Crashed, p.29
Crashed, page 29
“Actually, I’m getting married.”
Chapter 33
The sun was setting as the bride walked down the aisle with her hand tucked into the arm of Miles Hawkins, a recently retired federal agent. He was thin but the suit had been tailored to fit well, concealing weight recently lost due to illness.
At the altar, on the bride’s side, there were two women, identical twins, both of them dressed in soft, rich green that matched the ribbons in the bride’s hair. They stood in line with two girls. The oldest was a teenager, the rich green of her dress glowing against the warm, soft brown of her skin, bringing out the tawny undertones. The tousled curls of her short hair, dyed white, were topped with a crown of flowers.
She held a baby in her arms, a little girl with hair the same color of blonde as the other child standing next to her, this one a fairy of a thing, all of five years all and she practically danced in place, her excitement coming through in every wiggle, every breath. She wore a dress fit for a princess ... and a Wonder Woman tiara in her ash blonde hair.
The bridal party was rounded out by a slim boy in a custom-fitted suit with a collarless shirt and a green silk vest that matched the colors the bridesmaids wore. Nobody asked why he was standing up with the bride instead of the groom and he grinned shyly at a good-looking Black teen who sat with his moms in the crowd.
A boy of roughly the same age stood with the groom, also wearing a tux, although he’d forgone the vest. His shirt, like the others standing with the groom, was a vibrant blue-green that complemented the rich greens of the bridal party.
The best man stood with the other groomsman, two more men, all bearing a strong similarity to the groom.
They all grinned as Travis sucked in a breath at the sight of his bride.
Isabel wore a dress of elegant lace over silk, the form-hugging silk fitting close to her body until it reached the knee where it flared out in a mermaid-style skirt, complete with a small train. Her sisters had been surprised by the choice, but she’d told them she’d never forgotten her dreams of marrying the man she loved and now that she was getting that dream, she wanted the dress to match.
The back was open from nape to the dip in her back, but as they’d opted to marry in the open space between their houses, she’d worn simple satin flats.
The setting rays of the sun gilded her skin gold as she reached the altar.
Miles paused to kiss her cheek, his hand trembling lightly on her arm before he let go.
Both of them pretended not to notice the tears in his eyes.
As he moved to take his seat, the minister of a small, local church cleared his throat and began the service.
Travis, known among colleagues and his family for a sharp, near-perfect memory, forgot damn near everything the preacher said as soon as he said it.
But he’d never forget how Isabel’s eyes held his. How her mouth curved in a smile, how her voice sounded as she spoke the vows she’d written.
He’d never forget the way her hands trembled as he spoke his to her, or the way his shook as he slipped the ring on her finger and when she slid her ring onto his.
One phrase the minister said that he would remember ...“You are now husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Slowly, he reached up and cupped her face. Isabel wrapped her hands around his wrists, staring at him.
He stroked a thumb over her lower lip, felt it quiver, watched it curve.
Sebastien, who’d flown in just for the wedding, while Zach, Abby and Marin all stayed back out west, hooted and shouted, “Come on, already!”
“Shut up, Seb,” Travis told him. To Isabel, he said, “Bella-mine ... ”
He couldn’t find the right words after that.
That was it. Just ... Bella-mine.
Her lips parted as he lowered his head and took her mouth slowly, sweetly.
Their first kiss as they stepped into this life they’d waited too long to start.
The small group of friends and family they’d invited broke into applause, but neither the bride or groom took much notice.
Not until an impatient hand grabbed hold of Travis’s pant leg and pulled.
“Do we get cake now?”
They broke apart, laughing, and Isabel looked at Brooklyn. “Yes, baby. We can have cake now.”
Sometime near the end of the simple wedding ceremony, a stranger had slid in, along with a woman in her forties. The woman looked like a school teacher—one kids would love, but also the one they knew would take no shit. She actually had spent a few years teaching but had moved into social work. That had been nearly twenty years earlier.
LeAnn had planned on being here for the entire ceremony but an unexpected work call had delayed her. She’d spent most of the past twenty-four hours hustling her ass off, save for a short bit of downtime overnight.
That call was also the reason for her unexpected plus one.
The lanky Black man next to her rubbed his hands down the sides of his pants as he studied the pretty teen with her dyed white hair and wide, excited grin. “She looks good. Looks happy.”
“Isabel’s taken very good care of her. But Storm’s never stopped talking about you.”
“Storm, huh?” He grinned.
“She’s ... very fond of comics,” LeAnn said. “Especially the X-Men.”
“I used to buy those comics for her.” His face tightened and he looked away. “Damn her mama, disappearing like that ... ”
They were quiet a moment, then LeAnn said, “Storm’s never given up on you. She insisted you’d find her. The way she talks, you’d think she just saw you a couple of months ago.”
“It’s been five years.” Javon Russell’s mouth drew flat and he looked away. “Five years, I missed out on. How somebody recognized her from one of those flyers in the mail ... Hell, I can’t even believe she remembers me.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes and shook his head. “Man, when I got that phone call ... ”
LeAnn nodded and gave him a minute. “You want to go see her?”
“Do they know I’m coming?”
“No. I didn’t want to interrupt when they had so much going on and I had to verify your identity.” She saw the nerves on his face, the frustration and she reached out to touch his arm. “You don’t need to worry. Bella’s never wanted anything for the kids she takes in except what’s best. You’ll see for yourself, though.”
Javon nodded, but LeAnn knew he didn’t believe her. She didn’t blame him. Too many had been abused by the very system set up to protect them.
Tucking her hand into his arm, she led him through the crush as they made their way to the table where the kids sat with Travis and Isabel.
She wanted to get there before they got too far into the party because LeAnn knew about the ‘present’ Travis and LeAnn had planned for the other kids.
Storm looked up at just that moment and glanced over.
She saw LeAnn and wariness flickered over her pretty face, the wariness LeAnn had come to expect.
But then her eyes saw the man at LeAnn’s side.
Storm’s eyes widened.
Her face froze.
One by one, everybody around the table, then the men hanging around near Travis and Bella noticed. Travis was instantly on his feet and when Javon tensed, LeAnn said, “It’s okay.”
“Storm?” Travis said quietly.
That broke through whatever held her frozen.
In a second, she was on her feet.
“Daddy!”
Javon moved to meet her and LeAnn pressed her fingertips to her lips as father and daughter caught each in a desperate hug.
When she looked again, Bella was standing with Travis and she was smiling, tears gleaming in her eyes. Travis had lost the tension in his face, while the other foster kids looked on with a mix of interest and envy.
Making her way to Bella, LeAnn smiled nervously. “I hope it’s okay. We just connected earlier ... ”
Bella lifted a hand. “You don’t need to explain anything. The look on her face just now tells me everything I need to know.”
Javon and Storm settled at a table by themselves. He had a hotel room, but Miles had offered him a room in the house next door. Storm had pleaded with him and because he would do anything for his baby girl, Javon had agreed to stay there.
He had a job in the Midwest, but he’d taken a few days off to come find his daughter and although he hadn’t said as much out loud, he could tell she loved the woman who’d been taking care of her, so he wanted to give his girl time to say goodbye. And he figured he should get to know them since it was obvious Storm wouldn’t ever cut ties. He understood that and respected it. He owed the woman who had taken such good care of his baby.
He had a lot of questions, but tonight he wanted to enjoy just having his girl back.
Not long after people settled down, Travis and Bella stood up.
“We’re glad most people listened about not bringing gifts, but just because there aren’t a lot of gifts to be opened doesn’t mean the evening is almost done,” Bella said. “In fact ... we have an announcement.”
Travis pulled a thin stack of paper from inside his suit jacket and handed several envelopes out. “Don’t open it yet,” he advised Jacob before passing another to Aaron, then Brooklyn. There was another he held onto, tapping it playfully against Mariah’s nose. The baby made a grab for it and giggled but Marilyn, Bella’s sister, gracefully sidestepped, just as Travis pulled it out of reach. “You’ve got one, too, angel. But well hold onto it for you.”
“Oooh!!!” Storm gasped, then pressed her hands to her mouth.
Next to her, her father slid her a look.
She grinned at him. “I know what’s about to happen.”
Travis sat down, Bella moving to stand at his shoulder as he pulled Brooklyn onto his lap.
“Alright, kids, come over here,” Bella called out.
The photographer moved closer and Javon got an idea of just what might be happening, felt himself smiling.
“Okay,” Travis said to the girl on his lap. “Open it.”
The sound of paper shredding filled the air.
“I hope it’s tickets to California—I want to go to ... ” Jacob’s mouth fell open.
Aaron lifted dazed eyes to Travis and Bella.
Brooklyn was still reading.
Then, she burst out crying.
“Oh, honey ... ”
She flung her arms around Travis’s neck and through her tears, everybody heard her. “You’re gonna be my mama and daddy? For real?”
“Yes!” Storm whispered, covering her mouth to muffle the sound.
“You knew, baby?”
Storm looked at her father and nodded. “Ms. Bella talked to us about it a couple of months ago.” She took his hand. “I love her, a lot, Dad. But I always knew you’d come for me. I told her no. But I’m glad my brothers and sisters are gonna have them. They all need somebody to love them like you love me.”
Javon pulled her to him and kissed her forehead.
Sebastien left not long after. His wife was due in three weeks and he hadn’t wanted to miss the wedding, so he’d only flown out that morning and was hopping back on a privately chartered plane that would have him back in California in a matter of hours.
As for Zach and Abby, their newborn, a one-month-old little girl with Abby’s red hair and what might just be Zach’s blue eyes, they’d watched the wedding on Zoom, just as Marin had.
Over the next hour, the rest of the guests trickled away.
Within the next half hour, Isabel found herself whisked away in a sleek black BMW Z4, a gift to the both of them, Travis had told her—apparently, he’d done next to nothing with his money over the past thirteen years and now he wanted to indulge a little. Or a lot.
The car pulled up in front of a pretty little Cape Cod-styled cottage and he turned the engine off. When she opened the door, he slid her a look. “You wait.”
“Orders from the husband already?” she teased.
He grinned. “Maybe.”
Climbing out, he went around and opened the door, then offered his hand.
She let him help her out, then gasped as he swept her up into his arms and carried her up the steps to the door.
In the past month since she’d told him they were getting married, he’d filled out more, putting on weight and regaining muscle. He was still lean, but no longer had that too-hard look to him. The shadows were gone from his eyes.
At the door, he managed to punch the code on the pad and open it without much trouble and then he carried his bride over the threshold.
Isabel gasped as lights switched on low, and the flicker of illusory candlelight came to life.
“Travis ... it’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.” He finally lowered her to the ground. “I know we’re holding off on the honeymoon until next summer, but I think we deserved a night. Right?”
“Absolutely.” She curled her arms around his next and pressed her lips to his. At that moment, music began to play from somewhere and she laughed, delighted by this romantic streak.
“I adore you, Isabel Barnes,” he murmured against her mouth.
“And I, you, Travis Barnes.” She combed her fingers through his hair as he started to spin her around in a slow, lazy circle. “You know ... the years without you sucked, but ... this was worth waiting for.”
“I would have waited a thousand years for you. Ten thousand.”
“How about you spend those years with me instead?”
He kissed her and spun her around the room again. “Deal.”
Trans Rights are Human Rights
Statistics show that between 500,000 and two million youth face homelessness yearly in the United States alone. For some, it’s temporary. For others, it will become a way of life. (Source: Youth.gov)
Per a 2021 study, CDC stats indicated that perhaps 25% of the country’s high school-aged population identifies as LGBTQ, with the majority identifying as bisexual, 5.2 identifying as questioning, 3.9 as other, 3.2 as gay or lesbian and 1.8% indicating they didn’t understand the question. (Source: CDC)
More than 25% of LGBTQ youth will face homelessness at some point, the risks up to 120% higher than that of their non-LGBTQ peers. These youth are at risk of violence, sexual trafficking and death. The main reason LGBTQ youth end up homeless is due to family conflict, namely due to a lack of acceptance from their families. (Source: nn4youth.org)
Trans teens who live in a home where they have little to no support face an increased risk of suicidal ideation, with more than 80% having seriously considered suicide and more than 40% making at least one attempt. (Source: PubMed | NIH, Trevor Project, Human Rights Campaign, etc).
However, studies show that LGBTQ youth who have at least one supporting adult in their life, be it a parent, a teacher or a trusted friend, have a decrease in suicide attempts of up to 30%. (Source: Trevor Project)
Particularly, trans-affirming care has been shown to decrease suicide risks in trans youth by up to 70%. (Source: HCPlive.com) Many hear gender-affirming care and they automatically think SURGERY! This isn’t the case. Prepubescent kids do not receive surgeries.
Gender-affirming care is a process and it starts at home. It starts by listening to your child and it’s rooted in loving your child.
Critics still fail to understand that gender-affirming care is all based on age-appropriate actions, starting with those who are younger who voice that they are a gender other than what they were assigned at birth ... simply acknowledging that and respecting it if they vocalize a desire to be addressed by different pronouns or if they have a preferred name, letting them dress in gender-affirming clothing.
This is such a simple thing.
And it can save the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society ... our children.
Read A Prime’s Passion
Eyes down, little wolf...
In her world, the strong were broken young or they didn’t survive. Eyes down, little wolf, Zee’s father would say. You aren’t strong enough yet.
Zennia Day kept her eyes down and stayed quiet, knowing that one day, she’d escape.
When her chance comes, she finds herself on a road that takes her far from Massachusetts, all the way to North Carolina.
She has her eyes on the future...until she meets Niko, a dominant Therian male and future Prime. When she looks at him, instead of a challenge for dominance, Zee sees a promise of forever.
Niko charmed her, teased her...and stole her heart. Mere days later, after making a public, permanent claim, he crushed that same heart in his fist, tossing her aside in front of the entire world and casting her out of pack lands.
Ten years later, she's an outcast, living far from her own when she gets word her father is dying.
She can do nothing—she was banned. Violating Niko’s order was to court punishment, even if it was just to tell her father good-bye.
Read more at Shiloh’s website
LOOK FOR OTHER TITLES BY SHILOH
The McKays
Headed For Trouble
The Trouble With Temptation
The Right Kind of Trouble
The Barnes Brothers
Wrecked
Razed
Busted
Ruined
Contemporary Standalone Titles
Beg Me
Tempt Me
Beautiful Scars
A Forever Kind of Love
Playing for Keeps
No Longer Mine
You Own Me
Her Best Friend’s Lover
The Ash Trilogy
If You Hear Her
If You See Her
If You Know Her
The Secrets & Shadows Series
Burn For Me
Break For Me
Long For Me
Deeper Than Need
Sweeter Than Sin
Darker Than Desire
The FBI Psychics
The Missing
The Departed
The Reunited
The Protected
The Unwanted
