Smolder (25 page)

“Sorry
Mom,” he said, turning around and hugging her playfully. “You know you’ll miss
my dirty mouth around the house. Who will you have to bark at without me
there?”

“You’re
such a little shit,” Everleigh laughed, hugging him back. “But you are right. I
will miss you and your brother very much.”

“Come
on, Evie, you’ve made it this far without getting weepy. Keep it together,”
Ryder said as he set down the box and walked over to hug her.

“I’m
trying, rock star,” she said as Max walked over to kiss her cheek and hugged
him goodbye.

As
they said their goodbyes to each other, Kris suggested, “Well since we’re
really not in a rush to head back to Cincinnati why don’t we head to dinner as
soon as Danni and Beau drop Harlowe off and Jude and Sadie get the girls settled?”

“That
sounds like a great idea,” I replied and Ryder and Everleigh agreed. As we said
another goodbye to our son, we walked out of the apartment and before the door
shut I threw one last look back at my only son and swelled with pride.

Danni

“I
can’t believe my baby girl is a senior in college,” I said as Harlowe put the
last of her clothes into her closet. “It all went by too fast.”

“Not
to me,” Harlowe laughed. “As much as I love you and Dad growing up seemed like
it took forever.”

“Well
I for one can’t wait to see the amazing things you do this year. To have gotten
the lead in ‘The Nutcracker’
and
‘Swan Lake’ in your senior year? I
don’t think you’ll ever know how proud we are of you.”

“Aw,
thanks Mom,” she replied as she hung her last few dresses in her closet. “Okay,
that’s it. I think I’m officially unpacked and moved in.”

“Are
you still sure you’re ready to live on your own?” Beau asked as he walked into
her bedroom. “I mean, there’s really no security system in this building. What if
someone breaks in?”

“Then
I’ll pull out my baseball bat or my gun, which ever I can find first,” Harlowe
answered as she walked to Beau and he pulled her into a fatherly embrace.

“That’s
my girl,” he said, swelling with pride. “Just make sure to not overdo it this
year. I know you’re a senior and you’re wanting to join NYBC by next fall but
you have to remember to make some memories too, sweetheart.”

“I
will Daddy, but ballet is my life. I have to work hard to get noticed if I want
a spot with the company.”

“I
know that but don’t make it your whole life. I don’t want you to look back on
your whole time in college wishing you’d gone to a party or had a bit of fun
while you were here.”

Sighing,
Harlowe snuggled into him and said, “I hear you and I’ll think about it. I
promise. Besides, I already have a boyfriend so that’s a good start right?” At
that moment, Harlowe’s phone pinged and she picked it up and smiled.

“Everything
okay?” I asked her.

“Oh
yeah, it’s Max. As soon as Tru and Haven are settled in their dorm room we’re
all going to go out to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate.” I noticed a gleam in her
eye as she said Max’s name and giggled internally. They both were obviously
enamored with each other but unfortunately, they both were in their own
relationships too. Harlowe had been dating her boyfriend Levi Jackson for the
last five months and even though he seemed like an okay kid, something about
him made me tense. I didn’t particularly care for Max’s girlfriend Ashley
either and neither did Everleigh but we both decided to stay out of their lives
and let them find out on their own that they wanted to be together.

“Ooh,
I’m jealous. They have the best Mexican food in town,” I said, standing off her
bed. “Well, I guess this is it. Have a great year, baby doll,” I said, hugging
my beautiful daughter for the last time before she started her senior year of
college.

“I
will Mom, thank you for everything,” she said as we embraced for several
seconds before she went back to Beau’s arms to say her goodbyes to him as well.
As I watched my husband embrace our daughter I sighed with contentment. Harlowe
had grown into such a beautiful young woman and now that she was lighting up
the stage and about to take the world by storm, I had never been more proud to
be her mother.

Everleigh

“Okay,
so you know if you need anything just call me or Dad, okay?” I said to Max as
we all walked down to the car one last time as a family. “I’m serious, day or
night, you just call and we’ll come running.”

Max
smiled at me and hugged me again, saying, “I know Mom. We’ll be okay and I’ll
make sure Stone keeps his ass in line just like last year.”

“If
this guy hadn’t practically dragged me out of bed to get to classes on time
last year I’d be a second year freshman,” Stone replied, nudging his brother on
the arm.

I
looked at both of my handsome sons one last time before pulling them into a
group hug. “I love you boys so much…you better kick some ass in your classes
this year. Show the world just what the Matthews boys are made of,” I said and
they both laughed.

“You
know we will, Mom,” Stone replied before they both broke away and hugged Ryder
goodbye.

“You
boys be good and keep it in your pants,” Ryder said, smiling. “For the most
part anyway.”

“Hey,
tell that to Stone. I have a girlfriend for that,” he said, grinning and my
insides cringed. His girlfriend Ashley seemed perfectly nice but there was
something about her I just didn’t like. I know that I was a protective mother
and never wanted my boys to make any mistakes but I knew that they were
obviously going to make them in their lives. As bad as it was of me to think
this way, I really hoped he opened his eyes and realized dating Ashley was one
of those mistakes.

Just
then I saw Jude and Sadie pull into the parking lot of the apartment complex
followed by Beau and Danni and once they parked their cars, they got out and
joined us along with Harlowe, Tru, and Haven.

“Hi
girls,” I said to all of them, hugging each of them one by one. “Did you and
your sister get settled okay?”

“Yeah,
we’re all moved in,” Haven replied, smiling at me. “This campus is beautiful. I
really think I’m going to like it here.”

“I’m
glad, sweetheart,” I said as she hugged me once more and joined her sister,
Harlowe, Kallum, Max, and Stone at Max’s truck after everyone had said their
final goodbyes. I felt Ryder’s arms around me, holding me close as I felt
emotional looking at not just our sons starting their senior and sophomore
years respectively, but at all of our children. I felt nostalgic as I looked at
how much each of them had grown into the amazing young people they were.

Max
was finishing his degree in music production and Harlowe was on the fast track
to earning a spot in the New York City Ballet. Even though Stone liked to joke
around and said he still didn’t know what he wanted to do after college, his
double major in Biology and Chemistry pretty much pointed to a career in
medicine. He would be the perfect person to tutor Haven, who’d chosen pre-med
as her major.  Kallum was entering his junior year and was going to be an
excellent music teacher when he finally began his career and Tru had chosen a
similar path, selecting elementary education as her major. Despite her high
maintenance appearance, she was so much like her mother in that aspect and
loved children just as much as Sadie always did.

I
never would have thought that attending a concert with my best friend more than
twenty years ago would have led me to being here, in this moment, married to
one of the most famous rock musicians in the world and seeing my children and
their best friends going off off to college. We all had new chapters in our
lives beginning and I felt so blessed. We were finally happy in our lives and
there wasn’t anything in the world that felt better than that. Taking a chance
on something you never thought you’d ever find was my true definition of being
a rebel and luckily for me, falling in love with a Rebel was the best decision
I’d ever made.

The End

It
seems surreal to me to be writing the acknowledgements for my last Bad Blooded
Rebel novel. There are no words to express how much I have loved being the one
to tell these stories, to let the world meet my boys. It’s been very emotional
finishing this particular book because during the lengthy writing process I
lived through one of the hardest years of my life. Everything good, bad, funny,
tragic, heartbreaking, and beautiful that happened inspired this story.

There
is a piece of real life in every character I write and Jude and Sadie are no
exception. Sadie is a perfect blend of the girl I used to be, the girl I’ve
always wanted to be, and the woman I grew to be. She says things I wish I was
brave enough to say but, like me, when she loves someone she loves with her
whole being and will fight to the death for them. Jude is a perfect blend of
two men I love more than life itself for vastly different reasons; my husband
and my best friend. Both of them inspired Jude’s character much more than
they’ll ever realize and I have to thank them both for being the amazing guys
they are to have ended up helping me creating the perfect guy, lol.

Thank
you to my three beautiful daughters Abigail, Kaitlyn, and Madelyn. You girls
are the reason behind every single thing I do and the air in every breath I
take. I will forever strive to make you proud.

Thank
you to a woman that I met as a reader but she’s become my best friend and I
love her so damn much; Shona. You are such a beautiful woman inside and out and
I am honored and beyond blessed to know you. Next year will be our year to meet
up and when we do the world will surely implode, haha. We just need to make
sure that Patrick has bail money handy for when we finally tear up whatever
town we find ourselves in, lol. Love you girl!

Thank
you to my salon family for listening to all my drama and still sticking by me.
I love you ladies! (Even you, Kylie, haha). Special thank you to Erica for
being there as an ear to listen and shoulder to cry on when I almost completely
shattered to pieces. You know me better than I know myself sometimes and I
truly appreciate you being there for me. You are an amazing friend, strong
woman, and incredible mother and I am blessed to know you! Oh yeah, just so you
know, I actually miss you calling me “cock monkey” so yeah. Start doing that
again. It made me laugh, lol.

Thank
you to my beta team for being incredibly patient with me as I took FOREVER to
finish this book! I appreciate all of the input and you helped shape this book!

Last
but certainly not least, thank you to my readers for following along with me on
this journey! I appreciate each and every one of you and always will! I promise
this isn’t the end and I hope you stick with me as I bring more stories out of
my head and into your hands!

Jude
and Sadie both endured years of abuse from their parents. While they are
fictional characters, abuse is a very real problem. Abuse of any kind is in no
way okay and we all need to band together to put an end to this. If you suspect
someone you know is being abused physically, emotionally, mentally, verbally,
or sexually, please encourage them to get help or contact your local police to
report it. Abuse will never end if no one breaks the cycle.

I
encourage all of you to please donate to a special trust account set up for my
late friend Casey Krebs’ children. She was an amazing mother and wonderful
friend who was taken way too soon due to domestic violence. She would have done
anything for her children and I want to help them now that she can’t. The
information is below…please donate if you can.

PrimeTrust Financial Account
#980224

3700 W. Bethel Ave.

Muncie, IN 47304

Phone Number: (765) 281-6003

www.primetrustcu.com

Bad
Blooded Rebel: A Rock & Roll Novella Series (Complete Novella Set)-(Book 1)

Reckless
Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Book 2)

Deeper:
A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Book 3)

Back
To Life

Say
Yes (Glenbrook Girls Series)- Book 1

Coming
Soon from Mellie George:

Fighting
For Us (Sequel to Back To Life)-coming in 2016

Come
Back Home (Glenbrook Girls Series) Book 2-coming in 2016