I wink at her. “I look forward to it.”
“Was Rafe in on this, too?” she asks. Then realization dawns and her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline. “This is why we were almost late, isn’t it? You boys were having some sort of pow wow up there, weren’t you? I can’t believe we were almost late because you three were gossiping about girls.”
“We weren’t gossiping,” I say. Donnie has his arm around the girl now and I try, and fail, to hide a smile. “He was just asking to borrow the car is all.”
“The—my dad’s car?” Her voice turns shrill and I wince.
“When he got his license you said he could use it for special occasions,” I remind her.
“This is what you consider a special occasion?”
“His first date?” Ben and I share a look. “You better fuckin’ believe it.”
“Fuck!” Henry says delightfully.
“What did I tell you about cussing in front of these children!” Livvie squawks, then mouths apologies at nearby families.
“I’m just preparing them for boot,” Ben says with a lift of a shoulder, then he snatches Henry up to dig his fingers into his son’s ribs. “Gotta make sure they’re fluent in Marine.”
Livvie throws her hands up, then stands to soothe the baby when he wails in protest.
Donnie bounds up the bleachers with his pretty date in tow, a smile on his face. Before he can say a word, Sofie announces, “You’re on my list Donovan Varano.”
He holds up his hands. “Jack said I could.”
Sofie ignores him and offers a hand to his date. “Hi, honey. I’m Sofie. Welcome to crazy,” she says.
Phoebe, a little miniature Livvie draws up to her full height and says with all the authority of a two-year-old, “Shh! Shh! Rafe is coming! Rafe is coming! Shh!”
The commencement music begins and even though Sofie doesn’t shed a tear, I can feel the tension running through her like a livewire.
She leans into me and whispers, “Logan couldn’t make it?”
I shake my head. “No, but I’m sure he wanted to. He’s been having problems with his father and had to go out of town for a while.”
“Too bad,” she says as the first of the graduates start to receive their diplomas. “I haven’t seen near enough of him lately.”
Phoebe turns with a stern look. “Shhh!”
Livvie zips her lips with an exaggerated gesture.
The kids file through until only Rafe is left standing with the biggest smile of them all. When his name is called our entire section stands up to cheer. I whistle so loudly baby James starts to join in with a wail and Phoebe shrieks like an 80’s slasher scream queen.
Down by the podium Rafe shrugs and accepts his diploma, moving his tassel from one side of his cap to the other.
I tug Sofie close to my side, my hand resting on the side of her belly. As the life we made together kicks my hand, I watch half of the one we fought for stride down center field and the other whisper into his girl’s ear.
Then I kiss Sofie’s forehead and get ready for whatever comes next.
Because no matter what it is, we’ll be ready.
Together.
Dear Reader,
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’ve known Jack and Sofie’s story since I conceived the idea for Warrior. It’s been both a pleasure and a heartbreak to explore.
Logan—the bad boy of the group—is up next in Savior and I assure you it’ll be a wild ride.
If you enjoyed Survivor please consider leaving an honest review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo or iBooks.
Happy reading!
Nicole
If you are interested in or are looking for resources for reporting or dealing with sexual violence, please visit the following websites: National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Rape, Abuse, & Incest Nation Network
Not Alone
Sexual Assault Resource Center
There aren’t enough words to thank all of the people who help to bring each new release to life. Each book takes countless hours of toil that would not be possible without my kickass team.
Thank you to my editor Vanessa from PREMA Romance, for having the patience of a saint, a keen eye for detail, and the ability to refrain from strangling me. I can’t imagine what I’d do without you. An extra thanks to Manda, proofreader extraordinaire.
When I started my reader group, I never dreamed I’d have anyone interested in joining, let alone find so many women that I now consider friends. Knockouts, thank you for being in my corner. For cheering me on. Whenever I have news, I find I turn to you first because I know you’ll be there. You make all the hard work involved in writing worth it.
To my beta readers: Amber McCallister, Teri Hicks, Mandy Sawyer, Ella Stewart, Crystal Snyder, Kristin Arpin, Hayley Picknell, Melissa Fisher, Lori Vandenburg, Joy Zaharia, and Dana Coe, Survivor wouldn’t be here without your invaluable feedback and handholding. Thank you for taking the time to read and nitpick. You are simply the best. I hope you know how much I appreciate you.
Sean, I wouldn’t be where I am today without you by my side.
Afton, I finally finished Survivor, just for you!