I take a seat on the sofa again, watching my two favorite people in the entire world. I could sit like this for hours, not moving.
“Don’t forget Cara and Graeme are coming into town next weekend,” I say.
We missed seeing them at Christmas, but this was their year to spend it with her side of the family on the East Coast. But Laurel and Eben and their four-year-old twins were there, as was my mother.
Mom seems to be doing okay on her own. She left my father shortly after it came out that he was, in fact, involved in the scheme to murder my grandparents. It took a bit of poking and prodding, but we were able to hire an investigator and get the local police to open a case. Turns out they were able to confirm that he’d made several withdrawals totaling a quarter of a million dollars, and archived security camera footage showed an exchange between him and Rodney Kramer involving a duffel bag.
My father is currently serving a life sentence at the same penitentiary as Madden’s father. We haven’t seen nor heard from him since the day they took him away in handcuffs.
“Devanie’s coming home around two today. Said she’d watch the baby for a couple hours if we wanted,” I remind him. She loves babysitting her nephew, and there’s nothing a teenager won’t do to earn a few bucks. “Thought maybe we could get away and see a movie or something?”
Devanie moved in with us a couple years ago, when we convinced Tandace to finally relinquish custody. She’d gone through a bit of a rough patch, got involved with a less-than-wonderful group of friends. Madden pulled her out of her high school and enrolled her in a better one in the next town over. There were times I was afraid he was too controlling and too much of a micromanager—and I spoke to him from experience, having grown up with helicopter parents—but I trusted that he knew what was best for his sister.
And in the end, he was right.
She’s been thriving ever since. And just last night, I helped her fill out a college application to Illinois State.
She wants to go into counseling, and we couldn’t be prouder.
“Sounds good.” He sits the bottle down and positions DJ over his shoulder, gently patting his back until he burps.
“I could never get sick of watching you with him,” I gush. “I feel like having ten more babies with you.”
He smirks. “I’m down.”
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed PRICKED! As a sincere thank you, I’ll be writing and giving away a FREE spin-off/standalone novella called PIERCED, which centers around Madden’s friend and fellow tattoo artist Pierce Pontius and a little something-something that happened to him the night of The Flaming Lips concert. Please sign up for my mailing list (if you haven’t already) and you’ll be notified as soon as it’s available!
xoxo-
Winter
War and Love
Description
Falling for him was easy. Finding out who he really was? Devastating.
Jude Warner was just a handsome stranger in an expensive suit. The last thing I needed was another one of those in my life.
But then I found out he was my neighbor. He quickly became the knight in shining armor who saved me from a late night plumbing fiasco, and offered me ice cream during a storm-fueled power outage. I considered nominating him for sainthood when he volunteered to accompany me to my crazy sister’s wedding.
He made falling for him so easy.
They say when something’s too good to be true, it probably is.
He was.
Turns out Jude was just a pawn recruited by my ex to put a ring on my finger. I vowed I’d never forgive him.
Now he’s back, and something tells me he has an even bigger secret this time—one that could change everything. But if he wants a second chance with me—if he thinks he can win my heart—after everything he’s done, he’d better be prepared to go to war and fight for it ...
This book is lovingly dedicated to the following members of CAMP WINTER:
* * *
Alexis Alston
Alisha Woolls
Allison East
Amanda Incles
Amy Leibenguth
Angela Sinclair Haley
Anne Flammang Spencer
Ashley Blevins
Becky Carter Nichols
Bobbi Schwarz
Brandi Morrone
Bre Demko
Bridget Hobden
Caoimhe Duddy
Caroline Frimston
Catherine Finegan
Charlene Dalton
Charmaine Walker
Chrissy Blanchfield
Christa Livingstone
Christina Nazworth
Christine Buczek
Christine Godfrey
Christine Reese
Cindy Frazier
Cynthia Keech McCarty
Dana Land
Dani Nicole
Danielle Amos
Deanna Dodge
Diane Cerveny
Donna Causey
Elizette Guerrero-Lopez
Erica Westerhoff
Felicia Eddy
Grace Forte
Harloe Rae
Heather Bothern
Heather Firth
Heidi Mowry
Jackie Juane
Jackie Wang
Jacqueline Ellison
Jacquie Czech Martin
Jasmine Joyner
Jeannette Bauroth
Jen Champlin
Jenn Allen
Jennifer Marie Perez
Jennifer Matthews Sharo
Jessica Cooper
Jill Kirtley
Joan Day
Joanne Blakey
Jocelyne Germain
Kari Hansen
Karin Enders
Karine Creve-coeur
Katherine Miles
Kathy Tucker Gutierrez
Katie Anne Gentle
Kelly Johnson Homan
Kelly Latham
Keri Roth
Kristhia Seward
Kristina Morgan
Krystel Allen
Laila Viking
Larissa Berty
Laura Apodaca Gonzalez
Linda Barrett
Lindsey Wheelon
Lisa Nuyen
Lisa Stark
Lyze Gillett
Madeleine East
Mairim Santos
Mandy Mitchell
Mariah Gunter
Martinique Martinez
Melissa Hetherington
Mellissa Carlson
Michelle Mayer
Missy Carter
Misty Marie Schott
MJ Villaespin
Myla Theresa
Natalie Ruiz McLean
Nikki Brackett
Nina Piatt
Ninna Braga Moscato
Noelle Kapuy
Norrine Luchsinger
Patricia King
Pyper Davidson
Rachel Wahl
Rhiannon Matthias
Ruby Morris Welling
Sabrina Grosvenor
Samantha Beson
Sarah Lynn Behmlander
Sarah Polglaze
Savanna Bissett
Shawna Kolczynski
Sonaly Rodriguez
Sonia Perez
Stacey Saunders
Stacey Timmons
Stephanie Ditmore
Stephanie Mashia
Stephanie Purpus
Suelee Lee
Tami Garcia
Tamra Whitecotton Mavila
Teri Jackson
Terri Dickey
Tijuana Turner
Tracie Hofacker
Tricia Dransfield
Tricia Marquez-Candelas
Trina Marsh
Valerie Heslep Fisher
Virginia Swanson
Wendy Livingstone
“I can say with great certainty and absolute honesty that I did not know what love was until I knew what love was not.” — P.T. Berkey