Room 143: A Standalone Romance, page 15
"Me too, even though it scares me and you'll have to deal with me being overprotective for nine months, I want it too."
"Is this for real?" I ask him as he slips the ring on my finger. I push my hand out in front of my face, admiring the way it glitters in the light.
"Babe, this is as real as it gets."
We hug for a long time, swaying to a song only we can hear, and then I ask him the question that's nagging at the back of my mind. "Do you think she's happy, Nash?"
He's quiet and I respect it when finally he answers. "Yeah, knowing that her family is taken care of, she's beyond happy. If I were the type of man who believed in shit like this, I'd almost say Katie sent you to me."
I don't answer out loud, but in my head I thank Katie, because I believe she had a hand in it too.
If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be together, and the next time I get a chance, I'm going to her grave to give her a personal thank you. Once in a while, all the stars align, and we are the lucky two that Katie decided to have them align for.
Epilogue
Nash
Three Years Later
"You think she's going to be okay with her?" my wife asks as she gets into the back of our brand-new SUV.
She's tucked in tight next to our newborn daughter, Kaitlyn. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think of how far Caroline and I have come. It's been difficult, learning to be married to someone else after I thought I'd never have it again, but we've been patient with one another. Together we've built the kind of life I always wanted to have. I have no doubt Katie had a hand in it - wouldn't surprise me if she hand-picked Caroline to come into my life.
"Bailey is a good girl. She's so excited to be a big sister." Our eyes meet in the rear-view mirror. "She's been laying on your stomach for months. Somehow I think she's closer to Kait than we are."
"I just worry." She pulls her bottom lip in between her teeth. "I don't want either one of them to feel like we aren't giving them enough attention."
"Babe, we haven't even gotten home yet. Don't worry about things before they happen."
It's who she is though, and I recognize it after going through eight and a half months of pregnancy with her. Hell, up until she gave birth, I'd almost not let her out of my sight. It wasn't something I planned on doing, but after what happened previously, I wasn't comfortable if I wasn't with her. Thankfully everyone in our lives understood it and humored me. As I pull away from the curb, I go slower than I ever have in my life. Precious cargo and all.
"You doing all right back there?" Our gazes connect again.
"Yeah, just ready to get home. She's asleep and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed."
"Agreed." I crack my neck. "That couch wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on, even though they said it was supposed to be a bed. That's a load of shit."
"Nash!"
"She can't understand yet." I laugh as I get her disapproving look. "She's gonna have to get used to it. Being the only girl around here and all. You know her uncles won't be watching what they say around her."
"They will if I have anything to say about it."
Of that I have no doubt.
"Let me carry her." I grab at the carrier. "You've done a lot in a few days, Mama."
She grins up at me, before lifting on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. "I think I kinda like my new role."
My eyes sweep her body, stopping at her newly bigger chest. "I'm totally loving the new you."
She reaches in, pinching me. "Stop, I'm a mother now."
"A MILF," I tease.
Her arms wrap around my waist, holding on tightly, and it's the best part of my day. I still love when she hugs me like there's no other place she wants to be. "Let's go," she whispers.
Together we enter the house with our daughter. Bailey runs to us, excitement evident in the way she's shaking form head to toe.
"You have food in the freezer and fridge for at least a week," Taylor tells us as she comes out of the kitchen. "She's so cute!" She comes over to our daughter, touching her finger with one of hers. "So little, but such a strong personality already."
She saw that personality at the hospital, when she refused to be swaddled.
"And the house is clean," Val adds, coming from the living room. "Jameson made sure the yard work is done and did the last bit of hanging the pictures in the nursery."
We have a village and I'm happier than I ever thought I could be.
"If you all don't need anything else, we'll get out of your hair," Taylor gives Caroline a hug.
"You're never in our hair," she assures her.
Val laughs. "But this is family time and we get it. Just let us know when you need some help, babysitting, whatever. We're here for you."
I reach over, hugging Val. "Thank you for all your help."
"There's no other place I'd rather be."
I know she's telling me the truth and I'm more thankful for her than I can say. We watch as the two of them leave, then we head for the nursery. Sitting our daughter's carrier down on the ground, I hold Bailey back. "Easy girl," I tell her as she sniffs at Kaitlyn.
She lays down next to her, watching as we take her out of the carrier. "This is your sister," Caroline tells her, lifting her down for Bailey to smell of her.
I hold my breath as she licks her face, then lays back down, keeping watch like I hoped she would. "She loves her already."
"Of course she does."
We introduce Kaitlyn to her new home, and as we turn around, we see where Jameson has put up the pictures. "Nash." she grabs hold of my shirt. "What is that?"
She points to the wall, where there are two sonogram pictures. They are in a hand-made custom frame and it says siblings. Looking at the sonogram, I see one of them is Caroline's and one is Katie's.
"Where did he get that?" I rub a hand over my face. "I thought I'd put all that stuff in storage when I took the room apart."
"Maybe he knew one day you might want it back. We want Kaitlyn to know she has a brother." Her words are streaked with tears as they come out of her mouth. "This is the sweetest thing he could have done."
Grief, I've always said comes in waves. It hits you at times when you least expect it, but so does happiness. They can be one in the same, and I stand here with my arms around my wife, looking at this picture of my children. The only one I'll ever have of them together. I realize things are better than I ever could have imagined them to be.
Glancing over to the left, I see the hotel room key that started this all, in its own frame.
Room one-forty-three changed our lives.
"Babe," I whisper into her hair.
"Yeah?"
"One four three."
She giggles, tightening her arms around me before answering back. "One four three."
The End
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Also By Laramie Briscoe
Heaven Hill Series
Meant To Be
Out of Darkness
Losing Control
Worth The Battle
Dirty Little Secret
Second Chance Love
Rough Patch
Beginning of Forever
Home Free
Shield My Heart
A Heaven Hill Christmas
Heaven Hill Next Generation
Hurricane
Wild
Heaven Hill Shorts
Caelin
Christine
Justice
Harley
Jagger
Charity
Liam
Drew
Dalton
Mandy
Rockin’ Country Series
Only The Beginning
One Day at A Time
The Price of Love
Full Circle
Hard To Love
Reaper’s Girl
The Moonshine Task Force Series
Renegade
Tank
Havoc
Ace
Menace
Cruise
Laurel Springs Emergency Response Team
Ransom
Suppression
The MVP Duet
On the DL
MVP
Stand Alones
Sketch
Sass
Trick
Room 143
Connect With Laramie
Patreon:
patreon.com/laramiebriscoe
Reader Group:
facebook.com/laramieslounge
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www.laramiebriscoe.net
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facebook.com/AuthorLaramieBriscoe
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Sneak Peak: Royal Rebel
Tristan
“I’m fucked. Completely and totally fucked. The King is going to have me beheaded in front of the entire country.”
I should have been home hours ago, technically yesterday. Looking down at the illuminated clock located on the dashboard of my Bugatti, I grimace as the blue numbers turn to four am. The sad thing? I know what I’m required to do and I’m failing miserably before I’ve even started.
“That’s one way of putting it, Tris, and he’s your father, I doubt he’d behead you in front of everyone. More than likely he’ll give you a private dressing down. Public isn’t his style.”
A smirk twitches at the corners of my mouth as my good friend and member of my royal protection team, Parker holds on tight when I take a turn at almost one-hundred miles an hour. He’s used to it, but he still slides across the leather of his seat.
“Perhaps slow down? Getting there quicker isn’t going to make it any better if your father is waiting on you.”
Chuckling, I question. “Faster? You want me to go faster, you say?” I press my foot to the pedal harder, enjoying the way the car designed specifically for me, responds. Gripping the steering wheel I hold on tight as it gives a jolt, and accelerates forward.
Parker gives a yell as we’re jerked back in our seats by the force of the acceleration. The city is asleep in the eerie quietness of the early-morning, but the lights pass by in a blur as I make my way downtown, heading for the residence I keep while not in the country.
“Not so fast!” Parker is pressing an imaginary brake so hard on the passenger side floorboard that I can hear it from where I sit.
“No worries, it brakes like a dream.”
The tires squeal lightly as we come to a halt in front of the gates. They open once the guards inside see who I am. Conservatively, I drive to the garage, park the car, and then as quiet as I can, sneak into the main house through the kitchen entrance.
“Tristan!”
“Shhh,” I shush the head of the kitchen. Mary has worked here since I was a child, and I can always count on her to use discretion. “I’ll see you in a few hours,” I grab a fresh biscuit off the counter, before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Again, with the stealth of a ninja, I navigate through the main room and then the hallway. The stairs are in my sights when I hear a throat clear behind me.
“Tristan, where have you been?”
The loud, commanding tone of King Phillip, better known to me as my father, stops me in my tracks. Pasting a smile, I turn. “Out for a morning run?”
“Don’t pretend I’m stupid. Get to my office now!”
He’s angry, much like he’s been for the past twelve years since my mother passed away. Angry at the world for forcing him to grieve in public, angry at God for taking her away, and angry at me for looking so much like her. I’m a constant reminder of the life he had and lost. I’m the person that survived the crash which took her life. Some days, I think he wishes it was me who perished. Breathing heavily, I follow him into his office, knowing I’m going to deserve whatever he gives me.
“You know what today is?” He has a seat behind the ornate desk he’s had since I was a child. Back then it’d been larger than life, much like he was to me.
“How could I forget?”
My birthday.
Twenty-five is a big year, especially in our tiny country of Haldonia. It’s the year you can legally rent a car, the time you age out of mandatory military service, and if you’re in line for the throne, it’s when the previous King or Queen secedes. They give you six months to learn the ropes, but what is six months when trying to learn how to be a ruler?
You’ve got that right, I’m about to be the King of a freaking country. Know what else comes along with being King?
“She’s here, Tristan,” he steeples his fingers in front of his face. The fact he still wears his wedding ring doesn’t escape me. It flashes with the light from the lamp on his desk.
“My blushing bride, I take it?” The words are pulled from deep within my chest. I’d always thought I would make my own decision when it came to who I would marry. My parents did, after all, and they had a tremendous love. One that burned bright until the day she died. I, however, haven’t been that lucky.
“You knew this day would come. Instead of gallivanting around and using your status, you should have been serious about picking out a partner. You haven’t done that, and royal custom says the marriage is now to be arranged. You were given time, my son. You blew it, and now you must pay the consequences.”
He’s not lying. It’s time for me to own up to my mistakes like a man. “When and where?” I ask, having a seat in front of him, letting my hands fall in between my legs.
“Your birthday party, tonight,” he looks at the clock on his desk. “There you’ll meet Amelia. Tomorrow, we introduce her to the country. I hope you’re prepared for what’s about to happen, Tristan.”
“Doesn’t matter if I am or not, does it?” I give him a sardonic smile. “In six months’ time, I’ll be a married man and King of a country.”
“It is custom.”
“Yeah?” I get up, sighing again. “Sometimes I’d like to say fuck custom.”
As I take the stairs two at a time, making it to my bedroom just as the sun is coming up, I wonder just why God took my Mom and not me. I would’ve been a much better choice.
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"Is this for real?" I ask him as he slips the ring on my finger. I push my hand out in front of my face, admiring the way it glitters in the light.
"Babe, this is as real as it gets."
We hug for a long time, swaying to a song only we can hear, and then I ask him the question that's nagging at the back of my mind. "Do you think she's happy, Nash?"
He's quiet and I respect it when finally he answers. "Yeah, knowing that her family is taken care of, she's beyond happy. If I were the type of man who believed in shit like this, I'd almost say Katie sent you to me."
I don't answer out loud, but in my head I thank Katie, because I believe she had a hand in it too.
If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be together, and the next time I get a chance, I'm going to her grave to give her a personal thank you. Once in a while, all the stars align, and we are the lucky two that Katie decided to have them align for.
Epilogue
Nash
Three Years Later
"You think she's going to be okay with her?" my wife asks as she gets into the back of our brand-new SUV.
She's tucked in tight next to our newborn daughter, Kaitlyn. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think of how far Caroline and I have come. It's been difficult, learning to be married to someone else after I thought I'd never have it again, but we've been patient with one another. Together we've built the kind of life I always wanted to have. I have no doubt Katie had a hand in it - wouldn't surprise me if she hand-picked Caroline to come into my life.
"Bailey is a good girl. She's so excited to be a big sister." Our eyes meet in the rear-view mirror. "She's been laying on your stomach for months. Somehow I think she's closer to Kait than we are."
"I just worry." She pulls her bottom lip in between her teeth. "I don't want either one of them to feel like we aren't giving them enough attention."
"Babe, we haven't even gotten home yet. Don't worry about things before they happen."
It's who she is though, and I recognize it after going through eight and a half months of pregnancy with her. Hell, up until she gave birth, I'd almost not let her out of my sight. It wasn't something I planned on doing, but after what happened previously, I wasn't comfortable if I wasn't with her. Thankfully everyone in our lives understood it and humored me. As I pull away from the curb, I go slower than I ever have in my life. Precious cargo and all.
"You doing all right back there?" Our gazes connect again.
"Yeah, just ready to get home. She's asleep and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed."
"Agreed." I crack my neck. "That couch wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on, even though they said it was supposed to be a bed. That's a load of shit."
"Nash!"
"She can't understand yet." I laugh as I get her disapproving look. "She's gonna have to get used to it. Being the only girl around here and all. You know her uncles won't be watching what they say around her."
"They will if I have anything to say about it."
Of that I have no doubt.
"Let me carry her." I grab at the carrier. "You've done a lot in a few days, Mama."
She grins up at me, before lifting on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. "I think I kinda like my new role."
My eyes sweep her body, stopping at her newly bigger chest. "I'm totally loving the new you."
She reaches in, pinching me. "Stop, I'm a mother now."
"A MILF," I tease.
Her arms wrap around my waist, holding on tightly, and it's the best part of my day. I still love when she hugs me like there's no other place she wants to be. "Let's go," she whispers.
Together we enter the house with our daughter. Bailey runs to us, excitement evident in the way she's shaking form head to toe.
"You have food in the freezer and fridge for at least a week," Taylor tells us as she comes out of the kitchen. "She's so cute!" She comes over to our daughter, touching her finger with one of hers. "So little, but such a strong personality already."
She saw that personality at the hospital, when she refused to be swaddled.
"And the house is clean," Val adds, coming from the living room. "Jameson made sure the yard work is done and did the last bit of hanging the pictures in the nursery."
We have a village and I'm happier than I ever thought I could be.
"If you all don't need anything else, we'll get out of your hair," Taylor gives Caroline a hug.
"You're never in our hair," she assures her.
Val laughs. "But this is family time and we get it. Just let us know when you need some help, babysitting, whatever. We're here for you."
I reach over, hugging Val. "Thank you for all your help."
"There's no other place I'd rather be."
I know she's telling me the truth and I'm more thankful for her than I can say. We watch as the two of them leave, then we head for the nursery. Sitting our daughter's carrier down on the ground, I hold Bailey back. "Easy girl," I tell her as she sniffs at Kaitlyn.
She lays down next to her, watching as we take her out of the carrier. "This is your sister," Caroline tells her, lifting her down for Bailey to smell of her.
I hold my breath as she licks her face, then lays back down, keeping watch like I hoped she would. "She loves her already."
"Of course she does."
We introduce Kaitlyn to her new home, and as we turn around, we see where Jameson has put up the pictures. "Nash." she grabs hold of my shirt. "What is that?"
She points to the wall, where there are two sonogram pictures. They are in a hand-made custom frame and it says siblings. Looking at the sonogram, I see one of them is Caroline's and one is Katie's.
"Where did he get that?" I rub a hand over my face. "I thought I'd put all that stuff in storage when I took the room apart."
"Maybe he knew one day you might want it back. We want Kaitlyn to know she has a brother." Her words are streaked with tears as they come out of her mouth. "This is the sweetest thing he could have done."
Grief, I've always said comes in waves. It hits you at times when you least expect it, but so does happiness. They can be one in the same, and I stand here with my arms around my wife, looking at this picture of my children. The only one I'll ever have of them together. I realize things are better than I ever could have imagined them to be.
Glancing over to the left, I see the hotel room key that started this all, in its own frame.
Room one-forty-three changed our lives.
"Babe," I whisper into her hair.
"Yeah?"
"One four three."
She giggles, tightening her arms around me before answering back. "One four three."
The End
Reviews
If you leave a review, please let me know by emailing me! I would love to thank you personally!
Email Me!
Report an error!
If you see an error, please let me know. I strive to make my books as perfect as possible, but there is always one or two things that slip through!
Email Me!
Also By Laramie Briscoe
Heaven Hill Series
Meant To Be
Out of Darkness
Losing Control
Worth The Battle
Dirty Little Secret
Second Chance Love
Rough Patch
Beginning of Forever
Home Free
Shield My Heart
A Heaven Hill Christmas
Heaven Hill Next Generation
Hurricane
Wild
Heaven Hill Shorts
Caelin
Christine
Justice
Harley
Jagger
Charity
Liam
Drew
Dalton
Mandy
Rockin’ Country Series
Only The Beginning
One Day at A Time
The Price of Love
Full Circle
Hard To Love
Reaper’s Girl
The Moonshine Task Force Series
Renegade
Tank
Havoc
Ace
Menace
Cruise
Laurel Springs Emergency Response Team
Ransom
Suppression
The MVP Duet
On the DL
MVP
Stand Alones
Sketch
Sass
Trick
Room 143
Connect With Laramie
Patreon:
patreon.com/laramiebriscoe
Reader Group:
facebook.com/laramieslounge
Website:
www.laramiebriscoe.net
Facebook:
facebook.com/AuthorLaramieBriscoe
Twitter:
twitter.com/LaramieBriscoe
Pinterest:
pinterest.com/laramiebriscoe
Instagram:
instagram.com/laramie_briscoe
Mailing List:
http://sitel.ink/LBList
Email:
laramie@laramiebriscoe.com
Sneak Peak: Royal Rebel
Tristan
“I’m fucked. Completely and totally fucked. The King is going to have me beheaded in front of the entire country.”
I should have been home hours ago, technically yesterday. Looking down at the illuminated clock located on the dashboard of my Bugatti, I grimace as the blue numbers turn to four am. The sad thing? I know what I’m required to do and I’m failing miserably before I’ve even started.
“That’s one way of putting it, Tris, and he’s your father, I doubt he’d behead you in front of everyone. More than likely he’ll give you a private dressing down. Public isn’t his style.”
A smirk twitches at the corners of my mouth as my good friend and member of my royal protection team, Parker holds on tight when I take a turn at almost one-hundred miles an hour. He’s used to it, but he still slides across the leather of his seat.
“Perhaps slow down? Getting there quicker isn’t going to make it any better if your father is waiting on you.”
Chuckling, I question. “Faster? You want me to go faster, you say?” I press my foot to the pedal harder, enjoying the way the car designed specifically for me, responds. Gripping the steering wheel I hold on tight as it gives a jolt, and accelerates forward.
Parker gives a yell as we’re jerked back in our seats by the force of the acceleration. The city is asleep in the eerie quietness of the early-morning, but the lights pass by in a blur as I make my way downtown, heading for the residence I keep while not in the country.
“Not so fast!” Parker is pressing an imaginary brake so hard on the passenger side floorboard that I can hear it from where I sit.
“No worries, it brakes like a dream.”
The tires squeal lightly as we come to a halt in front of the gates. They open once the guards inside see who I am. Conservatively, I drive to the garage, park the car, and then as quiet as I can, sneak into the main house through the kitchen entrance.
“Tristan!”
“Shhh,” I shush the head of the kitchen. Mary has worked here since I was a child, and I can always count on her to use discretion. “I’ll see you in a few hours,” I grab a fresh biscuit off the counter, before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Again, with the stealth of a ninja, I navigate through the main room and then the hallway. The stairs are in my sights when I hear a throat clear behind me.
“Tristan, where have you been?”
The loud, commanding tone of King Phillip, better known to me as my father, stops me in my tracks. Pasting a smile, I turn. “Out for a morning run?”
“Don’t pretend I’m stupid. Get to my office now!”
He’s angry, much like he’s been for the past twelve years since my mother passed away. Angry at the world for forcing him to grieve in public, angry at God for taking her away, and angry at me for looking so much like her. I’m a constant reminder of the life he had and lost. I’m the person that survived the crash which took her life. Some days, I think he wishes it was me who perished. Breathing heavily, I follow him into his office, knowing I’m going to deserve whatever he gives me.
“You know what today is?” He has a seat behind the ornate desk he’s had since I was a child. Back then it’d been larger than life, much like he was to me.
“How could I forget?”
My birthday.
Twenty-five is a big year, especially in our tiny country of Haldonia. It’s the year you can legally rent a car, the time you age out of mandatory military service, and if you’re in line for the throne, it’s when the previous King or Queen secedes. They give you six months to learn the ropes, but what is six months when trying to learn how to be a ruler?
You’ve got that right, I’m about to be the King of a freaking country. Know what else comes along with being King?
“She’s here, Tristan,” he steeples his fingers in front of his face. The fact he still wears his wedding ring doesn’t escape me. It flashes with the light from the lamp on his desk.
“My blushing bride, I take it?” The words are pulled from deep within my chest. I’d always thought I would make my own decision when it came to who I would marry. My parents did, after all, and they had a tremendous love. One that burned bright until the day she died. I, however, haven’t been that lucky.
“You knew this day would come. Instead of gallivanting around and using your status, you should have been serious about picking out a partner. You haven’t done that, and royal custom says the marriage is now to be arranged. You were given time, my son. You blew it, and now you must pay the consequences.”
He’s not lying. It’s time for me to own up to my mistakes like a man. “When and where?” I ask, having a seat in front of him, letting my hands fall in between my legs.
“Your birthday party, tonight,” he looks at the clock on his desk. “There you’ll meet Amelia. Tomorrow, we introduce her to the country. I hope you’re prepared for what’s about to happen, Tristan.”
“Doesn’t matter if I am or not, does it?” I give him a sardonic smile. “In six months’ time, I’ll be a married man and King of a country.”
“It is custom.”
“Yeah?” I get up, sighing again. “Sometimes I’d like to say fuck custom.”
As I take the stairs two at a time, making it to my bedroom just as the sun is coming up, I wonder just why God took my Mom and not me. I would’ve been a much better choice.
Preorder
Laramie Briscoe, Room 143: A Standalone Romance
