We all went to high school together. Greer was a star baseball player. Becky was the school slut. She bragged about wanting to be gang banged by the whole baseball team. We graduated and Greer was going to play in the minor leagues, he was that good.
Until Becky popped up pregnant with Kylie. Being a good guy, Greer found some trucking company to pay for his driving school and hit the open road. Now he drives more local for the most part, only taking occasional out of town loads so he can be there for Kylie’s softball games.
The whole town talks about how she tied him down, taking his money at every opportunity. This isn’t the first time Becky’s had the water turned off, the lights, and even gone to the grocery store with no money. Everyone knows she’s unreliable at best.
He takes side jobs when he can. He even mows the lawn for my grandmother in the summer. I’ve been at her house cleaning and I can admit to drooling on more than one occasion at the man’s body as he pushes the old mower with his shirt off and sweat dripping off every cut of his muscles.
It’s not long before Greer walks in. He’s tall and has to duck to get in the doors. His dark hair is short. For a man who lives life half the time in the cab of a truck, his face isn’t bushy in a wild way. He has beard but it’s well groomed. I can see where many women wish he was on the market for even a single night. He’s in jeans that are made to hug his ass, cowboy boots, and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up showing off his tattooed forearms.
Plastering on my best work smile, I shift my eyes in Becky’s direction where she immediately pushes off the wall and rushes to him. While she fights to wrap her arms around what she considers her man, he keeps her at arms distance.
“Just give me the cash, I’ll take care of it Greer. You can get back to work.”
“No,” he says sternly. With his back to me, I can see his stiff posture only growing tighter. “Last time, shit didn’t get paid. Kylie had to use the showers at school like it was home. Told my girl it wouldn’t happen again.” He pauses and Becky finally stops smacking her gum at what I can only assume is because of the look on his face. “I’ll take care of it because it won’t happen again.” His voice is firm in a way that would make me want to jump.
He turns around and heads straight for my desk. Reaching in his back pocket, he pulls out his wallet. Tossing down five one hundred dollar bills, he nods to me.
“That’ll take care of it, Lia.” I nod and begin to process the payment and reconnect request. “Anything over, make it roll into a bill credit so, at least, I’ll have a month of peace. I’ll come by next week get the shit changed into my name and on auto draft.”
“Oh no you won’t,” Becky yells tugging on Greer’s arm. “My house, my utilities. You won’t leave me Greer Jones with no lights and power.” He shakes his head at her.
“Really, Becky? This shit again! Have I left your ass without before? All these fuckin’ years, Becky, all the shit you’ve done, I ever let you go without?”
I hear Becky mumbling to Greer to just leave before he looks to me. “Make sure to give me a receipt when you finish putting that in, Lia, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all,” I reply sweetly realizing he’s very onto her game with the bills and his money. I like that; no I respect it.
I study the two of them out of the corner of my eye as I wait for the computer to update. Rumor has it he dumped her years ago. Kylie has told Jaylene that her dad sleeps on the couch. He only lives there to be able to see her. Watching Becky and Greer interact, it’s clear she really has lost him.
Yet, the way she paws and whines at him, I don’t think she wants to accept that it’s over.
The man is sexy as sin, hardworking, and a devoted dad. Sure, it can’t be easy, but I wouldn’t want to let someone like that go for sure. Becky needs to grow up so she can see what’s right in front of her face before it’s really gone forever or let go so Greer can have a life.
This story continues on in Mother Trucker (Bad Boys of the Road) available now through all major e-book retailers!
Excerpt from One Last Snowy Christmas by AF Crowell
One Last Snowy Christmas
An O’Loughlin Brothers Novella
A.F. Crowell
Copyright © 2017 by A.F. Crowell
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Editing by: Virginia Tesi Carey & Chelsea Camaron
Cover Design by: A.F. Crowell
Formatting by: Type A Formatting
This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Prologue
MARIA
Taking one more deep breath, I tried to settle the butterflies in my stomach. Looking down at my wedding dress, I flattened my hand and smoothed down the chiffon skirt that had ruffled in the summer breeze. I had chosen something simple but elegant since we were getting married on the farm.
Today was my new beginning. After my shitstorm of a marriage ended, I told myself I would never marry again.
Then I met Scott.
He swept me off my feet in ways I had never experienced before. It wasn’t trips to Bora Bora or expensive dinners like my first husband, Benjamin, would plan and end up working through. It was the little things that had real meaning that made me swoon. Like the time he cooked me dinner and took me out riding on my birthday. He also brought me my favorite pizza on his lunch break because he knew the veterinary practice I worked at was always crazy. Then there were the soft kisses and the way he played with my hair while we watched a movie. And the flowers for no reason. He was always so thoughtful.
Unlike Benjamin, Scott was a family man. He lived on his family’s farm in North East just over the line in Maryland with three sons of his own. Storm was the oldest at nine-precocious-years-old, followed by Cooper at five, and Ashton at two. Scott became fiercely protective of the trio after their mother, Crystal, walked out on them just months after Ashton was born. He was a great single dad for almost two years before I came into the picture. He did it all. It touched my heart simply to see the man with his sons, but getting to know him as a man, I fell madly, deeply in love.
I thought back to the moment we were introduced. Scott and I met when I came out to the farm with Doctor Erin Crothers to help draw blood and do an annual checkup on the horses. I would never be able to forget the way my knees almost buckled when I hopped down out of the Ford F-150 as Scott strolled out of the barn. Dressed in snug, well-worn Levi’s and a tight-fitting white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up showing off his strong, tan arms, he was drop-dead sexy and he didn’t even know it.
It didn’t take him long to ask me out, but it did take a few months before he introduced me to the boys. The care he took with them might have been one of the things I loved the most about him. He was nurturing, but took no shit. Firm but soft, the perfect balance for what his sons needed.
“Maria.” Storm ran into the barn where I asked Olivia, our neighbor and close friend, to send all three boys. “Kinsley’s momma said you were lookin’ for us.” Cooper wasn’t far behind him, and Ashton beat them both getting to me first.
“I was.” I smiled softly to the boys. “Storm… Let’s sit down for just a minute, boys, before it’s time for me to walk down to your daddy.” I moved toward a bale of hay that had a clean horse blanket draped over it. In my left hand, I held a bouquet of simple red roses. In the other, I held Ashton’s.
All three boys were dressed in black slacks and white button-downs. They were the
most handsome little boys I had ever seen.
“I just want you three to know that I love you each with all of my heart,” I started, but was quickly interrupted.
“But if you love me with all your heart there won’t be nothin’ left for Storm or Ash,” Cooper declared, waving his little arms with his brow all scrunched up.
“No, honey, when you love someone as much as I love you boys and your daddy, your heart grows bigger so you have more love to give. Your heart can be as big as the moon if you love the right way,” I told them confidently. Over the last two years, I had fallen in love with each one of Scott’s sons. Although it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows, they were still my heart.
“I like your dress,” Ashton said, climbing up next to me on the hay bale.
I tucked him under my arm. “Thank you, Ash. You all look quite dashing.”
“What’s that mean?” Cooper crossed his arms over his chest with a cute scowl on his face.
“It means we look good, silly,” Storm enlightened him, cocking his head to the side.
I chuckled. “Yes, it means you look handsome.”
Cooper’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh, okay.”
One of the barn swallows swooped in through the door and flew into the last box stall on the right and Ash’s eyes lit up, his hand patting my arm. “That bird flied in Hank’s stall.”
I giggled. “It did, but it flew into Hank’s stall, honey.” I made sure to emphasize the correct word.
He turned and looked at me, his little cherub cheeks rosy from running around. “Huh?”
“It’s flew, not flied.”
Ashton shrugged his shoulders. “You say flew and I’ll say flied, okay?”
I burst out laughing. Who could argue with that sweet face?
After we all giggled for a minute, I smiled and looked into each one of their adorable faces, mesmerized by their identical hazel eyes. “I know we’ve talked about this day a lot over the last few weeks, but I want to be sure you guys are still okay with me being a part of your family.”
“You’re not gonna leave us like Momma did, right?” Cooper asked bluntly. That was Cooper: fiercely independent, strong, and honest to a fault. Whatever was on his mind came out of his mouth.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” I reached out a hand to him, which he promptly took and allowed me to pull him into my arms, holding him tight. “I can’t promise that it’s always gonna be easy, boys, but I’ll be here for you. No matter what.”
“I lub you.” Ashton stood up on the stacked hay, wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. Ashton still had this innocence to him that wasn’t tainted by his mother’s abandonment. He let go of things and didn’t seem to worry as much as the older two. I could only hope and pray later on it what she did doesn’t hurt him.
It would never get old hearing those words. “I love you, Ash.”
“I love you, too.” Cooper waited for Ash to release me before hugging my neck.
I wanted a minute alone with Storm as I was most concerned about him on that day. While he remembered his mother, the other two were too young. “Coop, can you take Ash to use the potty before we get started?” Cooper remembered the loss without the depth of it all, whereas Storm remembered what it was like to have his mother and the good times along with the bad.
“Sure. Come on Ash. Let’s go inside ‘cause Daddy said no peein’ on the barn today. We have to use our bestest manners.” Cooper took off toward the house, leaving poor little Ash in the dust, who took off doing his best to keep up.
“You okay, Storm? You’re pretty quiet.”
“I’m fine.”
In the beginning, Storm had a lot of trouble accepting me. I think in his little heart he held out the hope that his mother would come back one day.
“I know I’ve said it before, but I’m not tryin’ to take your Momma’s place. She’ll always be your mom, nothing will ever change that.” I watched him carefully. He always played his cards close to the vest, even at eleven years old. He studied me in return.
Chewing on the inside of his mouth, he was silent for a beat. “I don’t have a momma no more. She didn’t love us, so she left. We weren’t good enough.”
My heart shattered into tiny shards. I felt like I had just been gutted. I couldn’t believe we hadn’t seen it before. All of the anger and resentment wasn’t directed at me, well it was at me, but in his mind Crystal’s leaving was his fault.
“No, Storm.” I shook my head as tears welled in my eyes. “If you never believe anything else I say to you, believe this. You are good enough. You three boys are the best three boys a momma could ever ask for. I’m so lucky to have three stepsons like you guys.”
“What if you get mad at Dad too? Are you gonna leave like she did?” His name fit him so well. A storm brewed behind his hazel irises and I wanted nothing more than to give him peace.
“I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but as sure as I stand here, right now, I’ll always be here for you. No matter what. That’s the vow I make to you three today. I might not be your mom, but I’ll always protect you like I was. I promise.”
“Do you think it would be okay if you were our mom?” His question was barely a whisper on the wind, but it blew me away. The look in those eyes, I would never forget. The fear of rejection – it was something I’d move heaven and earth to never have to see again.
I swallowed back a bucketful of tears, cleared my throat and said, “I think that would make me the luckiest mom in the whole world.”
Standing, I opened my arms and waited for Storm to take the first step. In two quick steps, he threw his arms around my middle as I closed my arms around his shoulders, leaning down to kiss the top of his soft brown hair. “I love you, little man.”
“I… love you, too, Mom.”
Chapter one
SCOTT
Fourteen Years Later
Maria had been in the barn all afternoon with the farrier trying to get all seven of the horses taken care of before winter. Just before I pulled the meatloaf out of the oven, I caught sight of her shaking hands with Joe as he gathered his tools and packed his truck.
It didn’t matter how many years we had been together, I still hated watching another man touch her; even an innocent handshake from a guy I knew. In the beginning, it had taken all my willpower to not punch every guy who talked to her in the face. Over the years, my faith and trust grew, and I knew I had nothing to worry about. My Maria was nothing like my first wife, Crystal.
“Dad, are you still staring at Mom?” Ashton snuck up behind me, catching me off-guard.
“Jesus, son.” I wheeled around to face him, eyes wide. “Stop creepin’ up on people.” He smiled, quite pleased with himself. “And no, I wasn’t staring. I just happened to glance out the window and she was there.”
He chuckled, turning around and grabbing one of the rolls from the basket on the island. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that, Dad.”
The front door whooshed open and before I could yell at Ash, Maria said, “Don’t even think about eating that, young man. Dad’s cooked dinner and you can wait until it’s all ready.”
“But, I’m hungry,” Ash whined like a child, placing the dinner roll back where he got it from as I closed the oven, setting the pan of meatloaf on the stovetop. The whole house smelled of cumin seasoned beef, sautéed onions, and bell peppers.
Her eyes fell on me and she smiled sweetly, toeing off her shoes. “How much longer ‘til dinner, honey?”
“Ten minutes. I gotta put the ketchup stuff on and then put it back in for a few minutes.” I looked at my youngest son. “You won’t starve before then.”
“I might,” he challenged.
“Doubt it, bro,” Cooper shouted from the living room, where he watched television with his feet up on the coffee table. He had spent the day at the house even though he had a small apartment in town that he rented. The first deployment was the hardest; not seeing him across the dinner table or hearing h
ow his day had been. I was grateful for any time we got with him between missions and training.
Ashton scowled across the room at his older brother. “Who asked you?”
“Boys,” Maria warned, cutting her eyes at them as she padded over to me. “Hey, you.” She leaned up on her toes and tugged the front of my shirt, capturing my lips with hers.
“Hey, yourself,” I mumbled against her lush lips. “Keep kissing me like that and the kids will be on their own for dinner.”
Maria kissed me again, slipping a hand between us and running her hand down the front of my bulging zipper. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Gross,” Ash said, retreating from the dinner table to his bedroom.
“You guys need to get a room,” Cooper advised, his nose wrinkled.
“Hey, you two, knock it off. We might be older than you, but we aren’t dead.” I walked Maria backwards until she was pressed against the refrigerator, kissing her the whole way.
Cooper leapt off the couch, leaving Maggie, his wife, asleep on the opposite end. “I’m going to the barn.”
Maggie and Cooper started dating in high school and got engaged before his first deployment. I was a little concerned when he told me she would stay here and not be living with him on base. They had their reasons, but it didn’t make sense to me. Much of what Maggie did didn’t make sense to me.
* * *
Six days before Christmas, all the boys were home, and the house was full of family and friends. Storm had come home from North Carolina, where he worked as an apprentice to a blacksmith near Raleigh, and planned to stay two weeks.
Cooper was on leave from his latest deployment with the U.S. Army and he and Maggie had stopped over. They had been here more than at their own place, but I suspected that was to placate his mom. Maria both hated and loved the fact that Cooper had enlisted. I choose to focus on his dedication to his country rather than the danger he put himself in.
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