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  “Good luck,” Liv wishes me, patting my arm. I hug her tightly, thanking her for the good advice one more time before heading out to my patrol car.

  The entire drive toward Emma’s home, I try to arrange my thoughts but always seem to come up short of the perfect words to say that will make my feelings and intentions toward Emma crystal clear. Charlie had probably pulled another prank, but I'm grateful for it.

  My car glides around the corner of the street, and my gaze instinctively skims the perimeter of Emma’s home when my breath catches in my throat. Shattered glass gleams on the grass as a hulking figure lumbers around the back of the home.

  My heart leaps into my throat at the thought of anyone laying a hand on Emma or Charlie. I would never let that happen. I have to protect them at any cost.

  “I need backup!” I shout into my radio before dashing out of the car.

  Chapter 10

  Emma

  Heart hammering against my ribs, I pull Charlie against my chest as we hide against the far wall of the living room, out of sight from the rest of the windows.

  I can hear the man stomping around the yard outside. I’d caught a glimpse of him and recognized him immediately as the biker from Bearclaw. When he shattered the window, he shouted something about getting revenge for when I’d humiliated him at the saloon. Charlie had been watching TV only a few yards away when it happened. I’d grabbed the phone and tried to call 911, but the line was cut before I could say anything. Now I'm left hoping that the police will come or that Charlie and I can escape, but I can’t tell exactly where the biker is around the house, and I don’t want to put Charlie in harm’s way.

  “Do you think the police will come?” Charlie whispers. “After I fake-dialed before—”

  I gently hush her and cradle her up against me.

  “He’ll come,” I assure her before my cheeks glow slightly red. “I mean, they’ll come. The police are probably almost here.”

  She buries her face into my shoulder, and I hug her tighter. My heart is racing as I listen closely for any sign of the man or of the police. I can’t explain but, even though I told Jaxon never to come near us again, I have the strangest feeling in my heart that Jaxon is near.

  Is he though?

  I try to take responsibility for the decisions that I make every day...but after seeing him walk away that day, my soul has felt so hollow. I’ve ached since then to see him again. I’d even driven past the police station a few times, just wishing that I were brave enough to go in there and admit that I was wrong about everything.

  “If you like him, you should tell him,” Charlie murmurs quietly against my shoulder. Her tiny face tilts up so she can look at me. “I know you want to put me first, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be happy, too.”

  I can only stare at her, completely shocked by her wise tone. I’d always known she was mature. She had to be, after coming from the home that she did and going through what she did. Maybe I’d underestimated her.

  Before I can try to formulate some kind of response, there’s a commotion outside. The biker howls in surprise and then gives a grunt of pain.

  At the sudden noise, Charlie and I both shriek and cling to one another. There’s another grunt and someone mutters, “Take that, asshole.”

  I gasp, heart dropping from my throat to my feet instantly. I know that husky, charming voice. It’s the voice I’ve been dreaming about for weeks.

  “Jaxon!” Charlie cries.

  She tries to tear away from me and run toward the shattered window, but I grab her and push her behind me. Then, I make my way closer as carefully as possible until I can peek outside.

  On the ground, Jaxon is sitting on the biker’s back. The assailant’s hands are cuffed behind his back, and he looks like he’s been knocked out. Relief surges through me. Charlie and I are safe. When Jaxon hears movement, his chin lifts so he can flash one of his handsome grins towards us.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” he says breathlessly.

  Along the street, a few more cops pull up with their sirens blaring.

  Another cop, someone even bigger and broader than Jaxon, approaches and claps Jaxon’s back.

  “You did a good job out here, rookie,” the other cop says with a smirk. “Guess I can’t call you that anymore now that you’ve made your first arrest.”

  Jaxon smirks back at the man. He lets the other officers take care of the biker so that he can walk around toward the front door. Charlie and I both rush over to the door and open it.

  Tears immediately pool in my eyes as he steps over the threshold. “You saved us,” I whisper.

  “I did my job,” he shrugs. “I'm just glad you two are okay.”

  “Emma was right!” Charlie gushes. “She said you’d come, and you did!”

  “Of course, little lady,” he smiles, ruffling her hair and then gazing over her head at me. “I always will, you know. Emma, I...” Jaxon trails off, biting his lip. “Can we talk?”

  I gaze down at Charlie and cup her cheek. She smiles slowly, and I nod.

  “Give us a second?” I say to the little girl.

  Obediently, Charlie walks back to the window to watch the officers drag the hulking biker into the car.

  “Jaxon,” I start, but he holds up one of his hands.

  “Let me go first. I just need to get this off my chest. Then you can say whatever you need to.” He patiently waits until I agree, and then, he begins to speak yet again. “It’s just that these past few weeks, I’ve thought about nothing but you and Charlie. You can take care of yourself, Emma. I know that. But I don’t want you to have to do things on your own. I want to help you. I want to be there beside you... I want to be with you.”

  I take one faltering step towards him, and then another. I rush over and throw my arms around his neck, clinging to him tightly. My mouth finds his as it has so ached to do since I last saw him, and our lips press hungrily, sweetly, delicately together. He gasps against the kiss, clutching me to him until I tear away.

  “I have a thousand things to say to you, Jaxon,” I stammer. “I want to be with you too, and I'm so sorry for how I’ve acted, and I wish I could take it all back and—”

  He quiets me with another kiss and then shakes his head, pressing his forehead to mine. “I understand. Charlie is your world...and I want you both to be mine.”

  Tears streak down my cheeks as I nod. Charlie squeals with joy and rushes over, leaping into Jaxon’s arms. He holds the two of us against him, his head resting on top of mine as he beams at Charlie and me.

  “I never want to be apart again,” I tell him, gazing into his eyes.

  “Then we won’t be,” he whispers back.

  “Never again!” Charlie agrees eagerly.

  The three of us hold one another tightly, knowing for sure that our best days are finally ahead — and the best part is, we’ll get to share them all.

  Epilogue

  Jaxon

  “How about this color?” Charlie squeals before scampering to the wall and holding a neon pink paint sample up to the eggshell plaster.

  Emma and I exchange a look before Emma clears her throat. “You know, I think that color that, um, vibrant might be better used as an accent. Maybe the baseboards?”

  When Charlie begins to pout, I laugh and cross my arms over my chest. “How about you check out the rest of the colors in that sample, and we’ll go from there?”

  “Fine,” Charlie sighs, giving in. She flips through a few more pages before looking back over at Emma and me. “I’m really excited about this,” she admits with a slow smile. “I can’t believe we’re all living together now. It feels like we’re a real family!”

  Emma leaves my side to walk toward Charlie. She bends down in front of the little girl and smiles softly up into her tiny face.

  “That’s because we are a real family,” she says with a wink.

  “That’s right,” I add, tousling Charlie’s hair.

  Charlie beams and then settles down on
the floor of her new room to look through the paint samples and a decorating magazine. Right now, her toys are still boxed up, and the room is a little bare, but soon enough it’ll be filled to the brim with all things Charlie.

  Emma touches my hand and nods her chin toward the hallway, and we slip back outside.

  For almost eight months, Emma and I have been together. We took it slow at first so that Charlie wouldn’t be overwhelmed, but by now, we’d all become inseparable. I understood now why Liv is so happy with her life with Brady. It all makes sense now that I have Charlie and Emma beside me. I’d do anything for those girls, and I’d never been as excited for the future as I am now. Every day, I look forward to waking up beside Emma and spending the day with the two of them. When I'm at work, I can’t race home fast enough to be back with them where I belong.

  We’d even started spending more time with Liv and Brady and their friends, especially now that my niece has been born. I no longer feel alone, and I'm more certain than ever that I’ve finally learned what I was supposed to from Carl’s death. Life is fleeting, and you never know when your last day might be, so you have to make the most of all the time you’re given.

  Emma’s arms slide around me as she leans into my chest. I smooth her hair back from her forehead and press a kiss to the warm flesh.

  “I'm a lucky man,” I murmur, more to myself than to her.

  She lifts her head to gaze at me. Leaning up onto her tiptoes, she presses a kiss against my lips. The kiss lingers, and I gently press her against the wall.

  “And I'm a lucky woman,” she says with a wink.

  I chuckle and lift her into my arms. “I love you, Emma.”

  “I love you more, Jaxon,” she grins.

  We kiss again as Charlie giggles from within her room. The kiss deepens as we shrink into the shadows of our new home together. It astounds me how each and every kiss I steal from Emma feels even better than the last.

  I can’t imagine my heart being any fuller than it is right now.

  From the first time I saw Emma, I knew she was special. Every moment I'm around her, I realize just how amazing she is — and how amazing it is that we found one another.

  From this day on, we’re now one family under one roof, and I couldn’t be more excited to see where this road takes us. The only thing I know for sure is that we’re going to be happier together than we ever were apart.