From the Embers

One decision in the middle of the unimaginable and the world as we knew it was irrevocably changed.

“I, um, have made a living for the past decade writing lyrics. But I was too worried I’d jinx it if I wrote anything down for tonight.” I rubbed my sweaty palms together, not having the first damn clue what to do with my hands without an instrument to fill them. “I’m kinda regretting that now.”

The crowd laughed and I took the moment to clear my throat.

“I want to start out by thanking my wife. I know a lot of you have heard bits and pieces of our story, but for those who haven’t, I’ll give you the abridged version. Some years back, there was a fire at my house. It was horrific. Lives were lost. Paths were forever changed. But the media reported that I saved the life of that beautiful woman over there.” I locked my eyes on Bree, pouring every ounce of love into my words. “But the truth is: She saved me.”

Tears filled her eyes as she blew me a kiss.

“Without that woman, there would be no Eason Maxwell.” I smiled and swayed my head from side to side. “There might be an Easton Maxwell, but that’s a story for a different day.”

The tears finally escaped her eyes as she laughed.

“I guess I just want to say thank you. To my old record label, who shall remain nameless, for dropping me all those years ago. To Levee and the entire Downside Up team for taking a chance on me. To Asher, Madison, and Luna, you three are the biggest dream I’ve ever had. Thank you for letting me be your daddy. It has been a wild ride, and now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s about to get a whole lot crazier. My wonderful, supportive wife neglected to mention that she’s been having contractions all day. I should probably get her to the hospital.”

My producer handed the award back to me and I hefted it into the air and finished my totally unscripted-but-straight-from-the-depths-of-my-heart speech. “So, thank you. Also, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but it’s a girl.” I grinned and shot a wink at Bree, and even though she was glaring, the smile on her lips told me I wasn’t in too much trouble.

The crowd roared, everyone standing on their feet, all eyes aimed at Bree. Just as they should be.

I might have been the one who created the music.

But Bree would forever be the star of our show.

Eight hours later, Ava Grace Maxwell was born looking just like her sisters and completing the family we had forged from the embers—the way it was always supposed to be.

“From the Embers, Eason Maxwell!”

A wave of emotion crashed into me, pinning me to my seat, so I turned into Bree as she threw her arm around my shoulders. The biggest names in the entire industry clapped and cheered. Levee and Sam stood up, shouting my name and patting me on the shoulder, but it was Bree’s voice in my ear that made my throat get thick.

“This is all you. Even when people told you to stop and the world quite literally caught fire around us, you kept going. And you did this, Eason. All of this.”

When all other words failed me, I managed to whisper, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said before releasing me. “Now, go get your Grammy.”

Though, when he looked at me and asked, “Does that mean you can finally be my real dad now?” all the pieces of my heart clicked into place.

I couldn’t say yes fast enough, but then again, I couldn’t really say anything past the emotion lodged in my throat. I gathered my son in my arms and nodded at least a dozen times. Bree quickly excused herself, and a little while later, I found her sitting on the floor in the pantry, crying and separating the red M&M’s from her secret stash.

“You can have every red M&M for the rest of our lives for that,” she croaked.

I didn’t give a damn about red M&M’s—I stole them all anyway. But adopting Asher and Madison was not a favor or a good deed that deserved a reward. They were my kids. Period. Full stop. End of story.

The opening notes of my number-one hit played through the Staples Center as the presenter, who I belatedly recognized as Shawn Hill, announced my nomination, “From the Embers, Eason Maxwell.”

“Were you ever planning on telling me?”

“Well, I do know how you love a surprise.”

I laughed. “I liked this one.”

“Good. I don’t want to hear a single peep about me eating your red M&M’s from now on. I’d have finished the jar by now.”

He could have every M&M in the world for all I cared. He could even call me Sug, though I wasn’t about to tell him that.

“I love you so much.”

He smiled the most beautiful grin I had ever seen, and because it was Eason, that was saying a lot. “I love you too.”

“Eason!” I breathed, tears welling in my eyes as I stared down at a gorgeous emerald-cut diamond solitaire.

“You hid it in the M&M’s?” Asher asked, clearly somewhat in on the plan.

My head snapped up and I found Eason on bended knee in the middle of the kids. Their little hands never lowered even as he started speaking.

“I have loved you since before I knew I loved you. I have loved you since before I was supposed to love you. And I will continue to love you every single day for the rest of eternity. I cannot tell you life will always be easy. Let’s be honest, I’m still going to call you Sug sometimes.”

I laughed and a tear rolled down my cheek.

He wiped it away before continuing. “But I can tell you that I will always be here for you in any and every way you need. I’ll be your best friend. Your biggest fan. The man who drives you crazy in both good and bad ways. I don’t care how you need me or even if you need me at all—I’ll still be here, considering myself the luckiest man on the planet as long as we do this life together.” He lifted the diamond ring from the jar and held it out in front of him. “Bree, will you do me the biggest honor of my life and marry me?”

This.

Man.

I’d thought my life was over the day of the fire, but little had I known, as I’d woken up in his arms outside that raging inferno, it was only the start of forever.

It was by far the easiest question I would ever answer.

“Yes,” I breathed. Rising to my knees, I threw my arms around his neck, repeating, “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”

“I have the entire fucking world to gain. So either move and let me go or get in the fucking car, but one way or another, with or without you, I’m going to find my daughter.”

She stared deep into my eyes, searching for the right thing to do. I was past all that. Bree wasn’t rash or reckless. She was too evenly measured to be fueled by desperate emotion. She was, however, my soul mate, the mother of my child—DNA be damned—and the smartest woman I had ever met.

Proof being: She got into the car.

In the middle of tragedy, it’s strange the things that become engrained into your memories.

I remembered when it struck me that only Madison was crying in the background.

I remembered busting into the room to find Luna’s bed empty.

I remembered the frantic search as I yelled for Bree, my heart still clinging to hope that Luna had just gotten out of bed and gone downstairs.

But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering sound of Asher shouting, “Not her daddy! My daddy!”

A long-distance proposal wasn’t ideal, but the element of surprise she so fiercely hated would definitely be worth the payoff.