Page 153 of I Loved You First

“Rest. I’ve got things covered for the next little while. And Big Brother and I will take care of breakfast. Because I’m pretty sure both of our mothers hooked us up with several meals in the fridge. My mom mentioned that she made Grandma Bennet’s breakfast casserole.”

Fi’s eyes brightened. “She did?”

He nodded, noting that she was running on fumes. “We’ll get you a big ol’ serving when you’re ready. With avocado,” he added before she could. Because Fi had been obsessed with the green fruit for the last five months.

She nodded, rolling to her side, resting her arm across Brady as she held Cam’s hand. “That sounds perfect.”

He stroked his thumb along her knuckles. “Night, Fi.”

“Good night.”

He smiled in the dim glow coming from the bathroom, listening as Fi’s breathing quickly steadied out, matching Brady’s, staring at the little one he’d been eager to meet for months. “Welcome to the world, Hudson Anthony Bennet. You’re one lucky boy.”

His smile returned because he was lucky, too. He had everything he’d ever wanted, yet as he looked at his family cozied up under the covers in the wee hours of a cold April morning, he knew the best was yet to come.

The End

Three Siblings. One Year. Everything Changes.

Stained glass artist Callie Davis is in desperate need of a vacation. Burnt out and on the edge of a nervous breakdown, she yearns for lazy days and solitude. But then she meets gorgeous Sheriff Nate Carter.

Nate and Callie’s relationship quickly heats up until Callie starts remembering secrets from her past that have the potential to rip apart their lives.

Secrets Hidden In The Glass, book one of The Carter Island Trilogy.

Chapter One

Hartford, Connecticut

July 1995

Callie stood next to the grease-smudged door, sucking her thumb and clutching Emily Dolly close in the crook of her arm. Tinny music played through cheap speakers as she stared at the big man sitting in a booth across the room, snoring with his chin touching his chest while the food on his plate went cold. Glancing around at empty tables and chairs, Callie recognized that she was in a restaurant. Mommy took her out to eat sometimes, but she’d never been to this place before. She flinched and her gaze flew to a set of metallic doors when a woman with bold red hair pushed them open and walked from the kitchen.

The woman stopped abruptly and rolled her eyes as she looked toward the man, who sounded like a pig. “Good grief, I need to get off this midnight shift.” The woman shook her head, grabbing a washcloth from a bucket, then wiped down the long counter top. Her dangling hoop earrings caught in the light while she hummed along with the radio and wiggled her hips in the pink skirt she wore. After tossing the cloth back into the bucket, she picked up a stack of menus and turned, gasping when she made eye contact with Callie. “Dear God in heaven,” she said as her free hand flew to her chest. “You scared me half to death.”

Callie gripped Emily Dolly tighter and stepped back, bumping into the cool glass.

The woman frowned as her gaze tracked around the room. She set the menus on a table, walked over, and crouched down in front of Callie. “Sweetie, are you alone?”

Callie tried to move farther away but there was nowhere left to go.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me.” She smiled and stroked her fingers down a lock of Callie’s long blond hair. “I work here.”

Callie stared into the woman’s green eyes while her stomach twisted and turned and felt yucky.

“Let’s see if I can find your mommy.” The woman gained her feet and walked down a short hallway, opening a door. “Hello?” She moved a few steps and turned another doorknob, doing the same thing. “Hello?”

The woman came back and pushed through the door Callie stood by, letting in the sounds of the cars driving by as she walked off into the dark. Moments later, she came back inside, hurrying over to the man in the corner, shoving on his arm. “Hey.” She did it again. “Hey, you.”

The man snorted as his eyes flew open. “Jeez, lady. What the hell?”

“Is that your little girl?” The waitress pointed in Callie’s direction.

The man turned his head, looking at Callie. “No, that’s not my little girl.”

The woman’s hand ended up on her hip. “Did you see her come in with anyone?”

He stared at Callie a second longer and shook his head. “I’m seeing her for the first time right now.”