“I’m not sure if I should be happy or disturbed that I frightened you,” he said honestly.
“You didn’t,” she said. “You love me, and with that love comes a level of protectiveness that is hard to rein in when faced with…that.”
Bones glanced at Bullet. He didn’t know what to say. Thank you didn’t seem big enough, and You asshole, you should have told me, seemed inappropriate. The truth was, he was just glad the papers were signed.
Bullet shrugged and said, “Told you I had your back. You’d given him a glimpse of what holding out would get him. That, the threat of jail time for what he’d done to Sarah, and a little shove in the right direction was all it took for him to sign the papers and give up the names of the other three cretins. I took care of them, too. You won’t have to worry about any of them ever again.”
Bones opened his mouth to ask what had gone down, but Bullet narrowed his eyes and said, “Don’t ask what you don’t want to know.”
There was a knock at the door, and everyone looked curiously around the room.
“Who are we missing?” Red asked.
“It might be my friend Tracey,” Sarah said on her way to the door. “I invited her. I hope you don’t mind.”
Bones followed her to the door.
Bullet joined him and said, “He’s not dead. But this was all you, dude. He was shaking in his boots the second he saw me.”
“Good to know. Thanks, man. I owe you one.”
“No, man. I owed you big-time. We’re even.”
Sarah opened the door, and her face blanched at the sight of Josie, looking waiflike on the expansive front porch, wearing a thick green coat with the hood pulled up over her head.
“Josie—”
Bones slipped an arm around Sarah’s waist just in time to feel her legs give out. He guided her onto the front porch.
“Dude, stop staring,” Bullet snapped at Jed, whose eyes were locked on Josie, and shooed Jed and the others away as he closed the door.
Josie held up a copy of From Homeless to Happy, her eyes shifting nervously between Bones and Sarah. “He gave this to me with this address and said to come by anytime. I didn’t know you were having a party.”
“We’re not,” Sarah said. “Stay, please. Scott is right inside and I know he’s dying to talk to you.”
Josie looked over her shoulder at a car idling in the driveway. “I can’t. My friend’s waiting with Hail in the car.”
“Invite them in,” Sarah suggested. “I’d love to meet them.”
The hope in Sarah’s voice had Bones praying Josie would accept.
“No,” Josie said quickly. “I just wanted to talk for a minute. I’m not ready to…” Her brows knitted. “I just wanted to say that I read your story. I didn’t know…I’m sorry.” She hurried down the porch steps, stopping abruptly on the walkway. Her shoulders rounded forward, and she shoved her hands deep in her coat pockets as she faced them again and said, “Merry Christmas. Maybe we can talk after the holidays.”
“I’d like that,” Sarah said.
Tears streamed down Sarah’s cheeks as Josie climbed into the car, and Bones gathered her in his arms as her sister drove away.
“She was here,” Sarah said with awe. “You brought Josie to me.”
“No, darlin’. You did, by being brave enough to share your story. All I did was deliver your message.”
“I’m so happy right now I want to cry,” she whispered. “I’m scared to hope and terrified not to.”
“Hope, baby. Hope is good. This is a start. She did the hardest part; she came to you, and she apologized. The rest will come.”
“She read my story. She knows I didn’t have a perfect life.” Sarah looked up at the sky as snow began to fall and said, “Maybe Thomas sprinkled a little extra miracle dust on us tonight.”
“Darlin’,” he said as her eyes found his again, “he must have been sprinkling miracle dust on me since the day he passed away, because my whole life has been leading up to you. Let’s go get our babies, bundle them up, and let them catch snowflakes on their tongues.”
“Catch miracles,” she said. “Because we can never have enough of them.”
Ready for More Whiskeys?
Fall in love with Jed and Josie in MAD ABOUT MOON
Come along for the sexy, emotional ride as Jed and Josie find their happily ever after in MAD ABOUT MOON, the next book in the Whiskeys series!
Buy MAD ABOUT MOON
The following Whiskey-related books are waiting for you at all book retailers:
River of Love (First introduction to the Whiskey family)
Tru Blue (Truman and Gemma)
Truly, Madly, Whiskey (Bear and Crystal)
Driving Whiskey Wild (Bullet and Finlay)
Love Melissa’s Writing?
Discover more of the magic behind New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Melissa Foster with the series that started the phenomenon:
LOVE IN BLOOM
Big-Family Romance Collection
The Whiskeys are just one of the many family series in the Love in Bloom collection featuring fiercely loyal heroes, sassy, sexy heroines, and stories that go above and beyond your expectations! Free first-in-series ebooks, downloadable series checklists, reading orders, and more can be found on Melissa’s Reader Goodies page.
More Books By Melissa Foster
Love in Bloom Romance Collection
LOVE IN BLOOM SERIES order
Love in Bloom books may be read as stand alones. For more enjoyment, read them in series order. Characters from each series carry forward to the next.
SNOW SISTERS
Sisters in Love
Sisters in Bloom
Sisters in White
THE BRADENS (Weston, CO)
Lovers at Heart, Reimagined
Destined for Love
Friendship on Fire
Sea of Love
Bursting with Love
Hearts at Play
THE BRADENS (Trusty, CO)
Taken by Love
Fated for Love
Romancing My Love
Flirting with Love
Dreaming of Love
Crashing into Love
THE BRADENS (Peaceful Harbor, MD)
Healed by Love
Surrender My Love
River of Love
Crushing on Love
Whisper of Love
Thrill of Love
THE BRADENS & MONTGOMERYS (Pleasant Hill – Oak Falls)
Embracing Her Heart
Anything for Love
Trails of Love
BRADEN WORLD NOVELLAS
Daring Her Love
Promise My Love
Our New Love
Story of Love
THE REMINGTONS
Game of Love
Stroke of Love
Flames of Love
Slope of Love
Read, Write, Love
Touched by Love
SEASIDE SUMMERS
Seaside Dreams
Seaside Hearts
Seaside Sunsets
Seaside Secrets
Seaside Nights
Seaside Embrace
Seaside Lovers
Seaside Whispers
BAYSIDE SUMMERS
Bayside Desires
Bayside Passions
Bayside Heat
Bayside Escape
THE RYDERS
Seized by Love
Claimed by Love
Chased by Love
Rescued by Love
Swept Into Love
SEXY STAND-ALONE ROMANCE NOVELS
Tru Blue (Set in Peaceful Harbor)
Truly, Madly, Whiskey
Driving Whiskey Wild
Wicked Whiskey Love
Mad About Moon
BILLIONAIRES AFTER DARK
WILD BOYS
Logan
Heath
Jackson
Cooper
BAD BOYS
Dylan
Carson
Brett
HARBORSIDE NIGHTS
Includes characters from the Love in Bloom series
Catching Cassidy
Discovering Delilah
Tempting Tristan
Standalone Books by Melissa
Chasing Amanda (mystery/suspense)
Come Back to Me (mystery/suspense)
Have No Shame (historical fiction/romance)
Love, Lies & Mystery (3-book bundle)
Megan’s Way (literary fiction)
Traces of Kara (psychological thriller)
Where Petals Fall (suspense)
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading Bones and Sarah’s story. This was such a tough story to write, given Sarah’s background. But Bones made it a little easier, leading the way with his compassionate heart and protective nature. I hope you loved them as much as I do. I’m excited to explore happily ever afters for Josie, Dixie, Penny, and the rest of our friends in the Whiskey world.
A special thank-you goes out to Rosalie Perez, who was kind enough to share with me her personal battle with cancer. I have taken great literary liberties, and I truly appreciate you trusting me with your story. Thank you, Terren Hoeksema, for helping me with details about life in certain parts of Florida. Lisa Bardonski and Lisa Filipe, you were life-savers with this book. Thanks for talking me off the ledge.
If this is your first introduction to my work, please note that every Melissa Foster book can be read as a stand-alone novel, and characters appear in other family series, so you never miss out on an engagement, wedding, or birth. You can find information about the Love in Bloom series and my books here:
www.melissafoster.com/melissas-books
I offer several free first-in-series ebooks. You can find them here:
www.MelissaFoster.com/LIBFree
I chat with fans often in my fan club on Facebook. If you haven’t joined my fan club yet, please do!
www.facebook.com/groups/MelissaFosterFans
Follow my author page on Facebook for fun giveaways and updates of what’s going on in our fictional boyfriends’ worlds.
www.Facebook.com/MelissaFosterAuthor
If you prefer sweet romance, with no explicit scenes or graphic language, please try the Sweet with Heat series written under my pen name, Addison Cole. You’ll find the same great love stories with toned-down heat levels.
Thank you to my awesome editorial team, Kristen Weber and Penina Lopez, and my meticulous proofreaders, Elaini Caruso, Juliette Hill, Marlene Engel, Lynn Mullan, and Justinn Harrison. And last but never least, a huge thank-you to my family for their patience, support, and inspiration.
Meet Melissa
Melissa Foster is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. Melissa has painted and donated several murals to the Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC.
Visit Melissa on her website or chat with her on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups and welcomes an invitation to your event. Melissa’s books are available through most online retailers in paperback and digital formats.
Melissa also writes sweet romance under the pen name Addison Cole.
www.MelissaFoster.com
Free Reader Goodies:
www.MelissaFoster.com/Reader-Goodies