Thank you so much for reading Forgotten Desires. This book is so special to me. All of them are, but Brynlee was important to me in so many ways. First, she’s the only sister and had to deal with her brothers who didn’t always make the best decisions. Secondly, she really went through it. She had a hard road ahead and I felt like her story had to be symbolic of overcoming trauma as well as showing what a resilient and beautiful soul she has. I hope you enjoy this bonus!
Brynlee
~Ten-ish Years Later~
“You are so grown up,” I sign as I look at my niece, graduating from college.
“Please do not cry.” She rolls her eyes.
“I make no promises.”
Olivia smiles and then shakes her head, looking at Crew. “She is your wife.”
“She sure is.” He winks at her. “I will keep her under control.”
I scoff.
“I know I can’t stop crying.” Phoebe is beside me, tears streaming down her face, and she grabs a new tissue. “You made us so proud.”
Asher pulls his wife against his side, kisses her temple, and then signs as he speaks. “You guys know she’s done with college, right? It means she’ll come home—finally.”
Olivia taps her father’s shoulder. “I am going to stay here for a few more months.”
Olivia went to Gallaudet University in Washington DC and received her degree in Governmental Studies. When she first went, she thought she wanted to go into the medical field, but found an interest in politics. Her hope is to make real changes in the legal system for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. She’s already working with lawmakers in Pennsylvania on a bill to ensure there is always a sign language interpreter employed in hospitals.
We’re all so proud of her.
“No,” Asher signs.
“Dad. I am twenty-two.”
“And I don’t care.”
I laugh at that one.
Phoebe nudges Asher. “Let it go.”
My brother didn’t deal with her going away very well. Okay, at all. She’s his baby and it was truly scary for all of us. In Sugarloaf, we could protect Olivia from the harshness of the world. It was safe there. When she decided to go away to school, there was a pit in all of our stomachs.
Seems that’s never going away.
“I already got offered a position, I told you this.”
Asher grumbles something under his breath. “We will talk later.”
Olivia jerks her head and hand toward him as if she’s saying: can you believe this guy?
I shrug because . . . I can. He’s always been this way and I don’t think it’ll ever change, especially with his daughters. I step in, hoping to ease this away from a fight on her graduation day.
“How about we get a drink and find the rest of the crew?”
We make our way to the outdoor table area that we reserved for the party. Crew’s friend owns this brewery that’s in the heart of DC. It’s such a weird and amazing spot in the heart of the city but feels like we’re miles away thanks to the plants and way they designed it.
“There you all are! I was just coming to look for you,” Addison says while signing.
Just then, Jameson runs by, holding something up in the air as Sienna comes barreling toward him. “Give it back, Jameson!”
I sigh and Crew grabs my arm before I can walk toward where my troublemaker son is. “I got it, babe.”
“Don’t scare him too much.”
He kisses my cheek. “I’ll scare him just the right amount.”
Yeah right.
Rowan steps forward. “How about I talk to the kid?”
Jameson is exactly like my brother, Rowan. He’s a daredevil, always doing whatever he can to annoy his sister, and loves practical jokes. I pray for my soul.
“And what? Give him pointers?” I ask.
“More like helpful suggestions.”
I glare at him. “Please, the only thing you do is whisper in his ear all the things you can no longer do. And then, he ends up grounded.”
Rowan smirks. “It’s not my fault he gets caught. In all seriousness, I’ll talk to him, make him stop harassing the girls.”
I don’t think that’s what will happen, but Rowan is the most likely one to get Jameson to listen. “Fine, but if he keeps it up, you’re going to be the one who suffers.”
My brother laughs. “I hear you.”
He heads off to deal with my son and I see Olivia over by a group of her friends from school. They’re all smiling, signing back and forth, and it makes me so damn happy.
A pair of strong arms and the scent I would know anywhere cocoons me in his warmth. I lean back, my head fitting perfectly against his shoulder. “She really is happy.”
“As she should be.”
I glance over at his profile. “She’s dating someone.”
Crew’s eyes meet mine. “Oh?”
“She hasn’t told anyone, but he’s coming here in a bit.”
He chuckles. “Asher is going to love that.”
“I told her it was risky, but she was insistent that she wanted witnesses so he couldn’t kill him.”
I tried to inform Olivia none of that would really matter in the long run, but what the hell do I know?
“She has met her father before, right?”
I laugh softly. “Don’t say anything.”
Crew loosens his hold. “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t say a word, I want to watch this in real time. If Asher knows, there’s time to prepare. No way, I’m here for the show.”
“You do realize that you’re no better?” I remind him. When Layla brought home a boy a few months ago, I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack.
“I handled that well,” he says and I scoff.
“You were a freaking idiot. You told me to call security and report him as an intruder.”
He huffs under his breath. “He is an intruder.”
“One that Layla likes.” Crew grumbles again and I fight back a laugh. I step out and turn to face him. “Layla is smart, beautiful, and she has the love of her family. That’s a good place to be when entering a relationship. Trust her, she’s got a good head on her shoulders.”
“It’s the boy I don’t trust.”
Seriously, they’re all the same. “And when someone’s dad or brother looks at Jameson and wants to rip his head off, do you feel the same there?”
“Fuck yeah, I do. That kid is a menace and he’s going to end up getting some girl knocked up because he’s a dumbass.”
Oh, God. “Can we not put that out in the universe?”
I don’t even want to think about that.
Before Crew and I can say anything else, I see Olivia look to the door. There’s a man about six foot tall, with dark brown hair and eyes only for my niece. She waves, and he does as well. I nudge Crew.
“That’s him?”
“I think so.”
Olivia makes her way to him and he kisses her cheek. Then she takes his hand and brings him toward Asher.
I nudge my way closer and Phoebe glances at me then back to them. Olivia told both Phoebe and I about him. They met when she was working on the bill and his best friend is deaf. The two of them spent hours together, and at the end, he asked her out.
It’s so cute.
Olivia stops in front of her dad. “Dad, I would like you to meet Cullen Dixon.”
He looks to Olivia then to Cullen who lifts his hands first. “It’s nice to meet you, sir. Olivia has told me a lot about you.”
“Has she?” my brother asks and signs.
Oh, boy.
Phoebe steps in. “Welcome, Cullen. I’m Phoebe, her stepmom. Her dad is usually very normal, other than when it comes to her.”
She has that right. I walk over, standing beside Olivia.
Cullen smiles politely. “My father is the same with my sister. I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the graduation. I had a meeting with a senator that ran over.”
I grin when Phoebe practically shoves Asher. “Right. It’s nice to meet a friend of Olivia’s.”
Olivia huffs, signs to Cullen, but the angle I’m at I can’t see what she says. Then tells her father they have to say hello to a friend and they walk off.
Crew turns me to him and grins. “Now that was worth it.”
I laugh, tossing my arms over his shoulders. “Never a dull moment for the Whitlocks. Now, let’s wait and see what happens next.”
So, what’s next?
We are heading to Ember Falls for a whole new series!
It’s a small town in Virginia where we’re prooooobably going to run into a name you saw in the epilogue of Forgotten Desires …
The first book is a Brother’s Best Friend, Single Dad, Fireman book that is freaking perfect! I am in love with Lachlan and Ainsley so much!
