Struck from the Record

by K. A. Linde

  They’d both had an interest in working with orphan charities, but adoption was taking it to a whole new level. But, after seeing the kids and adopting Cassidy, he’d known there was no other choice for them. Even if they were able to have kids later, Cassidy was the best thing that had ever happened to them. With her freckled skin, dark curly locks, and big, wide chocolate eyes, she was the cutest little kid he’d ever seen. They were both happy to give a child in need a home, and most days, he completely forgot that they’d even adopted. She was just their little Cassidy Anna Maxwell.

  “Honey!” Andrea called from the other room. “Are you two ready?”

  “Just about,” he called back.

  He tied Cassidy’s last shoe, tugged her red-white-and-blue Captain America tutu straight, and then smiled at the X-Men shirt she had on. They were all her favorite, and she had insisted on wearing them. What could he say? His little girl was a badass.

  He scooped Cassidy up and trotted her down the stairs to the living room. “Here we are.”

  “Mommy!”

  Andrea laughed when she saw Cassidy. “You’re taking her to Jefferson’s birthday party in that?” she asked about Brady and Liz’s son, who was turning three today.

  “Yep. It’s what she wanted. All the other kids will be jealous.”

  “They’ll be something,” she said with a laugh. “Come here, bug.”

  Cassidy rushed over to her mom and threw her arms around her shoulders. Andrea kissed her all over her face. Cassidy giggled and started making kissy noises of her own.

  “Airplanes!”

  “No airplane right now. I have some exciting news for you today.” Andrea picked her up in her arms and ruffled her unruly curly hair.

  Andrea had tried to tame it when they first adopted Cassidy, but it was no use. Clay liked it that way.

  “News?” he asked.

  “Yep! You want to know, too, bug?”

  “Yeah!” she cried.

  Andrea handed her back to Clay. “Well, it’s a super special surprise. You like surprises, don’t you?”

  “Tell me! Tell me!”

  “Not even your daddy knows!”

  Cassidy was bouncing up and down. “What is it, Mommy?”

  “Yeah, what is it, Mommy?” Clay asked with a wink.

  “Well…” She cleared her throat and then bit her lip. “It looks like you’re going to be having a little brother or sister.”

  Clay’s mouth dropped open as Cassidy squealed. “Andrea…” he stammered.

  “I know! I found out last week, but I wanted to wait to tell you until I knew for sure.”

  “Baby, that’s incredible. Oh my God!”

  He switched Cassidy to his hip and pulled Andrea to them. Together, he and Cassidy hugged her fiercely.

  “Group hug!” Andrea said with a laugh.

  When he pulled back, he asked with slight trepidation, knowing they had waited a long time for this moment, “You’re really sure?”

  A tear glistened in her eye, and she nodded. “Yes, I’m really sure.”

  He put a hand on her stomach and laughed. “This is the best news, baby.”

  She sniffed and nodded. “God, Clay, I can’t believe this is finally happening. We’re going to have another baby. A little brother or sister for Cass.”

  “Now, you listen here, little man,” Clay said, pointing at her stomach. “You can’t be a girl. I’m already outnumbered.”

  Andrea laughed and wiped her eyes. “You’re ridiculous, Clay Maxwell.”

  “Mmm…you’re ridiculous, Andrea Maxwell.” He kissed her hard on the mouth. “But we know who is really ridiculous! Cassidy Maxwell.”

  He zoomed her around the room. She laughed and laughed until he finally took her out to the car to drive over to Brady and Liz’s.

  “Do you want to tell them?” Clay asked as he helped Cassidy out of the car.

  “Let’s just wait until after the party unless Cass says something. I want to make this Jefferson’s day.”

  He nodded, bursting at the seams with joy. He wanted to tell everyone. He wanted to scream it from the rooftops. They’d been trying so hard for so long. Andrea had felt like a failure so many times, even when he’d told her over and over that it didn’t matter to him. Because it didn’t. He loved her. He wanted her happiness. If it wasn’t making her happy, then they didn’t need to try. They needed to practice but not for conception…just for love.

  So, they had adopted Cass and tried not to stress the small stuff. They had other things to worry about. Like Andrea’s art gallery taking off beyond her wildest dreams, including opening additional galleries in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Paris all in a matter of years. She was a sensation. Not just selling others’ works, but her own, which had garnered a lot of attention once she had finally revealed them.

  Clay and Gigi had abandoned Cooper & Nielson together, deciding to give up corporate law and focus more on what mattered—by opening up their new firm Maxwell & De Rosa. They still worked with big clients who had left Cooper & Nielson with them, but they spent their time on humanitarian cases as well. Made sure they remembered why they were in law…why they loved it—to help people. He wouldn’t say that he had completely abandoned his dream of going for attorney general one day if Brady became president, but for now, that dream was on hold for another one.

  They walked into Brady’s house without knocking on the door and found Brady in the kitchen, pulling dishes out of the refrigerator. A domesticated Brady was one that Clay still couldn’t get used to seeing.

  “Clay! Andrea!” Liz said as she walked in through the back door. “Little Cass!” She bent down and held her arms out. “Give your Cool Aunt Liz a hug.”

  Cassidy ran forward into her arms. “Cool Aunt Liz!”

  Clay shook his head. “Oh, dear Lord. You have her calling you that?”

  “Well, it is true,” she said. She squeezed Cassidy tight. “Jefferson is out back. You want to go play?”

  “Yeah!” she cried.

  They all followed Cassidy out the back door as she rushed toward her cousin. Andrea placed a birthday present on a table for Jefferson, and then it was her turn to be pulled into a hug by Liz. Brady passed Clay a beer as they waited for everyone else to get here.

  Liz grabbed a cocktail off the table and took a long drink. “What do you want, Andrea? We have these mixed cocktail things that Brady put together. We have champagne and beer, or I can make you something.”

  Andrea froze and then shook her head. “Um…nah, I’m not drinking.”

  Liz looked at her like she had just grown horns. “What? Why not? Come on! You won’t have to drive home for hours.”

  “No. I’m just…not thirsty.”

  Liz laughed. “What? Are you pregnant?”

  There was a long silent pause in which Liz covered her mouth.

  “Oh, y’all, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m so inconsiderate. I know you’ve been trying. I didn’t mean it. Fuck!” Her eyes darted to the kids and back, and then she grimaced. “I mean…”

  “It’s okay,” Clay said with a laugh.

  “No, it’s not. I don’t mean to joke about that kind of stuff. I know it’s been hard for y’all.”

  “No, really,” Andrea said with a giddy grin. “It’s okay because…I am. I just found out today.”

  “Oh my God!” Liz shrieked. She pulled Andrea into a hug. “Oh my God! Oh my God! Congratulations!”

  Brady reached his hand out, and Clay shook it. “Congrats, man. I’m so happy for y’all.”

  “Ahhh!” Liz cried. “Tell me everything. When are you due? What names are you thinking? Boy or girl?”

  “Boy,” Clay said automatically.

  Andrea laughed and shook her head. “Uh-uh, honey. She’s definitely going to be a girl.”

  “You’d deserve it, Clay,” Liz said with a wink.

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  They all laughed.

  Everyone else started show
ing up, and Clay and Andrea couldn’t seem to contain their secret. They’d been trying to get pregnant for so long. So much of their time had been devoted to this, and all of their friends and family were so excited for them.

  A bet was made immediately on whether or not it was a boy or girl. Clay insisted it was a boy. Almost everyone disagreed with him. Even little Cassidy said she wanted a sister.

  Clay just laughed and shrugged. He told everyone they had eight months left before they would find out. He pulled Andrea into his arms and kissed her cheek.

  “You know,” he whispered into her ear, “I don’t mind if it’s another girl.”

  “I know you don’t.”

  “So long as she’s healthy, that’s all that matters to me.”

  She squeezed him tight. “Well, she’s going to be the middle child, just like you, so you’ll have to treat her extra special.”

  “Middle, eh? We’re going to have another?”

  “At least one more,” she told him with an excited glint in her eyes.

  “Well then, I’ll have to treat them all extra special, won’t I?”

  “Yes, you will. We both will. All our little girls.”

  “Why are you so sure it’s a girl?”

  She smirked. “Intuition.”

  Nine months later, they found out Andrea was right.

  And right about the next one, too.

  And Clay realized that this was life’s greatest adventure. Falling in love with Andrea all those years ago on the beach at Hilton Head had turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life. But choosing to love her all these years later and sharing that love with their kids…now, that was truly the best decision of his life.

  THE END

  Stay tuned for Broken Record, Savannah’s stand-alone story in the next book in the Record series.

  Broken Record follows Savannah Maxwell, a driven college journalist with a taste for rebellion against her political family who is torn between her political-oriented boyfriend and the boy she’s always wanted…

  Coming Fall 2016

  Be the first to know about an Amazon preorder!

  FIND OUT HOW IT ALL STARTED!

  Turn the page to read Brady and Liz’s story in the first chapter of

  Off the Record

  All three books are FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

  Off the Record

  On the Record

  For the Record

  Chapter 1

  DAY ONE ON THE JOB

  Liz Dougherty could barely hear herself think over the deafening buzz in the conference room. So much was going on. Reporters from all over North Carolina were piling into the Raleigh conference center waiting to hear State Senator Maxwell deliver a speech. Cameras were being set up, photography equipment lined the room, and voice recorders were poised and ready to capture every word the Senator uttered. Reporters milled around the room chatting with one another and directing their crews for the optimal angle. Liz hadn’t expected her first press conference to be quite this . . . loud.

  Hayden Lane stood completely calm and collected next to her. She knew he had quite a bit of experience with press conferences, and was grateful he had included her, but damn, was it intimidating. How could he be so composed?

  Liz felt small enough standing next to the editor-in-chief of her college newspaper, but she felt like the tiniest minnow in the ocean compared to the legends in journalism surrounding her. She had joined the newspaper two years ago, and had put in her time, but she had always wanted to be a reporter. She had pushed and fought for it. She had watched for two years as other reporters took the prime spots, but as an upcoming junior she had the privilege of finally working her coveted position.

  She had interned at home for newspapers and had taken more journalism classes than she could count, so she knew she was prepared. She had done her homework, but it didn’t make her first real political press conference any less terrifying.

  “You ready with the recorder?” Hayden asked, digging into his messenger bag and pulling out a notepad, pen, and digital camera. The equipment was nothing compared to what some of the top-notch reporters surrounding them had, but it would do the job.

  “Yeah, I think I’m all set,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip as she adjusted her navy blazer and teetered in her nude high heels.

  “I wish we were closer. I’d love to get a question in.” He peered around a camera to get a better look at the empty platform.

  “Do you think we’ll get a chance?” Liz asked, wide-eyed. In case she was given the opportunity to ask anything of the sitting Senator, she had prepared questions, but she didn’t think it was a real possibility. Hayden would probably laugh at her if he knew how much extra work she had put into the questions. But it was her job and she couldn’t help it. She had been so anxious last night anticipating the event, and it tended to make her meticulous. She hadn’t even been able to sleep.

  “Nah, probably not. If this guy is anything like his father, he’ll make his announcement and get out of there. Easier to keep winning if you don’t say too much. Know what I mean?”

  She stared into Hayden’s gorgeous face, and the full force of his charm hit her. She gulped and turned back to the podium. “Yeah, makes sense.”

  “I wish we could get one question in, though. I’d love to peg him down about education policy,” he said.

  Liz nodded. After researching Senator Maxwell’s policy platform, she’d had difficulty narrowing her questions to the ten on education policy she had listed in her purse. He was a hard-core budget guy, just like his father, who was a sitting United States Senator. State Senator Maxwell had won his last two elections based on his broad, sweeping plan to balance the budget, and then he had done it. For the first time in twenty-five years, North Carolina’s fiscal books were in order.

  Not that she disagreed with the end result, but she wasn’t sure how much she agreed with his approach to the matter: cutting anything and everything that might be deemed superfluous—and one of those items happened to be education. Her father was a professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and Liz couldn’t imagine what it would be like to see all of his hard work slashed by a politician just out to line his pockets. Maxwell put business first and everything else after: Encourage small business, lower taxes, help the working class, but Liz didn’t understand how he expected to help the working class when they couldn’t even get an education.

  “Lane! Lane?” a perky redhead called. She pushed past another reporter and all but attacked Hayden.

  “Calleigh,” Hayden muttered, hugging her back. “So good to see you. How’s Charlotte treating you?”

  “Amazing, of course. You should come and visit me. I could get you an interview,” she said. She swished her red hair across one shoulder and smiled at Hayden like he was dessert.

  “I might take you up on that when I graduate,” he said. “Have you met our new reporter, Liz Dougherty?”

  Calleigh seemed to finally notice that someone was standing next to Hayden. “Oh, hi,” she said. “Are you taking over Camille’s old job?”

  “Uh . . . yeah. I’ve been mostly in editorials before this,” Liz explained.

  Calleigh Hollingsworth was a legend at the university newspaper. She single-handedly put the paper on the map last year by interviewing the President of the United States and busting up a sex scandal in the higher tiers of the school administration. Her byline had graced the front page of the university paper daily, and everyone at school knew her name. She had been offered a job at a New York newspaper, but had turned it down for Charlotte. No one knew why, but she was either crazy or a genius. Liz had only seen her in passing, and she was awestruck to be standing in the presence of someone with such notoriety.

  “Well, I hope you do her some justice. I know Lane wouldn’t choose someone incompetent. Good luck on the job,” she said, turning back to Hayden. “Lane, drinks before you leave, doll. This is not a request.”

  And with that she traips
ed across the room. Male eyes from all around followed her as she whisked past them and out of sight.

  “That was Calleigh Hollingsworth,” Liz said plainly.

  “Yeah,” he grumbled. “And I have to entertain her highness.”

  Liz giggled. “Do you not like her?”

  Hayden shrugged. “She’s good at her job, but so annoying. After she got that interview with the President, fame went straight to her head. She acts like everyone should treat her like a queen now.”

  “She kind of is a queen.”

  “And that’s exactly why she acts like it!”

  Liz didn’t know Calleigh well enough to comment.

  A hush fell over the crowd as a tall, leggy blonde walked onto the stage. A series of flashes went off as the reporters adjusted their camera settings, anxious not to miss anything that was about to happen.

  “Was it leaked as to what he’s speaking about?” Liz whispered into Hayden’s ear.

  He shook his head slowly, never taking his eyes or camera from the stage. “I haven’t heard anything. I just got the buzz about it yesterday morning. Impromptu.”

  “Strange,” Liz said. She watched the blonde’s heels as she walked across the carpeted floor.

  She was beautiful, almost unnaturally so, definitely unfairly so. Liz was happy to be on the shorter side most days, but not when that woman was onstage. And Liz had always thought she was above average in the looks department, with naturally straight blond hair that the sun highlighted in the summer, and blue eyes. She loved her pouty lips and high cheekbones, but her athletic build was far from that of the skinny minny standing onstage.

  “Thank y’all for coming out at such short notice,” the woman said, smiling at the crowd of cameras. “I’m Heather Ferrington, Senator Maxwell’s press secretary. He is only available for a short while, but he will be taking questions at the end. Please keep them to a minimum. The Senator will be out in a minute.”