Careless(27)

“Seeing as you decided to stick around, will you be our child’s godfather?”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Rhett asks. “It’s Marcus we’re talking about.”

“Rhett!” Miss Sebastian scolds him. “I will bend you over my knee, and it won’t be kinky.”

Marcus holds out his hand to me, and I take it without hesitation.

“I’d be honored,” he whispers.

I sit back down and wrap my arm around Doc, pulling her into my side. I place my other hand on her very pregnant belly; then she covers mine with her left hand. I stare at my ring on her finger.

Fuck, I’m a lucky asshole.

“My turn,” Mia says, and we all watch as she tears an envelope open.

It’s actually funny that Mia and Leigh fell pregnant at the same time. They’ve scheduled to be induced on the same day. I look at Logan and smile. Our kids will practically be twins, just like us.

Mia and Logan read their letter from Marcus before Mia gets up to hug Marcus.

“I’m thankful for you, Marcus.”

When it’s Carter’s turn, he places his arm around Della. “I’m thankful you married me.” He looks down at his son in her arms. “Thank you for our children.”

They named him Christopher Miles Hayes after Carter and Della’s fathers.

Rhett gets up and throws Danny in the air. She shrieks with laughter.

“I’m thankful for you, Danny.”

When he brings her back down, she wraps her arms around his neck and presses a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m thankful for you, Uncle Ledge.” She looks at him with serious eyes. “Will you be my fairy-godfather? I want one too.”

Rhett glances at Carter. “I think that’s a great idea. We were going to wait until the christening but now’s a good time, too. Danny asked you a question, Rhett.”

Rhett looks at Danny with so much love as he says, “Princess, I’ll be anything you want me to be. I’ll be your fairy-godfather. I’ll be your joker when you need to laugh. I’ll be your knight when you need me to protect you. You own my heart.”

“I just really want you to be my fairy-godfather,” Danny says.

∞∞∞



LEIGH





Almost five weeks later…

“How could you do this to me!” I groan as another contraction hits.

Jaxson stares at me with wide eyes and a pale face. He’s about to say something when Sebastian intervenes from where she’s sitting between my legs.

“He’s sorry. He should’ve kept his ding dong in his pants.”

I start to laugh, but another contraction wipes the smile right from my face.

“It’s time, Dr. Baxter,” Sebastian says. “You need to start pushing.”

“I want painkillers,” I cry. “Give me more painkillers. It’s not working fast enough.”

“It will kick in soon. Stop asking and start pushing. The sooner this little bundle of heaven sees the day of light, the sooner you’ll feel better.”

“You’re right.” I breathe through the pain and gripping Jaxson’s hand tighter, I start to push.

I keep pushing until it feels like my insides are about to come out.

“Almost, baby-girl. One more push,” Sebastian cries.

I close my eyes and push with everything I have.

“Oh my God! She’s beautiful. Look, we have a new baby girl.”

Jaxson doesn’t let go of me while Sebastian clears our baby’s nasal passage and the first shrill cry echoes through the room.

Sebastian wraps her in a soft blanket and brings her over to us. She lays our daughter in my arms, and I lose all brain function.

There are no facts.

There are no equations.

There’s only the miracle in my arms.

Mom was right. I understand now. Some things just can’t be explained.

The love I have for Jaxson, can’t be explained.

The love I feel for my daughter is so powerful; it crosses all boundaries. It covers all time, all space, every particle of my being. My mind will never comprehend what my heart feels for my daughter.

“We have a daughter,” I whisper to Jaxson.

He pushes his finger into her little fist, and she instantly tightens her hold on him.

“What’s her name?” Sebastian asks.

“Dash,” Jaxson whispers. “Dash Marcelle West.”

“Hi, Dash,” I whisper as I look into her eyes. “Your name means infinity like our love for you. Marcelle means brave like your uncle, Marcus.”

I send up a silent prayer to my mom, praying Dash will know only infinite love all her life. I pray she’ll have her uncle’s strength and her father’s unwavering loyalty.



The End



Find out what happens in Marcus and Willow’s story Ruthless ~ coming in March 2018



Read on for an excerpt from the first book in Michelle’s exciting Enemies to Lovers series: HEARTLESS, Book 1



Prologue



DELLA



Life is made up of a series of lies.

Love? It’s a fairytale some person made up so they didn’t have to face the cold, hard fact that we are all alone. You come into this world alone and you leave it alone. Loneliness, it’s the one the thing we fear most. It means you’re forgotten, you’ve been rejected, or you’re overlooked.

Little girls are told fairy tales of how a prince will come along to sweep them up into their loving arms. From a young age, they are taught that their purpose is to belong. They have to have a family, a husband, children – without this, they are failures.

Little boys are told stories of firemen, policemen, the brave souls who will overcome any evil. They are taught that their purpose is to be the man of the house, to protect, to provide – if they’re not able to do this, they aren’t men.

They’re all lies that most people believe. We create such unnecessary pain for ourselves. You feel like a failure because no one loves you. You only exist if there’s someone who sees you. Your life only has worth if you’re living for someone else.

That restlessness you feel? It’s your soul crying out to be set free from all the deceit you’ve been forced to believe.

Once in a while, someone will break free from the norm society has created. I want to be one of those people. I want to be different. I want to break every damn rule society has ever made for us.

It will mean that I’m alive and not just another sheep wandering aimlessly through life.





Chapter 1



DELLA



“Don’t look now, but they just walked in,” the red head whispers excitedly as I start to clear the table.

Rameses, the bar slash diner where I’ve worked since my first year of college, is always crawling with students.

I place the empty plates on top of each other as her blonde friend looks over her shoulder.

“Fuck, he’s so hot. I’d give anything to be screwed by Rhett.”

At first, I used to get embarrassed when I heard people talk like that, but after being at college for almost three years, there’s very little that shocks me now.

There’s not much in the way of dating where I’m from. Hell, I had to go to Polk County High School because Saluda only has an elementary school. Besides the random adventurer traveling through and the summer wave of tourists, the meager population of around seven hundred didn’t cater much for dating material.

I glance in the direction of the door and watch as a group of guys walk in. I don’t know them that well. I’ve heard rumors about them, that they’re known as the Screw Crew. Every girl wants to be screwed by them and every guy wants to be one of them. It’s really stupid.

They take a seat in my section, and the one with black hair grins at the blonde sitting at the table I’m busy clearing. He bites his bottom lip and winks at her. Damn, even I have to admit that’s hot. I might not date but just like any warm-blooded girl, I appreciate a hot guy when I see one.

The blonde shrieks excitedly and jumps up. “By tomorrow, my name will be on Rhett’s screwed list.”

The red head throws some money on the table and follows her friend over to where the guys are. The blonde slides onto the guy’s lap, immediately kissing him as if there’s no tomorrow. The university should have making out as a sport. I swear half the students would qualify for the Olympics.

People don’t behave like that back home. Sue, the owner of the Mom ʼn Pop diner I used to work at, would be chasing them out the door. After Mom passed Sue took us in. It’s because of Sue that I’m able to study for my degree in Graphic Design. Without her generosity, Jamie and I would’ve been living on the streets. I had been working at her diner for about three months when Mom passed away after her long struggle with cancer. Sue let me borrow money so I could lay Mom to rest. She also took us in. She’s old and hard as nails, but she’s also the only one who cared about us.

I was ten when Dad died. It was an accident that took him from us. He was out hiking when he tripped over a root and plunged down Big Bradley Falls. After Dad passed, things got bad. Mom was pregnant with Jamie and had to take all kinds of odd jobs to keep the pot going. I was sixteen when Mom passed. Poor Jamie was only six and didn’t understand the finality of death. For months she asked where Mom was and when she would come back. Even though we lost our parents early in life, things weren’t all bad. Being poor didn’t matter as much. I’ve never been scared of doing an honest day’s job. I just want more for Jamie. I want to give her the world and that won’t happen as long as we’re stuck in that town. Even though Saluda is only three and a half hours away, it feels like I might as well be from another planet. The people back at Saluda are set in their ways. That’s not me. I crave more from life than the monotonous existence that small town has to offer. I want to experience everything life has to offer. I want to be independent. I want to travel. I want to live.