Still the One

by Belle Calhoune

  Still the One

  Belle Calhoune

  Seven boys were adopted from the foster care system by Alec and Maggie Donahue, a loving Irish couple living in Breeze Point, Cape Cod. Now grown men, the brothers are making their way in the world in their chosen professions, each hoping to find a love to last a lifetime. Faith. Family. Honor. And an abundance of love.

  Seven Brides, Seven Brothers series

  The Hero

  Ryder Donahue, a paramedic, lost his wife, Lena, to cancer four and a half years ago. Despite his devastating loss, Ryder has continued to make strides toward healing, earning the reputation of ‘hero’ as he saves lives on a daily basis. When he begins to experience romantic feelings towards his best friend and paramedic partner, Tess Dailey, he resists putting his heart on the line a second time.

  Tess Dailey has always been in love with her partner and best friend, Ryder Donahue. She's hidden her feelings for six long years, but when an unexpected kiss occurs at a Donahue family wedding, things get complicated between them. Being in love with a man who's afraid to love again requires courage. Will she risk it all by staking a claim on the love of a lifetime?

  Seven Brides, Seven Brothers Series

  For all the wonderful readers who have embraced the Donahue family. And for my writer friends who have supported me with unconditional love and support.

  A Note from Belle

  Thank you for all the support and love for this series. This series is really a love letter to large families. I have a lot of admiration for those who adopt children into their families. It is a leap of faith, a great act of love and devotion. Lives are changed every day by this beautiful gift of love. In this series, the seven Donahue brothers were all adopted from the foster care system by Alec and Maggie Donahue, two incredible people. What the Donahues instilled in their boys reverberates through their lives and extends to the women they fall in love with over the course of their individual journeys. Thank you for coming along for the ride!

  Look for me at www.bellecalhoune.com or on Twitter @BelleCalhoune. Join me on Facebook at Author Belle Calhoune.

  Copyright 2014 by Belle Calhoune

  All Rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher and author, except where permitted by law.

  Cover art by Niina Cord

  http://niinascoverdesign.weebly.com

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  The little boy sat at the old woman's hospital bed, his cherubic face streaked with tears. He bit down hard on his lip, trying to stop himself from letting out a wail of sorrow. No matter how many times he'd prayed to God to save Nana, she was taking her last breaths. The lady doctor had told him a few hours ago that there was nothing more to be done for his grandmother. One of the nurses had asked him who she should call to take him home, and he'd told her there was no one else. It was just the two of them. There would be no one else to love him after Nana went to glory.

  Nana clutched at his hand, her wrinkled, freckled skin a comfort to him, even in this terrible moment. He'd always loved the way her skin felt whenever she touched him; soft yet strong. Loving yet disciplined. “Ryder, please don't be sad. I've had a long life, and it's been better than most, largely due to you. You've given me more love in the last ten years than in my whole life combined.

  I just wish that I could live a few more years and see you grow up.”

  “I don't want you to go, Nana,” he cried out. “I want you to stay here with me. For always.”

  “Oh, baby. It's in the Lord's hands. If I could stay here with you, I promise you I would.” Her voice shuddered and creaked like a windswept tree.

  “Where will I go?” he whispered, the ache in his soul pressing against his chest like a sharp knife. “Who will love me now?”

  Then she smiled at him, a beautiful, angelic smile that went straight to the center of his heart. “You're going to be fine, Ryder. I've made some arrangements for you.” She began to cough violently, her small frame wracked by the tremendous effort. “I knew this day was coming upon us quicker than we both might like.” Her yellowed teeth were on full display as her lips parted in a tender smile. “You're going to be a part of a wonderful family, my love. And they won't be able to help loving you, Ryder. There will always be someone to love you.”

  He reached for her, pressing her hand tightly as the reality sunk in that he was losing her. Second by second, she was slipping away from him, and there wasn't a single thing he could do to stop it from happening. “But you're my family. You always said that. I don't want to go live with people I don't even know.”

  “Oh, Ryder. Please don't say that. They're wonderful people. They live in Cape Cod, right by the water. You know how much you adore being outdoors. And they have a few other children who've come to live with them recently...boys, all of them. You'll fit right in.”

  “But I want to stay with you, Nana. For always.”

  Nana shook her head as a tear slid down her face. “Where I'm going you can't follow. Not now. You've got too much living to do, my love.”

  Ryder's mind was racing with a hundred different thoughts. “But these people. How will they find me?”

  “Don't worry. I placed a call to my old friend Mrs. Worther this morning. She's setting the wheels in motion. Someone from the hospital will call her when—.”

  “When you're dead? Is that it? When you leave me!” he shouted.

  “Shh...hush.” She reached for him, cradling his head in her lap as she smoothed down the dark tufts of hair. “We can't question why things happen. All we can do is have faith that we're never alone in the world. There's always someone keeping watch over us.”

  Ryder couldn't hold back the tears now, no matter how he tried. His pain went too deep. “Why does everybody leave me?”

  “I'll never leave you. Not really.” Her breathing sounded ragged and labored to his ears. All the color had drained from her face. “I hope you always feel that love, Ryder. Put it in your pocket and carry it around with you. You are so very loved.”

  “I love you too, Nana. I love you more than anyone. And I always will.” He reached out and pressed a kiss on her leathery cheek, loving the smell of roses hovering around her. She let out a sigh, her chest heaving in and out until it suddenly stilled. Next to the hospital bed the monitors began beeping like crazy, issuing a high pitched sound that made him want to cover his ears. Suddenly the room was filled with people rushing all around. One of the nurses gently pried him away from his grandmother.

  There was a hush in the room as all eyes turned towards him. Through a haze he heard the words “she's gone” as his knees buckled and he sank to the floor.

  The pain cut so deep he almost felt as if he would die from it. He was alone. Again. Achingly, desperately alone. And he couldn't help but think there must be something about him that made people leave him. Something wrong inside of him that caused all this pain. He loved Nana with every bit of his soul, yet it hadn't been enough to keep her in this world. The cost of loving was too high. If he lived to be a hundred, he was never going to love anybody ever again. That was the only way of making sure his heart stayed in one piece.

  “I want you to find someone to love after I'm gone. Becau
se, more than anyone I've ever known, you deserve to be loved.” Lena Donahue

  Chapter One

  Ryder Donahue woke up on a bright spring morning feeling a little bit out of sorts. Today was his younger brother, Blue's, wedding day. He, along with his five brothers, was standing up for Blue today. There was no way, he'd said, that he could choose a best man amongst his band of brothers. They were all too close to hand-pick one above all the rest. That was just the way it should be, considering they were all branches of the same mighty oak tree.

  It would be a day of unbridled celebration for the blessed couple, who had been estranged for four long years. Four years ago, Blue had been two hours late for his wedding to Sarah Dalton, and although his reasons had been profound, he hadn't been able to express himself to his bride-to-be. Their relationship shattered, they'd both gone their separate ways, only to be thrown together a few weeks ago in the midst of a Donahue family crisis. In addition to marrying Sarah, Blue had recently opened a media company in Breeze Point, planting roots in his hometown after years of being an international journalist.

  Although he was overjoyed about Blue finding his way back to the love of his life, there was a part of him that ached a little bit. For the Donahue clan, today would be filled with joy and an abundance of love, but for him, it would also be filled with painful reminders of the woman he'd lost. Dear sweet Lena, his beautiful, young wife, gone way too soon due to a ruthless form of cancer. It felt as if she'd slipped out of his fingers like sand through an hourglass. He missed being in love. He ached to hold hands with someone. He'd give anything to close his eyes when the day was done, knowing that the woman he loved was lying next to him all through the night. Those days were gone forever, and even though the ache had lessened, he was still feeling a bit lost.

  When he got up and stretched, the first thing to greet him was a black and white photo of Lena perched on his bedside table. In the snapshot she was sitting on the beach gazing up at the sun, her hands outstretched in celebration of a glorious Cape Cod beach day. He let out a ragged sigh. A tight feeling expanded across his chest. Some days the grief still continued to wash over him in small waves. He still missed her, although he had to admit things had gotten a lot better. In the first year after his wife's passing, the pain gnawed at him until he thought he'd go a little crazy with it. He'd been out of his mind with grief, so much so that he'd turned his back on everything and anything in his world. His family, his job, his faith. That period hadn't lasted too long, since his brothers had set him straight about cleaving to family and friends in times of crisis.

  He chuckled at the memory of his six brothers storming his house and cornering him about the situation. Not that he'd needed the reminder, but it had served as indelible proof of the bond they shared. All seven of the Donahue boys had been adopted by their parents, Alec and Maggie Donahue. They'd all been wards of the foster care system before finding a permanent home with the Donahues. Wyatt. Remy. Blue. Brandon. Mac. And Nick. He couldn't love his brothers any more fiercely had they shared the same blood or come from the same womb. And his parents. It was safe to say he truly believed they hung the moon. It was because of the two of them that he'd enjoyed a healthy, loving marriage with Lena. They'd shown him love and devotion, as well as modeling a wonderful marriage and partnership. Above all, they'd taught him to honor his faith and to lean on the Lord in times of trouble. And to treasure their family and the tight bond they'd built.

  They'd almost lost Dad a few weeks ago from a stroke. In the midst of celebrating their parents' fortieth wedding anniversary, Alec Donahue had collapsed, after suffering a stroke. After being taken to the hospital and being listed in critical condition, Dad was now on the mend. He was working with a physical therapist, as well as a speech pathologist, on making his way back to full health. Although the situation had been dire, it had served to bring Sarah and Blue back together as a couple, as well as being the impetus for four of his brothers to move back to Breeze Point. Having the family all together as one big family unit filled one of the huge, gaping holes in Ryder's heart. Some holes, he knew, were incapable of being filled up. Some things just had to be endured.

  The sound of his doorbell ringing had him scrambling to the window to catch a glimpse of his early morning visitor. The sight of a bright yellow Jeep parked in his driveway quickly solved the mystery. There was only one person in all of Breeze Point who rolled like that. Grabbing a sweatshirt, he pulled it on over his head and made his way downstairs to the front door. When he opened it up his partner, Tess Dailey, was standing there with a huge grin on her face. With her long auburn hair and big green eyes, Tess was a striking beauty. Sometimes, like at this very moment, it took his breath away a little bit.

  “Tess! What are you doing here at this brutal hour?”

  She shoved a cup of coffee at him. “Coffee. Piping hot, delicious coffee. I thought you might need it after last night.” Ryder stepped aside and ushered her inside the house. Since Tess was such a frequent visitor, she didn't really need an invitation. Normally, she just made herself right at home by kicking off her shoes or taking a seat at his kitchen counter.

  Last night they'd worked a shift together, which ended up being non-stop action. It had been a crazy night filled with car accidents, a prescription overdose, a teenage skateboarding accident and a senior citizen suffering an asthma attack. Tess had more than held her own in the frenetic, high-stakes pace. She'd come a long way, he realized, from the new employee who'd been lacking confidence as well as skill. She'd earned any and all kudos sent her way.

  Tess headed towards his kitchen and sat down in one of the stools at his counter, heaving a great sigh as she did so. She had a tendency towards the dramatic, which always gave him a laugh or two.

  “What's with you?” he asked, his eyes raking over the beautiful landscape of her face.

  “Nothing,” Tess answered with wide eyes. She blinked a few times. “Well, there's a little something. I got a call from my mom this morning. Seems my brother, Seth, has cut out again. She's called the police, but they're getting a little sick of all these runaway calls.”

  Ryder raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been keeping count, but Seth had run away at least half a dozen times in the last year. The Brimley, New Hampshire police department couldn't continue to use their resources for an almost-seventeen-year-old who didn't want to stay put.

  Tess bit her lip. “This is the seventh time he's run off. She wants me to come home, but I really don't know what good that will do.” Ryder bit down on his rising anger. Tess' mother was proving to be a very selfish, unstable woman. She was now married to her fourth husband, a fact he was convinced was part of the reason Seth wanted to live outside the home. Last he'd heard she was getting a divorce and had a new, twenty something boyfriend. Now she wanted Tess to run back home and solve all the problems her erratic lifestyle had created. He wished just once that Tess would be straight with her mother and tell her to stop dragging her into these messes.

  “Don't even think about it!” he growled, his overprotective side kicking into high gear. Tess was like a little sister to him. The thought of her mother taking advantage of her caring nature burned right through him. “You can't solve your mother's problems, Tess.”

  Tess sighed again. “I know. It's just that she said maybe if I come home for a little while Seth will come back on his own.”

  Ryder locked gazes with Tess. “For how long? A day? A week?”

  Tess shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe until he's eighteen. Then he can do as he pleases, maybe go to college and get a nice little job to support himself.” Ryder didn't want to sound negative, but he needed Tess to take her blinders off and realize that Seth wasn't exactly on the college track. He'd been arrested a few times for reckless endangerment and disturbing the peace. It sounded as if he needed a little more help before he was able to turn his life around. As long as he kept running away and not dealing with his problems head on, Ryder worried about Tess getting dragged into all the turmo
il.

  “Tess,” Ryder said gently, “you can't expect for everything to just fall into place.”

  “Why not?” she asked with wide eyes. Her voice cracked a little and tears pooled in her eyes. “You have to have a little faith. Otherwise, the whole thing just seems too overwhelming.” Tears ran down her face and she let out a cry of anguish.

  With a groan, Ryder jumped up out of his seat and went over to Tess. He swooped down and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her as if she were a small, fragile child. He couldn't stand the thought of Tess being sad. It made his insides feel as if they were being torn apart. Because of his own fractured childhood, he knew all too well the lingering effects of a dysfunctional upbringing. Tess' early life had involved a revolving door of men in her mother's life. And she'd moved from state to state, new school to new school, all due to her mother chasing a dream wrapped around a man.

  Tess' shoulders heaved as she fought back sobs. He knew Tess all too well to believe that this was just a moment of weakness. Tess was one of the strongest people he knew, and she tended to hide her emotions behind a smile. The situation had to have been really weighing on her for a long time to elicit this strong gust of emotion.

  As his grip tightened on Tess, he began to feel an overwhelming need to take away every ounce of her sadness. In this moment, it was all that mattered. The feeling swelled and soared inside him. Being close to Tess like this was causing a flood of emotions to roar through him. As he inhaled the soft, sweet scent of her shampoo an uncomfortable feeling began to overwhelm him. His chest tightened with a strange sensation he hadn't felt in years. What would it be like, he wondered, to turn her face upwards towards him and plant a tender kiss on her lips? Just imagining the sweet taste of her ruby lips caused a deep longing to bubble up inside of him. Just one kiss.