Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
A little beak poked through the first egg, and Boomer and Lou both gasped.
They were already a team.
And they would need to be fed. “I’m going to start breakfast.”
They barely looked up, but that was okay. Life was beginning, and it begged to be witnessed, to be taken into gentle hands and shepherded through the first few days.
Being taken in by Boomer Ward wasn’t exactly a burden.
“Want me to help?” Boomer asked.
“No. You two have fun.” She watched them for moment, loving how they seemed to fit.
And then she went to the kitchen because those eggs weren’t going to cook themselves.
Maybe no eggs this morning. Bacon and toast and fruit would be good.
And a lot of it.
Epilogue: A Glimpse of the Future
Twelve years later
Austin, Texas
Lou walked down the quiet hallway, the only sound the happy tone of her mother’s voice coming from her cell. It was Friday, and all of the students who usually packed the campus were heading home or off to their dorms to get ready for a fun night out.
Lou wondered what TJ was doing. TJ Taggart. Even the thought of him could make her weak, and she needed to be strong when it came to him. He couldn’t keep walking in and out of her life. She needed stability, and he wasn’t interested in anything permanent.
Someday, Lou. Someday, it’s going to be you and me.
She didn’t even know where he was. Since he’d joined a Special Ops team, not even his mom and dad tended to know where he was from day to day.
Sometimes she thought all of her friends had left her for the military. Or something else.
Of course it wasn’t like she’d stayed in Dallas, hence the necessary weekly phone call from her mom.
Her dad called at least three times a week, and he sent way too much food.
She forced thoughts of TJ from her brain. He was bad for her peace of mind, and she was done with waiting for him. Someday wasn’t ever going to come.
“We’re all getting ready for the wedding. I can’t believe it’s happening so fast,” her mom was saying. “The cake is going to be beautiful. Grace has excellent taste, but I’m nervous because Sean has worked with some of the greatest pastry chefs in the world. Please tell me you can get away for the wedding.”
“Of course.” Family was not something she avoided. She stopped in front of her door, an elegant creation of wood and opaque glass.
Louisa Ward
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
She also taught the mathematical principles of engineering. She’d had her choice of universities when she’d graduated with her PhD at the tender age of twenty-two, but she’d selected the University of Texas because Austin wasn’t too far from home.
Damn, she missed home. Missed her cobbled-together family.
“I’m so glad to hear it. Try to come up early. Jayce’s team is playing that Friday night, and he’s missed you. They both have.” Her voice sounded a little teary over the line. “I miss you.”
“I miss you, too, Mom. I promise I’ll spend all summer up there with you guys.” It was one of the joys of teaching. She got summers off to “research.”
What she would really do was tinker in the big workshop her dad had built on their property when she was fifteen and wanted to play around with building things. When her mom had gotten pregnant with Jayce, her dad had decided it was time to move into a house, and he’d wanted some space. Her parents still lived on the big four-acre property outside of Dallas, and her dad still took in all kinds of strays. Now along with dogs and cats, he routinely brought home goats and fostered pigs.
She had the coolest dad.
She reached up and touched the etched name. Ward. She’d given up the name Carlton because she was Boomer Ward’s daughter and proud to be. The Carltons hadn’t wanted her after she’d proven she wouldn’t fall in line, and she was okay with that. They’d left their millions to several universities and died alone.
It was fitting.
She didn’t think about them often. Every now and then, she wondered what would have happened if her bio dad had lived. She couldn’t imagine her life without her real dad and brother, without the Taggart sisters and Bri and Devi.
And TJ.
God, she missed TJ.
“I love you,” her mother said. “I’ve got to get back to the bakery. Your dad says he loves you, too. We’ll see you soon.”
“I love you both,” she said and hung up, sliding her phone into the big Prada bag Ian and Charlotte had gifted her when she’d received her PhD.
She needed to send Kala a text. Her bestie had been quiet lately, and that meant something. When Kala got quiet, Lou worried the world might explode, and Kala would be the one pushing the button.