Bonus Material
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Thoughtful! Writing Kellan’s story was a time-consuming labor of love. Countless hours were spent making sure every single moment of the time period before, during, and after Thoughtless was captured. As a result, the original manuscript was huge! I mean, mammoth! Printing a book that size really wasn’t feasible, so sadly, it had to be trimmed for publication. But thanks to the magic of ebooks, I’m able to add a couple of those scenes back in for you, as bonus material. I hope you enjoy the extra insight!
There were quite a few cut scenes to choose from, but I decided to include the full confessions scene at the Space Needle. I really felt that fans of Thoughtless would be okay with the scene being omitted, since most of the revelations are already covered in Kellan’s thoughts, but I also felt that new fans of the series would like the more in-depth explanation of just what happened to Kellan in his past.
As a bonus to the bonus, I’ve also included a short scene that starts after Kellan and Kiera’s screaming match in the back room at Pete’s, where Kellan finally admits he is in love with Kiera, and Kiera finally agrees to let him into her heart. This bonus scene shows exactly how Kellan arranged the after-hours Space Needle tour…
Thank you all for being so supportive of my work. I appreciate each and every one of you!
Much love,
S. C. Stephens
Scene One
Making Arrangements
Evan let me talk with practically no interruptions. He asked a question every so often, and sometimes he’d frown or shake his head, but he kept most of his comments to himself. When I was finished, he knew almost everything that Kiera and I had gone through in our rocky relationship. The only comment he made when I was done was “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
I looked everywhere but at his warm brown eyes. “I knew what you’d say. That she wasn’t mine, and I couldn’t go there, and…I didn’t want to hear it.” I flashed a glance his way. “Honestly, I still don’t, but it’s kind of too late now.”
Evan cracked a smile. “Yeah. Cat’s out of the bag, right?”
I cringed as I remembered my angry outburst. God, I could be such a dick sometimes. “Yeah…right.” Evan softly chuckled beside me. When he was done, I asked him, “So…do you really think I’m a dog?”
Evan smiled and shook his head, then nodded. “Yes…sometimes you really are.”
I jabbed him in the shoulder while he laughed again. With a shake of my head, I sighed and said, “Yeah, I suppose I am sometimes.”
Evan’s amused expression turned more serious. “Despite it all, I think you’re a good person, Kellan, and I know you’ll do the right thing.”
Even though I wasn’t so sure that I would, or that I even knew what the right thing was, I nodded. My mind drifted to Kiera, and I focused Evan’s statement on her. If I took Denny out of the equation, what would be the right thing between the two of us? That question was actually an easy one. Honesty was what we needed. The air needed to be cleared, barriers needed to be torn down. I needed to show her the deepest areas of me and hope that didn’t scare her off. But I’d already shown her plenty of darkness, and she was still mine, so I felt okay exposing my innermost soul to her. For the first time in my life, I wanted to open up to someone…about everything.
And I knew the exact right place to do it. But arrangements would need to be made, and I couldn’t make them from here. I needed to leave, which meant I needed to walk through the bar…and I’d probably see Denny. That couldn’t be helped though. I couldn’t stay hidden back here all night.
Glancing around the back room, I asked Evan, “How long do you think I need to stay back here?”
Evan shrugged. “Another twenty minutes maybe, just to be on the safe side.”
I nodded, but I really didn’t think it mattered. If Denny truly did suspect something, whether I came out five minutes after Kiera or an hour after her would make no difference whatsoever.
When I felt time pressing in on me, I stood up. Evan stood with me. With a quick exhale, I bounced on my feet. I sort of felt like I was about to go perform onstage in front of a massive audience; I wasn’t nervous, but I was pumped full of energy. “Wish me luck,” I tossed over my shoulder.
As I opened the door, Evan murmured, “Luck.”
Once I was in the hallway, I put my head down and acted irritated. I had just gotten bitch-slapped in front of the entire bar, after all. I held my breath when I entered the main part of the bar. It took everything I had to not look up and find Kiera. I wanted to let her know I was okay, to let her know that I’d see her later tonight, but that wasn’t something my “character” would do right now, and I had a part to play.
It was hard to not look for Denny too. I didn’t know if he was still here, I didn’t know if he was suspicious, angry, oblivious. I didn’t know anything, and I couldn’t help but wonder what Kiera had told him about our very public bar fight. What was the story? I’d have to remember to ask her later.
I hurried over to my car and felt giddy when I crawled inside it. There was a place I’d wanted to take Kiera to for a while, and tonight seemed like the perfect night to do it. So much had changed between us, again, but it was a good change this time. No matter what happened from here on out, at least we were finally being honest with each other. Well, I was being honest and open with her. All the walls were coming down tonight, and I was ready to show her all of me. Ugly scars and everything.
Driving away from Pete’s, I headed toward downtown. What I needed, or who I needed, was most likely that way. It took me an hour and a half of questioning people, but I eventually found the guy I needed to talk to. He was in a bar on Second Avenue, sipping on a stiff drink when I came across him. Zeke. He’d been a fan of the band for years, and we’d done favors for each other back and forth. I knew this one would cost me, but I also knew it was worth it.
He looked up at me when I slid onto the bench seat across from him. “You’re a hard man to find, Zeke.”
The older, heavyset man scratched his jaw covered with wiry black whiskers. With an amused smile, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. “Not really. Most people can find me in two seconds. My ex-wife included. It’s time you stepped into this millennium, my friend.”
I dismissively waved my hand. “I’ve made it this long without a phone tied to my hip; I think I can make it a little longer. And besides, nothing good comes from those things.”
Zeke chuckled, then took another sip of his drink. “It’s been a while, what can I do for you?”
Leaning over my elbows, I excitedly laid out my plan. Zeke’s expression didn’t change while I was explaining it, but when I was finished, he raised a bushy eyebrow. “Am I understanding you correctly? You want me to get you and your lady friend into the Space Needle after closing?”
I nodded. I knew it was crazy and impractical, but if anyone could help me, it would be Zeke. He was head of security there. He sighed as he set down his beverage. “So you want me to lose my job then?”
“No one would have to know, and I would never sell you out. You know that.”
Zeke ran a hand down his stringy beard. “This one is going to cost you. There’s a guard on duty. I can call ahead and tell him you’re a friend, but he’s going to want compensation. And not just a private performance for his girlfriend.” He smiled. “Thank you for that, by the way. I had a…very good night that night.”
I laughed as I remembered doing that favor for him. “My pleasure. Now…can you help me?” Reaching into my wallet, I pulled out some cash. It wasn’t enough to cover the guard on duty, but it might help persuade Zeke. I slid it over to him and waited for a response.
He sighed, then shoved the money back at me. “Save it for Marcus. You’ll need it. I’ll call ahead and get you in, but don’t you dare mess up the place. It will be my head.”
I smacked the table as I stood up. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Thanks, Zeke. Tell him to expect us sometime after two.” Zeke nodded and picked his drink back up. I clapped his shoulder as I walked past him. “I owe you.”
“I know you do,” he called out as I hurried from the bar.
The stage was set, and now all I needed was my girl. My girl…God, I loved the way that sounded.
I stopped by my house on the way back to the bar to grab some cash from my room. I wanted to make sure I had enough to cover this. Denny was home, but he was in his room with the lights off. Asleep, maybe? I was careful not to wake him as I fumbled through my drawers looking for my rainy-day fund. I didn’t want to see Denny tonight. I wanted this to only be about Kiera and me. Everyone else was going to have to wait until tomorrow.
Peeling off a couple of hundreds, I stuffed them in my pocket and headed out the door. Once I was back in my car, I returned to Pete’s and parked across the street. It was a while before Kiera was off work, but I wanted to be prepared in case she was let go early.
She got off work around the normal time though. She exited the bar with Jenny, and I got out of my car. Wondering if she’d notice me watching her, I leaned against my car door with my arms folded across my chest. I could tell the instant she spotted me. Stopping in her tracks, she stared at me like she was seeing a ghost. I had to smile at her reaction. Did she really think I wouldn’t give her a ride home, now that we were together? What kind of crappy boyfriend would that make me? Wait…was I her boyfriend now?
Kiera exchanged a few words with Jenny, gave her a hug, then turned to me. Jenny grabbed her arm before she got too far and the pair exchanged a few more words. I could easily imagine what they were—You need to tell Denny, you need to end this, you can’t be with two guys at the same time. I agreed with Jenny, but there was no way to guarantee that Kiera would be with me on the other side of her decision. Pressing the point might mean the end of us. And we were finally together…I just wanted one minute of heaven, so I could know what it felt like to be loved by somebody. Finally.
Jenny gave me a wave, then headed over to her car. Eager to reunite, Kiera bounded across the lot to me. Her approach warmed me in a way I couldn’t articulate. It sounded completely cheesy, but she completed me.
She was grinning ear to ear when I took her hand and led her around to the other side of the car. With the radiant energy emanating from each of us, it was almost like we hadn’t seen each other in days, not hours. She missed me.