First Comes Marriage

Dex Armstrong
I’ve been out on my own since I was eighteen, when I entered the military so I could see the world. After ten years of service to my country, I’m now an oil rig welder for a major oil manufacturer. But when my parents die, leaving the fate of my younger siblings in limbo, I step up to gain guardianship so they don’t end up in the system. The only problem? I’m out of town more than I’m home, and despite having my two remaining grandmothers there, the state thinks they’re too old to care for the kids.
The solution to my dilemma comes in the form of a petite dynamo, Jolie Patterson. She’s the best friend of my best friend’s little sister, and when Brock proposes I enter into a marriage of convenience with her so I can keep my sisters and brother together, she readily accepts.
I don’t expect to find her intriguing. Nor do I expect to fall in love, because it’s never been in the cards in the thirty-five years I’ve been on this planet.
Jolie Patterson

Life hasn’t always been easy, but my friend, Mindy, keeps me going. Dead parents? I’ve got them. Only child? That’s me! Horrible car accident that has left me with permanent injuries? Yeah, I can check that box off as well. But when Mindy’s brother, Brock, tells me that his friend Dex is trying to get custody of his siblings so they don’t wind up in foster care, I can’t in good conscience let that happen.
He’s gone more than he’s home, and despite my background in early child development, I’m often clueless about how to handle three grieving children, and two somewhat opinionated seniors who have a lot to say about how I’m doing things wrong.

So, I do what I always do; I try to make lemonade out of lemons. Because the household is not only multi-generational but multi-racial as well, I delve into learning new cultures so that I don’t unintentionally offend anyone I live with. The second thing I do? I use the skills my grandfather taught me about how to fix things because this house is literally falling down around everyone’s heads. I might only be twenty-three, but I’ve got no problem getting my hands dirty. I just never expected that in the midst of everything I’d find the man who would make my heart beat a little faster.