“Congratulations!” Kari squealed. She brought her eyes to mine and whispered in Jada’s ear loud enough for me to hear, “And I’ll get the Vegas party planned. Don’t worry.”
Kari smirked as she extended her arms for a hug. “You have to learn to hug me. We are family now.”
“God help me.”
She swatted me as she pulled back. “He better help you if you mess with my plans!”
“Stop riling him up, Kari,” Max said, shaking his head. He kissed Jada on the top of the head before heading towards his truck. “I’ll talk to you guys in the morning.”
They climbed into the Ford and pulled out of the driveway, leaving me and my girl behind.
“Mrs. Cane Alexander. I like that,” I said, grabbing Jada’s hand. I led her to the front door. “Do you have any ideas on how you want to get married?”
“I want to wait until I don’t look like this.”
“Baby,” I said, twisting her face to look at me. “You’ve never been more beautiful to me.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me. “I love you.”
“I love you.” I reached down and picked her up, her legs across my arms.
“Cane! We aren’t married yet! You don’t have to carry me over the threshold.”
I rubbed my cheek against her head as I carried her inside, kicking the door closed with my foot. “It’s all semantics, beautiful girl.”
She snuggled into me, wrapping her arms around my chest. “I’m so tired. I’ve never been this tired in my life.”
“Well, as much as I want to ravish you again—”
“Can you imagine making love on the top of your mountain every night? It’s so romantic—even today on the cold concrete and my sore body.”
“Our mountain,” I corrected her, making her blush again. “And I can’t wait for that. But tonight, I’m going to lay you down and we are only going to cuddle.”
“I thought you didn’t cuddle?”
“Only with you.”
“I’m glad it’s with me, Cane.”
“What can I say? You are always the exception.”
The End
They say it takes a village to raise a child. I can assure you it takes more than that to write a book!
What a wild, wonderful journey this has been and I have so many people to thank for helping me along the way. I have just finished The Exception and am trying to remember those that have so selflessly helped me in the past few months. If I fail to mention you—I apologize in advance. My mind is a bit scrambled. Please know I appreciate all of you that have bolstered my resolve, cheered me on, offered support, and prayed for me. Your encouragement and guidance worked and this is the proof.
Mr. Locke, you inspire me every day to do better, be better, work harder, and to live more. Your encouragement to write this book was overwhelming, your belief in me astounding. Every good thing in my life is because of you. You are truly my best friend and soul mate. Thank you for understanding Cane, for your help in those certain scenes, and for all the laughs along the way. I love you more than all the cats and dogs in all the nine states.
My children, I don’t know if you will ever read this (and honestly, I don’t want to think about that!), but I want you to know that I did this for you. I want you to see that you can do anything you set your brilliant little minds to. I’m sorry about all the pizza dinners and that the socks weren’t always matched up in the mornings, but I did this for you. Everything I do in my life is for you. You are my heart and soul and the best thing I’ll ever do. Now let’s go have a real meal, okay? I’ll even make brownies.
Mom and Daddy, you have always believed in me, regardless of what I wanted to do. Even when this short little girl wanted to play basketball, you thought I would be the best one on the court! Growing up with that type of safety net allowed me to become the person that I am. Thank you for giving me the confidence, opportunities, and support to reach for my dreams. I love you.