Saving Us

by Jennifer Foor

  Ty leaned against the table. "What's the wager fuckers?"

  "I ain't taken my clothes off, if that's what you're thinkin'. I still ain't heard the end of that shit." Colt adjusted his John Deere hat and I could tell he was uneasy about running around naked the last time he lost one of Ty's bets.

  "I got somethin' better and you ain't gotta run around naked, well, not totally naked that is." They both cocked an eyebrow and looked at me. I shook my head and started laughing. I knew they were dying to know what my idea was, so I took another swig of my beer before responding. "Loser has to wear Miranda's little Santa outfit she wore in that picture."

  "And they have to have their picture taken in it," Ty added.

  Colt looked at Ty and then back to me. "You two have lived together too long. You're both sick in the head."

  "Just agree to it and shut your pussy mouth. Let’s get this game going." Ty stood up and grabbed his stick.

  Colt crossed his arms and kept shaking his head. "Just so you know, I ain't losing this time."

  "Yeah, you keep tellin' yourself that, cuz." I pounded my fist against Tys before we got the game started.

  Once we got to playing, things became more serious. Even Ty stopped cracking jokes after he missed an easy cut shot. He pounded the butt of his stick on the hard floor and cussed under his breath.

  Bella and Noah were running around with the dog, while the rest of the adults were sitting at a large round table engulfed in their card game.

  The way that we worked the game was that we each had to play each other. The first person to lose two matches lost the bet. Since Ty and I played pool so much, I think we both knew whom was going to lose. I had an easy bank shot and sunk my ball into the called pocket.

  Colt threw his arms up in the air. "God. Damn. It!"

  Ty and I pounded our fists together again and I watched Ty walk up and smack Colt on the ass. "Van, you better get your camera ready. It looks like Colt is going to be giving us a fashion show."

  Colt leaned against the wall and looked both pissed and embarrassed. We couldn't help but to keep laughing at him.

  "I ain't never making a bet with the two of you assholes again." He grabbed another beer out of the refrigerator.

  "Hey, at least you won't be naked," I joked.

  The girls were laughing even before they knew exactly what was going on. Miranda came walking over to find out why her husband was hunched over laughing his ass off. "What did you do now?” She asked.

  He continued laughing, so hard he could barely speak. "Oh my God, baby, you need to go inside and get me your Santa outfit." He laughed even harder. "Colt is going to put it on and jingle all around for us."

  When he said jingle all around, I spit my beer clear across the room.

  Miranda leaned over toward Van and whispered in her ear. We watched her stand up and walk toward Ty. She pushed him before getting up in his face. "Is it necessary for you to make him so miserable. He's going to hate visiting you if you keep it up."

  He grabbed her by her face and kissed her before jokingly shoving her away. "He loves us. Get over yourself." He looked over at Miranda. "Baby, don't forget to grab the camera when you get the outfit."

  I walked over and ran my hands over Amy's shoulders. “You havin' fun yet?"

  She giggled and looked back at me. "I actually love it. You don't know how long I've wanted to be surrounded by a family. The longer I'm around them, the more I love them."

  I kissed the top of her head. "I like you bein' here. If it’s okay, I'd like you to stick around."

  She smiled and reached up to touch my face. "It's definitely okay, Conner."

  "Now we just have to get you divorced."

  "You say that like it’s going to be easy." She didn't seem so sure.

  "As long as you and our son our safe, I will wait as long as it takes."

  She shook her head and laughed. "Your son? You're so sure about that."

  "I'm always right, Blaze."

  A couple minutes passed before Miranda came back into the room carrying a very small little number in her hands and her camera strung around her neck. “This is as far as I am involved in this, Tyler. I refuse to have Colt want to beat my ass. It’s too cold outside to run.”

  I shook my head, but kept my hands on Amy’s shoulders. She was brave for wanting to be a part of this family. Van kept shaking her head as Miranda made her way back over to where she was sitting. She crossed her legs and waited for her husband to make a move. Colt just stood there with his hands on his hips as Ty reached the small amount of fabric over to him. “If I were you, I’d change in the other room. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t really feel like seeing anyone else’s meat besides my own.”

  I was already laughing, just seeing Colt’s face turning a shade of red. Even underneath his whiskers, it was obvious. “You best get to changin’. I don’t feel like waitin’ all night to see this. I’ve waited too damn long for this woman to be with me, so I ain’t about to waste any more of it.”

  I heard Van and Randa making little sounds, like what I’d just said was sweet or something. I squeezed on Amy’s shoulders, while waiting for my cousin to get his ass in gear.

  Colt looked around the room. “Do I seriously have to do this shit?”

  “You bet your sweet ass you do.” Ty laughed as he said it. He blew Van a kiss when she rolled her eyes at him. I could see where the history between them made it easy for those two to communicate on a different level. It wasn’t anything inappropriate. Well, let me rephrase that, because everything Ty does is inappropriate. That little bastard could make a smart comment about anything. Sometimes I wondered if he wasn’t wired right. Still, he was pretty fun to be around.

  “Let’s get this party started. Get out the shots. I think our cousin needs one, before he shows us his love muscles again.” Ty and I slapped five as he grabbed the bottle of bourbon. Amy cocked her eyebrow when she saw me taking a shot. It burned going down. I knew what she was worried about, but my days of being an addict were over. There was no way I would do another drug with a little baby on the way. My life was different and it had purpose.

  “Woohoo! Hell yeah!” Ty danced around to the music, pulling my sister to her feet and grinding all over her from behind. He was so horrible at dancing, that we were all laughing at him. My poor sister was hunched over laughing at his shenanigans. He was behind her, trying to shake the front of his body up against hers. When he could meet her movements, he reached around and held onto both of her tits. She put her hands over his and tried to move them but he wouldn’t let her. “Stop, baby, I’m all up in this shit.”

  I covered my eyes with one of my hands “Please spare us the groping. I may never be the same again.”

  “Hey, remember that time I showed you Miranda’s tits.” She turned around and slapped him, while he continued to laugh.

  I held up my hands. “Randa, you had a bra on, I swear.”

  They settled down and started whispering to each other. I’d seen them giving each other that look a million times. After a kiss they broke away from each other. My sister looked back and smiled at Ty again. I just shook my head. Things were going to get loud later in their bedroom. Poor Amy!

  A few moments later, Colt came out from around the corner. He was covered by some old blanket, but I could tell he was wearing the outfit. Ty and I both made a dash for the camera. Van tried to grab it first, but we were too fast for her. Once he had the device positioned, I ran over and tore the blanket out of Colt’s arms. He threw his hands over his groin area. “This is bullshit! I’m not bettin’ either of you again.”

  “Hands up, you sexy bitch. Do a pose for next year’s Christmas cards,” Ty teased.

  Van had covered her eyes. I think she was more embarrassed than Colt.

  “Spin around, cuz. We need a good ass shot,” I taunted.

  “I hate you both!” Colt was defeated, but at least he was a good sport.

  Randa got up and walked behind our
almost naked cousin. She started dancing behind him, embarrassing him more. The room filled with laughter and even Van couldn’t contain herself. Colt lifted his hands away, giving up all sense of dignity. He turned around, surprising my sister and grabbed her waist. She backed away and laughed harder.

  While everyone was still caught up in the moment, I leaned over and whispered in Amy’s ear. “How about some alone time, Blaze?”

  Her hand found mine and we made our way out of the barn without anyone noticing. I didn’t care about the celebration. All I wanted to do was be with Amy.

  Chapter 3

  Amy

  Since arriving at the Mitchell Farm, Conner and I had been inseparable. As out of the ordinary as it felt to be that way with him, it also felt so right. I loved the way he touched me when nobody was looking, or shot me a wink when he was telling a joke. The more days that passed, the more reality set in about my pregnancy. I was both excited and scared, except now I knew I wasn't going to be alone. I didn't just have Conner in my life. I had his whole family. They were more than I ever could have asked for. Growing up, my life was just so unconventional, especially when my father took responsibility for raising me. There was only so much one man could do for his wild daughter. I was glad that he was back in my life though. Seeing other parents with their children had always made me envious. For something that had become so important, it was the one thing I had never truly had, until now.

  After Conner and I snuck away from the party, we went into our room without waking any of the children. I closed the door behind me and turned around to see Conner ripping off his shirt. His back was facing me, and still after all this time being with him, my mouth dropped and I took in the beauty of the most perfectly sculpted man I'd ever seen. Conner wasn't built like a body builder, but from working on the farm his whole life, he had muscles in all the right places. His body wasn't all that was amazing either. Underneath that cocky demeanor was a man with a huge heart.

  He turned around, catching me staring. He cocked a half smile and dropped his jeans to the floor. As he stood up he let out a chuckle. "You goin' to do this every damn time I strip? I mean, it’s obvious that you are fascinated with my physique, but darlin' that ain't even the whole package. I don't want you gettin' all flustered like you are right now. It's probably not good for the baby."

  I started laughing and rolled my eyes. "I wasn't looking at you like that," I lied.

  He laughed and shook his head, while flopping down on his bed. In only a pair of boxer briefs, he motioned for me to join him. His arm was behind his head as he watched me contemplate my comeback line. It irked me that he knew my every move. He took advantage of it, just so he could get me all roused up. "Come on, Blaze."

  I shook my head. "Nope." my arms folded across my chest and I stood there playing along with the losing battle.

  Conner laughed at me again. He took a pillow off the bed and threw it at my feet. "Well, I ain't goin' to beg you." He repositioned his own pillow and covered up his body.

  I started tapping my foot on the floor, waiting for him to respond to it. I knew he was under those damn covers laughing at me. He knew I was going to crack and climb in that damn bed. If I was smart I would have gone back out to the party and left him to be alone. The thing was, I didn't want to go anywhere. For so many nights I'd slept alone, only wanting to be with that man. Wasting time just wasn't an option for me. I wanted to be selfish and have him all to myself, whenever it was possible.

  I sighed and walked over to the bed. Knowing I was never going to hear the end of it, I grabbed the edge of the covers and ripped them off of him. He balled his body up and rolled over so I couldn't see his face. His stubbornness was pissing me off, except it wasn't in a bad way. He was playing around and that was fine, except I wanted to have the last word in, not Conner. I couldn't cave and just give him what he wanted. He was cocky enough already. "I'm not really tired. You think I could borrow your phone. I need to make some calls. “It was a complete lie. Aside from my father, there wasn't one single person that I wanted to talk to that wasn't already at the farm.

  That didn't stop Conner from sitting up and looking right at me. "Who do you need to call?"

  It was obvious that I got his attention. It was too late in the evening to be calling people and having conversations. "It doesn't even matter. Can I use your phone or not?"

  He sat up and leaned his arms on his knees. "You have five seconds to get those clothes off and get into this bed with me. Don’t make me start counting!"

  He was ignoring my phone idea completely. I crossed my arms again. "No! I'm taking control of my life. I refuse to let another man tell me what to do."

  I wasn't sure if he took me serious because he started laughing. "Blaze, get your ass in this bed, please."

  Damn, he said please. Right away my heart started beating faster and I could feel the blood rushing to my face. "I think you should beg." It took everything I had not to burst into laughter. Conner's eyes got big as he tried to study what was going on in my head. He wasn't used to not getting his way with me. I knew it was a game, but I was starting to wonder if he knew it was.

  He jumped out of the bed and stood over me. I was trying to calm my breathing, except, I could smell his cologne on his naked skin. I traced the tattoo on his arm with my eyes, instead of looking up into his. He took both hands and cupped my breasts over my t-shirt, while starting to back me up against the bedroom wall. I kept my head down and stared at his chest. If I looked at him, I was a goner. I'd be at his beck and call and I was pretty damn sure that he also knew it. He massaged my breasts over the fabric of my shirt. In very slow motion, he moved the palms of his hands down to my waist. The fabric was loose enough for him to slide my shirt up with ease. When he got close to my breasts, he slid his fingers underneath the underwire and lifted the bra overtop of them. I watched Conner bend over enough to take one of my nipples into his mouth. My mouth felt dry as I gasped and attempted to not act completely turned on. He was probably looking up hoping to catch my gaze, even though I was refusing to look. By this time, I could feel heat congregating between my legs. My body wanted Conner, maybe even more than my mind. He kissed my navel softly, before tugging down my pants to reveal my hips. I heard him growl and he bit into one. It wasn't hard enough to cause pain, but just enough pressure for me to feel it. I wanted him to do it again. I closed my eyes and thought about his stubbly face and his calloused hands. I loved that his touch always tickled me.

  Finally, I looked down and caught those beautiful green eyes looking up at me. As he continued to place kisses all over my skin, he laughed, knowing he had won the battle. I was such a sucker. It was impossible to play hard to get with someone like Conner, who was always so damn irresistible. He kissed the base of my sex, while still looking into my eyes. "I always win, Blaze."

  I ran my hands through his dark hair and threw my head back when I felt his mouth touching me in my most private of areas. Tiny sounds escaped from my mouth as his tongue slid in between my folds. His low moans made me become even more turned on. Conner pulled his face away from my hot sex and guided me down on top of his bed. He grumbled something that I couldn’t make out, before his face was buried in between my legs. Each lick of his skilled tongue sent me into a frenzy. I felt myself unable to control my emotions as louder moans escaped me. My toes pointed and Conner knew what he was making me feel. He licked on my tiny bud harder, making me explode with passion.

  As he came up toward my face, I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was nowhere near being done. His arms reached down and I instantly felt his hard erection pressing on my inner thigh. I watched his briefs fly onto the floor, before I felt his lips devouring mine. Conner's kiss was both erotic and desperate at the same time. I could feel the need within his kisses, which in turn, made me want him even more.

  He was so good at what he did. Every touch was orchestrated to my needs. His hands were almost magical as they touched over every sensitive part of my body. His
tongue worked with mine as he slowly entered inside of me. Sometimes his size was hard to handle at first, but not this time. Conner had gotten me so turned on that all I felt was bliss. With every movement our kisses increased in desperation. God, I loved this man. He was so perfect. I couldn't believe he was really all mine. Sure, we didn't have much at all, but we had each other.

  My hands gripped his muscular ass as he grinded himself into my body. The friction was euphoric and within seconds, I was feeling yet another blissful orgasm taking control of my body. Conner grabbed my head and pulled my hair back to reveal my neck. He leaned in and bit me as I dug my fingers deeper into his ass cheeks.

  I guess knowing he'd made me feel that way was enough to get him to the verge of finishing. He slowed his pace, but continued to kiss me slowly. I teased him by brushing my tongue against his lips. I watched his face scrunching up and knew what was happening. While Conner tightened up his body and kept me from moving, I kissed all over his face. He collapsed down beside me, leaving me feeling empty between my legs. He grabbed one of my hands and traced it with his right before intertwining our fingers and bringing that hand up to his lips. "Love you, Blaze."

  I looked over into Conner's eyes. He was smiling and waiting for my response. He should have known by now that he didn't have to ask. I was madly in love with him. "Love you, too."

  "This next year is going to be the best of our lives, darlin'."

  I smiled. "Because you're going to be a daddy."

  He shook his head. "Not just that. Sure, the moment I see my son for the first time, it will be amazin'. Hell, I'll probably cry even. I'm just sayin' that we can finally be together. No more waitin' like last year. I never have to share you with another man again."

  "Conner, you never had to share me. I knew where my heart was the whole time."