Tony: Alvarez Security Series (39 page)

Tony, resplendent in a dark suit, kept his eyes locked on the beautiful woman at his side. He had a second chance at love and planned on making every moment count.

His father, standing next to him, glanced at the mantle noticing the small, framed picture of a smiling Tony with Marla and newborn baby Sofia.
Sherrie did that,
he knew. She had brought Tony out of the past while still celebrating all of life. Next to it was another framed snapshot, this one of Tony and Sherrie in the snow with the frozen lake behind them. And the two pictures looked perfect side by side. He knew that the mantle would soon be full of other pictures of them. Now, and later with children.
Life goes on,
he thought.
And thank God it does.

Tony kissed his bride with all the love and passion he had for her, holding her tight as he handed her an envelope. Turning to the gathering, he proclaimed, “I have a gift for my new bride. One that holds a special meaning to us.”

She looked up in confusion, her hand holding the plain envelope. “What is this?”

“Open it, baby,” he said gently.

Licking her lips nervously, she opened the envelope and pulled out the sheaf of papers.
A deed?
“Oh my God!” she shouted, throwing her arms around his neck. Looking at the questioning gazes of their friends, he explained. “Mr. Marks sold the mountain cabin to us.”

The laughter rang out in the room as his wife’s tearful smile filled his vision.
Yeah, life goes on.

W
aking up in
the cabin several months later, Tony looked over at his wife. Her cherubic face with the mass of blonde hair spilling on the pillow had him holding his breath for fear of disturbing her. She opened her eyes, blinking at the light. Focusing on him, she smiled.

“Hey, you,” she said softly.

“Hey back,” he answered.

Leaning in to kiss her, he then pulled back and lifted an eyebrow.

She huffed as she said, “Yes, of course,” and moved to get out of bed. Returning a few minutes later, she climbed back under the covers. “It cuts down on the spontaneity when this baby is sitting on my bladder,” she groused.

Chuckling, he kissed her again before turning her over and pulling her back to his front. Reaching down, he noticed her lack of panties. “Ummmm, you are ready,” he murmured in her ear.

“Always for you,” she whispered back.

Sliding into her, he curled one arm under her neck with one hand down cupping her swollen breasts while the other rested on her protruding belly. Slowly and deliberately he moved in and out, not willing to hurry the process.

It did not take long for the delicious friction to build and she began to pant as she climbed toward ecstasy. His cock was touching so deep within her, she could feel the tingles as her pussy walls began to convulse, grabbing tighter to him as she flew over the edge. Screaming out his name, her orgasm rushed over her as she squeezed her eyes tightly, the electricity sending jolts to her whole body.

With only a few more strokes, his neck corded as the veins stood out, grimacing through his release. He felt his child kick and he could not help but chuckle.

“Mmmm, you woke the baby,” she said, pretending to grumble. He nuzzled her neck as they panted their way down from shared breathlessness.

“I love you, Mrs. Alvarez.”

She rolled over to face him, placing her hand on his jaw. “And I love you, Mr. Alvarez.”

Later that day, they walked to the pier and sat on the edge, feet dangling in the water. “This will be such an amazing place to bring our kids for vacations,” she said.

“We’ll need to add a bit to it,” Tony said, looking back at the small cabin.

“It was big enough for the Marks and they had two kids.”

“Yes, but we need a bedroom off to ourselves. One where when you scream out my name, the kids can’t hear.”

Giggling, she playfully slapped his arm. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. She turned toward him and looked into his warm eyes, handsome with the little laugh crinkles out from the sides. “Are you glad you followed me to this cabin in the storm?”

Taking her face in both of his hands, he gazed deeply into her eyes. Kissing her lightly, he pulled away, saying, “More than you can ever know. Baby, I may have come out here to save you, but that storm, this cabin, and you…saved me.

*

Hand in hand,
Tony and Sherrie walked through the cemetery. Stopping first at Charisse’s gravestone, Sherri smiled. Tony had purchased the beautiful marble stone engraved with her name and the title,
Beloved Sister.

She knelt and brushed some grass from the base. Holding her large stomach, she said, “Oh Charisse, I wish you could have been here to be with me. But all I can wish for you is peace. I love you, sis.”

Tony assisted her up and they made their way to the other graves. Stopping in front of Marla and Sofia’s headstones, Tony also knelt to brush away some grass. This place used to represent all that he had lost. All that had been taken away from him. And now? He smiled, realizing how lucky he was that life had given him a second chance at love. At living. At being a husband and a father. “You two will always be in my heart,” he said softly. Standing, he turned to see Sherrie smiling at him. “And you, baby,” he said, moving closer to take her face into his hands, “have crept into my very soul.” Leaning in he kissed her. A kiss of promise. Of life. Of love. Of forever.

*

Tony pushed Sherrie’s
damp hair from her face, waiting for the next contraction. They were coming fast and furious now and the doctor looked up from between his wife’s legs and said, “Not much longer.”

He was a wreck. In the past few months so many of their friends had had babies. Annie and Shane, as well as Jennifer and Gabe, had baby boys, Matt and Lily had a baby girl, and Suzanne and BJ had twins. With each one, he was reminded of having been in the delivery room years before, but this time was different. No other thought went through his mind other than Sherrie and this baby being healthy.

The contraction came once more and he assisted her forward so that she could bear down. “Only a few more like that and your baby will be here,” the doctor called out. They had decided not to learn the sex of the baby, preferring it to be a surprise.

Helping her lay back down, he wiped her brow and stared into the eyes of the woman who had saved him. Brought him back. Brought him forward. “You’re doing great, babe,” he encouraged, awed by her strength.

“This is it,” the doctor said. “Push.”

With one more push, Tony’s son was born. A big, healthy, boy.

And life began again.

The End

Beautiful Laurie Dodd was perfectly happy with her life. Raised by her loving aunt, she was ready to discover life out on her own. A new town, a new teaching job, a new apartment, and new friends. Finding a new man was not on her list, especially not one with the reputation of a player.

Rob McDonald, a local firefighter, had grown tired of one-night stands, but had no desire to be paired with the new woman in town. Until he met her. One look was all it took and Rob knew that Laurie was the one for him, but he was going to have to work to convince her that he was a changed man. One that was worthy of her.

A fire at the elementary school brought them together, but illness and deceit threatened to tear them apart.

Will Rob be able to find the missing pieces of Laurie’s past to help her fight for her future?

Will Laurie be able to forgive Rob’s deceit in order to have a future with him?

Beautiful Emma Dodd has always taken care of everyone. She raised her niece when they were orphaned and she cares for the students that she counsels. Deciding to move to Fairfield where her niece now lives, she was hoping to finally find a place to call home.

Jake Campbell, was gorgeous enough to catch any woman’s eye, but he had a hard time finding the right one for him. A Fairfield detective, he lives with his mother to help care for her since she was diagnosed with a debilitating disease.

After meeting Emma, he knows he has met the woman of his dreams. Now he just has to convince the independent Emma that it is time someone took care of her.

Join Emma and Jake, along with their tight knit group of family and friends as they find love in Fairfield.

While helping one of her students, Emma becomes suspicious of criminal activity in her new town. Will Jake be able to save Emma in time for them to build a life together?

When Detective Tom Rivers first meets beautiful Carol Fletcher, he thinks he has been visited by an angel. The gentle ER nurse attending him after an accident, captivates him and when she slips away, he searches diligently to find her. A man used to getting what he wants, Tom works to earn Carol’s trust, knowing that she is the woman for him.

Carol, having grown up with her parent’s manipulations, is determined to make her own way and become her own person. She holds a secret and is cautious about giving in to the charms of any man, particularly the persuasive detective.

But once she gives him a chance, she finds acceptance as well as love in his arms.

When Carol becomes the object of a stalker’s infatuation, Tom vows to keep her safe. When the stalker’s intentions turns deadly, Tom is determined to stop at nothing to bring her back to safety.

Will Tom be able to rescue her before it is too late?

Will Carol finally see the beautiful image that everyone else see?

Annie Donavan’s life as a veterinarian is safe. And boring. Between focusing on keeping her small, inner-city clinic running, paying off student loans, and living in the tiny apartment above the clinic she has no time for fun or dating and certainly not for anything adventurous.

Then one night, danger and surprise show up in the alley behind her clinic. And Annie is in for the ride of her life.

Stoney is a mystery. A man of few words but smoldering looks. She decides to take a risk and after a night of passion finds herself thrown into a world that she never knew existed. A world of drugs, danger and intrigue.

Shane is a detective, who vows to keep Annie safe at all costs. Losing his heart to her is the easy part. Keeping her safe and earning her trust will prove to be his most difficult task.

Detective Matt Dixon had a scarred face earned in the line of duty and a scarred heart when his cheating fiance’ left him. Quiet and surly, he was determined to not let love in again. Until he met her…Lily Swanson. The first woman in a year that did not focus on his scar. Tempted to know her, he thought he had lost his chance when she disappeared into the night.

When he and his partner are called to investigate a murder, he finds her again.

Lily doesn’t mind Matt’s scar. She’s hiding scars of her own and is determined to keep the handsome detective at arm’s length. A software engineer working in a medical company, she stumbles across what her murdered partner had discovered… and this time, she may be the next victim.

Will Lily be able to solve the clues to keep the murderer from striking again?

Can Matt save her before the murderer claims her as their next victim?

Can two scarred people be tempted to let love in?

When trust is broken by loss and grief, can it ever be repaired?

High school sweethearts and young lovers, Brad and Suzy had vowed to stay together forever. “I’ll always be here for you. Trust me,” Brad promised but loss separated the young lovers. Moving on with their lives, neither could fill the empty void nor forget their first love.

Suzanne McDonald had closed herself off to dating in spite of the best efforts of her friends to play matchmaker and threw herself into her job as a veterinarian technician.

Brad, now known as BJ to his friends, had focused on his career as a computer programmer for Alverez Security Agency.

When a mutual friend played matchmaker between BJ and Suzanne, the two were stunned to be reunited.