by Rachel Burns
Slowly, she went down the stairs. Her father was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
Marshall saw Ashton and raised an eyebrow. It was clear what she planned to do. He knew he should stop her, but he too was curious to hear if Derrick would know the difference.
Ashton walked over to the door and gave herself a shake. She let her shoulder slump forward a little, and she frowned. Then she opened the door and slipped in.
“Elise.” Derrick went to his wife. Her head was hung, and she refused to look him in the eye.
To his great shame, Marshall found himself standing directly outside of the door, eavesdropping.
Derrick laid his hands on Elise’s shoulders, trying to get a better look at her. He bent down to get a look in her eyes.
For a split second their eyes met. “Ashton, why are you wearing my wife’s necklace?”
“I’m Elise. You really need to learn to tell us apart.” Ashton felt her eyes fill with tears. “Why are you here again?” Ashton was stepping into the role perfectly.
“I’m sorry, Ashton. I don’t have time for this.”
“I can’t believe it. You don’t recognize your own wife.”
“Of course, I do. Elise has white sparkly lines in her eyes. Yours are dull, and they don’t sparkle when you look at me.”
Marshall covered his mouth, so he wouldn’t laugh. Ashton wouldn’t take his answer well.
“It doesn’t matter who I am. You can leave, no matter who comes down to tell you to go.”
“Now you’re starting to sound more like Elise. She isn’t the doormat you think she is. Elise is something special. She’s the best person I know. I’m going to go up to her room and see her.”
“She’s sleeping. It took hours to get her to settle down, so she could. She told me everything. How you made her feel guilty and think she was costing us too much money. She told me how you treated her when you married her, making her sleep on the couch, and that you didn’t want her to eat at the table with you. And then you forgot her and Patrick when they visited the office. I didn’t tell her you were with me during that time. I would never hurt her that way. And she told me what you did last night.”
Elise had woken when she felt the necklace being removed from her neck. She was tired, but she saw Ashton going out of the room in her clothes. She got up and followed her.
Then she saw her father eavesdropping at the study door. She stood beside him, joining in. When she heard with whom Ashton was talking, she was confused. She heard her husband saying he knew what she looked like in the meantime.
Elise opened the door and looked in. They were standing right by the door, fighting. “Why did you come back?” Elise asked Derrick.
“I came back for you,” Derrick confessed.
“No, Derrick. I already told you I don’t want to live like that anymore. I need to be selfish and think about me.” Tears ran down the sides of her face. “I’m sure you think I do that too often, but it doesn’t feel that way to me.”
Ashton laid her arm around her little sister. “She’s right. You need to leave now, Derrick. Elise has new priorities.”
Elise saw her necklace around Ashton’s neck. Had he bought it for Ashton and given it to her by default? “Could I have my necklace back?”
“Umm, sure, honey. I was trying to trick him. He noticed the difference, but that’s to be expected after a couple of months of marriage.” Ashton unhooked the necklace.
Elise looked at Derrick. “You noticed?” she asked in disbelief, wanting to look in his eyes.
“Of course, I did. I don’t love her. I never did. I was attracted to her, but the moments when I had tender feelings for her were all you. You were the one who would smile at me and touch my arm slightly when you saw me. I can’t begin to tell you how important that made me feel. When I scolded you, you looked so guilty, and I wanted to kiss you. That was never her.” Derrick was turned, so he was facing Elise. He made a motion with his head when he referred to Ashton, but he didn’t glance her way. Elise had his complete attention.
“But the moment when I truly fell in love with you was when we were at the diner. We talked to each other for hours. You knew that was the pivotal moment. That’s why you gave me the gift certificates, so we could go back there and recapture what we had there, and it worked. Since then, I’ve never been happier in all of my life. I thought you were happy too.” Derrick paused, hoping she would answer in kind.
Marshall grabbed hold of Ashton’s arm and pulled her out of the room, so Derrick and Elise could be alone.
Once they were gone, Elise looked at Derrick. She frowned and sniffled. “I just wanted you to be happy with me.” That had been her greatest wish.
“I am, Elise. I honestly am.” He cupped her face in his hands and pulled her in for a kiss. How did he get so lucky to find a woman who only wanted him to be happy? He swore he would do what he could to make sure she never regretted marrying him again.
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. That was something he had never done before, at least not while they were dressed. “I’m going to be a better husband. I want you to go to a photographer and get a picture taken of you and Patty for my desk at work. I also need wallet-sized ones. We can’t forget those. I need your cell, so we can exchange numbers, and I already called my family and told them all about you.”
He felt her stiffen in his arms. “They can’t wait to meet you. They’ll love you. You don’t have to worry.”
“How can they like me after what I did to you? You were right not to tell them about me.”
Derrick’s heart was breaking as he looked into his wife’s eyes. “What did you do to me?”
Elise looked into his eyes. “I tricked you.”
“Why did you do it?”
Elise blushed so much that even her neck and chest turned red. That happened when they made love too. “I’m sorry,” she told him, hoping he wouldn’t make her say that she’d tricked him because she wanted to be with him.
“You don’t have to be. You wanted to be with me because you loved me. I know that. That’s the greatest compliment anyone will ever give me. I wanted to sleep with you because I fell in love with you that night. And because you’re incredibly hot.”
Elise’s jaw dropped. He was teasing her. He had never done that before. She had to smile, but then she had to cry.
Derrick pulled her in for another hug. “Go ahead and cry, honey. I know I’m a jerk.”
“No, you aren’t.” Elise pressed herself into his body.
They held onto each other for a long time, needing the closeness of the other.
“Why did you call out Ashton’s name last night?” Elise asked.
“I honestly don’t remember doing that. I do remember asking myself what I ever saw in her. I honestly only want to go to bed with you.”
“Not tonight, dear. I have a terrible headache.” Elise touched her forehead with her fingertips. She was serious and teasing him at the same time.
“I’ll get you an aspirin and bring you back to bed. You can sleep here tonight.” Derrick kissed her forehead and walked her up the stairs.
Ashton and Marshall had been sitting in the living room across the hall waiting to see what would happen. They both jumped to their feet when Elise and Derrick came out with their arms wrapped around each other.
“Are you staying?” Ashton asked.
“Elise has a headache. I’m bringing her back to bed.”
Marshall wanted to make sure that everything was all right. “Is there anything we can do for you Elise?”
“Could I have a glass of water?”
“I’ll get it.” Ashton hurried off to the kitchen.
Once she was gone, Marshall looked back at Elise. “Have you two patched everything up again?”
“Yes, Daddy. It was all a misunderstanding. I’m sorry I caused so much trouble.”
“Don’t be. Now you know where things stand.” Derrick kissed her cheek.
Elise smiled bac
k at him.
“But now you need to get into bed,” Derrick told her strictly.
“Yes, sir,” she sassed back at him, making him grin.
Chapter 36 – Like Brother And Sister
Derrick had a little trouble sleeping in a strange bed.
He thought he heard something in Patrick’s room. Derrick feared someone would try to kidnap Patrick and hold him for ransom, so he went to check on him.
“I see I was right to worry. I heard something and thought someone was trying to kidnap my son.”
Ashton laid Patrick down and covered him up. “I wanted to hold him a little.”
“I understand. When are you and helicopter guy going to get more serious?”
“We broke up. He has someone else,” Ashton admitted.
“I’m sorry to hear that. You deserve a better man.” Derrick checked on Patrick and caressed his hand over his head.
“Do you mean you?”
“No, not me. I’m happily married. I couldn’t find a better woman than Elise.” Was this supposed to be another trap, he wondered?
“I don’t think I’m going to find anyone else. I’m already too old.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-six.”
“That old already? I had no idea. If I were you, I’d watch out for lightning, because the chance of getting hit by a bolt is much higher than you finding a man.” Derrick couldn’t believe how relaxed he was. He was even teasing Ashton like she was his own sister and not just his sister-in-law.
“Very funny.”
“I know someone. He’s your age, and he hasn’t found anyone yet. I could give him a call.”
“Is he like you?” Ashton asked unsure. She probably wouldn’t like whomever Derrick set her up with. He wouldn’t be up to her usual standard.
“We’re cousins.”
“Does he think it’s okay to hit women?”
Derrick’s jaw tightened. “Neither of us would hit a woman. What did Elise say to you?”
“She said you punished her when you felt she was naughty by giving her a spanking.” Ashton was starting to understand what Elise meant when she said that it felt very interesting.
Maybe she should date a dominant man and see what it was like. Always being the boss and taking control was very tasking.
“Is that all she said?”
“She said she liked it a little.”
Derrick couldn’t suppress his grin. “She did?”
“Do you know what you are?”
“Tell me.” Derrick was grinning because no matter what she said it wouldn’t matter. Elise’s opinion was the most important one.
“You’re a macho.”
“I’m a married macho. I’ll set you up with my cousin when he comes to town.” Derrick walked out of the room, wanting to return to his wife.
“Don’t you dare,” Ashton called after him. She was smiling and thinking that this must be what it felt like to have a brother. Maybe it would be nice having him in the family.
Chapter 37 – Courting
In the months that followed, Derrick spent lots of time letting his wife know how much he loved her. He sent Elise flowers and love letters.
They visited a few colleges and picked one out that best worked into their schedules.
Derrick bought a highchair for Patrick and tried to feed him smashed up apples and carrots while Elise was away, but Patrick wanted to drink milk from Elise.
“You’re right. This doesn’t compare to mommy’s breasts. I wouldn’t mind cuddling up with them right now too. You’re a smart boy Patty-cake.”
Patrick smiled and clapped his hands. He was already six months old.
Derrick clapped along. “I didn’t know you could do that. You’re already so big.”
Patrick raised his arms up in the air and smiled at his father.
“Daddy is missing so much. Do you want daddy to take a few days of vacation, so we can spend time together and play with your cars and maybe look at a couple of houses?”
Patrick started making car noises.
Derrick looked at his watch. He was eager for Elise to come home. He’d found several houses on the net that he wanted to show her when she got home. They planned to move into a house this summer.
Because the times had overlapped, a babysitter had been watching Patrick when Derrick came home. He hadn’t seen his wife since this morning. He didn’t like going that long without her.
Once again, he looked at his watch. Elise was ten minutes late. He was thinking about putting Patrick in his buggy and meeting her at the bus stop. She had probably missed her bus. The next one would be along soon.
“Should we pick up mommy from the bus stop?” he asked Patrick.
Then he heard the key turning in the lock. “Mommy’s home,” Derrick declared.
Patrick started clapping his hands.
Elise came in without saying a word and sat down at the table with them.
“Elise, are you all right?”
She dropped her book bag to the floor.
“Elise, why aren’t you answering me?” It looked to Derrick like Elise needed to take a trip over his knees.
The last time he’d spanked her, she admitted that it sort of turned her on.
They had made love then. It had been the hottest sex either of them had ever had. Derrick was proud of the fact that he’d gotten her to come for him.
“What do you want for Christmas?” Elise asked Derrick in a daze.
“Elise, did you bump your head.” He reached over to her and started to feel her head, looking for bumps.
“Do you remember when we were at my doctor’s office, and the doctor said that we should use condoms, or I should take the pill?”
Derrick had to grin. “Are you serious?”
Elise nodded.
Derrick through his head back and laughed. “Is Patty going to get a little brother or sister for Christmas?”
“That’s not funny. Can you imagine how the doctor looked at me?”
Derrick immediately got serious. “How did she look at you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe like I’m nineteen and pregnant for the second time.”
“Watch your tone, Elise. Nobody puts my wife down, not even my wife. Besides, you’ll be twenty in a couple of days. Patty-cake and I will go with you when you have your appointments. She won’t dare say anything mean with us men there. Right, Patty-cake?”
Patrick started to clap his hands.
“See,” Derrick told her.
“So you aren’t mad?”
“Why would I be mad? The children will be over a year apart. Things like that happen. It happened to my parents too – twice, in fact.”
“But what about college?” Elise asked.
“You’ll take things nice and slow, but you’ll graduate, even if it takes twenty years.”
“How many children did you want to have?” Elise was worried because he hadn’t even batted an eye.
Derrick shrugged his shoulders, giving her the impression that he didn’t care how many they had.
“How do you feel about birth control?” Elise asked.
“Truthfully?”
Elise nodded a bit worried what he might say.
“I’m not a fan of it. If the time ever comes, and you don’t want any more children, or the doctor says it would be dangerous for you, I’ll go to the doctor’s and take care of everything on my side. I don’t want you taking any odd chemicals.”
“But you would get me pregnant every couple of years?”
The sides of Derrick’s mouth curled up. “Yes, that I would definitely do.” He leaned over to her and kissed her lips, giving her a slow lingering kiss. His hands caressed over her tummy.
Derrick broke their kiss.“I found a couple of houses we can look at. I’ve been dying to show you.”
Elise watched him open up his laptop and click on several pages he’d saved, so he could show her houses. He held his arm out to her, meaning he wanted
her to sit on his lap. She sat on his left knee while they looked at houses. All of which had at least five bedrooms.
“Or we could move in with my dad. He has a lot of bedrooms.” It was clear Derrick planned on having lots of children even before she’d told him she was pregnant again.
“I know, your dad has offered several times already. I think he’s getting lonely. He’s worried that Ashton will meet someone and move out.”
“But she isn’t even dating anyone.”
“Still, he thinks the house is too quiet. How many bedrooms does his house have?”
“Four, no more than four,” Elise called out, teasing him.
Derrick kissed her. “Children are proof that we love each other very much. I want the whole world to see how much I love you.”
Epilogue
Elise leaned her head forward and panted. The pain was too much to bear.
Derrick had been rubbing her back, but he could see that she needed to be held. He took off his shoes and climbed into bed behind her.
Elise leaned back into his arms. His warmth felt good despite of the heat in the room.
“You’re doing great Mrs. Davis. Just a few more pushes.”
Elise was panting again. The next contraction was hitting her hard. Derrick laid his hands on her knees, and she grabbed onto his wrists. She pushed and lifted her upper body up a little.
“That’s fantastic. A little more. Come on, Mrs. Davis,” the nurse called out.
Elise leaned back and tried to catch her breath. She buried her forehead in Derrick’s arm.
Derrick stroked her hair with his hand. “You’re doing great. I’m so sorry I wasn’t with you last time. I should have been.”
“I don’t remember it hurting this much,” she confessed.
“Still, I should have been with you.” He’d been there, waiting on the other side of the door.
She had to push again. Her head fell back and collided with his chest. She screamed out in a roar that gave her strength and pushed the baby out.
They heard a cry.