Bigger Than the Sky (Serenity Point)

by Harper Bentley

  “So tell me what you’ve been thinking, although I can guess it’s got something to do with why you and I can’t be together because you think I’m not attracted to you.” He cuts his eyes at me.

  My mouth drops open but I close it quickly. “You talked to Cassie.”

  He nods and I can tell he thinks this is funny by the way he’s holding his mouth. Jerk.

  “Mill…” He sighs as if he’s just fed up with what’s going on even though he hasn’t been dealing with it for hours like I have. “Come with me?” he asks, holding his hand out to me. I take it and we walk outside where he helps me into his truck. When he’s in and we take off, he takes my hand again, resting the back of his on the top of his thigh, smoothing his thumb over mine as he drives. It appears as if we’re going to his parents’ house.

  “What are we doing?” I ask, not really wanting to be around anyone else right now.

  He looks at me and winks but doesn’t speak, just looks back at the road.

  We do wind up at his parents’ ranch, which makes me stiffen in my seat, but he continues up the drive, passing their house, and after two football field lengths turns off the drive onto a pasture road. And now I know where he’s going and feel the tears sting the backs of my eyes.

  He drives a bit farther and stops the truck, getting out and coming around to my side opening my door. His eyes are glittering with emotion and the look on his face is so sweet, his adoration for me clear, it makes my breath hitch. He unbuckles my seatbelt and turns me in my seat to face him, stepping between my legs.

  “Know where we’re going?”

  I nod and put my hand to my mouth as I start crying.

  “Baby,” he says, bending down and kissing my forehead. He wraps my legs around his waist putting his hands under my butt and picks me up, closing my door with his hip. I wrap my arms around his neck as he walks, burying my face against it, trying to keep from full-on sobbing while he walks us out amidst the trees into a clearing and we end up at the gazebo that’s structured between two huge red oaks. He sets me down then takes my hand and leads me up the steps.

  The gazebo was something Carolina’d had put up for Kade’s confirmation when he was ten. They’d had a huge party and relatives from all over had come in for a reunion of sorts. Cassie had invited me and we’d played tag with her abundance of cousins for hours.

  This had been before Fiona had died of SIDS four years later. After her death, Carolina had gone into a deep depression. Kade told me she’d cursed God, saying that Fiona had been a beautiful, fragile gift and she blamed God for taking her away. Then when their priest had informed her and Lucas of the church’s then stance on the passing of unbaptized babies, she’d cursed him too. Their family had avoided the church since.

  But they’d used the gazebo for various occasions including all three kids’ middle school graduations, when both Kade and Brody had made the varsity football team their freshman years, when Cassie had been nominated for Homecoming Queen and for all three of their high school graduations.

  It’s also the place where I lost my virginity to Kade. It’s also where he proposed.

  And one more stab to the heart: it was also going to be the sight of our wedding reception.

  Knowing all this makes my tears start to fall.

  Regardless of these milestones (and one missed one) in my life, I love the gazebo. It’s a beautiful structure that’s painted white and has a two-tiered roof that’s decked out in white Christmas lights running from the center to each octagonal edge that were turned on when we drove up. White icicle lights hang all the way around both tiered eaves and the poles and railings are also lined with white lights.

  Kade now takes me in his arms and we start swaying slowly to an unheard tune then he starts singing softly in my ear the first several lines of “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls.

  And I lose it, the tears coming faster.

  “Iris” was playing the first time we’d made love. Right here in this very place. And I remember he’d been so gentle with me, so loving, so caring, making sure everything was okay for me, making sure he didn’t hurt me.

  I clutch his flannel shirt now as he continues singing softly the next several lines before fading off.

  “You get it now?” he asks as we continue dancing.

  I frown and pull back to look up at him.

  “Loved you since the day you and Cass were at the pond and she pushed you in,” he says.

  I’d been fourteen.

  “Y-you have?” I ask incredulously.

  He nods, his eyes intense.

  “But you had a girlfriend. And another one after her,” I say, remembering that he’d been dating Shana Lowery at the time and she’d gotten pissed because I’d splashed her when I fell in. I’d come up sputtering water then apologized profusely to her but she’d just glared at me, standing and wiping herself off.

  “Yep.”

  I look at him waiting for more. When he doesn’t go on, I say, “Gonna need more here, Kade.”

  “Didn’t want her. Didn’t want Deena after her either.”

  We keep swaying and I look to the side, still confused. I look up at him and start to say something but he cuts me off.

  “Didn’t want any of them, Amelia. Just you. You get it now?”

  I frown then it all becomes clear. He’s telling me the women he’d been with when we were apart meant nothing. I look up at him and his arms tighten around me. “None of them?” I mutter.

  “None. Just you. ”

  I think I can handle that.

  We make love in the gazebo on the thick blankets he retrieves from his truck and if I doubted his love before, after this, after his telling me he’s loved me since I was fourteen, all doubt is gone.

  I get it now.

  Chapter 21

  “Yes,” I say breathily as I ride Kade hard, my knees digging into the mattress, fingers clutching his thick shoulders.

  He sits on the edge of his bed, his hands squeezing my ass as he helps me move on him. “Take my cock deep, Amelia. That’s it. Ride me, baby,” he says, his voice husky.

  When he moves a hand around and his thumb lands on my clit, that’s it for me as I cry out, coming intensely.

  “Fucking love your pussy,” he hisses then stands, turning to face the bed, laying me on it then flipping me over and pulling my hips up and entering me with a powerful thrust.

  “Kade!” I cry out, my face buried into the comforter.

  “Fuck,” he groans as he pumps inside me. “Love your pussy,” he repeats as he drives inside hard, burying himself to the hilt as he comes. Then I feel his heavy breaths against the back of my neck as he leans over me, his hands to either side of my head.

  We’d gone to Kade’s house after we left the gazebo, and when he’d shown me the closet in the master bedroom that he’d redone according to my specifications (and dreams) years ago, I attacked him, jumping on him and taking him to the closet floor, kissing him hard while I reached down and undid his jeans so I could slide a hand inside. I’d next shown him my appreciation by taking him in my mouth, first licking the underside of his cock slowly, teasing his balls with my tongue for a bit before I got a stern, “Amelia,” and I’d continued showing him my gratitude by licking up again then taking all of him inside my mouth, sucking and licking him from tip to base until he’d put a stop to it and moved us to the bed shortly after.

  But God, that closet was spectacular with all the built-in shelves and drawers he’d put in. I loved it. And I loved even more that he’d done that for me.

  “Shower,” he now mutters, pulling me up from the bed and turning me to face him. His eyes roam over my face with adoration. Gah!

  “I love you, Kade,” I whisper, tiptoeing up and kissing him.

  We take our shower, each of us adoring the other so much that the water runs cold but it’s so worth it.

  ~~~

  I awake the next morning to an amazing aroma of bacon
that taunts me, getting me out of bed almost immediately. I grab Kade’s flannel shirt off the floor and put it on, seeing that it hits me at the knees and I have to roll the sleeves up several times. I then make my way down the hallway to the staircase, running my hand over the banister as I walk down. He’d really done a beautiful job on it.

  “Was just coming to wake your gorgeous ass up,” he says walking into the living room meeting me at the bottom of the stairs. I stand on the second one up and am almost face-to-face with him. He pulls me in for a kiss, his hands going down and under his shirt I wear, cupping my naked butt. “And what a gorgeous ass it is,” he says grinning and looking around my shoulder at it.

  “Could say the same for yours,” I reply, grinning myself, putting my hands on his bearded face and kissing him again.

  “Made you an omelet. Come eat.”

  “And he cooks, too,” I mumble with a smirk.

  He bends and puts me over his shoulder carrying me into the kitchen. Of course, I shriek at this telling him to put me down to which he answers with a smack on my ass and I vow to make him pay for it later, which doesn’t scare him in the least.

  “Bring it, babe,” he says with a chuckle.

  In the kitchen, he puts my feet on the floor and tells me to have a seat then he fixes my plate, bringing over coffee first and sits across from me. I take a bite and close my eyes, moaning.

  “So good,” I say. “Thank you. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

  He winks at me as he chews, watching me as I blush because we both know the reason I’m famished. Having a ton of orgasms will do that to a girl.

  “Speaking of hungry. I still have your hundred. I didn’t make it to the grocery store yesterday to make you pork chops. And that was a weird segue.” I roll my eyes.

  “Noticed,” he says with a chuckle.

  “I’ll make them tonight if you want.”

  “Sounds good, babe.”

  We eat in a comfortable silence for a bit then I decide this is my chance to get some information. “Uh, so, is now a good time to ask about Peyton?”

  I instantly see his face go hard. “No time’s a good time to talk about her.”

  Hm. I’d have to take the delicate approach here.

  “So what does she have on you that makes you have to be nice to her?” I blurt.

  So much for delicate.

  Kade’s face goes even harder as he narrows his eyes at me, the muscles in his jaws jumping. Eep!

  Then he sighs. “You’re not gonna like what you hear.”

  “Probably not, but I’d like to know what’s going on,” I reply then reach over and put my hand on top of his, squeezing it and look encouragingly at him when his eyes meet mine.

  “She’s a fucking cunt,” he says.

  Well, that’s a given. I pull my hand back and continue eating guessing he’s not going to tell me about her but surprises me when he starts.

  “Year and a half ago, Brody was out at Jen’s. He’d just passed his firefighter’s test and was celebrating. Piper was outta town visiting her sister who’d just had a baby so he was alone, well, about as alone as you can be in a town where you know everyone. Around four in the morning, I get a call from Peyton telling me I need to get to her house because something was wrong with Brody. First thought was, what the fuck’s he doing at her place, second was too scary to think. Didn’t know what he’d been doing. I was living with Brody in the trailer. Got up and drove into town as fast as I could. Got to Peyton’s and found him passed out in bed with some fucking naked woman who Peyton said was her best friend from Atlanta. I asked Peyton what he’d taken but she was almost as fucking wasted as he was. Searched her jacket and found some kind of rocks. Still not sure what it was. She told me she’d gotten it from some asshole she’d met that night.”

  I’m staring at him in shock. How the hell she got Brody to take that stuff is beyond me. He’s always been athletic and took excellent care of himself except for drinking some here and there. I’d never known him to take any kind of drugs, though.

  Kade runs a hand over his beard and looks at me. “Couldn’t take him to the hospital. He’d just gotten his job and he would’ve killed me if I had and he’d been fired. Would’ve stayed on his record.”

  I frown now.

  “I know. But, Mill, he’d worked his ass off to get it. You know he’d always dreamed of becoming a firefighter.” He shakes his head looking down at his coffee cup that he holds in his hands in front of him.

  I bite my lip and nod.

  He looks up at me. “Brought him home and watched him the rest of the night. I mean, if it’d gotten bad, of course I would’ve called an ambulance, taken him to the hospital, something, but around seven he woke up. Had no clue what happened, just that Peyton had come by his table introducing her friend. I think the bitch spiked his drink with GHB. Anyway, I tell him what the fuck happened, he tells me he remembered her and her friend coming by but nothing after. Things are good until a month later when Peyton comes waltzing into my store wanting to talk to me. Took her back to my office where she proceeds to tell me that this friend of hers that was in bed with Brody is now pregnant with his kid.”

  I gasp, putting my hand over my mouth. “Oh, shit. God, no wonder he broke up with Piper.”

  Kade nods. “He cried, Mill. Loved her. Loves her. But decided he couldn’t stand for her to know what happened, so he broke it off.”

  I tear up now. Poor Brody.

  “So I tell Peyton we want a paternity test. So this woman, Hannah, comes to town after the baby’s born. Brings the kid with her, a little boy who she’s named Brody, has Brody meet her at Peyton’s. Says she has this paternity test she got on the Internet. Swabs his mouth and says she’s sending it off. Month later, Peyton brings him a sealed envelope. He opens it, he’s the father. I was so fucking pissed at him because I’d been out of town working when they showed up and swabbed him, telling him it was probably fake, but he’s bound and determined to do the right thing. So Hannah leaves. Gives him her address and he agrees he’ll pay child support. Next thing we know, Peyton tells us that Hannah’s on the run with the baby. Her boyfriend, who’s some fucking gang member in Atlanta, finds out the kid’s not his and beats the shit outta her. Tells her if she leaves, he’ll hunt her down and kill her. She leaves anyway and now Peyton won’t tell us where she is, just takes Brody’s check every month and says she’ll send it to her.”

  All I can do is stare at him never imagining anything this horrible was going on. “You can’t find her?”

  “Tried. Mike’s got some P.I. friend who looked for her, but that cost a shit ton to keep him on the case until Brody just gave up. So to keep Peyton from blabbing her fucking mouth, telling the fire chief about Brody’s ‘drug habit’ or Piper about this kid that’s supposedly his, we have to behave civilly toward the cunt or she’ll spill it all.”

  Wow. Holy shit.

  “That’s not all.”

  Oh, God.

  “She holds the mortgage on this house.”

  “What?” I say loudly.

  He breaths out a heavy breath. “Looked into buying it, was kinda strapped after buying Pettyman’s, but I wanted this house.” He looks at me, his eyes going soft. “Wanted it for you.”

  “You’re gonna make me cry again,” I say, my voice hitching.

  “Babe,” he whispers, leaning over and running his fingers down my face.

  I take his hand and kiss his palm then still holding it against my lips I ask, “How’d that happen? That she holds the mortgage?”

  He grimaces. “Was being sold by the owner. Called the number and it was her dad, Jerry. We talked, told him I probably couldn’t get a loan for a couple years until I paid down the lumberyard loan. He agreed to do a lease-to-own deal, which I hated to do, but I wanted this place. I make the first payment then get a visit from Peyton at the store telling me she’s now the owner and to make the checks out to her, that Jerry’s signed
the mortgage over to her. So I guess she’s got two brothers by the balls now.”

  I grit my teeth as he pulls his hand back. “Can she be any more of a bitch? God!” I hiss.

  “I’m sure she’s got more hiding up her sleeve,” he says, huffing out a sarcastic laugh.

  This is all just craziness. What in the world? I promise myself that I’ll do whatever I can to help get him, and Brody, hopefully, out of the mess they’re in. I’m sure it’ll take a damned miracle, but I swear, if it’s the last thing I do, that bitch is going down.

  Chapter 22

  “This works out with us, want you involved with the house,” Kade says after our talk about all the Peyton crap that’s going on.

  By the way, my head’s still reeling that someone could be as evil as she is. Yeesh. Project Expose Peyton for the Seriously Heinous Bitch That She Is has commenced. Now to find a way to bring her down. Anyway, I’m excited to help with the house. I’ve got decent decorating skills, so I know I can help him in that capacity, but I can help with other things too.

  So now we’re outside and I see he poured a walkway from the garage to the house yesterday, but he tells me he wants to pour another small plot next to the porch in case I want to set potted plants there or maybe holiday decorations. This makes my heart fill to bursting that he’s thought about something like that for me. God, I really hope this works with us because I instantly make plans for a cute little Christmas arrangement on that patch of concrete. Not that that’s the only reason, just thought I’d throw that in.

  “Need to put ten bags in the mixer,” he says, nodding to a stack of concrete bags as he pulls a measuring tape out stretching it across some boards that are on the ground that outline the area.

  I head over to the stack and try grabbing a bag. Uh. I try again and at least accomplish pulling it down off the stack (which translates into I watch it fall to the ground). I bend to pick it up only to have the sides of the bag come up but the rest stays on the ground. Damn.

  I hear Kade snorting from behind me and turn to look at him with a scowl. “What?”