have a way home. “I should be there by then.”
I hear him clap his hands together, excited to have his car back. “Awesome, man. Thanks so much. See you soon.”
“No problem,” I say, hanging up the phone.
I back the El Camino out of the garage and turn it around so I can load up my bike. It takes me a good twenty minutes to get it loaded up and tied down. Before leaving, I head into the house to tell my future wife, Zoe, where I’ll be for the day.
I wander through the house until I find her in the kitchen, baking again. We’ve been together for four years now, and the woman couldn’t cook a damn thing. However, once she got pregnant, she’s done nothing but bake. Pies, cookies, cakes, you name it, she’s baked it. At one point, we had so many baked goods lying around that we had to take some over to my brother’s house by the basket full. Brooklyn loved the sugary treats, and so did the kids, but John wasn’t all that happy about it. He refuses to eat anything that Zoe cooks ever since he got food poising from the undercooked meatloaf she made one night at a family dinner.
“Baking again?” I ask as I come up behind her, wrapping my arms around her to cup her growing belly. I place my chin in the crook of her neck, pressing soft kisses to her jaw.
She giggles and tries wiggling away from me, but I’m not having any of that.
She pushes her blonde hair behind her ear as she spins around in my arms to face me. “These cravings are getting old. I keep baking what I think I want, but by the time it’s done cooking, I want something else.”
“I have to leave to deliver a car, but how about I fry up some of that fresh fish John and I caught for dinner?”
“Mmm, that sounds amazing actually. Oh, can we make fries and hush puppies too?”
I laugh. “Whatever you want,” I say, landing a firm kiss on her lips that makes her take a deep breath. Her growing chest pushes against mine, and suddenly, I forget what I should be doing.
My hands travel from her lower back, down to her ass. I squeeze slightly before pulling her even closer, causing a sweet groan to escape her lips.
She breaks the kiss with a playful smack to my chest. “I thought you had work to do. Plus, I’m going to burn my cookies if you keep distracting me like this.”
“All right, you’re right.” I take a step back. “I won’t be home until late, probably nine or ten tonight. Can you wait that long to have dinner?”
She nods. “You know I do nothing but eat anymore. How about I get everything ready. That way, when you come in, all you have to do is fry everything up.”
“Sounds perfect. Call me if you need anything.” I smack her on the ass as I walk by. I love having my hands on her anytime that I can.
I climb behind the wheel and hit the road a little faster than I should, but I want to hurry back to have dinner with Zoe, and maybe a little bedroom fun.
I make it to Glenn’s apartment building at five on the dot. I know he said he wouldn’t get off work until five, so I sit in the car and wait for him to pull up.
I watch the traffic that passes in front of me and notice when a black SUV drives into the parking lot. It pulls around behind me, and I look up into the rearview mirror out of curiosity.
I quickly take my eyes away when someone knocks on the driver’s side window. I look over to see Glenn.
Opening the door, I step out. “Hey, you made it,” he says, shaking my hand.
“Yeah, just in time.”
He begins walking around the car, running his hand on the hood. “How’s she run?”
“Purrs like a kitten,” I tell him.
He has a wide smile as he finishes his journey around the vehicle. He takes his place in the driver’s seat and twists the key. The car roars to life. I laugh when he hits the gas a few times, revving up the engine.
I’m about to move around to the back of the car to unload my bike when I hear the sound of gravel crunching behind me. I turn to look at whoever is approaching, but as soon as I do, I’m hit over the head.
My ears ring, and my vision blurs. Everything goes black.
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Purchase your copy of Hold Onto Me
About Author Kelly Moore
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"This author has the magical ability to take an already strong and interesting plot and add so many unexpected twists and turns that it turns her books into a complete addiction for the reader." Dandelion Inspired Blog
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Armed with books in the crook of my elbow, I can go anywhere. That’s my philosophy! Better yet, I’ll write the books that will take me on an adventure.
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My heroes are a bit broken but will make you swoon. My heroines are their own kick-ass characters armed with humor and a plethora of sarcasm.
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If I’m not tucked away in my writing den, with coffee firmly gripped in hand, you can find me with a book propped on my pillow, a pit bull lying across my legs, a Lab on the floor next to me, and two kittens running amuck.
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My current adventure has me living in Idaho with my own gray-bearded hero, who’s put up with my shenanigans for over thirty years, and he doesn’t mind all my book boyfriends.
If you love romance, suspense, military men, lots of action and adventure infused with emotion, tear-worthy moments, and laugh-out-loud humor, dive into my books and let the world fall away at your feet.
Also by Kelly Moore
Whiskey River Road Series - Audiobook
Coming Home, Book 1.
Stolen Hearts, Book 2
Three Words, Book 3
Kentucky Rain, Book 4
Wild Ride, Book 5 Coming Soon
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Fated Lives Series. Audiobook
Rebel’s Retribution Books 1-4.
Theo’s Retaliation Books 5-7.
Thorn’s Redemption Books 8-10.
Fallon’s Revenge Book 11
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August Series in Order
Next August
This August
Seeing Sam
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Formerly the Brooklyn Series/DC Series
The Hitman Series
Stand By Me.
Stay With Me
Hold Onto Me
Available in audiobook format Under old covers.
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Epic Lov
e Stories Series can be read in any order
Say You Won’t Let Go. Audiobook version
Fading Into Nothing Audiobook version
Life Goes On. Audiobook version
Gypsy Audiobook version
Jameson Audiobook version
The Broken Pieces Series in order
Broken Pieces
Pieced Together
Piece by Piece
Pieces of Gray
Syn’s Broken Journey
Broken Pieces Box set Books 1-3
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Imperfect. Audiobook version
Blind Revenge
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The Crazy Rich Davenports Season One in order of reading
The Davenports. Audiobook
Lucy
Yaya
Ford
Gemma
Daisy
The Wedding
Halloween Party
Bang Bang
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Coffee Tea or Me
