Red Hot Winter Page 9
Tony releases Winter to turn on Jackie. A vein sticks out of his neck as he thrums with fury. “That’s enough.”
“I won’t stand for this,” she bellows. “Like I told you before, it’s either me or—”
“Her,” he growls. “I choose her. I let you fuck with my head before, but I’m tired of it, Jackie. I’m tired of you. You’re an emotional vampire and I’m sick as hell of you feeding from me.”
Callie and I share a weighted look. Jackie, completely oblivious that the whole goddamn town is watching this war at our table, gapes at him.
“I guess it’s a bad time to tell you I fucked your boss,” she spits out at him before standing and storming away.
Callie gapes at me, indecision warring in her eyes. I nod at her. Jackie’s her mom and I know she wants to check on her. She rises from the table and rushes off.
“Ouch,” Winter mutters. “She fucked your boss? Gordon?”
Tony snorts and takes a long pull from his beer bottle. “His problem now.”
I laugh because I thought the same when Tony started seeing Jackie. Well, at least after I got past the initial shock of being cheated on. Jackie is a huge problem and hell if this guy doesn’t seem relieved to be done with her.
“You really meant all that?” Winter asks.
Tony nods. “We were in a bad place. I was trying to save our marriage. When she told me her lies, I believed them. When she made me choose a side, I got caught up in trying to fix us…” At the sacrifice of his daughter. “I made a mistake. A bad one. I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back into my life.”
She hugs him again and he looks a little teary-eyed with relief. Winter eventually pulls back and straightens her spine. “Dad, I’m seeing August now.”
“She’s not a whore and I fucking love her,” I growl. “Got a problem with that?”
He grits his teeth but shakes his head. “No problem as long as she is happy and loved. That’s all I could ever hope for.”
“I learned how to cook,” she chirps, her lie so sweet I almost believe it.
“Impressive,” he says. “Maybe you could cook for me sometime.”
She preens and I snort, which earns me an elbow to the gut. Tony darts his brown eyes that match hers exactly back and forth between us.
“She still burns mac and cheese?” he asks with a smirk.
“She burns cereal,” I retort.
“Assholes. You are both assholes,” she says with a laugh. “I hate you both.”
Callie returns without her mother. “What’d I miss?”
“Winter is lying to her dad. Told him she’s a star chef now,” I tease.
Callie cackles and Winter flips her off.
“I got sick when she made spaghetti last week,” Callie tells Tony. “Is it possible to get garlic poisoning?”
“Arsenic is my secret ingredient,” Winter deadpans to Callie.
As the girls snap playfully back and forth, I can’t help but feel somewhat relieved. Jackie will go have her bitch-fit elsewhere. Winter can repair her relationship with Tony. And we can have a nice meal that my girlfriend didn’t cook. Thank God.
Landon shows up and tells hilarious football stories that Tony seems quite tickled by. While they’re distracted, I hug Winter to me and kiss her cheek.
“You’re mine forever.”
“Sheesh, man,” she teases. “You move fast. I think the romance books call this instalove. The real world would call you a creepy stalker.”
“Don’t make me spank you.”
Her eyes meet mine, a devious glint in them. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, admiring how beautiful she is. She regards me with soft, loving eyes. So sweet and innocent and mine.
“For the record, I love instalove and creepy stalkers and a good spanking,” she says, tilting her head, offering her lips to me.
I kiss her supple lips. “For the record, I love you.”
Winter
Seven years later…
Oh God.
The envelope feels heavy in my hands. I mean, it’s my future after all. I should just rip it open and find out one way or another. I’ve been working hard all through college and then law school. I was prepared. I know I passed, deep down.
Right?
But what if I didn’t?
August will try so hard to cheer me up and then pump me up to try again.
Sickness roils in my stomach. I’ve been so stressed, I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I can’t do anything but obsess. And before that, all I did was study. It was taking a toll on my health. While I studied and studied, it was all August could do to keep me fed and hydrated. This past summer, I got sick three times in a row.
Something has to give.
Bile creeps up my throat and I try to ignore it. I feel horrible and I swear to God if I have another sinus infection, I’m going to go nuts. My stomach aches sending a cold sweat across my flesh.
I think of one of my close friends who dealt with some horrible health issues. Suddenly, I’m worried on top of being worried. What if passing the bar exam becomes the most unimportant issue in my life? What if I’m dying?
The door bursts open and Dad strides in, an expectant look on his face. “You passed?”
Instead of being excited about the envelope in my hands, I burst into tears. “I’m dying.”
“What?” he says, chuckling. When he realizes I’m serious, he frowns. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I need August to get home already,” I sob. “I need to go to the hospital.”
“Honey,” Dad coos. “I think you’re having an anxiety attack.”
“Dad, I’m sick!” I screech, hot tears streaming down my cheeks. As if to attest to this, my stomach clenches and I nearly pass out from a wave of dizziness.
“Jesus,” he curses. “Come here. I’ve got you.”
He helps me out to his car and then he fires up his engine. I sit in the passenger seat with my unopened envelope now sitting in my purse. My phone buzzes and it’s Jenna texting me.
Jenna: Did you pass? Are we celebrating with margaritas tonight? Dad’ll watch the kids when he gets off his shift in another hour.
I swipe away my tears and reply back.
Me: Raincheck. I’m headed to the hospital. Something’s not right.
She replies begging me to call her as soon as I know something and I promise that I will. Dad pulls into the ER lot and helps me out. As I hobble in to check in, I can hear him calling August. It just makes me cry harder.
Dr. Goddamn He’s Hot comes trotting down the corridor looking like one of those hot daddy doctors from that old show ER. He’s taken, I’m taken, and I’m friends with his daughter. I can still appreciate a fine looking man.
“I’ve got it,” he tells the receptionist as he guides me past the empty waiting room into the first room in the emergency area. “What’s going on, Winter?”
I tell him everything. The stress. The chronic sinus infections. The anxiety. My failed meals that make everyone sick. I probably gave myself ulcers. Bleeding ulcers probably. Oh God, what if my stomach is filling with blood as we speak?
A loud, horrible sob rattles from me. He calls for a nurse who draws some blood and then guides me to the bathroom. They ask me to pee in a cup and then once I’m done with that, I settle into the bed. Both Dr. Goddamn He’s Hot—or Dr. Venable if you want to get technical—and the nurse leave me momentarily. Dad stays perched beside the bed, a worried look on his face.
“If you’ll just open the letter, you’ll feel better,” he says.
“I can’t,” I whisper.
He starts to part his mouth to say something, but the curtain gets yanked aside so hard, I worry it might come out of the ceiling. August, brows furrowed with worry, stalks into the room.
“What’s wrong?” he demands in that filthy courtroom voice that never fails to turn me on.
Suddenly, I feel marginally better.
I think
about how he woke me up this morning. With his tongue. In places no tongue should go. God, he is so dirty sometimes.
“She got the results,” Dad tattles.
August frowns. “You failed?”
“Of course not,” I snap. “Well, I mean, technically I don’t know. But I know the law better than you. I know I passed.”
Dad and August share a smirk. Then, August saunters over to my purse and yanks out the envelope. He rips it open. Just pulls off the proverbial Band-Aid. I watch his expression for any tells. He remains impassive as he hands it over to me.
I stare at the words, unbelieving.
Passed.
“You passed, sweetheart,” Dad says gently. “Congrats. Now you can calm down.”
But something’s still not right. I twist my giant diamond around my wedding finger. It’s a nervous habit that drives August nuts. He grabs my hand and pulls it to him so I’ll stop my fidgeting. His eyes are unusually soft as he regards me.
“Tony, she just needs some water. Can you go grab her a bottle?” August asks, his eyes never leaving mine.
Dad nods and kisses me on the top of my head before leaving. August sits beside me and threads our fingers together.
“You know I love you no matter what,” he says, his brows furling together.
A spike of panic rises up inside of me. Why is he being so weird? “Y-Yeah.”
“I made vows to you six years ago that I’d be there with you through it all.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead. “Even when you lose your shit.”
“Excuse me?” I hiss, no longer feeling sweet and loving toward him. “I am not losing my shit!”
“Not yet,” he mutters.
Dr. Venable walks in wearing a cheesy grin on his face. “Winter…”
Oh God.
“Here we go,” August says to no one. “Five, four, three, two…”
“You’re perfectly healthy,” Dr. Venable says. “And pregnant.”
“And the shit is officially lost,” August says to me.
“I’M WHAT?!” I screech. “IMPOSSIBLE!”
August laughs, that dirty bastard. Dr. Venable simply shrugs.
“No! I take that damn birth control religiously!” I argue. Hot tears well in my eyes. Thoughts of carrying August’s little girl or boy has joy chasing away all the anxiety I’d been feeling for months over this dumb bar exam.
“You did,” August agrees. “But—”
“No buts!” I snap at him. Oh God, will my little angel have brown eyes or green? I hope green. His eyes are perfect. “You got me pregnant, you asshole! How?!”
And his laugh.
I love his laugh.
Right now I want to choke him because he’s laughing. It’s still a perfect laugh, though.
“You see,” Dr. Venable starts in his doctorly voice that’s not so hot at the moment. “Antibiotics lessen the effects of birth control and—”
“You were on three rounds,” August reminds me. “We weren’t always careful.”
Callie will have a sibling. How cool is that?
“What about my career?” I mutter in defeat.
“Like you’re the only pregnant woman to be an attorney?” August challenges back.
I’m an attorney. And pregnant. This is the best day of my life.
“Who’s pregnant?” Dad asks nosily and then screeches to a halt. “You’re…my baby girl…” His throat bobs with emotion.
When all three of us nod at him, he hollers, “My little girl is pregnant!”
A smile tugs at my lips and August winks at me.
“You lost your shit,” he says with a smirk.
“I did not lose my shit.”
“Oh, here they go,” Dad says, chuckling before he kisses the top of my head. “I’m going to make some calls.”
Dr. Venable follows him out, leaving us alone.
“You totally did.” August’s lips find mine.
“Did not.”
“It was really hot,” he continues. “You know I love when you lose your mind.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“And you’re going to be a mommy, Mrs. Miller. What do you have to say for yourself, counselor?”
My bottom lip wobbles. “Thank you.”
His brows lift in surprise. “I was expecting a finger.”
“I already gave you one,” I remind him, wiggling my wedding ring finger at him.
“I love you,” he tells me.
“I love you too,” I whisper. “I always have.”
“You ready to call Callie?”
“She’s going to lose her shit.”
He laughs. “No one will ever lose their shit like you do, babe.”
I shoot him the bird and he shoots me a smile.
All humor fades as the crushing weight of reality hits me.
“August, I’m scared.”
He cradles my cheek and kisses my lips. “I’m not. You’re amazing at everything you do. Well, except for cooking. You better let me handle feeding the baby.” I shoot him a withering glare that has him chuckling. “But besides that, you’re literally the best and smartest at everything. You think you’re going to fail at motherhood?” He shakes his head. “I know better.”
I expect more teasing, but my big, broody delicious husband climbs into the small bed beside me and holds me as I ponder what being a mother will be like. At first, I feel nervous. But then, the anxiety fades and a familiar determination settles in my bones.
“I’ve got this,” I tell him, confidence bleeding into my words.
He kisses my hair. “I never had any doubt.”
The End
If you loved August and Winter in Red Hot Winter, you’ll love Bad Bad Bad!
Bad Bad Bad is free with my newsletter signup and can be found exclusively for purchase on my website.
If you’re curious about Lauren from this story…she’ll get her own taboo treat soon!
You may have met her handsome hero already in Enzo…
K Webster’s Taboo World
Cast of Characters
Brandt Smith (Rick’s Best Friend)
Kelsey McMahon (Rick’s Daughter)
Rick McMahon (Sheriff)
Mandy Halston (Kelsey’s Best Friend)
Miles Reynolds (Drew’s Best Friend)
Olivia Rowe (Max’s Daughter/Sophia’s Sister)
Dane Alexander (Max’s Best Friend)
Nick Stratton
Judge Maximillian “Max” Rowe (Olivia and Sophia’s Father)
Dorian Dresser
Drew Hamilton (Miles’s Best Friend)
Sophia Rowe (Max’s Daughter/Olivia’s Sister)
Easton McAvoy (Preacher)
Lacy Greenwood (Stephanie’s Daughter)
Stephanie Greenwood (Lacy’s Mother)
Anthony Blakely (Quinn’s Son)
Aiden Blakely (Quinn’s Son)
Quinn Blakely (Anthony and Aiden’s Father)
Ava Prince (Lacy/Raven/Olivia’s friend)
Karelma Bonilla (Mateo’s Daughter)
Adam Renner (Principal)
Coach Everett Long (Adam’s friend)
River Banks (Olivia’s Best Friend)
Mateo Bonilla (Four Fathers Series Side Character)
Vaughn Young
Vale Young
Enzo Tauber
Jenna Pruitt
August Miller
Winter Burke
K Webster’s Taboo World Reading List
These don’t necessarily have to be read in order to enjoy, but if you would like to know the order I wrote them in, it is as follows (with more being added to as I publish):
Bad Bad Bad
Coach Long
Ex-Rated Attraction
Mr. Blakely
Easton (Formerly known as Preach)
Crybaby
Lawn Boys
Malfeasance
Renner’s Rules
The Glue
Dane
Enzo
Red
Hot Winter
Psychological Romance Standalones:
My Torin
Whispers and the Roars
Cold Cole Heart
Blue Hill Blood
Romantic Suspense Standalones:
Dirty Ugly Toy
El Malo
Notice
Sweet Jayne
The Road Back to Us
Surviving Harley
Love and Law
Moth to a Flame
Erased
Extremely Forbidden Romance Standalones:
The Wild
Hale
Taboo Treats:
Bad Bad Bad
Coach Long
Ex-Rated Attraction
Mr. Blakely
Easton
Crybaby
Lawn Boys
Malfeasance
Renner’s Rules
The Glue
Dane
Enzo
Red Hot Winter
Contemporary Romance Standalones:
The Day She Cried
Untimely You
Heath
Sundays are for Hangovers
A Merry Christmas with Judy
Zeke’s Eden
Schooled by a Senior
Give Me Yesterday
Sunshine and the Stalker
Bidding for Keeps
B-Sides and Rarities
Paranormal Romance Standalones:
Apartment 2B
Running Free
Mad Sea
War & Peace Series:
This is War, Baby (Book 1)
This is Love, Baby (Book 2)
This Isn’t Over, Baby (Book 3)
This Isn’t You, Baby (Book 4)
This is Me, Baby (Book 5)
This Isn’t Fair, Baby (Book 6)
This is the End, Baby (Book 7—a novella)
Lost Planet Series:
The Forgotten Commander (Book 1)
2 Lovers Series:
Text 2 Lovers (Book 1)