The Canon Series

Four years after their faux marriage upon a fishing boat in Bonds of Steele, Remington and Laura decide it is time to expand their family. When the past collides with the present, their family is placed at Risk and the Steele's have no choice but to re-envision their future.

For the most effective reading, my work should be read in chronological order as many of my one off's are spun into the history of the characters later on down the line. The chronological order of what I've written to date are as follows:

Steele Torn & Trying to Holt On
Cannes Steele be Trusted (co-written with the super-talented SuzySteele)
Steele Forsaken
Steele Mending
Steele Working out the Details
Steele Settling In
Steele Finding Comfort
Steele Holting on To Christmas
Steele Holting on To The Holidays
Holting on to the Moments
Steele Cold Relief
Steele Cloned
Steele Hurdling Obstacles
Steeling the Big Apple
Steele Dying to Get it Right
Holting Steele - Part 1 of the Be Steele My Heart series
Be Steele My Heart – Part 2 of the Be Steele My Heart series
Steele Pursued – Part 1 of the Steele Tested series
Steele Tested – Part 2 of the Steele Tested series
Steele Thankful
Down the Rabbit Holt
Steele in Wonderland
Expanding Steele

Standard Disclaimers apply: I hold no ownership or rights to the series or characters. I simply choose to borrow the characters I love to write.

Prologue

May 12, 1990 Catalina Island

Remington and Laura strolled along the water's edge, hands held, fingers weaved together, enjoying the balmy night air and one another's company. It had become an annual pilgrimage of theirs, this trip to Catalina, a tradition begun by Laura three years prior. A nod, if you will, to that fateful day when they had 'married' on a tuna boat in order to prevent Remington's deportation. The events on that day had set off a series of incidences that could have destroyed them – one could even argue came close to doing precisely that – but had instead provided the impetus to admit what they meant to each other. A wedding in Greece had followed, then the purchase of their home in Holmby Hills, and not even quite ten months later, the announcement the child they adored was on the way. Thus, May tenth had stopped being, for Laura, the worst day of her life, but yet another day to be celebrated, much like October first, which marked the day she and Remington had met.

Five months into their 'official' marriage, they'd faced a pregnancy scare. Instead of dodging and denying their feelings on the matter, as they would have throughout those first years when they did a pretty dance around one another, they'd spoken openly and honestly about both their hopes... and fears. Chief among Laura's concerns was that once they began a family it was imperative she and Remington remember that they and their relationship must take priority above all else. In her eyes, a child's security, their understanding of healthy relationships, began in the home. So, although the sun rose and set on Baby Steele in both their opinions, they'd committed to stealing away alone together thrice times annually: Their weekend trip to Catalina in May while the baby was in Frances and Donald's loving care; a long weekend at Ashford, while Baby Steele was smothered in love and attention by Thomas and Catherine; and again over the first weekend in October, when Mildred claimed her exclusive time with the wee one. There was no denying their first separation from their child had been difficult for both of them, but over time they'd found the time alone together only made the Steele household all the happier.

"Laura?" Remington's voice broke into Laura's thoughts. He'd cast many a sideways glance at her as they'd walked in quiet, so she'd simply been biding her time until he brought up whatever it was on his mind.

"Hmmmm?" She tilted her head and looked at him as she hummed the response.

"I'd like for us to consider having another child," he announced, lifting her hand to his mouth to brush his lips against her knuckles, never breaking stride.

Alright, Steele, old sport, you've put the idea out there. Don't press. She'll need weeks to consider all the pros and cons before she's prepared to discuss the matter further. He resisted the urge to release a sigh. The idea had been on his mind for weeks, and he'd held his tongue until he could bring up the suggestion when they were not wrapped up in the swirls of activity at the office and home.

Next to him, his wife smiled and laughed silently to herself. The announcement had not been unexpected. Over the course of the past month, she'd caught him watching as she took her birth control pill, had found him staring thoughtfully at her stomach. It hadn't taken a great deal of savvy to interpret those thoughtful moments that soon grew into wistful looks of longing. She knew the topic would come up sooner or later, and had resolved to allow him to choose time and place.

"Alright," she agreed. At first the answer was greeted by a turn of the head, a quick smile and a squeeze of her hand. But after two paces, his feet had come to a standstill. Hand still held in his, she turned to face him, lifting her brows in silent question.

"Alright you'll consider it..." he swallowed hard, trying not to let his hopes get the better of him, "... or alright, you agree we should have another child?" It took all her self-control not to show her hand, to portray the image of a woman considering a grave matter. His face fell in disappointment.

"The latter, I think," she finally answered. It took a long second for him to compute the answer for what it was, but when he did, he snatched her to him and latched his mouth over hers. He devoured her lips, then delved deep, savoring her sweetness, his arms clutching her tightly against him, a hand burying itself in the silken curls she'd allowed to riot freely for the weekend.

"My God, I adore you," he told her gruffly next to her ear when the kiss ended, keeping her locked in his embrace, his cheek pressed against the side of her head. She lay her lips against his neck, allowed them to linger, then leaned back in his arms to look up at him, cherishing the warmth she always found waiting for her in those blue eyes.

"You're not so bad yourself, big guy," she teased, leaning back and patting him on the shoulder, then squealing when he swept her up in his arms. "What are you doing?" He tipped his head down to steal another delectable little kiss.

"Mustn't let our child making skills get rusty, Mrs. Steele," he told her with a waggle of his brow. She laughed and drew a hand through his hair, as he carried her across the sand towards their villa.

"I'd think we'd have obtained expert status in that area by now, Mr. Steele," she observed, as she strung a trail of kisses along his jaw, then down his neck, enjoying the goosebumps that, four years later, still scattered across his skin when she suckled on that place just beneath his ear. He groaned quietly at the sensation.

"Then I suppose, we'll have to create a whole new classification of perfection to aspire to," he countered, a bit breathily. Crossing the threshold of the villa, he waited until she pulled the sliding doors closed, then turned and fell backwards onto the bed, she landing atop him. "And you know how much I enjoy a challenge,"

She was laughing as he cupped her face in his hands and drew her lips down to his.

A/N: Just a sneak peek, as promised. Expanding Steele will begin July 23rd - a week from Sunday - after Fractured Steele concludes.