Wild Devotion Bonus Scene

Isla

Fifteen years later…

Kyra’s giggles filter all the way down the hallway from the playroom to the kitchen. Luke’s laughter mixes with hers, and I don’t need to see them to know she’s playing her favorite game, which is see how fast Dad can spin around in his chair until they both get dizzy. At nine years old, she’s not too old to take a spin on his chair.

I hate to interrupt their play, but if we don’t get moving, we’re going to miss Cody’s cadet parade. It’s the end-of-year parade and possibly the last one he’ll do before joining the military properly. He can’t wait till he turns seventeen and is old enough to enlist. All he’s wanted to do since he was a boy is to be a soldier like his dad.

Dread grips my heart whenever I think about Cody joining the military. But I never let him sense my fear. That’s a mother’s burden, to wave their sons and daughters off with pride while burying the fear deep in their heart.

“Do I have to go to the parade?” Raiden saunters into the kitchen and slouches on one of the kitchen chairs.

He’s got the same dark hair as his father but none of his interest in the military. Raiden loves bikes, like his dad and his godfather who he’s named after. We created a dirt bike track for him and his friends in the woods out the back of the cabin.

“Yes.” I resist the urge to ruffle his hair. At thirteen he’s fiercely independent, yet I still remember him as the giggling toddler chasing his brother around the house. “We are all going to watch your brother.”

Raiden makes a face like only a teenager can.

“We’ll stop by the clubhouse afterwards for dinner.”

Raiden cheers up at that. “Who else will be there?”

It’s the first Sunday of the month, which is the club dinner. “Everyone.”

Raiden grins. He loves hanging out with the other kids from the club. Some of them are older now and have moved away. But there’s always someone for the kids to hang with.

Luke comes into the kitchen with Kyra on his lap, her hands clinging around his neck.

“Are we ready to go?”

“I need to pee!” Kyra jumps off his lap and runs to the bathroom.

I grab the car keys and hustle everyone out the door. Raiden heads out and Kyra pushes past to race him to the van.

“Did you wash your hands?” I call after her.

“Yes Mom.” She jerks her head back to give me an eye roll and loses the race to touch the van.

“Beat ya,” Raiden croons, causing Kyra to wail about unfair advantages.

I pause at the front door, and Luke comes up beside me. He’s grinning as he slides an arm around me. He nuzzles his head into my waist and immediately sparks shoot all over my body.

“You think we’ll get some time later?”

Kyra’s been coming into our bed at night since she was six years old, and I don’t see that ending anytime soon. I upped my hours to full-time work a few years ago, and I’m now head of marketing for the Wild Taste Brewery and Restaurant.

Luke has made a name for himself adapting motorbikes for disabled riders. His Chariot has undergone many iterations since the first model, and he tailors every design for the individual client.

We have three kids and both work full time. I also volunteer at the women’s shelter, helping other women escape bad relationships.

Life is busy, but it’s full and I love it.

“I’ll make time.” I trail my fingers down Luke’s chest. The home gym got converted into a playroom, and we built a shed out back for his gym. Luke still works out almost every day, getting up before dawn to do so. He’s as determined as ever and as muscular as when I first met him.

It would be easy for our life to get too busy to spend time together. But we make time for each other.

“Let’s not stay too late tonight.”

I glance up, and the kids are squabbling by the car. I risk a quick tweak of his nipple through his shirt, causing him to groan. “Sounds good to me.”

We share a look, and I smile at my husband. He’s given me everything I ever wanted from life, and I love him as fiercely now as the day I said, ‘I do.’

There’s a yelp from Kyra and then a howl, and we’re snapped back to reality.

“Let’s go.” Luke wheels himself down the ramp to the van, and we’re both thinking the same thing. We need to get the kids in the car before it turns into an all-out sibling war.

Kyra loves annoying her brothers. Cody’s old enough to not let it bother him, but Raiden gets worked up. They’ll be friends one day; I keep telling myself.

“Help me with the ramp, Rai.” Luke disarms the situation with a simple sentence, and there’s peace once more as Raiden helps his dad.

While we load into the adapted van, I smile at Luke. He’s been the best dad for Cody and for all my kids, the kindest and most devoted father and husband a woman could wish for.