Pieces of Paisley

by Leigh Ann Lunsford

  Tuesday shines bright and clear and I wake once again to both my girls in my arms. This will not be the case tonight, I promise you. I may revert to Paisley’s parenting and use bribery, but Laura will not be joining us in bed again. I promised Paisley a fresh start, and that is what I am giving her today. I order breakfast for my little piglets and wake them up. “We have a date in a few hours,” I remind them. They both roll their eyes at me and give me the look they have perfected. The one that clearly states I am an idiot. I chalk that up to ‘Paisley Parenting’ and roll with it.

  I leave them to get ready and my mom goes down to join them once I reach her room. She is fucking over the moon and every chance she gets she is touching Paisley, or caressing her stomach. I wasn’t around when Lisa was pregnant, but my mom assures me it is normal for people to want to touch Paisley, but I am going to have to put an electric fence around her stomach because I am not down with people randomly touching her and I will make that known.

  It is show time. I chose the spot on the beach directly across from the house where we began. It seemed fitting to me. This wedding is as beach casual as you can get, and perfectly Paisley. I chose ‘Tenerife Sea’ by Ed Sheeran for her to walk towards me. Marcus walks her down the aisle and once he hands her off to me, that is one of the most profound moments I have ever have. I always promised to take care of her, and I tried. When he placed her hand in mine, it was now my duty, my calling, and my reason. She is becoming my wife. The foundation to our future begins today.

  Standing before one another with the ocean breeze around us, the smell of salt in the air, we pledged ourselves to one another and our family. Paisley insisted on two things . . . Laura standing with us the entire time and the first dance was her pick. After all three of us said our ‘I do’s I allowed myself a moment before I got swept up in the celebration. I looked at the deck of that house and remembered seeing her for the first time, the banter we had between us, the easiness of falling in love with her, our first kiss, our first fight, seeing her walking away from me that day on the beach and the way she looked when I came after her. All of our firsts and lasts were tied somewhat to this beach and that house. It is fitting that here, our union finally happened.

  Sometimes you can go back.

  When I hear the chords of that song, I see her walking towards me. “You promised me one night, outside under the stars that you wouldn’t dance to me to this song again until I was your wife. Time to pay up, Mr. Grant.”

  “With pleasure, Mrs. Grant.” It feels like heaven rolling off my tongue. I hold her close and dance with my wife.

  Chapter 48

  Paisley

  Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.

  James A. Baldwin

  If there is one word to describe today it hasn’t been invented. Perfection, fairytale, dream come true, those don’t even come close to it. I am married to Jake, our promises of past have now been solidified. Our kismet meeting sealed our fate and today we etched our future. I am on cloud nine, and I don’t think anything can bring me down. If it tries, I know Jake will be right there to kick its ass.

  Laura insisted that I be the one to put her to bed, since she didn’t get to sleep with us tonight, and she promised to stay with Rose and Brian all night over ice cream, and that shit is sacred. That puts pinky-promises to shame, or so I was told. After the third book and the millionth promise that I was flying home with them tomorrow she finally lets me go back to our room. I am worried about her calling me Mommy, and I need to talk to Jake about it, the last thing I want is to start off on the wrong foot with Lisa. I love hearing it out of her mouth, it is music to my ears, but I don’t want to overstep any boundaries.

  My hotel room has been transformed. There are fragrant candles over every flat surface and rose petals scattered from the door to the bed and my man is standing there holding a champagne flute filled with I assume white grape juice. He has already told me the importance of juices and brain development for babies. I don’t have the heart to tell him that shit is nasty, and I prefer apple juice. “For me?” I ask him coyly.

  “For us. Is the urchin asleep?” I laugh at his endearments for her. She is the light of his life and I can’t wait to see him with our other child. There is nothing sexier to me than when he is in father mode. That protective side is growing on me, and it comes from the purest part of his heart. He guards what is his.

  “Not yet, but won’t be long.” He hands me my glass, and I take a small sip. It isn’t grape juice.

  “Didn’t think I noticed those faces you have been making every day? Well, I appreciate you not saying anything, but I think I have you figured out.” He did. Filling this flute is apple juice. He leans down and kisses me. “Yum, I like the taste of apple juice better.” Enough fucking around. I grab his neck and pull him down for a real kiss. His tongue demands entrance into my mouth and I allow it to dominate me. He sweeps it inside of my mouth and sucks my tongue into his mouth and immediately causes my core to convulse. No more words are spoken as he removes my sundress and when he bends down to remove my thong, he pauses at my stomach and peppers kisses all around it. Once I am bare in front of him, he caresses me with his eyes, and reaches out with both of his hands and runs them on the outsides of my breasts. My nipples immediately harden and my breathing speeds up. Picking me up he carries me to the bed and places me in the center like I am made of glass.

  He removes his shorts, and he is commando underneath. Seeing the effect I have on him ignites my passion, and I feel myself getting wetter. I can tell he is going to be slow and easy tonight and I am ready for a release. He places one knee on the bed to join me and I reach out to stroke him. He pulses in my hand and I know he is on the brink already. We are going to have to get creative with little ones. I sit up and lick him once. He pushes me back on the bed and shakes his head no. I pout at him and he bends down and bites my bottom lip. “Behave,” he reprimands me. I know he doesn’t mean it, but I will gladly give him control tonight. Starting at my ankles he places open mouth kisses up to my thigh and then starts over on the other side. When he reaches my sex, he runs his tongue around me and thrusts it in quickly. I am ready to detonate from that little bit. Sucking on my clit he enters one finger in me and languidly drags it in and out. His other hand moves up and pinches a nipple gently, and I immediately convulse around his finger, and he continues to lick and suck on my clit. I try to close my legs because it is becoming too much, but he refuses to move his head.

  “JAKE!” I scream out.

  “That’s right baby. You will be screaming that name all night.” Pompous bastard.

  He continues his ministrations with his tongue and adds another finger and pumps them harder until I am going over the edge again. Licking up my body he stops at my nipples and alternates licking and pinching them. I need him in me now. “Please, Jake. I need you.” He ignores me and keeps torturing and setting my body on fire. I grab his cock in my hand and stoke up and down. He lets a hiss out and tries to move away. I take the head of him and swipe my finger across the tip and suck the pre cum off my finger. His pupils dilate while he is watching me. I rub him along my clit and down towards my entrance never allowing him to penetrate. I lock my eyes on his the whole time I am pleasuring myself. As soon as my orgasm starts from using him like a sex toy, he enters in me in one long hard thrust, and I shatter. I have unleashed a beast, and he pulls all the way out, slapping my clit with his dick before immediately sliding back in. After three orgasms I am dripping, and feeling him filling me and emptying me has me on the brink again.

  He flips me over and enters me from behind. He brings one hand to rub my clit, and I know he is barely hanging on, the speed and pressure of his thrusts are getting faster and harder. “Look at me, Paisley,” he commands of me.

  I look at him over my shoulder and watch him work his body bringing me the ultimate pressure. Removing his dick completely from me, I whimper but he
quickly thrusts his finger in and coats it with my juices. He is filling me deeply with his cock and rimming his finger around my asshole. He barely rims the hole and I feel the tingling starting in my toes. Once I start clenching around him and screaming his name, he pushes his finger in me and pounds into me a few more times before he roars his release. Completely wrecked I fall face first on the bed and feel his lips and hands across my back, shoulder blades, and all the way down my legs. “I love you, beautiful.”

  “I love you, Jake. You fucking shattered me tonight.”

  “My pleasure, beautiful. Sleep now.” He rolls me over and drags me across the bed so I am up against his side with no room between us. “This is so much better than a fucking picture.”

  Waking up to my husband is a new feeling, and one I don’t think I will get used to. I am studying his features, committing each new line to memory. There is a knock on our door and he groans, “At least we had last night.” Laura is eagerly awaiting me at the door. She wants to make sure we are all packed and ready to go home. After a quick breakfast and shower we are all headed to the airport. I have arranged for Marcus to sell my car and whatever else I need, there are stores in Kansas. Laura keeps us entertained with what she expects out of her new family and finally the last few days catch up with her and she dozes off.

  “What’s wrong? You are as fidgety as I have ever seen you?” He knows me so well. I don’t know how to broach the subject. “Talk to me. I can’t fix it if I don’t’ know, Pais.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but how is Lisa going to be with her calling me Mommy?” I don’t want to sound ungrateful for the love she is showering on me, but I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot.

  “I promise it will be fine. Lisa and Mick were very aware of these plans. We have all come a long way since the beginning. It was definitely a learning experience, but we all want what is best for her, and the more people that love her the better her life will be.”

  “I am kind of nervous about how I will fit in your life. I don’t have a job, I don’t know if I can do some freelance campaigns from home.”

  “You don’t ‘fit in’ to my life, you are a part of my life. Simple as that. You can work or not. I would prefer you be home with the kids, but we can figure out stuff as it comes up. Baby, I am financially secure, and we will be fine. I am not Donald Trump, but we aren’t destitute.”

  “Jake, I have my own money. I have worked hard and been compensated well.” I am expecting a fight about this.

  “Use it how you want, but I take care of you and the kids. No discussion on this, Paisley.” That was better than I thought.

  “Okay. I know I will be busy for a bit settling in, and I have to find a doctor and learn everyone’s routine.”

  “Stop worrying, I promise you it will be fine.” I relax and believe in his words.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Six months later

  I was an amateur at this parenting thing. Laura can work me and get whatever she wants. Jake has had to step in and curtail her demands. Mick made me feel better telling me she does the same thing with him. He said she likes to do the divide and conquer thing, then find the weak link. Lisa just laughed and said there is never one way to do things. This transition has been easier than I thought. Lisa was relatively okay with Laura calling me Mommy, which still shocks me. They have their own relationship, and Laura loves everyone.

  Finding out we were having a girl was a magical moment. Jake was ecstatic, another girl to spoil and love. Then he started groaning when he realized it was another female to protect. Our home is perfect. I had to make no changes except to the kitchen. Seriously whoever designs kitchens does not take into consideration that not everyone is the Jolly Green Giant and nothing irritates me more than not being able to reach things. Seeing the focal point of our living room floored me. He had taken my once treasured wall piece, and had it made into a huge wooden sign with that poem, ‘Loving A Sailor.’

  Creativity and shower sex has become the norm for us. Laura splits her time with us, and the times we don’t have her I am catching up on sleep. She is one bundle of energy, and I need to find her off switch. Jake just laughs at me and tells me it will only get worse when we have two. I finally realize it is easier to trust in him, he told me everything would be fine, and it really is. Better than fine, actually.

  Chapter 49

  Jake

  Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don't blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being "in love", which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.”

  Louis de Bernières

  Seeing her swell with our child is one of the sexiest things I have ever witnessed. She has adapted to motherhood and family life like she was born for it, which is exactly what I knew would happen. Deciding not to go back to work was what was best for our family, and she still consults with Wayne on some marketing campaigns, and it helps her feel needed independent. Today is the day we will meet our newest addition. We have been in this room for the last six hours and she is almost ready to push.

  I am a nervous wreck, we are experiencing this together, and I can’t even reassure her. “Jake, for once I can be the voice of reason. Women have been birthing babies for centuries. This is nothing new.”

  “It is for me. This is the first one my woman has birthed and if one more person comes in here and looks at what is mine, I will lose my shit.”

  “All part of the process, babe.”

  “Fuck the process, Paisley. Couldn’t you have picked a female doctor?”

  “I did Mr. Overbearing. She isn’t on call today. Tell your impatient daughter she should have waited.” I decide right now to follow the rule of ‘Silence is Golden’ because she is getting uncomfortable, and that doesn’t give me the euphoric feeling I crave. It can get downright scary. Right then another doctor or nurse comes in and sticks his fucking hands up inside my wife, and I count to ten, and then twenty to calm myself.

  “Okay, Mrs. Grant, time to start pushing.” That’s right dickhead . . . Mrs. Grant.

  Paisley rolls her gorgeous eyes at me and grabs my hand. The same hand I think is broken, but that happened pre-epidural. “Ready?” She already has unshed tears in her eyes.

  I bring her hand up to my mouth and kiss her knuckles. “Ready, beautiful.” After countless pushes and cuss words, some I am sure she made up along the way, our little girl is screaming and being weighed and cleaned. The nurse places her in Paisley’s arms, and I commit this image to my memory. It is one I never want to forget. I can’t take my eyes off them and silently dry my face. Her hair is sparse but dark in color, but she has her mom’s features.

  “Morgan Kristan Grant, you ready to meet your father?” Paisley kisses her head and hands her to me. I take her easily and am quickly mesmerized with this piece of Paisley and me. The best pieces of us. “Wow,” I hear her whisper.

  “What?” She is wiping her cheeks.

  “The day you told me you would cradle our baby with the same arms you hold me with . . . I tried visualizing you holding our baby. Seeing the real thing is incredible and tops what my mind made up. I am more in love with you today than I was then.” She humbles me. She grounds me, and she fucking completes me.

  We don’t have much time before Laura makes her way into the room and announces that she has the prettiest sister, and that she will always take care of her. This is when
you know you have done something right in your life; when the best pieces of you continue to grow and be better people than you could have ever hoped for. I look over at my family and Paisley mouths, “Endless. Our love is endless.”

  Playlist for Pieces of Paisley

  Amazed Lonestar

  Girl In A Country Song Maddie & Tae

  Best Days Of Your Life Kellie Pickler

  Hard To Love Lee Brice

  Blurry Puddle of Mudd

  God Bless The USA Lee Greenwood

  Fall Clay Walker

  I Wish I Could Break Your Heart Cassadee Pope

  Learn My Lesson Daughtry

  Cross My Heart George Strait

  Just Don’t Bite It NWA

  Smile Lonestar

  I Miss When Lonestar

  All I Really Want Alanis Morissette

  So What Pink

  Goodbye To You Michelle Branch

  First Time Lifehouse

  Never Let Her Go Florida Georgia Line

  Ice Ice Baby Vanilla Ice

  What Might Have Been Little Texas

  Here Comes Goodbye Rascal Flatts

  Tenerife Sea Ed Sheeran

  Acknowledgements

  This never gets easier . . . First, all the readers for taking a chance on me. I am an avid reader myself and never doubt the healing powers of a good book.

  My betas- This was my first time using them and it made the process so much more enjoyable, and the laughter was music to me. In no particular order (except alphabetical):

  Amanda Miller- From Not Enough to allowing me to use the name Paisley (shut up Paul) I value your friendship, wisdom and guidance. You will forever be a cherished friend.

  Danielle Bolme- I can’t even remember when we met, but since then you have been a constant support and I appreciate all the time you take for me and the friendship that was gained, is irreplaceable. I am glad you finally got your book boyfriend.