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CHAPTER 31
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2021-11-23 01:00:19Damien ran his fingers through the hair and sighed, then twisted her way. His expression was extremely preoccupied.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said slowly, those whispered words reaching through her confusion. “Sorry to wake you.”
“No problem, Damien. I was already awake…”
‘He is about to leave… to leave the mansion… to leave all of them again… leave her…’ she thought.
Feeling a cold shiver going up and down her spine, Regina pulled the comforter tight around her, wishing she wasn’t naked. The protection of her clothes would be a big comfort right now.
“What’s going on? It’s something wrong in New York?”
“There’s been a water leak at the warehouse. The alarms ale
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TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 32
Regina’s bare feet ghosted over the back lawn, damp from the evening’s dew. She couldn’t stand being cooped up in the house anymore. Damien had been gone five days. The amount of time Stanton had informed Joshua he was prearranged to be away. After tonight, they would be in violation of the will. Damien hadn’t contacted her personally, so she had no idea if he planned to be home by morning... or not. Or if he’d ever come back… She wished she had the option of escape, even if only for a few hours. Instead, she’d waited until June headed out for Wednesday night church. The sympathetic looks were more than she could handle.“I must have been out of my mind… To let things go so far…” she said while walking slowly.&nb
Last Updated : 2021-11-24TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 33
The men looked at each other, then around the back lawn. Damien’s whole body tightened.“I guess she didn’t come out,” Joshua said. “Maybe she must still be in the house… with mom.” Briar was already shaking his head as Damien spoke.“Have you ever known her to not be involved in something with this household?” He turned to sprint toward the cabin, adrenaline surging through his veins.“I thought the cabin was locked,” Joshua yelled from beside him as they ran. It seemed like forever before they reached the clearing now dusky with smoke. A quick glance back showed the other men were headed their way, loaded down with hoses and buckets.
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Drawn to the woman he loved like a puppet on a string, Damien approached her hospital bed with caution. Sitting in the chair beside her wouldn’t do it. He needed to be near, to touch Regina and assure himself that she was okay. The doctor said they only wanted to monitor her oxygen, but the need remained. Her body was so still. Was she sunk deep in the healing sleep she so desperately needed? Or was she pretending to sleep so she didn’t have to deal with him at all? Taking a chance, Damien settled on the space beside her in the bed. There was just enough room for him to sit, his thigh resting along the curve of her back as she faced the opposite wall. Testing his welcome, he lay his hand on top of her hip. Sure enough, her body jerked
Last Updated : 2021-11-24TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 35
She was on her knees on the floor, in front of her open closet… Crying over her clothes… She missed Damien. He was always busy, but until today, always within reach. She missed arguing and the comfortableness of working together. But, above all, Regina missed the intensity of his passion and the feel of her soul mingling with his. The days were torture. The nights were devastating. They went to sleep, each on their respective sides of the bed. Some nights, lying there feeling useless and empty, Regina thought she’d give anything to have him curled against her back like he had that night in the hospital. Sure enough, by morning they would be tangled together, and her heart broke all over again. Something had to give soon because having him close but not having him for real was killi
Last Updated : 2021-11-24TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 1
Damien Kennedy suppressed a shiver that had nothing to do with the afternoon thunderstorm raging all around him. For a moment, he remained as if rooted to the spot, staring at the elaborate scrolls carved into the heavy oak door before him. A door he’d promised himself he’d never pass through again… At least, not while his grandfather was alive. ‘I should have come back here only for you, Mother… Only to see you…’ But he’d sworn never to let himself be locked inside the walls of Kennedy Mansion again. Damien had thought he had all the time he would need to make his absence up to his mother. But fate slapped him hard… In his youthful ignorance, he hadn’t realized everything
Last Updated : 2021-11-02TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 2
Oh, he remembered her… Only too well. And from her ramrod-straight back, Damien gathered she remembered his little nickname for her. That stubborn I will get my way look brought it all back. Regina Duquesne used to look at him that very same way when they were teenagers after he’d brushed her off like an annoying mosquito, dismissed her without a care for her feelings. Just a pesky little kid always hanging around, begging his family for attention. Until that last time. The time he’d taunted her for trying to horn in on a family that didn’t want her. Her tears had imprinted on his conscience, permanently.“Damien,” she acknowledged him with a cool nod. Then she turned her attention back to Theo
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Regina listened to the men spar with one another as if from a distance. Shock cocooned her inside her own bubble of fear. As he spoke, Damien’s gaze tracked the lawyer’s movements, but Regina remained focused on Damien. The impenetrable mask of rebellion and pride that shielded any softer emotions. The breadth of his shoulders. The ripple of muscles in his chest and forearms, reminding her of his strength, his dominance. Could a man that strong prevail over someone with Theodore’s history of cunning maneuvers, both business and personal?“Well, old man… Why don’t you just lay it out for me,” Damien said, his voice curt, commanding the immense space of the master suite. A shiver worked its way down Regina’s spine.“The condensed version, pl
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“Oh, that’s so sweet of you, young lady, but maybe you should wait, since I have one last thing to add...” When spoken by Theodore Kennedy, those were not the words Regina wanted to hear. Yes, she said Damien she’d marry him, but now she wasn’t so sure about it… Not when Theodore was preparing to throw another bomb. Regina eyed the door to the suite with longing. Only a few more feet and she’d be free... From the old man and his grandson… For now...“Just wanted to let you know that a platonic relationship between you two isn’t acceptable. My goal is a legacy. I can’t get that with separate bedrooms or no sex between you.” Panic bubbled up beneath the surface of her skin until Damien replied with a droll.“O
Last Updated : 2021-11-09
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TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 35
She was on her knees on the floor, in front of her open closet… Crying over her clothes… She missed Damien. He was always busy, but until today, always within reach. She missed arguing and the comfortableness of working together. But, above all, Regina missed the intensity of his passion and the feel of her soul mingling with his. The days were torture. The nights were devastating. They went to sleep, each on their respective sides of the bed. Some nights, lying there feeling useless and empty, Regina thought she’d give anything to have him curled against her back like he had that night in the hospital. Sure enough, by morning they would be tangled together, and her heart broke all over again. Something had to give soon because having him close but not having him for real was killi
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 34
Drawn to the woman he loved like a puppet on a string, Damien approached her hospital bed with caution. Sitting in the chair beside her wouldn’t do it. He needed to be near, to touch Regina and assure himself that she was okay. The doctor said they only wanted to monitor her oxygen, but the need remained. Her body was so still. Was she sunk deep in the healing sleep she so desperately needed? Or was she pretending to sleep so she didn’t have to deal with him at all? Taking a chance, Damien settled on the space beside her in the bed. There was just enough room for him to sit, his thigh resting along the curve of her back as she faced the opposite wall. Testing his welcome, he lay his hand on top of her hip. Sure enough, her body jerked
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 33
The men looked at each other, then around the back lawn. Damien’s whole body tightened.“I guess she didn’t come out,” Joshua said. “Maybe she must still be in the house… with mom.” Briar was already shaking his head as Damien spoke.“Have you ever known her to not be involved in something with this household?” He turned to sprint toward the cabin, adrenaline surging through his veins.“I thought the cabin was locked,” Joshua yelled from beside him as they ran. It seemed like forever before they reached the clearing now dusky with smoke. A quick glance back showed the other men were headed their way, loaded down with hoses and buckets.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 32
Regina’s bare feet ghosted over the back lawn, damp from the evening’s dew. She couldn’t stand being cooped up in the house anymore. Damien had been gone five days. The amount of time Stanton had informed Joshua he was prearranged to be away. After tonight, they would be in violation of the will. Damien hadn’t contacted her personally, so she had no idea if he planned to be home by morning... or not. Or if he’d ever come back… She wished she had the option of escape, even if only for a few hours. Instead, she’d waited until June headed out for Wednesday night church. The sympathetic looks were more than she could handle.“I must have been out of my mind… To let things go so far…” she said while walking slowly.&nb
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 31
Damien ran his fingers through the hair and sighed, then twisted her way. His expression was extremely preoccupied.“Hey, gorgeous,” he said slowly, those whispered words reaching through her confusion. “Sorry to wake you.”“No problem, Damien. I was already awake…” ‘He is about to leave… to leave the mansion… to leave all of them again… leave her…’ she thought. Feeling a cold shiver going up and down her spine, Regina pulled the comforter tight around her, wishing she wasn’t naked. The protection of her clothes would be a big comfort right now.“What’s going on? It’s something wrong in New York?”“There’s been a water leak at the warehouse. The alarms ale
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“Are you coming inside?” Damien asked. Regina had been strangely silent on the way home. She got that way sometimes, and he’d learned to give her space to think. In fact, he’d taken a few unnecessary turns on the drive. The late summer night enclosed them in patchy fog, and a cool breeze blew through the open windows. It had been so long since he’d been at ease with anyone, especially in that kind of silence, that he hadn’t wanted it to end. Yet here they were, looking at each other through the open window of the truck. Lucas, Joshua, and June had long ago returned to the house, which was silent and barely lit. Damien wanted to scoop Regina into his arms and carry her to their bedroom, but something held
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Life often moved in directions Regina never expected. She had spent a lifetime going to movies and restaurants alone, hanging out in coffee shops and bookstores on her days off. But as she looked around the dinner table a month later, she finally understood that she was no longer alone. That’s what family was for. And she had claimed the people around her as hers, for as long as they would let her.“I have an idea,” she said, gaining the attention of the table. Everyone was in their usual places, one end full now that Joshua had rejoined them and Lucas had been able to clear a brief few days for his appearance at the fair. Briar and June peeked through the door from the kitchen.“I think we should go to the fair. Together.”“The fair?” June said
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“We’re a little too early for a harvest festival, which is what we put together for the high school last year. How can we fine-tune this summer fair, ladies?” Regina asked. Surrounding her was a group of women who loved working together for the good of the community, and were known as the go-to choice for getting things done. They weren’t from the country club like Candy’s set, who simply threw money at a charity to be seen doing it. Just good women who worked hard and had fun.“I’m so excited,” Billie Walker said, clapping her hands together like a happy little kid. “It’s been a long time since we had a true country fair. Or anything more than that awful carnival set up in the high school parking lot.” Lana Simmons jumped in, too.“And the fairgrounds are still in really good
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 27
She’d seen it so often, Regina wished she could tell him he wasn’t the only one but didn’t want to risk scaring him off by getting too deep. Instead, she settled for something simpler, to help Damien ease up a little. “You haven’t spent much time in a sickroom.” His eyes widened slightly before his face resumed an emotionless mask.“Does it show that much?” Sighing, Regina sank into her chair on the opposite side of the bed. Why had she thought he would make this easy on either of them? She smiled down at Iris, the woman who’d become a surrogate mother to her before the older woman’s accident. Her heart ached with the guilt of her involvement.“It’s alright, you know… It’s often hard for family a
