by A. D. Ryan
I looked over the paper she’d just filled out; on it was an outlined drawing of a horse with blank spaces pointing to various parts of the animal’s anatomy. I wasn’t surprised to see she got them all right, and soon enough we were catching Max for her private lesson.
April was tacking Max up when warm arms circled around my waist. Strong, familiar hands flattened out over my swollen lower belly and lips caressed the length of my neck, leaving me light-headed and breathless. He seemed to really love my changing body—more than I thought should’ve been possible. His obsession bordered on fetishism; I was starting to think he was one of those preggophiles.
“Hey, beautiful,” Jensen whispered into my ear, his breath triggering a ripple of goose bumps across my skin. “How are you?” his hand moved back and forth over my tummy, and I giggled looking down and placing my own hand over his.
“We’re good,” I whispered, running my hand over his. “I’m just taking April for her lesson. I told her we’d work on higher rails once she completed her level one, and she did really well.”
Jensen nodded against my shoulder before releasing me. “How long will you be?”
“Maybe an hour. Her mom’s coming to pick her up in an hour and a half,” I told him, knowing he was nervous because I’d been a little clumsier these last few days.
I know, I didn’t think that was possible either. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how bad it would get as my pregnancy progressed.
Smirking at me, he winked. “So, it goes without saying that you should be careful?”
“It does.” I nodded once. “And I will be, don’t worry.”
Jensen greeted April as he passed her, congratulating her with a high five for completing the first part of her training before disappearing into the office where he said he was going to approve the blueprints for the campers’ quarters. We wanted to start offering camps when school let out, and in order for that to happen, construction would have to begin in the next couple weeks.
April and Max followed me into the arena where she mounted up. As she warmed up, April started asking questions about competing
“What’s it like?”
“I think everyone feels a bit different,” I explained, setting up a small course for April to do with Max, “but for me, my heart races, my palms get a little sweaty, and I get butterflies in my stomach. But as soon as my name is called, everything just goes … really still.” She listened raptly as I spoke about it, and I smiled. “We’ll get you into a few local shows for practice, don’t you worry. You’ll see soon enough.”
Between runs on the course, April and I talked more about some of the local shows in the area, and she seemed really excited about the idea of showing Max when they were ready. During our hour together, April and Max hit a new personal best, raising their jumps by six inches, and she couldn’t have been more thrilled, nor I more proud. April’s mother showed up while she was brushing Max down, and April talked about her day practically in fast-forward, showing her mom her completed assignments and explaining everything she learned. Knowing how most teenagers could be, it was reassuring to see just how excited she was about all of this, and it was equally as heart-warming to see how receptive her mom was to it all.
Just as I was doing one last walk-through of the barn, I noticed the light to the office was still on, so I popped my head in to find Jensen all furrow-browed as he stared at the blueprints that he had unrolled in front of him on the desktop.
“Hey,” I said softly to avoid startling him. “What’s got your forehead so crinkly?”
He sighed in exasperation, running his fingers through his hair as he leaned back in the chair. “These damn blueprints. It’s the second set the contractors have given us, and they’re still wrong.”
Pushing myself off the doorframe, I entered the office and circled the desk to take a look. While certain it would all be gibberish to me, I was willing to see if I could make heads or tails of it and maybe give him a hand.
I leaned on the desk and looked at the lines that made up the campers’ quarters. As I continued to look them over, I could kind of see what was what, but I didn’t see anything wrong with it at all.
Suddenly, Jensen’s hands were around my waist, and he pulled me down onto his lap before sliding us closer to the desk as he explained everything to me. “See, your dad and I discussed the cabin having two separate rooms with a few bunks in each one.” Jensen pointed at the blueprints. “But the contractors have it as one big common room. I would think that if we had both male and female campers that they would want their privacy, you know?”
I hummed in agreement. “And what was wrong with the first set?”
“Ugh, don’t even get me started on that shit-show.”
I groaned sympathetically, shifting to sit sideways in his lap. “Oh, baby. You’re so stressed out,” I pouted, running my fingers through his hair until his eyes lulled shut and he moaned softly. “Why don’t we go home, and I’ll make dinner, and then we can curl up on the couch together and watch some TV?”
Bringing his right hand up, he rested it on my tummy’s slight bulge and began moving his thumb back and forth slowly. “God, that sounds amazing,” he whisper-sighed before opening his eyes. I saw immediately that it wasn’t going to happen. “I need to make a few notes on these and get back to the contractor tonight, though, if we’re going to break ground in the next few weeks. I don’t think I’ll be longer than an hour.”
I nodded, placing a quick kiss on his lips before standing up. “Okay. Take your time.” I looked down to Bones who was asleep at our feet. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go on home. Daddy’ll be along in a bit.”
Bones hopped to his feet and padded along beside me as we made our way through the barn and toward the house, where I decided to start a load of laundry while I tried to think of what to make for dinner.
After putting our colors into the washer, I made my way to the kitchen where I filled Bones’ dishes and rifled through my cupboards and fridge for something to make for dinner. It didn’t take long for me to hunt down the ingredients to make mini pizzas on the pita bread we had left over from lunch. Twenty minutes later, they were prepped and ready for baking, so I set them on the stove while the oven warmed up, and I was just about to start sweeping the floor when the timer to the washer went off.
When I opened the dryer to put our wet clothes in, I noticed that our load of whites from last week was still in there and waiting to be folded. This wasn’t the first time I’d done something like this; the further into my pregnancy I got, the more scattered my train of thought was. Annoyed with myself for forgetting them, I pulled them out and set them on the dryer while I put the wet clothes inside and started another load to wash.
Thankfully, the load needing to be folded weren’t as wrinkly as I figured they should have been since they sat neglected for a week. Smoothing out the few creases as best I could, I folded the shirts before pairing and rolling the socks. When they were all done, I picked them up and carried them to our room so I could put them away. After putting my few pairs of socks away, I moved to Jensen’s half of the dresser and put his shirts in their drawer before opening his sock drawer.
One look inside had me shaking my head. What was usually the picture of perfection—something a drill sergeant would be proud of—looked as though someone had thrown a cherry bomb in there. There were both loose and bundled socks tossed in there haphazardly. I set the socks in my hand down so I could tidy the drawer, all while wondering what on Earth—
I had just lifted about three rolled pairs of socks when a tiny, black velvet box tumbled into my line of sight. I froze, my breath catching in my throat as I tried to tell myself I was seeing things. Unable to turn my head away, I clenched my eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them and still seeing the box.
“No,” I whispered to myself, dropping the socks I now held in my hand to the floor as I reached for it. The box looked aged, so I tried to tell myself that maybe it was his high school o
r college grad ring—a totally reasonable explanation for the mystery box I now grasped in my hand, right?
Swallowing thickly, I opened the box with a soft click and gasped when the square solitaire diamond stared back at me. It’s thousands of tiny facets glittered in the remaining sunlight that spilled in through the windows, and I smiled in excitement and disbelief. Nope, definitely not a grad ring.
Unable to stop myself, I lifted the delicate ring from the cushion that held it in place before setting the box down. The white gold band was in pristine condition, leading me to believe that the ring could have been new, but the box was aged, and the setting the stone was in looked almost antique. As I stared at the ring, wondering how long Jensen had been holding onto it, realization hit me like a freight train: this was what he was keeping from me on our way back from his parents’ place in November.
Apparently, it wasn’t enough to just hold the ring between my fingers; soon enough, I was sliding the delicate ring down my left ring finger and marveling in just how right it felt sitting there. My heartbeat quickened, and I could feel my lips turning up into an excited smile as I stared at the sparkling diamond. While I knew I was worried about what others would think if we got married now, I couldn’t help but wonder if Jensen was going to ask me again soon and why he hadn’t tried giving it to me in the last few months.
I was so caught up in my own thoughts, I didn’t even hear the front door open before Jensen called out, “Madison? Baby, I’m home.”
Panicked, I looked from my finger to the bedroom door, and then back to my finger before I realized I had to take the ring off so he wouldn’t find out I’d discovered it. I quickly tossed the socks back in his drawer, not worrying about tidying them because I now understood why they were disorderly. Once I had them all picked up, I lifted my hand and pulled gently on the ring …
“Fuck,” I muttered when it didn’t move past my knuckle. How could I have been so stupid? I continued to twist and pull the ring, hoping that I’d be able to get the friggin’ thing off before Jensen reached me.
“Love?” Jensen’s voice was getting closer, so I pulled again to no avail …
I was so screwed.
Chapter 17. Suspicions are High
After a longer-than-fucking-necessary phone conversation with the contractors, it felt like I was never going to get through the blueprint approvals for the bunk house. They said they finally “got it,” and that they’d rework the plans and have them to me in a day or two, but only after I explained in great detail what the problem was.
Before going home for dinner, I double checked that the barn was secure. When Madison tried tempting me away from work with the promise of dinner and a movie while we curled up on the couch, it took all my strength to tell her I’d be along shortly. I wanted nothing more than to let her help me forget about the contractors messing everything up.
“Madison?” I called out to her over the rumbling of the washer and dryer just off to my left. When I looked into the kitchen after taking my boots off, I saw what looked like individual pizzas sitting on the stove—uncooked. “Baby, I’m home.”
When she didn’t answer for the second time, I grew concerned and made my way for our bedroom. Bones greeted me the minute I passed the living room and escorted me down the hall.
“Fuck.” I heard Madison’s muffled curse coming from the partially opened bedroom door at the end of the hall. Whatever was going on in there had me both curious and a little nervous.
“Love?”
Slowly, I placed my hand flat against the door and began to push it open …
“No!” Madison cried. “Nonononono!”
When I walked into the room I found it empty and the bathroom door just closing. The lock clicked into place immediately. “Madison? You’re starting to freak me out … What’s going on?”
“Uh …” She sounded almost nervous about something. “Nothing. Everything’s fine. Just, uh, cleaning the sink … shit!” Her voice dropped to a whisper on that last word, but I still picked it up.
“What is it? What happened?” I inquired, panicked.
“Um, can you grab me my cell phone?” she asked. “I need to call Brandon and ask him a question.”
“Regarding?” What the hell was she being so cryptic about?
The door opened quickly, and I took in her frazzled looking appearance. She was trying to mask it with a phony smile, but I saw right through it. “It’s nothing to worry about. Can you just grab it for me? It’s on the island in the kitchen.”
“Sure, but are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?” I offered, looking behind her to see that she had the cabinet beneath the sink open and completely emptied, its contents thrown all over the floor in what looked like a moment of blind panic.
“Mmm hmm. Thanks.”
Realizing she wasn’t going to open up to me right now, I grabbed the slender cell phone off the counter and brought it to her. She thanked me with a kiss before asking if I’d mind putting dinner in the oven and closing the door.
Because I was a nosy son of a bitch, I stayed outside the door for a minute before heading to the kitchen—just to make sure she really was okay and not just saying she was so she wouldn’t freak me out.
“Hey, Will. Is Brandon home?” I heard her ask quietly. “Hi, Brandon. Listen, what do you know about plumbing? Oh, I dropped, um, something down the drain by accident.” I was just about to knock on the door and tell her that I could give her a hand when I heard her continue. “Uh huh… Um, I think I have one out in the tool shed… Yeah? That’s it? Great! Thanks, I owe you one!”
What the hell did she drop down the sink drain that had her so worked up?
Shaking my head, I decided to let her handle this on her own; I mean, if she wanted my help, she would ask for it, and clearly she wanted to do this on her own. Not that it made this entire situation any less strange.
After Bones and I went back out to the kitchen, I put dinner in the oven and sat at the table and started playing a game of Angry Birds on my phone to pass the time before Madison joined me. I saw her blurred form dart past the kitchen and to the front door before I heard her voice in passing.
“I just have to grab something from the shed!” Within a few minutes, she was back and rushing in the other direction with a huge pipe wrench in her hands.
“Babe? Are you sure I can’t give you a hand?” I called after her with a chuckle.
“Uh huh!” was her quick reply before I heard our en suite door slam shut behind her.
Chuckling to myself, I shook my head and refocused my attention on the three green pigs that had barricaded themselves within the stone walls that were proving to be impossible to smash. Fuck, I hate this game.
Madison’s loud sigh drew my eyes up to her as she entered the kitchen. She still looked a little frazzled, but like she could breathe a little easier, having solved her problem. “Sorry about that.”
“Everything go okay?” I asked, somewhat nervous about the condition of our washroom.
Nodding, she headed to the stove and peered inside the oven. “Yeah.”
“May I ask what you dropped down the drain?” I asked, smirking.
Madison’s body froze, still bent over in front of the oven as she let the door close. “Oh, uh … Well, I was cleaning the sink and counter, and as I was wiping everything down, I flung a piece of jewelry into the sink.”
I wasn’t entirely sure if I believed her or not. “And you thought to ask Brandon over me? I was right there …” She was still refusing to look at me, picking up the dishcloth and wiping the counter to busy herself, and it made me suspicious—really fucking suspicious.
“I needed you to pop dinner in the oven,” she responded quickly, sounding a little surer of her answer as she turned to face me with a bright smile. “Besides, you’d just finished up a long work day; I didn’t want to bother you because I had been careless.”
“You’re sure?”
Nodding, she circled the island and fell
into my lap. “Yup. Now, dinner’s almost ready. Should we eat in the living room and watch some original Star Trek, or Next Gen?”
Knowing that Madison had this inexplicable crush on Patrick Stewart, I opted for Next Gen—she’d be going to bed with me that night, after all, and I was more than okay with reaping the benefits of her ravenous libido.
Chapter 18. Got it Right This Time …
We were in our favorite picnic spot, lying back on our blanket while our daughter laughed as she, Bones and Vlad ran around and around in the lush grass and wild flowers. Everything was perfect; the sun was shining and there was a light breeze keeping us cool as we watched our beautiful four-year old having fun.
Madison watched over our little girl with so much love and pride, her right hand moving over the slight bulge of her stomach as our second child grew within her. It was now or never.
“Marry me, Madison,” I asked, sitting up and gaining her full attention.
“Baby …” she whispered, her eyes widening in shock.
Smiling, I shook my head. “What are we waiting for?”
“Jensen …”
That was weird … I heard her, but her lips didn’t move.
Suddenly our daughter’s laughter stopped, and when I looked back to where I last saw her, she was gone. I panicked for a moment until I looked back over at Madison, whose stomach had multiplied in size at an alarming rate. The look on her face was one of elation and apprehension combined.
“It’s time.”
Rolling over, I opened my eyes, groaning and squinting against the sunlight that was filtering in through the sheer curtains until I focused on Madison. My beautiful Madison. Everything I had just dreamed seemed foggy and unclear as I took in her appearance, sitting on the edge of our bed, fully clothed and rubbing her belly, looking serene …
Everything came back in a flash, and I shot up, panicked and throwing the blankets away from me. “Holy shit! It’s time?”