“Shut up!” I push the box aside and lean against the counter. “Busy morning for you! Who?”
“Bryan and Maddi,” she cries. “Brooke and Miles. And Emma and Rob.”
“All of them are Bobby and Kit’s,” I gasp. “Oh dear.”
Nelly snorts. “He’s taking a moment for himself. He’s in shock, I think. He’s realizing his daughters are no angels. Oh gosh, Sonia. I swear, my heart might burst.”
“Yeah? And how does that make you feel?”
“Oh, shut your piehole,” she laughs. “You’re not my therapist anymore.”
“Partner in crime, then?” I glance to the box again, and realize her intentions. “Oh man. Chester?”
Nelly’s snickers roll through the line and directly into my heart. “Chester.”
Pushing away from the counter, I snag the sunglasses and hat, and moving into my laundry, I flick the lights on, smell the fabric softener in the air, and shake my head at the llama statue that resides in my home now.
I look down at my hand, and sigh. “You sent me a disguise for the llama?”
“You’ll have guests in your home today, Luke being one of them. If he sees the llama, the jig is up, and we’re busted.”
“And you think sunglasses and a hat will help? Really?”
“Hide him in plain sight,” she snickers. “It’ll be fine.”
“Hey, Nelly?” I set the props on Chester’s head, and breathe out a sigh of contentment. “Congratulations on the babies. Bry would be so unbelievably proud of the legacy that continues to grow.”
“Thank you.” She sniffles a little as pride catches in her throat. “And congratulations to you too. You have your girls home after all these years… and we both know Luke is going to need to compete with his brother on the baby-making front.”
I laugh. “It’s inevitable.”
“The year of babies is upon us,” she sighs. “Now we sit back and watch it all unfold.”
The End - for now
Coming next - the Gilded Knights Series, featuring the beloved, and highly anticipated Rosa Brothers.
Book 1: Redeeming The Rose
Acknowledgments
Just… wow. It’s the end of another series.
Stacked Deck was my longest series to date (11 books), but it seemed to fly the fastest. My word output for 2020 - more than a million words - is mind boggling, but when the juices are flowing, it’s really not a hardship to put in the hours tapping away at my keyboard.
I know I didn’t get all the kids yet, but I also didn’t want to force it, and produce a book that didn’t come with a massive slice of my heart.
For now, those who don’t have a book, simply didn’t speak. They may some time in the future, they may not. But something we know for sure is, even if they don’t, we’ll still be able to follow along and catch glimpses of them as we move into the future.
I think it was said way back in my first series… or maybe I wrote it somewhere else… but I said that I will remain in this world, purely so we can catch a glimpse of old characters while the new leads are walking Main Street. This way, even though bobby was 30 something books ago, we’ll still get to “see” him around. Even though Kane and Jess were two series ago, we still get to stay up to date on their lives. Even though Gunner and Libby were a while ago, we still get to know what they’re up to.
And well, Soph… she always makes sure we know what she’s doing.
That means, as we head into the Gilded Knights series — aka, Abby’s brothers — it’s certain we’ll meet up again with Spence and Abby. And where Spence is, it’s certain we’ll see the rest of the guys from the Checkmate building. If we see Riley, then we’ll see Andi. If Andi is around, then so will Meg, and Marc, and Lindsi, and all of the rest of them.
I’m really excited to dive into this new family, into new heads, new romances, new careers. I’ve had a blast writing fighters again, and I know the Rollers won’t be the last, but a change is as good as a holiday. So let’s see what these Rosas have for me.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming back to my work, time and time again. Most of you have read every single thing I’ve ever written - that’s 36 books! That pretty much makes us a couple haha. Thank you - your support means I can continue to do what I love, it means we get to continue exploring this tiny town, and meeting all of these amazing characters.
I’ve already said it, but… thank you.
Also by EMILIA FINN
(in reading order)
The Rollin On Series
Finding Home
Finding Victory
Finding Forever
Finding Peace
Finding Redemption
Finding Hope
The Survivor Series
Surviving You
Without You
Rewriting You
Always You
Take A Chance On Me
The Checkmate Series
Pawns In The Bishop’s Game
Till The Sun Dies
Castling The Rook
Playing For Keeps
Rise Of The King
Sacrifice The Knight
Winner Takes All
Checkmate
Stacked Deck - Rollin On Next Gen
Wildcard
Reshuffle
Game of Hearts
Full House
No Limits
Bluff
Seven Card Stud
Crazy Eights
Eleusis
Dynamite
Busted
Gilded Knights (Rosa Brothers)
Redeeming The Rose
Chasing Fire
Rollin On Novellas
(Do not read before finishing the Rollin On Series)
Begin Again – A Short Story
Written in the Stars – A Short Story
Full Circle – A Short Story
Worth Fighting For – A Bobby & Kit Novella