Under The Willows (Jackson Bay #1)

by Ciara Shayee

  Eyeing Piper’s contemplative face over the top of her sons’ heads, I quietly hum. “Is it okay if I talk to your momma for a sec first? Then I’ll come help for as long as you want.”

  “Sure, that’s cool. C’mon, Finn, Arlo!”

  They take off together, making sure to stay a few feet from the water’s edge as per Piper’s rules. If she’s not right there with them, they aren’t allowed to touch the water.

  Alone again, I get back on my feet and watch Piper as she ambles along the water’s edge. The ocean splashes in her wake, the sunlight reflecting off the droplets. “Piper, wait!”

  With a shaky sigh that lifts and lowers her shoulders, Piper slows before stopping, glancing over her shoulder at me. “I think…I think I should take the boys home, give you some space. I don’t want to see you upset like that again. I don’t know what to do for the best right now. What…what do you want?”

  What do I want?

  Blowing out a big breath, I rub the back of my neck. I need to explain why I freaked out, but I’m embarrassed that something so simple made me flip out. I can only hope she understands.

  “I heard Jax moving around and thought it was Willow,” I finally breathe, not sure at first whether she heard me or not. Then her shoulders lift and fall in a heavy sigh and I know she did.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers, gazing out at the horizon. “I thought it might be something like that, which is why it might be better for us to give you your space back, but I don’t want to push you into anything. You need to tell me what you want.”

  Twisting to face me, the vulnerability in her gray gaze slays me. Closing the gap to cradle her face in my large palms, I give up on waiting for the perfect time and place, finally owning up to what I’ve been feeling for probably longer than even I realize.

  “Fuck, Piper. Don’t you know by now? I want you. You’re what’s best for me. You own me.” The sun shines on her growing smile as I release a deep sigh, my lips curling up in a grin. “I love you, Piper Fitzgerald, more than anything. I want you and the boys to stay with me, not just while you’re recovering, but permanently. I’m not great at showin’ my emotions and I’m a grumpy motherfucker at times. I’ll piss you off a hundred times a day, but I’ll work on it, I am working on it, for you and our boys—oomph!”

  Piper doesn’t give me a chance to finish the speech I’ve been rehearsing for weeks. Launching herself at me, she wraps her arms around my shoulders, her legs around my waist, and kisses me stupid with the sun on my back and the ocean lapping at my feet. My hands instinctively move to support her, landing under her thighs where soft skin meets the hem of her shorts. The warm weight of her against my chest and the delicious taste of her as she sneaks her tongue into my mouth leave me hot and staggering to keep my balance.

  She’s intoxicating. So much so that I almost forget she didn’t say anything back when I told her I love her. Then she suddenly rips her lips away from me, cupping my beard-covered jaw in her trembling hands as she eyes me with her wide, dark steel gaze. “You know I love you, right? Because I do, so much.”

  Huffing a chuckle, I feel relief flooding my senses. “Well, I do now.”

  Shaking her head and leaning in to peck my lips once, twice, three more times, Piper buries her face in my neck and releases a delirious little giggle against my skin.

  Making sure she isn’t going to fall, I bring one hand up to brush some of her hair behind her ear, thoroughly enjoying the slight flush that rises to her cheeks as a result. “I love you so much, short stuff,” I whisper, suddenly overcome with the intensity of how much I adore this woman. “You’re so much more than I deserve. I didn’t realize how unhappy and lonely I was until you and the boys bulldozed your way through my solitary life, and my God, am I grateful as fuck that you did.”

  Snorting, she brushes a tender kiss on the tip of my nose. “You’re so easy to love, handsome. And you deserve so much more than the half-life you were living. You just needed a push and a reminder that there’s still a life waiting for you and so many people who love you.”

  Smirking, she adds, “Me, most of all, of course. I love you, I love you, I love you.” She peppers my face with kisses between each ‘I love you.’

  Unable to resist kissing the woman I love—the woman who somehow loves me in return—I do just that, only to be reminded that we’re not alone when we’re serenaded with “eew’s” and “yuck’s.”

  Piper’s uninhibited laughter rides the ocean breeze as she tosses her head back and sticks her tongue out at the boys, whose silly grins calm any fears I might have had about them overhearing our conversation.

  With the sun on my back, the love of my life in my arms, and the boys teasing us about making kissy faces, I’m the happiest man alive.

  Thirty-one

  Kellan

  Over the next three weeks, we establish a new routine.

  An intoxicating routine that quickly surpasses even my wildest fantasies of what having Piper, the boys, and Max live with me could be like.

  Thankfully, Jude opts to stick around a while longer and spends a lot of time here, with Piper and the boys. She’s a kind-hearted woman who adores the family I’ve adopted as my own, so of course, I quickly fall for her sweet smiles and warm hugs. She seems to take great pleasure in mothering any and all who will let her, including Sullivan, who laps up her attention like a greedy puppy.

  The first school day after Piper’s release from the hospital, she sits at the counter in the kitchen while I find myself brushing hair and pouring bowls of cereal. I grin as I pack sack lunches into miniature backpacks and remind Jaxson not to let Max drool on him.

  It’s all very domestic and something I can tell I’ll become addicted to.

  For the first time in years, I do the school run. Piper sits in the passenger seat, her hand gripped tightly in mine between gear changes, as the boys chatter happily in the backseat. It’s still only the second time I’ve been to the school since Willow’s accident, so I don’t argue when Piper insists she’s perfectly capable of walking them in herself while I wait outside.

  With a dry mouth and clammy hands, I nod and manage a small smile as she blows me a kiss and slowly walks into the school with Jaxson, Finley, and Arlo.

  My world becomes a little bigger with the realization that coming back here doesn’t mean more bad things will happen.

  I’ve neglected Burger Co. since the accident, so I spend most of my mornings in my study, forcing myself not to go and see what Piper is doing. She often tests my restraint by sending pictures of her tanned legs over the edge of the pool or the blanket nests she likes to make in the wide-cushioned couch in the living room. She keeps herself occupied between PT appointments and spending time with the boys, but I know the boredom is driving her crazy, so I also make time for us to go out a few times a week, even if it’s just for a leisurely stroll along the beach with Max splashing in the surf.

  We even go on our first official date. The boys and Max stay with Carson and Bethany while Piper and I go into Jacksonville for the night, watching a comedy show and eating a romantic dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant.

  By the time Halloween rolls around, I know I’m on borrowed time. Piper is all healed up, even the darkest of her bruises now invisible. We adjust our routine a little when she returns to work the week before Halloween, but her absence in the afternoons means I get to spend more time with the boys after picking them up from school. The cooler weather doesn’t stifle their enthusiasm for the pool, especially when I admit that I can heat the water for the chillier evenings while we wait for Piper to get home.

  And that’s just it. I’ve quickly replaced ‘my house’ with ‘home’ even though I don’t know if this is going to last.

  Piper has started making comments starting with ‘when we leave’ and ending with ‘you’ll have your peace and quiet back soon.’

  She doesn’t realize I’ve grown reliant on the noise that accompanies the boys a
nd Max. She doesn’t understand how much joy it gives me when I can’t concentrate on my work because the boys are racing their remote control cars up and down the hardwood floor in the hall. She can’t possibly comprehend how full my heart is when I walk through the front door and I’m greeted with life instead of death.

  She doesn’t realize it’ll destroy me when she packs up the books scattered over the boys’ bedroom floor, the random pieces of Lego I keep treading on, and the miniature jackets that hang beside mine, Piper’s, and Willow’s in the hall.

  Swallowing hard as I make my way downstairs in my Halloween costume, my eyes are drawn to Willow’s small coat, to her tiny shoes still sitting on the rack below, and my thoughts stray to the bedroom upstairs. It’s still exactly as she left it.

  The pajamas she wore the night before her accident are strewn all over the floor. Her bed is unmade, an unfinished drawing sits untouched on the craft table, and her toys still spill haphazardly from the toy box. My lips twitch up a little. She was so proud to show me that she’d tidied them all away.

  “Oh, look at you!” Sabrina sings, sashaying down the hall in her skin-tight catsuit to snap me out of my realization that maybe it’s time to make a few changes around here.

  Maybe it’s time to let my precious girl go.

  “You look great!”

  With burning ears, I manage a faint smirk as I hold my arms out and take the last step down. “Thanks. You look…good.”

  “Thank you!”

  Sabrina loops her arm through mine, leading me down the hall to the kitchen where the doors have been thrown open to the patio, welcoming in the cool but pleasant fall air. It seems like half of Jackson Bay is congregating here, in my house which, until recently, has been deathly silent.

  It was Piper’s idea to host a pre-trick-or-treating party at my place and I’ll admit I wasn’t onboard at the start. It took some convincing, but once I agreed, she ran full steam ahead with the planning and did a fantastic job. The décor is great, there’s enough candy here to supply the entire town, and everywhere I look, people are enjoying themselves.

  My parents flew in with Lucas, Sabrina, and Matty. Introducing them to Piper and the boys was surreal, but it went great. Mom cried, Dad laughed at her goofiness, and the boys were just obsessed with the idea that they had another set of grandparents to love on them.

  For Halloween, Mom has dressed up as a witch while Dad is a doctor complete with gory, ‘bloodstained’ scrubs. Sabrina, Lucas, and Matty have come as Catwoman, Batman, and Robin. I spot Carson and Bethany across the yard, dressed as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, with Sebastian and Gianna. Danny messed up their plan for a family get-up—he’s running around somewhere in a spacesuit while they’re rocking Joker and Harley Quinn costumes. Somewhere, Sullivan is running around in a full werewolf costume complete with a built-in speaker that randomly plays howling noises.

  The boys think it’s great and join in every time, which then sets off Max and the Samuels’ pugs.

  There’s a sea of smiling, laughing people taking over my yard with more arriving every second, it seems. As I crane my neck to hunt for Piper, I see vampires, ghosts, surfer dudes, minions, clowns, skeletons, princesses, witches…every kind of costume imaginable.

  Then I see her.

  Way across the yard with the most beautiful smile on her face as she twists a red pigtail around her fingers. Sabrina is distracted by Matty, so I grab a can of soda from the ice bucket and meander across the patio. When I make it to Piper, I realize I was wrong before.

  This smile, the one that stretches across her face when she sees me in front of Jane Samuels and Carlie—a strawberry and a spider, respectively—is the most beautiful smile in the world. “I like this look on you.”

  Peering down at my bright yellow shirt, cow-print vest, and pointy cowboy boots, I snort. Then I turn my attention to her get-up and I think…I think I could get on board. A tight silk shirt, figure-hugging denim skirt, and knee-high boots make up her Jessie costume. Not forgetting her bright red wig and her scarlet cowboy hat, of course. I have a matching brown hat on my own head.

  “I look ridiculous, but you, short stuff, look delicious.”

  As the girls coo, I take the opportunity to glance around and make sure Carson isn’t looking in our direction before laying one on Piper. He’s been a great sport and even admitted that he’s kind of glad we’re together, because he knows we’ll be good to each other, but neither of us want to push him. We promised no PDA, after all.

  Pressing my lips against hers in a brief kiss that does nothing to temper the attraction I feel for her, I smile. “I love you.”

  Beaming brighter than the sun, she reaches up to stroke my cheek, her eyes only on me as she murmurs a soft “I love you.”

  Later, before we all head out trick or treating, Amelia Paulson from the bakery rushes over. She moonlights as a journalist with the newspaper, often covering any big events or parties in the bay, so it doesn’t surprise me to see a big camera hanging around her neck instead of her usual Sprinkles and Sunshine apron.

  “Hi, guys. Great costumes,” she beams, tucking her hair behind her ear. She’s come dressed in a black leotard with planets stuck all over her body—the solar system, I assume. “I’m just doing the rounds, trying to get photos of as many partygoers as possible. Carson invited me,” she adds quickly.

  “Oh, a picture would be great. Could you wait one sec? I just need to grab our boys.”

  I don’t have long enough to ruminate over the fact that Piper called the boys ours before she’s herding them over and guiding me into position in front of the steps, which have been decorated with pumpkins—all Piper’s handiwork, of course.

  Amelia shoots me an odd look and raises an eyebrow as she checks the first picture of all five of us. “You could smile, Mr. Patterson!”

  Piper elbows me in the side as my mind finally quiets. Wrapping an arm around her waist and resting a hand on Arlo’s Buzz Lightyear helmet as she reminds Jaxson and Finley—or Green Army Man and Rex—to stand still, I grin wide, even when the flash of Amelia’s camera almost blinds me and especially when she shows us the screen, telling us something we already know.

  We have a beautiful family.

  Once the tricks and treats have been doled out and the sun has set, the boys are so full of sugar that they go crazy for an hour before suddenly crashing.

  Carrying a tuckered out Green Army Man in one arm and an equally sleepy Rex in the other, I trail behind Piper and breathe a contented sigh as I watch her whispering to our sleeping Buzz Lightyear, his head pillow on her shoulder, his helmet and her wig in her free hand.

  The house is a wreck, exactly the way we left it to go trick-or-treating with all our friends and family, but we make the decision to tidy up tomorrow and head to our room after tucking in the boys. Everything else can wait, I just want Piper.

  As I sprawl out on the bed with my hands behind my head, Piper slowly, sensually removes each piece of her costume until she’s clad only in her fake red Stetson and sinfully little underwear. I already know the tiny scrap of lace hiding her sweet pussy from me will easily give way with a tug.

  With a teasing, rosy-cheeked smile, she takes her sweet time removing her bra. The moonlight streams through the gap in the drapes, illuminating her gray gaze and the flush spreading over her chest as she crawls up the bed toward me.

  “You’re wearing too many clothes, cowboy,” she whispers, her words ghosting over me. Her mouth over my skin brands me everywhere it touches, her kisses driving me crazy by the time she reaches my lips where she sets up camp, her hips resting over my abs and her hands twisting themselves into my hair.

  “I could say the same about you,” I finally grit out.

  She stifles her giggle against my mouth as we both hear the quiet rip of her panties giving way under my greedy fingers.

  I flip us over, shivering as Piper deliberately grazes my skin with her cow-print nails while she
undoes the buttons of my shirt. When we’re both left in just our cowboy hats, we stare at each other for a moment, heat simmering between us and “I love you’s” in every touch, every gaze.

  Her hands trail lightly over my chest, one of her palms pausing to rest over the fast thud of my heart. It beats for her. My eyes follow the gentle slope of her delicate nose to the sweet curve of her smile. Breaths are exchanged as well as murmured promises of love, adoration, and support.

  Our bodies know this dance well, my hard length sliding home with a slight shift of position. Her breathy sigh is met with a low groan, my guttural curse swallowed by her desperate kiss.

  She’s maddening, intoxicating, breath-stealing sin.

  We twist and turn, bend and break, and put each other back together again with soothing words and bone-melting kisses.

  The hats come off and Piper takes the reins, turning us so that she’s over me and around me and filling me up with the love I didn’t know I was missing.

  The moonlight makes her gray gaze shine a brilliant silver, her mouth parted in a silent scream as I find the sweet spot that makes her lose her mind. Falling apart with my name on her lips, she’s never been more stunning and I’ve never wanted to consume her more.

  I follow her, of course. I’ll always follow her.

  And when we’re both exhausted, both sated and smiling too wide as she drapes herself over my sweaty chest after running to the bathroom to clean up, I feel whole.

  “I love you, handsome,” she whispers into the dark, pressing a kiss against my racing heart.

  “I love you, short stuff.” My kiss lands on her forehead, a tired smile tugging at my lips because I feel the shiver that travels up her spine.

  Lying there in silence, the woman I love in my arms and our boys sleeping contentedly down the hall, my thoughts wander. Before I can chicken out, I decide it’s time to let Piper in on the decision I’ve made.