by Dani René
Glancing at the man who is my father, my biological father, I know deep down he’s going to cherish my mother like she’s meant to be cherished. Love her as he always has because his eyes are windows, showing me exactly how he feels and it’s beautiful.
Five Years Later
“Mommy!” The screech that drags me from my sleep is enough to wake the dead. I turn over to find Heath sitting up in bed reading his newspaper. Two little bodies pounce on the bed and I smile. They look so much like their father with their dark hair, but their honey colored eyes are a match for mine. Twins. It’s almost their fourth birthday and we’re planning a party. We’ve invited Mags and Boone, and a few of their friends from pre-school.
“What are you two up to?” I push up, watching them clamber over their father. The paper is a thing of the past as they both vie for his attention. My husband chuckles at them fighting over who gets to make breakfast with him. It’s like this almost every morning. Since they could walk, they’d run into the bedroom and climb onto the bed with us. We’d spend an hour just talking, playing, and telling them stories about when we were kids.
“Okay, boys. Relax. Your mom needs rest.” They regard me with curious gazes. I’m six months pregnant with their sister and both boys, even though they’re still young, are incredibly watchful of me. I think it’s because Heath is so strict with them.
“Sorry, Mom.” Connor pouts and I pull him in for a cuddle while Caleb settles on the bed between us. After the wedding, Boone and Mags announced that they wanted to retire. They spoke to us and asked if we’d like to take over the ranch. Of course, we said yes and since then we’ve been inundated with kids coming for riding lessons.
It’s been almost three years since we took over the place and we’ve had to bring in another four horses, which are doing well in their new environment. Life is certainly not what I expected. But it’s everything I ever wanted. Both boys love that their dad can teach them to ride horses and look after them. My family is almost complete, and when Lila arrives, it will be perfect.
“Come on, boys. Let your mom rest for a while longer and let’s make something yummy for breakfast.” Both Connor and Caleb bound off the bed and race downstairs. “No running!” Their father shouts after them but it falls on deaf ears. He says that every day, but they never listen, which just makes me giggle.
“Were you this mischievous when you were a boy?” I question my husband who looks good enough to eat. If we didn’t have the kids awake I’d beg him to make love to me, but responsibilities call and I have work to finish.
“Always,” he chuckles through his response. “I’m going to make something to eat. Come down when you’re ready.” He plants a soft kiss on my forehead and I bask in his warmth.
There’s nothing that makes me happier than to feel his love. Yes, when he says it, I can’t help but enjoy the words, but when he shows me his affection it’s even better. Once he heads out of the bedroom, I get up and head into the bathroom to freshen up. My body aches and the flutter in my stomach tells me that little Lila is awake too. “Only a few more months, little one,” I murmur as I rub my swollen belly. She’s a tiny thing and as I take in my reflection I smile at the baby bump.
Heath says he loves my body when I’m pregnant with his babies. And that makes me feel more confident in gaining the weight. I’m not perfect, I never was, but he always makes me feel desired and wanted.
I pull on a pair of loose fitting sweatpants and a tank top that hugs my stomach and head into my office. Since the ranch has been doing so well, I’ve taken up writing full time. We can afford for me to be home, so we’ve converted one of the smaller rooms upstairs into a haven for me. Free of kids. Just me and my words. Once my laptop is open and I’m seated, I pull up my manuscript and finish the story I started writing a few months ago. My editor is waiting on the final draft, but it’s been busy so I haven’t had the time to focus, but now suddenly the words flow and I don’t just write them, I feel them.
It’s been a long time coming so I square my shoulders and allow the characters of my fairytale to tell me what they want. I started this story too long ago and it’s been in the back of my mind ever since. It’s taunted me, waiting to be finished. As I sit here, listening to my boys’ giggle and chatter downstairs, I know I’ve got the ending perfectly sorted out.
She gazed out the window remembering every moment they’d shared without ever knowing who the other was. When all that linked them was a piece of paper and pen. There were fun times when he made her laugh and times they shared secrets that only the two of them would ever know. Her mind drifted to the moment she opened the first letter, to the time she’d written the last. Over the years nothing stopped her, nothing could have interrupted the feelings that grew between them.
That tether that will forever link them has now given them both the family they never had. It’s given them hearts filled with love, caring, and no regrets. When she turned to regard him again, she took in his rugged jawline as he concentrated on building the crib. Their first baby was going to be born soon and as she circled her hand over her stomach, she smiled with the knowledge that her life has turned into the happy ending she always dreamed of.
This is now her happy ending. One that she didn’t need to force, but one she fought for. Everything that happened over the years has led them both here, to this house, to this particular room as they share the space in comfortable silence. Words aren’t needed when your hearts speak to each other.
His grunt pulls her from her thoughts. Her gaze settles on her husband and she sees him standing proudly beside the white wood cradle. “Done.” His voice is filled with satisfaction and she pushes off the window seat to join him beside the beautiful item he built from scratch.
“It’s perfect, thank you.” She leans up on tiptoes and plants a soft kiss on his lips. His hands roam over her, warming her from the inside out. No matter where they are, his touch sends pleasure through her like she’s never experienced before. “I love you, handsome,” she murmurs against his lips and feels the smile that curls his mouth.
“And I love you, Sunshine.” His words send pure joy to her heart and fill her with love. As the sun slowly sets outside the window, she twines her hands around his neck and enjoys the feel of his body against hers. Her belly sticks out too far for them to get too close, and she knows they can never get close enough. Even when they’re making love it’s as if they want to climb inside each other. Savoring and basking in the connection that holds them together.
Suddenly, the baby kicks and she feels the wetness between her legs. “We need to get to the hospital,” she says to him quietly. He regards her and from the expression on his face, she can see the excitement and fear, the elation that he’s about to become a father for the first time. She knew from the moment they laid eyes on each other that she’d marry him. From that bus ride when they shared a seat, to the smile he offered her on the dance floor.
Her heart kicked in her chest that night, telling her that he was the one. And when they finally made love in his bed, it was then that they cemented their connection. After all the words were spoken and when all the letters were put away, all that was left was the promise of tomorrow.
THE END
Sangria - Blake Shelton
Beautiful - Faith Hill
Back to You - Faith Hill
Burning House - Cam
Always - Bon Jovi
Breathe - Fleurie
L490 - Thirty Seconds to Mars
I Can’t Make You Love Me - The March Ahead
Rules of Beautiful - Jacob Whitesides
Crawling Back To You - Backstreet Boys
Dear Darlin’ - Olly Murs
Nights Like This - W. Darling
Love With My Eyes Closed - Michael Bolton
Feels - Kiiara
Before I go into all the thank you’s for this book, there’s a special dedication I need to include. On the day of the cover reveal for Love Beyond Words, I got a message nobody likes t
o get. A special lady, a friend, a reader, a book lover, and one of my avid supporters, Wendy Shephard, passed away suddenly. It came as a shock to her husband and three daughters, as well as all her friends in the book community.
This is a small token of thanks to this incredible woman who not only went out of her way to support me, befriend me, and show how big her heart was, but she also gave her all to this community.
Wendy, will be missed so much.
My thoughts are with her family, her friends,
especially Barb and Kathy.
Thank you for always being you. <3
This story gripped me in a way no other has in a long while. It held on tight and didn’t let go. I was bleeding words onto the page and within a month 55K words were written. Everything about Heath and Leah screamed to me.
I hope you love these characters as much as I do. There’s something about them that makes me hopeful that everyone who reads this will realize, no matter who you are, you’re worthy of that ULTIMATE love. The HEA that you want. Don’t give up on it. EVER!
I need to start by thanking my BETA’s. They loved, and I mean obsessed and fought over Heath. In the end, he’s everyone’s. He has been a character I didn’t think I could write. Not dark, but still dominant. He’s sweet and kind, and sexy. All my girls loved him and if not for them, you wouldn’t have met him. <3
To my editor, Vanessa, and the PREMA team, you are magic, gold, and an angel! You take my words and you polish it until I’ve got a story I can put out there and be proud of. Thank you so, so, so much! <3
To the other authors who share, post, and repost, thank you a million times over. I’m blessed and humbled by this incredible community. The support and love that I receive every day from each one of you leaves me speechless. <3
To the bloggers, you guys ROCK!! #AllBlogsMatter! Thank you for all you do, sharing, reposting, reviewing. You all take time out of your busy lives and do so much for us. It never goes unnoticed. THANK YOU! <3
To the readers, we do this for you. I love giving you alphas you can drool over and heroine’s you can love. Thank you for all your support, love, and taking the time out to leave your reviews. They matter to us. So thank you! <3
An indie author and freelance graphic designer, Dani's writing has evolved from short fan fiction stories to full length novels. From sweet and romantic, to dark and delicious, she's grown from strength to strength and hitting her stride.
On a daily basis she has a few hundred characters, storylines, and ideas floating around in her head. Generally working on two or more manuscripts at a time, she loves the variety of where her writing is taking her.
She's normally found in the cave with a mug of coffee or a glass of wine whipping up new emotional rollercoasters. You can also find her on social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
She has a healthy addiction to reading, TV series, music, tattoos, chocolate, and ice cream. Some of her go to authors are M Never, K Webster, Pepper Winters, KL Kreig, Meghan March, and that’s just to name a few!
www.authordanirene.com
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Stand Alones
(Available on Amazon, Kobo, and iBooks)
Ace of Harts
Love Beyond Words
Broken Series
(Available on Amazon, Kobo, and iBooks)
Broken by Desire
Shattered by Love
Destroyed by Secrets (Coming 2018)
The Backstage Series
(Available on Amazon & KU)
Between Love & Fire
Between Lust & Tears
Between Want & Fear (Coming mid 2017)
Falling Stars Duet
CUFFED (Available on Amazon & KU)
DETAINED (Coming late 2017)
Forbidden Series
From the Ashes - A Forbidden Series Novella
(Available on Amazon, Kobo, and iBooks)
Crave (Book #1) (Coming April 2017)
Covet (Book #2) (Coming June 2017)
Ache (Book #3) (Coming 2018)
Lust (Book #4) (Coming 2018)
