Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 68(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 45(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 68(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 45(@300wpm)
Once my dad takes a look at me, I know that I'm going to have to say something. "There's nothing to do, Miss Ellie. You two aren't together, and I'm not going to give Dakota up."
"What are the neighbors going to think?" Ellis replies.
"Fuck them." Dad huffs under his breath. "They always borrow my tools and never bring ‘em back."
"Exactly," I say in agreement. "Fuck the neighbors and anyone else who thinks we're not allowed to be together simply because of the relationship between our parents. I love Dakota. Always have and always will."
"I love you too, Dean." The subtlety in her tone isn't as intense as the expression in her eyes. She means it, and I turn to her.
"I know it's a bit crazy, but I think we would make the better married couple in this family. We've known each other for over a decade. We have the same taste in movies, comedy, music, and anything else. We have an eternity to learn about one another. You belong to me, Dakota. I'm asking you, will you marry me?"
My eyes dart from Dakota over to our parents, who shake their heads, but Ellie pulls her engagement ring off to hand to me.
Dad speaks up. "That ring she's giving you is the ring I gave her and belonged to your great-grandmother. It's only right that it goes to you two. Dakota is going to be my daughter through marriage or this divorce, no matter what."
I turn to Dakota, ring in hand and dropping to one knee to properly propose. "You're the love of my life, Dakota. I don't want to move on without you. I don't want to live or leave Tamworth without you. I vow to stick by your side and my only question to you is, will you marry me?"
"Of course I will, Dean." I get up to take her into my arms, kissing her and holding her in my embrace so tight I never want to let go.
EPILOGUE
DAKOTA
One Year Later
Just breathe.
That's what the nurse and doctors continue shouting at me as my contractions come closer and closer together. Between ice chips and excruciating pain, childbirth isn't to be taken lightly.
"You're going to have to push soon, Mrs. Dawson. You're at nine centimeters," the nurse says.
"No." I push out a dragging exhale to calm my nerves, but it doesn't do shit. This breathing crap doesn't work.
"Mrs. Dawson," the nurse is ready to chastise me again. "You have a few really big contractions coming, and when it's time to push, your body isn't going to give you any other options. This baby is coming out soon."
"I don't care," I scream from behind my clenching teeth. "My husband is not here, so this baby is not coming. Little Dominic can't come until he gets here. Please don't make me push until he gets here."
The last word squeaks out just as another contraction jolts my body with a level of pain that shouldn't be allowed in the human body.
"Cody, that's not how this works," Dean says, walking into the room. He's in full tactical gear, with black cargo pants, combat boots, a polo shirt, and a bulletproof vest.
"Where have you been?" I growl.
Dean joins me at my side, steadily removing heavier pieces of his uniform to place in the chair beside the bed. Once he takes my hand, another contraction comes, forcing me to crush his fingers under my palm.
His grunts of pain are short-lived as the pain passes when the contraction subsides. Dean swipes hair out of my face while feeding me ice chips with his free hand.
"Tell me something, anything, to distract me from the pain, Dean."
He considers it for a beat before he says, "We were almost robbed today."
"What?" I turn to him in shock, eyeing him from head to toe to make sure there aren't any injuries to the man I love.
"Almost." He laughs. "That's why I was a bit late. We were in the middle of filling out paperwork with the police when you called me. We're fine, babe. I promise."
"That's not fine, Dean. What if you got hurt? What happened? The armored truck is armored for a reason."
"Babe…" He leans down, kissing me gently on the side of my face. "You're right, but see, I'm not hurt."
He spins around to show me his entire uniform is unscathed.
"I guess," I say, trying to stop my mind from the nearly dozen scenarios he must go through daily.
"Stop worrying, babe. Let's just focus on getting this baby out of you. I love you and I'm the luckiest guy in the world. You loving me is more than I can ever ask for, but you having our baby today is the best gift to our family. Thank you, Cody."
Before I can say anything else, another contraction comes. It's time to push a human being out of me. Over the next two hours, our darling son is born, happy and healthy. The love in Dean's eyes as I feed our boy is immeasurable.