Shock - Marie Johnston Page 0,74

and pulling at clothes until we’re both naked. He takes his wallet out of his shorts. “I think the condom in here is expired.”

“They’re usually good for years.”

With a slow smile that’s big enough for me to see in the dark, he drops to his knees and we make up for lost months together.

Epilogue

Six months later….

Lia

“I’m telling you, it’s real.” Karoline hikes ahead of me. The sun’s bearing down on us, but she’s sticking to the part of the park with copious trees.

I found a beginners geocache. Come with me. I’ll get the coordinates, you just make sure I don’t get lost and wander the wilderness for days.

So far, we haven’t left the city limits. We’re on the fringes of the park where Ford and I stopped for cheesecake bites.

I adore Karoline. She’s become my best friend while I’ve stayed behind to finish my training. But I have the weekend off and so does Ford and I’m supposed to hit the road soon.

“Oh! Look. I found it.”

Since Karoline’s standing in the middle of the walking path, I don’t think she has. “Are you sure. It’s probably buried…”

Awareness shivers down my spine. There’s the big tree. There’s no blanket. No cheesecake bites. No Officer Roberts.

But there’s Ford, looking ruggedly handsome in jeans and a light blue polo shirt. He’s tucked his hands into his front pockets and he’s watching me with wary hopefulness.

“You’re supposed to be just getting off work.” I’ve been set up. Karoline begged me to go with her on her first geocache until I relented, despite knowing it’d cut in on my precious weekend with Ford.

Karoline snaps her fingers, but I can’t take my gaze off Ford. “I need to leave something behind, right?” She grins. “That’s you.” Looking immensely proud of herself, she continues down the walking path. “I’ll have my phone just in case, but if my bonus brother does this right, you won’t need to call me.”

“Are you supposed to be the treasure I take with me?” My feet are rooted in place, more secure than the decades-old tree towering above us. There’s something else going on here.

“I got the spot.”

I jump off the path and into his arms. He catches me with ease and swings me around. “That’s great! Melville’s newest ER resident. Congrats.”

“All that overtime while we were apart paid off. They said they knew before my interview that they’d take me.”

“I knew you could do it. We’ll be total noobs together.” I move down to Melville at the end of the year. Long distance sucks, but he’s only a drive away and we’re both so busy. “Oh, Dad called today. He called a couple of friends and one said he’d be happy to take on your case.”

“This day can only get better one way.”

“Oh yeah? We’re not allowed to make out in the park, remember?”

He pulls away from me and drops to one knee. My hands fly to my mouth. He didn’t drive here just to surprise me with his good news. He’s right. This day can only get better one way.

Taking a ring from his pocket, he holds it up. From behind me, someone lets out a little squeak and I don’t have to look to know it’s Karoline holding back a squeal and taking pictures.

“Lia Wescott, will you marry me?”

“Yes, Ford. Of course.” I drop to my knees and slam my mouth against his. The ring can wait. I need a little public make out with my future husband first.

Five years later…

Ford

I bite the inside of my cheek as Mitch’s new partner stammers through the report. Arnesh is now a paramedic with his own EMT and I’m back at Sunnyville General as their newest ER physician.

The poor rookie finishes her report and smiles.

“Thank you. Good work.”

She beams and Mitch rolls his eyes. When she walks away to tend to the cot, he leans in. “You can be a little harder on them, you know.”

“Nah. That’s your job. Got a minute to hang around?”

Mitch nods and leaves me with the patient. I run through the case and rattle off my orders for the nurse. So many new faces and a few familiar ones.

But one familiar one is waiting on me outside the treatment room, talking to Mitch and probably catching up on the latest Sunnyville EMS gossip.

When I finally finish, I find my wife, Mercy Life’s newest flight paramedic, showing Mitch pictures of our one-year-old girl. Ella Elaine Monroe is the favorite of both grandmas and the bane of her three-year-old brother’s existence. But Kellan Ford Monroe can take care of himself and negotiate whatever he wants out of all his grandparents.

Both kids adore their older brother, Jayden, and he has his hands full between them and Cass’s twins.

I’d like to say I fought hard for custody, but my lawyer did all the work for half the fees. Gerald Wescott’s golf buddy was worth four times what he charged. I’ve had joint custody for the last four years and once Cass started dating her now husband, she even apologized.

It’s not exactly water under the bridge, but Lia and I have an amicable relationship with Cass and her new husband. Which is good, since she’s going to be my boss’s boss next month as Sunnyville General’s CEO. She’s got her family, I’ve got mine, and we both have Jayden. The past can stay in the past. Each of us has too much going on in the present.

“Is my wife spreading lies?”

“Now, Dr. Monroe.” Mitch shakes his head. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to call you that.”

“Technically, you could’ve before.”

“And you would’ve hated me. I gotta go check on the rookie. The whole family going to Ryan’s cookout next weekend?”

Lia grins and tucks her phone away. “He’s on call, but me and the kids will be.”

Five years. I thought I lost it all more than once, but I got more than I could’ve ever imagined. The woman of my dreams, a house full of kids, grandparents that can’t get enough of them, and siblings of my own. And it’s all because of this woman right here, wearing a flight suit that can’t possibly hide a body I can get lost in for hours.

Grayson Malone strolls by. “Wheels up in thirty, Monroe.” He gives me a rueful smile. “And quit flirting with the new doctor. They have big enough egos.”

He walks off with Mitch and Lia leans in close.

“That reminds me. Jayden’s with Cass tomorrow night and your mom wants to take Ella and Kellan overnight. We get the night to ourselves and I hear you do this thing with your tongue . . .”

______

Want to keep up with all of the other books in K. Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes World? You can visit us anytime at http://www.kbworlds.com/ and the best way to stay up to date on all of our latest releases and sales, is to sign up for our official KB Worlds newsletter HERE.

Are you interested in reading the bestselling books that inspired the Everyday Heroes World? You can find them HERE.

About the Author

Marie Johnston writes paranormal and contemporary romance and has collected several awards in both genres. Before she was a writer, she was a microbiologist. Depending on the situation, she can be oddly unconcerned about germs or weirdly phobic. She’s also a licensed medical technician and has worked as a public health microbiologist and as a lab tech in hospital and clinic labs. Marie’s been a volunteer EMT, a college instructor, a security guard, a phlebotomist, a hotel clerk, and a coffee pourer in a bingo hall. All fodder for a writer!! She has four kids and even more cats.

mariejohnstonwriter.com

Follow me:

Also by Marie Johnston

Millionaires and quirky heroines

First To Lie

First to Bid

First to Fail

Small town western romance

Conflict of Interest (Book 1)

Mustang Summer (Book 2)

Long Hard Fall (Book 3)

Guilt Ridden (Book 4)

Mail Order Farmer (Book 5)

Small town western romance AND millionaires

King’s Crown

King’s Ransom

King’s Treasure

ALSO WRITTEN BY K. BROMBERG

Driven

Fueled

Crashed

Raced

Aced

Slow Burn

Sweet Ache

Hard Beat

Down Shift

UnRaveled

Sweet Cheeks

Sweet Rivalry

The Player

The Catch

Cuffed

Combust

Cockpit

Control

Faking It

Resist

Reveal

Then You Happened

Hard to Handle

Flirting with 40

Hard to Hold

Hard to Score

Hard to Lose