by Josie Kerr
“Exactly what it looks like, b’y, although, I can’t say that I needed much of a costume,” Mick said with a grin. “Though this hood thing is itchy.” Mick scratched at the band that ran under his bearded jaw.
“Unca C-C!” Emily ran through the house and into Colin’s arms. “I a bee!”
“I can see that. You’re the cutest bee that I ever did see,” Colin said with a laugh and a smooch to the little girl’s face. “You’re sparkly, too. All that pollen gives you sparkles.”
Mick shook his head. “You know that Em couldn’t resist a little bit of glitter.”
“Of course I couldn’t. Every little bee needs some sparkle. Hey, Colin.” Em greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, stretching up on her toes so that he wouldn’t have to bend so far to her.
Colin looked at Em. She was definitely sparkly. “Wow. You’re a…sparkly…”
“Honey pot, I’m a honey pot. And I’m not sparkly. I glisten. Honey glistens.”
Colin had to laugh at that. “You’re right. So Papa Bear, a honey bee, and a honey pot. That’s pretty cute.”
“Where are Bailey and Maude? And where’s your costume, Colin? We said we were all wearing costumes.” Em looked at Colin disapprovingly.
“Yeah, where’s your costume, Colin? I’ll be damned if I’m going to be the only adult man in a costume.”
“You at least have some sort of pants on your costume. I’m wearing tights, Mick. Bright green tights.”
Em laughed. “You’ve spent most of your adult life rolling around with another man while wearing a pair of tiny spandex shorts and not much else and this is the outfit that you’re going to be embarrassed about?”
She had a point.
“Yeah, yeah, okay. I’ll put the rest of the costume on when Bailey gets here with Maude. We had an interesting afternoon.” Colin proceeded to tell them about the legal documents that Bailey received earlier.
Em’s jaw dropped more and more the longer Colin talked. “I can’t believe that. What…?”
“I know, Em. And what’s weirder is that Tripp’s phone was disconnected when she tried to call him. Hopefully when Bailey got some answers when she got to Ed and Madeleine’s.”
Colin’s phone buzzed with a text message.
Bailey: I know you didn’t wear your costume.
Bailey: Get those tights over that ass and that hat on your head.
Bailey: Be there in 10.
Colin snorted when he got the message. “She’ll be here in ten minutes. I gotta go get the rest of this costume on or she’ll have my hide.”
“And you won’t get any of hers tonight,” Em said with a wink.
Both Colin and Mick gaped at Em’s dirty mouth, and she just grinned back at them.
“Yeah, I’m gonna go change.” Colin stomped off to the bathroom.
Bailey was sitting in the living room when Colin emerged from the small powder room after wrestling with the rest of his costume. Em did a little clap and hopped up and down when she saw him, and he thought he actually heard a “squee” come out of her mouth.
“Dang, that is cute. Cute, cute, cute. Dang. We should have thought of this, Mick.”
“The Jolly Green Giant doesn’t have a beard,” Mick said reasonably. “And ducky, I love you, but there’s no way you’re getting me in a pair of tights.” Em stuck her lip out in a pout but then grinned.
“I know that look, Mick, and you’ll be wearing a pair of tights before you know it, buster,” Ashley said as she waltzed through the door with a baby on each hip. “All y’all look really cute. Really, really cute.” She sniffled.
The four adults turned to look at Ashley. “Ashley, honey, what in the world is wrong?” Em asked.
“Nothing,” she whispered.
Bailey and Em looked at each other and nodded. “Okay, girls’ meeting. In the kitchen. Now.” And they hustled Ashley off to the other room.
“What…?”
“I have no idea, b’y,” Mick said. “Where the hell is Rory?”
Colin heard a sigh behind him. “Here I am.”
Mick looked over Colin’s shoulder. “You don’t mean…” And Mick guffawed. He laughed so hard that he had to sit down and put his head between his knees. He calmed down, looked at Rory, and immediately started laughing again.
He finally recovered enough to speak. “Do Paddy and Sheila know yet?”
“No. We just confirmed it.”
“But you must have suspected, because you have a costume…”
“Ashley bought it after last Hallowe’en as a joke. She thought it would be funny to wear one night when we were…you know.”
Mick held up his hand. “I don’t need to know about your roleplay games, b’y.” That got a grin from Rory.
Colin looked at Rory’s white pants and shirt. “I don’t get it.”
Rory sighed and put on the white hat and the apron that he had clutched in his fist.
“You’re a baker?”
“Yeh.”
“So?”
“Ashley, honey, your costume is so cute! It’s darling!” Em said as she pulled on her friend’s hand while Bailey pushed Ashley from behind.
“It is, Ashley. It’s darling. I promise,” Bailey said.
Colin looked at Ashley, hoping to get a better idea of what Rory’s costume was. Ashley wore a box that had a window cut in the front.
“I still don’t get it, guys.”
Bailey rolled her eyes. “Oh, my lord, Colin, you are so dense sometimes. She’s an oven.”
“Okay, I can see that,” he said, though he really couldn’t. “What are the girls?”
“They’re bread!” Em squealed. She actually squealed.
Colin looked at Rory and shook his head. “Sorry, y’all. I still don’t get it, I guess.”
“I’m a baker, ya eejit! And she’s got buns in the oven! Jaysus!” Rory exploded.
“Sheesh. Calm down, Irish,” Colin said with a shrug. He guessed it was a good costume.
Bailey squeezed his hand and whispered, “Ashley’s pregnant again, Colin.”
“Oh!”
“Okay, girlie, spill it.”
The children were sacked out after the excitement of trick-or-treating, and the adults had all collapsed in the den.
“Oh, where to begin?” Bailey said with a loud exhalation of breath. “The long and short of it? Tripp’s gone.”
“He’s gone?” Em frowned. “Where’d he go?”
Bailey shrugged and shook her head. “No one knows. Madeleine doesn’t even know, and you know how close Tripp and his mother are.” She looked thoughtful before she started speaking again. “He apparently did owe quite a bit of money to the wrong people, so I guess he decided it would be better if he disappeared. I could never figure out his logic on just about anything.”
“And that’s why he relinquished his parental rights instead of just merely granting you sole custody,” Colin said quietly.
Bailey nodded. “It’s the most unselfish thing he could have done, I think.” Colin nodded.
“I do hope he’s all right and is safe,” Bailey said. “Even after all the mess.” The others all nodded.
“Oh! Oh, God!” Ashley bolted from the couch and ran through the house.
“Shite. I’m gonna go check on her,” Rory said.
“I think we should probably go,” Bailey said. “I bet she’s sick.”
“You’re probably right, Bailey. Bless her heart.” Em looked at Mick. “Why don’t you and Colin gather the girls up?”
Mick nodded and he and Colin wandered into the main part of the house.
“How are you feeling about this?” Em asked Bailey when they were alone.
Bailey sighed. “I don’t really know yet, but I’m thinking that Tripp might have actually learned something during these past few months.” She chuckled softly. “It’s just so weird.”
“Definitely weird,” Em said with a pat on Bailey�
�s hand.
“Ashley’s definitely sick, but Rory doesn’t know if it’s baby sick or if the stress got to her or if she ate something that didn’t agree with her,” Mick said. He was carrying a sleeping Emily in his arms and Colin hovered behind him, also with a small girl.
“We told him that we were gonna leave and you’d check on Ash tomorrow,” Colin added.
The two couples and their children made their way out of the house, and headed home.
After they arrived home and got Maude to bed, Colin and Bailey sat on the couch while music played softly on the stereo.
“I can’t believe she’s pregnant again,” Bailey said. “I mean, I can, but wow, I can’t.”
Colin chuckled. “Apparently Rory skipped his follow-up with the urologist after he got snipped and didn’t get the final testing done.”
“Oh, boy. That’s not good at all,” Bailey said with her own little laugh. She inhaled deeply and settled closer into Colin’s side.
Colin made small circles on her arm and while he spoke, he stared straight ahead. “Do you want more children, Bailey?”
“Sure, but not right now. When we’re more settled and Maude’s a teeny bit older, hopefully out of diapers, but not too much older.”
“‘When we’re more settled’”?
Bailey sat up a bit but was still nestled under Colin’s arm. “I mean, we’re thinking about moving. The gym is really starting to take off and like it or not, you’re still recovering. We’re hiring more people so Rory and Em can stay in town and not be on the road so much, so I’m doing a lot more coordination at the office. Plus, I’ve got two more years on the IUD.”
“That makes sense.” Colin nudged Bailey’s chin up with his thumb and kissed her softly on the mouth. He was pleased when she deepened the kiss and wiggled a bit against him.
“We can still practice, though. Just to keep fit,” she whispered.
Colin laughed and scooped her up with a whoop, and carried her into the bedroom.
Epilogue
Three Years Later
Colin opened one eye to look at the clock. He knew it had to be early because the sky was still pitch black.
He raised his head and blinked. Man. 4:15. I don’t even have to get up for another 45 minutes.
He turned his head to see the other side of the bed empty and realized that’s why he awakened. Bailey must have really had to use the bathroom. She never got up early if she didn’t have to. The only reason she was a morning person was because having an almost-four-year-old necessitated it.
Colin rested his eyes until he heard the bathroom door open. He opened his eyes to see Bailey’s naked figure padding across the bedroom to the bed.
“Hey, babydoll, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I had too much to eat at the birthday party,” Bailey said as she hopped back into bed and snuggled into Colin’s big, bare body.
Colin chuckled as he thought about party the night before. Everybody met at Em and Mick’s Victorian to celebrate Ashley and Colin’s birthdays and the house teemed with three generations of happy people.
“Duke would have loved last night. I know he always wanted a big family,” Colin said, somewhat wistfully.
“Well, there’s definitely a bunch of us now. Heck, Rory and Ashley’s crew alone almost fill up a minivan.”
“Can you imagine when they all get to school? You know they’re gonna be known as ‘Those Doyle Girls’. They’re already a handful.”
“Well, look at who their parents are.” Bailey giggled. “Do you think they’ll ever get married?”
Colin shrugged and pulled Bailey’s small hand into his two big ones. He kissed the simple gold band she wore. “I don’t know. This works for them, apparently.”
“Yep, it does. Just like being married to you, works for me.” Bailey tucked her head under Colin’s chin and nestled closer to his body.
Another chuckle rumbled through Colin’s chest.
“What are you laughing about, Colin?”
“Just thinking about Rory and Paddy and all those little girls running around. And Mick and Emily and their glitter.”
“And you and Maude.”
“And me and Maude. I like coming home to my girls after dealing with all the testosterone at the gym.”
“You’ve got female fighters, though.”
“Yeah, but they’re different. They’re still so new that they still think they have to prove themselves to the guys.”
“They’re someone’s little girls, though.”
Colin laughed. “I dunno know. If I didn’t know Liam, I’d think his daughter was hatched or something. Whew! Talk about raw.” Bailey could see him smiling in the dim light of the bedroom.
“I like having a girl.” Bailey’s breath caught. It never failed to make her heart sing when he referred to Maude as “his girl.” Of course, she always had been in practice, but now, with the adoption finalized, it was official.
“So, do you wanna go back to sleep, darlin’, or you wanna do…stuff?” Colin murmured in her ear and nibbled on her neck.
“Well, it’s your birthday, what do you want to do?”
“Oh, maybe do stuff in a little bit, but right now, all I wanna do is feel you.” Colin rolled to his side, pulled her closer, and wrapped his arms around her. “Yep, this is what I wanna do.”
“I think Willy has other ideas,” Bailey said with a chuckle when she felt Colin’s erection poke into her belly. A laugh rumbled through Colin’s chest.
“He can wait for a little bit.”
“You sure?” Bailey stroked his hard length.
“I’m thinking you don’t wanna wait,” he said, grinning more. “So what’s on the agenda for today, babydoll?”
“I have to go register Maude for pre-K today.”
“I can’t believe my baby is starting real school this year. That’s just crazy.”
Bailey didn’t say anything, just burrowed deeper into warmth of Colin’s arms.
“Bailey, you okay? She’ll be fine, honey. You’ll be fine, babydoll.”
“I have another present for you, Colin.”
“Oh, I like your early morning naked presents.”
She swatted him but laughed. “It’s not a naked present. Well, it is, but it’s different.”
“Is it another pair of magic panties? I like those, too.”
Bailey shook her head, grinning, and turned over to get something off the night table. “You’re gonna need to turn on the lamp, Colin.”
Colin obliged and cocked an eyebrow at Bailey. She took his breath away every time he saw her, but especially when she was like this—her hair down and crazy-curly, her body soft and warm in their big bed, and her big grey eyes glimmering with emotion.
“Oh, honey, if you’re already almost in tears, I’m not sure I can handle this present. Bailey?”
She handed him a plastic stick. A stick with two pink lines.
“I didn’t replace the IUD when…” Bailey was interrupted by Colin sealing his mouth over hers.
“We’re gonna have a baby? You’re sure?”
“That was my fourth test.”
“That’s why you didn’t have any drinky-drinks yesterday at the party.”
“Yes. Are you really happy?”
“Babydoll, I couldn’t be happier. I really couldn’t be.”
Bailey blew out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding and pressed her mouth against his.
Colin finally broke the kiss. He pulled back his head and looked at Bailey with a serious expression on his face. “You know what this means?”
“What?” Bailey started to panic.
“Pregnant sex. I love pregnant sex. As a matter of fact, I think I wanna have some pregnant sex right now.”
And he rolled her under him.
Bailey giggled with sweet relief as she looped her arms around his neck. “Happy birthday, Colin. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Bailey. I love you, too.”
Colin & Bailey’s Playlist
Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) – Bob Dylan
The Parting Glass - The Pogues
Love is in the Air – Tom Jones
Babe – Styx
Baby Face – The Kinks
Happy – Pharrell Williams
The Way You Love Me – Faith Hill
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - NSYNC
Birthday Morning – The Association
Fight the Good Fight – Triumph
Rockstar - Nickelback
Clansman – Saor Patrol
Cherry Bomb – The Runaways
Bruised but not Broken – Joss Stone
Barnburning – Gangstagrass
I Got You – Split Enz
I Thank You – Sam and Dave
Opelousas (Sweet Relief) – Maria McKee
You can find all of Josie’s playlists on her Spotify station.
KICKER
A DS Fight Club Novel
Josie Kerr
This is a work of fiction and does not in any way advocate irresponsible behavior. This book contains content that is not suitable for readers 17 and under. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.
Any resemblance to actual things, events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, places, brands, products, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademark status and ownership of any location names or products mentioned in this book. The author received no compensation for any mention of said trademark.
Cover image:
Photographer: RLS Model Images Photography
Model: Matthew Eaton
Copyright © 2016 Josie Kerr
Published by Hot Words and Cold Coffee, LLC
All rights reserved.
Digital Edition