Back Road Chances (Roughneck #2) (16 page)

Epilogue

6 years later

I walked into the waiting room and glanced over at the two little girls coloring on the floor.

“Has she been behaving?” I asked Lainey, as I nodded at the precious little blonde.

“Of course,” she said, as she rocked Baby Abbi. “They’re having a contest to see who can keep from coloring outside the lines.” she grinned.

Maggie and Emma had become best friends immediately, which was no surprise. We adopted Maggie four years ago, when she was only two years old. Sam was having lunch with Sheila at the hospital when she spotted a little blonde girl sitting at the table next to them that she was instantly drawn to. Sheila used her connections and found out that she was with a social worker that day. Maggie had been abandoned by her own mother, and left at the safe haven at the hospital. Sam fought tooth and nail past all the red tape and overcame every obstacle they tried to put in her way. Six months later, Maggie came to live with us, and she was ours. Sam’s determination was fucking mind blowing.

It amazed me how much she actually looked and even acted like Sam. If you didn’t know any better, you would never think she was adopted. And that was the way we wanted it.

Maggie heard my voice and threw her crayon down as she jumped up.

“Daddy!” she squealed.

“There’s my cutie pie,” I said, as she jumped in my arms, and I kissed her on top of the head.

“Where’s Jase?” I asked Lainey, as I looked around the room.

“He took Luke to the bathroom. Potty training boys is tough.” she laughed.

“I bet.” I said.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” she said, as she rocked the baby when she started to fuss.

“Is it time yet?” Maggie asked, as she grabbed my cheeks with her little hands.

“It sure is,” I said, as I kissed her nose.

When Sam told me she wanted to have a baby, I was shocked. I thought Maggie would be an only child. It was fine with me, but I knew how important it was to have siblings. Sam told me she realized that the love you have for your child outweighs the fear. I loved that woman, she never ceased to amaze me and make me proud of who she was.

I set Maggie on her feet, grabbed her by the hand and headed to Sam’s recovery room. She had to have an emergency C-section because the baby was breach and wasn’t budging. Stubborn, just like momma. Right before I opened the door, Maggie stopped in her tracks and started biting her nails.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned about my little girl.

“Will you and mommy love me as much as the new baby?” she asked.

“Oh honey, you will always be our princess. We will always love you to the moon and back, just as much as the new baby,” I reassured her.

“Ok, good,” she said with a grin. “But will he stink? Emma said boys smell like ass sometimes.” I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

“We don’t say those words, remember?” I scolded gently. It was becoming more obvious every day that Maggie and Emma were a younger version of Sam and Lainey. We were all in trouble.

“Sorry, daddy,” she said, with that little grin that would have me wrapped around her finger for the rest of my life.

“But yes, boys are stinky. I want you to remember that when you’re a teenager, got it?” I said, as I ruffled her hair.

“Got it,” she said, and gave me a thumbs up.

“Now, are you ready to go meet your little brother?” I asked her.

“Let’s do this,” she said, and grabbed me by the hand.

I walked in that hospital room and realized everything I had ever wanted was within these four walls. I was a lucky mother fucker.

The End

Kash Bennett…

The Bad Boy.

Coming Soon.

They slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered.

                       -F. Scott Fitzgerald

Acknowledgements

I have so many people to thank! Here it goes!

My husband-My reason behind this series. You are a combination of all of these roughneck characters. Thank for supporting me and encouraging me. Thank you for letting me pick your ear constantly, so I got the oilfield slang right. I love you more than you will ever know! My blue collar boy!

My kiddos- I’m so thankful that my kids are on board with this whole journey. They get so excited when I hit a milestone. They support me and tell everyone their mom is an author, even though they aren’t allowed to read a word of my books. I love my little miracles and maybe when they’re 18, I might let them read my work. Maybe.

My BFF- My beta, the one who listens to me talk about these characters in my head and doesn’t consider me a nutcase. I love that you get just as excited as I do when I have new ideas! I couldn’t have done this without you!

My Editor-My Stacey! I love you to the moon and back! I appreciate all your help and the fact that you can remind me to put a comma after a naughty word or an exclamation point during a sex scene without thinking twice.  You rock!

My girls-Y’all know who you are! Thank you for supporting me, being my book pushers and for all of the constant encouragement! Love!!!

My Instagram girls-Y’all are truly amazing! Thank you for promoting, making teasers/videos and showing me constant love!  When I first started this journey, I couldn’t even imagine this kind of support. I appreciate y’all B’s more than you know!

My readers-Thank you for taking the chance on a new author! Thank you for the support and sweet words! Y’all really are the best!

And finally, this one might sound crazy because he will probably never read this. But thank you Frank Foster, for your music. It has truly inspired me. Every one of my characters have their own FF song. Why do y’all think his name is Jase Foster
?
