Fairytale Not Required

by Stephanie Rowe

  His dad raised his eyebrows. “We’ve already met her, Jason.”

  Jason grinned. “No, you haven’t. I would like you to meet the woman who is crazy enough to love me to the ends of the earth, the woman I love with every bit of my soul.”

  Astrid felt her cheeks turn red as Jason’s mother’s eyebrows shot up, but at the same time, she felt her chest swell with pride.

  “Astrid has agreed to marry me,” Jason said. “Mom, Dad, I want you to meet my future wife. And Noah…” Jason went down into a crouch so he was on his son’s level. “How would you feel about Astrid being your mom?”

  Astrid held her breath as the most enormous smile exploded on Noah’s face. “That rocks!” He raced across the room and tackled Jason, nearly knocking him down. “Thanks for getting her, Dad! You’re the best!”

  Astrid’s throat tightened as Jason broke the hug and held out an arm toward her, to bring her into the embrace. For a moment, she hesitated, then Noah looked up. “I’m going to name my snake after you,” he said, “Queen Astrid.”

  Queen Astrid? Suddenly, all hesitation vanished and Astrid went down on her knees, letting Jason and Noah pull her into the hug. It was a fierce hug, as only two males would do, and it made her heart tremble with disbelief. Was this really her world? Was this really her life?

  “Astrid,” Jason’s mom interrupted.

  She tensed and looked up, noticing that Jason didn’t loosen his embrace on her at all. Instead, he kept her tight against him, making his commitment to her clear. Warmth and strength burned through her, and suddenly Henrietta didn’t feel like such a threat. Astrid knew that she was safe, and no one could take it away from her. “Yes?”

  To her surprise, Henrietta was smiling, and tears were gleaming in her eyes. “Welcome to the family. It’s about time you and Jason found your way to each other.”

  Astrid swallowed. “Really?”

  Mack was the one who answered, as he put his arm around his wife’s shoulders, a broad grin on his face. “Really.”

  *

  “I think it went under here.” Ten months later, Astrid stretched out on her belly to peer beneath the woodpile, a position she’d found herself in many times since she’d agreed to marry into the Sarantos family.

  “Do you see it?” Noah hunkered down next to her, his frog-hunting net damp against Astrid’s side.

  “No.” Astrid frowned. “We need a flashlight.”

  “We gotta catch it,” Noah said. “If Dad finds out there’s a mouse in the cafe, he’s going to kill it.”

  “We’ll catch it,” Astrid said. “Don’t worry.”

  Noah flashed a grin at her. “I love this cafe. We’ve caught six mice already and it’s only the first week of May. How cool is that?”

  Astrid grinned at him. “As long as they don’t get inside the restaurant, it’s cool—”

  “Oh, there she is.” The voice of the man her mother had finally found peace with broke into the mouse moment. “See, your mama is still here. No need to fuss.”

  Astrid looked up as Ralph came walking out of the back of the store, a tiny bundle cradled in his massive arms. Her heart filled with the joy that had been overwhelming her for months. Joy that had been mixed with terror, when she’d accidentally become pregnant so soon after her miscarriage. Without Jason’s support and his reassuring medical scrutiny, she knew her stress would have taken another baby away from her. But instead, the nine months had built the most incredible bond between her and Jason as they leaned on each other for support and courage that everything would work out okay and they wouldn’t lose another child. Together, they’d made it, and little Rosie had blessed them with all the joy and love that Astrid had never thought she’d have. “Is she awake?” Astrid asked.

  “Waking up.” Ralph nuzzled the baby, his weathered-face filled with such love. “Hi, little Rosie,” he crooned. “You look just like your grandma. You are a lucky girl. She was the prettiest lady I’ve ever met, and you look just like her.”

  “Aw…not the baby again,” Noah groaned. “She’s so boring.”

  “Some girls don’t like mice, so you’re going to have to teach her to like them.” Astrid smiled as she took the infant from her grandpa. Rosie’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sleepy as she snuggled against Astrid. An overwhelming sense of love and wonder swelled as she looked down at her innocent, beautiful baby, who was growing up with a doting father, a mischievous brother and a home that was more beautiful than Astrid had ever imagined as a child.

  “Can I really teach her to play with mice? Is that okay?” Noah grinned. “I have a fake rat inside. Can I get it for her?”

  “Of course,” Astrid grinned, happy that Rosie was going to grow up actually knowing her brother. The cycle had been broken…no, not broken. It had been healed, with love and courage, and all the things she never knew she was capable of.

  “Great!” Noah raced inside, shouting for Jason.

  Ralph smiled at Astrid. “You sure you don’t mind me living in the carriage house?”

  She laughed, delighted by the warmth and happiness in the older man’s eyes. For months after Rosie’s death, Ralph’s spirit had been broken, but the moment they’d told him that their baby would carry Rosie’s name, it was as if Ralph had finally come back to life. He’d taken on his role of doting grandpa with such vigor and excitement that his enthusiasm still made Astrid giggle with delight. “Of course not. You’re family, Ralph. You belong with us. Besides, it is so wonderful to have your help with Rosie. I’d never be able to keep up with my orders if you weren’t there to help me with the kids.”

  “Okay, then.” The older man smiled. “I never thought I’d have grandkids. Rosie would be proud, wouldn’t she?”

  “She would—”

  “Astrid!” Eppie came charging around the corner. “Jason needs some…” She paused, her eyes widening. “Oh, hello there, Ralph. I had no idea you were back here with Astrid.” She gave him a wide smile, flipping back some of the beads that were hanging from the brim of her hat.

  Ralph’s cheeks turned red. “Oh, hello, Eppie. You look lovely today.”

  “Oh, this old thing?” Eppie smiled and fluffed the yellow flowers embroidered onto her fuchsia dress. “Why, I’ve had it for hours. Maybe even a full day. It’s no big thing.”

  Astrid chuckled as she hugged Rosie to her chest. “I’m going to go inside and find Jason. I’ll see you guys later.” She ducked past them, grinning when neither of them even looked her way as she walked into the back of the store.

  She pushed open the door just as Jason walked out. He was wearing a bright red tee shirt that proclaimed Noah’s Place as the number one new pizza store in Maine, courtesy of Eppie personally filling the place every day for the first six months until it started to gain steam on its own. Eppie had even convinced Clare and Griffin to let Jason cater their wedding, filling the lakeside tent with more pizzas than Astrid had ever seen in her life. It had been so amazing to see Clare so happy, and to be experiencing those same emotions herself. Never again would Astrid stand outside a loving relationship like Clare and Griffin’s, and wonder what it would be like. No, she knew what it was like, and it was the most incredible gift ever.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” her husband said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. There was flour on Jason’s shoulder and smudged on his cheeks, and he looked radiantly happy. “How are my girls?”

  “Perfect.” Astrid smiled as Jason locked his arm around her waist and kissed her. “You’ll squish Rosie,” she laughed.

  “Good. She needs to learn that her daddy can’t keep his hands off her mommy.” Jason’s face softened as he looked down at the infant. “One month old today. I can’t even believe it.”

  “I know.” Astrid sighed happily as she leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder, utter contentment filling her. It amazed her she could feel so at peace, but with Jason and her family, she did. The only dark spots in her life were Harlan and Emma. She hadn’t heard from her brother
in almost six months, and he hadn’t been back to his house. And Emma…poor Emma. She was getting too thin, and she looked like she wasn’t sleeping at night. Astrid and Clare had taken Emma out to dinner so many times, but there was such weight in Emma’s soul that it made Astrid want to cry for her, because she knew what that felt like. But Emma felt so out of reach, especially since Rosie had been born and Emma had retreated even more.

  Rosie gurgled in Astrid’s arms, drawing her attention back to the beautiful little girl who had been brave enough to be born into this family, and her heart filled once again. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?”

  “Just like her mama.” Jason kissed her again. “Ralph’s going to babysit the kids tonight,” he said. “We’re going out to celebrate.”

  Her heart leapt at the love in his eyes. Would she ever get used to the way Jason looked at her? “What are we celebrating?”

  “Us.” He kissed her again. “I just want to celebrate that my wife loves me as much as I love her. Isn’t that a good enough reason to celebrate?”

  She smiled. “It is.”

  And it was. It definitely was.

  Sneak Peek: NO KNIGHT NEEDED

  (Ever After Series, Book One)

  (Contemporary Small-Town Romance, Available Now)

  Ducking her head against the raging storm, Clare hugged herself while she watched the huge black pickup truck turn its headlights onto the steep hillside. She was freezing, and her muscles wouldn’t stop shaking. She was so worried about Katie, she could barely think, and she had no idea what this stranger was going to do. Something. Anything. Please.

  The truck lurched toward the hill, and she realized suddenly that he was going to drive straight up the embankment in an attempt to go above the roots and around the fallen tree that was blocking the road. But that was crazy! The mountain was way too steep. He was going to flip his truck!

  Memories assaulted her, visions of when her husband had died, and she screamed, racing toward him and waving her arms. “No, don’t! Stop!”

  But the truck plowed up the side of the hill, its wheels spewing mud as it fought for traction in the rain-soaked earth. She stopped, horror recoiling through her as the truck turned and skidded parallel across the hill, the left side of his truck reaching far too high up the slippery slope. Her stomach retched as she saw the truck tip further and further.

  The truck was at such an extreme angle, she could see the roof now. A feathered angel was painted beneath the flood lights. An angel? What was a man like him doing with an angel on his truck?

  The truck was almost vertical now. There was no way it could stay upright. It was going to flip. Crash into the tree. Careen across the road. Catapult off the cliff. He would die right in front of her. Oh, God, he would die.

  But somehow, by a miracle that she couldn’t comprehend, the truck kept struggling forward, all four wheels still gripping the earth.

  The truck was above the roots now. Was he going to make it? Please let him make it—

  The wheels slipped, and the truck dropped several yards down toward the roots. “No!” She took a useless, powerless step as the tires caught on the roots. The tires spun out in the mud, and the roots ripped across the side of the vehicle with a furious scream.

  “Go,” she shouted, clenching her firsts. “Go!”

  He gunned the engine, and suddenly the tires caught. The truck leapt forward, careening sideways across the hill, skidding back and forth as the mud spewed. He made it past the tree, and then the truck plowed back down toward the road, sliding and rolling as he fought for control.

  Clare held her hand over her mouth, terrified that at any moment one of his tires would catch on a root and he’d flip. “Please make it, please make it, please make it,” she whispered over and over again.

  The truck bounced high over a gully, and she gasped when it flew up so high she could see the undercarriage. Then somehow, someway, he wrested the truck back to four wheels, spun out into the road and stopped, its wipers pounding furiously against the rain as the floodlights poured hope into the night.

  Oh, dear God. He’d made it. He hadn’t died.

  Clare gripped her chest against the tightness in her lungs. Her hands were shaking, her legs were weak. She needed to sit down. To recover.

  But there was no time. The driver’s door opened and out he stepped. Standing behind the range of his floodlights, he was silhouetted against the darkness, his shoulders so wide and dominating he looked like the dark earth itself had brought him to life.

  Something inside her leapt with hope at the sight of him, at the sheer, raw strength of his body as he came toward her. This man, this stranger, he was enough. He could help her. Sudden tears burned in her eyes as she finally realized she didn’t have to fight this battle by herself.

  He held up his hand to tell her to stay, then he slogged over to the front of his truck. He hooked something to the winch, then headed over to the tree. The trunk came almost to his chest, but he locked his grip around a wet branch for leverage, and then vaulted over with effortless grace, landing in the mud with a splash. “Come here,” he shouted over the wind.

  Clare ran across the muck toward him, stumbling in the slippery footing. “You’re crazy!” she shouted, shielding her eyes against the bright floodlights from his truck. But God, she’d never been so happy to see crazy in her life.

  “Probably,” he yelled back, flashing her a cheeky grin. His perfect white teeth seemed to light up his face, a cheerful confident smile that felt so incongruous in the raging storm and daunting circumstances.

  But his cockiness eased her panic, and that was such a gift. It made her able to at least think rationally. She would take all the positive vibes she could get right now.

  He held up a nylon harness that was hooked to the steel cord attached to his truck. “If the tree goes over, this will keep you from going over.”

  She wiped the rain out of her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  “We still have to get you over the tree, and I don’t want you climbing it unprotected. Never thought I’d actually be using this stuff. I had it just out of habit.” He dropped the harness over her head and began strapping her in with efficient, confident movements. His hands brushed her breasts as he buckled her in, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  She sure did.

  It was the first time a man’s hands had touched her breasts in about fifteen years, and it was an unexpected jolt. Something tightened in her belly. Desire? Attraction? An awareness of the fact she was a woman? Dear God, what was wrong with her? She didn’t have time for that. Not tonight, and not in her life. But she couldn’t take her gaze off his strong jaw and dark eyes as he focused intently on the harness he was strapping around her.

  “I’m taking you across to my truck,” he said, “and then we’re going to get your daughter and the others.”

  “We are?” She couldn’t stop the sudden flood of tears. “You’re going to help me get them?”

  He nodded as he snapped the final buckle. “Yeah. I gotta get into heaven somehow, and this might do it.”

  “Thank you!” She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around him, clinging to her savior. She had no idea who he was, but he’d just successfully navigated a sheer mud cliff for her and her daughter, and she would so take that gift right now.

  For an instant, he froze, and she felt his hard body start to pull away. Then suddenly, in a shift so subtle she didn’t even see it happen, his body relaxed and his arms went around her, locking her down in an embrace so powerful she felt like the world had just stopped. She felt like the rain had ceased and the wind had quieted, buffeted aside by the strength and power of his body.

  “It’s going to be okay.” His voice was low and reassuring in her ear, his lips brushing against her as he spoke. “She’s going to be fine.”

  Crushed against this stranger’s body, protected by his arms, soothed by the utter confidence in his voice, the terror that had been stalking her finally eased away
. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “You’re welcome.”

  There was a hint of emotion in his voice, and she pulled back far enough to look at him. His eyes were dark, so dark she couldn’t tell if they were brown or black, but she could see the torment in his expression. His jaw was angular, and his face was shadowed by the floodlights. He was a man with weight in his heart. She felt it right away. Instinctively, she laid a hand on his cheek. “You’re a gift.”

  He flashed another smile, and for a split second, he put his hand over hers, holding it to his whiskered cheek as if she were some angel of mercy come to give him relief. Her throat thickened, and for a moment, everything else vanished. It was just them, drenched and cold on a windy mountain road, the only warmth was their hands, clasped together against his cheek.

  His eyes darkened, then he cleared his throat suddenly and released her hand, jerking her back to the present. “Wait until you see whether I can pull it off,” he said, his voice low and rough, sending chills of awareness rippling down her spine. “Then you can reevaluate that compliment.” He tugged on the harness. “Ready?”

  She gripped the cold nylon, suddenly nervous. Was she edgy because she was about to climb over a tree that could careen into the gully while she was on it, or was it due to intensity of the sudden heat between them? God, she hoped it was the first one. Being a wimp was so much less dangerous than noticing a man like him. “Aren’t you wearing one?”

  He quirked a smile at her, a jaunty grin that melted one more piece of her thundering heart. “I only have one, and ladies always get first dibs. Besides, I’m a good climber. If the tree takes me over, I’ll find my way back up. Always do.” He set his foot on a lower branch and patted his knee. “A one-of-a-kind step ladder. Hop up, Ms.—?” He paused, leaving the question hovering in the storm.

  “Clare.” She set her muddy boot on his knee, and she grimaced apologetically when the mud glopped all over his jeans. “Clare Gray.” She grabbed a branch and looked at him. “And you are?”