Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 22478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
“With your luscious body?” he says with a grin. “An eternity wouldn’t be enough. But I’ll take what I can get.”
He kisses my mouth and then carries me inside for the best ninety minutes of my life.
epilogue
. . .
Michael
Thirteen Years Later…
“Come on, baby!” I shout from second base as Jemma walks up to the plate with the bat. “Knock it out of the park!”
“Bring it in!” Oliver says with a grin as he waves the outfielders in from his place at shortstop.
I give him a look and shake my head. “Crack it over his head, Jemma! Or, hit him in the nuts, even better.”
Everyone laughs as my nephew Anthony throws a pitch. Jemma swings hard with a grunt, but she misses it by a mile.
We’re having our annual Fourth of July baseball game on the ranch. We have such a big family now with our three mates and all of our bear cubs that we can almost fill two teams, it’s awesome. Half the town comes and joins us for the game and the huge barbecue after. It’s my favorite day of the year.
“You got this!” I shout as my girl gets back into position, lifting the bat.
“You ready for my heater, Aunt Jemma?” Anthony asks with a grin.
“I like my pitches like I like my mate,” Jemma says as she narrows her eyes on the ball. “The hotter the better.”
Anthony whips it in. My girl swings and misses.
“Nice swing,” I say as she shakes it off and gets ready for another pitch. “Keep your eye on the ball.”
I try to send her good vibes.
It’s been over a decade and I’m still obsessed with this woman. She’s my heart and soul. She’s my everything.
We’ve had three kids together—two girls and one boy—and every day has been like a dream come true.
“Come on, Mom!” our youngest Wendy shouts as she claps her hands. She’s ahead of me on third base. “You can do it!”
There are two outs, so the inning is in Jemma’s hands.
Anthony winds up and throws a perfect ball. Jemma closes her eyes and swings as hard as she can.
I hold my breath and then cheer when I hear the crack. It sails over Oliver’s outstretched hand and into the outfield.
“Ha!” I say, laughing at my brother as I sprint past him.
Wendy is already halfway home as Oliver’s daughter, Jodie, scoops up the ball.
I round third and race home as Jemma lands safely on first.
Earl, who’s playing catcher, is standing on home plate with his glove out. I can’t crash into the old man or I’ll break every bone in his body.
“Throw it!” Oliver roars.
I feel the ball coming. It slams into Earl’s mitt, so I dive into the dirt and reach out for home. My palm slides over home plate a second before Earl hits my shoulder with his glove.
“Safe!” Oliver’s son Sebastian shouts. He’s the umpire for the day.
I get up with a grin and point to my perfect mate who’s jumping up and down on first base, clapping with excitement.
“Nice slide, baby!” she shouts.
When I head to the dugout, I’m greeted with a wave of high-fives.
I’m so grateful for all of this. The ranch, our friends, my big amazing family, our wonderful kids, but more than anything, I’m thankful for Jemma.
She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Every day feels like a home run with that incredible woman in my life.
I’m the luckiest shifter in the world.
epilogue
. . .
Jemma
Twenty-Two Years Later…
“Ready?” Michael asks as I leave the house for the last time.
I bound down the porch steps and leap into his arms. He laughs as he catches me and gives me a kiss.
“I’m ready,” I say with a grin as he holds me up. “Are you ready to live in close quarters with me?”
“I’d live in a shoebox with you.”
I laugh as I breathe in his masculine scent. He always smells like fresh earth mixed with pine and aftershave. I love it.
He lowers me to my feet and I take his hand as we walk to the place that’s going to be our home for the next six months.
A brand new skoolie.
It’s not brand new exactly. It’s an old prison bus that we bought and converted into a skoolie together, but it’s new to us. We spent the last three months working on it and now it’s ready, just in time for summer.
We’re going to drive up to British Columbia and then explore Canada for a bit before traveling back down the East Coast all the way to Mexico. It’s going to be the adventure of a lifetime and I get to do it with my mate. I can’t wait.
“Is it time?” Layla asks as she walks over with Oliver, Leo, and Tara. Layla and Tara are both teary-eyed. We’ve grown so close over the years. The three of us are like sisters.