EMBER - The Free Novella Read online

  EMBER

  The Free Novella

  New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

  Deborah Bladon

  COPYRIGHT

  First Original Edition, October 2015

  Copyright © 2015 by Deborah Bladon

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and situations either are the product of the author's imagination or are used factiously.

  All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  From Me to You

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  HAZE

  TORN

  HEAT

  About the Author

  From Me to You

  I want to begin by thanking each and every one of you for embracing the story of Dane and Bridget the way that you have. The characters took on a life of their own and as I told their story, I was excited by all the positive notes and messages I received. Dane is a special kind of hero. He'll always hold a place in my heart.

  This free gift novella continues the story of the characters after the end of EMBER – Part Three. It offers a glimpse into the challenges that Dane and Bridget have to face once they arrive back in New York City.

  Although this will be the final chapter in their love story, you will see more of these characters in books I'll be releasing next year. Look for both Dane and his love, Bridget, to pop up where you least expect them.

  With all my love and gratitude,

  Deborah xo

  **Please note: This free novella is best read after the RISE series. If you haven't yet read the RISE series, and you plan on it, please do that first. There are RISE series spoilers in this novella.

  Chapter 1

  "No, Dane, you can't mean that." I wrap my right hand around the left without thinking, cupping my fingers into my palm. "What happened? Why don't you want to marry me now?"

  He rubs his hands over his face, a small sigh escaping his lips into the barren stillness of the room. "That's not what I said, Bridget. I only asked you to give me back the ring."

  My eyes fall to my hands and the simple ring he placed on my finger only a few days ago when we were still in Paris. It had been his late father's wedding ring. A talented jeweler in a small shop near where we lived in France had crafted the band into a delicate engagement ring complete with a small diamond.

  I've never been the type to dream of a dramatic ring that captured the light whenever I moved my hand. This ring, the ring I'm now hiding from Dane's view, is the only ring I've ever wanted. It's meaning reaches far beyond the promise of a happily-ever-after. This ring represents the bond that Dane's parents shared. It's that love that brought him into this world. I can't imagine a more perfect symbol of my love for him. Now, he wants to take it back with no explanation.

  "I'm going to buy you a new ring." His large hand rests over mine. "I want us to go this week to pick one out."

  A wave of relief washes over me and I tap my fingers across his knuckles. "Did your brother say something to you about the ring? You told Landon you gave me your father's ring and he got mad, didn't he?"

  His fingers wrap around mine, the grip too tense to signal anything but stress. I've known something was amiss since Landon, Dane's older brother, called him in Paris the day before yesterday asking him to fly back to New York immediately.

  We'd had our return tickets from Paris booked for almost two months and Zoe, my best friend, had been excited to pick us up from the airport. I haven't seen her or Vanessa since Dane and I found out I was pregnant. When Landon called and told Dane he was using his connections as a pilot with the airline to change our flights, he had argued briefly but then his entire demeanor had changed.

  Landon had embraced me tenderly at the airport after our flight landed, telling me he was overjoyed to meet me. When he'd wrapped his arms around Dane, he'd wept. Dane had held onto him tightly, patting his back, trying to comfort him.

  The only words spoken on the drive back to our apartment were between Landon and Dane. It was shallow drivel about the weather in New York and Paris and when Dane planned on going back to work.

  I'd kissed Dane goodbye after he and Landon carried our bags up to our apartment. He needed time alone with his brother he told me. The grim expression on his face that had settled there two days ago had shifted to something else. It might have been frustration laced with fear but I knew as I touched my fingers to his cheek that when he came back to the apartment, that things would be different. I couldn't have known that my engagement ring would factor into it.

  "There's no easy way to say this, Bridget." He leans forward to brush his lips across my forehead. "Something has happened. It's my father."

  I study his face. The entire time I've known Dane, he's rarely spoken about his dad. The pain of the day his father drowned is still there within him. It may not be obvious to anyone else, but I see it when he's sitting alone and staring at nothing, his mind lost in thought. I hear it when he rests his head against my stomach and whispers to our baby that he's going to be the best father that ever lived.

  My fiancé has expertly navigated his life around the hole that was left by his father's death. Now, as we're on the brink of starting our own family, I can't be surprised that memories of the years he spent with his dad are flooding back to him.

  "Did your brother say something to you about the baby?" I absentmindedly rub my hand across the front of the black sleeveless sweater I'm wearing. "He didn't want us to rush back here so he could talk about your dad, did he? That could have waited until we came back next week."

  He shakes his head slowly from side-to-side, his gaze falling to my stomach. "What I'm about to tell you changes nothing, Bridget. We are still getting married as soon as we can and our baby is going to have the best life any child has ever had."

  I feel the beat of my heart throughout my entire body. His tone is measured and calm. This isn't just about some fleeting doubts he may be experiencing. This is something more. "Just tell me. Tell me, Dane."

  "Landon needed me to come back... he called my mother too," he begins before he pulls me tightly into his arms. "My father is alive. He's been alive all this time."

  ***

  Up to this point, my pregnancy has been fine. I've been fortunate in that I skipped the part where you feel so nauseous that you can't keep anything down before noon. I've had more energy than usual and I've been convinced that the beautiful life growing within me has nurtured my creativity. I've drawn some of my most breathtaking portraits since I found out I was having a baby with Dane.

  Right now, I feel as though every ounce of energy I have has been pulled from me. I slumped into the nearest chair when Dane told me about his dad. I'd held onto him as he rested his forehead against mine and I'd tried to form the words to ask what he meant but they'd gotten stuck in my throat.

  "He contacted Landon a few weeks ago," Dane says quietly. "He hid from us since that day he drowned. He's been hiding for so long."

  I know that I need to ask him to fill in all the blanks but the tremor that's there in his voice speaks louder than any of the words he's saying. He doesn't need to delve into the why's and how's right now. He needs me to hold him. He needs me to show him that nothing mat
ters but the future we are planning.

  "It's late," I whisper into the still air between us. "Do you want to hold me in bed?"

  He doesn't answer. He only scoops me into his arms, stands and carries me back to the same bed where he made love to me for the first time and where our life together began.

  Chapter 2

  "This is exactly why people say that money is the root of all evil." Zoe taps her index finger against the edge of the coffee cup sitting on the table in front of her. "Dane's dad let money take control of him."

  I look around the almost vacant café that I asked Zoe to meet me at. I needed her company after spending the morning listening to Dane explain in painstaking detail what his brother had told him. I didn't repeat it back verbatim to Zoe but after letting her talk for more than thirty minutes about all the hidden joys in being a mom, I'd told her a condensed version of what Dane shared with me. Her eyes had been glued to my left hand. I'd texted her a picture of my ring right after Dane slid it on my finger and when I handed it back to him earlier I tried to remain as stoic as I could even though the sense of loss I feel is palpable.

  I'd asked him before I left the apartment if I could tell Zoe and he'd nodded before asking me what I wanted for dinner. It was a simple, maybe even expected, question that felt misplaced given the heaviness of the conversation that had consumed our entire morning.

  "It's hard," I begin before I glance towards the café's door where an older man has just entered. His hair is gray, his handsome face etched by wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. If I had to guess, I'd place his age near that of Dane's dad, Frederick Beckett. Even though Dane told me that he doesn't want me or the baby to know his dad, I can't help but feel a pull towards him. His influence in Dane's life before his death, and after, helped mold him into the man he is now.

  "I know." Zoe reaches forward, resting her hands on either side of the now half-empty, porcelain mug. "I don't mean that I know exactly what you feel, Bridge. I just mean that I know it can't be easy dealing with all of this when you're trying to plan a wedding and get things ready for the baby."

  She's right. She can't know what I'm feeling, just as I can't really understand what Dane's feeling. After he'd told me that his father had been able to swim to shore after the boat he was in capsized, I'd stopped asking questions and had just sat next to him, holding his hand while he shared everything he knew.

  As Dane, his brother, and his mother worked through their grief over the past decade, the man they mourned had been living his life in different places, enjoying new experiences. The only thing that seemed to matter to him was staying off the radar of the police. He had stolen money from his clients, and he'd been unfaithful to Dane's mother before he disappeared. He wasn't welcome back in their lives and according to Dane he wanted to forget his father ever existed.

  "Did you know that Beck's sister-in-law's cousin is dating Dane's brother?"

  The words feel distant and if I hadn't heard them coming from Zoe, I might need more than a scant few seconds to process them. "Dane's brother is dating someone Beck knows?"

  She smiles softly. I know that she blurted the words out as an attempt to get me to focus on something other than what my soon-to-be-husband is struggling with but I feel as though she just slapped me across the face. Apparently she didn't see the need to segue into this new topic of discussion.

  "We had Jax and Ivy over for dinner last week." She picks up the mug and cradles it in her hands. "Ivy said that her cousin, Tess, is dating Landon."

  I only met Landon yesterday and all the other names she's tossing at me aren't registering. Dane has told me that Landon's idea of commitment is a second date so I doubt that this woman, whoever she is, will be part of his life for long.

  "It's a small world, isn't it, Bridge?"

  I glance over her shoulder and out the plate glass window to the bustling street. "It is. Everyone seems to know everyone in this city."

  ***

  "Did you make an appointment to see that doctor that Cleo recommended?"

  I look up from the plate of food that Dane had put in front of me almost the moment after I walked back into the apartment after seeing Zoe. He must have spent all afternoon preparing the succulent chicken breast, baked potatoes and steamed vegetables. It's more food than I've ever ate in one sitting and right now, with my appetite nowhere to be found, I can't stomach the thought of eating more than a bite or two.

  "We just got back yesterday," I mumble under my breath. "A lot has happened since then."

  I hear the faint sound of his fork being placed on the edge of his plate. "Bridget, this baby is everything. I need you to make that appointment as soon as possible."

  I look up and into his face. His mouth is drawn into a thin and harsh line. His eyes are sunken in. The toll of what's transpired these past twenty-four hours has caught up to him, even if he doesn't want to admit it.

  "You should do it first thing in the morning." He rubs his hand over the back of his neck. "I can handle it if you're too busy."

  I shouldn't absorb his words as sarcastic, but I do. Dane knows that I need to start work immediately on the gallery show that I'll have in just a few short months. We've talked about it non-stop since the curator of the gallery in Chelsea contacted me when we were in Paris. He'd seen my work and offered me a full three-month showing. It meant long hours for me but Dane had told me he would do everything he could to support me, even after he goes back to work next month. Our plan for this month is to choose the pieces I'll show and have each portrait professionally framed while we work out the details of our small wedding. Dane wants to make certain the show is sorted, and we are man and wife, before he falls back into the routine of his job.

  "I'll do it." My voice is small. "I'll call first thing tomorrow."

  "If you can get in next week, make the appointment late in the day."

  "Why?" I ask before I take a bite of the chicken knowing that I need sustenance. "Shouldn't I just take whatever they have available?"

  "I want to be there with you and I can only go in the late afternoon. I'm going back to work on Monday and next week I'm on the early shift."

  I stop mid-chew, my appetite suddenly vanishing again.

  Chapter 3

  "I thought we'd go look at baby furniture today." I rest my head on Dane's chest. After we'd finished dinner last night, we'd watched a movie in silence before retreating to our bed. He'd held me in his arms as I drifted off to sleep. His body wanted more but I was too rattled from his unexpected announcement about going back to work so soon. Logically I know that he's flailing because of what's happening with his dad and he wants things to go back to what he considers normal. I want to be understanding but the fact that he's shutting me out has me feeling untethered too.

  "I have to be somewhere in an hour." He adjusts his body so he can lean down to brush his lips against my forehead. "I can meet you somewhere later this afternoon."

  "Where do you need to be?" I ask as I push myself up to my elbows so I can look directly at him. "Can I go with you?"

  The speed with which he drops my gaze answers my last question before he even utters a syllable. "It's a family thing, Bridget. I'm going to see my dad today."

  His words bite deeply even though I know that's not his intention. He's building a barrier between us but I can't let that happen. I've worked hard the past few months to accept the reality that his former fiancé is close friends with his mother. I've tried to ignore the fact that until a few days ago I hadn't even met Dane's brother. Now, with the mention of him going to see his father, I feel isolated and alone. I don't want to but with the knowledge that we're on the brink of beginning our life together as a family I can't help but feel as though he's pushing me outside the inner circle of his life.

  "The baby and I are your family too." The words sound more peevish and whiny than I want them too. "I should be going with you. Don't you think I should meet your father?"

  He swings his long legs over the side of t
he bed in one easy movement until he's seated, his back facing me. "You're never going to meet him. I don't want our child to know him."

  "Dane." I inch forward so I can brush his bare skin with my fingertips. It's a subtle gesture that always brings comfort to both of us. "He's your father. He's the grandfather of our baby."

  He pushes himself to his feet, breaking all physical contact between the two of us. It's the first time he's pulled himself away from my touch. "He's nothing, Bridget. The man is nothing."

  I fall back into the sheets, wrapping the thin blanket around my naked body. I don't take my eyes off Dane as he marches across the bedroom, walks into the attached washroom and shuts the door behind him.

  ***

  "I kept all of Vane's things." Zoe tips her chin towards a stack of cardboard boxes in the corner of the kitchen. "I was planning on having another baby. I know I'll have another but not for a few years so I want you to take all of it for your baby. I can have Beck's assistant drop it off whenever you want."

  It's a generous offer that instantly overwhelms me. Since my portraits have started selling, I've been able to tuck a sizable amount of money into a savings account. When combined with the money that Dane invested after he sold his house, we have more than enough for a down payment on a place of our own.

  I assumed we'd dip into that to get things ready for the baby. I thought we'd start that today but now I'm at Zoe's apartment having a cup of herbal tea while Dane, his mother, and brother go to the prison where Frederick is being held. It feels like we stepped into an alternate universe when we landed in New York. In Paris, life was simple and straightforward. Now, it's anything but.

  "That would help me so much, Zoe." I tighten my grip on the teacup not wanting my best friend to see the trembling in my hands. "I thought Dane and I would go shop for the baby today but he had to be somewhere else."

  "Where?"

  I'm not shocked at all by how direct the question is. Zoe doesn't pull punches. Part of that stems from her drive to be an attorney; the other part is just her personality. She's never been one to glide around the outskirts of an issue. If she has an opinion on something, I know that she'll express it, whether I asked for it or not.