by Claire Adams
I heard Jason's voice in the distance, and a wave of relief overcame my body. I grabbed my rifle and aimed my sights down the scope of my gun, waiting for the opportunity to finally dig myself out of this hole.
“Lucy! Where are you!?”
His voice sounded closer, and the stomping neared my body. I cocked my gun and slowly searched the woods, waiting for the proper moment to save myself.
Save myself from the humiliation when Jason realized I was chasing after nothing.
“Lucy! You done makin’ an ass out of yourself?”
I sighed when I heard the deer hooves scamper away from me. I would’ve had whatever it was down the scope of my gun had Jason not come barreling in with his booming voice and his brightly colored clothes. For a man who painted his face and wore camouflage pants, it astounded me that he wore a bright orange hunting vest to the hunting ground.
“You just can’t shut that mouth of yours, can you?” I asked. I jumped up to my feet and dusted the leaves from my body while Jason crinkled his nose at the smell of me. I’d sprayed doe urine on myself to up my chances of landing my buck for the season, but neither of us were having any luck stuffing our deep freezers before the winter months hit.
“I’m about to settle for a doe and call it a season,” he said.
“That’s only my last resort. We’ve still got a few more days of hunting season, so I’m still hopeful. But I’m leaving your bullhorn mouth at home next time. Why the hell do you have that ridiculous thing on your body?” I asked.
“So other hunters around here don’t shoot me like I’m a deer,” he said.
“They aren’t gonna mistake you for a deer. They’re gonna mistake you for Bigfoot,” I said.
“Strong words coming from a girl covered in deer pee,” he said.
“Hey, I’m not the one walking around scaring off the deer for miles with that blow horn on your face.”
“I’ll have you know this blow horn is what found you in the middle of the woods hunkered down in some brush waiting for a squirrel or some shit to come by.”
“Hey, squirrel is actually decent meat.”
“Of course, you would know that,” he said.
“I’m gonna make you some squirrel stew sometime. I swear, you’ll even think it’s chicken.”
“Nope. Sorry. I’ll just take your word for it,” he said.
“Suit yourself. More for me.”
“Let me know when you eat it, though.”
“Why?” I asked.
“So I know not to kiss you or anything.”
We chuckled as we found our way out of the woods empty-handed yet again. Hunting season had been brutal, and neither of us had shot anything remotely resembling a deer this season. But, I was still having fun getting down in the dirt and blending in with nature like I used to. I wasn’t the hunter that sat up in the trees and waited for something to cross my path. Oh no, I was the hunter on the ground, looking up at my shot and taking it while the unsuspecting animal was only a few feet out in front of me.
It’d been a while since I’d been hunting. These past few years, I’d just gone to the store and dropped an insane amount of money for the meat to stow away for the winter time. I hated grocery shopping when it snowed around here, so whatever I could pack in my deep freezer before the first cold snap hit, I’d pack it down.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t been hunting since David died.
“You alright?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, just thinking,” I said.
“About David?” he asked.
“I just realized I hadn’t been hunting since he passed, and I forgot how much I’d enjoyed it.”
“Well, I’m sure he would enjoy the fact that you were out having fun.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate me being out with such a handsome man, though,” I said.
“Well, maybe he’ll make an exception. You know, under the circumstances.”
Jason bent down and took my lips within his, and my entire body warmed at the touch. We’d been seeing each other regularly the past couple of weeks now, and things were going well. Despite his reputation, he hadn’t pressured me to go to bed with him or anything, and I felt comfortable physically expressing myself with him in situations like this. Actions like kissing and holding his hand that had once stirred emotions of guilt now fluttered my stomach in ways I hadn’t experienced in years. As I took his hand and we walked out of the woods, I realized something else.
“I guess you’re never gonna take me inside to do anything, are you?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean, first we go to the lake and then we went fishing. You took me on that hot-air balloon ride, and now, here we are hunting. Do I suck that much to sit on a couch with?”
“Hardly. I’m just an outdoor kinda guy. Why? You wantin’ one of those fancy dates where you put on a sexy dress, and I put on a pair of pants that are way too tight for my ass, and we tease each other under the table before ripping each other’s clothes off in the foyer?”
“That a threat or an invitation?” I asked.
“Depends on how you’d react,” he said.
We walked hand in hand back to his truck, and we slung our stuff in the back. I took off the layers of clothes I had that smelled like doe urine, and he took off that gaudy-looking orange vest that I couldn’t stop giggling at. Then, we loaded ourselves into the truck, and Jason cranked it up.
“Thank God, you don’t smell like piss anymore,” he said.
“Why’s that? Don’t like the smell of doe pheromones?”
“Nope. Bigfoot no like smell deer,” he said mockingly.
I threw my head back in laughter while he navigated us out of the woods, and when my laughter had finally calmed down, I settled my hand onto the top of his. With every date, I felt calmer and more relaxed around this man, and every date brought something new that I learned about him. On the lake trip, I’d learned about our shared kindred connection of life experiences, but on the fishing trip, I learned he was a damn good swimmer. I’d fallen out of the boat trying to wrangle a fish in, slipped on the bottom of the boat, and toppled head first into the water. My leg had gotten hooked around stuff on the bottom of the lake, and when I didn’t surface, I discovered exactly how powerful his body was.
He dove down and ripped the weeds and shit up from the bottom of the lake before he brought me up with him, and then, he dragged my heaving body back into the boat after swimming dozens of feet back to it.
Then, I learned on the hot-air balloon ride how awkwardly afraid of heights he was. I laughed at him when I realized why he was white-knuckling the side of the basket we were in, but I also learned on that trip how much having me there was calming to him. He wrapped his arms around my body, and I pressed my back deep into his chest, and suddenly, his breathing evened out, and his heart rate settled to a normal pace while we gazed out over the expanse of Washington.
It was comfortable, being around him, and I was really beginning to enjoy it.
“So, I was wondering,” Jason asked, “what are your plans for dinner?”
“Well, had I nailed a deer, that would’ve been it. But, since you botched my plans with that mouth of yours, I currently have none.”
“Ah, my plan worked,” he said.
“What plan?”
“I was totally botching your hunting plans so I could ask you to come have dinner with me and Jenna tonight,” he said.
“I suppose I could do that. You know, since I don’t have a deer and all,” I said.
“That’s fine, I’ll just let Jenna know she plays second fiddle to a dead animal,” he said with a smirk.
“You better not. You know damn good and well I would’ve canceled any plans I had to have dinner with you two.”
“Really?” he asked.
“Really,” I said.
“Then, dinner at our place it is. Not gonna lie. I’ll probably fry up some steaks and then boil a pot of mac ‘n’ cheese.
It’s all Jenna’s eating right now.”
“Steaks and macaroni and cheese sounds phenomenal. I don’t know why you’re snubbing your nose at it. Jenna and I have refined palettes like that,” I said.
“Well, she’ll be excited to know you’re coming for dinner,” he said.
“Good, because I’ll be excited to eat with her.”
“Just her?” he asked.
“Yep,” I said.
And the sound of his laughter cascaded along my body like smooth, melted caramel.
Chapter Eighteen
Jason
When we walked into my house, I could see Lucy was shocked to find Megan there. I walked in behind her, and Jenna took off running for me. Megan got up from the ground with a wide smile on her face while Lucy kept her eyes trained on her.
“How was the hunting?” Megan asked.
“Not very fruitful, but we can always try again,” I said.
“Well, Jenna and I here had a wonderful time. We colored and rearranged her room. She wanted her bed right smack dab in the middle, so that’s what we did.”
“Ah, so you wanted your room changed again,” I said to Jenna.
“Yep! Wanna go see, Miss Lucy?”
“You bet I do, kiddo. Come on, let’s go see your new room.”
She was definitely shocked that Megan was there. And I couldn't blame her. After all the times I had talked to Lucy about her coming around and creeping me out, she probably figured I wouldn’t want someone like that around Jenna. But, she was the one that suggested Megan was good with kids, and it looked like they had a nice enough time.
Plus, she seemed a bit jealous, coming into my home with another woman in it, and there was a part of me that swelled a bit with pride. It meant she cared who I spent my time with and what role they played in my life, which meant she was actively thinking about the role she played in mine.
And something about that was exciting to me.
I wrapped up my conversation with Megan before I paid her. For the most part, she had ceased her flirtatious advances for a couple of weeks now, so I figured she saw how close Lucy and I were getting and had decided to back off. It made me feel more comfortable with her coming around, especially when I wasn’t having to shrug off her touches on my arm. But now, I needed to go see what she and Jenna had done to this room.
“I’ll be right back,” I said.
I went and stood at the door, watching Lucy sit on the edge of Jenna’s bed. My daughter was talking her through everything in her room and showing her where it used to be. Jenna was taken with Lucy, and the way she looked with pride and happiness upon my daughter warmed a part of my chest that had been dead for a very long time.
But then, a question that flew from Lucy’s mouth confirmed the jealous feelings I thought she was having.
“How did you like Miss Megan?” she asked.
“She was lots of fun. Not as fun as you, but I made it work.”
“Oh, you did, did you?” I asked.
She turned around and saw me smiling at the door, and a blush of embarrassment crept down her neck. She rubbed at it, probably hoping I didn’t see it, but the appearance of it brought a smirk to my cheeks. Lucy was jealous of Megan being in the house when she got home, and jealousy looked adorable on her.
“I wasn’t prying or anything,” she said. “I was just wondering if she had fun, is all.”
“My regular babysitter got sick at the last minute, and I needed a sitter unless I wanted to cancel. And I really didn’t wanna cancel. Plus, she offered to do it for less money, so that’s nice.” I said.
“Oh, no. It’s fine. Really. Just curious,” she said.
“Uh huh. So that red blush on the nape of your neck is just you being happy?” I asked.
“Shut up,” she said.
“Ooooo! Miss Lucy said a bad word, Daddy!”
“Yes, she did, princess. And do you know what happens when people say bad words?” I asked.
“They get tickles!” we both exclaimed. I threw Jenna onto her before I climbed up onto the bed. Jenna was already tickling her stomach, and I slid my fingertips underneath her arms. She laughed and laughed until her face turned red, and when she couldn’t catch her breath or fight back, we laid off. I watched her pant, her chest rising and falling with desperation while a sheen of sweat shone over her face, and my pelvis began to churn at the sight. This was not the time or the place to be thinking these thoughts, so I turned my sights onto dinner and climbed off the bed.
“Dinner’ll be ready in thirty minutes. That enough time for you to recuperate from your punishment?” I asked.
All she did was give me a thumbs up.
I was honestly a bit leery of letting Megan babysit. I mean, I was only taking Lucy’s word for it, and while I trusted her and her opinions of people, I couldn’t get out of my mind how Megan had first approached me. Her tits had been shoved out, her smile gleaming white, and she had intentionally placed a pie in my crotch just to feel my dick.
But, it seemed like she and Jenna had hit it off, and I didn’t get any desperate phone calls, so I figured it couldn't have been too bad. And it helped to know I had an emergency babysitter just up the road who took less cash for the same job. That might come in handy one of these days.
I was putting the finishing touches on dinner and chatting with Megan when I heard Lucy and Jenna enter the kitchen. Lucy was still panting a bit, and I looked over at her flushed face. She stuck her tongue out at me, and I gave her a playful wink. If she was still breathing like that after dinner, I’d try to make sure she was settled and alright.
“Megan is awesome at playing games,” Jenna said.
“Oh, really? What games did you guys play?”
“We played hide and seek and tag, and she taught me a new game called pick ‘em up.”
“What’s pick ‘em up?” Lucy asked.
“It’s where you take a deck of cards and scatter them across a room, and then the first one to find two aces doesn’t have to pick up the rest of them,” Megan said.
“Sounds like a fun game,” I said.
“You staying for dinner, Megan?” Lucy asked.
“Nope. Just hanging out until I’m kicked out,” she said.
“Can Megan come babysit again soon?” Jenna asked. A big smile crawled across Megan’s cheeks before she opened her arms for Jenna. She got off the chair and ran for the redhead in the corner, but instead of watching them, I kept my eyes on Lucy.
“What?” she mouthed to me.
“Anytime you need a babysitter, your daddy can call,” she said.
“That’s nice of you, Megan,” I said.
“No, really. Anytime. Your daughter is phenomenal, and I’ll never charge you as much as some sitters around here do. Sometimes, you just need someone to give you a break, and I'm good at those. Plus, I love kids. They’re always much more fun than adults and their stuffy activities anyway.”
“Yeah, like mowing the lawn and painting,” Jenna said.
“Yuck,” Megan said.
I chuckled at the two of them interacting, but I couldn’t help but notice the twinge of jealousy behind Lucy’s eyes. I knew she was being protective of us, given how Megan first approached us, but I wanted to try and talk with her about it later. If we were going to grow something good and healthy between the two of us, we needed to talk about things like this. I’m sure there would come a time where some dude who was chattin’ her up would make me jealous, and I’d hope she’d want me to talk with her about it.
But I shoved that conversation into the back of my mind for now.
“We’ll talk soon,” I said.
“Bye, Jenna,” Megan said.
“Bye, Miss Megan!”
“Alright, Jenna, go wash up for dinner,” I said.
The door shut behind her. Lucy eyed Megan from the window, and once the woman hit the sidewalk and started for her house, Lucy began talking.
“Well, for all her beginning desperation and her kookiness, she re
ally is good with kids,” she said.
“Yeah, Jenna seemed to have a good time with her,” I said.
“That’s good, so long as she knows her place.”
“What was that?” I asked. I’d heard exactly what she’d said, but would she repeat it while looking at me?
“Nothing. I’m just glad Jenna had fun,” she said. “I’m gonna go check on Jenna while you finish up dinner.”
“Sounds good to me.”
I started setting the table with the finished food and drinks, and I heard commotion going on in the bathroom. I stilled my movements and listened in on Lucy and Jenna, and the moment I heard splashing, I knew exactly what was going on. Lucy’s giggles kicked up, and Jenna squealed with delight, and for the first time in my life, I caught a glimpse of what it would be like to have the family I’d never been able to provide for Jenna. The splashing of water continued, and I peeked my head around the corner only to see Lucy holding Jenna in her arms and spinning her around in the hallway.
The look of sheer happiness on my daughter’s face would forever be seared into my memory. In that moment, with Lucy twirling her around and Jenna hugging tightly onto her neck, I saw what I had taken from Jenna by keeping myself so closed off from the women around me. She had bonded with Megan, and now, she was clinging closer to Lucy than I’d ever seen. They stilled their movements in the hallway while Jenna wrapped her legs around this beautiful woman I’d come to wholly respect, and then a small song drifted down the hallway and hit my ears just as the stove timer went off.
“You are my Jenna. My only Jenna. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, Jenna, how much I love you. Please don’t take my Jenna away.”
Lucy was singing to my daughter, and I had to swallow back the tears as my heart began to break into two.
Closing myself off had hurt my daughter more than I’d ever imagined.
And I was determined not to close myself off with Lucy.
Chapter Nineteen
Lucy
We curled up on the couch after putting Jenna to bed, and his arm snaked around my back. His strong body was pulling me close, inching me toward him while the movie droned on in the background. The moment his fingers hit the dip in my waist, I was no longer paying attention to the television but, instead, focusing completely on his touch. His fingertips swirled around on my clothed skin, forcing a light sigh to escape from my lips. It felt familiar to be in his arms, even after seeing Megan in his house after our date, and I wasn’t quite ready to go home.