by Andrea Bills
Music filled the room: the soft echoes of Ed Sheeran’s Perfect. Confused, Annie looked around but then the screen where her PowerPoint had just been was now a picture. A picture of her in Cole’s bed. She was laughing and wearing his t-shirt. Annie remembered the morning Cole had taken it. He was always catching her sleeping in his bed with his shirt on. That particular morning, he had tickled her ruthlessly.
Annie covered her mouth as she bit back sobs. The picture changed to another one of her, but this time she was asleep. Picture after picture flooded the screen and her memories.
“Who is doing this?” Annie cried, as the tears skated down her cheeks.
The door on the far side of the room opened and her parents came in; behind them was Samantha.
“Mom, Dad? Samantha?”
“My Annie.” Cole’s deep timbre rumbled through her, bringing her body and soul to life for the first time since he had walked out on her.
Annie slowly turned and took him in. He had on his typical t-shirt and jeans, but he looked less put together. His hair was messy, and his eyes looked unsure. Cole had never looked unsure.
“What are you doing?” She whispered, not sure how much more her heart could take.
In her peripheral vision, she saw the pictures stop on a picture of a house and a large barn that Annie didn’t recognize. She turned and walked closer to it. The property it sat on looked like her parents’ property, and the sign over the barn read, ‘Longston and Bennett Farm.’
“Dad?” She asked.
He just nodded his head toward Cole, causing Annie to turn back toward him. Unable to comprehend what was going on, Annie dropped to her knees and buried her head in her hands. She felt Cole kneel in front of her, his hand easing her hands away from her face.
“Annie, my beautiful, fierce and passionate Annie. I’m so sorry for everything I’ve put you through, but I had to deal with my past, so that I could set the foundation for our future. I love you. I should have told you a thousand times already, but I’m hoping there’s still time. I love you so much, and I would be honored if you would be my wife.” He said, extending his other hand with a ring.
Annie doubled over, her stomach in knots and her mind reeling.
“Cole.” She whispered.
Steadying her nerves and taking a deep breath, Annie brought her eyes up to Cole’s.
“What about your parents?”
“In prison, along with Trey and his parents.”
“Trey showed up at my house.”
“I know.” Cole said, his jaw clenching and his hand rolling into a fist.
“What about the woman in the red dress?”
“The who?” Cole asked, his eyes showing his genuine confusion.
“You’re not seeing someone?”
“Well, depending on your response to my proposal, I’d like to be seeing you.” He said, with a sexy smirk.
“Yes.” She finally answered, her voice barely audible.
Cole’s face broke out into a full-fledged smile. Annie had only been graced with a small number of them, but they were all equally as heart stopping. She felt her own smile spread on her face as she threw herself into Cole. He caught her and wrapped her up in his tight embrace.
“Well, I didn’t drive all the way down here for nothing. Are you engaged?” Samantha laughed as everyone joined her and Cole where they were still huddled together on the ground.
She and Cole stood up, and Cole slid the simple, yet stunning, solitaire engagement ring onto her finger. Her mom and Samantha squealed, and her dad chuckled. Annie wiggled her fingers loving the way it sparkled.
“It’s perfect.” She told Cole.
“I love you, Annie.”
“I love you, too, Cole.”
Epilogue
Cole
“It looks just like the picture.” Annie said, as she and Cole stood alongside her parents at the bottom of the property looking up on Cole and Annie’s new home.
Alongside of it was the new and expanded barn that now housed double the pigs her dad had ever kept and the rest of the animals the farm was now raising. Her dad had always wanted to have a fully functional farm with steers, pigs, and chickens, but it had never been feasible. Thanks to Cole’s money and her dad’s brain, the two had built a spectacular and quite successful farm.
Annie had eventually pitched her products to Barry and was now running not only one brick and mortar store, but two, full of his beard oil and her homemade beauty products. Cole had hung up his hat in the oil industry, but he still took on a few consulting gigs from time to time.
He didn’t miss his life in the city at all. Growing up he had thought it was his parents’ fault that he had been miserable. Then after his grandpa passed, he blamed that missing part of his life for why he was still unhappy. After meeting Annie and spending only two days in West Virginia with her family, he realized what he was missing was her. The life they had built together in the small town held more riches than any city street he had ever been on.
The pigs began to carry on inside of the barn. It was time to move them back into their feeding pens. Everyone moved at once up to the barn. They were all used to working together, so the process moved seamlessly. A car pulled into the driveway, grabbing everyone’s attention.
“You expecting anyone?” Bob asked Cole.
“No.” He said, setting his shovel down and making his way to the front of the barn.
Annie was next to him where she was cleaning out the very first stall and tossing the manure in a wheelbarrow to take down to her garden. The car rolled to a stop, and a driver got out and opened the back door. The last person Cole ever thought he’d see in his life stepped out of the car.
“Mother?”
“Cole, oh dear. This is where that dreadful lawyer said I would find you, but I never dreamed he was telling the truth.”
“When and how did you get out of jail?”
“I turned state’s evidence on everyone else.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Honestly Cole, you never had a loyal bone in your body. For God’s sake you just had your own flesh and blood put in prison! Your brother and father are going to serve hard time because of you!”
“Because of me?” Cole yelled.
His mother waved her hand in front of her in dismissal. Cole felt Annie and her parents move to stand beside him. For the first time in his life he had the support of people he loved standing beside him as he faced his mother.
“Mother, you need to get off this property before we call the police.” Cole said, sternly.
“I’ll leave as soon as you give me some money to live on. You owe me that at the very least? Do you know what it’s like to spend time in prison?” She screeched.
“I’m not giving you a dime, mother.”
“Like hell you’re not. That’s my money anyways! You wouldn’t have anything had I not given birth to you and raised you!”
“Raised me? Are you kidding me mom? I shouldn’t even call you that. The nannies you hired did more for me, cared more for me, than you ever will.”
Cole turned to walk back to the office to call the police. He was done trying to reason with his mother. Years of experience had taught him they would never agree. His mom followed him, harping on about how selfish and cruel he was being. Too busy running her mouth, she hadn’t paid attention to where she was going and before anyone could react, she stepped in a pile of pig manure and slipped. Her arms went flailing about, and a scream erupted from her lips as she landed on her butt.
Everyone held their breath and waited for her reaction. After a moment of taking inventory of the pig shit all over her, his mother screamed. Everyone else burst into laughter.
“Well that seems about right!” Annie’s father said, walking past Cole’s mother to go back to his duties.
Annie and her mother did the same. Cole called the police and before long they showed up. Even though Cole quite enjoyed seeing his mom covered in crap, he felt bad for the
police officer, and took the hose to her to clean her up before they carted her off.
After Cole and Annie and her parents finished cleaning out the stalls they all filed into Cole and Annie’s new home. It was their turn to cook breakfast. Cole looked around at them, his family. They were what he had been looking for his entire life. A part of him had to be thankful to his parents, because had he never sought retribution for his grandpa, he would have never found the family he had always wanted. He never would have found his Annie.
The End.
Acknowledgments
First to my husband whose support and love is what gets each book to the finish line.
To my editor/best friend/sounding board/muse Tayler…seriously what would I do without you? I haven’t a clue, so you’re stuck with me FOREVER!
To my Betas - I love you ladies so much and I appreciate you loving my words! I’m at my most vulnerable putting a book out and your support and feedback are immeasurable to me.
To my Hoarder Beauties! I love that you ladies have welcomed me in and put up with me! I love our wacky conversations and sharing my love for the written word!
To my mom and dad, without you none of this would be possible! Your love and encouragement has given me the confidence to put my words out into the world!
To my tiny babies - even though you’re not so tiny anymore thank you for loving me even though I’m busy sometimes and getting excited when my books come in the mail!
Lili Mahoney - I’m not sure there are any other words for what you mean to me aside from #bound! Thank you for reading my words and for being my other half in this crazy world! I love you!
Leaona and Laura - I love our talks and our fierce little triangle we have! I love you ladies! Thanks for all you do for me!
My Babes Girls! You all rock! You put up with my shenanigans and support me! I have so much love for you I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to express it correctly!
I feel like I’m missing people but just know I love you!
About the Author
Andrea is a wife, mother and writer from small town West Virginia. She spends her time while she’s not dreaming up lovers and villains alike chasing after
her two kids and husband.
Her overactive imagination and her husband’s wacky dreams attribute to her love of the written word.
Guilty pleasures include reading all night and Reese Cups.
Find Andrea Bills here:
Also by Andrea Bills
Hidden Agendas
Hidden Enemies
Power Duet
Exchange of Power
Weight of Power - Coming Summer 2018
