Archer: Alpha Company Renegades, #10

By Kali Hart

Libby

I gave up on love.
I'm a single mom with two kids who mean the world to me.
They're all I need.
But when I meet Archer, I start to feel things I haven't felt in years.
He makes me want to open my heart again.
I can't decide if he's worth the risk.

Archer

Locking my keys in my truck turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.
It's the reason I meet Libby and her two amazing kids.
It doesn't take long to fall hard for her.
She's kind, funny, smart, and the best mom to her kids.
She's everything I've been looking for.
But she's got a guard around her heart.
After what she's been through, I don't blame her.
But I'll do whatever it takes to convince her I'm not like the rest.
I'll never break her heart, if only she'll surrender it to me.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie M. Wallick
• Release date: May 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9798223154129

Book preview

1

LIBBY

Colin, don’t you dare lick that box of Twinkies!

My three-year-old son stops an inch from the box he’s holding, tongue fully extended. I don’t know what’s gotten into this kid lately. He tries to lick literally everything, like he’s claiming something he wants for himself.

Put. It. Back.

I never take my kids to the grocery store with me, and there’s a very good reason for that. But thanks to their dad and his new health-nut wife, I’ve no choice.

Mom, can I get some fruit snacks? Alison, my eight-year-old daughter whines. Pleeease!

I take a deep breath, trying to squeeze in an entire backwards countdown from ten before I leap for the Twinkie box that is seconds from costing me money.

Mom? Alison continues. Please! Sherri never has anything good to eat.

I swipe the snacks from my son with half a second to spare, shackling his wrist so he can’t run away in a tantrum. He’s been doing that a lot lately, too. I shove the box back on the shelf.

Mom!

Yes, get the fruit snacks. But that’s your one snack.

Colin starts to cry. Alison begins a self-debate monologue about her snack choice, and tries to bargain for two.

I’ve not been so fond of the kids’ father since the day I found out he was leaving me for a stripper. I loathed him a little more the day he married that stripper. But days like today, I plain hate him.

He’s taking my kids camping. He and his health-nut former stripper wife.

On the way to drop off my kids for the one weekend a month they spend with their less than stellar father, I got a text requesting I send them with ‘those junk food snacks they like’. And why am I so blessed with this last-minute shopping spree? Because they didn’t take the kids into consideration when they picked up their own food. Jackass.

Enough! I shout, no longer concerned with the side-glances and judgmental stares. "We have hot dogs. Go-gurt. And I’m sending you with stuff to make s’mores. Other than that, you each get one snack. It has to last you the whole weekend. Choose wisely."

Twinkies! Colin says through his crocodile tears. I want Twinkies!

Then you put these back. I hold out the package of cookies to him, forcing him to make a choice. The kid has never had a Twinkie in his life, but suddenly he’s obsessed with them. I blame his sister for pointing them out five minutes ago.

He snatches the package of cookies out of my hand, hugs them close to his chest, then takes off in a dead sprint.

Shoot me now, I mutter as Colin zips around the corner into a sea of shoppers. What a fucking nightmare.

What mommy? Alison asks.

Get the cart. I’m drinking wine straight from the bottle tonight. I’m drinking the whole damn thing, too.

Hey little man. A tall, muscular man in an Army uniform stands in Colin’s way, blessedly blocking the kid’s escape. He glances my way and apparently sees the defeat in my eyes, because he scoops Colin into his arms. Where you running off to?

Gotta put cookies back.

I mouth a thank you to him.

My brother is Army, and I recognize the patch on his left shoulder. It’s an Alpha Company Renegades insignia. Because of it, I know I can trust this stranger. And frankly, I’m about to sell this kid to the highest bidder anyway—not really! I swear! I love my kiddos with