The Sinful 7 of Delite, Texas 7: Her Double Delite Angels (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (20 page)

Evan started opening up some letters. He stared at one, and Colton could see the tears in his brother’s eyes.

“Evan?”

Evan didn’t say a word, he just handed Colton the letter as Colton knelt down beside him.

They sat there and read note after note. Love letters from a man that wasn’t their father and words from a woman who lusted for another.

Colton wasn’t sure how long they sat there, but as they looked at the letters and notes and stared at jewelry a stranger gave their mother, everything they had believed crumbled before them.

Colton rubbed his fingers across his upper lip and felt his hand shaking.

“Son of a bitch. He was telling the truth. She made him leave. She had us care for her and then this piece of shit dumps her. It’s all in the letters,” Colton stated in anger.

“Is everything okay?” Ava whispered as Colton and Evan turned toward her voice.

He shook his head and she walked into the room and sat down between them on the floor.

Colton held her gaze as Evan passed her the letters.

“She was cheating on our father,” Evan said as a tear rolled down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away.

She nodded her head knowingly, and Colton felt his chest tighten.

“He told you all about it, didn’t he? That night at Dixie Chix?” Colton asked and she nodded her head.

“This is why you wanted us to talk with him?” Evan asked.

“He seemed so sad, and the Jeremiah I have gotten to know was nothing like the monster the two of you believed him to be. It’s understandable now.”

Colton cleared his throat.

“All these years we hated him and thought the worst,” Colton whispered as he reached into the box, avoided touching the jewelry, and grabbed hold of another envelope. He traced his finger over the letters.

“We enlisted in the military to get away from the pain and away from him,” Evan added.

“This one has Dad’s name on it,” Colton said as he opened up the sealed letter.

He began to read it when he realized that it was a letter from their mother to their father before she died.

“I can’t read it. I can’t,” Colton said as he passed it to Ava.

“Go ahead, Ava, you do it.”

Ava cleared her throat.

“My dearest Jeremiah. As I lie here dying, our sons care for me, and I know that they will one day be great men, great husbands and fathers. They are so much like you in so many ways. They are strong, they are trustworthy, and they have big hearts just like you. I hope one day soon you get this letter, so that you can forgive me for being such a terrible wife. You were right to hate me for wanting the material things when all that really matters is love and family. I hurt you badly and I know it. That is why I turned you away. You did not deserve to watch me die like this and nor do your sons, but you were right when you told me that they would need to be with me in my final moments. It is I that needs them so desperately, especially because as I lie here dying, I look at them and see you, the man who loved me unconditionally and who I turned away. I am weak. Too weak to pour my heart out in this note that you may never see. But know that in my final days, I love you. I am sorry for wasting time and energy on a man who was nothing compared to you. Tell my sons I love them, too.

Your wife forever and always,

Alicia

Ava could hardly get out the closing to the letter as tears blurred her vision and clogged her throat. Colton took the letter from her hands and looked it over as a tear escaped from his eye. He felt Ava’s hand against his cheek wipe the tear away.

“I love you, Colton,” she whispered then looked at Evan and took his hand into her own.

“I love you, Evan, and together we’ll get through this.”

* * * *

Ava tried to insist that Evan and Colton drop her off at home before they went to see their father. But neither man would have it. As strong and masculine as they were, it seemed they needed her strength and wanted her by their side when they made this huge step.

As they parked the truck outside their father’s small house, she felt their nervousness. But then they got out of the truck and looked up to find Jeremiah standing on his front porch, looking shocked.

Both men grabbed her hands and walked with her flanking each of them as they headed toward their dad.

“Colton, Ava, Evan,” Jeremiah said and she could see the tears in his eyes.

“Dad, we need to talk,” Colton said in a low tone.

“I’d like that, son.”

“We have something for you. Something that you need to see. It might help you like it helped us.” Evan held the letter from Alicia Banks in his hands as his father stepped aside, opened the door, and invited them into their home.

Ava smiled, knowing that this was a huge step for all three men, and perhaps the first step toward becoming a family once again.

Ava was standing by the patio with all her Dixie Chix as the men cooked massive amounts of food on the grill. Having a barbecue was an awesome idea, and with all the changes and extension of family, it was a huge event.

“I think we should do this every summer,” Susanna said as she took a sip of sweet tea and watched Sally and Elise hold Jake and Jackson.

“You’ll have your own soon enough, Elise,” Paula teased as she set a large salad on the table.

“This is great,” Ava whispered while taking in her surroundings and feeling like her new family was extra special.

“Looks like your men are making some progress with their father,” Alexa stated. The women all looked out toward the picnic tables where Evan, Colton, and Jeremiah were talking and smiling.

“They sure are. It’s been a hell of a month,” Ava said.

Susanna placed her arm around Ava’s shoulders. “It’s been a hell of a few years,” she added and they all agreed.

“We’ve been through a lot, but having all of us as one big family sure does make life a lot better,” Paula added.

“Cheers to that,” Alexa said and raised her glass.

“Cheers to Dixie Chix and our men. We’ve all found love and we all get to stay together,” Susanna said. They clinked their glasses together and began talking about the fall and how crowded the holiday table would be this year.

Susanna whispered to Ava, “So how long do you think it will be before you officially move out of the house and into Evan and Colton’s place?”

“Well, I’m practically living there as is now. But, I did look into hiring a manager, so that we continue to rent out the rooms to the rodeo guys and any other stragglers needing a safe place to stay on their journeys.”

“That’s great. Now you’re getting into real estate, huh?” Susanna teased.

“I’m a business woman just like you, Susanna. We’ve learned about survival the hard way and taking matters into our own hands in order to succeed in life. I love it here in Delite, and I think I’ll be sticking around.”

Susanna hugged her. “Life couldn’t get any better than this.”

Ava agreed as she looked toward Colton and Evan, and both men waved her over. She made her way to them, feeling lucky to have them in her life. She was glad that they had made peace with their father and were working on strengthening their own family bonds.

“Come sit down here with us. We were just talking about you,” Colton said as he pulled her onto his lap.

She wrapped her arm around his shoulders as Evan caressed her thigh under the skirt she wore.

She couldn’t help but see Jeremiah smile.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“We were just discussing your ranking as Dixie Chix and our personal angel.” Colton kissed her on the cheek.

“She sure is special, son. I’d place a ring on her finger and secure her as Mrs. Banks if I were the two of you.”

She smiled and her heart soared.

“We plan on doing just that,” Evan added then kissed her shoulder.

They sat there and listened to everyone having fun and enjoying the beautiful summer day. For the first time in a very long while, Ava felt full of life and happier than she ever thought she could be. She was in love with her double Delite angels and they were silly enough to think that she was the one to make them this happy. She hugged Colton tight and reached for Evan’s hand to clasp with hers as she looked around at her new very large and growing family.

Susanna was standing with BJ and Monte. They were caressing her ass, and she was swatting away their hands. Ava chuckled to herself. Paula was sitting on Matt’s lap. Tyler had a hand on her shoulder while they talked with Alexa, Chad, and Michael. Juliet was wrapping her arms around Carl from behind as he and Richie were pulling the last bit of steaks and chicken off the grill. Mason, Steven, and Sally were smiling at Tommy and Vic as they held the babies in their arms and looked nervous. Elise rubbed her belly and smiled up at them with tears in her eyes.

Soon Elise would be having her baby, and they would all be celebrating life, love, and the birth of another member of the Dixie Chix family. Ava took a deep breath and absorbed it all. Delite was a special place and she would never regret taking her small suitcase of clothes, hopping on that bus in search of a new life, and meeting Susanna. Life had a way of working itself out, and behind every tragedy was a miracle just waiting to happen. Each Dixie Chix was proof that life could get better with hard work and some great support from other women. Their pasts were behind them and their futures looked bright, and together they could accomplish anything.

THE END

WWW.DIXIELYNNDWYER.COM

People seem to be more interested in my name than where I get my ideas for my stories from. So I might as well share the story behind my name with all my readers.

My momma was born and raised in New Orleans. At the age of twenty, she met and fell in love with an Irishman named Patrick Riley Dwyer. Needless to say, the family was a bit taken aback by this as they hoped she would marry a family friend. It was a modern-day arranged marriage kind of thing, and my momma downright refused.

Being that my momma’s families were descendents of the original English-speaking Southerners, they wanted the family bloodline to stay pure. They were wealthy and my father’s family was poor.

Despite attempts by my grandpapa to make Patrick leave and destroy the love between them, my parents married. They recently celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.

I am one of six children born to Patrick and Lynn Dwyer. I am a combination of both Irish and a true Southern belle. With a name like Dixie Lynn Dwyer it’s no wonder why people are curious about my name.

Just as my parents had a love story of their own, I grew up intrigued by the lifestyles of others. My imagination as well as my need to stray from the straight and narrow made me into the woman I am today.

For all titles by Dixie Lynn Dwyer, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/dixie-lynn-dwyer

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