Cross My Heart

by Jaime Russell

  “Katy don’t go. Just enjoy a family dinner. Whether you want to admit it or not, you’re family.” She kisses Emma on the top of the head and leaves anyway. Emma doesn’t seem to be affected by it. She’s eating, so she’s good. We finish our meal, and then head to the paint store. We want to get her room ready for her immediately.

  “Daddy, can I ask you a question?” She’s holding my hand, as we walk through the store, and I tell her yes. “Is Charlie my new mom, since my mom is leaving?” I get down to her level.

  “No one will take the place of your mom. She’s just going to Paris for a few months to school. Think of it like summer camp, but it’s summer school, where you have to stay there the whole time. You’ll Skype, so you can talk to her.”

  “I live with you now, right?”

  “Yes, you do,” I tell her. She’s smart for being a seven-year-old.

  “Does that mean Mommy doesn’t love me anymore?” I can see the tears in her eyes, starting to form.

  “Your mommy loves you more than anything. I just want to spend time with you, because I missed so much with you, as a baby.” She hugs my neck.

  “I love you, Daddy.” She squeezes tighter. This is a little harder on her than what we thought.

  “I was thinking we could make one section of the room…” Charlie comes up to us and stops. “Oh, sorry. I’ll leave you guys.”

  “It’s okay. We’re good. What were you saying?” I ask Charlie.

  “I was going to ask Emma if she wanted to make a section of her room a chalkboard. They have paint for that.”

  “Can I have that in my room? In that corner, where my stuffed animals are?”

  “That is a great idea. Let’s go find a couple more colors.” Charlie and her walk hand in hand.

  Tucker and Wes come up behind me. “We need some supplies for the cabins,” Wes tells me. “When are you going to marry her?” He puts his hand on my shoulder.

  “I fucked up, but she’s been amazing through this all. What do I do?” I ask.

  “I don’t know women really well, because I’m not fluent in them, but romance is the key. Get back to basics with her. You two had a whirlwind romance.”

  “That’s it! You’re a genius,” I tell him. Then, we start walking around to the supplies we need for the ranch, while Emma and Charlie shop. We’re there for about an hour.

  “I’m exhausted. Am I missing anything to paint a room?” Charlie asks me, and I look at her stuff on the counter.

  “Yes, you are missing something.” We’re face to face, and I pull her close to me by wrapping my arm around her waist. “My lips on yours.” Then, I kiss her, like I’ve been dying to for days. We break apart, when Emma goes gross. After we load up everything into the truck, we head home.

  “Am I going to be able to have a room at Charlie’s house?” Emma asks.

  “I’m sure I can find a bed that will fit in my room, so we can have slumber parties,” Charlies tells Emma, who can’t stop smiling. My phone vibrates in my pocket.

  Quinn: I got the list of everything we need to do. I called Mark, and I’m here for at least two weeks to help.

  Me: Katy was trying to overwhelm me at lunch today, and when I wouldn’t play into it, she got mad.

  Quinn: She’s something.

  Me: She got pissed off because Charlie and Mrs. S were planning on spending time together.

  Quinn: Mrs. S was always good to us. See you later.

  I pocket my phone, and I see that Charlie and Emma have fallen asleep on the trip home. They look so cute together. My heart is in love with her, and I want her in my bed for the rest of my life. “Emma, Charlie. We’re home,” I tell them.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep. I haven’t been sleeping well.” Charlie yawns.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I ask her, as we unload the truck.

  “I do need to talk to you about my lack of sleep,” Charlie tells me, and I figure it’s about me.

  We unload everything, and I put Emma’s stuff in the office for now, and then I help my brothers with the work inventory that we bought.

  We head into the main house to change out of our dress clothes to old clothes to get the work done.

  “Alright, Emma. Go change into some work clothes,” I tell her, as she sits on the chair in family room.

  “Why?” she asks me.

  “It’s time for chores on the ranch. We’re way behind, so get going,” I tell her, and she runs up the stairs. “What are you up to today?” I turn to Charlie.

  “I’m thinking about working in the garden, or do you need me on the ranch? I don’t mind painting or mucking out the stalls.”

  “I could use help in the stalls, while I work on the fencing,” I tell her.

  “Okay. I’m going to go upstairs to change.” Charlie heads upstairs. I need to change to, but do I go up with her? I take my chances and go. I knock on my bedroom door, asking if I can come in, and she tells me yes.

  “I need to change, too.” Charlie stands there with her dress off. All she has on is her black bra and matching underwear, and I swallow hard, leaning up against the door.

  “Wow. You’re fucking sexy. I really want you.” I tell her, as she walks towards me.

  “How bad?” Her voice is husky. Before she can even get another word out, I grab her and push her body up against the door. She’s furiously unbuttoning my shirt and throwing it on the floor next to us.

  “I have a permanent hard on for you. I want you every minute of the day.” Charlie’s working on my belt to get my pants off. She drops my pants, and then she drops to her knees. She’s pumping my cock, as she licks my head. She puts my cock into her mouth and suction cups it. I moan out loud and don’t even care that the whole house might hear that I’m getting some.

  She releases my cock and continues to lick all around it, before taking her hands and wrapping them around it to pump it. She sucks on the tip, while pumping, and I can’t last anymore, and I don’t even have time to warn her. I start to come into her mouth, and she drinks every last drop of me. She looks up at me with those beautiful eyes and with my cock in her mouth. She winks at me, releases my cock and stands up.

  I try to let my kiss tell her that she’s my everything. I don’t even care that I can taste myself, when I slide my tongue into her mouth. I step out of my pants, that are around my ankles, and I lift her up by her ass, as she wraps her legs around my waist. We’re both kissing, as I walk her over to the bed, and then lay her down.

  “One of us has too many clothes on,” I tell her, as I kiss her jaw and neck, and then nibble on her ear. “What do you think we should do about that?”

  “I think that you need to take them off of me.” Charlie smiles at me. I start to slide her bra straps down her arms, taking my time to worship her body. I’ve missed having this connection and the intimacy with her.

  I unhook her bra, throwing it across the room, as I slide down her body, kissing her stomach, and then stopping at the top of her underwear. I lick my lips, as I take off those panties, tossing them somewhere across the room.

  “I’m naked and your hard again. So, if your dick isn’t in me by the time I count to five, I’m getting dressed, going to my house, and then using my toy,” Charlie sasses me.

  I do as I’m told and slide into her hard, which makes her squeal. I wait a minute for her to get used to her. She looks beautiful with her blonde hair laid out on our pillows. I move in and out our her quickly, as I lean down to her nipple into my mouth, sucking on it and nibbling. I’m moving in and out of her with Charlie’s hips moving up and down, so I can get a deeper feel in her pussy. She’s a screamer, but she’s trying not to scream, so she bites down on her lip. I feel her pussy start to squeeze my cock, as she arches her back and grabs fist full of the sheet. I lean down to kiss her, as she starts to come down from her orgasm, and she ends up biting my lip.

  “I love you,” she tells me, as I collapse next to her. She cuddles into me. “I needed this.”


  Charlie

  “What do you mean that you needed this?” Rhett sounds confused.

  “Rhett, we’ve been so disconnected that I needed to feel the closeness, the intimacy, the love, and well, just about everything. I love you so much, and I’ve missed you.” I start to cry on his shoulder, as he pulls me closer.

  “Charlie, I fucked up, and I’ll spend the rest of my life, proving how sorry I am,” Rhett whispers.

  “Don’t. You don’t need to do that. I know you love me, and you’re sorry. We need to move on from this damn thing. No more saying you’re sorry. If you do, I’m punching you.” I laugh. “You do realize that we have a ton of work to do today, right?”

  “I know. I want to stay in bed with you, though,” Rhett whines.

  “Can we have a slumber party tonight?” I ask him with a smile on my face, as I run my nail down his abs.

  “Yes, every night is a slumber party.” He kisses my temple. We shower quickly, knowing that we have responsibilities. After we are done, I enter the kitchen area first with my hair wet, and Tucker stands there wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Shut up,” I tell him. “Where’s Emma?”

  “In the mess hall with Karen. She’s waiting on you to go into the garden to work.”

  “Okay, I’ll head there now. I need to get some work done with Karen, anyway.” I walk into the mess hall, and Eric is busy cleaning, but he waves to me. I knock on the open door with Karen.

  “Good afternoon.” Emma’s coloring on the table and doesn’t see me.

  “I heard the good news. I bet Rhett is completely overwhelmed,” Karen remarks, as she’s pulling out some papers from a folder.

  “He is, but he has Quinn and Tara helping him through the process. Mrs. Stillman was pretty nice to me, too. She’s going to teach me canning and making jam, while I teach her the pancake recipe that Emma loves so much. Katy didn’t like that too much, when I told her at lunch, because Emma brought it up,” I tell Karen. It was odd to find out that she’s related to them and works here. She seems happy and excited that Emma will be here full time.

  “Katy is a lot like her dad. Control, control, control, and her temper, and plus, she’s whiny. She’s always snapped her fingers and got what she wanted. You better be careful that she doesn’t come back in ten weeks with a baby. She’s good at manipulation,” Karen tells me.

  “I thought about that a lot. In fact, it’s all I think about,” I tell her.

  “Are you and Rhett, okay?” I hear the concern in her voice.

  “Yes, we are better than okay. I love him more than anything, and I’m not going away.” I smile. “I wanted to go over the stuff for the kids’ program.”

  “Charlie!” Emma spots me. “Karen told me that is your office, so I’m making you pictures for it.”

  “I love that idea. I was told that someone wanted to work in the garden today,” I say to her, as she comes and sits on my lap.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the summer program,” Karen tells me, as she looks at Emma on my lap.

  “We will work in the garden later on tonight, but we need to help Daddy in the stables first.”

  “But it’s stinky in there.” Emma makes a face.

  “I know, but if you ever get a horse of your own, then you’re going to need to know how to take care of it, because we’re not going to. So, are you ready to go?” Emma reluctantly nods. “That’s my girl.” I laugh.

  Emma and I walk to the stables to find Wes, Tucker, and Rhett talking. “Your new hired workers are here to help,” Emma says with a smile on her face.

  “Well, aren’t you two the prettiest helpers I’ve ever seen. I think I want both of you helping me,” Tucker says, as he grabs my hand in front of Rhett.

  “Why Tucker? Where are we going to be working?” I flirt a little because I love seeing Rhett get all upset.

  “I have a special spot underneath that tree, where no one can see us. I have special plans for you.” We laugh because we can’t do it. We’re too much like brother and sister.

  “That sounded too creepy,” I say, and Tucker agrees. I hug Rhett and kiss him. “Emma and I are mucking the stables, right?” He nods.

  “Emma, do you know how do this?” She shakes her head no. “Come on, I’ll show you.” I love watching Rhett with Emma. I hope to be able to give him kids, so he can teach them things like this as well. I start working on the stalls, while the horses are in the pen, running around, getting their exercise.

  My phone starts to ring in my back pocket, and I see Quinn flashing at me. “Hello.”

  “Hey, I’m looking for Rhett. Do you know where he is? He’s not answering his phone.”

  “The last time I saw him he was out by the cows, fixing the fence, but hang on, I’ve got the radio.” I pull out the radio I got on my first day here to keep in contact with everyone. “Rhett, can you hear me?” I repeat myself. “Tucker? Wes? Are you in listening distance?”

  “Yes, this is Wes.”

  “Quinn’s looking for Rhett. Do you know where he is?” I ask.

  “Yeah, he just pulled up. He was on the four-wheeler. Hey, it’s your girl.” Wes hands him the walkie talkie.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, I got Quinn on my cell phone. She’s needing to get a hold of you.”

  “Shit, my phone doesn’t get service down at that part of the land. Tell her that I’m calling her now.” I relay the message to Quinn and hang up.

  “Charlie, can I have some lemonade now? I’m tired.” We’ve mucked all of the stables, and I didn’t even realize it.

  “Yes. Let's go back to the house, but first, we need to put these away.” We walk back to the main house, and we take off our boots outside. Emma enters first, and she squeals Mommy. I enter to see Katy and her dad standing there. “Hello. Does Rhett know you’re here?”

  “No. We just got here,” Katy says.

  “So, you come into our home without permission. Isn’t that breaking and entering?” I fire back.

  “You live here with my daughter? I don’t think I want a stranger, who isn’t related to my daughter, living here.” Katy seems agitated now.

  “No, I don’t. I live on the property, so I call the ranch home. Let me radio Rhett.” I get on the walkie talkie to let him know that Katy and Mr. Stillman are here.

  “Emma why are you wearing these rags?” Mr. Stillman asks.

  “I was mucking out the stables with Charlie, and next, we’re going to pull vegetables from the garden.” She smiles a bright smile, which is contagious for everyone, but Mr. Stillman. “Are you going to stay for supper? Charlie said that the veggies from the garden can go into a salad. She’s going to make sketti.”

  “It’s spaghetti. Living with these damn hicks for a day, and you already sound like them,” Mr. Stillman states under his breath, but Katy and I both heard it. Quinn comes in from the front, and Rhett comes in from the back. They both say hi, as Rhett kisses me on the cheek.

  “This is a surprise. I didn’t expect you here,” Rhett comments, after he washes his hands. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m dropping off some papers and clothes. I wanted to go over some things with you. I’m glad that Quinn is here. Daddy wanted to be here, so you don’t snowball me.”

  “Why don’t I take Emma out to the garden, while you guys talk?” I ask. “Since this is grownup stuff.”

  “I wanted to spend time with my daughter. You are not her mother,” Katy snaps at me.

  “I know that I’m not her mother, and I’ve never claimed to be, but I thought it would be better for Emma not to be around the yelling. When you’re done talking with Rhett, come out to the garden,” I tell her.

  “She stays,” Katy tells me, and I raise my hands in defeat. Emma looks sad, so I wink at her. I head into the office, because I’m sure that I’m not wanted or allowed at the meeting, and Tucker comes into the office to sit with me.

  “What a bitch, huh?” he says, handing me a scotch drink.

  “Yeah
, her and her dad are real pieces of work. Emma shouldn’t be around her parents arguing like that. I just wanted them to protect her.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll show her what it’s like not to argue and fight.” He reassures me. I take a sip of the scotch, as I nod.

  “I think I’m going to head to my house for the night. I just think this is all too much for today.” I get up from my chair and kiss Tucker on the cheek. “Let Rhett know I left. If it’s not too late, I can come back and cook for you guys. Eric’s still here, though.” I decide to go out the front door, instead of the back, because I don’t want to interrupt their meeting. So, I grab my four-wheeler and head to my house.

  The girls told me they were going away for the week. They wanted some pampering, but because I had so much work to do, I had to stay here. I walk into the house and smell cleaner. Macy has been cleaning. I wonder if she did my room. My bags from the time I was away are in my room, and it smells like sage and disinfectant, as I smile. They took care of me. All of my stuff is here and not at the main house, like it was supposed to be. The bags are on my bed, but I strip out of my clothes and head to the shower, so I can wash the day off of me.

  When I’m done, I dry off with a towel, before walking into my room to put on my yellow, sweat capris and black, tank top. I doubt that I’m going to do the garden tonight. I’m going to sit on the porch and read some, after I make some dinner for myself. I walk into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around my hair, opening the cupboards and fridge to see what’s here.

  “They didn’t go grocery shopping. Great.” I throw my towel in the hamper in my bathroom, and then fix my hair. I know what has to be done, but I hate grocery shopping by myself.

  I get into my Range Rover and start to drive towards the main house, when I see Rhett and Quinn standing outside, and he flags me down. “Where are you going?”

  “The girls left me with no food, and I’m hungry, so I’m going to the store. Why are you outside?”

  “Mr. Stillman’s being an asshole, so we had to call his wife and his attorney. They’re having a meeting,” Quinn tells me.

  “What does he want? The judge already ruled on everything. He can’t change things.”