Meant to Be (RightMatch.com Trilogy) (26 page)

Their arrangement was working so well, sometimes it scared him—big tough cop, Joe Moretti. Ruth worked with Dana every day to keep up her physical health and she and Jeremy helped care for Mikey. The girls spent more time with Joe than ever and fought over who’d hold the baby. But it was the raven-haired woman, who was now laughing at something one of her sisters-in-law had said, that had made him into the man Joe Sr. had seen inside his young son. He hoped to do the same for his kids someday.

Kara had already decided to attend the same dance college where Dana went. Leona had agreed to let him pay for a school of the arts for Kae. And Mikey, well, Joe would try to instill in his son the values and convictions his dad had given him. This was all happening because of Dana! It had taken until he was forty-four to find her, but she—everything he had—had been well worth waiting for.

Before Joe was ready to give them up, Cole snatched the binoculars from his hands. As he adjusted the lens, Cole thought about how it had been important to him to have his brothers here on this long-awaited Jamaican vacation. He didn’t examine the need too closely but instead zeroed in on Beth. Her hair had gotten long and lightened in the sun, a fact that pleased him immensely, especially when it was spread out on his pillow. “Hell, what is she doing?”

Spence said, “Looks like she’s taking a swim.”

He bolted up. “Off the boat? That’s dangerous.”

Joe dragged him back to his chair. “Let her be. She’s a force to contend with and I think she can handle a little water.”

Sitting back down, Cole kept her in his viewfinder. She
had
been a force to contend with, in little things, like staring down a mother in the sandbox who said Ellie was too friendly, to nagging the city council into providing funds for St. Peter’s. The name made him smile. At one time he’d been jealous of the man who’d made Beth happy for so many years. Now Cole accepted the role Peter had played in her life. The guy’s namesake was going well, too, with Carolyn at the helm and her right-hand woman—MJ—helping out. After trying to manage a new B&B in Honey Lake, MJ had surprised them all when she’d quit and come to Beth to ask to be a part of the shelter instead.

Yep, things had really worked out for Cole. Currently he was playing Mr. Mom and organizing another project, which would soon be ready to go: an online, twenty-four-hour resource for battered women, which would eventually extend to
each
state in the country. (Beth said he didn’t know how to think small.) The sites would offer places to get help, list police personnel who would come to the aid of battered women, and provide counselors for live chats for immediate assistance. Sometimes, he’d learned, just making a phone call was too hard for abused women but going online seemed easier.

As he smiled at the picture Beth made climbing back into the boat, her bathing suit riding up to show her cute ass, he grinned like a little boy remembering the last three days, away from the prying eyes of his brothers, when he and Beth had played out their Jamaican fantasies for real. Even in broad daylight, the memories stirred his blood.

Glancing over at the guys, Cole started to tear up. Yep, everything that had happened seemed meant to be—for all three of them, he guessed. And he couldn’t be happier.

“They’re coming back in,” Spence said standing.

“Hmm,” Joe murmured, rising too.

“Wait for me,” Cole called out and joined his brothers.

Shoulder to shoulder, the three men walked toward the shore, toward the women who would be theirs, today and, Cole believed, for always.

-o0o-

Author’s Note

So, what did you think of Cole? Did you want to kiss him for what a wonderful dad he is or shake him because he couldn’t get it through his thick skull that he should stop lying to Beth? I still can’t decide which I’d do. I worked hard at making him likeable and infuriating at the same time and I feel I’ve succeeded. Mostly because he has such wonderful qualities: kindness, a genuine concern for others, solicitousness with his family and Beth. Plus, he’s smart, musically inclined and sexy to boot. I’m not sure if you could tell, but I really sided with Beth throughout most of the book. Initially, I shared her anger over his lies about his age, then Ellie, and finally I was outraged right alongside her when Johanna came to town and he didn’t tell Beth once again. That was not all right. But eventually, I began to understand him better. For one thing, Beth was pretty
black and white
about life
.
She needed to loosen up about some things and let go of her past life. I’m very proud of her that she was able to do all this.

I hope you enjoyed the entire trilogy about the sons of Ellison Matheson. I hope you learned a little about living life to the fullest, working to be close to people you love and not giving up on what you really want for yourself. And of course, I hope Spence, Joey and Cole provided you with hours of entertainment.

 Best,

Kathy Shay

o0o

Take a look at one of fans’ favorite Kathryn Shay books, PROMISES TO KEEP, at the end of this book.

o0o

Contact Kathryn Shay at
www.kathrynshay.com
(contact Kathryn);
www.facebook.com/kathrynshay
;
www.twitter.com/KShayAuthor

o0o

Kathryn Shay’s Books available on Amazon:

Trust In Me: Amazon
http://amzn.to/hYtvA7

People in the stock car racing town Glen Oaks called them The Outlaws when they were young, but no one knew the kids on the streets would grow up to be such upstanding citizens. Follow these three relationships between these couples throughout the book: Linc, now a minister and Margo, a confirmed atheist; Beth who falls for the man the town blames for her husband’s death ten years ago; and Annie and Joe whose marriage broke up over truly irreconcilable issues.

Promises To Keep: Amazon
http://amzn.to/hr3Lqh

Meet stoic by-the book Secret Service Agent Joe Stonehouse who’s paired with rebel Agent Luke Ludzecky as they go undercover in a typical American high school that has been tagged as having the potential to erupt in deadly violence. Their task of infiltrating the student body is hard enough, but when Joe becomes involved with principal Suzanna Quinn, and Luke is attracted to teacher Kelsey Cunningham, who thinks he’s a student, the operation gets even more explosive.

After The Fire: Amazon
http://amzn.to/fwxJBS

On the Line: Amazon
http://amzn.to/h9zWcW

Nothing More to Lose: Amazon
http://amzn.to/h5QpxS

Follow the firefighters of Hidden Cove, a remarkable team of heroes like you’ve never seen before. Their daily lives on the line and in the bedroom will leave you with unforgettable characters and plots ripped straight from the headlines. Read all three or as stand-alone full length novels.

America’s Bravest Boxed Set: Amazon
http://amzn.to/vy6mUx

The Rescue Squad in the Hidden Cove Fire Department deals with blazing fires, horrific car accidents and medical calls. They also have complicated personal relationships due to the nature of their jobs.  In AMERICA’S BRAVEST, each of the six novellas details the love and work of one firefighter, but the stories are tied together with an arson case and a blogger out to discredit them. 

Ties That Bind: Amazon
http://amzn.to/eL4iHQ

Reese Bishop and Kate Renado were young lovers in law school and thought nothing could tear them apart. But they were wrong. Competing jobs, a child, differing outlooks on their future and acute jealousies caused a bitter divorce. But when a woman they defended hangs herself in prison and blames them in a suicide note for her despair, they have to come together to prove their integrity to the legal world. In the process, they find each other again and the sparks fly.

Someone To Believe In: Amazon
http://amzn.to/hfnC3J

Close To You: Amazon
http://amzn.to/g09Ook

Taking The Heat: Amazon
http://amzn.to/eemwrp

Meet the O’Neils: Bailey, the Street Angel who fights conservative senator Clay Wainwright for funds and Washington support to do her work; Aidan, her older brother who falls for a Secret Service agent guarding his sister; and Liam, another older brother and a sensitive widower with a troubled seven year old who meets, loves but can’t have daring firefighter Sophie Tyler. Read all three or as stand-alone full length novels.

Still The One: Amazon
http://amzn.to/lTyhoI

In book one of the Educators series, Annie Jacobs has made something of herself after a rough adolescence. She’s the mother of twin boys, a respected and well-liked English teacher and has good friends. But when her former high school teacher, Dylan Kane, comes back to town, Annie’s carefully created world starts to crumble. She and Dylan have a past, one which almost destroyed her. Now, he wants to be the next principal of her school. Annie’s afraid their previous relationship will endanger the job she loves. She’s even more fearful that her feelings for Dylan will rekindle, or worse, never died.

Someone Like You: Amazon
http://amzn.to/kz9iUe

In book #2 of The Educators, teacher Brie Gorman and Coach Nick Corelli come together to help the star of the football team. A fiery passion erupts between them, even when they clash over the best way to save the boy’s life.

Maybe This Time: Amazon
http://amzn.to/ehAyM2

In book #3 of The Educators, Maybe This Time, teacher Delaney Dawson and lawyer Gage Grayson hook up before they know he's the father of one of her students. Putting aside their feelings, they try to help Gage’s daughter stay on the straight and narrow. All three are threatened by the deadly violence which is about to erupt in their school.

The Betrayal: Amazon
http://amzn.to/gKox9Z

Darcy Weston and Jordan Mackenzie meet as teenagers when she flees to her grandparents’ abandoned farm in upstate New York and he helps hide her. Twelve years later, she’s a famous painter and he’s published a book, one that reveals secrets he kept for her years ago. The two are thrown together over murder, police investigations and their irrepressible passion for each other.

The Father Factor: Amazon
http://amzn.to/hfn5I2

When law student Nick DiMarco meets school counselor Amanda Carson, they clash over the best way to handle his very depressed daughter. What they don’t expect is a passion for each other that they can’t deny.

Just One Night: Amazon
http://amzn.to/ivxKoc

In
Just One Night
, polar opposites Zach Sloan and Annie Montgomery married despite their differences, then divorced because of them. Five years later, they come together during a tragedy and in the aftermath, conceive a child. But will the baby be able to keep them together this time?

A Price Worth Paying: Amazon
http://amzn.to/lBLRJ8

A Price Worth Paying
is Kathryn Shay’s sizzling new summer read that includes passion, romance, a sexual predator, infidelity and the enduring love of two characters whose marriage withstands the unthinkable. This is a major original novel by the author who reviewers say has “earned a well deserved place among the top romance authors.”

Finally a Family: Amazon
http://amzn.to/q6aegn

Visit Guardian Flight Base, a medical helicopter unit with a crew that routinely performs daring rescues. But when the pilot falls for the CEO of a foundation who may fund them, conflict of interest abounds. Researched at a real life medevac operation, FINALLY A FAMILY has the kind of grit, realism and emotional situations that Kathryn Shay is known for. Previously published by Harlequin.

Michael’s Family: Amazon
http://amzn.to/qlZyaI

The last thing widower Luke Rayburn expects--or welcomes--is his adopted son Michael's request to find his birth mother.  But the boy's insistence brings beautiful, haunted Meredith Hunter into their lives. And with Meredith comes a secret that could destroy them all. “With brilliant characterization and sizzling sensuality, Kathryn Shay gifts us with an emotional powerhouse of a love story.”  RT Book Reviews

Practice Makes Perfect (Serenity House): Amazon
http://amzn.to/rogqBh

Fifteen years ago they spent time at Serenity House, a home for troubled girls. Now, as adults, they’re women to be reckoned with. In Practice Makes Perfect, Paige Kendrick is a successful doctor who keeps people at a distance and refuses a relationship with hunky doctor Ian Chandler. But Ian won’t stop until he gets what he wants—Paige! “Heart wrenching and poignant.”

A Place to Belong (Serenity House): Amazon
http://amzn.to/nuOfdL

When they meet at her daycare, Darcy O’Malley and Hunter Sloan have more in common than they know. Both have troubled kids, both grew up as outcasts in their hometown, and both find a deep and driving passion for the other that cannot be denied. Highly emotional and poignant, Shay continues her Serenity House trilogy with a winner!