Beginnings

by Bernadette Marie

  Beginnings

  Walker Family Series ~ Book Eight

  Bernadette Marie

  This is a fictional work. The names, characters, incidents, and locations are solely the concepts and products of the author’s imagination, or are used to create a fictitious story and should not be construed as real.

  * * *

  5 PRINCE PUBLISHING & BOOKS, LLC

  PO Box 971

  Golden, CO 80402-0971

  www.5PrinceBooks.com

  Digital 978-1-63112-221-7 Print 978-1-63112-222-4

  BEGINNINGS Bernadette Marie

  Copyright BERNADETTE MARIE 2018

  Published by 5 Prince Publishing

  Cover Credit: Bernadette Soehner

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations, reviews, and articles. For any other permission please contact 5 Prince Publishing and Books, LLC.

  First Edition 2018

  5 PRINCE PUBLISHING AND BOOKS, LLC.

  Contents

  Beginnings

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Bernadette Marie

  Beginnings

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Walker Defense

  About the Author

  Other Titles

  Beginnings

  Bernadette Marie

  To Stan,

  I have loved you from the very beginning.

  Yes, I mean that day I met you under

  the window of my dorm room.

  Forever and a day started then.

  To Dad,

  Thank you for supporting all of

  the crazy dreams I chased from the very beginning.

  I will miss you every day until I too

  start a new beginning in heaven with you.

  Until then, I will continue to work to make you proud.

  Acknowledgments

  To My 5 Amazing Princes: Every beginning you make is a journey and a lesson learned. Keep making new beginnings.

  * * *

  To Mom and Anni: Beginnings are hard because there is no path set. It’s time for us to set that new path and enjoy our journey down it.

  * * *

  To Cate: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! From the beginning you’ve always kept me organized an on task. That warrants another thank you.

  * * *

  To My Tribe: You know what’s fun? Beginning new traditions with all of you! Whether it’s business related, fitness related, or family related, my tribe keeps my heart so happy.

  * * *

  To My Readers: Thank you for your support since the beginning of my journey. I love to write for you all.

  Also by Bernadette Marie

  THE KELLER FAMILY SERIES

  The Executive’s Decision

  A Second Chance

  Opposite Attraction

  Center Stage

  Lost and Found

  Love Songs

  Home Run

  The Acceptance

  The Merger

  The Escape Clause

  A Romance for Christmas

  * * *

  THE WALKER FAMILY SERIES

  Walker Pride

  Stargazing

  Walker Bride

  Wanderlust

  Walker Revenge

  Victory

  Walker Spirit

  Beginnings

  * * *

  THE MATCHMAKER SERIES

  Matchmakers

  Encore

  Finding Hope

  * * *

  THE THREE MRS. MONROES TRILOGY

  Amelia

  Penelope

  Vivian

  * * *

  THE ASPEN CREEK SERIES

  First Kiss

  Unexpected Admirer

  On Thin Ice

  Indomitable Spirit

  * * *

  THE DENVER BRIDE SERIES

  Cart Before the Horse

  Never Saw it Coming

  Candy Kisses

  * * *

  ROMANTIC SUSPENSE by BERNADETTE MARIE

  Chasing Shadows

  PARANORMAL ROMANCE by BERNADETTE MARIE

  The Tea Shop

  Beginnings

  Bernadette Marie

  The Walker Family Series

  Book Eight

  1

  It wasn't as if the wedding of his cousin to the movie star had been a surprise. The invitation had been sitting on Ben's kitchen counter for nearly a month. Then again, everything had been on the counter since he was taking his sweet time unpacking after his move into the modular home he'd had dropped on his piece of the Walker Ranch land.

  He'd have liked to have built his own home from the ground up, but where would he get the time?

  A lot more responsibility had fallen on him since his brother Eric had become a father. It wasn't as if Eric completely blew off his duties, but he'd rather spend time with his daughter.

  Ben understood that. After all, one day he would like to have children, too. He didn't see that happening anytime soon. It was hard to meet women when you lived forty-five minutes away from the nearest city. Besides, he'd never been good with women, anyway.

  His mother had been trying to persuade him to take a date to his cousin's wedding. In his head, he’d made a list of five or six women he could ask, but when it came down to it, he knew he'd show up solo.

  The reflection in the mirror caught his attention as he checked the traffic behind him. His hair was a mess, and one more thing for his mother to harp on. He could hear her voice rattling his head. "You need a haircut before Audrey takes time off for her wedding."

  Ben blew out a long, ragged breath. She'd been saying that for two weeks. Now, he was enroute to Audrey's new salon in the hopes that one of her employees could sneak him in for a necessary haircut, because of course, Audrey had already taken time off for her wedding.

  He pulled up in front of the Bridal Mecca, the strip-mall his cousin Pearl and her sister-in-law Lydia owned. Nearly all the businesses were bridal related, except for his sister-in-law Gia's Italian gift shop. There was no denying he was extremely proud of his family for what they had built. Sometimes he wished he had it in him to do something as big, but the truth was he would much rather be around his family and the animals. Working with the public didn't seem like an advantage in his book.

  Ben parked his truck and climbed out. The lights in the salon were still on, and he figured that was a good sign. His mother would probably kill him if he showed up to the wedding tomorrow looking like he did.

  Just as he opened
the front door, a small remote-controlled car jumped over the toe of his boot.

  "Whoa! Did you see that?" The young, excited voice came from a boy who darted from the back room and ran to the car. He picked it up and looked up at Ben. "Who are you?"

  "Ben. Who are you?"

  The boy stood straight as if he'd been trained to do so when meeting someone. "Zane. Did you come to get your hair cut?" he asked as he looked up at the mess atop Ben's head.

  "Yeah."

  Zane stood there studying him for another moment before he yelled, "Mom, there's a man out here who needs a haircut!"

  Ben stood there, the door still opened behind him, while he waited for the anonymous mom to appear.

  The moment that Nichole, Audrey's first employee, came from the back room, Ben's heart rate kicked up. On her hip, she carried a little girl with hair color that matched her own dark brown.

  "Hey, Ben. What's up? We were just packing up," she said as she let the little girl down and she ran off after Zane.

  Ben shut the door behind him. "I didn't realize it was this late. I came to see if somebody could sneak me in for a haircut. The wedding is tomorrow and…"

  A smile formed on her beautiful lips, and she pushed up her designer pink and black framed glasses. "The wedding is tomorrow, and you forgot to get your hair cut?"

  "Yeah, it's not looking too good."

  Nichole laughed, and his stomach knotted. "Let me settle these guys down, and then I’ll get you in. We don't want some tabloid to accidentally get a picture of you tomorrow if you don't look your very best," she teased.

  The very thought that there would be photographers there to put the pictures into tabloids made Ben a bit uneasy. His cousin Bethany had been a movie star. Of course, he didn't see her that way anymore, but he supposed—had she been around more often—the entire family would have been exposed to such things as tabloids and reporters. But she hadn't come back home until she had given up her movie career. It was her sister, Audrey, who was marrying Gregory Bishop, one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading men. He thought it was interesting how a family who owned a ranch outside of Macon, Georgia had that many connections to the movie industry.

  The noise around him drew him out of his thoughts. Nichole gathered toys and set children in waiting room chairs. It was then he noticed there was one more boy, Zane's twin obviously, who must have just come out of hiding.

  The three of them settled down with an iPad between them and the unmistakable sound of SpongeBob SquarePants.

  Nichole let out a breath. "Okay. Are you ready?"

  "Are these your kids?"

  She gave them all three a look. "Nah, I get lonely, so I rent them."

  The other little boy, whom he had yet to be introduced to, looked up at her. "Mom, why do you tell people that?"

  She gave him a wink and laughed. "Because my sense of humor is horrible and I think it's funny."

  The little boy shook his head and looked back down at the iPad.

  Nichole gave Ben a nod toward the shampoo bowl. "Yeah, they are mine. They're my whole world."

  Ben sat down in the chair and reclined backward, his head resting in the divot in the bowl. "I forgot you had three kids. I've seen the pictures on your station, but I didn't know if those were nieces and nephews," he said as she turned on the water.

  "I don't usually ever have them here. But tonight, I was working late. You are not the only Walker man who was not prepared for this wedding tomorrow."

  "Who else?"

  She laughed again, and it sent a warmth through him that had him swallowing hard. "Sworn to secrecy," she whispered.

  Ben had his own thoughts on it, and at the top of his list was Jake—yes, he assumed his cousin was equally behind in his grooming as Ben was.

  He sat there quietly while the warm water ran over his head, and Nichole massaged shampoo into his hair. He was sure he could fall asleep under the touch of her fingers.

  Once she was done, she dried off his hair with the towel and led him to her station, then looked back at the kids quietly watching their iPad.

  "They're pretty good," Ben said as he sat down in her chair.

  Nichole draped the cape around him and fastened it in the back. She rested her hands on his shoulders and looked at him in the mirror. "They are good kids. They had to do a lot of sitting around the last year waiting for me to get done working. I try to make it up to them."

  "Well, if you ever need any help…"

  Nichole laughed loudly, as she picked up a comb and ran it through his wet hair. "I'm sorry. I should never laugh when a man offers his help. Are you good with children?"

  Ben let his shoulders drop. "Honestly, I don't know. My brother's stepson is five now, I think. I get along with him. I also have two new nieces."

  "I know. I've been around them, remember?"

  That was right. How could he possibly have forgotten? Probably the same way he'd forgotten he'd seen her with her children at various weddings and parties over the last six months. That was his own fault. He seemed to get nervous and tongue-tied whenever she was around. Most of the time, he found himself hiding in the kitchen or outside with the stragglers at wedding receptions.

  He watched her in the mirror as she began to comb and cut his hair. He figured they weren't too far apart in age, though she might have a few years on him. It was funny to think this beautiful woman had three well-behaved children. Ben, on the other hand, had only recently moved out of his parents' home. No wonder he didn't have a woman who would want to go to the wedding with him. When he thought of it, he sounded like a loser.

  Nichole kept the conversation going as she cut his hair, and Ben wondered if he'd ever learn to loosen up around her.

  "So, who are you taking to the wedding?" she asked as she pulled her small set of clippers from a drawer.

  "I'm going by myself."

  "That surprises me. You're a good-looking guy."

  Ben clasped his hands in his lap underneath the cape. "How about you? Who are you going with?"

  Nichole turned around and looked at three children sitting with their heads pressed together. "Those are my gorgeous dates. But maybe you'll save me a dance?"

  Ben wasn't sure he answered, as she took off the cape and brushed the hair from his neck.

  "You look perfect," she said as she gave him a wink. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

  Standing, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket. "How much do I owe you?"

  She rested her hand on his which held his wallet. "Just save me that dance."

  While he stood there, more than likely with his mouth open, she folded up the cape, cleaned up her station, and began to gather up her children.

  Ben slid his wallet back into his pocket. "Thanks. I'll make sure to save that dance, maybe a couple of extras too," he said without really thinking it through first.

  He let himself out of the salon and looked back inside as he closed the door. Nichole looked up at him, smiled, and gave him a wave as she tucked items into a bag while kids tugged at her, redirecting her attention.

  Ben wondered if his heart rate would slow down before he saw her tomorrow. He seemed to be a bit infatuated with her. What was he thinking? She was a beautiful woman, one with three kids and a missing husband. Chances were, all he'd ever get was a promised dance.

  As he climbed into his truck and drove away, he realized that's all he had in him anyway. It all went back to the reason he didn't have a date for the wedding. He wasn't very good with women.

  2

  The suit and tie were stiff, Ben thought, as he tugged at the collar of his shirt. He calculated in his head how many more cousins and brothers were left to get married. Then he'd have a long reprieve from wearing suits until they all started to die.

  He kicked his boots against the tire of his truck, out of habit, then cursed himself for scuffing up the bright shine. Well, who would notice a scuff on a boot out in the country? If you didn't want scuffed boots at the wedding, then have it in town.


  Ben opened the back door to his parents' home and stepped into the chaos in the kitchen. Okay, maybe it wasn't chaos, as his sister-in-law, Susan, seemed to have everything under control and everyone doing exactly what she asked. She was efficient that way.

  At the sight of the brownie tray, his mouth began to water. He didn't dare move in and take one though. He feared Susan enough to respect the rule of no eating before the party.

  The part Ben didn't understand was why Susan was catering a pre-wedding brunch, where everyone was all dressed up, and then a reception after as well in town. He supposed he'd never really understand why women did what they did for weddings after all. But he wouldn't argue that. The women in his family knew weddings. They'd built an entire empire around it.

  For a moment he thought he'd sneak through the kitchen and into the living room unnoticed, until his nephew Lucas ran through the organized chaos and hid behind him. A second later, a well-dressed Zane, or was that his twin, ran after Lucas and both boys erupted in hysterical laughter.