Undefeated (Unexpected Book 5) (43 page)

“Morning,” I greet her when she opens her eyes.

She smiles. “So this is what it’s like to wake up next to Porter Kendrick.” I give her a confused look. “Every morning since I met you, I’ve wondered what it would be like to wake up next to you nestled in those strong arms.”

“Is it everything you imagined?” I kiss the top of her head. “Because waking up with you in my arms happens to be a dream of mine and it exceeds every fantasy I had.”

“Better than I imagined. I could do this forever; in fact, I don’t know how I’ll survive without them after today.”

“You don’t have to live without them,” I hint and in return, I only get a frown. “You just need to wish for it.”

“It’s not that simple. There’s a world of difference between what I desire, and reality. But we can find ways to do this often.”

Her words are like music to my heart, the answer to what I’ve been wondering all night. Because after the earth-shattering night we experienced, I can’t imagine not having her in my bed, in my arms, and next to my heart every night.

“Marry me,” I blurt out, hugging her tight. Then climbing out of the bed, I look for the engagement ring I picked up from the jeweler last week. Going down on one knee, I take the leap. “Mackenzie Brooke, would you please do me the honor of becoming my beloved wife? The woman who would walk by my side supporting me, as I support you. Be my companion, my lover, my friend, and the person I seek when I need to share the good news and the bad news and everything in between. Let me share your joy and take away the sadness. Be my wife because I can’t imagine my life without you by my side.”

Her eyes open wide, looking at the ring. She’s silent, as tears start peeking out of her beautiful eyes.

My heart drops to the floor. “We don’t have to . . . please, don’t cry. I never meant to hurt you, overstep, or . . . forget—”

She gets out of bed, going down on both knees and taking my hands. “Your words didn’t hurt me, Porter. These are tears of joy. You’ve always been gentle, understanding, and loving with me, and my kids. And after everything I’ve put you through, you still love me. Not only that, you want to marry me. The answer is yes. I want to be your wife, share everything with you. The good, the messy—all of it, because at the end of the day we’ll make it better, together.”

I pull her to me kissing her like I’ve never kissed anyone before, loving her like I’ll only love her. Trying to share with her my every thought, my every heartbeat, my entire soul.

“I’m forever yours, Mackenzie.”

After a morning of celebrations, house hunting, and a long discussion about how to handle the kids, Mac and I went to pick up Harper and Finn from Chris and Gabe’s place. Afterwards, we drove about an hour outside of downtown Seattle.

We found the perfect house.

Our dream home.

Once we drive by the open gate, where the big sign reads Evergreen Farms, Harper begins to ask questions, “Where are we going? Are we getting a new tree, a horse?”

There’s a for sale sign and the only thing we can see are pine trees, a small lake, and green land. Harper quiets down and I spot her from the rear view mirror looking out the window.

The moment I spot an alpaca, I hear Finn. “Porter, moo.”

“No, Finn, that’s an alpaca” I correct him. “What sound do alpacas make?”

“I think they make some sort of humming noise,” Mac answers. “I need to find out more about them if we’re planning on owning them.”

I park in front of a beautiful two-story house and turn my attention toward Mac. “Ready?”

She nods and we climb out of the truck. I don’t have to give any specifics to the kids. I’m sure they don’t care about the size of the property, or that it’s a Christmas tree farm. Those are details Mac found important, as important as the greenhouse and the seven bedrooms in the main house that was built only five years ago.

“Why are we here?” Harper asks again, walking closer to Mac. Finn stretches his arms out and I pick him up right away.

“To look at the house,” Mac announces. I grab her delicate hand and the four of us walk inside the empty house. “Maybe talk about the possibilities of moving here.”

Harper frowns, the same way her mother does when she’s in deep thought. “I like where we live. It’s close to your work, Mom. There’s a park nearby, and the academy where I take my dance lessons. I don’t want to move ever again.”

“Someone once taught me that never and ever should be used with caution. They are words that mean forever.” She gasps as we climb up the stairs. We stop right on top of the stairs; I point to the left where the row of bedrooms starts. “If we stay where you live, I won’t be able to fit my things.” Her eyes narrow and her lips twist to the side.

“We couldn’t have a pet,” Mac adds. “There’s plenty of room here to have more than one.”

“How about a little sister?” Harper asks, looking from Mac to me. “If we move, can I have one?”

“There’s a possibility of adding one or two siblings, but I can’t guarantee if they’ll be girls,” Mac says.

Inhaling, I set Finn on the floor next to Harper and kneel in front of them to be at eye level. “Harper, Finn, I love you two very much. As much as I love your mom. The three of you mean everything to me. And, if you let me, I’d like to be part of your family. If you do, I promise to always love you, protect you, be a father figure, a friend, and always support you no matter what happens in life.”

“You want to be my dad?” Harper’s bottom lip trembles, her eyes shine as they fill with moisture. I nod. “Are you staying with us forever?”

“I’ll try my best, Harp. For you three, I promise to take care of myself and be by your side for a long, long time.”

Harper’s arms hug my neck tightly. “I love you,” she murmurs between sobs.

As Finns arms wrap around me too, I can’t help but let the tears flow. After all the loss I’ve experienced since I was a kid, I finally found my place in this world.

T
oday was a busy day at the recording company, having to produce an entire record within a week takes a lot of my energy. It was good, though, we’re ready to release it, and this new band will be playing at Thrice on Saturday night. This is the third project Jacob and I finished from the reality show that Matthew created a couple of years back. Today is one of those days I’m grateful for my life. I have a great job and a loving family. As I enter the house, the sweet smell of cookies hits me. Sugar cookies, my favorite.

“Daddy,” I hear before Finn, my seven-year son, reaches me. I hug him tightly, happy to see him and thankful that I had another day to enjoy him. Each day I’m thankful for that, because things change so fast.

“Where’s Emmerson?” I ask Finn who shrugs.

Usually, my two-year-old follows her brother everywhere.

“Dad,” Harper greets me with that new cool voice she’s experimenting with. “You’re a few minutes early.”

“Or you forgot to set the table?”

“That too.” She marches to me and hugs me. “How was work?”

“I thought I heard the door. Welcome home, handsome.” Before I answer Harper, Mac appears with Emmerson in her arms and her beautiful round belly showing with our other little bundle of joy. A boy, Oliver. Em extends her chubby arms toward me and I pull her tightly to my chest, kissing my wife.

As the entire family gathers in one room, I look at them and remind myself how lucky I am. Thankful that I was able to find my way into the light and that Mac and I crossed paths. It’s been a hard journey. We met when she was grieving the loss of her husband and when I was still closed off to the world. Our two broken souls found each other in the dark and began to heal each other’s wounds.

That doesn’t mean that we’re completely healed. I struggled with my demons, but I work hard to keep them at bay. With the help of my counselor, I remain clean and focused on my goals. Mac is my rock. The woman believes in me and sees who I really am and who I want to be. She’s my companion and now thrives as a mother and a botanist. She grows different crops and sells it to a local organic grocery store.

We created a dream together and we work to make it a reality every day.

L
ife is fragile. One moment we’re enjoying a nice dinner with friends, the next week one of us is dead. Well, I’m not. But Peter, the bassist of my old band, Dreadful Souls, died yesterday night. Really fucked up, as we had lunch only days ago in California. Today I receive a message from his daughter announcing that he passed away last night from a heart attack.