Perfecting Patience

by Tabatha Vargo

Those words turned me to mush every time. I reached down and picked her up. Who knew the first day of school was such an emotional thing?

  “I love you, too, pretty girl. Me and mommy are so proud of you.”

  I kissed her forehead and set her feet back into the grass outside the school. She waved good-bye again and ran back to the entrance doors. Her book bag, which looked too big for her, bounced up and down the entire way.

  Before I got back in the car, I wiped away my tears so Patience wouldn’t know I’d gotten upset.

  “She looks too little to be going inside that big school,” Patience said when I shut the door and cranked the car.

  “Yeah, she does.” I turned and looked at the school once more.

  I’d made it back from touring just in time to be there for Sky’s first day of school. I refused to miss it.

  “So who won the bet?” Patience asked as I pulled away from the curb.

  “I did.”

  She looked over at me with a look that told me she knew I was lying.

  “I find it hard to believe you didn’t cry,” she said accusingly.

  “Fine. You win,” I said as I pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and handed it over.

  She folded it up with a smile and stuffed it in her bra. Her full cleavage popped out above her maternity top. Pregnancy looked good on my wife.

  “Look at the road, Zeke,” she said with a grin when she caught me staring.

  I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her when we got home. Since Skylar was born, we rarely got any alone time and once Kylee, our three-year-old, came, she lived hooked to Patience’s hip. Finn had agreed to take Kylee to the park while we took Skylar to her first day of kindergarten, which meant I had exactly two hours alone with Patience.

  When we turned into the drive of our house, all I could think about was peeling off her clothes and making love to her until she couldn’t take it anymore. I’d been gone for three weeks and when I was gone, I missed Patience so much.

  You’d think we’d be used to it by now, but there was nothing like coming home to my little family and then spending that first night home in bed with my beautiful wife.

  Patience grabbed her back and made a tiny pain-filled noise as we were walking up the steps to our front door.

  “You okay, baby?” I asked with concern.

  “My back’s been sore lately,” she confessed.

  Three pregnancies she’d gone through and every time she never complained. She was only six months in, but I could tell this baby was taking its toll on her. Another girl was on her way. Go figure an ex-womanizer like myself would be surrounded by all girls. It was my torture from the gods knowing one day my three daughters would grow up to be teenagers and would be approached by guys like me.

  Patience made another noise and instead of letting her finish the steps, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to the front door. She laughed and buried her face in my neck until I put her down to unlock the door.

  “Why don’t you go sit down and relax. Is there anything you want?” If she had to carry and deliver the babies, then the least I could do was make sure she was comfortable and had everything she wanted.

  “No, but I think I’ll take you up on the sitting and relaxing thing.” She sat slowly on the couch and started to rub her back.

  Just like that, I forgot all about my needs. Sex could wait when my snowflake needed something.

  Patience

  Zeke massaged my back until I fell asleep on the couch. I’d never admit it to him, but this pregnancy was the hardest one yet.

  I missed him like crazy when he was gone on tour, but with the girls, I couldn’t go with him anymore, especially now that Skylar was in school.

  When I woke up, I was in my bed and it was three in the afternoon. I folded the covers back and made my way into the living room. The guys were there playing with the girls. The girls loved the boys so much, and Finn, Chet, and Tiny—or as the girls liked to call them Uncle Tin, Uncle Tet, and Uncle Iney—had finally met their match when it came to females. There wasn’t anything the boys wouldn’t do for my girls.

  I crept past the living room and into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I passed the photo of our wedding day on the wall and laughed at our crazy crew. Zeke had Finn, Chet, and Tiny on his side, of course, and I had Sydney, Megan, and Hope. The picture was of all of us posing with funny faces.

  I loved looking through our wedding photos. It was one of the first times that everyone I loved was in a room together. Even Zeke’s dad made an appearance. Apparently, he’d been sober since Zeke left and had been going to therapy for his anger issues. Zeke still had his issues with him, but whenever we visited South Carolina, we were sure to take the girls by to see him. I could hardly believe how different he was with the girls.

  I was rinsing my glass and sticking it in the dish drainer when Zeke came up behind me and put his arms around my not-so-tiny waist.

  “How are you feeling, beautiful?” He kissed the back of my neck.

  “Better. You should’ve woke me up. I slept all day.”

  “Good. I’m home now, baby. You relax and let me take care of the girls.”

  I turned and put my arms around his neck. My belly poked out so much that I couldn’t get as close to him as I’d like. He looked down between us and then back at me with a sweet smile.

  “You know I can’t just lie around in bed all day.”

  He leaned down and kissed me sweetly on the lips.

  “How about I keep you up all night tonight, exhausting you until all you want to do is lie in bed all day tomorrow?” He ran his tongue along the seam of my lips.

  “That sounds delicious.” I flirted back.

  “You’re delicious.”

  That night, once the boys went home and the girls were all tucked in. Zeke took me in our room and proceeded to undress me.

  “I’ve waited all day to be alone with you.” He kissed my shoulder and ran his fingers down my sides.

  “You were alone with me today.”

  “Yeah, but you weren’t feeling good and you needed sleep.” He planted tiny kisses from my shoulder up the side of my neck.

  “I’m so lucky to have you. Most men wouldn’t care about how their wives felt after going without sex for weeks.” I lifted my arms so he could take off my top.

  He leaned down and kissed my stomach, and then he untied my drawstring pants and pulled them down. He worked his hands down my thighs, and then massaged my sore calf muscles until my legs tingled. When he got to my ankles, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I sat down on our bed.

  He took his time planting soft kisses on the insides of my legs as he massaged my feet. It felt amazing. It wasn’t long until I was lying in bed completely naked and he was kissing every part of me.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered over and over again.

  “I feel huge.” I sucked in a breath when he ran his tongue across my nipple.

  Everything was so sensitive and I was aching for him. I pulled on his hips to press him against me.

  “I promise you’re not huge. You’re perfect.”

  I chuckled a little to myself. “Oh, am I?”

  He was sucking my earlobe now and slowly working himself between my legs. I could hardly wait to feel him inside me.

  “Absolutely. You’re more than perfect and you’re hot. As a matter of fact, if you get any hotter, you might melt.” He smiled down at me with those words.

  I could remember when he used to say that to me all the time, and I smiled to myself when I thought about everything we’d been through to be together.

  I leaned up and kissed him while I ran my fingers over the three tiny snowflakes on his forearm. Zeke kissed me back and then he spent the rest of the night making good on his promise to exhaust me.

  Acknowledgements

  First and foremost, I’d like to thank Melissa Andrea for always being there when I get a mushy brain and can’t think straight. There’s nothing like having a person
you can call who will listen to all your mindless rambling until a story unfolds. You’ve become my best friend throughout all of this, and I can’t wait until we’re neighbors.

  Secondly, I’d like to thank Regina Wamba, the best cover designer around. Not only are you my amazing cover designer, you’re my friend. I think you’re amazing in all that you do and I’m blessed that I ran into you. Thank you for all that you’ve done for me and all that I know you’ll do in the future.

  To Cassie McCown, the person who gets to see messy me, thank you. I’m a storyteller, not an editor, and I’m so glad to have such a patience, sweet, and caring person on my side when it comes to making my work the best it can be. Thank you for digging through my mess and cleaning up after me. You’re amazing and I look forward to working with you in the future.

  To my family, thank you for learning how to stack the dishwasher, load the washing machine, and clean up after yourselves. You guys have been so patience with me and I appreciate all the support you give me on a daily basis. I’m mommy first and foremost, but I love you all for picking up the slack when my head is stuck in a story.

  And finally, to Matthew, you’re my base, my lover, and my best friend. You’re the reason I write such beautiful romance. You’ve taught me well. We’ve grown together, and helped each other become what we are today. I thank God everyday for giving me you and I look forward to our future together. I love you, baby. Forever.

  More from Tabatha Vargo

  Playing Patience

  (Book one in the Blow Hole Boys Series)

  Wicked Fate

  (Book one in the Wicked Trilogy)

  On the Plus Side

  (Book One of the Chubby Girl Chronicles)

  Please feel free to contact Tabatha at the following avenues.

  www.facebook.com/tabathadvargo

  www.twitter.com/tabathavargo

  www.tabathavargo.blogspot.com

  Thousands of children deal with abusive environments every day. For more information regarding sexual molestation/child abuse please visit the American Humane Association.

  If you or someone you love suffers from drug abuse, get help. Contact the National Institute of Drug Abuse for more information on how.

  If you or someone you love suffers from depression or anxiety disorders, get help. Contact the Anxiety and Depression Association of American for more information on how.