Bare

Bare The Boys of Mulberry Lane Book Two Kristin MacQueen Copyright Bare – The Boys of Mulberry Lane Book Two First edition. January 1, 2023. Copyright ©2023 Kristin MacQueen. Written by Kristin MacQueen. 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 permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental. If you received a copy of this book from anywhere but Amazon, understand that it was posted without permission and is a pirated copy. Pirating is stealing. It absolutely hurts every author affected. Contents Playlist 1. Nick 2. Kendra 3. Nick 4. Kendra 5. Nick 6. Addi 7. Nick 8. Kendra 9. Nick 10. Kendra 11. Nick 12. Wes 13. Kendra 14. Nick 15. Kendra 16. Nick 17. Kendra 18. Nick 19. Kendra 20. Nick 21. Kendra 22. Nick 23. Kendra 24. Nick 25. Nick 26. Kendra 27. Nick 28. Kendra 29. Nick 30. Kendra 31. Nick 32. Kendra 33. Nick 34. Kendra 35. Nick 36. Kendra 37. Nick 38. Kendra 39. Nick 40. Kendra 41. Nick 42. Kendra 43. Nick 44. Addi 45. Nick 46. Kendra 47. Nick 48. Kendra 49. Nick 50. Kendra Bonus Scene Author's Note Also by Kristin MacQueen Playlist Spotify Wild- Catherine McGrath Rewrite the stars – James Arthur and Anne-Marie Die from a broken heart – Maddie and Tae Don’t give up on me – Andy Grammer Hurricane – Luke Combs Forever’s gotta start somewhere- Chad Brownlee There’s a girl – Trent Harmon What if I never get over you – Lady Antebellum Make you miss me – Sam Hunt Do it again – Justin Champagne All of it – Cole Swindell No problem- Dylan Schneider Put a label on it – Ryan Follese Chapter 1 NickShe’s so happy. There’s been so many times over the years where I wasn’t sure she was going to make it out of her misery. Life hasn’t been kind to Addison, that’s for sure. “You’re looking pretty handsome, Mr. Cohen.” Kendra flattens the lapels of my suit and smirks up at me.“And you’re looking rather beautiful, Miss Montgomery.” I lift her hand to my lips and press a soft kiss there.“You know, every time you look at her like that, I wonder if you’re hiding feelings for her.” She arches her perfectly shaped brow at me.“Not a chance. The only feelings I have towards her are of the sibling variety. I promise there’s no unrequited love going on here.”“I guess only time will tell.” Kendra tugs on my tie, bringing me closer to her.It takes every ounce of strength I have to keep my hands and lips to myself. I could so easily pull her into my embrace and claim her mouth. I can be the type of man she needs in her life.She could be the Addi to my Wes.“Nicky, we’re going to head out. Are you sure you can take care of Charlie this weekend?” Addi glances over her shoulder at the little girl I’ll always view as my niece.“I’ll be fine, Ads. Stop worrying and enjoy your weekend.”“Oh, we’re going to have the best weekend ever.” Wes wraps his arms around her waist and trails kisses up and down her neck.“Yeah,” I draw out the word as my lips curl in disgust. “I don’t need to see this, nor do I want to hear any details of your mini honeymoon when you come home.”Addi giggles and playfully shoves at Wes’s chest. The smile on his face threatens to break him in two. I’ve never seen a couple so blissfully happy.Addi’s come so far and I hope Wes can keep a smile on her face for the rest of her life. She deserves it.My mind drifts to a few years ago and I'm sucked back into time. To the day everything changed for Addi. None of it for the better.Laughing at something Ashley says, I swing my car into the driveway and shift into park. My attention is drawn to something by the front door. I squint, trying to make out what it is.I swear if it’s another Amazon package for Mom, I'm going to lose my shit. That woman thinks because she gets free shipping with her prime account, she needs to order everything on there.Why waste gas and time going to the store when she can order it online and it’ll be on our doorstep in two days? I can't argue with her logic, but I'm tired of carrying so many packages into the house every day. Last week she ordered a queen-sized mattress. I rest my case. “Who’s that?” Ashley asks, annoyance lacing her words. I squint again, trying to make out who the figure is. Long brown hair is piled into a bun on the top of their head. Her back is leaning against the house, knees pulled up to her chest. Her arms are wrapped around them, head resting on her knees. Her tiny body shakes like she’s cold, but it’s warm today. Who is that? Why’s she on my porch? Then I see it. The keychain hangs from her fingers and sways with the wind. An anchor. Addi.“Shit…. shit, what happened?” I mumble to myself, fighting to get my seat belt unbuckled.As soon as I'm free, I jump out of the car, I toss my backpack on the ground, and run as fast as I can. I need to close the distance between us. I need to wrap her in my arms and take away all of the pain.Addi raises her head when Ashley yells something. I'm not listening to her. I don’t care what she’s screaming about because it doesn’t matter. My