Homeward Read online

  I sit as still as a statue, knowing I am in a car with dangerous people; people who are unhinged--who might pull the trigger at any moment.

  But then I hear the sound of a helicopter overhead.

  Rozzy looks at Rick. Rick looks at me, finger on the trigger.

  I look at the phone. “Colton, I love you too,” I scream, knowing it might be too late.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Colton

  My heart is racing as the helicopter prepares to land, Rozzy and Rick’s vehicle now in clear sight. Rozzy made a fatal mistake in calling me. We could track her the moment the call went through.

  And I wasn’t wasting any time. I had a search team in place the moment the men and I put two and two together after Jonah showed up at the diner.

  I need to get out of the chopper -- now!

  I need Laila in my arms. I need to get down on one knee. I need her to know I will never, ever leave her side again.

  “Go faster,” I shout, the call now ended. The moment Laila shouted that she loved me, the line went dead.

  Now, we land, and I am shoving my way out of the chopper, toward the car. As I make my way through empty the parking lot, toward the car, Rozzy and Rick push out of the vehicle, dragging Laila behind them, shoving her to the ground.

  Rick has a gun raised and I run as fast as I can towards him, shouting for him to drop it. Laila’s face is pressed against the concrete and I hate myself for not dealing with Rozzy sooner, but I had no idea she was this far off her rocker. I never listened to the voicemails or read her emails. I just pressed delete, thinking it would disappear.

  But now I know that isn’t how you deal with your problems in life. You need to face them head-on.

  And now I will. Now and forever because it is Laila’s life that is in jeopardy and I will never put her in this position again.

  “Drop the gun,” I say, praying that the police are on my heels, desperate to hear sirens in the distance.

  “You lied to me, Colton. You said you loved me.”

  I step closer, wanting to calm her and her brother down long enough to get Laila out of here. But I see Rick’s finger on the trigger. There isn’t much time.

  “Let her go,” I say.

  “Or what?” Rick spits.

  “Shoot me instead.”

  “You don’t mean that,” Laila shouts.

  “Yes, I do. Shoot me.”

  Just then, police cars pull into the parking lot, guns are raised. Rozzy is screaming, Rick is panicked, and I am goddamn terrified.

  I know they won’t stop until they get closer to their goal. That means Laila gone.

  I dive for her just as a bullet pierces the night sky.

  I land hard, covering the woman I love with my body, as a bloody flower blossoms on my chest. His gun falls to the gravel.

  I press a hand to my heart, then look up and see that Laila has gotten a hold of the gun. She is standing, the revolver pointed to Rick.

  She shoots him dead on, and he falls, and beside him, Rozzy is hysterical. Then she looks down at me, her eyes rimmed with red as the police officers run toward the crime scene.

  “Laila,” I cry, not wanting to die when I am so close to having what I want. A home with her.

  She is shaking, falling to her knees, cradling me in her arms and I am begging for more time.

  “I couldn’t bring a child into this world knowing a man like him was out there,” she says.

  I try to keep my eyes open as her words sink in.

  “A child?”

  “Yours,” she whispers, pressing her lips to mine, giving me the oxygen I need to hold on for one more second. “We’re having a baby.”

  “I love you, Laila,” I whisper, my eyes refusing to stay open, fight as I might.

  “Good, then don’t go dying on me now.”

  She kisses me again, and then she takes my hand and presses it to her stomach. “I need you, Colton Miller. And so does your family.”

  I wake up in a hospital bed, groggy but alive.

  “Oh, God,” Laila cries, rushing toward me. “God, Colton, you scared me.”

  A doctor comes in and explains that I have been asleep for three days, following the surgery for the bullet wound. I narrowly escaped a fatal blow to the heart.

  The nurses check my vitals, redress my bandages, and thankfully, the actual shot was clean. The actual wound is less than the size of a quarter, but the bandages are about six inches across. Once they are done making sure I’m okay, I look at the strongest woman I know. A fighter through and through, and braver than her petite frame would have you think. The mother of my child.

  “Laila, I’m so sorry,” I say, the memories from the parking lot flashing in my mind.

  “Don’t,” she says. “No apologies. Just gratitude. Because Colton, we are here. Together. Against all odds.”

  “And Rick? Rozzy?”

  Laila wipes the tears from her eyes. “He died. I killed him. And Rozzy is in jail.”

  “Oh, God, Laila,” I say, as she crawls into the hospital bed. The doctor is shaking his head, but she doesn’t care.

  “I’ll be careful but I just... I need to be with him.”

  “Did you tell him yet?” a nurse asks with a smile.

  “Tell me what?” I ask.

  Laila lifts her eyebrows and asks the nurse to hand her the pictures on the bedside table.

  The nurse gives them to Laila, then pulls the curtain as she leaves, to give us privacy.

  “It’s kind of a big deal,” she says.

  “Bigger than what went down a few days ago?”

  She twists her lips. “That was life or death. So, no, because this is only good news. At least, I think it is.”

  “Thank god, the last thing you need is another kidnapping.”

  She bites her lip, looking so damn beautiful when she does. “On the phone, when you mentioned the lakefront property to Rozzy, you were really speaking to me, weren’t you?”

  I nod. “I was hoping the words I was saying would give you hope, comfort, I prayed you would know they were for you, not her.”

  Laila nods. “I figured that out, and I was so overwhelmed, Colton. You hardly know me. I’ve been through so much, that’s why I pushed you away. I was scared.”

  “I know, Laila. And it kills me that I didn’t fight harder for you.”

  No,” she says, shaking her head. “You were a real man. You listened when I said no. You respected me when I asked for space. You didn’t bulldoze your way into my life and force me to be something I wasn’t ready to be.”

  “But now?” I ask, my voice cracking. “Now, what are you ready for?”

  She trembles as she looks into my eyes. “Now I’m ready for forever. And it’s not just because I’m pregnant. It’s because I love you. I knew the moment we met, but I was so terrified of being hurt. But now I know what true pain is-- being separated from you. Losing you. I want to build a life with you. A home. I want you to marry me, Colton Miller. I want to be your wife.”

  I’m speechless and amazed and goddamn in love.

  “Get a nurse,” I say.

  Laila furrows her brows. “A nurse? Are you okay?”

  “I just need a nurse, now.”

  Laila gets out of the bed and presses the nurse call button. A moment later the same nurse who had just been here arrives. “I need the pants I was wearing when I was brought in,” I tell her.

  “Pants?” Laila asks.

  But I just nod and tell the nurse to hurry.

  She does as I ask and a moment later she returns. “These?” she asks, handing me my jeans.

  “Perfect.” I take them from her and pull out the ring I had put in the pocket. “Laila, come back.”

  She steps toward me, the photos still in her hands.

  I show her the ring, a twelve-carat diamond glittering in this fluorescently lit hospital room.

  She gasps, shaking her head. “It’s too much. It’s...”

  “Laila, I’m telling you, I
could give you the world if you want it. But what I hope you want is my heart, plain and simple. I need you as my wife, my partner--my home.”

  She presses a hand to her mouth. “Before we commit, I have to show you something. I don’t want you to think I tricked you into anything. And if you want to back out, you can. I understand. A lot of men would think of me as damaged goods. But I just--”

  I cut her off. “Just show me, Laila.”

  She steps toward me and hands me the pictures. It takes me a moment to realize it is ultrasound images.

  “Is this our baby?”

  She shakes her head. “No. It’s our babies.”

  I look closer, realizing there are arrows on the image, pointing to heartbeats.

  I count them.

  One. Two. Three. Four.

  Four heartbeats.

  “Quadruplets?” I ask, eyes widening at the shock and awe of the goddamn gift from above.

  She nods. “It’s kinda a package deal now.”

  “Hell yeah, it is. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Then I slip the ring on my bride’s finger and pull her to me. “I love you, Laila, heart, and soul. Now let’s get out of this hospital. We’re homeward bound.”

  “Then we’re already there,” she says, her lips inches from mine. “Because when I’m with you, Colton, I’m right where I belong.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue 1

  Laila

  Five Months Later ...

  Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does buy us a gorgeous lakefront home, custom built in less than five months flat. Jaxon’s entire crew is hired, along with some stone workers from Spokane, electricians from Boise, and we hire Stella, Wilder’s wife, to decorate the place.

  In the end, this home is more than I could have ever imagined. I made Stella a Pinterest-inspiration board in an effort to capture the vibe I was going for. Think bright and airy, peaceful and homey. Cherish laughed and said nothing was going to be peaceful once the babies come, and I’m sure she is right. But right now, all I care about is the fact this home Colton built for me is a safe place to raise my children.

  It’s more than I ever imagined for myself.

  “You look so beautiful,” Virginia says as she buttons the back of my wedding gown.

  I roll my eyes. “I look huge.”

  “Not huge,” Cherish laughs. “Just pregnant with four babies.”

  I look at myself in the full-length mirror. The three of us are in the master suite, and outside my home, the wedding guests are gathered. But I’m not thinking of any of them. I’m imagining the way Colton will look when he sees me dressed in white. His bride. His wife.

  He has made it his duty to make sure I feel beautiful every day since we got engaged. He might promise to have and to hold me, but I have so many wounds from years of abuse. But now, when I look at myself in this white organza gown, I truly do feel lovely. I feel like I just might be the woman Colton sees. Colton’s love has healed so many of my scars and allowed me to blossom into the woman I always wanted to become. Myself.

  “Don’t cry,” Virginia says. “You’ll ruin your makeup.”

  “I’m so emotional,” I say, dabbing my eyes. “It must be the hormones.”

  Cherish places the veil on my head, the delicate tulle falling over my shoulders. “No, sweetie. It’s not the hormones. It’s love.”

  I pull my best friends into a tight embrace, my heart bursting with gratitude for having them here with me. I don’t have extended family to stand with me today--but thankfully, we can choose our family. And I choose them.

  Virginia looks at the time on her phone just as the wedding planner, Tilly, pops her head in the door. Outside there are a hundred people gathered, along with a photographer and a pastor. After we exchange our vows on the green lawn facing the lake, we will have a reception in a large tent on the property. Colton hired a wedding coordinator for us, and Tilly has planned this event down to every detail.

  The fondant iced cake has four tiers, the parquet dance floor shines, and there is even a band set up for our first dance. It feels indulgent and opulent, but my friends have told me that life is hard. When you get blessings like this, you take them. And Colton isn’t doing all this to show off. He’s doing it because he wants me to feel like the queen he says I am.

  “The ceremony is about to start,” Tilly says. “You ready?”

  “More than ready.” And I mean it. I have experienced a lot of moments in my life when I felt weak and small. But as I walk outside with my bouquet of soft pink roses in hand, following in the footsteps of my bridesmaids Virginia and Cherish, I feel strong. And when I see Colton waiting for me at the end of the aisle I know I don’t need to be strong on my own anymore. I have him to hold my hand, to lift me up.

  When he takes my hand in his, a shiver of devotion runs up and down my spine. I want to make him happy for the rest of my life. And when he looks in my eyes and takes his vows, “Till death do us part” I know his words are true and real and promises he intends to keep.

  When the pastor tells him to kiss his bride, he pulls me into his arms and I know without a shadow of a doubt he will never, ever let go.

  “I love you, Mrs. Miller,” he whispers in my ear.

  My heart swells with emotion, I bite back the tears but he shakes his head. “Let them fall,” he says. “Tears don’t make you weak. They make you strong.”

  And he’s right. I was so scared to give my heart to him, I pushed him away twice, even after I knew at first sight that he was the man for me. But tears are honest, they are a symbol of my vulnerability--with him and with everyone here. So, I don’t wipe them away. I let them glisten on my cheeks, as a symbol of my love.

  There are no guarantees in life, but there is one thing I can hang onto. I can choose who I love, how wide and how deep.

  And my love for Colton Miller is more expansive than this lake.

  Hours later, he carries me over the threshold, and I laugh at the ridiculousness of it. I am much heavier than I was when we met, but he is stronger. His muscles even more ripped then they were when we met all those nights ago on the back porch. Colton has been working up a sweat every day since he moved to Miracle Mountain.

  He’s pounded in nails alongside Buck and Jaxon, framed the house with Wilder. He has carried in appliances with James and Hawk. He’s installed windows with Beau and Bear. It’s been a group effort and it has turned my fancy-pants movie star into a real mountain man.

  “I am so ready to get you out of this dress, wife,” he says as he sets me on the ground.

  “Perfect. Because I’m desperate to get you inside of me.” I give him a bright smile that is filled with all the memories of the day. Like when I tossed the bouquet and Virginia caught it. Or when Colton threw my garter belt, and Jonah’s fingertips reached it first. I know more than one person looked at the pair of them with raised eyebrows.

  “Oh, Laila,” Colton groans, unbuttoning my dress. His fingertips graze over my skin with a gentleness that forces me to close my eyes, to lean back into his strong body.

  “I love you, Colton,” I whisper as my dress falls to the floor, as his hands cup my full breasts. My nipples are tight with expectation as he plucks them, as he plants kisses down my neck, sending a thrill of excitement over my body.

  “You are the most beautiful bride,” he tells me, and I turn to him, my big belly between us, his hard cock now in my hand.

  “Thank you for fighting for me. For not giving up on me,” I say, as he pulls me to the bed, as he leans over me. As his length enters me with decision and desire.

  “I will always be here for you; for our babies,” he says, his eyes on mine and my body opening up to him all over again. He feels so good and so right, and as we begin rocking against one another, our bodies in sync and our minds one, I know that we’ve been homeward bound since the moment we met. And now and forever, here we are.

  Right where we belong.

  Chapter Seventeen

 
; Epilogue 2

  Colton

  Eight Months Later...

  When her water breaks, it’s as dramatic as it seems in the movies. She’s in the kitchen, eating spoonfuls straight from the pint of ice cream, barefoot, and so very pregnant.

  “I’m not ready,” she moans. “It wasn’t supposed to break at home.”

  Carrying quads has meant we are a high-risk pregnancy, and the C-section is scheduled in three days. No one was thinking her water would break before then.

  “It’s okay, love,” I tell her, rushing to her side. My fingers already pressing send on a call to the doctor. Within minutes, there is a plan, a helicopter is on its way, so we can get to the Boise State hospital within the hour.

  “I’m scared, Cole. I don’t know how to do this,” she whimpers as a contraction washes over her. I hate seeing her in so much pain. It kills me to watch, but I know she needs me to be her rock, so I take her hand, let her squeeze it until I think the bones might break, and lead her to the front porch.

  “I’m right here, Laila. We will be with the doctor soon, and then you can meet your babies.” I don’t know if it’s the right words, but I am doing my best to be the man she needs. “You’re so close, mama.”

  She looks at me with tears in her eyes. “I want to be a good mom, Colton. I never had one and I’m scared I’m gonna mess up.”

  “Shh,” I say, kissing her forehead, as the helicopters’ loud propellers signal its impending arrival. “You are going to be the best mom these babies could ask for,” I assure her, believing it with all that I am. All that I could be.

  “How do you know? Because I’m not as sure,” she says, putting words to her deepest fear. That she isn’t enough.

  I take her face in hands, looking deeply into her eyes. “Love is a choice. And you choose them. Love is what they need, and you will offer it in spades.”