by Taylor Hart
“Listen. Here’s one of Dad’s life lessons you must have forgotten: Kelly men always get it done. If kicking down doors is what it takes, then go do that. Go get your woman and your son!”
Calm washed over him, and he knew what he had to do. “Thanks, bro.”
Chapter 23
Early the next morning, JJ ran as hard as he could, ready to face whatever the future held. He’d dressed, then waited for Chantel to leave her hotel. At eight-thirty in the morning, she took a taxi and he followed her to the courthouse. He watched as she rushed up the stairs. It didn’t take long to figure out which attorney’s office they were heading for.
When he walked inside, it didn’t really surprise him to see Dustin there, all polished up in a suit and trying to talk to Chantel.
She was having none of it. “Why are you here? I told you we’re through. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be manipulated by you for so long.”
JJ stopped in the entry of the office.
Dustin turned, and his eyes widened. “What’s he doing here?”
Using all the control he could muster, JJ kept his thoughts to himself.
Chantel held JJ’s gaze. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter, because I spoke to my attorney and I can adopt Jack by myself. I’m his birth mom. So please leave.”
Dustin glared at her. “After all we’ve been through, this is how you’re going to play it?”
JJ said calmly, “I think you’d better go, Dustin.”
“Right.” Dustin scoffed. “The SEAL comes in and saves the day. Just thinks he can swoop in like he swooped out six years ago.”
The words stung. JJ felt his hand clench into a fist.
“Stop it, Dustin,” Chantel whispered. “Do. Not. Do. This.”
But Dustin was just getting started. He took a step toward JJ, invading his personal space. The guy was almost JJ’s height, but he would never be a match in a fight; JJ literally had hands that could kill someone.
Dustin stuck his finger in JJ’s chest. “Do you know what I had to go through to pick up the pieces? To make her a star?” He pointed back at her. “That silver medal? That medal is my medal too.”
JJ scowled. “Sounds like she was just a medal for you?”
Dustin’s face purpled. “How dare you! I love her, and she’s mine. She might think she can do this on her own, but she needs me.”
“Chantel doesn’t need any man. She’s one of the hardest-working, most resourceful women I know.”
Dustin glared at him.
“I am?” Chantel asked, her voice unsure.
JJ turned to face her. “Yes, and I don’t care how this looks between us—married or not married—but I want to be in my son’s life.”
A smile broke onto her face. “You do?”
“I do.”
Just then the attorney came out, putting his hands up. “I don’t know what is going on, but I need you all to settle down.”
JJ made an executive decision, moving to Chantel’s side. “Sorry, sir. I’m the birth father, and we want to share custody for Jack.”
“We do?” Chantel asked.
“Yes, we do.” He cleared his throat and turned to her. “Because she’ll be a good mother, I’ll be a good father, and we’ll work together.”
She blinked and smiled. “Yes, we will.”
Dustin forced his way into the attorney’s space. “She doesn’t have a home or any money.”
“I have a house,” Chantel offered, her voice quiet as she looked at JJ.
“And she has an ice rink so she can teach ice skating lessons,” JJ said. “Plus, I’ll be right down the road to help out when she needs it.”
“What about your tour?” Chantel asked.
He took her hand. “I choose you. I choose our son. I choose us, if you let it be us.”
“I like us.” She let out a light laugh. “And maybe our son and I could come on tour with you.”
Everyone else seemed to melt away, leaving just them. “I’d like that.” He squeezed her hand. “You know all of this was never about a stupid will, don’t you?”
“I realized that last night after you left. It’s been us forever. And that dream box.”
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. “I’ve always wanted this dream.”
She kissed him. “I have too.”
Dustin cursed and left the room.
Chantel laughed and pulled back.
JJ turned to the attorney. “Sir, can you help us adopt our son and start the rest of our life together?”
The attorney smiled. “Let’s go into my office and get this all taken care of.”
Epilogue
JJ drove up to Chantel’s ice skating rink, feeling like he could walk on air. The last two weeks had been some of the best and the hardest of his life. He hadn’t wanted Chantel to think marrying her was about the will, so he’d insisted they wouldn’t get married until after Christmas.
She and Jack had come with him on tour, which was even better than he’d hoped. Jack had charmed Tonya, and she’d become his new favorite aunt. Jack’s presence helped to smooth some of the awkwardness between Tonya and Chantel. They’d never be best friends, but JJ hoped Tonya could find her own happiness someday.
Now they were back at the ranch. Because they weren’t married yet, Chantel had insisted on staying at her house, but they’d decided she and Jack would come to the big house and stay for Christmas Eve and he couldn’t wait for that. It was only December 22—three days before Christmas.
JJ felt a twinge of angst. He’d been trying to figure out how to fund the charity. He had some calls in to some people who might have the money and desire to help. Nothing for sure.
His phone buzzed as he got out of the truck. It was Ryan.
“’Sup?” he asked as he walked toward the rink.
“Where are you?”
He stopped moving. “I’m picking up Jack for a couple of days. Why?”
“Oh, nothing. Never mind.” He hung up.
JJ stared at his phone, perplexed. His brother had seemed out of sorts all morning, telling him he had calls to make and locking himself away in Dad’s old office.
JJ hadn’t thought much about it because he’d been writing his own music. He would finish the tour with Sloane’s band this spring, but after that, he might just forget touring and stay at the ranch full time. The indie music scene was exploding, and if he stayed at the ranch, he could be with Jack and still develop as an artist.
Warmth filled him as he thought about Jack. Becoming a father had been easy. The boy felt like his—like theirs. JJ smiled at the thought. He’d talk Chantel into marrying him one of these days, and then their family would be whole again.
As he opened the main door to the ice rink, he was surprised to find himself in complete darkness. “Chan?” he called out. He felt for a switch, but he’d never turned on the lights in here before. Every time he’d come, they’d already been on.
A spotlight came on in the center of the rink, illuminating Chantel in her wedding dress. “JJ,” she said, and her voice echoed through the rink.
He stumbled, nearly falling over and having to brace himself on the railing. What was she doing?
“I need to remind you of something that was in the dream box that I always wanted.”
He moved closer to her, noticing that a red carpet had been spread out to her. His heart raced. “Okay.”
“I wanted to marry you in my ice rink.”
The breath rushed from his lungs, and he put his hand to his chest. “Chan,” he said.
More lights flashed on, revealing that his whole family was gathered behind her. Little Jack was wearing a suit and standing next to Seth—it had turned out that Jack loved horses and was hoping Uncle Seth would let him ride one.
JJ rushed up to Chantel, trying to take in how unimaginably amazing she looked. None of this seemed like it could be real. “Chan?”
Her smile widened. “You always said you wanted to be married in you
r boots.”
He looked down, yes, he was in boots. He laughed, teetering on the edge of collapsing into a big bawling baby.
She reached down and tugged up the bottom of her dress. “And I wanted to be in skates.” Gently, she put her hand on his cheek. “No crying, tough guy.”
He covered her hand with his own, unable to believe that she was really standing here in a wedding dress. Leaning in, he whispered, “What about always wondering if I only did it for the money?”
“Hey, it’s going to be my money too, now.” She wagged a finger at him. “I’m not signing a prenup.”
He laughed. His brothers smiled at him knowingly.
“I love you, J,” she said simply.
“I love you, too.”
For a moment, time stood still and he felt like it was just them. Here. Together. As it always should have been.
“So JJ, I just have one question for you.” She started to get on one knee.
His brain caught up with reality and he realized what she was about to do. “Oh no, you don’t.” He got down on one knee, pulling the ring out of his pocket. The one he’d bought six years ago. The one he’d taken to carrying around with him in case the moment was right to officially propose to her.
She laughed. “You’ll never let me one-up you, will you?”
He took her hand. “Not on this. Chantel Cassandra Bonaparte, will you marry me?”
Chantel nodded quickly. “I will.”
“You will?” His heart felt like it would burst.
A huge smile swept across her face. “Only if you put more dreams in the dream box with me.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger and stood. “Okay, but no Sherpas.”
She laughed.
Their lips met, and cheers went off around them.
“About time!” he heard Parker holler out.
“Yeah, bro, woot, woot!” called Ryan.
Chantel broke from JJ. “Wait. We still haven’t done the wedding.”
JJ followed her gaze. He was baffled to see the pastor from Steamboat Springs.
She grinned at him. “Are you ready?”
His heart raced. “Born ready.”
The pastor performed the ceremony. Chantel and JJ kissed, accompanied by more cheers.
“Mom! Dad!” Jack ran toward them.
JJ swept him up and hoisted him on his shoulders.
“I just can’t believe this.” Chantel clung to his hand, leaning into him.
JJ kissed her again. “Believe it, Mrs. Kelly, because it’s just the beginning.”
She smiled at him. “I like the beginning.”
He laughed and then grew serious. “The beginning of second chances and forgiveness and Christmas angels, too. Don’t forget about that.” He winked at her.
Tears shone in her eyes. “No, I dare say we’ll never forget about our Christmas angel.”
“I love you, Chan.”
She kissed him again. “I love you, too.”
“Hey, what about me? Do I have a Christmas angel?” asked Jack from above JJ.
JJ pulled him down and they both hugged him. “And it was actually a Christmas angel who brought you to us. A nice man who talked me into following your mom onto a bus?”
“He did?” Jack asked, looking shocked. “An actual angel?”
Everyone around them laughed.
Chantel hugged him and her eyes met JJ’s. “The angel told us about Christmas miracles, and that’s what you are. And that lead us to you, so I think you’re our Christmas miracle.”
Warm chills washed over JJ. “That’s true. You’re our Christmas miracle.”
Jack beamed. “I like being a miracle.”
JJ held him tighter.
She kissed him. “I guess the angel was right, miracles can happen.”
JJ laughed. “Yes, they can.”
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Sneak Peak Her Quiet Billionaire Groom by Jackie Castle
“This is insane!” Seth Kelly loaded his profile picture to the tenth dating site that he’d joined that day. And for the tenth time, had filled in his information: 6’3” height, reddish-blond hair, blue eyes, and that he enjoyed riding horses at sunset.
Who cared about all this anyway?
Mary said he was being stupid when he put that he enjoyed sleeping in late on Saturdays and wrestling with his boxer, Maxwell. He did enjoy riding his horses, but not necessarily at sunset. What difference did any of this make, anyway?
The whole idea of finding a wife, not a girlfriend, but a wife by Christmas was totally and completely ridiculous! Christmas was less than a couple of months away. Impossible!
Time was wasting. He couldn’t afford to not tackle this…whatever this task was that Dad had set the Kelly brothers to do in the will. An idiotic, impossible…task, he thought, with such bitterness his mouth began to pucker.
Profession? Oh great.
Seth sat back, scratching his chin. He needed to shave but didn’t feel like it. One of the many reasons he enjoyed being a bachelor was not having to answer to anyone. Not having to please someone else. His animals didn’t care. Maxwell didn’t care if he was scruffy. The dopey dog probably liked him more when he was scruffy and covered in sweat and dirt.
His fingers tapped out Animal trainer.
That pretty much covered what he did in a nutshell. Some people called him the best dog whisperer in Colorado. Seth grinned, his chest puffing out a little. He was slowly climbing his way up.
But why should he also write all that out? Honestly, would any women care that he ran a rescue shelter for mistreated and retired animal performers? Not to mention the poor abandoned furbabies left along the side of the road near the ranch?
One of the reasons he’d decided to focus more on helping people train their pets was so that there would be fewer animals ending up mistreated or neglected.
Now his favorite charity project was in danger of losing its funding if he didn’t find a wife, of all things.
Insanity! That’s what this was. Complete and utter craziness. Seth had a feeling that the old man was losing his crackers during his last days.
A pang of remorse stabbed Seth in the gut for being so callous. Jack Kelly wasn’t crazy. He was a powerhouse rancher and entrepreneur. He’d turned the KB Ranch into a million-dollar empire in only a few years.
Seth sat back, admiring the picture once it finished l
oading. It wasn’t the most current, but it captured his blue eyes and the golden tint to his red hair. He was clean-shaven in this picture. Hopefully, that would help. Also, he wore a suit instead of his usual jean jacket and a flannel shirt.
“Not bad.” Any gal would be lucky to have him.
Seth cringed. Right. He worried over any woman he’d find who would be willing to marry him with two months’ notice.
“This is impossible!” He buried his face in the palms of his hands, trying to rub away the doubt and frustration but failing.
“What’s impossible?” Mary Raincloud asked as she entered the kitchen where Seth sat at the large pine table working on his profile for all the dating sites. Mary and her husband Nathan had worked for the Kelly Rescue Ranch for the past three years. Nathan was half Ute and a natural at working with animals. Mary had come from New Mexico and moved to Colorado with Nate when he was hired to work on the Kelly Ranch fifteen years ago.
He’d been a friend of the Kelly family for as long as Seth could remember. Nate was good with horses and loved all animals as much as Seth did. Both had easily agreed to come work for him. Mary was in charge of his scheduling and keeping up his animal training website while helping him manage the house.
She came to stand behind him, looking over his shoulder when he didn’t answer, and saw the row of tabs open in his browser. “Since when did you decide you wanted to start dating?”
Was it safe to tell Mary? He was supposed to keep this quiet from potential mates. But he had to tell someone. “In Dad’s will, he said we all had to be married by Christmas or we’d lose the funding for our charities. If I lose the funding for the rescue shelter, I’ll lose everything I’ve worked so hard to do here. The training program, the extra land to house rescues…all of it.” He turned to face her. “But you can’t tell a soul. Not even Nate!”
“So.” Her brows shot up over her coffee-brown eyes. “You have to find a wife in what…two months?”
