Embattled Ever After Quotes

“Aren’t they amazing?” she sighed. When John looked at her a tear rolled down his cheek. “I can’t breathe right now with the love I feel for you and our family. You are the best part of me, and you’ve given me bounties of joy beyond any measure.” They”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“It didn’t matter what she wore. Shannon was beautiful to him. The pregnancy wasn’t really visible yet, but for a moment he imagined her belly protruding with his two children, and it choked him up. She would be beautiful big or small, happy or angry. And the children would be adorable. Zeke”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“There had been a lot of tension in that little corner of the room and he was tickled he got to see the shocked look on John’s face before he buried it in Shannon’s neck. Palmer didn’t show emotion like that very often. Duncan smiled to himself. He had an idea what they were talking about. Now to wait for the confirmation. For”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“Both were healthy and pink and everything she could have imagined them being. Both also had startling amounts of thick, dark hair, thanks to papa. Exhausted, she looked to her husband. There was wonder, fear, and incredible joy in his dark eyes as he looked down at Caden. One hand spanned the little infant’s back. He looked so tiny. “Aren’t”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“I understand completely. I love you, Alex, more than I ever could have hoped. I had kind of reached the point where I didn’t expect this kind of relationship in my life, but I don’t think I will be able to let you go now. So you’d better put on your seatbelt and strap in, because I want you to marry me.” She barked out a laugh and rocked back to look at him. “Are you serious?” He nodded, and though it had been spur of the moment, the rightness of it settled into his bones like it was supposed to be there. “I am, absolutely and completely. I didn’t plan on asking you here and now, but there it is. So, what do you think? Can you put up with a grumpy old man who doesn’t need a cane any more?” She laughed and leaned in to wrap her arms around his neck. “Yes, I definitely think I can do that. I love you, Duncan. I’ve loved you for so long and I would be thrilled to marry you. And we’ll have kids, too. Later on down the road.” They kissed to seal the words to their hearts, and it was the most amazing feeling Duncan had ever experienced.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“If we have a child, I hope it’s a little boy like Drew. He’s an awesome kid.” Alex stilled in his arms. “Do you really mean that?” she asked softly. “Yes, I do,” he admitted. “I want a couple of kids with you. Maybe not together like Shannon and John are doing. I’d like one at a time. We need to start slowly.” She”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“Why would you want to stay?” She looked at him incredulously, wondering if she’d heard him correctly. She took a minute to get her words in order. “Because I love you, you big dope. Why else would I be here, willing to put up with this ridiculous off and on game? You’ve sucked me into your life and I have no desire whatsoever to leave. Do you seriously want me to walk out that door?” “No I don’t want you to walk out the damn door,” he growled, “but I don’t want you to be dragged down by this, or me. I’m looking at weeks of recovery, maybe more.” “I’m not going to go anywhere,” she promised, daring to step toward the bed. “See, you act as if you have a choice in this, but you really don’t. I love you,” she said firmly. He”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“I guess it’s good we’re in the hospital, because I think I need to get my heart checked. I don’t think it’s working right.” Alex’s eyes filled with tears. “Let me check. It just so happens I’m a doctor.” She leaned forward enough to press her lips to his, and she couldn’t contain her tears any longer. Duncan cupped her jaw, kissing the tears away. “Don’t cry babe. I don’t want you to cry. I never did. I just didn’t want to tie you down.” Laughing, she pulled back enough to look him in the eye. “I want to be tied down, damn it.” So conscious of his injuries, she leaned forward as much as she could to hug him. With a not-so-gentle tug, he pulled her down beside him. He gasped in pain and stilled for a moment, then pulled her upper body against his, wrapping his arms completely around her. They lay against each other for several long minutes, before a voice broke the silence. “Mind”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“It’s about time you woke up.” Duncan turned his head to the left. Alex sat at his side, holding his hand in both of hers. She smiled at him gently, and his eyes teared up for a completely different reason. He’d woken up in hospitals many, many times, but he’d never woken up to someone waiting there for him. “Hey,” he croaked, his voice rough and throat sore. Alex”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“In spite of himself, Duncan grinned. “I guess I’m kind of sorry I disrupted your life then.” Alex laughed. “I can tell you are.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“So, you took a break from work?” “Yes. Just a leave of absence. I’m too good at my job for them to let me go for very long, but I have a lot of accumulated time owed to me. I told them I was taking it one way or the other. Honestly, I’ve been searching for a change for a while, I think. Talking to the guys at Harmony House inspired me to start thinking about a new specialty. I don’t know yet.” She waved her hands in frustration. “I’m hungry, you know? But it may not just be the job. I had a taste of something special with you and it made me want more.” In spite of himself, Duncan grinned. “I guess I’m kind of sorry I disrupted your life then.” Alex laughed. “I can tell you are.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“After a few minutes, Duncan leaned down to press a kiss to her hair. Damn, she smelled good. He wanted to see her and feel her and smell her every day if he could. “How can I get you to stay?” “Hmm…?” her voice was drowsy, but she looked up at him. “How can I get you to stay? I miss you, Alex. I saw you tonight and I wanted to jump up and down and cheer. Not my normal reaction to people, I might add.” She chuckled. “I felt the same way. When the doors opened, I thought I was imagining you standing there.” He gripped her hand in his own, marveling at the chance meeting. “I didn’t handle the breakup well. I should have chosen my words better and been more careful of your feelings. I’m sorry about that.” “I’m sorry too,” she told him softly. “I could have not reacted so harshly. Everyone is allowed to feel the way they want to feel. You don’t want kids. I get that now. But I think I still want to see where this relationship goes.” Duncan pulled back to look at her. “You would stay with me even though I told you I don’t want kids?” She shrugged, looking away. “What if I told you I think you could change my mind?” Alex looked up at him sharply. “What?” “I had a lot of long nights thinking about where we’d gone wrong,” he told her softly, “and I’m not sure anymore that it’s the kids themselves that I object to. I think it’s just the responsibility in general.” “Are you serious? You’re one of the most responsible men I know,” she told him firmly. “I am,” he agreed, “but what if a child is the one thing that comes along that I’m not good at handling?” Alex leaned into him again, laughing softly. “Oh, Duncan, I think you just voiced the fear of every single parent in the world. I bet if you asked Shannon that question, she’d have the same concerns.” Her words made sense. Responsibility was a heavy weight, and he already had a lot of it on his shoulders. “I would like to try again as well,” she told him softly.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“It was obvious by his reaction to her that he was in love with her. It had kind of been creeping up on him, but tonight it had been so evident. If he knew where she was staying, he would drive over there. Or would he? He felt a little like he was walking on rough ground. It had been years… hell, a decade… since he’d professed his love to anyone, and look how well that had turned out. Alex was a different woman. No, Alex hadn’t gone through the same waiting game for him that Melanie had, but to some extent, she’d grown up with it, having experienced it with her father. He knew in his gut that she’d never have given up on him, on them, the way Melanie had. And”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“How long are you staying?” Her gaze stayed straight ahead. “Not sure. Depends upon… things.” “What things?” Was he one of those items? “Well, whether or not I find Aiden. How Shannon does.” She left off there, and he winced. Best way to take a guy down—leave him off your to-do list. At”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“And Duncan?” the other woman asked gently. Alex took a deep breath, avoiding her eyes. “Duncan and I have very different plans for our lives. I wish it would have worked out, but it didn’t.” Shannon looked sadder than she had the entire time Alex had been there. “I’m sorry, Shannon. I know you guys put a lot of planning and hope into bringing me out here, but we’ve got an issue we just can’t get past. And though we had fun at the beginning, we had to break it off before we became too invested and couldn’t.” “Sounds like a bullshit excuse,” John said, turning from the window. “Excuse me?” “You two could make it work.” Sighing, she leaned back against the chair, tired. “Perhaps. Duncan has to believe it though. You heard him at the house, John. He doesn’t want to be a father, and I very much want to be a mother. That is a very big dividing point.” “It will change though.” He rolled closer to her. “If you had told me six months ago I was going to be happy about being a father, I would have laughed in your face.” His eyes drifted to Shannon, and Alex’s heart ached at the love she saw between them. “But now that I know, it’s a very different situation. Yes, I’m paralyzed, but that doesn’t mean I will love them any less.” Alex”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“Oh, hey Duncan.” Duncan sat up straight in the chair, his hips screaming at the roughness of the motion. “Alex?” “Yes, I was looking for Shannon.” He blinked and swallowed down the disappointment. Of course. “She can’t answer right now.” Something must have come through in his voice because hers sharpened. “Is she all right? What’s happened? Not the babies…” “No,” he assured her quickly. “The babies are fine right now. Shannon was involved in a traffic accident. I don’t think she’s too injured, but they are checking her out.” There was silence on the other end of the line. He cleared his throat. “How are you doing?” For some reason the silence got even more weighty. “I’m fine,” she whispered, but he could have sworn he heard tears in her voice. “I have to go.” Duncan cringed, wishing he knew what to say or do to make things right between them again. “Alex, I miss you.” I love you. “I miss you too,” she whispered, then hung up. Duncan stared at the receiver in his hand for a long time, wishing he could rewind time. He hung up slowly, wondering how on earth he could get his life back on track. Alex’s heartbroken voice tugged at him, and he felt like an ass for being the one to screw everything up.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“How are you feeling, Willow?” Ember asked. “Like I swallowed a baby elephant,” she said deadpan. “I don’t know how I’m going to get through the next two months.” Shannon snorted and Willow gave her a look with a raised eyebrow. “Just you wait, little girl. You’re going to have two baby elephants dancing on your bladder soon.” Shannon groaned. “You’re cursing me,” she moaned. She’d”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“It took Shannon a solid week to start talking to him again as a friend more than a boss. In desperation, on his own birthday, he sent her a big bunch of flowers with a card that said, ‘I’m an asshole. I’m so sorry. Please smile again’. He happened to be in the break room when they were delivered to her, and he saw her reluctant smile. She crossed the room and hugged him. “You are an asshole,” she muttered. Then she smacked him on the shoulder, hard enough to sting. All of the men in the room laughed as he winced. They”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“I’m not going to say you’re wrong, Duncan, but I definitely don’t think you’re right.” In spite of himself he barked out a laugh, but she held up a hand. “Alexandra Hartfield is an incredible woman. I’m not sure what the stumbling block is, but I have a feeling it’s you being stubborn more than anything else. Can I take off my receptionist hat and just be your friend?” In other words, could she yell at him? “Yeah,” he growled. “Get it over with.” “Is it her age that bothers you?” Sighing, he rocked back in his chair. “It did at first. Still does a little, I guess.” Shannon nodded, hands on her hips. “And does she want kids?” Jaw firming, he nodded. “And why is that an issue?” “Are you serious?” he asked incredulously. “Besides the fact that I’m limping closer to fifty, how fucked up is it to saddle a kid with a crippled father who will only get worse as he ages?” Shannon’s mouth dropped open and Duncan realized what he’d just said. He pushed to his feet and circled the desk, hand raised as if to grab back the words. “Wait, Shannon, that’s not what I meant. You guys are a completely different case.” She shook her head even as sudden tears filled her eyes. “I can’t believe those words just left your mouth,” she whispered. “You, of all people.” Not waiting for him to reach her, Shannon turned and left his office, closing the door softly behind herself. “Fuck!” Duncan hissed. As if it wasn’t bad enough he’d screwed up his own relationship, now he was annihilating the ones closest to him. She”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“His heart thumped at the thought that she’d been sick and alone. If she had called he would have gone out there to care for her, no hesitation. “Yes.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“John laughed as he saw the scolding look on Roger’s face. “What?” The big man just shook his head, arms crossed. “You’re in for it now. What if you have two girls?” John scowled. That had occurred to him as well. Two boys would be ideal. He could deal with boys. What the hell would he do with girls? Chad punched Roger in the shoulder. “Hey, now. Girls are fine. Mercy is amazing.” He looked at John. “Don’t give in to all that stereotypical bullshit. She plays with cars and stuffed animals. Give her a Barbie doll and she turns her nose up at it. I can’t wait to take her shooting at the ranch. I found this awesome little .22 caliber rifle called a Cricket. Shorter barrel, shorter stock. Totally made for a little girl.” John looked at the picture Chad had saved on his phone of the little pink gun. Huh…okay. That was pretty cute. “Besides,” Chad continued, “I doubt Shannon will let you avoid them. Twins are a lot of work, my friend. I used to babysit my niece Grace when she was a baby, and just one kid is a handful. I can’t imagine two.” “Thanks for the pep talk, Lowell,” John growled. They”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“She had made him realize how boring his life was, and as many people as he had around him, it was empty too. Yeah, he loved working, but his personal life truly sucked. There was no way he could count the guys at Harmony House as his Wednesday night dates. Alex made him feel things that he’d been missing all the more sharply now that she was gone. In the privacy of his room, he could admit that he missed her desperately. She’d walked into his life in her too-tall heels and wrapped herself around his heart. He would do damn near anything to get back with her. Even think about having kids.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“She’d walked into his life in her too-tall heels and wrapped herself around his heart. He would do damn near anything to get back with her. Even think about having kids.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“My God, woman, you are trying to get me killed. I’m going to have to beat men off with a stick.” He”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“You approve?” she asked, some of her confidence faltering. “Hell, yes,” he hissed. “Are you serious? You are more beautiful than any other woman in this room. If you hadn’t taken me in your arms, I’d be fighting with the half a dozen men that were undressing you with their eyes as you crossed to me. Where the hell did you get that dress?” When he held her chair out for her to be seated, Lora sank into it gratefully. “I ordered it online,” she admitted. “At first I thought it was too tight.” Chad sat down to her right and grasped her hand in his. “It looks stunning on you. I always tell you the truth, you know that, and that dress fits you like it was poured onto you.” “Well,” she said slowly, “it’s so tight I couldn’t wear my bra under it.” Immediately, his eyes dropped to her full breasts. And his attention made her breasts respond. It was a long moment before he looked up again. “Just what in the hell did I ever do to you? Why are you trying to kill me?” She giggled, covering her mouth with a hand. “One other interesting tidbit about this dress,” she leaned toward him conspiratorially. “It’s only held up by one button at my neck.” Chad’s brilliant blue eyes darkened with arousal and his gaze lingered at her neck. He wanted to pop that button, just to see what would happen. She smiled at him, wondering what he would do when he realized the dress had no back. They ate a lovely meal and Lora gave herself permission to try a few things she’d never had before. Chad watched her with guarded eyes. Lora could tell he wanted to be alone with her, but he also didn’t want to rob her of the experience. “You’re going to owe me tonight, woman.” Lora laughed, already looking forward to paying that debt to him. They”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“Alexandra was a young, vibrant, beautiful woman. If she actively looked for a husband, he had no doubt she could snag any man she wanted. A vision of her twined in the arms of a healthy young man haunted him. A picture of them holding a tiny, auburn haired baby haunted him even more.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“As Duncan walked away from Alex’s bedroom, he truly felt like a piece of shit. For the first time in his life, he’d used a woman. Even if she’d agreed to the use, encouraged it even, it still made him feel like the lowest of low. But he couldn’t give her up without connecting with her one last time. Walking to the fridge he grabbed a beer, his emotions more tangled than he could ever remember them being.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“I’m sorry if my words hurt you earlier. I thought I’d been pretty clear about my not wanting kids.” Alex winced, but tried to cover it by tucking her hair behind her right ear. “You were. I remember you saying it the first night. But we clicked on everything else and I guess I thought you might possibly start to rethink your position.” He could understand why she would think that. They had clicked on everything. She’d fit into his house as if she’d always been here. Hell, she fit into his life as if she’d always been there. All of the worries he’d had about her youth had faded. She was more mature for her age than most of the men he knew, and that was the truth. “I don’t want this,” he motioned between them, “to end because of just this one thing.” She frowned. “I hope you didn’t mean that the way it sounded, because that one thing is very important to me. I’m almost thirty-two. As trite as it is to say, my childbearing time is ticking away.” Duncan growled, pissed that he couldn’t articulate his feelings the way he needed to. He was losing her, he could see it in her eyes. “I don’t want the responsibility of children, but I don’t want our physical or emotional relationship to end. I enjoy having you in my life.” She gave him a narrow-eyed look. “It’s convenient, right? Having a woman in your house and bed, falling in love with you? I can’t just be ‘enjoyed’ Duncan, I need more that that. I felt like we had a deeper connection than that.” Scowling, he turned to look at the cold fireplace. Then her words slowly sank in. She’d said she was falling in love with him. Fuck… Alex muttered a curse under her breath and pushed to her feet to pace. Duncan watched her move, thoughts swirling in his mind. She thought she loved him, but she’d only been here a couple of days. Yes, they’d been together the entire time since she’d been here, but surely she didn’t think she loved him. Maybe she was less mature than he thought. No one could decide to tie themselves to a man that quickly, let alone a disabled veteran destined to have long-term emotional and medical issues. She paused in her pacing, as if coming to a decision. “I think I’m going to go home.” The words fell into the silence and he lost his breath. But he couldn’t blame her. She wanted more than he could give her. Once again, like with Melanie, he was being tossed over for another man, this one just so far unnamed. “If you make your reservations, I can drive you whenever you need me to.” She blinked at him, a strange expression on her face, then she shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it was ending. He couldn’t either. “All right. Goodnight.” Duncan”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“Shit. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Though she hadn’t set a departure date, he had a gut feeling he’d just accelerated her leaving. Words. Just hurtful words. But it was how he felt. He was on the downhill of his forties. Did he really want to have a baby now? Be responsible for another living being now? Anxiety rolled through him and he wondered what the hell he could do to change it all. For”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After

“Shannon had a natural warmth to her that drew people to her. Alex would miss her the most. Actually, watching John deal with twins would have been pretty funny. He did not seem the baby type. But the dazed excitement and the love in his eyes as he looked at Shannon told her he would be willing to try his best. Alex”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Ever After