A Girl Worth Fighting For (Uncontrolled Heroes Book 1) Read online

  A Girl Worth Fighting For

  The Uncontrolled Heroes Book 1

  KL Donn

  Copyright © 2019 by KL Donn

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Editing by Kendra’s Editing & Book Service

  Cover Design by Sensual Graphic Designs

  Formatting by Sensual Graphic Designs

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Foreword

  Blurb

  Prologue

  1. Cade

  2. Petal

  3. Petal

  4. Petal

  5. Petal

  6. Petal

  7. Cade

  8. Petal

  9. Petal

  Epilogue One

  Epilogue Two

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by KL Donn

  I Ain’t Your Mama Books

  Foreword

  Dear Reader!

  I ain’t your mama is a collaboration comprised of 10 authors who have come together to bring you brand spanking new stories where strong, leading ladies show exactly how good they can do it! Women are incredible beings, filled with beauty and grace, and these heroines will have you cheering them on as they go after their own slice of happy!

  Each book is a standalone and can be enjoyed while sipping an ice-cold drink, spiked or not that’s up to you! So, one-click, pull up a comfy chair, and dive into these fun reads where women end up on top!

  Blurb

  Cade Larrabee is…done. Done with love. Done with women. Done with basically any and everything that isn't his kids or his bike shop. After their mom decided she was done with family life, Cade knew where his focus should be.

  In need of childcare, and someone to help around the house, Cade goes in search of a nanny. One who is as plain as Jane but can be compassionate enough to handle Mac–a boy who keeps acting out–and Lily–his sweet girl who needs a woman’s touch.

  Petal Davies proves to be the perfect nanny. The perfect friend. The perfect…everything. Not only does she put up with his cranky attitude, but she gives it right back to him.

  Petal shows Cade day after day, time and again that not only is she the perfect woman for him, she’d be the perfect mom to his kids, and she’s mostly certainly A Girl Worth Fighting For.

  Falling in love isn’t always planned and when you least expect it, your heart decides for you. Come on over to Long Beach, California to find out who falls in love, who gets naughty on the beach and if family truly is everything.

  Dedication

  For all them strong women out there – whether you think you are or not – kick ass, take names, love hard!

  Prologue

  Petal

  Twelve Years Ago

  “You be strong for Momma, now, Petal.” Nodding vigorously, at twelve years old, I watch my mother as she packs up her bags.

  “Where are you going, Momma?” I wonder, holding on to my little sister, Calla, with all my might.

  Walking over, Momma kneels beside us and cups each of our cheeks. “Calla and I have to go now, Petal. We can’t stay here anymore.”

  Tilting my head to the side, confused, I ask, “What about me?” Calla is only four years old and doesn’t understand what’s happening.

  “You’re a big girl, Petal. You can take care of yourself.” Turning back around, I watch as Momma backs her own and then Calla’s bags out the door and into the garage. Confused that they are leaving in the middle of the night, I follow behind her.

  My father isn’t home from work yet, but I know he’s going to be angry to find his wife and youngest daughter gone. As Momma kisses me goodbye and carries a crying Calla to the car, I wave and find myself asking, “What about me, Momma?” again, with more fear than curiosity in my tone.

  I know my life is changing, and until I wake up in the morning, I’ll have had no idea just how much so.

  Chapter One

  Cade

  “I don’t have time for this, Steph,” I growl into the phone at my sort-of girlfriend. She’s becoming needier and more demanding of my time. Time that is precious and not hers. If I’m truly honest with myself, I’m fucking pissed off because I should have broken things off with her weeks ago.

  “But, Cade, we need some alone time.” Her whine makes me cringe and grates on my nerves. At one time, Stephanie was my dream girl. Sucked dick like a champ, didn’t want more than I was willing to give, and she has a to-die-for ass.

  But that was months ago.

  I have two kids who get one-hundred percent of me, and she doesn’t like it. She’s jealous, catty, and vindictive. I haven’t allowed her to meet them, and she hasn’t insisted. The only time she even talks about them is when she’s complaining about me putting them first.

  Rolling my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose, hoping to fend off the headache I feel trying to form. “I said no, Steph. Mac has a basketball game, and Lily has dance practice.” At the same fucking time. There are times where I curse my ex, Candace, for taking off the way she did right after Lily was born, and there are times where I wish she had been a good mom. The kind they deserve.

  She was never in it for the long haul though. I don’t know how we lasted for as long as we did, but I can’t regret any of it because I have two wonderful kids.

  “You need a nanny for those rugrats.” Her comment is snide, but it sparks an idea.

  “Talk to you later, Steph.” I hang up the phone and immediately start searching for reputable agencies. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. I’ve been struggling to keep up with the kids, the house, and my bike shop. I need help.

  With my parents living up in San Jose, I can’t rely on them to help me out as often as before they retired a couple of years ago. At thirty years old, this isn’t how I pictured my life going.

  I was never sure about marriage and kids until Mac came along. Candace and I were young, in lust, and having fun. Her winding up pregnant when we were twenty-one shouldn’t have happened, but I refuse to look at it as anything but a blessing.

  Candace took off for Vegas when Mac was almost three. I shouldn’t have allowed her back into our lives when she came crawling back, broke and hollow, two years later. Mac was so excited to have back the mom he barely remembered that I couldn’t say no.

  She manipulated me into believing she wanted our family. That was my second mistake. It was barely six months later that I let her back into my bed in a moment of weakness, and even though I gloved up, she fell pregnant with Lily.

  At first, everything was fine. Mac was excited, and I was thrilled. My shop, Controlled Bikes, was doing good despite the odds of people telling me I would fail. I thought we were leaning toward making our relationship permanent, even though I didn’t love her.

  How wrong I was.

  The day Lily was born, she fucking ran again. Signed the birth certificate, handed her rights to both kids over to me, and we haven’t heard a word from her since.

  That was over three years ago.

  With the help of my best friend, Jace Cooper, and my little brother, Beckett, I’m not sure I’d have made it as far as I have. It’s because of them my shop is a success.

  We all do a little bit of everything, whether it’s welding parts, dismantling bikes, or putting them together.

  Arguably, Beckett is the genius behind the graphics. Artistic his entire life, my brother
is well sought after in the motorcycle community and even with some custom autobody places. I keep him well-paid after making death threats in case he ever gets the idea to leave. Beck doesn’t care about any of it though. He just wants to draw and paint.

  Jace and I have been best buds since grade school. When I told him of my plans to open Controlled Bikes, he was on board without me even asking. He wanted nothing more than to be business partners. I put him to work instead. He bought into the shop three years ago so Candace couldn’t try to take it from me.

  Thankfully, she never tried to.

  “Are those nanny sites?” Speak of the fucking devil.

  “Shut the fuck up,” I grumble. Jace laughs.

  “Why the hell are you looking for a nanny?” He’s not just my friend; he’s Mac and Lily’s uncle, too. They’ve never known him as anything else. “We’ve got those kids covered, bro.”

  “Did I hear something about a nanny?” Beck comes in from the back, paint smearing his shirt.

  “I need fucking help, man. I’ve got too much shit going on to do everything myself.” Leaning back in my chair, I see Jace has his eyes glued to the screen.

  “Okay.” He shrugs and walks off after clicking on something.

  “Goddammit, Jace!” I shout when I see he clicked inquire about a girl named Petal Davies. Her picture is kind of plain. Light green eyes and dull brown hair shadow most of her facial features. However, I see she’s their top requested nanny, so I leave it and wait to see what happens.

  Chapter Two

  Petal

  I can’t believe I am so freaking late! I’m almost never late. I’m told it’s a flaw, that I shouldn’t be so perfect, but I can’t help it. I like being on time because I hate when people waste my time.

  Parking my 99’ Mercedes E Class in the parking lot of Controlled Bikes, I slam the door shut behind me, hearing the seatbelt get caught between the door and the jamb and I cringe. There’s going to be a nice dent there.

  The car is already pretty beat up. It was a graduation and birthday gift from my dad and, even though it already had nearly a hundred thousand miles on it, I’ve loved it. I’ll drive it until it dies.

  “Damn,” I hear muttered from the open garage bay door as I rush past, and I know they’re talking about me and what a hot mess I am. My hair is in a huge messy bun on my head, the strap of my tank top is hanging off one shoulder, and one of my shoes is untied.

  If this man hires me, it’ll be a damn miracle.

  “Hello, welcome to Controlled Bikes. How can I help you?” Damn is right. This dude is hot as hell. Tattoos up his big buff arms, crooked glasses on his handsome face, dark hair, and bright blue eyes, followed by a charming smile that nearly makes me melt.

  “Oh, uh, hi.” Christ, Petal, get it together! “I’m Petal Davies, I’m here to see Cade Larrabee?” Please, please don’t be this hunk making all my girly bits sing.

  He chuckles, and I cross my fingers behind my back that he’s laughing at what a mess I am and not because he’s about to tell me he’s Cade and I don’t have the job. I really need this job.

  “Take a seat.” He nods to a line of chairs in front of the painted window with a motorbike on it. “I’ll go get him.”

  “Thank God,” I mutter under my breath as I drop my bag to the floor and grab a bottle of water from the little fridge. As I’m twisting off the cap, I see a little blonde-haired, dark-eyed girl peak around the corner of the room the hottie with the glasses just went into.

  Her eyes roam me curiously as I sit and watch her. When I see her come out of her hiding spot just a little more, I wiggle my fingers at her in a wave and smile softly. Covering her mouth, she giggles and hides again.

  She has to be the daughter. I’d peg her at about three or four years old. She’s got to be one of the most adorable little girls I’ve seen. Just from her eyes, I can tell she’s not only happy and well-loved but confident in both. As she looks around the doorjamb again, she takes a bolder step out and I see she’s wearing a ballerina skirt and leotards. Her feet are bare and, from the messy look of her hair, I assume she’s done her lessons for the day.

  Taking a sip of my water, I allow her to continue her examination until I reach into my bag and pull out a bag of fresh blueberries I’d picked up at the farmer’s market this morning. Her eyes widen with delight, and I gather she likes them.

  “Do you want one?” She nods her head up and down so quickly I’m almost dizzy. “Go ask,” I encourage. I don’t know if she has allergies, and I’d never give a child something without their parents’ permission first.

  I hear a squealed, “Yay!” before the girl comes running back out. “Daddy said I can. May I?” The manners of this girl!

  “Help yourself.” I hold the open bag out to her.

  Gingerly, her tiny fingers dip in and grab a couple. She pops one into her mouth and makes a funny face. They’re incredibly bitter.

  “Yum.” She rubs her belly, and I’m already smitten with this girl.

  “I’m Petal Davies,” I introduce myself.

  “Petal? Like a flower petal?” She appears completely enraptured with the idea.

  “Exactly like it. My daddy loves flowers.”

  “I’m Lily!” Her excitement makes sense now. “We have matching flower names!” I nod, enthused with her. “May I have more?” Lily points to the bag of berries.

  “Yes, you may. You have such lovely manners,” I observe.

  She beams proudly. “Daddy says they’re important.”

  “Daddy’s girl,” I hear snorted from behind me. Turning, I see a boy with matching blond hair and dark eyes. They look so much alike; he must be her brother and Cade’s son.

  “Am not!” Lily calls back and folds her arms over her chest in a huff.

  “Whatever, squirt,” he mumbles and walks away. Even though he appeared annoyed, I can see the affection for the young girl in his dark gaze.

  “That’s Mac. He’s a bully.” She pouts.

  “You know, Lily, sometimes the people who care about us most don’t always know how to express it. I bet he really loves you.”

  Tapping her chin with a finger, she ponders my words before saying, “He does read really good bedtime stories.”

  I don’t get to respond as Glasses comes out of the office followed by the hottest, broodiest, biggest man I’ve ever seen in my life. I have to bite my lip to hold in my whimper. While glasses grins as he goes back behind the counter, Muscle Man glares at me until he speaks and I swear it’s a damn good thing I’m sitting down.

  “Ms. Davies?” I nod. “Come with me.” He turns without waiting and I’m breathless.

  “Come on over here, prima,” Glasses calls to Lily as I walk past him. “Breathe,” he mutters to me. I don’t think I’ll ever have a full breath in Cade Larrabee’s presence.

  “Close the door,” he snaps as I enter his office. I’ve barely got it closed before he issues his next order. “Take a seat.”

  My body does what he says. The few seconds of silence kill me, so I do what I normally do when I’m nervous. I ramble. “I’m so sorry I was late. Traffic was horrendous, and I—” Get interrupted.

  “I don’t do excuses, Ms. Davies. Be on time or don’t come at all. We clear?” He levels me with another heart-stopping glare.

  “Crystal,” I mutter. While I might be attracted to him and could possibly be entertaining the idea of worshipping at his feet, I don’t need him to be an asshole. But I’ll wait until I have a better read on the man before I put him in his place.

  “You’re nothing like the picture on the website.” He scowls as he stares at his computer.

  “I asked them not to use that photo. But they refused a more accurately depicting one,” I explain.

  “When was this taken?”

  “High school graduation.” I bite my tongue.

  “It says you’re one of their most sought-after nannies.” His gaze, the same dark color as his kids’ eyes, looks me over and, while he doesn’
t show emotion, I can feel his judgment. “I can’t see why.”

  And that’s the last straw. Standing to my feet, I grab my bag off the floor. “Look, Mr. Larrabee, I appreciate that I was five minutes late and I do look a mess right now, but I love kids, and Lily is the absolute sweetest. I would love to know more about her and Mac; however, I won’t be treated with anything less than respect. You’re judging me on a moment where I chose to get here quicker rather than looking how I normally would for an interview or caring for children. You don’t want excuses, that’s fine. I’m not looking to be treated like I’m an imposition either.” And now that I’m thoroughly angered, I grab the rest of the blueberries in my bag, walk out of the office, and see Lily sitting on the counter.

  “Hey there, ballerina, you enjoy the rest of these. Maybe share some with your brother.” Winking at her, I leave the building and the Larrabees behind as I unlock my car and hop in. To complete my humiliation though, the son of a bitch doesn’t start.

  Goddamned battery. I need to get a new one. It just hasn’t been important. Slamming the keys on the seat, I pop the hood and, toward the open bay door, call out, “Hey! You got a booster pack?” Walking back to my car, I lift the hood and pull the wires off the battery to make sure they aren’t corroded or dirty.

  “You shouldn’t walk out on an interview,” is grunted behind me as a huge shadow falls over me.