Read Jane's Surrender (Hard World Tour #2) Online
Authors: V. F. Mason
Jane's Surrender (Hard World Tour #2) (42 page)
9 years later
Jane
“
Please?” a tiny, shy voice asked.
“
No.”
“
Pretty please?”
“
No.”
“
But—”
“
No means no, princess. We can’t have you running around with Sparky on the grass when Mama put that beautiful dress on you.”
Amber’s green eyes watered; she bit her lower lip and her chin shook. She looked down. Her black as night hair fell forward and covered her face while her hands tried to straighten her white dress, which emphasized the contrast with her darker skin.
Drake sighed, got down on his knees in front of her, and gently lifted her chin with his fingers. “Princess, don’t cry.”
She looked at him again, her expression sad, even as she blew her nose. “It’s okay, Daddy.”
“
How about we go to the mall tomorrow and do some shopping?” His voice almost cracked at those words and I laughed inwardly, because my man hated shopping.
In an instant, my daughter’s expression changed from devastation to absolute happiness, and she was grinning from ear to ear, showing everyone her two front teeth were missing. She leaned closer, locked her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder.
“
I love you, Daddy,” she whispered softly, and my heart clenched. A few tears swam in my eyes while Drake patted her back, held her tight, and whispered the same words back to her.
It was amazing to watch these two together. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and he knew it but never cared.
After all, she was his little princess.
The two finally noticed me, and Amber let go of Drake and ran to me. I leaned forward to give her a hug, but she stopped a few feet away and spun around, making the skirt of her dress swirl out.
“
See, Mama? The dress is fine.” She almost sang those words.
“
I do.”
“
I did just as you said.”
Before I could say anything else, a soaking-wet Sparky ran inside the kitchen and stopped in the middle of the room, watching us closely.
“
Don’t you dare,” Drake said in his low voice, but it didn't stop the dog from shaking vigorously from head to toe, wetting Amber and me in the process.
“
Sparky!”
He tucked his head under his paws, ashamed. He always acted this way when he was naughty. He was never ashamed enough to stop his bad behavior, just enough to feel guilty, apparently.
“
Now look what you did, Sparky!” Amber shouted, but went closer and patted him on the head. That, in turn, made him wiggle his tail as he ate up all the attention. “I still love you, but I’m mad,” she shared, but he just nuzzled his head into her stomach, completely ruining the dress.
Drake was bent over laughing so hard he was holding his stomach.
My glare did nothing to stop him.
“
Come on, beautiful. It
is
funny.” Then he winked at me and addressed our daughter. “I guess the shopping trip is no longer on the table.”
Amber’s eyes widened, blinked, and then she gave her dad a charming smile. “You’re joking, Daddy.”
Drake chuckled. “Yes, honey, I am. Go upstairs and change before we have to go.”
She moved toward me and grabbed my hand, but Emily came into the room and accessed the situation.
“
Come, princess, I’ll help you.” Amber squealed and they both left to go upstairs with guilty Sparky on their heels.
Drake came closer and hugged me to him. I inhaled his smell, which after all these years together still had the same effect on me.
“
We will be late.”
His chest vibrated with laugher. “As usual.”
“
The party will start without us.”
“
I doubt Ariel will be angry with us. We had a good excuse. The dress is ruined,” he said in a high-pitched voice, mimicking Amber, and it was impossible not to laugh. I smacked him on the chest, but then kissed it.
The backdoor closed and in came Mark with a squealing toddler in his hands. “This little guy sure loves horses. Impossible to take him away from them.”
This was obviously the truth, because Jake’s face was red and puffy from crying. He raised his hands up at me, and in a heartbeat, I was at his side and hugging him to me.
Although he was only fourteen months old, it was already hard to keep up with his energy and desire to know everything. The only time he was sad was when he wasn't allowed to do something he wanted.
“
Oarse, Mama,” he whimpered, and I softly cleaned his face with a tissue from the nearby table.
“
I know, baby. You can play with the horse once we are back, okay? Now we need to go see Aunt Ariel.” I didn't do much to calm him, but then Drake had him in his arms and threw him up high as he squealed. Drake repeated the action several times, and then settled Jake in the crock of his arms.
That made our son happy and he calmed down.
Sometimes, I wondered what I would have done without a husband like him.
I was checking our bags and had thanked Mark for putting everything in the car when Emily and Amber came back. She was wearing some funky pink dress and looked even cuter than in the white one.
“
All ready, Mama.”
“
Good, let’s go then.” We said our goodbyes, put the kids in the car and secured them in their seats, and headed in the direction of Ariel’s ranch.
Drake convinced me that having kids was not a bad idea, and after three years, we decided to try. Nothing really happened, although the all the tests and check ups let us know we were both okay. At some point, all those tests with negative results were breaking our hearts, and we made a decision to stop and try other options.
We decided to adopt our first baby four years ago, and we immediately went to foster homes. We weren't looking for a newborn baby. Being from the system myself, I wanted to give another child a chance.
It took us some time, but when a two-year-old girl grabbed my hand and didn't want to let go, I knew I had found my daughter.
Jake’s story was a bit different. He was found in the trash in very poor condition. He needed a heart operation. Funds were collected from all over the country, and that’s how we heard about him. Without much thought, we donated money, and he was healed. For some reason, I couldn't let go, so we flew to Denver to check on the little boy.
It was the same thing as with Amber. Something clicked inside me and we knew we had found our son.
Now we had our little family of four, and I loved every minute of it.
Drake took my hand into his, brought it up to his mouth, and kissed it softly, not taking his eyes away from the road.
“
Are you all right?”
My mouth lit up in a big, carefree smile. “Never been better.”
We stopped at a traffic light, and he turned his eyes on me. The deep shades of blue filled with love, adoration, and softness could still make my knees weak.
“
I love you.”
“
Love you too, baby.”
Dreams do come true.
Since the moment I discovered romance novels, I always wanted a man like him. A knight in shining armor who would always love me, protect me, fight for me, and cherish me.
My man is indeed magnificent, and my story is just like a romance novel.
And they said fairytales didn't exist.
They’ve never met us then.
The End
Well, I will start with my parents of course! Mama and Dad, thank you so much for everything!
Thanks to my friends for all the support and help! I know how you hate me for going with my laptop everywhere but still deal with me.
Huge thanks to Mayhem Cover Creations for fabulous cover and formatting!
Hot Tree Editing, thank you for editing and all the help. Especially huge thanks to Becky, Kayla, and Peggy!
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