A Rose for Max (Moosehead Minnesota Book 3)

by ChaShiree M

  Whoa.

  Another life. Me and Max. We are building a family. Families, which I can nurture, take care of, and protect and love. Without indifference, cruelty, and with a lot of love. I know without a shadow of doubt that Max would never abandon, lie to, hurt us, or allow someone else too either. My heart couldn’t get fuller than in this moment. I rub my stomach and promise my baby everything in the world I can give it. And with Max’s family and my new sister and grandpa, my baby will never be without all the love in the world.

  Walking down the sidewalk to meet Max’s mom at the dress shop for my final fitting, I am so lost in my own thoughts I do not register someone is talking to me,until I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning around I come face to face with a bruja. That is the only word to describe the pinch faced, overly tanned, and bleached walking disaster in front of me. A witch.

  “Wow. So now Max is fucking the hired help. He must really be desperate and missing me to stoop this low.”

  Did this puta just call me the hired help. Oh hell no. I square my shoulder and let my purse stoop a little because I am going to need the shoulder room. I look this evil, miserable bitch in her face and smile. I mean why I would give her the satisfaction of thinking she got to me. Which of course she didn’t….though I have to wonder if this is what Max went for….why did he choose me?

  Nope. Stop it Estupida. This man loves you. He asked you to marry him. Not this wet cat. You’re having his baby and you will not let someone, who is obviously jealous ruin your happiness. With that thought, I simply say. “Oh my gosh. You’re Elizabeth. You poor thing. I totally understand why you are so sad now. Your sluttish ways have gotten out and now no one will touch you with a broken broomstick. My poor Maxy. Such slim picking in this town, that he laden himself with you. Aye. Qué lástima. You should do something about the smell.”

  Having said all I wanted to, I made to walk away when she said, “You bitch.” She went to raise her hand, but before she could strike me, which I really wanted her to do so I would have a reason to stomp her ass, someone who was not my, someone, grabbed her wrist.

  “Elizabeth. What in the hell are you doing?” Whoever this man is, he practically yanks her into the whole of his body and gives her the death glare. Staring at the two of them as he growls and manhandles her, reminds me of Max and myself. Interesting.

  “Are you so desperate for attention, you would strike a woman who has done nothing to you in broad daylight?” He asks as he shakes her. When she put her head down, I almost feel bad for her. Almost. But it isn’t until he puts his hand under her chin to make her look at him, that I realize what I am witnessing. He is in love with her and she him, but for some reason she is running from him. And I get it. I did it with Max for a bit, but that was literally because every time I saw him, I wanted to run and throw him on the nearest surface and have my way with him.

  With them, I sense it is something else. He has a darkness about him that is scary and hot if I am being honest. The power you can see he is withholding around her is palpable and I have to swallow multiple times to not gasp and moan myself. I mean seriously, he is eye fucking her and chastising her at the same time. And it is seriously turning me on. Where the hell is Max when you need him? Her voice brings me back to the present.

  “Chip, let me go. You can’t be throwing me around. How many times do I have to tell you? I. Don’t. Belong. To… ”

  “If you finish that fucking sentence Kitten, I am going to tan your ass right here on the street. I know you don’t want to belong to me, because you think I am some dumb 19 year old kid, but we both know this has been a long time in the making since we were six and ten. Now apologize to this nice lady and wish her luck.”

  Well shit. I mean I am in no way attracted to him, but that manly display set me off and I need Max now. Woman to woman, I can look at her and tell she is also turned on, but determined to not let him know it. Much to my surprise though, she does indeed look at me and apologize, through gritted teeth.

  “I’m sorry. And yeah whatever, congratulations.” She yanks herself out of his grasp and hightails it out of there. I am slightly disappointed that I didn’t get to whoop her ass. But then I think about the little bundle I am secretly carrying at this moment and I know it was for the best.

  “I’m sorry about that ma’am.” Chip says to me. “Elizabeth acts like a bitch to cover up the sad existence she has. Everyone thinks because you have money, it makes everything ok. If people knew her real life, they would give her more slack. I have always been a fan of the Crawford Brothers and I am really glad to see Max find someone after what happened. So I want to sincerely wish you both the best. Oh and by the way, my name is Chip.” and with that he walks away.

  Shit. All of a sudden I remember I have an appointment and hotfoot it to the store. Now I just want it over with so I can tell Max the news. I will do anything to make that man happy.

  Finally I am done. The dress fits perfectly, though I am glad now that the wedding is next week. If I had wanted a little more time, it might not have. As I am walking to the car, I look to my right and realize I am walking past a baby store. Hmmmm….that gives me an idea. I go into the baby store and buy two newborn outfits. One for a girl, and one for a boy. Then I walk into the specialty aisle and find two nameplates. One says Selena and the other says Jr. Ever since I was a little girl, I knew my daughter’s name would be Selena. Has a singer I loved and fellow Tejana, there was no thought needed. She is the one who let me see that there is life outside of this state. Finally, I find a pregnant suit for dads and go to the checkout.

  By the time I get home, I have about 15 minutes to get everything in order before he comes home for the day. I put the girl clothes with the nameplate on my side of the bed, the boys stuff on his side and then I throw on the pregnant suit underneath my sweater dress and go downstairs to start dinner.

  I have almost got the salad done and the steak is in the oven when he gets home.

  “Preciosa, donde estas?” I love it when that man speaks Spanish. It is so fucking hot.

  “Aqui mi Amor. ¿Porque no subes a la recamara y te cambias primero y luego bajas a cenar?”

  As he walks up the stairs, I start the countdown in my head. 5… 4… 3… .2… ”Rosa, why are their baby clothes on the….and why the hell do you look seven months pregnant?” He says as he makes his way into the kitchen.

  “Wait….are you trying to….are you saying?” He takes two strides to me and unbuckles the pregnant suit. He is abnormally quiet, which is making me a bit anxious. He falls to his knees, pushes my dress up over my stomach, and kisses it. The emotional flood starts. I am crying before I know what hits me. Rubbing his head as he tells the baby he loves it and promises to be a great dad.

  When he has finished, he stands up and kisses me with so much reverence, I think my heart will melt. “Thank you Rosa. For giving me everything my heart desires and more.”

  I grab this man by his head and tell him the only way I know for certain. “I love you Maxy. Before I met you, I merely existed. You helped me live. I am so excited for this life we are building.”

  He turns the oven off and proceeds to show me all night long, how happy he is and how much he loves me.

  The next two weeks ago by in a blur, but at least Rosy has already moved in with me and is making our house into a home.

  Thank God. This morning is the first morning I’ve woken up without her since we first slept together, and it is disorienting to say the least. However, waking up and knowing that by three o’clock this afternoon Rosy will be my wife, makes it a little better. I still miss her body wrapped around me throughout the night. God I love that woman and our growing little bun.

  I am the happiest I have ever been and it shows. I heard about her little altercation with Elizabeth, and though I know my girl is tough as nails and can hold her own; I still wanted to go and lose my shit on Elizabeth for accosting my woman. It took several orgasms and a promise from her to call me if something like this e
ver happens again, before I was able to shelve my anger.

  I am interested in whatever is happening between her and Chip. That is bound to be crazy because Chip, is a mess. Don’t’ get me wrong, I have known him his whole life and he is a great guy, but he was a bit troubled when he was younger. I am not sure what turned him around, but I still sense some darkness inside of him. If he is after Elizabeth, the two of them together is going to be some sort of explosion. But I guess even crazy deserves love too.

  We haven’t told anyone about Rosy being pregnant yet. She wants to wait until after we are married and do some sort of girly photo thing. I could care less. Whatever she wants is fine by me. Happy wife. Happy life.

  Last night was the bachelor party. My brothers didn’t skimp on the beer or the entertainment. Strippers were out of the question, none of our girls would have allowed that shit, not that we would ever want that. Even Jace was like fuck no. They did hire a magician although I am not sure why, it was fun but really weird. A bunch of grown ass men getting drunk and watching a magician’s performance is not exactly the manliest thing, but afterwards we spent the night playing poker. I took all of their money. Chumps. They should know by now, I always win.

  Shit!!

  The ceremony starts at two and in my hung over state I woke up at noon. Great. Assholes should have woke me up. Some best men they are. I do not have a lot of time to get dressed. Rushing through a shower, I slide into my tux and head out. Rosy was adamant about getting married at the church in town. I had no preference, but anything for her.

  My brothers are waiting outside for me when I get there. Jace hands out cigars and we lite them up. Before I get to take two good puffs, Penny comes over to fuss at us.

  “Are you guys ready to put those out? It’s time for Max to get married.”

  I immediately stomp mine out, straighten my jacket, take a deep breath and prepare to walk toward my future wife.

  “Pixie, you look fucking gorgeous.” Jace, all but growls at her. When he pulls her into arms and tries to kiss her, she jumps back.

  “Jace. Please. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your brothers, but I’ve told you a million damn times since Christmas, leave me the fuck alone.” She turns to me and says, “Max get to the altar. We are starting in five minutes.”

  I start laughing and shaking my head at the antics of these two. It is obvious to anyone who stops to look, that Penny is in love with my brother. Why she is fighting it, I have no idea, but like the Crawford he is, he is not going to stop getting into her space until she relents.

  Walking inside the church I shake hands with Pastor Bill, the oldest Jorgensen brother. They have a full service family wedding business. One of the brothers is a caterer and their only sister is the florist in town. I have known them my whole life and to see how the seven of them turned out, let’s just say I am surprised the town withstood their antics. Me and my brothers got reamed by our parents a time or two for some if the things we got into with them.

  When my brothers join me at the altar, I turn to look at the guests. We didn’t do Bride and Groom sides since Rosy would have just Kennedy and their grandfather. There looks to be about one hundred people here. That isn’t as many as my mom wanted, considering we know the whole town and are one of the foremost families in it. I let her know the more people Rosy didn’t know would overwhelm her. My mom understood and trimmed the list. The music finally cues and Penny, Ava, and Kennedy walk down the aisle. Then the music shifts and Rosy comes into view.

  Her dress is amazing. It appears to be held up by sheer gravity. It’s long and flows, but honestly for me even though she looks beautiful, I don’t care about the dress. All I want is for this woman to finally belong to me on paper like she does in my heart. All the rest of it can be damned. Her new found grandfather walks her down the aisle and when she finally gets to me, I take her hands. The look of relief on her face makes me so fucking happy and then we finish the trek together and Pastor Bill starts the ceremony.

  Our vows are unique. When he asks Rosy to recite her vows, she says in voice full of tears.

  “I join my life with yours. Wherever you go, I will go; whatever you face, I will face. For good or ill, in happiness or sadness, come riches or poverty, I take you as my husband, and will give myself to no other. I will also comfort you when the Vikings lose and get drunk with you when they win.”

  This gets a lot of laughs from the audience. Then it’s my turn. I am a little choked up but I soldier on. “I promise you, my wife, to be your loving, faithful, husband, and your constant companion. You are the one I will love forever and I promise to kiss you every night, hold your hand, and never let us lose our spark.”

  When Pastor Bill pronounces us husband and wife, I kiss her like I never have before. I am trying hard to keep my emotions in check, but I almost fail at it a couple of times. When we walk back down the aisle, Forever by Chris Brown plays and I find myself smiling at her. I catch the joke, but the song is also perfect.

  We stop to do the picture thing, which is my least favorite part of this whole to do. I mean how many poses can one couple do? When the wedding party heads inside, Rosy asks the photographer for one more pose. She is going to use it as our pregnancy announcement. I kneel in front of her and place a kiss on her belly. When she first told me about the idea, I was so impressed with her creativity and told her as much as she laughs at me and says, “You think I have time to come up with that myself? It’s called Pinterest honey.”

  When the DJ we hired announces us as Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell James Crawford, I can do nothing but smile. Damn my name sounds good as her name too. Rosy wanted our first dance as soon as we arrived at the reception. It’s at a huge restaurant in St. Paul that can hold all the guests.

  The song we are dancing to is Forever by Jason Michael Carroll. Rosy made the whole theme ‘Forever’ which is fine by me, because I won’t accept anything less than to have forever with her. I hold her close to me as we sway to the music. I am not the best dancer and I have less than no rhythm, but swaying, I can do. At some point in the evening, I pull her into a supply closet, just so I can be alone with her.

  “Baby, you look so fucking beautiful today. I mean you always do, but these rings, they mean you are mine.” I say caressing the rings on her fingers.

  “I was already yours honey.”

  I am rock hard as I pull her into my arms and kiss her. Sliding her pretty dress up, as much as I can without crushing or messing anything, while she opens my belt then the button on my slacks. I lift her legs and wrap them around my waist and shift her tiny white panties to the side, she then guides my cock into her pussy. I fuck my wife, hard. Wife. Shit!!! That word makes me harder and something feral unfurls in my chest. The shelf I am using for leverage is banging against the wall and cleaning products are flying everywhere. “Wife, your pussy is amazing, squeezing my cock like that.”

  “Ooh Husband, fuck me, harder and go deeper into me.” We are not being careful with our volume, so I am not surprised by the knock on the door. As soon as her pussy clenches around me repeatedly, I release into her and simultaneously break the shelf I am gripping. Oh, well. I’ll buy a million shelves just for the chance to be inside her. I use some paper towels to clean us up and help her right her dress.

  I didn’t know who was knocking on the door, but what I was not prepared for is my mother to be standing on the other side. Rosy turns bright red. “Hey Ma. What’s up?” I say to her as I try to hold in the laugh threatening to bellow out.

  “I was elected to check on you guys, because it sounded like you were murdering her in here.”

  “Oh. My. God, Ma. Please.”

  “Deb, I am so sorry. That was rude of us.” Rosy finally gets out.

  “Nonsense, we’ve all been there.”

  There is a statement you never want to hear your mom make. We head back to the party and see it is winding down. As we go back into the banquet room, the first thing I notice is Eldridge is interrogating my brother
s. When Rosy excuses herself to talk to the girls, I head over to the guys.

  “Why didn’t Kitty come? I thought for sure she would be here, since she was at the baby thing.”

  “Work commitment.” Jace says, shrugging his shoulders.

  “And where would that be?” Eldridge’s jaw ticks and his fists are clenched at his sides. He has got it bad and Kitty practically forbade the girls, who in turn advised us, not to divulge any kind of information. She didn’t provide details, but he must have pissed her off mightily. Kitty doesn’t play around.

  “Down town.” Sterling offers, but I am sure Kennedy read him the riot act, just as I got from Rosy.

  “Care to narrow that down?” He almost demands.

  “Not really.” I say, clapping El on the back.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” He asks.

  “No idea, but I need a beer.” Ham chimes in. I just laugh. We leave him standing there as we head over to the bar.

  The last guest leaves at six and it is more than fine with me, because our flight leaves at 7:30 tonight for Madrid. I want us to have a second to change and wind down a bit before we leave. We have five days there and two days in Lisbon. We threw a dart at the map and that’s how we decided where to go for our honeymoon. Eventually, we want to go everywhere, but this is a great start. We change our clothes and leave from the restaurant. This day has been amazing, but I am glad to be alone with my wife.

  Ugh. Finally home. I am beyond glad. I loved our honeymoon, don’t get me wrong, but I spent the whole time throwing up and then the rest of the day was pleasant. Every time my guts came up thru my nose, all I wanted to do was be at home in my bed, and under my covers.

  Probably, not a good idea to be pregnant, during your honeymoon. But now that we are home, I am ready to start our lives and get the house ready for the baby. The first thing I need to do is go into the office and make sure they haven’t destroyed the system I implemented before I left. Max is out on a job and we have so many leftovers in the house from the wedding, that if I didn’t find something to do I would start pulling my hair out, so the office it is.