Davis, Keyonna - Faceless Enemy [Pine Valley 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (16 page)

Kerri smiled as she looked around the back yard. Everyone was there to celebrate Ali’s
eighteenth birthday. Ali only requested close friends and family to celebrate with her, and Kerri was honored to be included. She wanted this. She wanted the close family and friends. She wanted Chase to hold their baby in his arms and smile down at it like he did Maddy. She wanted Chase’s smile to widen and his eyes to sparkle when she entered a room, like Duncan’s and Logan’s did for Cane. Now that everything was over, nothing was stopping her from getting everything that she always wanted.

Kerri had a long talk with her dad once the whole ordeal with Justin was over. She hoped that it wasn’t guilt that caused him to make the decision to step down and become a silent partner in the company, but he assured her that the decision had been a longtime coming. She hoped, now that he wasn’t married to the company, her dad could settle down and find someone who made him happy like she was. Chase interrupted her thoughts when he put his arm around her.

“You look good like this, little bit.”

Kerri shivered when she felt his breath on the side of her neck. “You don’t look so bad yourself, handsome,” Kerri whispered. “You are still sexy, even if you have baby vomit running down the side of your neck.”

Chase laughed and grabbed a napkin off the table. “You’re going to make me wake up Maddy, and it took me forever to get her to sleep.”

“I know what you mean. Mikey was the same way. I think it is all the excitement going on. They wanted to stay up and party, too.”

Chase leaned over again and whispered, “I meant you looked good with the baby. We need us a few so Maddy and Mikey have someone to play with.”

Kerri froze. She looked over at Chase to see if he was joking, but his face was serious. She was afraid to ask but did anyway. “What do you mean?”

“I meant, little bit, that I am in love with you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to grow old and sit on the porch with you while we watch our grandbabies play. You are it for me, and hopefully I’m it for you, so I’m asking you to marry me and make me the happiest man alive by having tons of babies with me.”

Kerri was stunned. No one had ever said anything more beautiful to her. There was no way she could top that. She tried to put how she felt about Chase into words, but she couldn’t come up with the perfect way to describe how she felt. Chase’s throat clearing cause her to realize that he was waiting on her answer. She wanted to wipe the uneasy look off his face, so she just blurted out “Yes.” Mikey jerked and started to cry, causing Maddy to wake up to see what was wrong with her brother. Evidently she didn’t like the fact that he was crying, so she, too, started to scream at the top of her lungs. Kerri laughed. She was just too happy to care about crying babies.

Riley and his date, Jessica, took over babysitting duties after she and Chase were able to calm the babies down. Everyone was helping out so that Cane, Duncan, and Logan could enjoy the party since this was their first time out since the babies were born. Chase pulled her out on the dance floor when a slow song came on.

“So you have no problems with becoming Mrs. Chase Matthews?”

Kerri nodded. “I have wanted to be Mrs. Chase Matthews ever since I was fourteen and met you. I’m pretty sure if I dug deep enough, I could find a few notebooks from school with your name scribbled all over them.” She laughed. “I used to watch you when I tagged along with my dad on training missions. You were the guy I compared all the boys in high school and college to. No one ever measured up.”

Chase grunted. “I don’t want to hear about any other guys. You’re mine now, and I am not letting you go.”

Overdosing on happiness, Kerri sighed and laid her head on Chase’s shoulder as they slowly twirled.

When she felt Chase tense and heard him growl, Kerri turned to see what was wrong. A loud squeal directed her attention to Ali, who was wrapped in Angel’s arms. She kissed him on the cheek and then turned to kiss Gavin. She held a gold necklace in her hand, and Kerri assumed it was a birthday present from the guys. She knew Ali was in love with the two men, and she had a feeling they felt the same about her. Ali deserved to be happy and not have her overprotective brothers interfere. Kerri turned to Chase and rubbed her hand down his chest to get his attention. She tucked her fingers into the top of his jeans and stopped.

“I was just thinking,” she said as she smiled up at him, “there is really no reason why we have to wait to get started on making those babies. I mean if you think about it, if Maddy and Mikey are going to have someone to play with, then we really need to get started now.”

Kerri giggled when Chase threw her over his shoulder and carried her into the house. He didn’t stop until they were in his room. He tossed her on the bed and crawled on top of her. He leaned down and traced her bottom lip with his tongue before fully kissing her. When she was out of breath, she pulled away and looked at Chase. She couldn’t believe that she was going to wake up and go to bed with this man for the rest of her life. She reached up to stroke his face and paused. On her ring finger was a beautiful diamond solitaire engagement ring. She hadn’t even felt him slip it on.
Goes to show that the man’s kisses are dangerous.

“I wanted to ask you later after the party was over so that we didn’t take the attention away from Ali,” Chase said. “Seeing you sitting there holding Mikey with that look on your face, I couldn’t resist. You looked happy, content, and peaceful all at the same time.”

Kerri smiled through tears as she rubbed his jaw. “I have loved you since I was fourteen years old, Chase Matthews, and I plan on loving you for the rest of our lives.” Kerri meant every word she said. She finally had what she’d wanted for so long, and she was going to take every day to show Chase how much he meant to her. She smiled.
No time like the present to get started
.

* * * *

Daniel watched as Chase threw Kerri over his shoulder and carried her out of the party. He was glad to see that she was happy and hoped that she had no lasting effects from her ordeal. He knew that it was going to take a long time for her to come to terms with the fact that she helped kill a man. It was something that she would never get over, but she had Chase now, and he knew how to help keep her demons locked up tight. Daniel knew all about demons. He had too many to count.

He had joined the military straight out of high school and shipped off the day after he found out that he was going to be a father. On his next leave, he came home and married his high school sweetheart. Ever since then, everything he had done had been for his wife and daughter. Now Daniel didn’t know what to do with his life. At forty-two, all he knew was combat. He was still young, but felt old and weary. He had practically given his company away, and now he felt like he was just floating adrift. He had enough money to last him and Kerri several lifetimes, so he wasn’t worried about needing a job. He just needed something to do with his time.

Daniel shook his head and pushed his self-pity away. He was surrounded by what he considered family and friends, and it was a happy occasion. For now, his daughter was safe and well taken care of. He would decide what to do with the rest of his life later. Maybe he would take a long-needed vacation.

THE END

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