Morrison (Caldwell Brothers #2) (18 page)

“Marisa Caldwell,” I tell her.

“So the same as you, and you, and you, and you, and you and…all of you?” She beams.

“It’s one big, happy family.”

“Happy like ‘happy eva after’?” She smiles. “I like that. Like in the
stories.”

“But better,” Hailey says as tears fill her eyes.

“Happy tears, Mommy?”

“From now until forever, Ris Priss,” Hailey says as she hugs her and pulls me into the mix. “Okay, now you go help Livi for a minute?”

“Livi Caldwell.” Marisa giggles.

“Aunt Livi, now and forever,” Livi says as her eyes fill, too.

“Happy tears, Aunt Livi?” Marisa wipes them and looks at her finger, studying
the moisture.

“Nothing but.” Hendrix grabs her. “Now let’s go get to work. Gotta feed the masses.”

“I need you to come with me for just a minute,” Hailey says.

“Oh, yeah?” I’m sure she’s taking me to the office. I’m sure she’s…“Where we going?” I ask as she takes me outside and gets into the Escalade.

“Come on,” she yells to me, smiling from ear to ear.

I get in, and she punches it.

“Little
momma, where the hell are we going?”

“Open the glove box. Then look at the file.”

I grab the file out of the glove box. “It’s official.”

“Congratulations.” She smiles as she drives faster. “It came a week ago. Sorry, I asked Hendrix not to give it to you yet.”

“What’s with all this cash?”

“Winnings left over from Vegas. Rainy-day fund. I want you to use it to help furnish the apartments.”

“And we were fuckin’ on an air mattress for how long, why?”

Hailey shrugs. “It wasn’t a necessity?” We both laugh. She turns and looks at me seriously, “This way, if I needed to get out of Detroit, I had the money. Now I have family. I’m not going anywhere.”

“And now I have my balls back, so I wouldn’t let you even if you tried.”

She pulls up in front of the building that the bank finally agreed
to sell for taxes, a building that is owned free and clear. A building that will not have the burden of a mortgage hanging over it, taking away the stress in making it a dream come true.

“Look.” She points out the car window.

I look at the sign hanging over the door: Momma’s Nest, displayed proudly above the words “The Good in a World of Bad.”

“Best day ever,” I say as I get out of the vehicle.
“Come here.”

She is beaming as she walks quickly toward me. I grab my phone and hold it as far out as I can, then snap a picture of my wife, myself, and the place I hope will honor Momma’s memory.

“Love you, little momma.”

“Love you, Morrison Caldwell.”

My Dearest Marisa,

If you’re reading this
,
you are growing up much too fast
,
although all moms feel that way. I married Morrison today, and when the time comes that you meet a boy, a man who comes along and steals your heart
,
I plan to share this with you.

I loved you before I held you. No one will ever know the depth of my love for you. No one will ever share the bond we have.
For you, my Ris Priss
,
are the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside. It beats for you always
,
my daughter.

Today
,
we became a real family. Today
,
I broke the cycle of bad. Today, I give you everything I never had growing up. Today
,
I made a commitment to Morrison to love him until death do us part. I also made a commitment for you to see our love in action as it grows
and ages.

Love is a verb. It is an action. Love is also an emotion. It’s an overpowering, all-consuming feeling. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is unconditional.

Morrison has shown us both love. He has given us both so much better than we had. I never imagined my life could have anything good…until I had you
,
my precious baby girl. From the moment I found out I was pregnant
,
my life was
forever changed for the better.

Before you, I simply existed. I did what I was told without question and without fail. I had no choices
.
Those were taken from me by life’s situations. My dearest baby girl, no matter what
,
you have a choice. As your aunt Livi always says
,
Consent Is Fucking Required.
You’re older now
,
but leave out the “fucking” for your dear mom, please.

You are my reason for
being, Ris Priss. You are my princess.

Morrison is a good man. He’s the kind of man I hope you one day find for yourself, the kind of man who shows you he loves you with his actions
,
not just his words. He is the kind of man who is patient and understands that giving a woman space to find herself if necessary. He is the kind of man who knows when to take the lead and when to fall back and allow
me to forge my own path.

Life doesn’t deal us a hand of all aces
,
but a man like Morrison Caldwell
is
all aces, no matter what the cards display.

Life isn’t going to be all roses and sunshine, but no matter your situation, you
own it and overcome it
. You are part of me. It took me a long time to own it, but I
am strong
and so are you
,
my precious. Nothing can hold you down.

As I think of your
future, my wish for you is happiness.

Find a man with heart, determination, and a desire to be the good in a world of bad. Find a man who can be your light in the darkness. Find a man who is your safe place to fall. Find a man who wants to leave a legacy.

You are my good. You are my legacy. I love you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes and more.

Love from the inside to the
out,

Mom

To single moms everywhere,

To every woman who has worked her ass off to get out of a bad situation,

To every woman still in a bad situation—

There is always hope.

Hold your cards close to your chest, for in a game of chance, the winner takes all.

Royals, flushes, straights—they all fade to black when the Queen of Hearts is in the mix.

First and foremost, we would like to thank the owner of this book. Without you, the reader, we would be lost to the voices in our heads in the land of crazy. We would not have a reason to do what we do without each and every one of you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We appreciate you more than you will ever know. You are a true blessing to us.

We would like to thank
our agent, Marisa Corvisiero. Thank you for believing in us and in the Caldwell Brothers series.

Thank you to Sue Grimshaw for your dedication to us and this series. You have truly taught us, grown us, and helped us become better and make this series top-notch.

To the team behind the scenes at Loveswept and Penguin Random House, thank you for your dedication to the Caldwell Brothers.

To the
Loveswept Lovelies, thank you for your support and encouragement. You are classy and fabulous and we totally appreciate each of you.

We got this—now rock this!

Hendrix

Morrison

Jagger

USA Today
bestselling author
MJ
F
IELDS
’s love of writing was in full swing by age eight. Together with her cousins, she wrote a newsletter and sold it for ten cents to family members. She self-published her first new adult romance in January 2013. She has completed six self-published series: Love, Wrapped, Burning Souls, Men of Steel, Ties of Steel, and the Norfolk Series.

MJ was a small-business owner, but recently closed shop so she could write full-time. She lives in central New York, surrounded by family and friends. Her house is full of pets, people, and noise ninety percent of the time, and she would have it no other way.

mjfieldsbooks.com

tsu.co/mjfields

@mjfieldsbooks

Instagram.com/​mjfieldsbooks

mjfieldsbooks.tumblr.com

Pinterest.com/​mjfieldsbooks

C
HELSEA
C
AMARON
was born and raised in coastal North Carolina. She currently resides in Louisiana with her husband and two children, but her heart is forever Carolina daydreaming.

Chelsea always wanted to be a writer, but like most of us, she let fear of the unknown grab ahold of her dream. But one day she realized that if she was ever going to tell her daughter to go for her dreams, it was time
to follow her own advice.

Chelsea grew up turning wrenches alongside her father, and from that grew her love for old muscle cars and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which in turn inspired her series Love and Repair and The Hellions Ride. Her lifelong love for reading sparked a love for writing, and she currently has multiple projects in the works.

When she is not spending her days writing, you
can find her playing with her kids, attending car shows, going on motorcycle rides on the back of her husband’s Harley, snuggling down with her new favorite book, or watching any movie that Vin Diesel might happen to be in.

authorchelseacamaron.com

Facebook.com/​authorchelseacamaron

@chelseacamaron

Instagram.com/​chelseacamaron

Happy Holidays from our hearth to yours! This month we’re sending you some hot Loveswept romances to keep the fire burning:

USA Today
bestselling author Bronwen Evans’s new Disgraced Lords novel is about a marriage of convenience and its delightful pleasures—and mortal danger in
A Whisper of Desire.
K. J. Charles turns up the heat in her new Society of Gentlemen novel,
A Seditious
Affair,
as two lovers face off in a sensual duel that challenges their deepest beliefs
.
Samantha Kane’s Birmingham Rebels series proves that three’s never a crowd…at least not for the hard-bodied football all-stars who give teamwork a sexy twist in
Calling the Play
.
Welcome to Forever,
new from author Annie Rains, introduces a small coastal town where America’s best and brightest risk everything
for love. Jackie Ashenden ups the ante in the seductive Deacons of Bourbon Street series, co-written with Megan Crane, Rachael Johns, and Maisey Yates, with
Hold Me Down,
a story about what happens when the biker who broke Alice’s heart rides into town, and she must choose between passion and duty. Another story for MC fans is Violetta Rand’s irresistible novel about a sexy-as-sin biker who tempts
a good girl to go bad,
Persuasion.

In
USA Today
bestselling author Tina Wainscott’s gritty, emotional small-town romance
Falling Hard,
passions run high as a reformed bad boy reconnects with an old enemy…and gets her engine revving. In Laura Marie Altom’s tale of forbidden love,
Stepping Over the Line,
meet two tortured souls with an unbreakable bond. Then comes a tender military romance from
Serena Bell,
USA Today
bestselling author of
Hold on Tight,
in which a war-shattered veteran gets a second chance at love with the one that got away in
Can’t Hold Back
.

Writing duo MJ Fields and Chelsea Camaron release another sizzling-hot Caldwell Brothers story—
Morrison,
which hits the Vegas strip as a bad-boy gambler from Detroit Rock City shows a single mom what it means to play for keeps.
Then it’s off to Los Angeles where Hollywood’s hottest young actor hits the road to chase his big break—and discovers a leading lady where he least expects in Cassie Mae’s
No Interest in Love.

I can’t believe 2016 is upon us, can you? Thank you for spending your reading time with Loveswept, and we hope to entertain you all over again in the new year.

Happy Romance!

Gina Wachtel

Associate Publisher