Sam and her blond hair came out next. Her dress had a V neckline. It was fitted, too, but instead of bowing out like Cass’s, Sam’s went straight down to the floor. She held white and pink flowers in front of her and was escorted on one side by her father, Davy Harper, a short man with graying hair, wearing the same outfit as Tyke, except for a small pink flower attached to Davy’s right pocket. Rose, Sam’s grandma, was on Sam’s other side, wearing a short-sleeve pink dress to her ankles.
Once at the front of the aisle, Sam turned to Rose, who kissed her cheek. Then to her father, who kissed her other cheek. Davy held Sam’s hand up, offering it to Ash. Cooper’s throat worked as he swallowed before accepting her hand.
This was it. It was Tyke’s turn. Kenna was next. When that thought registered, his heart pounded against his rib cage and his throat went dry.
The door opened, and he sucked in a breath like it was the last one he’d ever take. Walking out came the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. Kenna wore a white strapless dress she borrowed from Cass. Since Kenna was curvier and a bit shorter than Cassandra, the dress hugged Kenna’s waist and hit her at the knee, showing off those luscious hips that drove him nuts. She was barefoot, like him, and why it made him grin was a mystery. That incredible red hair of hers was down with soft curls at the end, splayed across her shoulders like a veil. Where the other women took it easy on the makeup and looked more natural, his Kenna went full vixen with red lips. Red. His favorite color.
She clung to Estelle’s arm like a lifeline. The two women approached the aisle, and Tyke had to remind himself to exhale.
“She’s beautiful,” he heard Sam say next to him.
“You’re a lucky man, Tyke,” Ash said.
“Don’t screw it up this time,” Luke said.
He’d never take her for granted again.
Calder was onto something when he hurried off the altar and met Cass halfway. Tyke copied the move, eating up the last four steps, causing Kenna to stop.
Estelle smirked as she passed a glance between them and lifted Kenna’s hand up to him.
He didn’t take it yet. He just wanted a moment to look at her. He was a lucky son of a bitch to be tied to her for the rest of his life.
Her eyes were more pronounced, richer and deeper in color. The blue gleamed like the shiny sapphire in her momma’s ring. Her ring. The one he was going to put on her finger. Instinctively, he slid his hand in his pocket, feeling the cool metal inside. Still there.
Pulling the ring out, he started to line the circle up with the end of her finger.
“Whoa, there, cowboy.” Ash’s hand landed on his shoulder. “We have to say the vows first.”
“Come on, man,” Calder jumped in. “Wait your turn.”
Kenna laughed, as did most of the guests.
Heat burned in his cheeks, but as soon as Tyke curled her under his arm, covering her hand with his, the need to make their relationship official skyrocketed. He wanted her to be his, and he wanted it now.
The three couples stood in front of Father Kevin, listening to the welcomes, and how-are-yous.
Get to the I do part already.
Ash recited words to Sam, making her eyes fill with unshed tears. Then she said her vows back to him. In Tyke’s entire time knowing his best friend, this was the only time he had ever seen the man get choked up. As Sam repeated what Father Kevin said about sickness and in health, and ’til death do they part, a small stream of tears trailed down Ash’s cheeks. Cooper drew in a few deep breaths, probably as a way to get the waterworks to stop, but it was useless. For each breath, it gave renewed vigor to another fresh stream.
To see Ash crying, to see him getting emotional over spending his life with Sam, it made something blossom inside Tyke. His best friends were finally going to live out their lives as family men. He didn’t think he’d ever see it, especially given the shit they’d seen in recent years. But it was real.
If Tyke had this to do over again, he would’ve eloped with Kenna. Vegas or Niagara Falls. Hell, the courthouse would’ve worked. Waiting for four other people to vow to each another that they were in this marriage forever took…well, forever.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Cass and Luke finished their vows, and it was Tyke and Kenna’s turn.
Father Kevin asked them to face each other and join hands. His were a little clammy, so he swiped them down the front of his shorts before stretching them out to her.
“Kenna,” Father Kevin said with a drop of his chin. “Please repeat after me.”
She stood before him with her shoulders back and a self-assured gleam in her eye as she said the words that would forever bind them. He didn’t hear half of it because he was so damn struck by how beautiful she was. How lucky he was for meddling friends. And how he was going to spend the rest of his life making sure she was nothing but happy.
When she finished, Father Kevin turned to Bryan and said the opening lines he needed to repeat.
“I, Bryan, take you, Kenna, to be my…” His throat suddenly felt tight. He cleared it. “My wife.” His voice cracked. Something was welling up inside him. More than it did when he watched Ash cry. It was something strong and foreign. Something causing his chest to hurt and his eyes to burn. “To have and to hold…” He cleared his throat again. “From this day forward.” Damn it, she was going blurry. “For better or for worse, for rich or for poorer…” He blinked a few times to clear his vision. She was smiling up at him with glassy eyes and a smile. “Until…” He had to force the words out. “Death do us part.”
“I love you,” Kenna whispered.
“Can I kiss her now?” Tyke asked.
Chuckles sounded around him, but he didn’t care. He was just waiting for the guy leading this show to tell him yes.
Father Kevin swept a look down the row of three couples, grinning. “With the power vested in me, I now present you, husbands and wives.” Applause and shouts of excitement exploded. “Gentlemen, you may kiss your brides.”
Tyke was on Kenna before Father Kevin even finished. He wrapped one arm around her curvy waist and buried a hand in her silky hair, praying he could hold her here forever. In this moment. His mouth on hers, expressing how he felt in the only way he knew how.
They were connected. She was his, and he was hers. Now and forever.
Epilogue
One year later…
“She’s going to be okay, though, right, doc?” Tyke stared down at the man with a white coat and khakis.
Dr. Sutherland placed a hand on Tyke’s shoulder, smiling. “She’s going to do great.”
A scream, shrill and unbearable, ripped from inside the room the two men stood beside, causing them both to sprint in, the doctor not as speedy as Tyke thought necessary.
Kenna’s eyes blazed, her face red and damp as she glared at Tyke in the doorway. “Where have you been?”
“Chattin’ with the doc,” he said, cautiously taking one step toward her. “How are you feeling, sugar pie?”
Sam stood beside the bed, petting Kenna’s hair, whispering something in her ear. Hopefully a magic spell to exorcise the demon out of Kenna. Who knew pregnant women could be so mean at the end of their term? You’d think they’d be relieved to get the thing out. Not Kenna. With each scream, she begged the doc to find a way to keep the baby in there.
The baby. They were having a baby.
After the wedding, Tyke and Kenna went back to Chesterville to pack her things. Apart from her job, there wasn’t anything or anyone keeping her there. They decided they’d remain in Baltimore together, close to Estelle and the rest of their friends, for a while.
It didn’t take long before they wanted to start adding to their family. So they’d gone to a specialist and went through the process of finding a donor, and then Kenna underwent a procedure Tyke didn’t know a lot about. He picked out some swimmers from a guy who fit a profile similar to himself, and the doc was going to do something with it that would make Kenna pregnant. He didn’t want to
hear the specifics. It was hard enough to think about another man rooting in and around a place that only Tyke should be in. Even if it was for a medical procedure. He was just relieved she didn’t have to sleep with anyone to get it done.
And now here they were, nine months after, getting ready to welcome their first child into the world.
If she didn’t kill the doc or Tyke first.
“Don’t you touch me,” she said through bared teeth at the doctor approaching the bed.
Dr. Sutherland lifted his hands in the air like she held a gun to his chest. “Just have to check your progress, Kenna.”
“Let him check, hun,” Sam said. “Once you reach ten centimeters, you’ll be a lot happier.”
Kenna squeezed her eyes closed, and her mouth contorted as an unholy growl erupted from her. “Drugs!” she screamed. “Give me the goddamn drugs!”
“Too late,” the doctor said, pushing himself away from the bed. “Baby’s on the way. Anyone who doesn’t want to be here for the birth, I’d advise getting out now.” He gave a nod to the nearby nurse, who scurried into the hallway. A second later, she was back with two additional nurses trailing behind.
Sam leaned over and kissed Kenna on the cheek. “You’re so amazing. We’ll be right outside.”
“Good luck, man.” Ash clapped a hand on Tyke’s shoulder.
Estelle was bent over the hospital bed, her forehead pressed against her niece’s. Kenna’s eyes squeezed shut, a small stream of tears starting to spill down her cheeks.
“I can’t,” she said, breathy. “Aunt Estelle, I can’t do this. It hurts too bad.”
“Like hell you can’t,” Estelle said, clutching a hand to the back of Kenna’s head. “You can do this and so much more. You push through now, and when the doc lays that baby in your arms, you won’t even remember the pain. It’ll be nothin’. But you gotta do the hard stuff. You can do it. I know you can.”
Kenna nodded, the motion jerky as she sniffled. “O-okay. I’ll try.”
“That a girl.” Estelle kissed her niece on the cheek. “I’ll be right outside.”
Tyke approached the side of the bed as Estelle started for the door. Passing each other, she reached up and hugged him. He held on a few extra seconds, drawing courage from the woman’s tight hold.
They pulled apart, and Estelle gazed up at him with a smile and one tear rolling down her cheek. She patted his chest. “Take care of my girl.”
Tyke gave a brief but reassuring nod before Estelle made her way to the exit.
The hospital room door closed, and Tyke finished his short journey to his wife’s side. He offered his hand, and she gripped it with impressive strength.
The doctor, wearing a headband with a bright light on top, wheeled himself on a stool and stopped between her legs. “All right, Kenna,” he said. “You ready?”
“Hey, doc,” Tyke said, wrapping his other arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Don’t you need something? A basket? Baseball mitt? You know, to catch the baby?”
The doctor flashed his hands covered in latex gloves. “That’s what these are for.”
Tyke tried like hell to remember a lick of that shit they had learned at the baby birthing class. She could bounce on some ball. She could soak in that big tub in the other room. Oh, and she should inhale and exhale real hard.
“Kenna, breathe with me!” He tried to mimic the sounds the nurse made when she showed them a few months ago in class. All he got back was an annoyed look.
“What the hell are you doing?” Then she screamed at ear-piercing volume.
“That was a good one,” the doc said. “Give me another one of those.”
“She screams like that again, Doc,” Tyke said, “and I’ll do something to make you scream louder. You feel me?”
The doctor ignored Tyke’s absolutely serious threat, and said, “That’s it. One more. Come on, Kenna. You can do this.”
She let out another horrific wail that made Tyke want to punch something until it broke every single bone in his hand.
And then he heard a cry. A beautiful, loud, full-bodied cry. And it didn’t freak him out. Not one bit. In fact, when that doctor lifted a squirming little body into the air, and he saw a straight nose and strong jawline like his, Tyke’s eyes went glassy and he had trouble breathing.
He stared at his wife who looked so radiant she should’ve had a halo. “You’re incredible,” he said. “You did it. You just endured all of that pain for our family.”
Tears dropped out of her eyes. “No, we did it.”
“Bryan,” he heard the doctor say. “Do you want to hold your son?”
A son. He and Kenna had a son. He was theirs. Happiness like he’d never felt—joy that he’d never thought possible—bubbled up inside of him, making Tyke feel like he could take on the world.
“Uh, sure,” he said to the doctor. After a few sniffles, he swiped a forearm across his eyes and blinked to clear his vision. “What do I do?”
“Just put your arms out and hold him,” Kenna urged.
Doing as she said, he held his arms straight out.
“More like this.” One of the nurses adjusted his arms in a way that felt completely unnatural. But he figured she knew more than he did about holding babies.
A little bundle of blankets with a head of soft, fuzzy red hair was placed into his arms, and all he could do was stare. “Little Spike,” he said in awe.
Kenna laughed. “After the crab? Bryan, we are not naming him Spike.”
He didn’t care what they named him. Just as long as he was theirs.
“What do you want to name him then?” he asked, still not taking his eyes off the amazing little creature.
“We have time to decide,” she said back.
They did have time. An infinite amount of time.
Tyke shifted his son into one arm so he could sit and wrap his free arm around his wife. She curled into his shoulder, gazing at their child, and he knew. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter what happened from this moment forward, Tyke was going to do everything in his power to make sure his little family always knew how much he needed and loved them.
For as long as he lived.
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Acknowledgments
Always first and foremost, huge thanks go to my family. Keith, who always has my back, and my boys who love me even on my worst days. Thank you for supporting me and giving me the time I need to be sane and write.
To you, the reader of this story, On Her Six, and In Walked Trouble. You are why I do what I do. You are who I think about when I sit in front of my computer. I just want to make you laugh, smile, swoon, and gasp. Thank you for giving a newbie author like me a chance. I love you so much.
To my editor, Alycia. Thank you, thank you, thank you for believing in me and making this entire series shine. Your guidance has been invaluable. I’m indebted to you.
To Ninny. For sharing stories (both real and fictional) with us and encouraging our imaginations to run wild. Grandmas like you are one in million. I’m forever envious of the life you lead and the amazing experiences you had.
To my critique partners, Misty Waters and Laura Ward, for your honesty and encouragement. I’m blessed to have found you both. Your advice and time mean more to me than you’ll ever know.
To the bloggers and social media gurus who posted about the Under Covers series. Thank you for your time, your reviews, and your passion. You help nobodies like me get noticed, so thank you for your help!
To Kim at Read Your Writes, who reached out and admitted to being my stalker. I’m so flattered!! Thank you for loving the words I’ve put on a page and for making my dream come true!
To Jillian, for dragging me to that Chris Young concert in Nashville. And for the raunchy messages about CY at two a.m. No one makes me laugh like you do. Thank you for your
friendship.
Now seems a good time to thank Chris Young. I named this book after my favorite CY song, and it fit the essence of the story perfectly. You have an amazing gift of singing. Thank you for sharing it. “The Man I Want to Be” was on repeat while I wrote and edited this book.
To my first Chris love. Mr. Hemsworth. You, too, have a gift. A very special gift, which I’m not going to elaborate on here because my husband will eventually read this. Let’s just say if you and Elsa don’t work out and you ever wanted another set of twins…never mind. I have very high expectations. I’d like to think you’d live up to them, but I don’t want to be disappointed for all eternity if you can’t. My fantasies are extremely vivid. It would be hard to match. (Unless you bring home that Thor costume. The eye patch, too. Then let’s talk.)
To Riki Cleveland and Shayla Fereshetian, my publicists. Thank you for putting up with my constant questions and late-night messages! I appreciate you both!
To Liz and the rest of the Entangled team. The Under Covers series was a labor of love, and I appreciate every piece you all played in helping it see the light of day. Entangled gave me my big break, and I’ll be forever thankful.
About the Author
Christina Elle believes that laughter really is the best medicine, which is why in her writing she adds a healthy dose of hilarious hijinks with gritty suspense. She lives near Baltimore with her husband and two sons, who give her an endless supply of humorous material to write about.
When she’s not writing fun contemporary romance or quirky romantic suspense, Christina can be found devouring books in every genre, watching Chris Hemsworth on TV, playing board games with her family, working out, watching Chris Hemsworth on TV, napping, baking, watching Chris Hemsworth on TV, and shopping…for Chris Hemsworth’s latest DVD.
She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Maryland Romance Writers.
The Man I Want to Be (Under Covers) Page 24
