by K. L. Ramsey
“Not funny, man,” Justin said.
“Okay, I can see you aren’t in the mood for jokes yet. I understand—it’s too soon. I decided I’m coming back to work on Monday,” he said. Justin looked him up and down, as if trying to decide if he agreed with his decision or not.
“Is that a good idea?” he asked. Jarrod loved the way Justin seemed to want to protect both him and Ariana but Jarrod knew it was time to start picking up some of the slack.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m more than ready. I’ve been staying home to keep an eye on Ariana but she’s only on half-day bed rest now. I think we can make sure our girl behaves for two weeks until the second trimester starts.”
“I’ll behave,” she agreed. Airiana was standing behind him. “I would never do anything to hurt our babies,” she said, gently cupping her tummy. “I love them just as much as I love the two of you.” Jarrod and Justin flanked her sides and wrapped her in their arms. Justin smiled at him and he knew exactly what his brother was silently trying to tell him. It was time to give Airiana their surprise.
Jarrod felt his heart racing, worried about all the possibilities the next few minutes would bring but he would only accept one outcome—Airiana saying yes to being theirs forever.
“Marry us,” Justin whispered. He pulled the ring from his pocket and held it up for her. Jarrod could tell his brother was just as nervous as he was. “Be our wife, Airi,” Justin asked.
Jarrod took the ring from his brother and slipped it onto Airiana’s finger, noting it fit perfectly, just the way she did between the two of them. “Please, Airiana,” Jarrod begged. “Say yes.” Airiana looked between the two of them, tears streaming down her beautiful face and Jarrod knew she was about to make all their dreams come true.
“Yes,” she breathed. “I’ll marry you both.”
“Thank fuck,” Justin exhaled. “I thought my heart was going to beat out of my fucking chest,” he admitted.
“We have one other question, baby,” Jarrod murmured. Airiana looked at him expectantly and he couldn’t help himself, he dipped his head to kiss her lips. “Let us adopt Milo. He’s already ours and we both want to be his dads.” Airiana nodded, overcome by her emotions.
“I’d love that and so would he,” she cried.
Jarrod held Airiana in his arms, encircling her body with Justin’s and he knew they had found their perfect match. She was not only their personal assistant but the love of their lives—their future, their everything, theirs.
Epilogue
Elliott
Elliott Hale had spent the better part of a day hiking up the mountain outside of town and she was about ready to turn around and hike back down. She wanted to laugh at herself, because she knew that wasn’t an option. Really, her only hope was to find Nash Lewis but she also knew he might turn her away once she found him. They hadn’t left things between them on the best of terms when he left.
Really, Ellie couldn’t blame him for being angry with her still, she acted like a child when he announced he was going to take some time for himself and go off grid. Nash decided to move up to his cabin on the top of the mountain in the middle of nowhere and Ellie worried she would never see him again. Her fears were silly really, they had been best friends since she could remember and she should have known better.
Despite his anger over her throwing a fit when he left, instead of a going away party, Nash had checked in with her weekly. It was usually by text but she was grateful for every message that told her he was alive and well. And, for the most part, her life had continued back in town, sans one best friend but she was miserable without him—not that she would admit that to him.
She was a criminal defense lawyer and damn good at her job, even if she did say so herself. She represented some high profile cases in her almost ten years of practicing law but the one she was on now was the worst. She had the distinct displeasure of representing William Keller and if she had to guess, he was the trouble that was following her. Well, the person he hired to go after her, since he was still safely tucked away in his jail cell last time she checked.
Keller was doing time for human trafficking and had hired her firm to prove his innocence. Since she was not a partner in the firm, the unwanted caseloads had often trickled down to her and she was the unlucky recipient of Keller’s case. She was sure he was guilty, and even asked to be recused from the case but the judge refused telling her to just do her job. When she had to face Keller alone again at the penitentiary to go over a few details, he told her he was informed she asked to be taken off his case. The only way he would have found that out was from the judge and that told Ellie all she needed to know—she was in way over her head. Keller’s threat was overkill, she knew exactly what was going to happen to her if she didn’t win his case. Ellie also knew what could potentially happen to thousands of women and children if she did win the case and she wasn’t sure which would be a worse outcome.
When she got home that evening to find her place had been broken into and vandalized, she knew calling the local police would be pointless. She had a feeling the case was bigger than just her involvement and she worried Keller and his business associates would have more than just a dirty judge on their payroll. The only person she could think to turn to was Nash. She ditched her phone, knowing it was probably bugged and packed her backpack, only to disappear into the woods that joined her little town and the mountain that her best friend lived atop. Ellie wasn’t being overly dramatic when she thought of Nash being her only hope—he was just that. Ellie just hoped she could get to him before whoever was threatening her caught up to her.
West
Jake Weston knew he was taking a chance tracking Elliott Hale up the mountain when he had no idea where she was headed. He knew Miss Hale was heading into visit Keller and he took his chance to search her home but she came back before he could finish and he had no choice but to hide out and then follow her up that damn mountain. What he really wanted was his nice warm bed and possibly a beer or two but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. The FBI didn’t give a fuck about what he wanted or his own comfort. They wanted information on Keller and if his hunch was correct, Elliott Hale knew a hell of a lot more than she was letting on.
Once he realized she was leaving, sneaking up one of the trails that would lead her by foot out of town, he had no other choice but to leave his warm car and follow her. The problem was he wasn’t dressed for the impending storm as she was. West was freezing his ass off and he hoped she’d either get to where she was going soon or turn around and hike back to town. The last thing he wanted to do was wait out the snowstorm that was raging on around him. Near whiteout conditions were making it too damn hard to continue but he also knew turning back wouldn’t be any easier. His only option was to hope Miss Hale knew where she was going or he could come up with a fucking good excuse as to why he was trailing her.
West had managed to stay back out of eyesight but he worried if the snow kept coming down, his dark jacket was going to give him away. He stuck out like a sore thumb and every time Elliott Hale turned around, he was sure she was going to see him. His feet were freezing since the trail was completely covered by at least a few inches of snow that had quickly fallen. West stumbled forward, tripping over a rock and tumbling down to the ground. He laid there for a minute, hoping he didn’t make enough of a ruckus to warrant attention. Just when he thought it was safe to get up, Elliott Hale stood over him and he knew his cover had been blown. It was fight or flight time and with the way his ankle throbbed, he was pretty sure neither would work well in his favor.
“Oh my goodness, are you alright?” she gushed. West tried to nod and wave her attentions off but he failed miserably. Instead the pretty brunette had her arms around him, trying to help him up from the cold, wet ground.
“I’m fine,” he said, even though his fucking ankle screamed otherwise. “I was just out hiking and this storm came out of nowhere. I’m afraid I’m not really dressed for a snowstorm,” he covered.
“I was trying to make it down the mountain but I got turned around and now I’m afraid I’m lost.”
“My friend’s cabin is up the path just a little further,” she offered. “Do you think you can make it?” The idea of getting close to Elliott Hale would make his job a whole lot easier. But he also stood the chance of blowing his cover if he was discovered. From everything he knew about Elliott Hale, she was smart and he didn’t want to take a chance she’d figure everything out.
The wind picked up around them, reminding West he had two choices—go with Miss Hale or stay on the side of the mountain and probably die. Either way was a risk but at least he’d have a fighting chance if he let her help him. Besides, judging from the determined look on her pretty face, there was no way she was about to leave him on the trail.
“I can make it,” he said. “Thank you.” She pulled his arm around her neck and he held onto her as if she was his lifeline.
“I’m Elliott Hale, by the way,” she yelled over the howling winds. “But everyone calls me Ellie.”
“Jake Weston but you can call me West,” he offered. He learned from years of having secrets with the FBI to tell as many truths as possible so you don’t get caught up in the lies. His name was probably the only truth he was going to be able to give to Elliott but that was the nature of his work. Until he could find out just where she stood with Keller, he needed to be careful and lying to his rescuer was his only option.
Nash
Nash finished chopping the load of wood and carried it to his porch to stack. It felt like snow and he was happy for the change in weather. It had been a warmer than usual fall and he was hoping the snow would keep some of the nosey townies away. They were constantly hiking up his mountain and stumbling across his little cabin. He was ready for some true solitude and he was hoping the impending storm might give him just that.
After working all day to get ready for the snow, he decided to take a quick shower to warm up and then he’d make himself a steak for dinner—he had earned it. He was just about to sit down to dinner when a quiet rapping at the door had the hairs on his neck standing on end. It had just started snowing and Nash was sure he’d be stuck with whoever had the misfortune of knocking on his door. There was no fucking way he’d want to entertain a visitor until the storm passed. Mountain snow tended to linger and be harder to get through than the stuff they got down in town. The way the storm raged on outside of his cabin, this snow was going to make getting back down the mountain damn near impossible.
The second knock at the door was a lot louder and more insistent, telling him whoever was on the other side of the door wasn’t going to just give up and leave. “I’m coming,” he growled. He pulled the cabin door open to reveal two figures standing on the other side and from the looks of them, they were freezing. The wind blew in a good deal of snow and made it near impossible to see who the people were.
“Come in,” he yelled into the winds. The two people entered his cabin and he used all his body weight to push the front door closed again.
The smaller figure pulled her scarf free from her face and he’d know those eyes anywhere—Ellie. “Fuck Ellie, what are you doing out in this storm?” She smiled up at him, her cheeks bright red from the cold air and snow that pelted her face.
Her smile was quickly replaced with worry and he pulled her in for a hug. “I need your help,” she whispered against his neck.
“Anything,” he breathed.
She looked at the man who had pulled his jacket from around his face and shook her head. “Not now—later. We can catch up later and I’ll fill you in about everything,” she said. Her smile was back in place but Nash knew Ellie well enough to know that something was bothering her.
“This is West,” she offered. “I found him on the mountain on my way up here. He apparently twisted his ankle when he tripped over a rock.”
Nash shot Ellie a disapproving look, “You just picked up a complete stranger and brought him up to my cabin?” Nash questioned.
Ellie’s mouth gaped open, “You would have had me leave him there? He wasn’t dressed for the storm and I am not the kind of person to just leave someone to die, Nash Lewis.” The way she chided him made him want to laugh. His Ellie was always a spit fire but when she scolded him, it made him a little hot—though he’d never tell her that.
“No, you aren’t, Ellie girl. You are the sweetest most caring person I know—sometimes to a fault,” Nash said.
West held up his hands, as if in defense. “I’m not here to cause any trouble. I fell and Ellie was nice enough to save my ass. End of story. As soon as this storm is over, I can call for some help and be on my way,” he offered. Nash gave a curt nod, knowing there were no other options. With the storm, they had no cell service. He could radio for help but help wouldn’t be able to get to them before the storm broke.
“It’s fine,” Nash lied. “I’ve known Ellie a damn long time and there is no way she would have left you on the side of the mountain to die. It’s just not in her.”
Nash noted the skepticism in West’s eyes, “Seems that way,” he agreed. “Anyway, I’m thankful—to you both.”
“No problem. Let’s get you off that ankle and I’ll find you both some dry clothes and something to eat,” Nash offered, helping Ellie off with her coat. It had been almost a year since he saw her and his traitor’s body still responded to her the way it always had. He needed to remind himself of all the reasons why the two of them just wouldn’t work—the first and most pressing reason being his PTSD. She wasn’t a good idea, not since he was discharged from the Air Force, for reasons he didn’t like talking about, not even to his best friend.
“Thank you, Nash,” she whispered.
“You never have to thank me, Ellie. I would do anything for you,” he admitted.
“Well, just about anything,” she corrected and winked up at him. He wanted to chuckle but there was nothing funny about having the woman he loved in his cabin and not being able to take what he wanted from her.
“Yeah, just not that, Ellie,” he whispered as he walked into his bedroom. He knew she could hear him from her little gasp but he didn’t turn around, not wanting to see the hurt and disappointment on her face. Because the one thing he couldn’t do for her was love her—that would just be too much.
The End
**Double Crossed (Taken Book 2) coming soon!
About K.L. Ramsey
Romance Rebel fighting for Happily Ever After!
K. L. Ramsey currently resides in West Virginia (Go Mountaineers!). In her spare time, she likes to read romance novels, go to WVU football games and attend book club (aka-drink wine) with girlfriends.
K. L. enjoys writing Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance, and Sexy Ménage! She loves to write strong, capable women and bossy, hot as hell alphas, who fall ass over tea kettle for them. And of course, her stories always have a happy ending.
K.L. Ramsey’s social media links:
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/kl.ramsey.58
(OR)
https://www.facebook.com/k.l.ramseyauthor/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/KLRamsey5
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/itsprivate2/
Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/klramsey6234/
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17733274.K_L_Ramsey
Book Bub
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/k-l-ramsey
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/K.L.-Ramsey/e/B0799P6JGJ/
Ramsey’s Rebels
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ramseysrebels/
Website
https://klramsey.wixsite.com/mysite
KL Ramsey ARC Team
https://www.facebook.com/groups/klramseyarcteam/
KL Ramsey Street Team
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ramseyrebelsstreetteam/
Newsletter
https://mailchi.
mp/4e73ed1b04b9/authorklramsey
More works by K.L. Ramsey
The Relinquished Series
Love Times Infinity
Love’s Patient Journey
Love’s Design
Love’s Promise
Harvest Ridge Series
Worth the Wait
The Christmas Wedding
Line of Fire
Torn Devotion
Fighting for Justice
Last First Kiss Series
Theirs to Keep
Theirs to Love
Theirs to Have
Theirs to Take
Second Chance Summer Series
True North
The Wrong Mr. Right
Ties That Bind Series
Saving Valentine
Blurred Lines
Taken Series
Double Bossed
Double Crossed
Coming Soon:
Alphas in Uniform
Burn for Me
Owned
His Secret Submissive
