by Lily Graison
When she lay limply under him, he kissed each of her breasts and lifted his head. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open as she panted for breath. He smiled while looking at her and let his gaze drink in the sight of her.
The dusky pink areolas on her breast were darker than he remembered and small blue veins now ran just under the thin skin of her full breasts. A small, barely-there bulge curved her once flat belly and his hand covered the small mound instinctively. He stared at his hand, his fingers splayed across her stomach and his pulse raced with the knowledge of the tiny life now growing there. A baby. His baby. He looked up to find her staring at him. He smiled and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For leaving you alone yesterday. I shouldn’t have done that.”
She looked away briefly before looking back up at him. “It’s all right,” she said. “It’s pretty shocking news. Been there and had the nervous breakdown myself.”
“Sorry for that too.” He stared at her, watching her blink up at him until the sound of multiple voices from the other room caught his attention. He moved off the bed, helping her to her feet. “Get dressed before your old man comes in here and kills me where I stand.”
When she was dressed and had run a brush through her hair, he unlocked the door and pulled it open, waiting for her. Mick walked into the hall with her and rounded the corner of the living room to find five men sitting in the room. He recognized Adam, Jacob and Seth immediately. The other two stared at him with wide eyes before they both grinned. He looked down at Faith and nodded to them. “I suppose these are your other two brothers?”
“Yep,” she said, looking displeased at seeing them. “That’s Paul on the sofa and Matthew over by the fireplace.”
The five Weston men were staring openly and Mick almost shrank under their inspection. Paul, like Seth and Faith was dark haired with green eyes. Matthew resembled Adam and Jacob, light brown hair with brown eyes. They were all tall and Mick looked down at Faith and shook his head. How the hell had she ended up so short?
“Faith,” Paul said. “Are you not going to introduce us to your … friend?”
“You know very well who he is, Paul. You wouldn’t even be here if you didn’t.”
“Maybe, but its rude otherwise.”
“Then I’ll just be rude, then. Where’s daddy?”
“Out back.”
Mick saw her take a deep breath before nodding her head and looking up at him. She motioned to the doorway leading into the kitchen before turning and leading him through the house. His heart was racing by the time they stepped out the door.
She led him across the backyard to a small greenhouse at the back of the property. The door was open and Mick could hear someone singing softly. He sucked in a nervous breath as they neared. Why the hell was he so nervous? Was it because Faith’s father was a minister or because he’d married the man’s only daughter while intoxicated? Or the fact he’d knocked her up?
He stopped just outside the door when Faith did.
“Daddy? Do you have a minute?”
“I always have a minute for you, Faith,” the Reverend said without looking up from what he was doing. “What do you need?”
“Um, Mick’s here.”
The Reverend’s hands stilled and Mick felt a lump form in his throat as the man slowly looked up and turned his head to the door. Faith’s father appraised him from head to toe, his gaze lingering on the piercings and tattoos. His lips thinned and turned white in apparent disapproval. When he raised his eyes, their gazes locking, Mick knew he was in deep shit. He should have brought one of the guys with him. With those five brothers still in the house, he should have brought every damn person he knew.
Faith’s father was tall like his son’s, his brown hair was peppered heavily with gray and his eyes were as green as Faith’s were. He was older than Mick had imagined. He looked near sixty but what did he know? He knew so little about Faith, or her family, so he wasn’t about to start guessing now.
The Reverend wiped his hands on a towel by his arm and turned his whole body to face them before looking at Faith. “Go grab us a pitcher of lemonade, Faith. It’s a bit hot out here this morning.”
Faith glanced at Mick before turning and starting back to the house. He watched her as she climbed the steps, turning back to glance at him once, before disappearing inside the house.
“So, Mick, is it?”
Mick turned back around and looked into the greenhouse. “Yes, Sir. Mick Sheppard.”
The Reverend nodded his head and looked back down at the potted plant in front of him. He picked up a small hand shovel, scooping dirt from a bag with it before adding it to the plant. He didn’t speak again until he was finished. “I don’t guess I have to tell you how I feel about this whole situation, do I?”
“No, Sir. I can imagine,” Mick said, leaning his shoulder against the greenhouse doorframe. “It isn’t something I’m particularly proud of myself.”
The Reverend nodded his head again. “This isn’t what I wanted for my daughter,” he said, turning to look at him. “I certainly never entertained the thought of her marrying some man she barely knows, let alone end up pregnant. I won’t lie and say I’m happy about any of this but what’s done is done. Nothing we do now will change it. All we can do is deal with it the best way we can and move on.”
Mick didn’t say anything to that. What could he say? The fact the man hadn’t thrown anything at him yet gave him hope he’d still be able to walk away, preferably without a permanent limp. The Reverend continued to stare at him, his gaze hard and penetrating. Mick felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. He shifted on his feet and hoped like hell Faith would hurry back. How long did it take to grab a pitcher of lemonade, anyway?
The Reverend continued. “I don’t want my daughter’s life to be ruined by this. She’s young. Too young to be dealing with so much at her age. I only told her not to sign those divorce papers because of the baby. Once we’ve seen to its welfare, you’re free to go about your business. The more distance between you, Faith, and my grandchild, the better.”
The old man could have punched him and he didn’t think it would have stunned him any more. He straightened and looked him in the eye. “And if distance isn’t what I want?”
“I don’t really care what you want,” the Reverend said.
Mick snorted a laugh and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I’ll give you credit for being honest,” he said.
“Complete honesty is all you’ll ever get from me, Mick. I don’t know you but from what I can see, you’re not the type of man I envisioned for my daughter.”
“So, I’m not good enough for Faith. Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Any man who would so carelessly seduce a young girl with alcohol and wild parties and marry her on a whim isn’t the kind of man I want around her or my grandchildren. You’ve done enough damage as it is.”
The man’s face had gone beet red and Mick knew nothing he said would improve the Reverends view of him. He’d already passed judgment on his character with a glance. He wanted him out of Faith’s life. He wanted him to pay for the damage he’d caused and move on like it never happened. Dusting the whole dirty ordeal under the rug so the neighbors wouldn’t be subjected to the tarnished soul that had seduced and corrupted his only daughter.
“That it then?” he asked. “You just want me to pay up and move along like it never happened?”
“Sounds about right to me.”
Mick stared at him and felt his blood heat in his veins. He’d imagined the meeting with Faith’s father would result in a beating he’d barely live through. Maybe a public humiliation or two but to be looked at like he was something foul on the man’s shoe hurt a little bit more. So, he wasn’t good enough for the good Reverend’s daughter. He could live with that. Hell, if he thought about it hard enough, he’d probably see that Faith’s father was one hundred pe
rcent right. He wasn’t good enough. He was a bastard who drank too much and acted without thinking. He lived his life hard and didn’t think about anything other than the moment in front of him. What good would he ever be to Faith? To his child? What good would ever come from him being a part of their lives?
None that he could see.
“I’ll have my lawyer contact you. You can work out a settlement with her. I’ll leave you and your family to your lily-white lives. I’ll not tarnish it any further.” With that, he turned and walked out of the greenhouse, stopping when he saw Faith coming toward him. She smiled at him while crossing the backyard.
“You’re not bleeding,” she said, softly, glancing into the greenhouse. “Daddy isn’t, is he?”
“No,” Mick said, looking at anything but her. “Listen, Faith, I’ll have Roxy call you. You can settle things with her. Whatever it is you want, just ask. If I have it to give, I will.” He glanced at her before walking away. As he rounded the side of the house, he clenched his jaw when he heard her call his name. He ignored her and kept walking.
“Mick! Where are you going?” Faith watched him disappear and turned to her father. “Daddy? What happened?”
“Let him go, Faith,” the Reverend said. “It’s better this way.”
Faith sat the tray with the lemonade and glasses down with a clink. “Better? What’s better?”
“Him leaving. Now, pour us something to drink.” He smiled but Faith could tell it was forced. Whatever had happened while she was in the house hadn’t been good. She could only imagine what her father had said and was running across the yard and around the house while her father yelled her name.
Mick was shutting the door on the SUV when she made it to the street. “Mick! Wait.” She was panting for breath by the time she reached the side of the vehicle and opened the driver’s side door. “Where are you going?”
“Go back in the house, Faith,” Mick said, starting the engine.
“What? Why?” His face was red, she noticed, his breaths taken harshly. Whatever her father said had pissed him off thoroughly. She stepped closer, reaching up to grab his arm. “Mick?”
He sighed and glanced down at her. “Answer one question for me, Faith.”
“What?” she said.
“If you hadn’t found out you were pregnant, would you have signed those papers?”
Faith inhaled a breath and held it. Did he want the truth or the lie she’d told herself repeatedly?
The truth was easy. She’d spent weeks thinking about him, wondering what her life would be like being a proper wife to him. Endless hours were wasted secretly writing Faith Sheppard, Mrs. Mick Sheppard, Mrs. Faith Sheppard repeatedly in a notebook like some lovesick high school girl with her first crush. She went to bed every night wondering where he was, if he was alone or if he’d found someone else. Lonely nights wishing she could just hear his voice. To ask him if he missed her. If he still wanted her. So many days spent hoping he’d call and say he wanted her more than anything in the world. That he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
The lie, however, left her feeling hollow and empty. She’d told herself repeatedly that they were wrong for each other. That she didn’t belong in his world and he would never fit into hers. They were too different, that they wanted different things out of life and once they’d sated their hunger for each other, there wouldn’t be anything left. But that’s all they were. Lies. She almost convinced herself to believe them. Until he came barreling back into her life.
She swallowed the sudden lump forming in her throat. There wasn’t any way to know the answers to the questions she asked herself daily unless she asked him and she didn’t have enough nerve to even dare.
“Would you,” he asked again.
The answer to that was simple. She looked up at him and knew it was now or never. “I don’t think you’re asking the right question, Mick,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow and lowered his arm, taking her hand. “And what is the right question?”
It felt as if her insides were going to shake loose any moment now. Her stomach ached and it felt harder to breathe suddenly. What if he doesn’t want me back? “The question,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady, “is did I want to sign the papers.”
He stared down at her, his hand tightening around hers until her fingers were pinched together. “Did you want to sign the papers?”
She answered without hesitating. “No.” His grip tightened to this side of pain before he reached down, lifting her from the ground and pulling her into the vehicle to sit her on his lap. His mouth covered hers an instant later, his tongue pushing past her lips. His hold on her tightened, his kiss bordering on ravenous. When he raised his head to look at her, she knew. He did want her.
“Does your father know you want to stay married to a heathen like me?”
She grinned. “No. He’d perform an exorcism on me if he did.”
He laughed. After meeting the Reverend he could see the old man doing that and worse. He glanced down, his hand pressing lightly against her stomach and said, “And what of the evil spawn you’re carrying around?”
“Oh, well its not the baby’s fault his father is the devil incarnate. I’m guessing daddy’s thinking raising him without your constant interference will rid him of your hellish ways.”
“An what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you think the baby will be better off without me?”
She shook her head. “No,” she said. “I’ve lived my whole life without my mother and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about her. Her leaving us was beyond anyone’s control but I still wonder about her. I don’t want my child, one who actually has a living father, to ever wonder why he wasn’t wanted.”
“What if I don’t know how to be a good father?”
“No one knows how, Mick. You think I have all the answers? I’m just as clueless as you are.” She glanced toward the house when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and felt her pulse start to race. “Unless you’re ready to fight your way past one angry minister and five equally moody brothers, I suggest you put this monster vehicle in gear.”
Mick glanced toward the house and saw the Reverend standing at the front door, Adam and Seth right behind him. He picked Faith up, sliding her over to the passenger seat before shutting his door. “Buckle up,” he said. “It might get bumpy.”
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter 6
“Do you even know where you’re going?”
“No, but it looks quiet and there isn’t a Weston in sight.” He glanced over at her and grinned. “Well, other than you.”
They’d been driving for over an hour, barely escaping Adam in town before heading out of Barton and toward the loneliest stretch of road he could find. He’d picked the right one, apparently. A dusty, abandoned farmhouse, dried up fields, and a fallen down barn were the only thing they’d seen. Well, other than this little piece of paradise, he thought, as he slowed down and pulled off the side of the road. There wasn’t a house for miles and for the first time since arriving in this hovel of a town, they were finally alone.
Faith grinned as he killed the engine before opening her door and sliding out of the SUV. Mick watched her walk toward the pond, smiling as she kicked off her shoes and waded into the water. The pond was nestled between large shade trees and surrounded by waist high grass. The sun glistened on one corner of it, the rest hidden in shadow. Dragonflies hovered in the air above the water and tiny ripples scattered across the surface.
“Are you just goin’ to sit there all day?”
He focused his gaze on Faith and smiled before getting out of the SUV and walking toward the pond. “I was just enjoying the view,” he said, stopping when he reached her.
“The view looks better up close.” She grinned and grabbed the hem of her shirt, lifting it over her head and tossing it to the ground. “Ever been skinny dippin’, city boy?”
His cock twitched at her words, all the blood in his brain rushing south as she squirmed out of her cut-off shorts. Her plain cotton panties and white bra gleamed bright in the sun and he watched with baited breath as she slowly peeled the material from her body. She now stood completely naked before him and he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so beautiful in his life.
“Well, are you just going to gawk or join me?”
“Gawk,” he said.
“Suit yourself.” She turned, her heart-shaped ass wiggling delightfully as she ran toward the water, splashing into the shallow end with a tiny squeal of “shit it’s cold” before diving in. When she emerged and turned to look at him, raising a hand before beckoning him to her with the crook of one finger, he reached for his shirt and pulled it over his head. When his bare feet hit the water moments later, he gasped at the temperature as she grinned and swam away from him.
He waded in to his knees and stopped as goose bumps pimpled his skin. “How in the hell do you swim in water this damn cold?”
“Don’t be such a baby, Mick.”
“I’m not being a baby,” he said. “This feels like ice water.”
She giggled and raised one eyebrow at him. “I can tell,” she said, nodding to him with her head.
He glanced down. The frigid water caused his dick to nearly disappear. Her giggles only made it worse. He looked back up at her, watching her bob in and out of the water and knew he had to do something and standing there while she watched him shrivel up to only a nub wasn’t it. He sucked in a breath and dove in, screaming as he came back up. “Fuck!” He took several sharp breaths, swimming toward her before stopping. “I can’t feel anything from the neck down.”