Mancave Read online

  Mancave

  Epilogue to Caveman

  Jo Raven

  Contents

  Blurb

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Part II

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Acknowledgments

  Jo Says

  Author Bio

  Have you read the Inked Brotherhood series?

  Blurb

  The cage is broken…

  Two years ago, Octavia met her caveman, Matt Hansen, and fell in love. Since then, life has found its rhythm and it’s a good one. Matt and his brother Kaden have opened their own car repair shop—Mancave—and Octavia is expecting her first child.

  But not everything is perfect in paradise. Mary, Matt’s young daughter, has started having nightmares, Octavia’s sister Gigi is having boy trouble, and Merc, their brother, trouble with girls.

  Then Evan, Matt’s best buddy back in Destiny, asks for help after an accident—and the trip turns complicated when Octavia makes it her mission to locate and save her half-brother Ross from himself.

  Octavia wants everyone around her to be happy. Matt is determined to safeguard their family’s happy ending.

  One way or another, love will find a way…

  Join my mailing list to know when my next book is released!

  http://bit.ly/2cQmBuF

  Mancave

  Jo Raven

  Copyright © Jo Raven 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover art: Letitia Hasser of RBA Designs | Romantic Book Affairs

  Photographer: Eric Battershell

  Model: Nick Bennett

  Part One

  Octavia

  Once upon a time I entered a dark den. A bear of a man greeted me, then pushed me away. Locked up inside himself, curled in the darkness, he fed on his own pain and slept through his days. He was lost. He’d lost himself.

  I set out to find him.

  It was a long trek through his walls and defenses, slogging through the memories that had turned him into a beast.

  The same memories that made him human.

  His memories were like thick sludge, like blood, dragging us both down. They blinded him, deafened him, isolated him from the world he lived in. Like a strange spell, they kept him raging and smashing against his own walls, with no way out.

  He was a beast, but reminded me more of a bird in a cage, with his wings clipped. I longed to free him, but I couldn’t give him wings.

  He had to find his own. Had to remember he still had them, that his own mind had clipped them and could restore them.

  If he let it. If he managed to move through the memories to the other side—where life still went on, same as before, where leaves fell, babies cried, people smiled and made new memories. He was stuck.

  And I fell in love with him.

  I glimpsed beneath the sorrow and fury a flash of kindness, of protectiveness and goodness that brought me to my knees. Maybe not everyone deserves to be saved, I don’t know.

  But he did.

  Life had dealt him a bad hand, had dragged him down until he hit rock bottom, but he was still in there, inside that hard shell. All I had to do was reach out my hand to him. Try and catch him.

  At first, he didn’t know what that touch meant. He’d grown used to his loneliness, his pain. He’d forgotten the good things, the gentle things. Joy. Pleasure. Calm.

  Love.

  But slowly he remembered. He inched closer. He broke down his walls, one by one.

  And one day he reached back.

  That day I thought—everyone can be saved.

  I thought—everyone can fly again.

  I thought love is stronger than rage. Stronger than sorrow.

  Love wins.

  Of course, it was much more complicated than that. Not everyone can be saved. Not everyone finds love and salvation. Matt Hansen broke the spell that kept him captive and gave himself to me, just as I gave myself to him, and together we moved on through life, one entity, one heart—a new challenge to fate’s games.

  Here is the thing, though: I can’t save everyone.

  They have to find their other half and grow back their wings on their own.

  I should have realized that from the start…

  Chapter One

  Matt

  The applause starts again, and I rise from my seat, clapping like a maniac and wolf-whistling as my girl walks to the front to receive her Associate’s Degree. She’s dressed in her long gown and Oxford cap, her smile radiant.

  Octavia. My girl. My wife.

  My life.

  “Go girl!” I holler, and don’t give a damn if people around me start and give me the stink-eye. “You’ve got this!”

  “Tati!” Cole yells from beside me, and Mary rolls her eyes at both of us. At eight, she’s a little lady, while at six Cole is still every bit the little boy he was when we first met Octavia.

  “Boys,” she sighs, and flips a lock of blond hair over her shoulder. In her blue dress, with tiny gold earrings dangling from her ears, lip gloss on her lips… God damn, my daughter is turning into a woman. When did that happen?

  “Is Tati coming down here?” Cole asks, eyes turning up on me.

  I ruffle his dark hair and pull him so that we both sit back down. “Soon. When the ceremony ends.”

  “And she will never go back to classes again?”

  “No, she’s done with them. She will look for a job now.”

  “But she’s sick!”

  “She’s not sick, she’s—”

  “Shh.” Mary glares at me. Well, mock-glares. I think. “Quiet.”

  I nod, because she’s right, and yet my heart feels too big inside my chest. I want to jump and shout and tell everyone just how fucking happy I am. Everything’s perfect in my life right now.

  I’m so happy, and so fucking scared it won’t last, that something bad will happen and tear it all down, like it did last time I felt this way—right after Cole was born and my wife was diagnosed with cancer. It killed Emma and crushed me until I thought I’d died along with her.

  Until Octavia came along and pulled me out of that dark hole I’d fallen into, helped me get my feet under me and find my way. She healed me, gave me my family back. My kids, who barely knew me. This joy in life. And now she’s about to give me even more.

  Thankfully, the ceremony is almost at its end. As I glance around, I see Octavia’s mom waving at us from two rows behind us. Gigi and Merc, Octavia’s siblings, are there as well. Gigi makes faces at me—or maybe it’s at Cole who’s also turned to look. He’s bored out of his mind, sitting here for so long.

  Worry hits me when I don’t see Kaden and Hailey anywhere. They said they’d be here, and my mom is babysitting their little son, Shawn, and baby Ashley for this very reason.

  Relax, I tell myself. They probably came late and got seats in the back. Kaden’s fine. I’m only worried because the concussion he got a few years bac
k—the one that made him amnesic for a week and made us all fucking sick with fear—led to post-concussive syndrome. That means he’s suffered from headaches and some dizziness since then, but truth is, he’s been doing much better this past year.

  He’s better, I repeat to myself. He’s fine. Nothing happened. Stop trying to jinx yourself for no good reason other than for being happy and at peace.

  Mary tugs on my arm, arching her brows at me and pursing her lips. Code for ‘turn around and pay attention to the ceremony,’ I guess. The dean of the college or some such guy is droning on about education and hard work and the future of the state. I force myself to sit still and pretend to be paying attention, seeking out Octavia with my gaze.

  She’s standing off to the side, together with her class, staring right back at me. I grin at her, and she smiles back, her face bright. She’s all I can see, and it’s all I can do not to jump up and run to her, take her in my arms, kiss her senseless.

  I’m so fucking proud of her. So fucking in love with her.

  Again my chest tightens, and my lungs won’t get enough air. Dammit. My breathing does this funny thing sometimes whenever I get anxious. It started when Emma died, though it got better when Octavia entered my life. Tonight is a joyful night, goddammit.

  Calm the hell down, Matt.

  I wish Kaden were here to tell me that. Easier to listen when it’s your brother telling you to relax than the stupid little voice in your head, the same one that whispers all your fears and doubts to you in the night, getting you in this damn sorry state in the first place.

  The speaker who’s been monopolizing the mike says something that has everyone clapping like crazy, and I blink.

  “It’s over,” Mary says, in that haughty voice she has been using all night. I wonder what’s up with that. “You can go to her now.”

  “What?”

  “To Octavia. You’ve been acting like a stupid boy with her lately.”

  Ow. Shit, okay, I really need to talk to my daughter, see what’s bothering her so much. I know for a fact that she loves Octavia to bits, and she’s never been jealous of my love for her, so what’s going on, huh?

  But Cole is already on his feet and running toward his favorite person in the world, and I scramble up to follow him. Yeah, first things first. This is Octavia’s night.

  We’re about to celebrate.

  * * *

  “It’s done,” she squeals the moment I put my arms around her and spin her a little, Cole hanging to her gown. “It’s over.”

  “You’re amazing,” I tell her, my chest filled to bursting with all the love for her, and slide my hand down to her slightly rounded stomach. “I’m so damn proud of you.”

  “Thank you,” she whispers, her eyes shining. She pulls Cole to her side. “Where’s Mary?”

  I glance at the front row where my daughter is sitting primly, legs crossed, the cell phone Kaden gave her in her hands. She’s typing something, a frown on her pretty little face.

  “Wow, who is she texting like that?” Octavia’s eyes narrow. “A boyfriend?”

  The fuck. “I’m confiscating that damn phone tonight.”

  Octavia laughs, wraps her arm around my back, leans her head on my shoulder. “Relax. Probably just a friend from school.”

  Her scent wraps around me like a hug, and I sag a little as the tension leaves me. Having Tay pressed to my side is the best thing in the world—ranked up there with having my kids in my arms, and my brother by my side.

  Best feeling ever, this certainty they are well, and right here, with me. Everything’s fine with my world right now.

  I squeeze Octavia against me. “Will you ask her about it?”

  “I can try.” She shrugs. “She’s been avoiding me lately.”

  Shit. “Any idea why?”

  “Maybe it’s just an age thing? I kinda think my sis went through a similar phase. But you should talk to Mary, make sure nothing’s the matter.”

  I will.

  I vow that’s exactly what I’m gonna do tomorrow. It hurts to think my daughter is upset about something and won’t tell me, but I’m getting to the bottom of this. I’ll fix the problem, although Octavia is right, it has to be a phase.

  And I’m damn well gonna check the messages on Mary’s phone. If she has a boyfriend, he’ll have to go through me before he as much as speaks her name again, and that’s a fact.

  Tomorrow.

  “You feeling up to dinner?” I dip my head, and she looks up, her lips parting. I kiss her, sweeping my tongue over her lips, to taste her sweetness. When I break the kiss, we’re both panting.

  “I’m starving.” She smiles, her eyes going heavy-lidded. She licks her lips and damn, I want to keep kissing her all night. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  * * *

  We collect a strangely quiet Mary on our way out, and then Gigi, Merc and Octavia’s mom join us. Gigi hugs her sister and starts to chatter about the dean and the students and the weather and just about anything one could possibly talk about. I swear, the girl doesn’t need to breathe.

  Merc shoots me a long-suffering look, and I grin back at him. Boy has grown into a fine man over the past few years, his white-blond hair falling in those blue eyes the whole Watson family shares, although Octavia’s are the prettiest by far.

  Not that I’m biased or anything.

  “Have you guys seen Kaden and Hailey?” I ask them, but they shake their heads. That nagging worry is back in my chest, and even as I shove it ruthlessly back down, my heart starts pounding, my breathing coming too fast.

  Shit. I lift my phone to call, see what held them up, and find the battery dead. That’s probably it, I think. Kaden tried to call and tell me that something came up, but my phone’s dead.

  And then I see them as we head toward our car. They wave and smile, and my racing heart finally slows down.

  “Where have you been?” I grumble when Kaden grabs my arm in a bro-shake and pats my back. “You missed the ceremony.”

  “We caught the tail end of it. Not sorry about missing all the speeches, though.” He winks at me and I deflate, all my anger and worry going out like a candle. I can never stay mad at my brother for long.

  “Shawn and Ashley okay?”

  “Yeah, they’re fine. Watching a Disney movie with Mom.”

  “Good, good. Let’s go eat.” I haul Octavia to my side, my arm wrapped around her slender shoulders. “See you there.”

  “Hey, Matt.”

  I stop, turn to shoot him a questioning look, something in his voice bringing me up short. “What?”

  Kaden rubs the back of his neck, and fuck, that nervous gesture isn’t promising anything good. “Just something I need to talk to you about. Later.”

  “What? Kade, come on, don’t leave me hanging like this, you know I hate it.” That’s an understatement. “Is it family-related? Is it the Mancave?”

  Octavia burrows closer to my side, taking off her Oxford cap, her blue eyes wide. “Is everything okay?”

  Dammit. Last thing I want is for her to worry.

  “It’s nothing that bad, I swear. Let’s go.” Kaden flashes us a quick smile, the bastard, and reaches for Hailey’s hand. “See you at the restaurant.”

  I want to call him back, have him tell me then and there what the problem is, but Octavia in my arms is the deciding factor against. I feel the warm press of her belly in my side, of our baby. She doesn’t need more stress. She’s had enough of that between the morning sickness she suffered with for months and finishing her Associate’s Degree.

  Yeah, fuck that. I’d better talk to him alone, later.

  Find out what happened, and fix it, so our lives can go on as they have for these past couple of years—peaceful, bright and happy.

  It’s all I want. This second chance at happiness, with Octavia, my kids, and my brother by my side. This happy ending.

  I’d do fucking anything it takes to keep it.

  * * *

&n
bsp; As we arrive at Trevi’s, Octavia squeals like a little girl, and I laugh, pleased at her reaction.

  “This is where you proposed to me,” she says breathlessly.

  “I know. You seemed to like it.”

  “The food?”

  “Getting married to me.” I wink at her, and she leans in to kiss my cheek, cupping my face.

  “I loved it,” she murmurs. “I love being married to you even more.”

  The three rings on her right hand are cool on my skin. She never takes them off. There’s the engagement ring with the blue stone that matches her eyes—the one I gave her right here, when I asked her to marry me—then her golden wedding band, and finally the first ring I gave her back in Destiny: a slender golden ring with no markings.

  My first promise to her. A promise I kept.

  “Good.” I turn my face to kiss her mouth. “Get used to it, because I’m not going anywhere.”

  Cole makes a vaguely disgusted noise from the back seat. Through the rearview mirror, I see Mary frowning at something outside the window.

  I wonder what’s up with her.

  Trevi’s is an expensive place. Back when I proposed to her, it was way over the top, but now I have more money than I did then. I put money aside, Kaden moved here to St. Louis, and we opened a shop together. Hansen Brothers Workshop officially.

  We call it the Mancave between us.

  Octavia started it. She was always saying, “You going over to the mancave now? Is Kaden at the mancave?” She said it so many times it stuck.