“The entertainment industry has been rocked by another scandal, but this one looks to be the biggest of them all. We’re getting reports of massive harassment, abuse of power, and a whole laundry list of other items coming out of the offices of Stone Solutions tonight,” the man says. “And we’re also being told the prosecution will be lead by Olivia Barnett, but you can be sure she’ll have Ethan Stone working right beside her. They have quickly become the most feared legal team in the country.”
“That’s right, Mark,” the lady says. “And not only that, Ms. Barnett will appear on the cover of the next issue of Forbes magazine. They’re calling her the next Gloria Allred, securing a better future for women everywhere.”
I turn and look up at Ethan. Words can’t express how happy I am.
“Something tells me you had a hand in this.”
He lifts his palms to the sky as if to say “what?”
I get out of my chair and march right over to him and wrap him up in a big hug, but not too tight. I’m already six months along and I have to be careful about our first born. And by our I truly mean ours.
Ethan broke my heart when he finally revealed how his relationship with Leah came to be.
Ethan’s and his best friend from childhood had made a pack to watch out for each other forever. And there’s one thing I know…make that two. One, forever with Ethan really means forever. And two? When Ethan gives his word it’s as good as gold.
His friend had found the love of his life in the military but tragically they were both KIA on the same day in different parts of the world. It was tragic, and the odds of it happening were about the same as getting struck by lightning multiple times. But as the saying goes, life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.
Ethan received word and immediately stepped up to the plate and honored his word. He kept Leah for her own sake, but a small part of me also thinks he did so to avoid the perception of good PR. The things a man does when no-one is watching really tell us who he is. And Ethan was the absolute best.
And here he goes proving it all over again.
We were already engaged, but hadn’t the time to get married yet. My career took wind right away and I was already flying high…thanks again to him.
But putting me on this case was my biggest challenge yet, next to him. But thinking back he wasn’t a challenge at all. As much as he terrified me and excited me at the same time we fell for each other so quickly that we were together immediately.
It took me awhile to get used to being around a man who inspires fear and respect in everyone whose path he crosses, but I’m getting the hang of it slowly but surely.
And another huge benefit of working on these high profile cases was the pay. I was able to pay off my dad’s gambling debts last month, and I didn’t even need to ask for a loan or let Ethan know the trouble I was facing.
I know if I would have told him he would have taken care of it right away, but this was something I had on my plate before I met him. This was something I needed to do for myself, and I did thanks to him and the opportunities he’s given me.
“You know how proud I am of you, Olivia.”
Just hearing those words melts me even more.
“Thank you. I thought I had confidence in myself when I started and in a lot of ways I did. At least I thought I did. You’ve taken it, and me, to a whole new level…a level I couldn’t have even dreamed of.”
“And just think, we’re just getting started,” he says.
“We sure are.”
“You up for the challenge of working on this one during the tail end of your pregnancy?”
“With you by my side I’m up for any challenge life can throw our way.”
“Even with one kid and another on the way?” he says. It’s so cute that he doesn’t want to overload me, but hey, this is the twenty-first century. Us ladies don’t just keep up with men, we run circles around them! Okay, maybe not with a guy like Ethan, but that’s why he’s so special. He’s always a step ahead just like he proved tonight by surprising me yet again.
“And together we can conquer any obstacle,” he says.
“Together. All seven of us,” I say.
“Seven?” He shoots me a confused look.
“Well, we’re at three of us now. And we’re going to have at least four more kids, right?”
“Sounds great to me. But why specifically seven?”
“Because it’s just enough to have a majority in a jury!” I say. “Duh!” I poke him in the ribs and he gives me a boogie. “Hey!” I say.
He lets go and takes both of my hands in his.
“The jury’s already in. Has been for a long time,” he says.
“And what’s the verdict?”
“That I’m absolutely positively guilty…of loving you”
“Awww,” I say. I lean back in for another modified hug being careful of the baby.
“And I’m guilty of loving you,” I say.
“And this verdict is for life,” he says.
“Consecutive lives!” I joke.
“Eternal,” he says. “Forever.”
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Ethan
Five years later
It’s been five whole years since Olivia came into my life. Back then I was focused solely on business and raising my daughter. I was lost without a woman in my life to help me. I wasn’t about to look for one though, as I assumed the one didn’t exist. At least not to the level I demanded.
Was I ever wrong, and was she ever Ms. Right. But now she’s Mrs. Right, or more accurately Mrs. Stone. As we like to tell our clients, with us you get two for the price of one, not that I’d ever think about giving a discount though.
We need all the money we can get, but not for ourselves. Olivia has shown me how important it is to give back and how that’s the true way of “earning” in one’s life. And she’s absolutely right.
And the most important part of giving back is giving as much time as we can to our three beautiful children. Only two more to go and we’ve hit our goal of five kids. I don’t know where we’re going to find time to squeeze in two more kids, but then again I still don’t know how we squeezed in the first two plus Leah.
But where there’s a will there’s a way, not that I need any will to make it happen. As a matter of fact I have no willpower when it comes to her. I catch myself thinking about her constantly. First and foremost how much I love her and the family she’s given me. Not far behind are all the things I want to do to her in and out of the bedroom. We’ve gotten very creative over the years, and there’s still room to explore. I can’t keep my hands off her so I know I’ll continue coming up with new and inventive ways for us to explore each other’s bodies, minds, and souls.
I can barely even believe I’m thinking this way. I must be getting softer with my old age. I don’t think I ever used the word soul until her. Embarrassingly enough maybe that’s because I didn’t have the best of one until my life became filled with both Leah and Olivia.
I always thought in business and military terms, although I never served. Honor, courage, and commitment mean a lot to me. But once you understand your soul everything else falls into place.
I became more human and more caring. But if you mess with my girls, or any girls for that matter, the beast inside me comes out in an instant. I’ll use all my power, and I still have a tremendous amount, to avenge those wrongs.
But fortunately that’s not the case much anymore. Apparently Stone Solutions has even become a bit of a tagline for girls who are in trouble, whether as a joke or serious. It’s the new, “Must have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”
If a young lady’s date gets too handy, “Don’t make me call Stone Solutions.”
If girls run out of drinks on ladies night, “Bartender! You don’t want Stone Solutions all up in here!”
I laugh at some of the memes I’ve seen, but I’m glad to know our last name is being associated with good and protecting women ever
ywhere.
“Dad, can we ride the ride again?”
“You want those scary teacups again?” I say. They sure did make me dizzy.
A chorus of “yesses” greet me.
“Okay, okay. Last one there’s a rotten egg.”
Leah, Emma, and Paige take off running the twenty or so feet to the ride we just got off.
I scoop up Paige and Olivia holds Emma. Leah’s big enough to ride by herself. It’s perfect. The five of us pack into the teacup and away we go.
I immediately feel dizzy again, but it just reminds me how head over heels I am about my family.
And soon my feelings of dizziness are replaced with laughter. There’s nothing more enjoyable or infections than a child having fun. And my little girls make me feel like a child too.
I always told Olivia I owed her Paris since I went there by myself right after I offered her the position to work with me. Well, it took five years, but here we are. We made it, just like we always do.
And speaking of make, once the kids were tired out from the day and tucked in I was going to spend the rest of the night making love to my wife. After all, loving my beautiful wife and our babies is worth more than all the billions in the world.
MOUNTAIN MAN
The world’s a messed up place these days.
That’s why I live up here. Just me and my daughter.
And then Trinity literally fell right into my lap.
She reminds me what it’s like to feel again. To trust. To be whole.
That part of me had been locked away in a permanent hibernation until she came around with her sunshine and made me new again.
And when she tells me she’s as pure as the Rocky Mountain air and as pristine as the streams that run through these parts I know I’ve found the perfect woman for me and my little girl.
I struck gold when I found her, but now someone from her past is trying to put in a claim on her heart.
But not up here he’s not. I’m as territorial as the wolves that frequent this wilderness I call home. Nobody’s coming onto the land I made my own and trying to take something that’s mine.
This other fella has no idea who he’s messing with and the lengths I’ll go to keep my girls safe.
I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect Trinity and the surprise blessing she’s carrying inside of her.
*Mountain Man is an insta-everything standalone romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.
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