Uncovering Hope (Uncovering Love Book 3) (33 page)

“Shut your mouth. You’re so goddamn sexy, I can’t wait to get you alone.”

“Get a room!” Evie calls from Carly’s side. Kate waddles over to the women and children and joins in the gushing and cooing.

In this moment, surrounded by our little circle of family and friends, my soul sings with joy, my heart taps to the beat of goodness, and I memorize just how it feels to witness so much love in one place at one single moment in time.

“You ready to take this nugget home to our boys?” I click our daughter’s car seat into the base. She’s sleeping soundly and doesn’t even blink at the jarring movement.

“Yes,” Carly responds from the front passenger seat. I shut the back door and hop into the front, start the car and crank the heater. It’s the end of November and we’re having a little cold front in Arizona. I turn and look at my wife before I back out of the parking space. Carly gives a little smile and I brush my fingers across her cheek. She’s so damn beautiful and I’ve never been more in awe. Two days ago she gave birth to our daughter. We have a daughter. I lean over the center console to brush my lips against hers. My heart is full.

“Can we stop by Children’s on the way?” she murmurs. I pull back to look at her.

“Carly, we don’t have to do that.” I pull out onto the road, double and triple checking my mirrors. I’ve always been confident in my driving skills, but with the precious cargo I’m hyper aware of the danger in merely driving home.

“But you never miss a year.” She reaches over and plays with the hair at the nape of my neck.

“But you just gave birth to our daughter.” We pull up to a stop light and I meet her gaze.

“I know. I just think it’d be nice.” She pauses and I spot the moisture gathering in her eyes. She blinks it back. “For Luis.”

Shit. When she puts it like that . . . fuck that. I’d do anything this woman asks. I’ll always do what she needs, whatever brings a smile to those pretty pink lips.

We pull into the parking lot at Children’s and I snag a close spot. I pull the baby from the back and Carly loops her arm in mine. The hospital is full of extra visitors today. It’s the designated day for families to come in with Christmas trees, decorating throughout the hospital in memory of children lost. It makes the place a little brighter, less like a hospital, more like a home away from home.

I haven’t missed a year, and once we’re inside I’m glad Carly insisted we come. It wouldn’t have been the same without stopping by. We ride the elevator to the sixth floor and round the corner to our memory tree. Decked out in a retro video game theme, I can’t help but get a little misty eyed. He would have loved this.

“Luis!” Carly gushes, and he appears from behind the tree, ornaments in hand.

“You guys made it! With the baby, too!” He’s all long limbs, skinny but healthy, and his jet black hair falls in his eyes. Fuck, I love that he has hair. That he’s cancer free.

“Carly insisted we see the tree. You did a phenomenal job, Luis. Thank you, man.”

“Of course. Do you think your brother would like it?” He looks unsure of himself.

“David would have loved it.”

“So what did you name her? God she’s so tiny.” He crouches in front of the carrier.

“Luisa Hope,” Carly says. Luis’ eyes snap to meet hers, then they bounce between both of us. A satisfied grin pulls at the corners of his lips. He looks back at the baby.

“That’s a great name. Probably named after some kick ass person. I’d bet they’re pretty awesome. Just saying.” He’s teasing but I can tell he’s overwhelmed by the honor.

“She is. She carries the namesake of someone special. He’s the reason her parents had the chance to fall in love.” Carly grins and Luis stands to his full height and captures Carly in a big hug.

“Hands off my girl,” I joke, and Luis releases her to tackle me in a strong embrace.

“Thank you,” he says under his breath.

“No. Thank you.”

Never in a million years did I hope to find love inside this hospital. My brother, my other half, was torn from my life inside these walls. This young man, another cancer filled teen, brought me back to this place night after night. And it was here I fell in love with this beautiful, sweet, honest, real, faithful woman.

The love we share is a testament to the goodness life can bring, even after hard times. We learned to never lose faith, even in despair, because hope is waiting for the perfect time, and uncovering it will deliver all the beauty and joy that life can hold.

To my family for putting up with my writers brain, my need to stay up late and write, the lack of homemade dinners, and basically all the homemaker duties I slacked on while this story was built. Heck, I was never very good at the household duties to begin with. The fact we all have clean clothes daily has to count for something! I love you Joe, Abby, JD, & G. Thanks for understanding I need this and for being proud of my work.

Kerry, my best writing friend—your emails, texts, and words get me through the self-doubt and push me to be a better writer. Thanks for always talking me off the author insecurity ledge, and I’m happy to repay the favor because you are an amazing writer! Thanks for always listening and for your honest feedback. Your excitement, encouragement, and positive energy are the best gifts and I treasure it all.

My beta team! You women are truly a blessing in my life. Each week I eagerly awaited your thoughts and insights. The fact that I knew you were reading kept me motivated to write. Danielle, thanks for giving me the good and the bad and empowering me to produce my best work. Rikki, thank you for your inspiration, kindness, and encouragement that always leaves me smiling. Laura, thanks for always making me laugh out loud, even when you tell me to get off social media (super nicely) and back to writing. Thank you all for your time and talent. I am lucky to have such awesome beta readers and can’t thank you enough. Also, a side note, you can never leave me!

Tami, thank you for answering all my strange, morbid, and sometimes stupid questions about life as a pediatric nurse. Our phone calls really should be recorded for entertainment purposes! Thanks for being my “fresh eyes” and giving this baby one last look before going out to the masses. I love you sister.

Sommer thank you for another amazing cover design. It’s gorgeous and completes the series perfectly! Thanks to The Irish Wolf for the photography. And Rob, you’ve been a pleasure to work with and I’m not gonna lie, I love that I nabbed you for your first cover because I see many more in your future.

Brenda, thank you for your editing skills on this book. Thank you for fixing all my commas (or lack thereof) and dialog tags, noticing my go-to phrases, and all the rest. I’m still learning and each time I get a manuscript back from you I notice more about myself as a writer and how I can continue to grow. Thank you for treating my work as something special, with care and love for the characters that live in my head.

Stacey, thank you for doing such a wonderful job on this book and this entire series. You are such a joy to work with and I always look forward to formatting with you! I can’t wait to see what you come up with for my future projects. You are the best!

Christina thank you for being so diligent in your proofreading, a skill and ability that I envy! Thank you for volunteering your time to review this book. Angela, thank you for proof reading on this book as well. I appreciate all your encouragement and can’t wait until your book is published.

There’s no way to thank every single person who helped lift me up, encourage, and support this book and the writing of it, as well as my success as a writer but I extend a special thank you to the following people in no particular order: Shane and #teameyeball, the Arizona ladies Melanie, Tana, Amy, & Rikki you all rock and it’s awesome to celebrate my releases and big moments with you, Rachel from The Saucy Owl, Vivian of Beauté De Livres, the Sinfully Sexy ladies Sam, Rae, Lei & KK, Brittni of Beyond Boyfriend Reviews, Cassandra with The Bookish Crypt, Pop Kitty Reviews, Stephanie of 3 Fictional Hearts, Megan & Tara of The Opening Hook. Gah! I hope I’m not forgetting anyone. I won’t list every blogger who shared this cover, release, or read and reviewed, but I thank you for taking the time to support this book.

To Luis, I will forever remember your spirit and simplistic joy for life. It was an honor to get to know you and your family. I can imagine you are rocking your cowboy boots and playing air guitar with the angels. You left this earth early but you are not forgotten.

To the real life staff of Children’s hospital, I’m forever in awe of what you do and the grace in which you handle the tough stuff life deals. To the nurses who go above and beyond to love on children when they need it most, for treating families and patients with dignity, respect, and care. Thank you and know that you are appreciated more than words will ever express.

To my readers. Thank you for choosing to spend your time and money reading my book. For leaving honest reviews, for sending me a note or message to tell me how much you enjoyed the book. These things support my dream and I’m so thankful for each and every one of you. I hope you enjoyed Carly’s story and the entire Uncovering Love gang.

Kacey Shea is pen name to a mom of three, wife, and part-time bookkeeper who resides in sunny Arizona. She enjoys reading and writing romance novels as much as her son loves unicorns, which is a lot.

When she's not writing you will find her playing taxi cab to her children while belting out her favorite tunes, meeting friends or family for food and to share laughs, or sweating it out in the gym. Kacey finds that picking up heavy weights repeatedly is good for her mental health as much as it is for the physical.

She has an unhealthy obsession with firefighters. It could be the pants. It could be the fire. It's just hot. On occasion she has been known to include them, without their knowledge, in her selfies outside the grocery store.

Kacey one day aspires be a woman hand model in a sexy photo shoot. You know, the woman's hand raking across the muscular back or six pack stomach of the male fitness model. Yep, that hand.

Until that day comes she will continue writing sexy, flirty romance novels in hopes to bring others joy!

Kacey enjoys interacting with her fans so please feel free to stalk her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.