by J. L. Leslie
I’m not sure how he managed to sneak her out here. I’m pretty sure she used Willow as an excuse. Turns out, she’s majoring in Early Childhood Education at the local college and when I started putting feelers out for tutors, she jumped at the opportunity.
She’s great with Willow and having her as a tutor allows Jenna to be her teacher at school only and her stepmom at home. Yes, I said stepmom, and no, we are not engaged, and no, we don’t live together yet.
Yes, I said yet, because it’s only a matter of time.
Jenna will eventually be Willow’s stepmom and we will be a family. I know this because I have the ring in my pocket. I’m going to ask her tonight.
And I know, without a doubt, she’s going to say yes. Not being cocky. Just being confident.
“Kipton’s trying to steal our puddle!” Jenna screams out, pointing to the largest puddle.
I laugh and cut him off, flipping him a bird. I hit the puddle and get another mud splash over my windshield. After a few more minutes, we all call it quits. I get out and Jenna hops out.
“That was so fu‒” I hear a thud and a curse and look over to see Jenna lying on her back in the mud.
My brothers and I roar in laughter and both Brynn and Willow are laughing as well. Jenna just lies there, like she’s doing one of those snow angel things, but in mud.
I walk over to her and reach my hand down to help her up. She takes my hand, but instead of allowing me to pull her up, she jerks me down to join her, wrapping her arms and legs around me and effectively covering me in mud. Her body shakes with her laughter.
“I’ll get you back, sweetheart,” I warn. “That’s a promise.”
“Oh, I look forward to it,” she grins, swiping a handful of mud on my cheek.
I lean down and kiss her lips, not caring about her being dirty. My brothers whistle and whoop and Jenna giggles, her face reddening. I climb off of her and this time she does allow me to help her up.
“Da-yee, yuck!” Willow laughs, pointing at me and making a face.
I pretend like I’m going to touch her, and she runs. I chase her a bit, her tiny legs moving as fast as the can. She runs to Brynn and she scoops her up, spinning her away from me.
That first Sunday when we went to church together, we got so many stares. So many whispers. This small town was shocked to see us all together. To see that I was with Jenna and Brynn was alright with it. To see that we were behaving like a happy family.
We were told that it wasn’t normal. That people shouldn’t do that sort of thing. That we couldn’t be a family together. Not with our history. It would only complicate matters.
We are okay with that. If something complicated is what makes us happy, then we welcome the complication.
Jenna
“I thought we were going to your place,” I tell Kaler. “I’m a mess. We both are. Or did you forget our roll in the mud?”
He looks over at me and grins. “We’re making a short detour. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” I roll my eyes. “I mean, if you do, you can always take them off.”
Kaler makes a turn and I realize we’re going to his pond. We’ve been here several times. It’s one of my favorite spots. It’s getting cool now, though, so it’s not swimming weather by any means. I tell him so.
“Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I’m pretty sure I used my sense of adventure all up earlier today,” I deadpan.
He pulls to a stop and bolts out of his truck, stripping his muddy clothes off as he runs toward the pond. He’s serious. I realize this as I see his naked behind under the moonlight just before he dives into the water.
I get out, shaking my head, and he calls for me, splashing the water in my direction. “It’s not that cold!”
I know he’s full of crap because there’s a slight chill in the air. Still, I take off my clothes and venture into the water with him. I’m shivering by the time I reach him, and he rubs his hands up and down my arms to warm me up. I slough the mud off of me and dip my head underneath the water to clean it out of my hair.
“Okay, enough of this,” I tell him, my teeth chattering.
I hurry out of the water and to his truck to find a blanket to wrap up with. He’s right behind me and he throws the blanket from his backseat around the both of us. Despite the coolness of the night, his body is warm pressed to mine.
“The first time we were out here, when we were together on the back of my truck, I told myself that I would have you out here by the moonlight,” he says, looking up, a smile playing at his lips. “I’ve dreamed about it.”
“What happened in your dreams?” I ask him.
“I lay you down on this blanket,” he whispers. “And I fuck you until you scream my name.”
“Sounds like some kind of dream,” I murmur. “You ready to go?”
He shakes his head, tilting mine up. With Kaler’s lips on mine and his hands roaming my body, I’m no longer cold. I’m lost to him and how he makes me feel. What he does to me. How much I love him.
I’m certain making love to him under the moon and stars is far better than any of his dreams. I don’t scream his name. I whisper it. I whisper that I love him. Sometimes whispers are louder than screams.
I lay beside him, staring up at the sky, both of us sated and relaxed. Crickets chirp and somewhere off in the distance I can hear a bullfrog. We’re wrapped in the blanket, our arms and legs entwined.
Kaler pulls his arm out from the blanket and reaches for his muddy jeans, somehow managing to snag them. He digs in one of the pockets and gets something out.
“That was better than my dreams, Jenna,” he tells me, propping up on one elbow.
“Glad I could make your dreams come true,” I joke.
“When I talked to your dad, I told him you were doing just that.”
This time I sit up. “You talked to my dad?”
“Turns out, I’m not too good at figuring out the time difference. He wasn’t too happy that some stranger called him out of the blue like I did. Especially asking him for his blessing to marry his only daughter.”
Kaler holds out a ring with a solitaire diamond. It’s not a large one, but it’s perfect. It’s beautiful and it’s me. It’s perfect for me.
“Will you marry me, Jenna Winston?”
I nod, unable to speak for a moment, and then I finally manage, “Yes.”
Kaler sits up and places the ring on my finger before pulling me into a hug. “I love you. Christ, I love you, Jenna.”
“I love you, too, Kaler,” I reply. “Wait! How did you get my dad’s number?”
He leans back, grinning. “I asked my mama.”
THE END
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Also, if you liked the other Holt boys then look for book two, Something Honorable, Tauren and Helene’s story to come soon!
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