Color of Forgiveness

by Madeleine Beckett

  Myra drops her gaze and shakes her head.

  “I’m so sorry, Myra. I can’t imagine how hard that is on you. I just want you to know that you’re officially adopted into our family, okay? I know I hardly know you, but I’ve always had a good knack at judging character pretty quickly, and I do know my son. I know that the woman Dylan falls in love with has to be pretty amazing.”

  Myra’s mouth drops open. “Dylan’s not… he’s not…”

  “In love?” Sherri laughs lightly as she pats Myra on the arm. “Oh, he’s in love all right. I can’t tell you how different he is around you. The way he looks at you…” She smiles and shakes her head. “I’ve never seen him look at anyone like that, not even…” her voice trails off as she quickly shakes her head. “Never mind. Anyway, you’re good for him, and I couldn’t be happier.” She picks up a knife. “Now, let’s get this pie served up before Chad starts a riot.”

  * * *

  “Long day, huh?” Dylan says as he drops his shirt on the floor next to the bed and starts to unbutton his jeans.

  “Yeah... I had a great time, though. Your family is so wonderful. I know I just met them, but I think I’m in love with them. They just made me feel so… I don’t know… wanted? I just felt so comfortable with them.”

  Dylan pulls his boxers and jeans off and tosses them to the side. “Well, I think they’re all in love with you too. Jesus, I thought for sure a couple of times there that my mom was gonna break out the damn video camera and start filming us. And Chad… did you see his face when I said you could cook? He looked like he was gonna ditch Natalie and try to fucking steal you away from me,” he says, smiling as he pulls the covers back and climbs into bed.

  Myra giggles as she climbs in next to him. He bites back a snarl when he looks at her pajamas… fucking pajamas. Those will not be staying on because he will be getting her naked. Quick-like. And yeah, his cock is hard just from the thought of getting her naked.

  “Chad is so funny,” she says as she snuggles up next to him under the covers. “He seems to really love his food.”

  “You don’t mess with Chad’s food, ever. I’ve gotten my ass beaten by him too many times to count over the years when I got between him and his food.”

  His fingers touch the hem of her pajama top, pushing it up until he finds the warm, soft skin of her stomach. He gently runs his fingers back and forth before he starts slowly moving up, looking for that soft round flesh that he wants to squeeze and suck on.

  “Dylan,” Myra hisses.

  “What?” he asks innocently as his hand touches that swell of skin he was searching for. He groans as he squeezes her gently and rubs his thumb over her nipple.

  “We can’t. Someone will hear us.”

  “Nobody’s gonna hear us.”

  “Yes, they will. Everybody’s bedrooms are up here.”

  “I can be quiet,” he murmurs. “Can you?” he whispers, slipping his hand down and inside her panties, squeezing her ass.

  Dylan smiles as she squeaks in surprise at his touch. “Hmm…” he hums as his lips hover over her neck, his hot breath against her skin. “I don’t know if you can handle it.”

  A soft, strangled moan escapes her lips.

  “Do you like dirty talk, Myra?” he whispers into her ear. “You know I sure as fuck do.”

  She hums and nods.

  “How dirty do you like it?”

  “Very…”

  “Mm… I like it very dirty too. I might have to cover your mouth with my hand tonight while I slide myself in and out of your beautiful, hot wet pussy,” he says, kissing behind her ear. “To muffle your screams…” He grins in satisfaction when he hears her moan.

  “Did you like that?” he asks as his lips trail down her neck.

  “Yes,” she whisper-pants. He can tell she’s turned on. He likes getting her worked up with his words.

  He smiles when he ducks his head under the covers and hears her gasp. He plans on removing her panties… with his teeth.

  * * *

  Myra feels sinful. The thought that someone might hear them makes her feel anxious yet somehow heightens the experience, making it so much more exciting and raw. Dylan’s dirty talking has set her skin on fire.

  The only sounds in the room are their panting breaths and the wet sounds of Dylan moving in and out of her body. Her heart pounds so hard. Her blood pumps so rapidly. Dylan sits up and positions himself against the headboard and pulls her body against him, her back to his chest. He positions himself below her, and she sinks down on top of him, biting her lip to keep from crying out. He holds her hips steady and starts thrusting upwards into her roughly.

  He moves one hand down to rub against her, and she can’t stop the moan that erupts from her. His other hand reaches up and covers her mouth. She balances her hands on his thighs as his thrusts become faster, his fingers rubbing even quicker against her. When her orgasm hits, it’s so hard and violent that she has to bite down on his fingers to keep from screaming.

  “Holy fuck… Oh shit…” he whispers against her shoulder before exploding inside of her, panting harshly against her neck and shoulders. The heat from his breath scorches her skin. His hand stays loosely on her mouth as she breathes heavily through his fingers.

  He wraps his arms around her, slumping against her back, his hot breath harsh against her skin. He trails open-mouthed kisses across her shoulders before he lays his cheek against her back for a moment to catch his breath. He pulls her damp hair to the side and gently kisses the back of her neck. “Are you okay?” he whispers against her skin.

  She can’t speak so she just nods.

  “Hang on,” he whispers as he stays inside of her and leans over the side of the bed, grabbing his T-shirt off of the floor. “You can use this.”

  “Thanks.” She’d die of embarrassment if she got Natalie’s sheets all disgusting.

  She uses his shirt to clean up and then folds it and sits it on the bedside table. “I’m going to go to the bathroom,” she whispers, pointing to the door.

  A few minutes later, she comes back into the room and climbs into bed with him. He wraps his arms around her. “That was so fucking amazing. That was by far the best sex I’ve ever had.”

  “Me too,” she whispers. “The best ever…”

  * * *

  The next morning just as Myra starts to load the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes Dylan comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. “Are you sure you don’t want any help?” he asks as he kisses her on the neck.

  “No. I’ve got this. Go have fun with your brother.”

  “You sure? You know I’d rather stay up here with you.”

  Myra giggles as his lips tickle her neck.

  “My eyes, my eyes…” Chad yells as he walks into the kitchen. “That’s disgusting, bro. Get your filthy paws off of baby girl and let’s go kick some zombie ass. The boys are upstairs playing Wii so the basement is ours,” he says before letting out a maniacal laugh and rubbing his hands together gleefully.

  Myra covers her face with her hands, completely mortified, but Dylan doesn’t seem to be fazed by his brother catching them since he doesn’t stop kissing her neck. “Go away,” he mumbles.

  Chad laughs loudly. “Come on, dude. We gotta get some game action in before you guys leave. Don’t make me put you in another headlock. Next time, I’ll add the painful Indian Rug Burn to that rug on your head,” he says as he demonstrates by rubbing his fist fast against his palm. “You know that shit hurts.”

  Myra giggles as Dylan groans. He kisses her neck one last time and finally lets her go. “I guess I’ll be in the basement.”

  She nods and smiles as she watches Dylan follow Chad towards the door to the basement. Chad talks the entire time about some new weapon he found on the game.

  As Myra turns to start working on the dishes again, her phone rings. It’s Susie.

  “Hey,” she says.

  “How’s your stomach?” Susie asks first thing.


  “About the same...”

  Susie lets out a high-pitched wooting sound. “I know I shouldn’t be excited about you being preggers because you don’t want to be preggers and Dylan’s gonna shit a solid gold brick over it because come on that guy is so beautiful that you know he only shits gold nuggets, but anyway, I can’t help it. I’ve never even thought of you getting pregnant before, and this is just too freaking exciting.”

  “It’s not exciting. It’s devastating.” Myra looks around the kitchen and drops her voice to a whisper. “What if he leaves me?”

  “Oh, no, he won’t. I’ll open a can of Susie Kung Fu whoop ass on him and beat him into submission if he even remotely tries anything like that.”

  “I’m being serious.”

  “I know,” Susie says, taking in a deep breath. “Look, I know you’re worried, but you two are both massively in love with each other. And if there is a beautiful bun in your oven, Dylan will just have to accept it. If for some reason he doesn’t, I’ll put that hot man in the hospital and you can always move in with me and we’ll co-parent. We’ll be like lesbians without all the nasty clit-licking. Just know that I’m here for you, and I’ll help you every step of the way. I love you, honey.”

  “I love you too.”

  “I mailed out your package yesterday and don’t blow a gasket, but I did get a little out of hand so don’t be surprised when you see a huge box being delivered.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I just went a little cra-cra at the baby store. I could not help myself. I’ve always wanted to buy little girl stuff, and I never got a chance too. You know I only have nephews. Anyway, call me when you get it. I want us to open it together.”

  “You shouldn’t be buying stuff when I don’t even know anything yet,” Myra whisper-hisses.

  “I know. I was weak. Pink foo-fooey things weaken me. I kept the receipt so I can always return the stuff.”

  Myra groans.

  “Call me tomorrow as soon as you get it, okay? I can’t wait. I’m literally dying over here.”

  “All right...”

  “I love you, ‘lil momma,” Susie says with a giggle.

  “Stop!” Myra says, hanging up the phone with a huff.

  She turns back to finish the dishes, and her stomach churns and does a flip flop as a wave of nausea hits her. She was so thankful that Sherri left a pre-made breakfast casserole in the refrigerator for her to just throw in the oven. She doesn’t know how, but she somehow made it through breakfast without having to run out of the room and to the toilet.

  She picks up the first plate and holds it over the sink to rinse it off before putting it in the dishwasher. Her eyes fixate on the bright red color of the salsa that Chad smothered all over his casserole and sees some pieces of egg mixed in it. And that does it. She drops the plate and runs to the bathroom, barely making it before she empties her stomach into the toilet. She flushes and after washing her hands, she wets some toilet paper and runs it over her face and mouth. She thought for sure she’d feel better after throwing up, but she doesn’t. That horrible nauseous feeling just won’t go away.

  She takes in a couple of deep breaths and opens the door and lets out a startled shriek when she sees Natalie standing there. “We need to talk,” Natalie says, grabbing Myra’s hand. “Come on.”

  Stunned, Myra follows her into the living room. Natalie lies down on the couch on her side and points to the loveseat. “Sit,” she says in a commanding voice. Myra sits.

  Natalie’s blue eyes study her face for a moment. “So you obviously haven’t told him yet.”

  “Told him what?” Myra whispers.

  “That you’re pregnant.”

  “I’m not… I mean, I…”

  “You are pregnant, right?”

  “I don’t know. How did you…?”

  “I’m a nurse, remember… a nurse who happens to be pregnant with her fourth child. And it’s been kind of obvious. You passed on the wine last night at dinner. You were practically green this morning at breakfast, just picking at your food and you just threw up. I know the signs. Have you taken a pregnancy test yet?”

  “No, I…”

  “How late are you?”

  “I’m not really late. I spotted a couple of weeks ago, but I’m on the pill. I missed a few pills last month because I fell and got a concussion and had to have stitches. But I took the pills as soon as I realized I’d forgotten them.”

  Natalie sighs. “Well, if you are pregnant, you’re probably about six weeks,” Natalie rubs her fingers against her temples and scrunches her eyes up. “This is such a mess. Just when you come into his life, and he starts to live again, this happens.” She tucks her hand under her pillow and looks directly at Myra. “But I know God has a plan for the both of you, and I know without a doubt that Dylan’s head over heels in love with you. It’s so written all over that man’s face. But, Myra, after everything he went through with Mel? He’d have to be absolutely terrified of being a father again.”

  Myra swallows hard and nods.

  “You are going to tell him, right?”

  “I, uh…”

  “Myra, you have to tell him, the sooner the better. But be prepared for him to flip out. This is going to turn his world upside down, and I know it’ll be hard for him to accept. But he’s going to have to accept it because if he doesn’t, I’ll send Chad to Nyssa to kick him in the balls, okay? Or if I’ve had the baby by then, I’ll come to Nyssa myself and kick him in the nuts. But no matter what, don’t keep this from him. It will only make matters that much worse if you do.”

  Myra nods again.

  “Everything’s going to be fine. We’ll all be here to support you. And I really, really like you, Myra. It seems that God has sent you into Dylan’s life because you’re exactly what he needs.

  “Now, first things first... You need to take a pregnancy test because we might be worried about nothing. And I just so happen to have one upstairs. The guys are going to be in the basement playing that stupid video game for a while. Let’s go find out, shall we?”

  The not knowing has been eating away at Myra. Even though she feels weird doing this with his sister-in-law who she barely knows, she’d rather just find out for sure one way or the other. So she nods at her.

  Natalie starts to stand up. “Wait,” Myra says. “I can go get it if you tell me where it’s at.”

  “That’s okay. It’s in the master bathroom. I can lay on the bed while we wait.”

  Myra follows Natalie as she slowly makes her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She locks the bedroom door behind them. “It’s in the cabinet under the sink,” Natalie tells her as she lies down on her side on the bed. “Just pee on the stick and come back out here, and we’ll wait for the results together.”

  Myra opens the cabinet and finds the box towards the back. With shaky hands, she opens it and quickly reads the directions. Her heart races and she feels like she’s going to hyperventilate as she holds the stick in her hand. She pees on it, sets it on the sink and after washing her hands, steps back into the bedroom.

  Natalie smiles brightly at her. “See? That was easy. Now come here and sit,” she says, patting the bed beside her. As soon as Myra sits down, she grabs her hand and squeezes it. “It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  “I’m scared,” Myra admits in a trembling voice.

  “I know you are, but don’t be. Dylan might blow his top to begin with, but he’s a good man. And he’s in love. He was an amazing father to Mel. You should have seen him. He was the best dad ever. And you’ve got us now. I kind of feel like you’re already part of our family, weird, huh?”

  Myra nods and gives her a small smile.

  Natalie looks up at the clock. “It’s time. Go get it but don’t look at it. Bring it back in here so we can look at it together, okay?”

  Myra swallows hard, her heart pounding ferociously as she walks back into the bathroom. She doesn’t look at the stick; she just grabs it and walks back out
into the bedroom. She sits down on the bed, and Natalie grabs her free hand and rubs it. She gives Myra a supportive smile. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  Myra sets the test on the bed, and they both stare down at it. Her eyes meet Natalie’s. Natalie smiles, tears glistening in her eyes. “You’re going to have a baby,” she whispers softly.

  * * *

  “I think Myra has a stalker,” Dylan says as he shoots the head off of a zombie and brains go flying everywhere.

  Chad hits pause on his controller and looks over at Dylan. “Huh?”

  “We saw a car parked on the road near her house like someone was watching her or some shit. Then someone slashed the tires on her car last week.”

  “No shit? Who the hell would do something like that to Myra? She’s like the nicest chick I’ve ever met in my damned life. She wouldn’t hurt a goddamn flea.”

  “There are a couple of fuckers it could be…” Dylan says before giving Chad a rundown of the suspects: Derek, Lucia, and Ray.

  Dylan takes in a deep breath. “And Sabrina showed up on Myra’s doorstep the other day.”

  “What the hell?”

  Dylan briefly describes their encounter. “Myra thinks it might’ve been Sabrina that slashed her tires, but I just can’t see Sabrina doing something like that. What do you think?”

  “Nah, Sabrina would never do anything like that.”

  “I didn’t think so either.”

  Dylan’s phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket and mutters, “Goddamn it,” when he looks at the caller ID. He silences it. “Some people just won’t take no for an answer. I can’t even keep up with all the calls I get for jobs. But some of these people, I’ve told them over and over that I can’t do the work they need done, but they just don’t get it and won’t leave me alone.”

  “Assholes,” Chad mumbles. “You know, you’ve really got me fucking pissed over this Myra thing. Damn, bro. Do you need me to come to Nyssa and knock some heads? Anybody messes with Myra, I’ll beat them down. Check this out.” He pushes his sleeve up and flexes his bicep. “It’s fucking steel, I’m telling you. I got your back, bro.”