by Rie Warren
“I done had you everywhere, Leelee. Don’t you forget it. And I’m going to again.” He watched her glide away. “As soon as she’s off the doc-watch and ready to get back into action,” he quietly grumbled.
She blew him a kiss from her Cupid’s bow lips as she joined Boomer in the kitchen.
“And the gang’s all here,” Nick muttered.
“Not yet! Nicky, my boy, you’ve already written me off? Shame on you.” Gigi pushed past her six-foot giant son as he blocked the entryway. She kissed Josh on the cheek, pinched both of Nick’s cheeks, and made a beeline for his folks.
“I’m Gigi Stone. Pleasure to meet you, Teddy, Letty. Now I know you’re all proper people, but we ain’t got time for that. Myra was one of my very closest friends and dear to my heart.” She stopped to catch her breath and fluff her silver hair. “You know, we were in a book club together. Mm hmm. We pretend it’s all Christian material to the outsiders, but really we read those smutty books, the kind Nicky writes.”
Letitia’s face crinkled as she smiled, finally cracking the smooth elegant planes. “I signed up to his newsletter under a fake name.”
Nick, Josh, and I exchanged might as well leave ’em to it glances.
Tonight was all about family—the crazy, extended, been to hell and back a few times kind. The rest of Miss Myra’s mourners—her friends, the garage guys, church folk—would show their respects at the funeral tomorrow.
We joined Boomer in the kitchen, Josh bringing up the rear. Cat, Ashe, and Leelee lounged on the back porch as JJ and Cara tried to corral Shitlock in the backyard.
“Looks like I’ve got a new built-in babysitter.” Josh cracked open a beer and tilted it toward Cara.
“Fuck that. Looks like you got a close shave.” Nick tapped Josh’s bare cheek.
I couldn’t recall ever seeing the man without his regulation stubble.
“Fuck you, douche-canoe.” Josh rubbed a hand along his jaw as if irritated by the smoothness.
“Canoe? I’m more of a douche-party barge at least,” Nick countered.
Boomer and I frowned at each other.
“Don’t think that’s anything to brag about, and don’t you even get started on my weak chin.” Ducking his face, Josh continued, “Didn’t wanna scratch Jolie’s skin. She was fussin’ last night when I rocked her. Never shaved for a female in my life. Haven’t been bald-faced since puberty. The things I do for my women . . .”
“Fucking hell. That’s sweet.” Boomer spoke up from stoveside, tasting the sauce for one of his dishes.
And we stood around the kitchen looking like a bunch of whupped-ass bitches.
Nobody was complaining too hard about it though.
“What about the chest hair?” Nick asked.
“Now that’s just going too far, ya fuck. I didn’t goddamn manscape or turn into a twink, not that there’s anything wrong with Javier.”
“But you sure as hell didn’t have a problem getting all oiled up with the Coverdales for the Guys with Balls competition at LitLuv, did you?”
“Eat me,” Josh slung his retort at his best bud.
“I would, but Boomer’s food smells way better than you, hoss.”
Josh slugged Nick on the shoulder then started laughing, and the rest of us joined in.
With the question of the big man’s weak chin and shaved face cleared up, his masculinity restored, he nodded toward the back porch. “You think they’re talkin’ about us out there?”
Ashe, Cat, and Leelee sat on the teak deckchairs, the riverfront beyond them black and glassy, reflecting the stars and moon on the small white-capped waves.
“Sure bet,” Nick said.
“The real question is, who’s talkin’ about Boomer?” Pushing my brother away from the stove, Josh stirred the pots, literally and figuratively.
“Speaking of . . .” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why don’t you give us the lowdown on Rayce, Josh? Your new mechanic?”
“Oh, hell no.” He spun around, inspecting Boomer as a blush slammed across my brother’s face.
“I might find her interesting. And way too young.” Boomer shuffled his feet and stared at the floor.
Josh grinned. “Rayce Lafayette. Got a gutter for a mouth. Doesn’t take shit from no one. Probably one of the most talented mechanics I’ve ever met. She has a big stiffie for dirt bikes, a dirty mind, and races motocross in her spare time. No one at the garage has the balls required to tap that, hit that, or pat that because she’ll bite a hand off, maybe a cock too. I approve of her wholeheartedly.”
Boomer cupped his hands over his crotch. “Not. Interested.”
Leaving his station at the stove, Josh knocked his knuckles against Boomer’s shoulder. “Uh huh. Now I’ve heard those very same words from all y’all Steeles. Give it a month, then come talk to me.”
“Not happenin’,” Boomer repeated.
Leelee brushed inside. “I need to breastfeed Jolie. Is it okay if I go upstairs, Boomer?”
“Yes, you better go upstairs before your boobs pop out,” Josh answered before Boomer had a chance to get a word out.
Then Josh’s eyes bugged out when Viper loped up to Leelee. The dog gave one big long canine sniff to Leelee’s hand, the hand gently toying with Jolie’s pink-socked feet.
Leelee giggled.
Josh glowered. “It’s not funny. Viper’s about to eat our brand new baby.”
We howled with laughter as Viper sat back on her haunches, seeming to grin as if she knew how much she annoyed Josh.
Ashe swept in and squatted in front of the dog. “Oh, you precious girl. Yes, you are, yes, you are!”
Viper’s tail thwapped on the floor.
Josh ran a hand over his face. “She’s talkin’ about the mutt, not Jolie?”
“Viper! I missed you!” JJ trailed a superhero cape, a tangle of old Christmas lights he’d found who knew where, and a laughing Cara in his wake. He latched onto the Rottie’s neck.
“Y’all are killin’ me,” Josh groaned.
“Josh?” Leelee said.
His ears perked up.
“Boobs. Bursting. Now.”
“Right. Yeah. Don’t let the hound eat my kid’s face, okay? Damn.” I heard him as he followed his woman out of the room, “I’ll grab the diaper bag and be right there, babe.”
While Leelee nursed, we let JJ, Cara, Shitlock, and Viper tear the house up. The rooms filled with brightest laughter instead of the tears we’d shed the other day.
When we settled at the big oak table, everyone joined hands. For once even the kids were quiet as Nick stood from his spot between Cat and his mom.
“There are no better people I’d rather be with tonight. Thank you for staying at the hospital for my mimi and helping us let her go. Myra Loveland, my grandmother, loved every single minute of her life until her last breath. Thank you, Leelee and Josh, for letting her hold Jolie. It was the perfect moment.” He lifted his wineglass. “For Myra Loveland, who will be missed, and Jolie Myra Stone, who will be so loved. To life and love.”
A moment of silence followed the clinking of our glasses after which Nick asked his father, “Dad, you want to add anything?”
“I think you said it all perfectly, son.” The tall man rose, pulling Nick against his chest.
Twin tears tracked down Gigi’s face as she said, “Make every minute count, like Myra did.” She swiped her cheeks with a napkin and blinked around the table. “Now, let’s not let Boomer’s hard work go to waste. Tuck in.”
With a last squeeze of hands, we passed platters around the table. All that was heard afterward was the sound of cutlery, the noise of small talk as stories were traded, and later a squall from Jolie looking for her momma and daddy when she woke up in her fancypants stroller, which was parked in the living room. Gigi, the doting grandmother, went to the rescue.
After dessert, Nick pulled out his iPad and tapped it a few times. “This song always reminded me of the old gal, and I thought it’d be fitting to play tonight.
It’s called ‘Mimi’s Song’.” Suddenly the strains of a harmonica filled the room. “I’d ask Josh to sing it, but he’s got a crap voice.”
“That ain’t true. Leelee loves it when I croon to her, and Jolie’s partial to my lullabies already.”
“Me, too, Daddy, me too!” JJ jumped onto his lap. “I wuv it when you sing to me.”
Our laughter died away as the low-voiced lyrics swept over us.
Capturing Ashe against me, I swayed in time to the music. Every word about living life to the fullest and remembering the best in someone echoed in my heart. I nuzzled the side of Ashe’s neck, and she leaned against me, resting her hands on my forearms.
As the song finished, I brushed her hair to the side and kissed up to her ear. “Love you.”
“Ew. Mom, you know I’m pro-Brodie, but enough already. You’re in public!” Cara rolled her eyes.
“This isn’t public, young lady, it’s Brodie’s old house. We might just stand here and cuddle for the rest of the evening.”
“Ugh.” Swishing her ponytail, Cara left the dining room, a trail of JJ, dog, and cat trekking after her.
With a chuckle, I pulled Ashe into the living room. I settled on the sofa, making sure she sat right beside me.
“Oh! It’s Brodie’s turn!” Leelee came forward, gently jiggling Jolie in her arms.
“What? I ain’t on diaper duty.” I held up my hands.
“Hell, no. That’s what we keep Nicky around for,” Josh joked.
“Arms out, Brodie,” Leelee ordered.
A second later I had a softly cooing scrunch-faced baby girl in my arms. “I’m not gonna break her, am I?”
Everyone was so quiet, I wondered if I already had.
I looked at Ashe, and she sat staring at me, a wet shimmer to her eyes. In fact, they all fucking stared at me.
“What? Not like I never held a baby before.”
“Last time I recall was when you stole Cat when you were five. Stuck her in your Radio Flyer wagon and started hauling her around the block,” Boomer commented.
“Oh yeah. Little baby Cat wasn’t too impressed.” I smoothed my index finger over Jolie’s face. My whole hand was bigger than her head. Her red curly hair was damn cute. My heart clenched when I slipped my finger into her palm and she gripped it in a fierce little fist.
I could’ve had this. Maybe I could still have this.
Damn if Jolie wasn’t cute as a muffin. Smelled like heaven too.
“Mr. Bwodie, do you wike my new sister?” JJ appeared from nowhere, bouncing next to me on the couch.
“I probably wouldn’t sell her. What about you?”
His giggles seemed to go on forever, the cowlick standing up on the top of his head. When he finally calmed down, his cheeks puffed out like his little chest, he said, “I’m g’on marry her when I get growed up.”
Josh swooped in and tossed JJ into the air. “Yeah, we’ll be havin’ a talk about the birds and the bees in a few thousand years.”
“I know ’bout birds an’ bees. We got lots of them at home.”
“Not what I was talking about.”
“I’m confused, Daddy.”
“Gonna get a whole lot worse when it comes to women before it gets better,” Josh set him on the floor with a pat to his behind.
“Josh.” Leelee scolded him with that one short word alone.
“What? Women are complex creatures, right, guys?”
Boomer, Nick, me, and even Ted looked anywhere but at Josh and Leelee as they squared off.
Finally Josh rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. “Y’all suck.”
Later I helped Boomer clear the rest of the dinner debris from the table when I saw Cat peering down at a sleeping Jolie snuggled in her arms. She had a far off look in her eyes, a goofy grin on her lips.
Without saying a word, I elbowed Boomer to get his attention. He clearly saw what I did.
As soon as we could get Cat alone, we cornered her in the kitchen, playing good cop, bad cop—a lesson I’d learned from Ashe.
“Hey, sis. You okay?” Boomer asked, assuming the concerned role.
“A little better than yesterday. Letty and Ted are handling a lot of the arrangements. It means so much to Nick to have them here.”
“Anything else you’re not telling us?” I quirked my head.
“Anything else? What? No.” She denied, denied, denied.
“So, nothin’ at all.” I looked pointedly at her flat belly, the one she absentmindedly rubbed in small circles.
Dropping her hand, Cat’s gaze flew between us in shock. “How did you . . . You couldn’t possibly know.”
“Guess we do now.” I smirked.
Then she kicked me in the shin.
Lucky for her, I didn’t bruise easy. I pulled her to me even though she struggled. “Congratulations in order?”
“Yes, okay? I’m pregnant. Very early days.” Finally, she smiled, and it was a beautiful sight.
“Oh, Cat. That is awesome.” Boomer snatched her from me.
She sniffled against his shoulder. “We don’t want to announce it right now, what with everything else going on, but Nick and I were able to tell Mimi before she died. She was so happy for us.”
“Damn, sis.” I stroked up and down her back. “This is good though. This is so good.”
We dried our eyes and went back to the party-wake. I slapped Nick on the shoulder and squeezed while I whispered, “Congrats, Daddio.”
He locked gazes with Cat, and she nodded as a blush splashed across her cheeks.
“Don’t worry. Boomer and I won’t say a word.”
Life had come full circle, at least for Nick and Cat. It made me think I could have some of that completeness, too. Watching Ashe for the remainder of the evening, I felt alive. Awake. And more determined than I’d ever been before.
Just before midnight, Josh and Leelee ambled home with Jolie in her stroller and JJ asleep in Josh’s arms. The rest left with hugs and kisses and waves. We’d see them again at the funeral.
“Okay if we hang here tonight?” I asked as Boomer shut the front doors.
He snorted. “As if you even need to ask.”
“I hope that means yes, then, because we’re staying.”
“That means yes.” He knuckled me on the head before slipping upstairs.
Cara slept, crashed out on the couch with Ashe watching her. I laid a blanket over Cara then took Ashe’s hand.
“Come to bed with me.” I tugged her along.
“Here?”
“Here. Now.”
“Brodie, are you okay?” She stopped me at the foot of the stairs.
“I just need to be with you. Need to be inside you.” I stroked her hair back. “Let me inside you?”
“What about—”
“I want you here.” I slid the side of my hand down between the soft cheeks of her ass.
“Tonight?”
My fist curled around her hair, I held her against me as I dragged two fingers up the cleft of her ass, her panties and skirt my only obstacle. “I’ll be so gentle. I need you in every way. Need you to be mine all the way.”
She nodded with a quick intake of breath.
I guided her upstairs, stopping only in my old bathroom for a quick search of the cabinet for lube. Lucky me, I found exactly what I was looking for.
Once we were in my bedroom behind closed doors, I peeled off Ashe’s dress. Her bra followed, the straps slipping down her arms, the cups dangling off her tits until I unsnapped the clasp. Full and pink-tipped, her breasts bounced when released from the lace and satin cups.
She stood in only a skimpy silk thong, two thin straps on her hips and one between her butt cheeks. I followed the straps with my fingertips, toying for a long time with the one held tight by her firm ass.
“I’m nervous,” she whispered.
“Scared nervous or excited nervous?” I dipped my head to tease one plump nipple into my mouth.
“Excited,” she gasped.
“Gonna get even better. Just wanna love you.” Cupping my hands around both tits, I squeezed them together. Her nipples almost brushed each other, a visual that made my cock pulse in my pants.
I bathed the tight peaks with my tongue before starting the hard tugging, teeth grazing, sucking action. Ashe’s hips pumped against me as I devoured her glorious tits, the wet heat between her legs fueling my need to take her on every level.
Stepping back, I tossed off my shirt, toed off my boots. “Feel me, Ashe.”
Her hands drifted to my chest. She clutched my pecs, digging her nails in. She licked my throat and followed the line down the center of my chest to my flexing stomach muscles.
“Feel how much I want you.” I grabbed her wrist and placed her palm on my cock. Groaning at her touch, I bit out, “You make me so goddamn hard.”
I ripped through the belt, button, and zipper on my pants, shedding the rest of my clothes in a rush.
When she wrapped her fist around my heavy cock, I snarled. “Fuck! Kiss me.”
Leaning up, winding her free hand through my hair, she plunged her warm tongue into my mouth. I lost my focus with her strokes, with her wet wild kisses hungrily drinking me down. Removing her hand from my dick, I held her wrist behind her back, firmly clamped in mine. The position made her arch against me even more.
“Keep your hand right there,” I ordered.
I released my grip and she stayed in position, hips tilted, her tongue still chasing from her mouth to mine. Pulling on the delicate thong from front and back, I forced the string to ride up and down the center of her ass. The slim silky gusset between her cunt lips pulled tighter, hitting her clit with every pass.
She strained against me, riding the edge of release, riding that string between her legs. One day I’d make her do the same thing on my thick leather belt.
“Keep kissing me.”
“I can’t. Ohhh,” she cried out.
“Guess I’ll have to kiss your other lips then.” Leading her to the bed, I tore off her thong, spread her legs, and speared my tongue inside.
Ashe came with a muffled shriek, pulling my hair to keep my mouth against her. I lapped gently as she rode out her surging orgasm before taking her to the brink again with my tongue all over her wet cunt, swirling inside, flickering against her swollen pink clit.