Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
“Were you going to come to me, Wildflower?” he said. “Are you dating that guy Danny? Tell me no.” His eyes pleaded with me.
My feelings were so overwhelming that I could do nothing but smile sweetly at him and take him into my arms.
“Oh Liam, of course not. I’ve missed you so much,” I said, the words rushing out. “Of course I was going to call you. I did, didn’t I? I wanted you to know that you were going to be a father again, and not repeat the mistakes of the past,” I said, cradling him close.
“And Danny is nothing to me, just a way to break the monotony sometimes,” I added. “But your son is popular here,” I said mischievously. “He’s the new mascot for the Kilukut Boarding House, and the oilmen love him.”
Liam frowned. “I’m taking you away, you know. You and Georgie both. No child of mine is growing up in a boarding house with a bunch of journeymen hustlers.” But he softened when he saw my silent plea. “But these people have been good to you, and I appreciate that. That’s the thing Wildflower. I’ve realized that I can’t just steamroll you into whatever I want: moving in, having a baby, and getting married. I want, no, I need to make sure that that’s what you want too.”
“I know, Liam,” I said, throwing my arms around him. “I know.”
“So Alison Johnson,” he said tentatively, taking my hand in his. “Will you marry me? Will you marry me in this little paradise of a town called Kilukut?”
My heart overflowed with happiness. With a smile meant only for my man, I nodded and kissed him deeply, letting him feel my overwhelming joy.
“Yes, Liam. I will marry you,” I murmured, and kissed him again, belonging to him always, now and forever.
Epilogue
Alison
Six months later …
I looked at Liam playing with our daughter Madeline. She was the spitting image of her father, with the same dark hair and blue eyes, but with my dimples and sweet smile. She gurgled happily at him, and I could tell our little girl already had her father wrapped around her finger.
Liam looked up and caught my eye, smiling with a hint of devilishness. My husband was a handsome specimen of a man, and I felt a lash of heat run through my body, pooling in that secret space between my legs. I shifted Georgie in my arms and leaned forward for a kiss, his tongue immediately snaking between my lips and a telltale bulge forming at his crotch.
“Now Liam …” I said playfully.
Our wedding had been nothing but happiness and light. We’d had a small ceremony, inviting only a few friends from Kilukut, and settled into a cottage by the river. Liam managed his business remotely from Alaska, and flew to New York whenever there were pressing issues. But for the most part, he was here with us, starting a new life away from the pains and complications of the old.
Because you see, Liam is my stepbrother. That fact can’t be controverted. But our love is borne of something more than just step relations. It’s the true feeling of destiny between a man and woman, and no one, and nothing, can deny that.
I hope my story inspires you not to judge because human beings and human relations will always be complicated, but I’ve been so lucky and happy in my life, and I only wish the same good fortune for everyone around me. The best of luck to you and your family.
Take care,
Alison Johnson Miller
The End