When Sparks Fly (58 page)

Tears escaped as she pulled him over for a kiss. “Yes, yes,” she cried. “I would love to be your wife.” With a smile on her lips, she kissed him again. Under the night sky, filled with explosions of color above them. This kiss was filled with promise. Promise of a future together.

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Epilogue

The maternity waiting room filled with family and friends. Tom, Jake, and Emma were there. Mac, Bernie, and Suzy were waiting with them. Brock and Jean came in as soon as they received the call. Carol would come out every so often to update them on Laurie’s progress.

Finally, the doors opened and Rob came out, tired but smiling. Walking over, he spread his arms wide and announced, “You all want to come see my son?”

Everyone jumped up, congratulations flowing all around. They went back to the room, quietly entering, seeing a tired but glowing Laurie sitting up in bed proudly holding her son. Rob walked over, sitting on the bed next to her, and leaned over to kiss the tiny wrapped baby. She leaned back against him as he wrapped his strong arms around his new family. Everyone crowded around, cooing, smiling, and taking pictures.

Mac leaned in, speaking in an uncharacteristically soft tone, “Welcome to the clan, little MacDonald.”

Emma, tears running down her face, asked, “Do you have a name picked out yet?”

Laurie, looking back at Rob, smiled. “Yes, we do.” Rob and she shared an intimate smile, before looking back at the group. “Say hello to Robert Brock MacDonald. We thought we would call him Bobby.”

Brock gasped, looking at his daughter and grandson. His heart pounded as he stood rooted to the floor, stunned into silence.

“You missed my early years Dad, but I don’t want you to miss his,” Laurie said, looking up at Brock. Tears fell down his cheeks as he walked over and kissed first the top of her head and then his grandson. Walking back over to Jean, he held fast to her as she smiled at Laurie.

The celebration went on for the next hour until little Bobby decided he had enough attention and Laurie was quickly tiring. Everyone filed out with best wishes and promises to help out as soon as she was discharged the next day. Brock was the last to leave, torn between wanting his daughter to rest and wanting to not miss one single moment.

Rob handed his son to Brock, asking, “You wanna hold him?”

Brock nodded, although he realized that he had never held a baby before. Rob handed the sleeping bundle over to him and he stared at the squinty face of his grandson.
Hell, I’m only forty-six…how can I be a grandfather?
Glancing at his daughter lying in the bed smiling up at him, he teared up once again.
I missed this with her. I missed everything.

As he leaned over, handing his namesake back to Laurie, he vowed to never miss anything again. Life had given him a second chance and he was determined to make the most of it. Leaving the room, he saw Jean standing just outside the door.

“Are you all right?” she asked softly.

He stared into the gentle eyes of his beautiful wife, his love reflected back in her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m good. In fact, I’m better than good. With you, my daughter, and that sweet baby in there…I’m perfect.”

The End

Maryann Jordan

I am an avid reader of romance novels, often joking that I cut my teeth on the old bodice rippers. I have been reading and reviewing for years. In 2013, I created a blog, Lost in Romance Books, to promote and showcase indie authors. In 2014, I finally gave in to the characters in my head, screaming for their story to be told. From these musings, my first novel, Emma’s Home, The Fairfield Series Book 1 was born.

I am a high school counselor having worked in education for thirty years. I live in Virginia, having also lived in four states and two foreign countries. I have been married to a wonderfully patient man for thirty-two years and am the mother to two adult daughters. When writing, my dog or one of my four cats can generally be found in the same room if not on my lap.

Please take the time to leave a review of this book (on Goodreads or your favorite retailer). Reviews are the lifeline for indie authors.

Feel free to contact me, especially if you enjoyed my book. I love to hear from readers!

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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.

Her grief, still raw after all these years, had her running away once again. Brad knew he had let her leave years ago when he was a young man but now vowed to show her that they were still meant for each other. In spite of the walls she had built around her heart, Brad was determined to break them down and earn her love and trust once again.

When Suzanne stumbles across evidence of organized crime taking place in her neighborhood, she puts herself at risk trying to save others.

Can Brad rescue Suzy before she is silenced permanently? Can she trust in Brad’s love to save her?

Former Special Forces brothers-in-arms now working together to provide an elite security service in the southern city of Richland.

Gabe Malloy, dedicated to his brothers, spent his weekends with cheap booze and easy women. When some of his friends finally settled down, he wondered if he would ever find the woman of his dreams. He just never expected to encounter her in an alley.

Jennifer Lambert worked as a social worker for the city and would often take food to the elderly residents in her building. One night, in an alley behind a restaurant, she was startled by a tall, handsome man wanting to assist. Giving him the cold shoulder, she left…but dreams of him followed her long into the night.

Gabe knew the independent Jennifer was a woman worthy of knowing, but convincing the beauty that she needed him was the challenge. Raising her young brother plus the responsibilities of the elder center, had kept her from looking for love…but she took a chance on Gabe.

Now that he found her, can he keep her safe when someone threatens her and those she loves? Calling upon his brothers, Alvarez Security races to save her before it is too late.

Tony Alvarez, former Green Beret Captain, now owns his own security agency. Once destroyed by loss and grief, his business is his life. Working to keep others safe, he safeguards his heart as well. Until he met her.

Sherrie Mullins had been rescued by Tony a year earlier as part of a mission. But to her…he was the prince she had always wanted. A paralegal and CASA worker with a penchant for getting into trouble when helping others, she would need his rescuing more than once.