by Donn, KL
He and Hayes had spent three days in San Diego, flying in late the afternoon before. They’d talked about anything and everything. Future plans, past mistakes. There wasn’t a single thing they no longer knew about each other.
He’d also discussed with her that the guilt she felt for living, the way she thought her parents were angry because Ryder had died, and that they couldn’t properly grieve because they had to put her back together, was unnecessary. They didn’t blame her for shit, and all the guilt in the world wouldn’t change their feelings for her. Nothing but love.
She hadn’t been able to see the emotions because she carried her own remorse, and he could understand that, but it had been a teary reunion when he dropped her off at home. They’d even made plans to go back during the summer as a family.
His mother was still somewhat pissed at him for keeping his fighting a secret. It wasn’t until she asked how many matches he’d lost at dinner the night before, that he’d known she’d gotten over her mad. Nox and Loch were only pissed they couldn’t watch him in action.
“Pipe down you two, they’re starting.” Levi laughed as their mother gave his brothers shit for betting on how many kids would trip up and fall while walking across the stage. There’d been two in Nox’s graduating class, seven in Levi’s, and four in Loch’s—him included. Lord love his brother, but he was a bit of a klutz when he was younger.
They all watched in anticipation as one by one the graduates were called up in alphabetical order. Excitement flooded his veins when Hayes was only two students away.
“Hayes Morrison.” Her name was announced, and all three brothers were on their feet, whistling and cheering like it was the Super Bowl. Her face went crimson red with embarrassment, but he saw in her eyes how much she loved their excitement.
They were given scathing looks from people all around them and even a few on stage, but they wouldn’t stop until she left the stage. Andrea was up front taking as many pictures as she could until Hayes walked down the steps, and Levi darted forward, picking her up by the hips before she could clear the last one. Earning more glares from the teachers as his lips grazed across hers lightly.
“So fucking proud of you, baby.” He could hear the clicking of her mother’s camera as they shared the moment.
“Thank you, Levi,” Hayes murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.
* * *
The graduation ceremony was long over, and they were having a small party at Hayes’ house with family and a few of her friends. Brett was shooting hoops with Levi and Lochlan in the driveway. Nox and Sophia had disappeared after a seriously hot and heavy make out session in the kitchen and they’d been teased about it by the other guys milling around her backyard.
She’d successfully convinced Allegra to show up even though she wasn’t graduating. Every once in a while, Hayes would catch Brett’s gaze stray to the shy, young woman who was practically glued to Lorraine’s side. They’d hit it off immediately. Levi’s mom went full-on mother hen with the girl, and judging by the way Allegra hung on to her every word, Hayes thought she might be missing the motherly affection every teenage girl needed.
Looking around at her family and friends and knowing the one person she wanted there more than anything in the world wasn’t, added a twinge of sadness to her heart. But she knew that no matter what, Ryder would have been proud of her. He had always encouraged that she could do and be anything she wanted.
Arms wrapping around her from behind brought a huge grin to her face as Levi nuzzled into her neck. “You look gorgeous in this little dress.”
Sophia had shown up at her house last night with the perfect little dress for Hayes to wear. A light green, knee-length tube dress. It hugged her curves and hid her scars. The material was soft as she moved in it, and surprisingly, she didn’t feel like she was going to fall out of it anytime she moved.
“Sophia chose well, didn’t she?” She laughed at the shock on his face as she turned in his arms.
“Soph picked this?” She nodded. “Gonna have to tell Nox to give the girl a prize,” he mumbled against her lips.
The doorbell ringing in the front of the house broke their moment. “I better get that.” Levi followed behind her. She could feel the heat of his stare on her backside as she opened the door.
Any laughter and amusement from before had gone and was replaced by happiness, elation, fear, and confusion.
Her breath vacated her body as she recognized the man at the door.
Shaggy, dark hair, clean-shaven face. Bright, sky blue eyes.
She knew those eyes.
Saw them every time she looked at her father.
“Ryder?”
“Hey, kid.” His grin was wary, yet happy.
Her brother was there. And alive.
Dreams do come true.
The End.
Author Note
Hi! I really hope you enjoyed Levi & Hayes’ journey! They were such a joy to write. Even when they were stubborn as heck!
Ryder though! Shocked? Me too! I blame Kaci, she planted a seed, and then I went with it. To say I’m pleased would be an understatement.
I know you’re wondering if Ryder’s going to get a book now? Will we see him again? What’s his story?
Let. Me. Tell. You.
Ryder IS getting a book.
No, it’s NOT in this series.
I DON’T know when it’s coming.
You see Ryder is a special breed, and his girl owns a piece of me I’m terrified to release. So while I’m working on other projects (Lochlan’s book) I’ll be working on Ryder’s on the side. Perfecting how I want his words to be told.
Hope you stick around for more!
Acknowledgments
Kaci, I say this every time but you’re my rock.
Codie, I couldn’t function without our late night, and sometimes early morning chats.
Mary, Sansa, Christina, Annelise, Katrina, Jamie, thanks for being my cheerleaders! Love you all!
Fighters I’m so glad you’ve accepted Levi so openly! He was a hard nut!
Bloggers thank you for everything!
Readers you rock!
Everyone else keep doing you!!
About the Author
Like y’all don’t know about me already! Wait, you don’t? We let me tell you!
I am forever 29 years old (For real my birthday says I’ll be 31 this year, but I refuse) I have been with my amazing husband for 13 years and together we have 4 stunning children! (Biased I know!) For the last 8 years I have been a stay at home mom to care for them and now that they’re all older I can finally do something for me.
That something is most definitely writing! I love creating stories and sharing them with the world! I don’t get to read as often as I used to but you better believe my TBR list is longer then me! I absolutely love to hear from my fans so please feel free to contact me at anyone of these places:
You can also sign up for my newsletter to experience my outrageousness in another way!
And of course join my amazing reader group!
PS: Check out the playlist for One Choice ;) It’s kind of awesome if I do say so myself <3
authorkldonn.wixsite.com/menagequeen
[email protected]
Also by KL DONN
The Protectors Series
Keeley’s Fight
Emily’s Protectors
Kennedy’s Redemption
The Possessed Series
bullied
OWNED by Dominic
One Dance for Case
From the Ashes
Lost & Found
Tattooed & Alone for Christmas (Coming Soon)
Love Letters Series
Dear Killian
Dear Gage (Coming July 7)
Hogan Brother’s
One Chance
One Choice
One Call (Coming Soon)
Adair Empire is coming this fall!
One Chance
Prologue
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br /> Never love anybody who treats you like you’re ordinary.
“Sophia!” She had heard her mother before she saw her. A quick look around assured Sophia Bennett that her room was tidy, the bed was made, and she hadn’t recalled leaving anything out when she’d arrived home from school.
Footsteps in the hall announced her mother’s arrival. Standing quickly—shoulders back, and her back straight—she waited for the berating to begin.
“Did you hear me?” her mother, Rebecca—never Becky or Becca—Bennett demanded as she flung the door open.
“Yes, Ma’am,” was the only reply she knew would be acceptable.
“Well?” The tapping of her foot on the hardwood floor could be heard. “Why didn’t you answer me?”
Sophia’s brain blanked…
One would think they could just say, I heard you coming, but she knew that wasn’t an appropriate answer for her mother.
So she stood there…
No words forthcoming, no immediate answer could be given.
“You can’t be that ignorant, Sophia.” The censure in her voice made Soph feel lower than dirt.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” she whispered.
“I don’t want your apologies; I want to be sure you’re going to be ready for tonight. By your appearance now, I can tell that’s obviously a no.” Disgust crawled across her mother’s botoxed face.
“I will be,” she promised. It was the only time she would get to see her great Aunt Millie. She was the sweetest old woman Sophia had ever known. Always had a funny story to tell and little candies in her over-sized purse for her. It was but once a year now that she actually got to see her.
Aunt Millie had fallen ill two years ago, and travel was hard on her aging body, so Sophia’s mother didn’t let her come across the country from New Jersey to visit them.
Her father was head of security for one of the largest criminal law firms on the west coast. The attorneys he kept safe were made targets by their clients, so he assured all meetings went smoothly.
Last summer, one of the lawyers lost a case for some drug dealer—she didn’t recall the charges—but the defendant’s gang retaliated and wound up paralyzing the man. It brought home how dangerous her father’s job was.
He was a good man and treated Sophia like a princess, as if she were his whole world. She sometimes wondered if that was why her mother hated her so much. They didn’t sleep in the same room anymore, and she couldn’t remember the last time they did. And when he was home, they barely said two words to each other.
Snapping fingers in her face ended her internal analyzation of why she was so hated. “Earth to Sophia! Did you hear me?”
She hadn’t. It was easy enough to figure out what she had been asked, though. All her mother cared about was appearances.
“I have a dress picked out,” Sophia said as she moved to her walk-in closet, grabbing the light green chiffon dress that would match her eyes. It wasn’t too revealing and swished with her body when she walked.
“You’re kidding me? Don’t be stupid, Sophia. You can’t wear the same color as me.”
One simple phrase.
Four meaningless words.
Her brain shut down.
Her body vibrated with pain.
Don’t be stupid, Sophia.
You’re so stupid.
Why do I have to have such a stupid child?
They’re just words, breathe.
Sticks and stones, Soph.
So why did she feel like her heart was being ripped from her chest?
* * *
Chapter One
You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.
“Ma.” Lennox Hogan couldn’t believe she’d dragged him and his two brothers, Levi and Lochlan, out for this. Building a garden two months too early. “It’s not gonna work, Ma.”
“Don’t you ‘Ma’ me, young man. I want this garden done, and I want it done today. When I told you boys I was going to do it, you refused to let me. This,” she swept her arm across the hole they’d dug, “was all your idea.”
He really hated when she was right. They did refuse to let her do it, not wanting her to hurt her hip again after just losing her walking cane after her last fall. Her previous brilliant idea had been to paint the ceiling. His mother, the amazing woman who’d birthed him and his two younger brothers, a woman he respected more than anyone, decided to climb up a ladder, by herself, to paint a vaulted ceiling that even with the extension didn’t mean she could reach the thirty feet needed. She’d fallen six feet to the ground, thus breaking her hip. He shuddered to think of what could have happened had she been at the top.
Now she had crates of roses in varying colors off to the side, anticipating planting them all that day. Leaving Nox and his brothers no choice but to finish digging the fucking hole and building the outer box and small path she wanted going straight through.
“C’mon, Ma, you can’t be serious?” his youngest brother Lochlan groaned. At twenty-two years old, he was pretty sure the other man would rather be out at some park chasing tail on such a nice day. Not in his mother’s garden.
Arching her brow, she sipped her sweet tea, pointedly putting her feet up as if to say, get to it, before grabbing the book she’d been reading. Some new romance she insisted she needed since she didn’t have their father anymore. He passed four years ago from lung cancer.
When he’d first been diagnosed, his mother had been inconsolable, but within only a matter of hours, she knew they had to make the time they had left as amazing as they could. His father’s cancer could have been manageable, but his quality of life would have been shit. Finding it at stage four, they knew they were going to lose him. It took nearly eight months for him to deteriorate right before their eyes. In that time, Nox and his brothers had sent them on the Alaskan cruise they had always planned to go on when they were older.
It was a memory their mother looked upon fondly now. She had taken as many pictures of him as she could. If someone came to her house, she was sure to show you them all whether you’d seen them a thousand times before or not.
Lennox grew up watching the love his parents had for one another, and from an early age, he always knew that would be his biggest goal in life. To love so hard that when your other half was gone, you could still live. Live to be the you they always knew you were.
He was a rough around the edges kind of guy, and at twenty-seven, he was aware that he still had time to find the right girl for him. His dad had always told him he’d know who she was because when he laid eyes on her, his palms would sweat and his heart would race so fast and hard it would feel like it was about to pound out of his chest. Plus, he’d say the dumbest thing he could. If that scared her away, then he’d have to work harder for her. If it didn’t, then he’d be golden and know she would be perfect.
The brothers spent the afternoon digging and rototilling the sixteen by sixteen foot rose garden to be planted. Blood, sweat, and tears would be tossed in that sucker by each of them. Levi had blisters on all but four fingers, Loch had cried in relief when the rain started for about four point six seconds of relief, and he’d been sweating like a pig for hours. Owning the only specialty mechanics shop in town, you would think he should be used to working with the heat. Except in his garage, he had air conditioning. If his men saw him now, they’d be calling him all kinds of names.
“Sophia!” he heard his mother call happily.
Wiping his brow, he ignored her and her friend, wanting to just finish what they were doing. It wasn’t until he noticed his brothers weren’t working that he realized they were damn near drooling at something behind him.
Turning, the sun blinded him for a fraction of a second. Blinking away the spots in his eyes, he felt sucker-punched when he saw the beauty standing before him, cheerily chatting with his mother.
Whoa. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Long blonde hair wind-blown into a messy style t
hat looked like it took her hours to do, light green eyes that stood out with her natural red-tinted lips, topped off by a cupid’s bow top lip. The fullness in her bottom lip made him want to nibble on it and see how long it would take to plump up to a bee-stung look.
She had an hourglass figure with wide hips meant for a man’s hands to hold onto while he loved her from behind. Her cinched waist led to perky breasts perfect to fit in his palms. Not too big, and not too small. Her light yellow sundress drew his eyes to her in such a way that they couldn’t focus on any one spot.
“Nox.” Loch elbowed him just as the girls turned to them.
Checking for drool, Nox straightened his stance and dropped his shovel. He wasn’t prepared for the impact her soft voice would have on him. “Umm, hi, I’m Sophia Bennett.” She held out her hand, waiting for him to shake it, but all he could do was stare.
The prolonged silence had her fidgeting and slowly lowering her hand again, when one of his brothers coughed loudly in his ear, knocking him from his state of stupidity. “Sophia Bennett, as in Rebecca Bennett’s daughter?” More stupidity spewed from his lips. He knew Mrs. Bennett because she had been bringing in her Mercedes sedan every other week with one fake problem or another. Lately, she had gotten handsier than he liked, so he was trying to avoid her like the plague.
The moment her mother’s name came out of his mouth, though, Sophia paled and seemed to draw into herself. His mom caught it right away, knowing the trouble he’d been getting from her mother. She gave him a dirty look.
“Sorry, Soph, I’m Lennox, or Nox. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His ma didn’t live in the richer part of town, so he was confused as to what she was doing there. “What are you up to in our neck of the woods?”
Sophia’s cheeks pinked with his rapt attention. “Lennox, she comes every Sunday and has tea with me, and we talk books,” his mother admonished like he should already know.
