Defying Fate (37 page)

Little did Braxton know he was being tested with his newly crowned vows? The vows he pledged to me, he remembered each word as he decided to let Liam handle Tiffany, for the most part. There was little to no contact with Braxton.

It was a good thing too, the few times I let that wench get to me I started having contractions finding myself nearly bed ridden. The doctor explained to Braxton and myself I needed to avoid stress as much as possible. Um, yeah, I laughed my butt off. Stress, that’s a daily occurrence when Tiffany is in the picture.

Not even a month later we found out she lost a baby. We will never know if it was Braxton’s or not. He didn’t let it bother him convinced the baby was not his to begin with, and the good news is she kept her word with regards Eve. She stayed away, she knew not to cross that line. Braxton made sure of that. He was finally happy, with our baby coming soon and Eve safe and happy we all found peace.

I surprised my husband with the news I wanted to officially adopt Eve knowing Tiffany was out the picture. Eve already called me mom. She was such a strong little girl facing what she had with her mother. It’s now my job to show her the love she deserves.

The day the papers came, we had a party at our house. I moved in with Brax of course, and Kara and Liam are now renting the house I once rented. They get closer every day; I imagine she will end up being married someday soon as well.

That leads us to the now; I am sitting in my office at Ryles Custom Shop. Cage and Brody were just checking in on me, it seems they have taken a liking to me. It’s all good and fun until Braxton finds them with me in the office. He chases them off to get back to work as I laugh at his jealousy rants.

“Seriously Braxton, I’m like huge. I am not some hot looking bikini babe sitting here. I think you are safe.” I’m not only rolling my eyes at his jealous thoughts I find it absurd even.

“Don’t care; you're still hot as hell. Belly or not, they need to watch their hands and stop letting their eyes linger on your tits.”

“Oh shit, ouch.” I bark out a laugh so hard I had to grab my stomach.

Rolling his eyes. “Not funny Iz quit kidding around.”

I wince and double over, shit the pain goes all the way down my spine. I grab my stomach and try to breathe out the pain, counting just like they taught me in Lamaze.

“Oh shit,” he finally realizes I’m seriously hurting. “Are you okay Sparkplug?”

“No. Do I look like I'm all right?” Counting out loud to five, I scowl. “Honey, it hurts.”

Braxton comes over and picks me up in his arms, walking fast out through the garage. Cage and Brody come running over.

Cage shouts. “Shit Iz, what’s going on?”

“What the hell do you think? She’s in labor; you dick’s started this.” Braxton shouts rushing us to his truck.

“Us?” They both yell out.

“Stop (huff) it (pant) it’s (huff) not (pant) their (huff) faults. I’m using my huff, huff, pant, pant breaths.

The ride to the hospital is a blur, I’m hooked up to all sorts of monitors. The pain is excruciating. Braxton is holding my hand while bouncing his knee a mile a minute. Oh, my goodness. The man is a nervous nelly.

Emma rushes into the room and tells us she has everything under control. She has the girls and we just need to concentrate on bringing her grandbaby into the world.

Yes, I did say girls. About a month ago, Max showed up at our house. He got out of the car and went over to the passenger side and took out a little girl. I knew the instant I looked into her eyes who she was. My heart leaped out of my chest. I ran to her as fast as my pregnant body could take me. She ran to me, by some miracle she felt the need to run into my arms. Max had told her who I was. To my amazement, she was always told I was her mother. I was not around because I couldn’t. No other explanation, but Willow was just a little girl. She did not require lengthy explanations.

It took about two full days for her to become a part of our lives. Braxton held her and cried himself as he already loved her. Eve was so excited, she would not let any of the guys near Willow. She is now her adopted mother. They are going to be the best of friends, just like me and Kara. Best friends, I can see it now. My new family is so perfect, Willow may have the devil as her birth father, but Braxton will be her true daddy. He will protect her as his own. He had made that promise to Dominic before he died.

Kara got her niece back and her aunt status is now golden. She spoils Willow to no end, she also adopted Eve as well. Now my girls have an aunt that spoils them to the moon and back. Eve being Liam’s niece and Kara being Willow’s aunt is a pretty unique thing. I swear those two are like an old married couple already. I tease them all the time about having a brood of their own. To that they laugh, they like being the cool aunt and uncle… for now.

Eve is eight years old, Willow is nearly three and here we are getting ready to meet our newest member to our growing family. We decided not to know the sex of the baby, we wanted to be surprised. So much of our lives have been a whirlwind for sure, but we wanted this one surprise just for us.

When it was time to push, I wanted to leap off the bed. I was so ready for this to be over.

“Alright Izzy, let's meet our baby. Give me a big push Sparkplug.”

“I’ll Sparkplug you! Why are you smiling like a fool? I’m dying here.” I’m in so much pain and he is sitting here looking all cute.

“Nay, you're cute when you're feisty.”

I growl while he laughs at me. “I’m never going to let you touch me again.” I pant.

Rolling his eyes, he bites his lip. “Yes, you will. I turn you on Sparkplug.”

“Braxton, right now I hate you.”

“Yep and in about a half hour when you're looking at our baby you’ll love me again and want more.”

“Don’t count on it.”

“Iz, push.” The doctor and nurse are reminding me to concentrate on my pushing. Bear down and push out your bottom, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just for the love of God, get this kid out of me.

“Ice, Braxton need ice.” I was so tired and hot. I needed something wet and cold. They don’t let you drink water, so it’s ice chips.

“How about another push, then I’ll give you some ice.”

“Wow,” the nurse says. “Daddy is going to make you work for it. I think she has earned it daddy, give mommy some ice.” She gives him a look like give her the damn ice buddy.

“Yeah, listen to the nurse or you will be ejected buddy.”

“Oh Christ, she is feisty. All right mommy, ask nicely?”

“BRAXTON…ICE…NOW.”

I got my ice and four pushes later, out came our baby.

“Very good mommy, you have a beautiful baby boy.”

We both gasp, honestly we thought it was another girl. We have some girl's names picked out, but not too many boys.

“A boy,” I whisper. “Oh Braxton, we have a baby boy.”

Wiping his eyes, Braxton smiles and drops his lips to mine for a scorching wet kiss. My tears fall, and I can taste the salt in our kisses. Pulling back Braxton continues to kiss my lips, my cheeks and even my nose.

“You did it Sparkplug. Damn you did really good babe. Look at him Iz, he’s perfect.”

He weighed in at 7lbs, 8oz and was 21 inches long. He had a head full of dark hair and bright brown eyes like his daddy. We joked the only thing of mine seems to be his lips and nose.

When he was cleaned up, they put him in his daddy’s arms. My big man holding this tiny baby was a sight to see. Looking at them together was precious.

Looking back at my life, a life filled with such pain and torment, I had lost so much over the years, my family, my innocence, my confidence. I learned how to live with what I had, living most days in my own head. Finding ways to make it through the day and most of it had been how to avoid the wrath of Dominic. The years of hiding, begging and praying I would not be hurt had taken its toll. It always seemed to end up with Max by my side and stitching me up. Kara fought for years, trying to help me. None of it mattered until I did eventually break.

In the end, I had found my new beginning, my fresh start in a small town in Monroe, Washington. A man by the name of Braxton Ryles stole my heart the moment my eyes found his. He tells me this is the moment he fell head over heels in love with me too. Our time together has been met with grief, loss and a whole lot of stress. In the same amount of time, we found each other. We found our souls and the reason all of the stress and heartache was okay. As long as we had each other in the end, it was all worth it.

“You look sexy with a baby in your arms big guy.” I wink at my man holding my little man.

“Oh yeah, think I can use him as a chick magnet.” He softly laughs as he rocks his son, our son.

“Don’t bet on it, he loves his momma too much.”

“Yeah, I’m partial to her as well. She loves my dumb ass for some reason.”

“That she does, indeed.”

“What are we going to name him?” I ask.

Pausing a second, he grins. “I like Asher Liam Ryles; Asher after my mom’s dad. Liam well that goes without saying.”

“I like it. Little Asher.” I smile and let the lone tear fall.

“Braxton, I want another one. You were right, I want as many as we can have.” My hormones are working double time and I can’t stop crying. Seeing Braxton with Asher is my undoing. This tiny bundle of joy is ours, a part of me and part of him.

“Not a problem Sparkplug. Let’s get you through breast feeding Asher first and then we can get down to it.”

“Yeah.” I smile.

I had it all in a blink of an eye, I went from hell to heaven. My journey was not always sweet and fun, it was the exact opposite. I did my time in hell so I could appreciate my heaven right now in this room. I would spend my life loving Braxton Ryles, loving our little girls and now our little boy. Who knows what the future holds for us, but I am going to enjoy it; every delectable inch of it.

The End.

Heidi grew up in the Midwest, but currently resides with her husband and four children in the Pacific Northwest. Heidi most enjoys spending time outdoors with her family. Between raising her children and obsessing over her favorite reads, she has let the storyteller within herself come to life.

With the love and support of her family, she is following her dream while teaching her children how important it is to follow theirs. She prides herself in believing that anything is possible, the first step is believing in yourself.

Heidi’s passionate and loving style in which she lives her life comes through in her writing. Her heart has led her down the genre path of a contemporary and suspense romance writer, but she has plans to extend her vision into other genres as well.

Writing this story was such an incredible journey for me. Izzy was a great character to lose myself in, hard at times, but I knew her outcome would be more than she could have ever imagined.

A part of me breathes in her sweet soul. Braxton was my ever loving alpha male, and I enjoyed every minute spent with him. The moment these two got together I knew it was going to be a wild ride.

I am very thankful and lucky to have surrounded myself with individuals who helped make my dream come true. First my amazing family, your support means the world to me. My loyal friends, you have done more for me than you will ever know.

To my readers, thank you so much for giving a new author a try. I hope you enjoyed Izzy and Braxton as much as I did.

Please take the time to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Without you I would not be able to do what I love to do.

Thank you!

You can keep in touch with Heidi about her upcoming books and giveaways on Facebook and Goodreads.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Heidi-Lis/360554554103550

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13933067.Heidi_Lis

Stay tuned for my next release: Never Give Up—Releasing June 2015.