by Tessa Layne
“You can open your eyes now.”
Her eyes flew open and darted from Axel on a knee to the simple diamond ring in her palm, and back to Axel. He had the sweetest grin on his face. A hopeful, light-up-your-insides-with-sparklers smile that set off Haley’s nerve endings in all the right places. Her pulse began to thrum as adrenaline shot through her. “What is this?”
“I’ve always loved you, Coop. From the moment I saw you at Cissy Castro’s spring break party all those years ago. I knew you were the woman for me. If it’s not too late, if you believe in second chances, will you spend the rest of your life with me?”
“Starting now?”
“Starting now.” He tugged on her gently, pulling her to his knee and nuzzling her neck, before kissing his way across her jaw and finally teasing her mouth open to kiss her until she was dizzy.
“It’s never too late,” Haley answered between kisses.
“So that’s a yes?”
She nodded. “Always and forever.”
CHAPTER 33
Seven Months Later
The midwife leaned over the tub, eyes bright with excitement. “Are you two ready to meet your baby?”
Awe, fear and anticipation swirled inside Axel, growing like a bubble about to burst. Haley had been a champ, these last twelve hours. Laboring calmly and fearlessly. And here, sitting in the tub, bracing her, holding her, encouraging her as she worked, he was so proud of her. Awestruck by her strength.
He’d seen hundreds of foalings, but nothing had prepared him for the chaos of feelings he’d experienced alongside Haley as she’d labored.
She’d wanted a birth clinic over a hospital. And a water birth. Which was fine with him, as long as the baby was okay. They’d watched the videos, met with the midwife and physician in charge of the clinic, and until she went into labor, he’d thought he was ready. But now, there was a little person he was about to meet that he would be entirely responsible for. And what if he let him or her down?
Haley squeezed his hands. “Answer the question, speechless,” she said between grunts.
“Yes?”
“He means Yes!”
He could hear Haley roll her eyes. Axel dropped a kiss onto her shoulder. “You’re amazing. And yes,” he grinned at the midwife. “Ready. And scared?”
The midwife’s eyes conveyed understanding. “Every dad is. This is the hardest part.” She turned her attention back to Haley. “I can see the baby’s head. One more push. Bear down on the next surge and you’ll get to meet baby Hansen.”
Axel thrilled at that. But Haley tensed in front of him, squeezing his hands as she let out a long low moan, and then cried loudly, gasping and falling back against him.
The midwife’s arms were in the water, guiding their baby to the surface and handing it to Haley. “Welcome, little one.”
Haley cried out, swiveling to look at him, her face filled with exhaustion and joy. He brought his hands to hers, cupping the tiny dark haired being with her. And when it gave a lusty cry, his throat closed with emotion. Suddenly, there was no room for all the love in his body. It poured out of him, and he laughed with the surprise and wonder of it.
He’d thought he couldn’t possibly love anyone more than Haley on their wedding day. He was wrong. In one moment, his capacity to love had expanded tenfold. Maybe more.
“Papa, why don’t you announce the sex.”
Papa? Was the midwife talking to him? Haley nudged him. “That’s you, daddy.”
Daddy.
Papa.
“What if I drop it?” He’d never held anything that small. Or worse, what if he got it wrong? He was the only dude in the room. Now the pressure was on.
“How about if I hold it up and you peek,” Haley offered, giving him a giddy smile.
Boys have dicks. Boys have dicks. Boys have dicks.
She shifted, lifting the little baby.
A moment of panic.
What the fuck? Both?
He blinked rapidly. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. The… thing above… not a dick. Umbilical cord… Right. “It’s a… girl?”
The midwife beamed. “I concur.”
Haley broke into a grin, kissing the baby’s head. “Hi little girl, I’m your mama.”
He had a baby girl. His sister and mother would be over the moon.
“Do you have a name picked out?” the midwife prodded.
Haley nodded, glancing up at him with shining eyes. “You think?”
He nodded. “She looks just like you.” Although pinker and wrinklier at the moment. But he already knew she’d grow up to be just as beautiful as her mama.
Axel brought his hand to her tiny head, marveling at what a tiny thing she was. Her head fit in the palm of his hand. “Welcome to the world, Melody June,” he said thickly. “You picked the best mama in the world. And I’m gonna do my darnedest to be the best papa.”
He tucked both ladies into his embrace, filled with wonder and gratitude to the universe.
A year ago, if you’d asked him what would make him the happiest man in the world, he couldn’t have verbalized it. But right now? This was it. He was the luckiest man alive. The storms would come. There was no avoiding them. But no storm, no matter how fierce the winds, could destroy them when love was their shelter, and family, their home.
THE BEGINNING OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER
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PRAIRIE FIRE – Parker Hansen & Cassidy Grace (On Sale This Fall!)
Sometimes it takes more than water to put out a fire.
Daredevil Cassidy Grace tried for years to get Parker Hansen’s attention. It finally happened – the night before she left for basic training. Parker has always wondered what would have happened if he’d made a move sooner. Caught up in the ins and outs of fighting fires and working a ranch with his cousins, he didn’t have much time to think about it. But now that Cassidy’s back, a messed up combat veteran and the newest member of Prairie’s fire brigade, he’s thinking about it. A lot.
But Cassidy is fighting more than just fires. Her nights are tortured with visions from her experience as a combat helicopter pilot in Afghanistan. Her days are haunted by Parker offering something she thinks she’s not worthy to have.
Only love can quench this fire
When Cassidy volunteers for a dangerous hotshot mission in the wilds of Colorado, Parker insists on going with her. As they travel together into a life-threatening situation, will their love combust like the trees that surround them? And in the battlefield of a forest fire, will Cassidy be brave enough to fight for the one thing that will snuff out the fires that rage within her?
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MORE BOOKS IN THE COWBOYS OF THE FLINT HILLS SERIES
PRAIRIE HEAT – Blake Sinclaire & Maddie Hansen (On Sale Now!)
PRAIRIE PASSION – Brodie Sinclaire & Jamey O’Neill (On Sale Now!)
PRAIRIE DESIRE – Ben Sinclaire & Hope Hansen (On Sale Now!)
PRAIRIE FIRE – Parker Hansen & Cassidy Grace (coming in 2017)
PRAIRIE FEVER – Gunnar Hansen & Suzannah Winslow (coming in 2018)
PRAIRIE ECSTACY – Colton Kincaid & Lydia Grace (coming in 2018)
PRAIRIE LUST – Jarrod O’Neill & Lexi Grace (coming in 2018)
PRAIRIE REDEMPTION – Cody Hansen & Carolina Grace (coming in 2018)
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Acknowledgements
To the communities of Greensburg, Joplin, Moore, and countless others – your resilience in the face of tragedy is nothing short of inspirational. You represent the best of what it means to be and stay community.
I was born in the heart of the Flint Hills. My earliest memories are of sitting in a basement during a tornado outbreak. When I moved back to the Midwest, fourteen years ago, the sirens went off one night, and I immediately flashed back to a memory of my parents scooping me out of bed in the pitch black and taking me to the basement. Suffice it to say, as a child, the fear of tornadoes loomed large.
However, while I have experienced a few close calls, I have never experienced the terror of living through a tornado. For those of you who have, and who have so graciously shared your experiences with me so I could make the details of Prairie Storm as visceral and realistic as possible, my heartfelt thanks. To Allen Gresham for fact checking my meteorology. To Margaret Vickers, Sidney Bristol, Jayelle Morgan, Zoe York, Maddy Barone, Sandra Marine, Regina M, Madison Stevens, Lindsay Pope Walker, Sandra Herndon Ross, Debby Cox, & Marlene Larsen. THANK YOU so much for helping the details of this story come to life. (If I’ve forgotten anyone, my heartfelt thanks to you as well!)
Jinx Kimmer, I’m giving you your own paragraph. Thank you for the long-winded emails filled with details about storms and disaster relief, as well as your own anecdotes of being first on the scene. I could not have captured this story without you. Thank you also for taking the time to do a final read-through to make sure I’d gotten the details right!
To my mentor, author Kimberley Troutte (yes, go grab her books too!), thank you for everything. I feel like I write better every day because of your wisdom and encouragement.
To Amanda at Razzle Dazzle Designs – You are brilliant! You captured Axel and the essence of this book perfectly.
To Jenny & Kara – thank you for answering my emails at all hours, giving me the tough criticism when I needed it, plying me with wine and brainstorming when necessary, and for being the best cheerleaders a writer could ask for.
To Kelly & Tana – thank you for the best girls’ weekend ever, introducing me to amazing tequila, and to Kelly for your excellent eyes and perspective.
To one of my oldest and dearest friends, Kaye – Thank you for all your encouragement, and for feeding my children so I could put this story to bed. It truly takes a village.
Lastly, to Mr. Cowboy, Teenager, and Tiny – for not laughing when you see me bawling at the keyboard. I love you madly.
