Declare (Declan Reede: The Untold Story #4)

by Michelle Irwin

  Danny was on hand almost immediately to ensure that I filed a police report about Hunter’s actions, no doubt to ensure there was a justifiable reason to break the contract. In turn, Hunter threatened to press charges against me for Bathurst, but nothing more came of it before he disappeared. I could only assume someone warned him that the situation would be worse for him than for me if the reason behind my fury came to light.

  It would have been nice to say that Hunter got everything he deserved in the years since, but I honestly didn’t know if he did. As far as the media was concerned, there was a whirl of controversy over his sudden departure from the Sinclair Racing camp. Alyssa and I organised an AVO against him, ensuring he would keep his distance from us.

  The last we’d heard of him, he was in the United States, racing trucks or some shit.

  After Hunter’s departure, Danny had been in need of a new driver. Morgan’s doctors were still unwilling to sign off on his injuries, which meant he was unable to drive for a little while longer—at least until the new season. Finding himself driverless, Danny did the only logical thing he could. He recruited a driver who’d come back from hiatus to race, and place, at Bathurst.

  Dane Kent accepted the offer impossibly fast; probably because the time away from the track, followed by such a successful run at Bathurst, had rekindled his love of racing.

  Even though I’d spent the better part of the year desperate to be back in the main seat, I wasn’t upset that Dane had been offered Hunter’s place. In fact, I’d been the one who’d suggested the placement. I’d been more than happy to continue my apprenticeship and complete the Micro Challenge to see out my year.

  The main reason I was okay with it was that I had my own ideas for what the new racing year would bring for me. My small taste at team ownership had changed my entire perspective. On top of that, the persistent rumours that Wood Racing was struggling because Paige had been unable to secure a decent driver, and therefore the almighty sponsorship dollar, hadn’t escaped my attention. After consulting with Alyssa, and getting her agreement, we came up with a plan.

  When I’d approached Danny with my idea, around the same time I’d suggested Dane as a replacement for Hunter, he’d been more than supportive. Between the two of us, we were able to knock out a deal with Paige that would see the end of an era for her, but the start of a new one for me. Emmanuel Racing, a subsidiary of Sinclair, was to be raised from the ashes of Wood Racing. Based in Brisbane, my team would operate out of the former Wood premises.

  I’d ridden the high of my Bathurst result and the contract on Wood Racing for a long time. The euphoria of my career highs took me right through to Christmas of that year. That was when Morgan and Eden had used the staff Christmas party to announce a little surprise. They had wanted to wait for Morgan to make a full recovery before getting married, but had used that time for their own form of physical therapy. All that therapy earned them something else. They were expecting. Alyssa and I had given each other a secret smile, hoping that we might have our own announcement before too long.

  It was only later that week, when Christmas day rolled around, that I discovered Alyssa’s smile had held a few more secrets than my own, and every career achievement took a back seat to the knowledge that I was going to be a daddy again—and this time, I’d have the opportunity to do it right from the beginning.

  I threw myself into researching pregnancy and childbirth. I didn’t care if she’d been there and done that; I hadn’t, and I wanted to make sure I was prepared now that it was real and happening. Phoebe was beyond excited when we told her we’d have a new little brother or sister for her, due near her birthday.

  The new year brought our belated honeymoon to London, where I’d fussed over everything Alyssa ate, touched, and did. Whenever she couldn’t get a seat on the tube or a bus, I would growl and complain until people vacated theirs. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to make her pregnancy as comfortable and safe as possible. Truthfully, I probably pissed her off to no end. It was testament to her love for me that she didn’t snap at me for being over the top. Of course, that didn’t mean I escaped the hormones scot-free.

  To facilitate the start of the new team, my little family had moved back to Brisbane soon after returning from our overseas trip. By March, we were settled in a new house in Ormeau, and Phoebe had started her prep year at school. Even though Alyssa never said it in so many words, I think she loved the fact that we were close to her family again. It was probably one of the main reasons she’d agreed to take the risk of team ownership.

  As per our deal, Paige stayed on as team manager during the transitional year, but I was secure in the knowledge that I was ultimately her boss.

  Initially, we’d run just the one car, but after three years of running a successful team, an opportunity had come up to purchase an additional CAMS licence from another dying company. We’d jumped at the chance to run two main cars, plus one in the production series. The business may have been a success, but neither Alyssa nor I were willing to overlook a new avenue for expansion. I was savvier with contracts than I had ever been before, and I had Alyssa to thank for that.

  Even now, so many years later, Danny was still a silent partner. I’d offered to buy him out a couple of times, but he wasn’t silly. He liked the return on investment he received, without having to be hands-on running two teams. Ultimately though, he caused me no stress so I was content with the partnership. In fact, without the heavy mentoring he’d given during the first few years, Emmanuel Racing might never have been the success it was.

  The only sad thing for me was that the current season was my final year racing. I needed to spend more time nurturing new talent and ensuring we were competitive year after year well into the future and long after my own retirement.

  “Sweetie, it’s time,” Alyssa murmured from behind me, startling me away from my memories.

  “Yeah?” I asked, placing my hand over her swollen belly. It wasn’t my first rodeo, but somehow the moment managed to make me nervous every time.

  She nodded. “They’re very close together now. Just a couple of minutes.”

  It would be easy to assume that having been through the whole baby thing before, it would get easier, but no. I was as unsure as I had been the other times, first with Brock five years ago, and then with Beth a little over a year after that.

  My palms were sweaty as I grabbed Alyssa’s hospital bag and the car keys.

  “Remember, you’re not racing now.” Alyssa grinned to let me know she was joking, right before biting her lip and folding in half as the pain of another contraction hit.

  I placed my hand on the small of her back and massaged tiny circles until she stood again and shuffled forward a little more.

  “Mum, Dad, we’re going now!” I called out, ensuring the babysitters knew they were up to the plate.

  Curtis stepped out and helped me guide Alyssa into the car.

  “You take care of my baby now,” he warned after she was safely in, pointing his index finger at me and giving me a stern look.

  “I always do.”

  He nodded and smiled. “I know.”

  It had been a hard road, getting Curtis onside, but eventually we’d found common ground—Alyssa and his grandkids—and it was almost impossible to imagine how much I used to fear him or how much animosity had been between us.

  “Stop daydreaming and let’s go,” Alyssa demanded, leaning across the car to shout through the driver-side window.

  “Yes, boss.”

  ALYSSA’S FACE was flushed and sweat made her hair cling to her. She was exhausted and showed the obvious signs of being awake for almost twenty-four hours straight. I didn’t care about any of that though, because in her arms she held yet another tiny miracle.

  Each time I’d witnessed one of our perfect children come into the world, I longed to get right on to creating another. I couldn’t believe that I’d ever not wanted kids. I didn’t think I’d ever get sick of having more.

  Al
yssa, however, tended to disagree. In fact, I was certain she would declare that this time was her last, just like she had after each of the others.

  As I plucked our son from Alyssa’s hold so she could go freshen up, I knew I had, at most, half an hour alone with them both before the horde showed up. It was times like those that I was glad we’d made the shift back to Brisbane. I thought about how lucky I was to be so close to family and friends.

  I was contemplating how lucky I was and had become lost in the eyes of my third-born son when I heard Josh’s voice.

  “Is he daydreaming again?” Josh’s laughter filled the air.

  “He does it a lot.” Alyssa was smiling, the signs of fatigue washed away by the shower she’d had while I’d grown acquainted with little Parker.

  “Is this the little one who’s caused you so much trouble?” Ruby asked, reaching out to take Parker from my arms.

  Alyssa grimaced at the memory of what had been a terrible pregnancy; one that had included morning sickness, fainting, fatigue, and two stays in hospital. “That’s the one. The last one,” she added, shooting me a pointed glance.

  “Maybe,” I said as I sat on Alyssa’s bed, pulling her in to my side as she cuddled up against me. Noah gave me a shy smile as he waved from behind Ruby’s legs. It was hard to believe that the boisterous and outspoken parents that were Ruby and Josh could have produced such a quiet little man.

  “When are Mum and Dad getting here?” Alyssa asked.

  “As soon as they can get Beth into her car seat, no doubt.” Ruby laughed.

  “Yeah, they were struggling with that when they rang me earlier,” Josh said.

  I laughed. Besides Phoebe, Beth was certainly the one most like me. At two, she was a major handful. Surprisingly though, Curtis and Ruth turned up minutes later with the rest of our family. Beth ran over to sit between Alyssa and me on the bed, and Phoebe held Brock’s hand. I gave her a smile that I reserved just for her. Although I loved all my kids the same, I’d always feel guilty about not being there for the first few years of her life, and tried everything I could to make it up to her.

  Glancing around the room, I wondered vaguely when my own mother would come. As if on cue, she knocked on the door before entering the room.

  “Flynn’s out in the waiting room,” she said as she came in.

  “Tell him to sneak in. I’m sure the nurses won’t mind.” I’d already managed to get most of them onside about the growing number of visitors to our room, with a few smiles and an autograph or two.

  Moments later, Mum came back in with Flynn and his boyfriend, Luke. Luke placed a vase of flowers on the side table, giving me a little wink as he did so.

  Once, only seven years earlier, I’d thought I had everything figured out. I’d thought I was better off without Alyssa, without kids, without anything or anyone that currently filled the hospital room.

  Looking around at all the faces, and feeling the warmth of love surrounding me, I couldn’t help but think what a fucking dickhead I’d been.

  STAY TUNED FOR MORE OF THE UNTOLD STORY

  PHASE

  THE UNTOLD STORY #5

  AUGUST 2016

  If you enjoyed this book, please let others know by sharing your thoughts on the Declare page on Goodreads, Booklikes, Amazon, and your other favorite review sites.

  Thank you

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Michelle Irwin has been many things in her life: a hobbit taking a precious item to a fiery mountain; a young child stepping through the back of a wardrobe into another land; the last human stranded not-quite-alone in space three million years in the future; a young girl willing to fight for the love of a vampire; and a time-travelling madman in a box. She achieved all of these feats and many more through her voracious reading habit. Eventually, so much reading had to have an effect and the cast of characters inside her mind took over and spilled out onto the page.

  Michelle lives in sunny Queensland in the land down under with her surprisingly patient husband and ever-intriguing daughter, carving out precious moments of writing and reading time around her accounts-based day job. A lover of love and overcoming the odds, she primarily writes paranormal and fantasy romance.

  Comments, questions, and suggestions for improvements are always welcome. You can reach me at writeonshell@outlook.com or through my website www.michelle-irwin.com. Thanks in advance for your correspondence.

  You can also connect with me online via

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