The man shook his hand heartily, but the woman grabbed him and hugged him. After he’d been introduced to the younger couple and their children, he led the way back into the house and called out, “Aleta?”
“Yeah, babe! I’m back here! We’re in the bathroom! I’m showing them the heated towel bars!”
“Could you come out here, please?” Jack was on pins and needles. God, he wanted it to go off just like he’d seen it in his mind, like he’d planned it for the last six weeks.
“Yeah. What―” Aleta appeared in the entrance to the hallway, but she stopped stock-still when she saw the new guests. “Whaaaa?”
“Hey, sweetheart! It’s great to see you!” her mother, Karen Davidson, gushed and ran to her daughter. In seconds, her dad’s arms were around them both, with her brother and his wife standing close by and their kids watching, eyes round, waiting to meet the aunt they didn’t really know.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“Jack invited us!” her mother sang out. “We’re so glad to be here!”
“I’m glad too! Did you come to see the house?” Jack could tell she didn’t have a clue. “Isn’t it nice? We just got it finished. Want me to show you around?”
Jack reached for her arm and gripped it. “Actually, we’ve got some business to take care of. Stand right there in front of the fireplace.” He motioned to the spot, so Aleta stepped into it and stood there, her brow wrinkled in puzzlement. One glance told him Matt was standing in the background, phone in hand and ready to snap some pictures.
Jack turned to her father. “Mr. Davidson, I have something to ask you.”
“Yes, son?”
“I would very much like to have your blessing before I ask your daughter to marry me.” He heard Aleta gasp from behind him and had to fight a grin.
“I can see from my daughter’s face that she’s very happy here with you. Goodness knows she deserves some happiness after everything that’s happened in her life. We don’t really approve of the two of you living together, and we’d hoped she’d find another minister―”
Aleta’s mother interrupted him, her voice sounding as stern as the frown on her face looked. “Jeffrey, we discussed this on the way here. This is Aleta’s life.”
Mr. Davidson sighed and smiled. “Yes. We did. I’m sorry. Yes, Jack. You have my permission to ask my daughter to marry you, and also my blessing.”
Extending his hand, Jack waited as Jeffrey took it and shook it. “Thank you, sir.” Then he turned to Aleta. The tears rolling down her face shocked him, and he hoped that didn’t mean she’d be saying no. Taking her hands in his, he looked straight into her eyes. “Aleta, I was there. I saw the worst moment of your life. You’re not the only one who relives it―I do too. But we’ve come a long way since then. We’ve stared death in the face and told it to go screw itself. We’ve built a home together, a real home, not just a house with two people in it. You’re my family. You’re my love. Aleta, you’re my whole life. Will you marry me?” Reaching into his pocket, Jack pulled out a diamond ring that he’d paid six months’ salary for. It glittered in the sunlight from the front windows and reflected tiny little star-shaped bits of sparkle on the ceiling. When she didn’t answer, he asked, “Well? Whaddya say?”
She ducked her head, and Jack wondered what was going through her mind. Surely she wasn’t going to tell him no. But when she lifted her head and smiled, he knew everything was fine. “You’re right. You were there for the worst day of my life. I remember seeing you in the hospital and thinking you were an angel. And you were an angel, Jack. You were sent to me. I’m as sure of it as I’m standing here. I told you from the beginning that I wanted to show everyone I could be independent, that I could make decisions on my own, that I could take care of myself.” She grinned. “Know what? I think I proved that. I saved the life of a Kentucky State Trooper. Not a lot of women can say that!” she said with a laugh, and everyone around the room laughed too. “I look at this home we’ve built together, and I see it as that―a home. It’s our shelter, our refuge, our love nest,” she said with a wink that made Jack smile, “and our base. Everything that’s good in our lives will come out of this home. So yes, John Henry Fletcher. Aleta Simone Davidson Culp would be proud to be your wife.”
Amos let out a hoot and everybody clapped and laughed as Jack slipped that big honkin’ diamond ring on Aleta’s hand. She was his. He was hers. And they’d never be alone again.
Date night. Jack always looked forward to it. He made reservations somewhere and surprised her. They didn’t do it every week, but they didn’t go more than two weeks without having that date. It was something they both needed. With their schedules, it would’ve been easy to lose their connection, and neither were willing to let that happen.
The crab legs had been delicious at Marley’s House of Seafood, and Jack was stuffed. It was all-you-could-eat Wednesday night, and that was great because he sure loved those things. Aleta had gotten some fish something or other, and she said it was wonderful. They were waiting for their dessert when he heard her say, “Jack?”
“Yeah!”
“Are we all set?”
“Yeah. The minister’s planning to be there, I’ve got a suit, you’ve got your dress, Deidre’s going to do the flowers.” Her sister-in-law had volunteered to do the florals, and who were they to tell her no? “You ordered the cake, right?”
“Yep. It’s on its way.”
“Then I’d say everything’s in order,” he said and reached for her hand.
“I want to ask you something.”
“Okay, shoot.” When she frowned, he grinned. “Maybe that’s not very good terminology for us.”
“I think not.” He waited. It seemed to be taking her a very long time to get out whatever it was that she wanted to say. When he was about to ask, she quietly said, “I want to stop taking my birth control.”
Ah. He was going to make her ask, not just assume. She wanted it, she had to ask for it. “So you want to use condoms?”
“No.”
“Okay. Well, then, what kind of birth control did you have in mind?” I know I’m torturing her, but this is so much fun!
“You told me once that you’d gladly consider me as a mother for your child. Or children. Whatever. Do you still feel that way?”
Okay. Enough’s enough, he told himself. “Yes. I do.”
“So could we? I mean, have a baby? I know we haven’t really talked about it, but―”
“Yes. We can have a baby. Or two. Or five. Although I’d prefer that they’re not all at the same time.” Jack smiled what he thought was the biggest smile he’d ever worn. “Having kids with you is very important to me. I’ve always wanted them, but I’d about decided I’d never have any. I’m glad I was wrong.”
“So I need to go through two cycles without taking them before we try. That puts us after the wedding. Is that okay?” He’d never seen her so timid, and he found it charming.
“That’s perfectly fine. I’ll buy some condoms and we’ll be extra careful until then.”
Aleta was almost bouncing in her seat. “Yes! Oh, baby, thank you! I’m so excited!”
“No, thank you. Without you …” Without you. He’d almost been without her. There’d been a time when he’d thought she was going to be taken away from him. Being wrong in that instance was the best kind of wrong to be. “You’re my whole life,” he whispered, his eyes misting over. “Without you, life wouldn’t be worth living.”
She clasped his hand with one hand and covered it with the other. “You’re my whole life. I had no way of knowing that the worst day of my life would lead me to someone who loves me as much as you do. Life takes some funny turns, doesn’t it, Trooper Fletcher?”
“Yes, it does,” he said as he laid his free hand on top of their clasped ones. “I never cease to be amazed.”
Epilogue
They’d been in the new house for two years the night Jack stood in the nursery doorway and watched Aleta nursing thei
r tiny son. Their wedding had been simple but beautiful, and they’d talked that very night, wondering how long it would be before they could bring home a child of their own.
It had taken thirteen months before she conceived. She’d told him she was pregnant and he hadn’t believed her, but the doctor confirmed it―the day she’d made the announcement was about two days after little John Henry’s embryo planted its flag in her uterus. Her body had told her what no test could.
The pregnancy had been everything they’d wanted. She was healthy and happy, and Jack had loved reading to her growing belly every evening, talking to it, and telling it how much he loved it. The first time he felt it kick, he’d been overjoyed. Everything had gone just as it should, and they’d spent those blissful months decorating the nursery, talking about names, and going to baby showers thrown for them by relatives and friends. By the time he made his appearance, Jordan’s room was ready and fully equipped.
Jack had been right there, gripping her hand and encouraging her, when his son came into the world. He loved Aleta, but he could honestly say he’d never felt such a connection to and so much adoration for another human being as he experienced with Johnny. Those ten fingers and ten toes were a sight to behold, and he couldn’t get enough of his baby son. They were a family, full of love and hope and promise.
She heard him move slightly as he stood there and she turned, smiling. “He fell asleep nursing.” He lifted the baby from her arms so she could fasten the clasp on the cup of her nursing bra, and he held the infant close and smiled down into his face. Jerdan David Fletcher. His son, the son he thought he’d never have. “Can you put him in the crib? I need to talk to you for a minute.” Jack placed the sleeping baby on his back in the crib and followed Aleta out of the room.
He thought she’d go into the kitchen, but she didn’t. She headed straight to the bedroom, climbed up in the middle of their bed, and turned to face him. “Sit down.”
A million things ran through Jack’s mind. Something’s wrong with her. Something’s wrong with the baby. She’s leaving me―okay, that’s ridiculous. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, he turned to face her too. “What’s up?”
“Well, um … You know how they tell you that while you’re nursing you can’t get pregnant?”
Jack’s eyes went wide. “Yeah?”
“Seems that’s not always true.”
“But, but, but Johnny’s just five months old! Are you telling me―” Aleta nodded. “We’re going to have―” She nodded again. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
A nervous giggle escaped her lips. “You’re actually taking this a lot better than I thought you would.”
Jack gazed at the woman who shared his life. He was so lucky and so blessed to have her, and now they’d have yet another life to share all that love with. Then he laughed. “I guess I can stash the condoms in the hall closet. I don’t have to worry about you getting pregnant if you’re already pregnant, huh?”
Her lips landed on his and she gave him a deep, hot kiss. “I love you, Jack Fletcher.”
“I love you, Aleta Fletcher. But that means I’m going to be changing a lot of diapers. You owe me, girl. And I think I know a way you can pay me.” Jack wiggled his eyebrows.
“Sure!” She giggled and squirmed as he dropped her to the mattress and braced himself over her. “Oh, I meant to ask … I’ve already blasted through my book budget for the month. Is it okay that I bought a couple more of those romance books? Do you mind?”
“Mind? Buy all you want, as long as they’re not firefighters,” he quipped and kissed her.
“I’m sticking with law enforcement. There’s just something about a man in uniform,” she announced, “especially if he’s mine.”
*
Be sure to pick up the next story in the series: Shelter for Martina!
About the author …
Deanndra Hall is a working author living in the far western end of the beautiful Bluegrass State with her husband of over 35 years and small menagerie of weird little dogs. When she’s not writing, she’s editing. When she’s doing neither of those two things, she’s having dinner with friends, spending time with family, kayaking, eating chocolate, drinking beer or moonshine, or looking for something that she put in the wrong place and can’t seem to find (which is pretty much everything she owns).
On the Web: www.deanndrahall.com
Email: [email protected]
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Also by Deanndra Hall
Bluegrass Bravery/Operation Alpha World
Shelter for Sharla
Justice for Aleta
Shelter for Martina
The Love Under Construction Series
Laying a Foundation with prequel, The Groundbreaking
Tearing Down Walls
Renovating a Heart
Planning an Addition
The Citadel Series
One Simple Mistake
One Broken Promise
One Poor Choice
One Wrong Glance
The Legacy Series
Atonement
Legacy of Freedom
Legacy of Faithfulness
The Witch of Endor Series
Laid Bare
Ripped Open
Torn Apart
The Harper’s Cove Series
Karen and Brett at 326 Harper’s Cove
Becca and Greg at 314 Harper’s Cove
Donna and Connor at 228 Harper’s Cove
Savannah and Martin at 219 Harper’s Cove
Cheryl and Samuel at 323 Harper’s Cove
Tasha and Davis at 333 Harper’s Cove
Lily and Brock at 343 Harper’s Cove
Siobhán and Gabhain at 241 Harper's Cove
The Me, You, and Us Series
Adventurous Me
Unforgettable You
Incredible Us
The Celtic Fan (independent novel)
Rough Stock (part of the Bad Girls of Romance Series)
The Silent Cove Series
Awakening
Retribution, by Anne L. Parks
Banishing, by Jax Jillian
There are many more books in this fan fiction world than listed here, for an up-to-date list go to www.AcesPress.com
You can also visit our Amazon page at:
http://www.amazon.com/author/operationalpha
Special Forces: Operation Alpha World
Denise Agnew: Dangerous to Hold
Shauna Allen: Awakening Aubrey
Shauna Allen: Defending Danielle
Shauna Allen: Rescuing Rebekah
Shauna Allen: Saving Scarlett
Shauna Allen: Saving Grace
Brynne Asher: Blackburn
Jennifer Becker: Hiding Catherine
Julia Bright: Saving Lorelei
Julia Bright: Rescuing Amy
Victoria Bright: Surviving Savage
Victoria Bright: Going Ghost
Victoria Bright: Jostling Joker
Cara Carnes: Protecting Mari
Kendra Mei Chailyn: Beast
Kendra Mei Chailyn: Barbie
Kendra Mei Chailyn : Pitbull
Melissa Kay Clarke: Rescuing Annabeth
Melissa Kay Clarke: Safeguarding Miley
Samantha A. Cole: Handling Haven
Samantha A. Cole: Cheating the Devil
Sue Coletta: Hacked
Melissa Combs: Gallant
KaLyn Cooper: Rescuing Melina
Liz Crowe: Marking Mariah
Jordan Dane: Redemption for Avery
Jordan Dane: Fiona’s Salvation
Riley Edwards: Protecting Olivia
Riley Edwards: Redeeming Violet
&
nbsp; Riley Edwards, Recovering Ivy
Nicole Flockton: Protecting Maria
Nicole Flockton: Guarding Erin
Nicole Flockton: Guarding Suzie
Nicole Flockton: Guarding Brielle
Casey Hagen: Shielding Nebraska
Casey Hagen: Shielding Harlow
Casey Hagen: Shielding Josie
Casey Hagen: Shielding Blair
Desiree Holt: Protecting Maddie
Kathy Ivan: Saving Sarah
Kathy Ivan: Saving Savannah
Kathy Ivan: Saving Stephanie
Jesse Jacobson: Protecting Honor
Jesse Jacobson: Fighting for Honor
Jesse Jacobson: Defending Honor
Jesse Jacobson: Summer Breeze
Silver James: Rescue Moon
Silver James: SEAL Moon
Silver James: Assassin’s Moon
Silver James: Under the Assassin’s Moon
Becca Jameson: Saving Sofia
Kate Kinsley: Protecting Ava
Heather Long: Securing Arizona
Heather Long: Guarding Gertrude
Heather Long: Protecting Pilar
Heather Long: Covering Coco
Gennita Low: No Protection
Kirsten Lynn: Joining Forces for Jesse
Margaret Madigan: Bang for the Buck
Margaret Madigan: Buck the System
Margaret Madigan: Jungle Buck
Margaret Madigan: December Chill
Rachel McNeely: The SEAL’s Surprise Baby
Rachel McNeely: The SEAL’s Surprise Bride
Rachel McNeely: The SEAL’s Surprise Twin
KD Michaels: Saving Laura
KD Michaels: Protecting Shane
KD Michaels: Avenging Angels
Wren Michaels: The Fox & The Hound
Wren Michaels: The Fox & The Hound 2
Wren Michaels: Shadow of Doubt
Justice for Aleta Page 17
