Maybe it was best he hadn’t come... Maybe what they had was over, rather than being a stepping stone to something more. Now, she didn’t lie awake at night thinking about Stefan, but after being with Norris, she couldn’t imagine a more perfect partner for her. Norris had awakened feelings in her she’d buried and thought she’d never, ever feel again.
Sorrow weighed down her heart. She’d thought she’d done the same for him but now she was unsure.
Maybe Norris decided saying another goodbye was fruitless. She already had her next assignment.
Still.
Pushing her disenchantment with the handsome chief to the side, Jolene pasted on a smile and looked down at Lia who clutched Boo-boo bunny in the crook of her arm. Then Jolene pointed toward the ceiling-to-floor window behind her. “Are you ready to take a ride in that big airplane?”
Lia looked warily over her shoulder at the large plane and shook her head no.
“It’ll be okay. I’m sitting beside you and you can hold my hand the whole time if you want to. I also brought my iPad so we can watch Cinderella and Frozen together. You like Elsa and Anna, right? We’ll have fun?”
Lia’s chestnut locks shimmered against her tan skin when she nodded her approval.
“Good, girl.” Jolene took Lia’s tiny hand in hers and they moved in line behind a group of college students who chatted idly about the adventures they were going to have in Paris.
Oh, to be so excited over something again... Jolene thought. Norris’ face popped to mind and she smiled.
She looked down at her charm bracelet and winced. The Lynx charm Norris gave her the night before she departed Cape James sparkled against her skin. With her free hand she touched her lips and recalled the tender kiss he’d given her and the way he’d stood in the middle of the street watching her drive away.
She would miss him. Hell, she already did. If he were here she’d tell him without hesitation that somehow over the past ten days, she’d fallen in love with him.
“I almost missed you.”
She whirled around to face the familiar baritone voice behind her and immediately felt fireworks detonate in her heart. “Norris. How?”
She looked past him for any airport security who might be chasing him down for breaching their lines. Seeing none, she focused on him and noted a backpack hung from his shoulder and his cell phone’s screen flashed an airline ticket.
“Nor,” Lia exclaimed before Jolene could say more. Still holding onto Jolene, Lia grabbed Norris’ hand too. “Look what Auntie Jolene gave me? My own bracelet. It’s just like hers.”
“Hey, kid.” He smiled down at Lia. “That’s beautiful. You two could be twins. Are you ready for another adventure with Jolene and me?”
The little girl nodded happily.
“What do you mean with us?” Jolene pointed between them. Her heart skipped. “Are you coming with us?”
Norris let his backpack drop to the floor and wrapped his arm around her waist. “You didn’t think I was going to let you go so easily did you?”
He lifted her hand to his lips.
Her heart pounded in her chest. Its rhythm vibrated throughout her body.
The soft kiss against the inside of her wrist, just above her bracelet, lingered while his gaze latched onto hers. He’d gotten the message before she spoke. “I-I hoped you wouldn’t.”
“That’s good to know.” Lowering his head, his warm breath tickled her ear. “Because I don’t intend to let you go.”
She leaned back, searching the depths of his eyes. “I think I’ve fallen in love with you,” she whispered, hoping he felt the same way about her and would profess his love.
Instead, Norris arched his eyebrow quizzically and humphed. “You think, or you know you have?”
Her knees weakened and she allowed herself to be drawn against his hard body. “I know.”
“Good, because I’m planning to be in your life until I take my last breath. I love you, Agent Martinez.”
Norris sealed his promise with a kiss that told Jolene his heart belonged to her, forever.
EPILOGUE
April was such a pretty month. Wildflowers sprouted to life everywhere, and both the sky and sea sparkled as if renewed.
Jolene smoothed out the last wrinkle on the patio tablecloth that covered the serving table, soon to be laden with food. She stood and placed her hands on her back, covering her kidneys as she stretched for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she enjoyed the sun reflecting off the cool waves and sandy beach in front of her and Norris’ home.
He’d bought the land from his landlord soon after they returned from Romania and replaced the old cabin with a modest seaside house which had real door locks and all the modern necessities. The path leading to it, while still secluded, had been widened and the ruts eliminated. That had been nearly three years ago.
She thought of Lia often, wondering what the pudgy-cheeked little girl would look like now, at almost five years of age. Was she happy?
Jolene knew the girl likely wouldn’t remember her if they’d ever met but Lia would always be in Jolene’s heart. Finding Lia, had changed her life in so many ways.
Crossing the patio, she thought how much she loved this haven. It was the first place she and Norris had made love. It was the place where she realized she loved him. It was where they’d said their vows, promising to love one another for eternity.
Giggles filled the air and Jolene smiled at the vision before her. Norris tossed their daughter, August into the air. The ruffles on the rear of her flowered swimsuit fluttered while her chubby legs and arms flayed in the air. They looked so happy and she hated to interrupt their fun, but her family and Norris’ father would be arriving soon to enjoy an Easter feast and she needed Norris’ help to finish setting up the tables.
“Hey, hon,” Jolene called to Norris who once again cradled his daughter. “If you don’t put her back down and help me, we’ll never be ready for our guests.”
“She wants me to play with her,” Norris said, still holding August and walking over to Jolene. “What’s a dad to do? You know she rules the house.” He bent down and kissed Jolene lightly on the lips.
They’d been married for two years and he still drove her crazy with desire for him. She laced her arm around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss, a long deep kiss.
With August settled on his hip, Norris pulled Jolene closer and captured her mouth again, pushing his tongue into her mouth and tasting her.
“Should we leave and come back?” Jolene’s mother asked behind them.
Norris pressed his forehead to hers and stared into her eyes that promised he’d finish this thing between them later. “No. We’re good.”
Jolene turned, ignoring her father’s smirk and zeroed in on her mother’s grin. “What are you all smiles about? It’s not the first time you caught Norris mauling me.”
“No, and I bet it won’t be the last time either,” Joan said. “But that is not why I’m smiling. Martina has a surprise for you.”
“What?”
They heard the shrieks of the Gomez tribe as they exited their extended mini-van. A few seconds later, Clara rounded the corner and sprinted to the patio. She was followed by a strange, dark-haired girl who appeared to be her age.
“Auntie, Jolene. Uncle Norris. Look who’s back,” Clara said.
Jolene’s hand drifted from Norris’ waist to rest over her heart and she stepped forward. Her heart stalled in her chest. “Lia,” she whispered. She knelt and stared into the girl’s dark eyes, fighting the overwhelming urge to touch Lia. She didn’t want to frighten her.
“I know you don’t remember me and my husband, Norris. I’m Jolene, Clara’s aunt. We knew you when you were little. You weren’t much older than our daughter August is now.” She pointed to Norris and August standing behind her. “We’ve thought about you every day since we last saw you.”
The girl continued to stare at her, playing with the drawstring on her shorts and poking the toe
of her flip-flop into the crack between two patio blocks. “I am happy to meet you.”
Of course, Lia had a European accent.
Jolene’s chest tightened around her pounding heart as the craving to embrace Lia grew.
Lia’s gaze dropped to Jolene’s charm bracelet. “I like your bracelet. I have one too.”
Lia held up her wrist.
Joy spiraled through Jolene when she recognized the gift she’d given Lia years ago. “I know, I gave it to you.”
Lia’s face brightened as if she’d met Santa Claus.
“You speak English very well,” Jolene said. Jolene looked up to see Aleksandra standing beside Martina.
“Yes, pumpkin,” Aleksandra said in broken English. “Hello, Ms. Jolene. It’s nice to see you again.”
“It’s nice to see you again too.” Jolene came to her feet and looked at her sister. “How did you manage to do this?”
“You know that church project I’ve been working on?” Martina grinned. “We’re sponsoring Aleksandra and Belinda. They want to become U.S. citizens.”
“Lia, come see the cupcakes Aunt Jolene made,” Clara said and tugged the girl away. “They look like bunny rabbits.”
Jolene stood and reached out for Aleksandra’s hand. “That’s wonderful. Really wonderful.”
Carrying more totes filled with food and drinks, Simon, Norris’ father Harlan, Jolene’s father Louis, and Pickett entered the patio area. Pickett had been invited by Norris because the guy had no family in the area.
“Let’s get this celebration started,” Simon said, holding up a twelve-pack of beer in one hand and two bottles of wine in the other.
After the feast was consumed the men settled into the living room to catch up on the baseball games, except for Pickett. He walked along the beach with Aleksandra, chatting while they kept an eye on the children playing tag with the waves rolling to shore. Martina and Joan sat side by side on beach chairs playing with August.
Jolene stood on a sand dune, surveying the scene. She sighed with satisfaction.
Norris walked up behind her and wound his arm around her waist, pulling her against his hard body. “What are you thinking?”
“It’s amazing.”
He rested his head against hers. “What is?”
“How one person’s actions can change so many lives.”
Over the past few years, she’d let her spiked hair grow to her shoulders and Norris now pushed it to the side and kissed her neck. “I think it’s pretty astounding that goodness found a way to grow from such a bad seed.”
Without breaking his hold on her, she turned and leaned against his muscular chest.
“You know, you’re right. If Mark’s mother hadn’t done what she did to him, you and I wouldn’t have met, and August...” Jolene’s heart hitched. She glanced over her shoulder at their daughter.
With a finger on her chin, Norris turned her face back to him. His hungry lips found hers and the past slipped away. In his eyes, she saw her future and it was all good.
THE END
From the Author
Thank you for reading Loved By Darkness. I’d really appreciate if you’d leave a review. Let other readers know what you thought of the story. Also, if you’d like to be the first to know what is happening and receive free reads, join my newsletter at www.autumnjordon.com
Now, a bit about me. I’m an award-winning novelist, recognized by the Romance Writers Of America as a Golden Heart Finalist and a Golden Leaf winner for His witness To Evil, and by the Kindle Book Reviewers as a 2013 Best Indie Romance Author Finalist for Seized By Darkness. Awards are nice but it’s the reviews of my readers that mean so much more.
I love to travel, making new friends along the way. Often, it is on my trips that I dream of adventures for my characters and schemes to put them into danger of losing their hearts to their one true love— just like I did with my own hero.
To learn more about me. Join my newsletter. It’s call AJ Revealed for a reason.
Thanks again for your support.
Autumn Jordon
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