Carly’s eyes opened wide. “There was a skeleton down there with me?”
Ross nodded. “Yep.”
“And nobody knew who it was?”
He shook his head. “We only knew the most important part.”
“What?”
He kissed her on the forehead. “It wasn’t you.”
“Why am I so nervous?”
“Because this is something that makes most people nervous, but I promise, sweetheart, you have nothing to be nervous about. They’ll love you.” Ross pulled his big pickup truck into the driveway and stopped. “Ready?”
“I guess so.” She waited until he came around to help her down out of the big four-wheel drive, then held his hand as he led her across the yard. It was her left hand, and it was still kind of tingly, but the doctors had assured her that would fade with time. He reached for the doorknob and she held her breath.
The room was empty until she took a step inside and it erupted. “SURPRISE!” over a dozen people yelled as they jumped up from behind furniture and out from behind curtains. On the back wall of the room and above the drapes over the huge picture window was a banner: Welcome home Ross and Carly! “Oh, my,” she whispered softly.
“Little over-exuberant, I know, but they mean well,” he told her as a couple rushed them.
“Honey! I’m so glad you’re home!” the woman gushed and hugged Ross, then turned to Carly. “Sweetheart, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you! Ross has told us all about you!”
“Oh, no. I hope you don’t think less of me,” Carly responded with a grin.
The woman laughed. “Everything he’s told us has been wonderful! Now you come on in here and have a seat. Need something to drink? Oh, wait—this is Ross’s dad, Sean.”
The man hugged her. It felt like she was getting a hug from Ross! “Hi, Mr. McEvers. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“That’s Sean to you, missy, and she’s Debra. So let me introduce you to the other characters in this family. This is Ross’s sister, Emily.”
The woman threw her arms around Carly. “It’s so good to meet you! This is my husband, David.”
He had a winning smile. “Hi! Good to meet you, Carly.” He took her hand and she instantly felt comfortable with him. “If we can ever do anything for you, like get you away for a few hours to give you a break from Ross, just let us know!”
“Oh, hahaha,” Ross said, laughing. “Very funny guy.”
“No, that’s the funny guy over there,” David said and pointed.
Across the room was a tall man, slim and very, very well dressed. Matter of fact, maybe a little too well dressed. His shoes were red patent, and he had on bright blue skinny jeans and a red and blue plaid shirt. He waved and then headed their direction. “Carly! Girl, it’s so good to meet you!” he said, then leaned down and gave her a kiss on each cheek, European style. “I’m Cullen. Ross has told us all about you. My, my, you’re a pretty thing! Oh, this is my partner, Dorn,” he said and reached for another man, a striking black man with caramel-colored eyes. “Dorn, this is Carly, Ross’s sweetheart.”
“How do you do?” Dorn said formally, then smiled. “Well, there goes my hopes of ever bagging the good-looking brother!”
“Hey! Standing right here!” Cullen said, laughing, and everyone else laughed too. It took no imagination to see how smitten they were with each other.
“Oh, you know I’m just kidding, baby,” Dorn said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Says the best-looking guy in the room,” Cullen answered barely over a whisper and kissed him back.
Ross led her toward the kitchen and when they were out of earshot, he chuckled. “Probably should’ve warned you about that.”
Carly grinned. “Nah. They’re cute.”
There was food—so much food! Carly had never seen that much food in her life. “We’ve got the guest room all set up for the two of you,” Debra told her as they sat and ate dessert. “It’s got a private bath, so you should be comfortable in there.”
“Thank you so much. I hate to impose, but―”
“No imposition! I’m glad Ross gave up that horrible apartment. It was a place to sleep, but he always hated it.
Ross gave up his apartment? Carly was confused. Why would he do that?
“So how long are you visiting?” Emily asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe a few weeks.”
“It would be nice if you’d stay. I think you’d like it here if you gave it a try.”
“All my family’s back in Tarpley,” Carly said, but she thought about the last conversation she’d had with Tank. He’d all but told her to never come back to Tarpley because of everything she’d gone through. Eric had admitted to his crimes, so a trial wasn’t looming, and with the destruction of her house, she literally had nothing, at least until the insurance money came through. Still, it was hard to cut those ties. It was her home, the only home she’d ever known.
It had taken them two days to get there, and Carly was worn out. She helped clean everything up, at least as much as they’d let her help, and when they were finished, Ross said, “Come on. I’ll show you around town.”
“Babe, I’m so tired,” she mumbled as she stood there in his embrace on the back porch. “I really need to get some rest.”
“It’ll only take a minute. Really. Come on.” The concrete drive was smooth under her shoes as she let him drag her to the big pickup truck and off they went.
He drove through the city and showed her the high school, then the middle school and elementary school he’d attended. They cruised past his brother’s chiropractic office, and then past his sister and brother-in-law’s burger place. It was cute, with little checkered curtains in the windows and flowers on the tables, and Carly thought it would be nice to just hang out there sometime.
The truck came to a stop in front of a brick building. “Come on! This’ll only take a minute.”
He opened the door and someone yelled, “Dub-step! You’re back!” Carly watched with a smile as bro hugs and handshakes were passed around all over the room, and then Ross turned to her.
“Guys, this is Carly. Carly, these are all my brothers at the station. You’ll learn their names soon enough.”
“Yeah, we’re a crazy bunch!” one of the guys told her, laughing.
“As crazy as they come!” another said.
“Coming back to work?” an older guy, probably the captain, asked.
“In a couple of days, as soon as I’ve seen my doctor.”
“Good! We miss you and your crazy dance moves!” yet another guy laughed.
They all waved and called out their goodbyes as Ross led her back to the truck. They’d gotten almost three blocks down the street before Carly saw blue lights behind them. “Oh, lord. Wonder what I’ve done?” Ross said, but there was a strange grin on his face. He put his window down as a woman in uniform stepped up to it.
“License and registration, please,” she said, and Carly reached for the glove box to pull it out. “Do you realize what you were doing, sir?”
“No, officer. I don’t,” Ross answered with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
“You were driving around Corbin without introducing me to the lady in the seat beside you. Evening, ma’am,” the officer said and tipped her hat to Carly.
She had to laugh. “Hi! I’m Carly. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, is that so?” Carly said, laughing. “From …”
“Debra. She and I went to high school together. I’m waiting for the first real hard rain to see if you can walk on water like she says,” Brenda said with a chuckle.
“Oh, I doubt that!”
“You guys just out riding around?” Brenda asked Ross.
He nodded. “Yep. Just showing her my stomping grounds.”
“Well, have fun
and don’t get into any trouble. I’d hate to have to call Sean to come bail your ass outta county.”
“We’ll be careful, I promise. Hey, been meaning to ask you, you planning to run for sheriff again next election?”
“Nope. I’m done. Been hoping somebody would come along and take up the torch. We could use some new blood in that department. If you know of anybody who’d be good, let me know,” she said and winked at Carly.
Ross McEvers, you sneaky little shit! Boy, they’d have a conversation when they drove away!
“I’ll be sure to do that, sheriff. You have a good evening.”
“You too, and again, good to meet you, Carly.”
“Likewise. Hope to see you again sometime.”
As Ross drove away, Carly pinched him. “Owww! What was that for?”
“You know damn good and well what that was for. Ross McEvers, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you set me up!”
“Me? Ha! Yeah, well, you don’t know better, darlin’,” he said with a laugh.
They drove to the edge of town and the houses started to be a little more spaced out, but they were older houses, possibly small farmhouses from the mid-twentieth century. They hadn’t gone too far when Ross pulled into a driveway. “Isn’t this a cute house?”
“Yes. It is. Don’t you think the owners will wonder why we’re in their driveway?”
“Nope. They don’t live here anymore. They had to go to a nursing home.”
“That’s so sad.” Carly sat there, looking at the house. It wasn’t fancy, but it was cute, and it appeared to be well-kept. “Did you know them?”
“Yeah. My dad’s Uncle Padrag and Aunt Mavis. They didn’t have any kids, so my dad and Michael’s dad inherited it. Uncle Patrick didn’t care about it, so Dad bought out his share.”
“Oh! So is he going to use it as rental property?” Carly asked. “That would be the smart thing to do.”
“Nope.” She was still gazing out the windshield at it when Ross said, “Carly, look at me.”
Something caught her eye as she turned and there, in Ross’s palm, was a beautiful diamond ring. She was so shocked that all she could squeeze out was, “Oh …”
“Carly, this house is ours if we want it. My sister and brother don’t care anything about it, but I love it because it belonged to my family. I want to raise a family here and have a good life. I’m not rich, but I work hard, and I’ll give you everything I can. If you’ll live here with me, I’ll be the happiest man in the world.”
“But Ross …”
“Look, you don’t have to make a decision right now. Just think about it, okay? But I’d really like it if you’d wear this ring so I at least know you’re considering it.”
Carly looked into his eyes. Ross was kind. He was decent, and smart, and honest, and loyal. Oh, and hot—very, very hot. Being with him had made her happier than she’d ever been. She thought about all the things that had happened over the last few weeks, the fear and disappointment and hurt. Ross hadn’t been a part of that—he’d been the part that had brought her through it to the other side. “I don’t need to consider it.”
His face fell. “No? Not even a little?”
“No. I want that ring, and I want you, Seamus Ross McEvers. I want to live here with you and be the sheriff and have your babies and eat that famous fried chicken from Corbin. Forever and ever.”
He gave her an odd stare. “You do? I thought you―”
“Ross?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you please just shut the fuck up and kiss me already?”
So he did.
Thank you for reading FIGHTING FOR CARLEY! I hope you enjoyed the experience. Be sure to check out the other books in this exciting miniseries, all set in Susan Stoker’s Badge of Honor world. The men—and women—of the Tarpley VFD are ready to fight for their lives and their loves. The books are all standalone stories though they share some characters and events. The suggested reading order is:
#1 Fighting for Elena by Silver James – Pops and Elena
#2 Fighting for Carly by Deanndra Hall – Dub-step and Carly
#3 Fighting for Calliope by Haven Rose – Tank and Callie
#4 Fighting for Jemma by MJ Nightingale – Short Shit and Jemma
#5 Fighting for Brittney by TL Reeve – Dirty-D and Brittney
#6 Fighting for Nadia by Nicole Flockton – Buff and Nadia
Look for all the other books in Susan Stoker’s Worlds at www.acespress.com.
About the Author
Deanndra Hall is a working author living in the far western end of the beautiful Bluegrass State with her husband of over 35 years and small menagerie of weird little dogs. When she’s not writing, she’s editing. When she’s doing neither of those two things, she’s having dinner with friends, spending time with family, kayaking, eating chocolate, drinking beer or moonshine, or looking for something that she put in the wrong place and can’t seem to find (which is pretty much everything she owns).
On the Web: www.deanndrahall.com
Email: Deanndra@deanndrahall.com
Facebook: facebook.com/deanndra.hall
Twitter: twitter.com/DeanndraHall
Goodreads: goodreads.com/DeanndraHall
Bookbub: bookbub.com/authors/deanndra-hall
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Also by Deanndra Hall
Tarpley VFD Series
Fighting for Carly
Bluegrass Bravery
Shelter for Sharla
Justice for Aleta
Shelter for Martina
Justice for Daesha
The Love Under Construction Series
Laying a Foundation with prequel, The Groundbreaking
Tearing Down Walls
Renovating a Heart
Planning an Addition
The Citadel Series
One Simple Mistake
One Broken Promise
One Poor Choice
One Wrong Glance
The Legacy Series
Atonement
Legacy of Freedom
Legacy of Faithfulness
The Witch of Endor Series
Laid Bare
Ripped Open
Torn Apart
The Harper’s Cove Series
Karen and Brett at 326 Harper’s Cove
Becca and Greg at 314 Harper’s Cove
Donna and Connor at 228 Harper’s Cove
Savannah and Martin at 219 Harper’s Cove
Cheryl and Samuel at 323 Harper’s Cove
Tasha and Davis at 333 Harper’s Cove
Lily and Brock at 343 Harper’s Cove
Siobhán and Gabhain at 241 Harper's Cove
The Me, You, and Us Series
Adventurous Me
Unforgettable You
Incredible Us
The Celtic Fan (independent novel)
Rough Stock (part of the Bad Girls of Romance Series)
The Silent Cove Series
Awakening
Retribution, by Anne L. Parks
Banishing, by Jax Jillian
There are many more books in this fan fiction world than listed here, for an up-to-date list go to www.AcesPress.com
You can also visit our Amazon page at:
http://www.amazon.com/author/operationalpha
Special Forces: Operation Alpha World
Christie Adams: Charity’s Heart
Denise Agnew: Dangerous to Hold
Shauna Allen: Awakening Aubrey
Brynne Asher: Blackburn
Linzi Baxter: Unlocking Dreams
Jennifer Becker: Hiding Catherine
Alice Bello: Shadowing Milly
Heather Blair: Rescue Me
Anna Blakely: Rescuing Gracelynn
Amy Briggs: Saving Sarah
Julia Bright: Saving Lorelei
Victoria Bright: Surviving Savage
C
ara Carnes: Protecting Mari
Kendra Mei Chailyn: Beast
Melissa Kay Clarke: Rescuing Annabeth
Samantha A. Cole: Handling Haven
Sue Coletta: Hacked
Melissa Combs: Gallant
Anne Conley: Redemption for Misty
KaLyn Cooper: Rescuing Melina
Liz Crowe: Marking Mariah
Sarah Curtis: Securing the Odds
Jordan Dane: Redemption for Avery
Tarina Deaton: Found in the Lost
KL Donn: Unraveling Love
Riley Edwards: Protecting Olivia
PJ Fiala: Defending Sophie
Nicole Flockton: Protecting Maria
Michele Gwynn: Rescuing Emma
Casey Hagen: Shielding Nebraska
EM Hayes: Gambling for Ashleigh
Desiree Holt: Protecting Maddie
Kathy Ivan: Saving Sarah
Jesse Jacobson: Protecting Honor
Silver James: Rescue Moon
Becca Jameson: Saving Sofia
Kate Kinsley: Protecting Ava
Heather Long: Securing Arizona
Gennita Low: No Protection
Kirsten Lynn: Joining Forces for Jesse
Margaret Madigan: Bang for the Buck
Kimberly McGath: The Predecessor
Rachel McNeely: The SEAL’s Surprise Baby
KD Michaels: Saving Laura
Wren Michaels: The Fox & The Hound
Kat Mizera: Protecting Bobbi
Mary B Moore: Force Protection
LeTeisha Newton: Protecting Butterfly
Angela Nicole: Protecting the Donna
MJ Nightingale: Protecting Beauty
Sarah O’Rourke: Saving Liberty
Victoria Paige: Reclaiming Izabel
Anne L. Parks: Mason