Moonshine & Magnolias
Page 9
Her tongue wasn’t working, but her legs were. And they were taking her exactly where she wanted to go.
Right up the bleachers.
“I’m working on references.” There was a light in those sapphire lady-killers, and his voice was a little on the husky side. “Have to call home for them, and my sisters, man, they remember all the bad stories first, but I promise there’s some good in there too. For the record, though, you’re the only person who’s ever had to go to the ER on my watch.”
“Don’t tease me,” she whispered.
“Not teasing.”
“Momma, I didn’t know Mr. Zack was coming to your game,” Hailey said. “We should’ve given him a ride.”
Shelby blinked back the moisture in her eyes. “You remember Mr. Zack, honey?”
“He lives next door but he needs a dog so Penelope has a friend.”
Braden grinned at Shelby. “Mr. Zack gived me a plane!”
“He let you borrow it, Braden,” Hailey said.
“It’s a long-term loan with an option to buy,” Zack said.
Hailey’s nose wrinkled, but Zack tilted his popcorn bag at her, and she grinned and dove in again.
And Shelby wanted to kiss him.
Right there, with her friends watching and her babies on either side of him.
Zack’s gaze dipped to her lips. “Lots of time for that too,” he said quietly. “These guys sleep sometime, right?”
Shelby nodded.
“Maybe we can talk more about that job then?” he said.
She would’ve rather talked about taking him back behind the dugout without her kids watching.
And based on the way his lips tilted up, he was fully on board with that plan too.
“I might have an idea or two for you,” she said. “About that job.”
His mouth spread into a full smile, and her whole body erupted in a heated flush of happiness.
“Don’t go easy on me,” he said. “I like to be challenged.”
“Oh, there’ll be plenty of that, mister. More than you can dream.”
He didn’t touch her—not with his hands, not with his knees, not with any physical part of his body—but she felt his caress all the same. As if he were wrapping her in a hug with the sheer power of his personality and his determination.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he said. “Because I’ve got some pretty big dreams.”
So did she. And for the first time in a long time, she had a feeling some of hers might actually come true.
Epilogue
Shelby hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she’d challenge him. A year later, Zack was still living in his little house next door to hers. But he had dinner at her house every night, and ever since Christmas, when the kids had come home early—again—from a visit with their dad, Braden had insisted that Zack tuck him in at night.
Hailey wasn’t as easy. She was her momma’s daughter that way. But Zack didn’t give up on her.
And Shelby didn’t give up on him.
Sometimes he thought she went out of her way to be difficult, but despite a few stumbles in finding the right job, and a few rough patches when the kids were sick or she didn’t want his help or she got scared, they’d been good together.
Really good.
They’d taken the kids camping a couple of times, and they’d even road-tripped up to Illinois to meet his family. But every day was an adventure, and he wouldn’t have taken his old life back for anything. Shelby had landed a job teaching first grade late last summer, and after spending an extended weekend in Panama City, they’d gotten back yesterday from picking the kids up from another two-week visit with their dad.
Zack had missed the little stinkers. Felt like two pieces of his heart were missing.
But all was right in his world again. Hailey was snuggled up on him, and Braden was in his lap. “Hey,” Shelby whispered, settling onto the blanket in the dark on his other side. “Thanks for saving my spot.”
“All good?” Zack asked.
“Yep. Show’s about to start.”
The ex-wives club was one thing that hadn’t changed. Much. Seemed to be more wives than ex-wives in it now. And surprisingly, Zack was grateful for all of them, no matter their marital status. They were a family all their own, and they’d welcomed him in too.
But sometimes he wasn’t so sure about Kaci.
“All right, y’all, it’s go time,” called the platinum blonde herself. They were in her backyard following a Fourth of July pool party, and because she had a few pyromaniac tendencies, they were getting their own fireworks show tonight.
Shelby said it was tradition.
“Hold on to your babies. Stuff’s about to get real,” Kaci said. “First up, we have Mari Belle and Ethan’s divorce papers.”
“Light 'em,” a male voice called.
“She has what?” Zack murmured to Shelby.
“Oh, you missed that part? We’re doing our annual cleansing. Like a bonfire, but better. We blow up our baggage.”
A match flared in the darkness. A moment later, a hissing erupted from somewhere on the other side of the pool. Then a streak of light shot into the air, higher and higher, until it burst into flames. Cheers erupted around the backyard. And Zack had a feeling there was some kissing happening too. He wrapped his arm tighter around Shelby and pressed his lips to her soft hair.
She smelled like mischief and magnolias.
His favorite combination.
“Next up, we’ve got a thumb drive with a Honey Bumpers novel on it,” Kaci declared.
“Hey!” someone shouted.
A chorus of shushes and laughter filtered through the darkness.
“Momma, what’s a honey bumper?” Hailey whispered.
“It’s—it’s—”
“It’s a sneaky little thing that bumps all the honey and sugar and maple syrup out of your cabinets and makes a big mess,” Zack said. Because explaining Shelby’s friend’s pseudonym and what kind of books those were, among other things, was a big story for another time.
And not appropriate for little ears.
Hailey giggled. “It is not.”
“It is tonight,” Shelby said.
Kaci set off the next firecracker, and it soared through the air and exploded amidst cheers and laughter.
Once the sparks faded, Kaci’s voice rang out again. “Next up, we have Shelby’s list of reasons she’s never getting married again.”
Zack’s heart slammed to a stop. “You had a list?” he said.
“I made it right after I met you.” She slid a hand to his cheek, gave his scruffy beard a scratch. “And I’m blowing it up. About time, I think. Don’t you?”
He smiled so hard happiness burned his eyes. “Absolutely.” He would’ve proposed months ago, but he was waiting for her to be as ready as he was. He leaned in and kissed her while the sparks exploded overhead.
“And there’s one more thing,” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“And along with that,” Kaci called, “we have Shelby’s list of reasons she’s never having another baby.”
Shelby grinned at him.
He was vaguely aware of gasps and shrieks erupting around them, but mostly, there was the half-panic, half-joy, half-disbelief zinging through his body. “Are you—?” he choked out.
“You’d think I would’ve learned,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “I told you a long time ago I still remembered where my babies came from. Dadgum steel swimmers. You weren’t kidding about them being tanks.”
“Shelby?”
“So I had to blow up both lists together,” she went on, “because they’re related.”
“You—”
That beautiful, sexy, sassy Southern smile of hers lit the whole night. “I love you, Zack Montgomery.” That hand dipped down to his T-shirt, hinted at sneaking lower. “Will you marry me and raise my babies and our baby with me?”
Zack didn’t answer.
He couldn’t.
He was too busy kissing the woman who was his world.
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* * *
The Officers’ Ex-Wives Club Series:
Her Rebel Heart (Lance and Kaci)
Southern Fried Blues (Jackson & Anna Grace)
Moonshine & Magnolias (Zack & Shelby)
* * *
The Misfit Brides Series:
Blissed (CJ and Natalie)
Matched (Will and Lindsey)
Smittened (Mikey and Dahlia)
Sugared (Josh and Kimmie)
Merried (Max and Merry)
* * *
Have you met the Misfit Brides? Keep reading for an excerpt from Matched!
Lindsey turned away. “Have a nice evening, Billy Brenton.”
Will’s heart lurched. He shouldn’t care if she left. He didn’t want to care. He was Billy freaking Brenton. He didn’t need to care.
But his body—tonight, his body thought he was a dumb nineteen-year-old kid. “Hey, lawyer lady,” he said.
Her shoulders bunched like he’d hit a sore spot. “Yes?”
“How does a pretty girl end up doing such ugly work?”
She did a slow one-eighty to face him, and this time, she met his gaze head-on. “There’s nothing ugly in giving someone a second chance to do it right.”
Wasn’t just his heart lurching now. His stomach got in on the action too, twisting all tight and gnarled, fighting with those beer bubbles still in there. His skin pebbled in waves of goose bumps, both from the cold and from the company. “Instead of using your magic to set ’em up right the first time,” he clarified.
“I don’t do magic, and contrary to what people say, I’m not a matchmaker. I fix mistakes.”
Wasn’t any strings off his guitar if she was denying it, but he didn’t believe her.
He knew a thing or two about people who could see things.
She tucked her arms around herself. “Thank you for crashing my sister’s wedding. My nephew adores you. You probably made his whole life tonight. But you should go before this gets messy.” She nodded at the building, as if that was what would be messy.
A crowd that size could get messy, no doubt.
But talking any more to Lindsey tonight—that was where the real mess was.
“Still didn’t change your mind on the country music though, eh?” he said.
She lifted an eyebrow. “Perhaps a different song next time.”
Last thing he expected was to be standing out in the bare-ass cold, honestly smiling at this woman, but there it was. Couldn’t have stopped the grin if he wanted to. Lady didn’t appreciate having her underwear sang about. “Might could think about that,” he said, his smile getting bigger when her eye twitched at his might could. “Got another one. Called ‘My Truck Done Broke Down and My Skunk Runned Off and I Got Fired from Pickin’ Chicken Parts.’ Here. I’ll play it for you.”
She looked to be fighting a smile herself, but even with only the moon to light the night, he could tell that smile still wasn’t spreading to any of the rest of her face.
Might’ve been his imagination, but he thought there was some sad lingering in there. Maybe some regret.
Proof she had a soul. Wasn’t something he would’ve given her credit for.
“You should go,” she said quietly. And this time when she turned, he swore she murmured something that sounded like, “I’m proud of you, Will.”
Even if he wanted to chalk it up to his imagination, he couldn’t stop the flood of pure, simple affection those five little words brought about.
With the flood came something else.
She kept walking away. She didn’t know it, and Will didn’t like it, but she left a part of herself behind.
He knew, because for the first time in near about two years, he wanted to write a song.
* * *
…Excerpt from Matched by Jamie Farrell ©2015
Get Matched now!
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The Complete Jamie Farrell Book List
The Misfit Brides Series:
Blissed (CJ and Natalie)
Matched (Will and Lindsey)
Smittened (Mikey and Dahlia)
Sugared (Josh and Kimmie)
Merried (Max and Merry)
The Officers’ Ex-Wives Club Series:
Her Rebel Heart (Lance and Kaci)
Southern Fried Blues (Jackson & Anna Grace)
Moonshine & Magnolias (Zack & Shelby)
Standalone Books
Mr. Good Enough (Trent & Maddie)
About the Author
Jamie Farrell writes humorous contemporary romance. She believes love and laughter are two of the most powerful forces in the universe.
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A native Midwesterner, Jamie has lived in the South the majority of her adult life. When she’s not writing, she and her military hero husband are busy raising three hilariously unpredictable children.
* * *
For more information on Jamie and her books, visit her online at JamieFarrellBooks.com.
Moonshine & Magnolias
Copyright © 2015 by Jamie Farrell
ISBN 978-1-940517-07-0
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Cover design by The Killion Group, Inc.
Edited by Penny’s Copy Sense
ISBN: 978-1-940517-07-0