She picked up the mouse and got ready to open the story, but her writing program was already open. The final chapter of the original version of her story was being written right before her eyes. She could question how King Petros was doing this later. Right now, she had to figure out a way to stop him.
Sitting in front of the computer, she read the words, trying to determine how far Petros had gotten into the scene. It looked like the battle had just begun.
The armies met together in the valley, swords clashing as each man fought to defeat the other.
She hit the delete key on her keyboard, but a message came up on the screen telling her she was in “read only” mode and couldn’t edit the story. Gasping, she tried to modify the story again but got the same result. She gritted her teeth and hit the computer desk in aggravation. There had to be something she could do to get into the document!
After a moment to regroup, she had an idea. She went up to the menu of options she had available to her and went to “edit” then “select all” then copied it. She opened a new document. Glancing at what Petros was writing, she saw that he’d chosen a very bloody and violent final scene. Men were dying at a rapid rate, and she guessed the reason he even had to mention the deaths was because the armies would be protecting the king and queen at all costs.
She quickly returned to the new document, pasted everything from the story into it, and saved it. Then she closed the old document and moved it to the trash. After she emptied the trash, she set the mouse over the document and scrolled toward the end of it where the battle was still being written out.
Sandy called out to one of the men next to her, demanding to know where Blackheart was.
“He’s over there,” he called out and she followed his gaze. “Shall I slay him for you?”
“No. I’m going to do this myself.” She pulled on the horse’s reins and began making her way toward her enemy, slashing anyone who got in her way.
Blackheart slew another knight, his sword piercing through his heart and twisting it. As the knight leaned forward, he grabbed the helmet and pulled it off his head. He shoved his sword into the knight’s mouth and thrust it upward, effectively spilling the man’s brains all over his armor.
Sandy gagged. Petros was disgusting. She highlighted the entire paragraph describing Gavin killing the knight and deleted it, hoping the maneuver would work. She held her breath as the story seemed to pause before picking back up.
Gavin slew another knight with ease and headed for the queen.
It worked! She had managed to change the course of the scene. Her heart raced with a mixture of hope and fear. If she wasn’t careful, Petros could still succeed.
Taking a deep breath, she placed her fingers on the keyboard and typed, Sandy reached into the pouch hanging on the belt around her waist and pulled out a glowing blue stone. She whispered, “Rover” into it, knowing full well that as she spoke the unicorn’s name, it would have to do what she wished.
Petros made an attempt to delete what she typed.
She rewrote the word he deleted and proceeded to block him by adding, The unicorn appeared at once, it’s horn shining so brightly that it caused all of the men except for Gavin to go temporarily blind, thereby bringing the battle to an instant halt.
The unicorn found Gavin and headed for him, its horn aiming at him, Petros typed. Gavin—
She wrote, Gavin turned in time to avoid being slain and rode his horse toward Sandy.
He brought his sword up, Petros typed.
Then threw it to the ground, she added.
Sandy flung her sword at him, Petros typed.
But he dodged it so he remained unharmed. She released an anxious breath and continued, “Find Petros and slay him at once,” Sandy told Rover who hastened to obey.
But was sidetracked, Petros typed.
Then found Petros.
Who used his magic to—
But it didn’t work and the unicorn killed him before he could write one more word in this story.
She waited, her hands shaking as she stared at the blinking cursor, wondering if her ploy had worked. When nothing happened, she swallowed and ventured to type more to see if Petros would throw something in.
She led her horse to Gavin, mindful to avoid the men who remained on their horses, still blinded for the moment.
When Petros didn’t type anything, she began to relax. Maybe it really had worked. Maybe the unicorn had killed him for her. She hadn’t known where to find him, but the unicorn was supposed to know where everything and everyone was because of its horn that acted like an enchanted compass. Maybe he found Petros and did as she wanted. Encouraged, she continued typing.
Sandy held her hand out to Gavin, her palm up, and showed him the stone. “This is an enchanted stone. It’ll restore everything that happened in your version of the story.”
He accepted it and smiled at her. “So you’re okay? You won’t die?”
“I’m fine, but I can’t get back to your world.”
“No, you can’t. You need magic in order to do it.” He studied the stone. “If you write it, I can go to your world. I can’t do anything unless you write it.”
“Can you be content living in my world?” she asked, wondering if she could even ask him to leave his kingdom behind in order to be with her.
“I’ll be content as long as I’m with you.” Shooting her a sly grin, he added, “There’s nothing I enjoy more than a challenge, and you are the greatest challenge I’ve had the pleasure of coming across.”
She didn’t know how that was possible since he managed to get his way so easily, but she figured she could argue the point at a later time. “Then I’ll write for you to enter my world.”
He nudged the horse in order to close the gap between them and leaned forward to kiss her. “I’ll start my journey at once.”
“I can’t wait to see you again.”
His smile widened before he winked at her and headed down the valley toward the Havenshire forest.
Her world was much different from his. There were no servants, no castles, no kingdoms. She just hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed.
When she was done with the original version of the story, she added that Gavin’s version would be the one to replace it, making sure to end it with him coming into her world to spend the rest of his life with her. She waited and watched as the two stories merged together, the second version taking over the first until the first disappeared. As she hoped, the story ended with Gavin entering her world. She protected the document so no one would be able to change it then she closed it.
She wasn’t sure where to put the document, and after a short internal debate, she slipped her USB drive into the computer and transferred it there. She deleted the other copy. Then she pulled her USB drive out of the computer and placed it in a box where she kept things she didn’t want to lose. There. Now there would be no other character trying to manipulate things. Even if she was grateful Gavin had done what he did, she didn’t see a reason to let another character try to find a way into her world. Sure, she had protected the document but one could never be too safe.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, making her jump. “Relax. It’s just me,” Gavin whispered, kissing her neck.
“You shouldn’t scare me,” she chided, though she was too excited that Gavin had made it into her world to care. She turned around so she could face him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave him a long hug. “I’m glad you made it.”
“Me too.”
She pulled away from him so she could see him again, just to make sure he was real, and when she was assured he was, tears sprang to her eyes. She’d never been happier to see anyone in her entire life.
“If the fact that I’m here is a good thing, then why are you crying?” he asked, retrieving a tissue for her to dry her eyes.
She laughed and shrugged. “I don’t know. Sometimes I cry when I’m happy.”
“That’s strange.”
; “No more stranger than you sucking me into a story and nearly getting me killed.”
He winced. “I didn’t intend for King Petros to show up. Speaking of which,” he checked her stomach, “you look good. It’s as if he never hurt you.”
“Thanks to you.”
Grinning, he kissed her. “I’ll do anything it takes to protect you.”
“Good because I’m tired of having to be the only one around here who kills the cockroaches that pop up from time to time no matter how many trips the exterminator makes over here. Those things are invincible.”
“I’ll be happy to kill every bug that comes into this place.”
“It’ll be nice having my knight and shining armor here to take care of me.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure your needs are met, my lady.” He kissed her hands. “But before I start running off to find out if there are any cockroaches lurking about, I’d like to clean up.”
She glanced at his clothes, noticing how bloody they were. Thankfully, she was able to make it so that the final battle never happened so those characters didn’t have to die, but she was surprised his clothes showed the effects of battle. Squeezing his hands, she said, “You’re in luck because this apartment comes with a shower. The water comes right out of the showerhead. That means we don’t need anyone to come in here with buckets of water to fill up those uncomfortable tubs.”
“The tubs weren’t uncomfortable.”
“Once you sit in the tub in this apartment, you’ll change your mind. Come on. We’ll get you cleaned up, and then I’ll have Caitlyn bring over some clothes for you to wear so we can go shopping for your wardrobe.” She took his hand and led him to the bathroom. “And before you suggest it, yes, I’ll take the shower with you.”
***
A month later
Courthouse
Sandy finished applying her lip gloss and turned from the bathroom mirror as Caitlyn lifted her three-week-old daughter from the changing table. “You wouldn’t believe the kinds of smells that come from your goddaughter,” Caitlyn said.
Sandy chuckled and held her arms out before Caitlyn could put her in the car seat. “I’ll take her.”
She gently placed Madison in Sandy’s arms then went to the sink to wash her hands. “You would think that with Chris’ planet being so advanced, they would have babies who are potty trained at birth.”
Giggling, she tapped the girl playfully on the nose. “Oh, come on. Changing all those diapers is worth it.”
“Yeah, it is.” She dried her hands then approached her. “So, this is the big day.”
“Well, I don’t know how big it is. Gavin and I are only doing this because people in this world will know we’re married. I can’t exactly tell anyone that I married him in my story. No one will believe it.”
“It’s no more unbelievable than marrying a man from another planet while having sex with him.”
“You know, I can’t recall the conversation we had when we were kids, the one where we said we wanted to marry someone from another planet or from a book. But I guess love comes from the most unlikely situations.”
“It can.”
“Thanks for being here.”
Smiling, Caitlyn took Madison and swung the diaper bag over her shoulder. “You’re my best friend. You’ve been with me through everything. I’m glad I can be here so you and Gavin can renew your wedding vows.”
“I am, too.” She hugged Caitlyn. “This day wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“It’s too bad I didn’t get to see you marry the first time. I would have loved to see a royal wedding.”
Chuckling, she smoothed out the material in her white dress. “I wouldn’t exactly call it romantic. I mean, a Justice of the Peace wedding isn’t fancy either, but at least this time he’s not putting a magic spell over me so I’ll be grinning like a woman who is ready to fall down at his feet and swear my undying love for him.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“Okay, maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed at the time, but I was grinning. A lot. My face was sore the next day.” She rubbed her cheeks at the memory.
“Yeah. He should have understood that, for you, smiling isn’t natural,” Caitlyn teased.
“Ha ha.” Sandy swatted her playfully on the arm then patted Madison’s back and grinned. “I hope you have a better sense of humor than your mother.”
“Come on. We don’t want to keep everyone waiting. You’re as beautiful as you’re going to get.”
Sandy rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse then picked up the car seat.
“I can take that,” her friend said.
“I know but I feel like helping you out. You have your hands full.”
As Caitlyn opened the door, she said, “You really are a beautiful bride, Sandy. And I’m not just saying that so you’ll keep carrying that car seat around.”
Sandy laughed. “I know you’re not. You want to make sure I agree to buy you lunch the next time you’re pregnant and go through one of your ‘I can’t stop eating’ phases. Though,” she added as they stepped into the hall, “I am shocked you didn’t gain any weight.”
“You’re not the only one. I thought for sure I was in for it.”
“Is your mom excited about being a grandmother?”
“Yes, and it’s not so bad now that she’s no longer trying to tell me what to do. She’s done a lot of growing up since Mark married Lexie.”
“Mark must have a way of dealing with people,” Sandy replied.
“I don’t know how he got through my mom’s wall, but however he did it, I’m glad.”
“How are he and Lexie doing?”
“Great.”
“I didn’t think she’d be happy with Nick. Mark seemed like a better match for her.”
Sandy caught sight of Gavin who stood with her parents and Caitlyn’s husband. Pausing, she turned to her friend. “It was really weird telling my parents about Gavin. I had to be vague about how I met him. I’m just relieved that adding in that he had a birth certificate and social security number at the end of the story worked. I don’t know how he would have gotten a driver’s license or job without them.”
“Speaking of writing, are you going to write any more books?”
“No. I’ve had enough of that. Characters who take over my stories aren’t my kind of thing. I think I’ll stick with reading. Besides,” she gestured to Gavin, “he doesn’t give me time to get bored.”
“Ah, that’s nice.” Her friend smiled. “But I don’t think Jack will like hearing your job at the diner isn’t all the fulfillment you need in life.”
“Then we better not tell him.”
“How is Gavin’s job going?”
“Good. It’s a perfect fit. He gets to teach self-defense, something that works with the role I gave him in the book.”
“I’m happy for you, Sandy. You finally found a great guy.”
She looked over at Gavin and Chris. “We did pretty well, didn’t we?”
Caitlyn nodded. “Yeah, we did.”
They continued down the hall, and Sandy gave her parents a hug. “Thanks for being here.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for anything,” her mother said, handing her a bouquet of red flowers. “Your brother’s sorry he couldn’t make it.”
“His boss isn’t as good as mine,” Sandy replied. “I understand.” If nothing else could be said for Jack, he was lenient on giving her time off when she requested it.
Sandy glanced at Caitlyn and Chris and figured it was better this way. The last thing she needed was for there to be tension when she was renewing her vows.
“You look beautiful,” Gavin said as she turned to him.
“See? I told you I wasn’t just saying it so you’d carry the car seat,” Caitlyn replied.
“I’ll take that,” Chris said and accepted the car seat.
“Let me get a picture.” Her father motioned for her and Gavin to stand in front of a wall.
“Good idea, Dad,” Sandy said, wrapping her arm around Gavin’s waist. “Who knows when I’ll see him in a suit again?”
Gavin pulled her closer to him and adjusted his tie. “Jeans are more comfortable.”
“Suits are a lot more comfortable than a corset,” she whispered. “At least you don’t have to suck in your gut to put it on.”
“I don’t mind wearing leather,” he whispered in return.
“Leather pants aren’t the same thing.” Then, even though she knew it would only inflate his ego further, she added, “You do look hot in it.”
His smile widened in time for her father to announce he was ready to take the picture. After he was done, the judge told them he was ready for the ceremony.
Gavin held her back as the others entered the room. Once they were alone, he said, “It’ll be nice to know you’re marrying me by choice this time.”
“I thought you might like it better this way.”
“You’re right. Thank you.” After he kissed her, he led her into the room so they could renew their vows.
More Romances by Ruth Ann Nordin
(this list is in chronological order)
Regency Collection
The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife
Her Counterfeit Husband
A Most Unsuitable Earl
His Reluctant Lady
Nebraska Romance Collection (historical westerns)
Her Heart’s Desire
A Bride for Tom
A Husband for Margaret
Eye of the Beholder
The Wrong Husband
Shotgun Groom
To Have and To Hold
His Redeeming Bride
Isaac’s Decision
South Dakota Romance Collection (historical westerns)
Loving Eliza
Bid for a Bride
His Abducted Bride Page 16
