“Grandfather never said a word about coming today, nor did he mention talking to you every day, until he finally spilled the beans when I questioned him at graduation.”
“I didn’t ask him not to. I’m sorry, Dane. I’ve been a basket case. Besides the news about the baby, I needed time to grieve the loss of my mom, study for school, and really process what I wanted to do. I’ve got two homes and lots of land that need someone looking after them in Arkansas, and quite frankly, I’m homesick.”
“Baby, I’m sorry. Sorry for everything you’re going through, sorry I wasn’t there for you, and sorry I put pressure on you. I shouldn’t have sent all those things. Instead, I should have given you the peace and space you asked for, but I simply couldn’t help myself. I had to be connected to you in some way.”
“It’s more than okay,” she ran her fingers across her new pearls, “and the pizza was delicious. I appreciate the research. I’ve been back in there twice to get it again.” She giggled, and then she snorted. It was cute.
“That’s news to me. What’s going on? Is there a revolt against me?” I teased.
She looked ahead at the road. “How far do we have to go to get ice cream?”
“We’re almost there.”
We pulled into the parking lot, and she all but bolted out of the car, giggling.
As we ate, she even moaned a time or two. “This is so good.”
We shared bites of each other’s selections and also had quite a few PDA moments. I looked at my bowl of ice cream and sinful thoughts filtered through my brain. When I trailed my eyes from her bowl to find her face, her eyes were bright and sparkly as if she had a secret, but I’d learned my lesson about pushing her.
On the way home, I noticed she had her right hand over her stomach in a protective pose. My heart skipped a few beats. She was going to be a great mom, of that I was certain, but would we be parenting together or sharing custody?
“Have you been sick much?”
“Yeah, quite a bit, but it comes and goes. I can tell now, and it doesn’t catch me off guard as much.”
“I couldn’t help but notice your breasts today in your dress. Beautiful.”
“Really? Yeah, I’m finally getting some.” She leaned over the console and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then trailed her lips to mine. “Find a private place to pull over,” she said against my ear.
I caught the private part of her request. She didn’t have to tell me twice.
Wrenn
I sat on my bed, surfing through pages of notes of cardiac arrhythmias and various treatments, and my mind began to wonder.
Before my mother’s death, I’d found myself falling in love with Dane and I knew it. But after the communication problems and the strange woman answering his phone, I reverted back to my old thoughts that men couldn’t be trusted.
Then along came baby.
Children alone couldn’t make a relationship or marriage work, and my conviction was that Dane would want to do the “right” thing by society’s standards, but would it be the right thing for the three of us? What was the right thing?
I needed breathing room to figure out who I was and what I wanted. After all, I was alone with zero family and a half-finished education plan. At least as a nurse, I’d be able to support the baby and myself, anywhere I wanted to live. But what about baby? Keeping him or her away from his or her father was history repeating itself, and Dane didn’t deserve that.
When I stopped thinking about what I wanted and started considering someone else’s thoughts and feelings, I realized I wasn’t alone. I had family. Blood didn’t make someone family; love, kindness, and actions did. It was the heart of the human being that makes us want to spend every second of every day with that person. That realization made me start craving Dane in every way.
I thought about him until I fell asleep, and I woke up thinking about him and what he might be doing that day. The gifts and surprises he’d started sending over didn’t help. Each time the doorbell rang, I’d get excited about what I was going to receive next.
I laughed, but very much enjoyed the pizza and the cupcakes from Crave Bakery. However, the crème brûlée had me in tears.
The notes were the sweetest. What man delivered a bag full of batteries with a straight face? He could claim they were for baby, but I knew what he had on his mind.
Yes, he was definitely swimming with sharks. But he wasn’t the only one who had been on bad behavior, and somehow, I needed to make it up to him.
That was where Mr. Lawrence came to the rescue.
The week before graduation, I’d been leaving the hospital cafeteria when I ran into Mr. Lawrence and Peggy.
“How’s my beautiful bride?” he’d teased.
“Awesome. How’s my favorite patient?”
“I’m getting some blood work done. First, they try to starve you, then tell you to eat a ton afterwards. Can’t make ’em happy.”
“Well, go enjoy yourself. There’s plenty to choose from.”
“Wrenn, do you mind if I have your new phone number?”
“Not at all. Hand me your phone, and I’ll put it in.”
We’d texted or spoke at least twice every day, and I was happy I could still be a part of his life. I didn’t know how he would handle the news about the baby, but he was thrilled at the idea of another boy named Asher Dane Lawrence in the family. He said he would do the right thing for his great grandchild, and when he said it, my heart was gripped in thorns. It wasn’t my desire to be in someone’s will. I wanted to be in their life, their present—their future.
I didn’t think he would actually come when I’d invited him to my graduation, but I’d wanted him to know I was thinking about him as my family. I didn’t have anyone else to put in my reserved seats.
Then it had occurred to me he could help me get Dane there, but I wasn’t sure how.
“Leave that part up to me. I know exactly how to work that boy.”
Dane’s call came out of the blue on the morning of graduation. I wasn’t certain of what to expect when he arrived at my house, except that he was going to be charming as usual, but the pearls were a beautiful surprise and meant more to me than he would ever know.
When we were standing in the bathroom, he had his hand on my stomach with his fingers splayed out over the baby, and it had been a sweet moment of affection. I didn’t think it was an intentional gesture, but I loved the image just the same.
By the time the guests started leaving his grandfather’s house, I was feeling like my old self. His grandfather had needed rest, and Dane had played the likeable host and included me by his side. Unlike when I’d first met him, he wasn’t pushy, and he was giving me the space I needed. But when our lips had collided in the kitchen, the passionate fire was there and neither of us had intended on stopping it, until we were interrupted.
I watched as his tongue licked the spoon of ice cream and remembered other good ways he’d used his mouth. The sinful thoughts had me squirming in the plastic seats of the bright ice cream parlor. There were no tablecloths to hide my hands, and I fought for control. Getting arrested for indecency in a public place wasn’t on my agenda.
After ice cream, I had more sexual frustration built up than I could stand to hold in. Days and nights fantasizing about Dane had me on overload. Call it pregnancy hormones or just plain horniness, but I had no intention of waiting. I was ready to climb him in the car, and from the fullness in his shorts, he was going to be happy to oblige me of the release I craved.
“Find a place to pull over,” I whispered against his ear.
And, he did.
He turned off the main highway onto a county road that was dark, with no houses in sight. Sex in a sports car was almost impossible, but we managed to tangle.
“We could go to jail for this,” he said with a groan.
“Then I suggest you hurry and give me what I need.”
“When I’m with you, there’s no hurry. I intend on savoring this moment.”
The feeling of him completing my body filled the void and healed my wounded soul. It had been my mistake to stay away from him for so long.
He was my safety net, my friend; even more, he was the best part of me.
On the way back to my house, he passed the turnoff to the loop and kept driving.
“Where are we going?”
“My ranch. There’s no one there, and we have complete privacy.”
“Can I stop by my place and get some clothes?”
“You won’t need them. I’m planning on keeping you naked in my bed for the next—however long, until we decide to crawl out.”
“Sounds delicious, I like your plan.”
He stopped the car at the gate and punched in a code. I sat in my seat, anxiously awaiting the moment I would be lying in his arms.
I loved his home and found it very masculine. Dark stained woods, earth tones, and lots of leather, hide rugs, and furniture. When he led me to his bedroom, I had that giddy, first-sex moment again—like everything was new. In reality, it was because we were morphing into a couple again. A new couple with a baby on the way.
He sat down on the bed and pulled me onto his lap. He stroked my arm with his fingers, but we were both quiet for some time.
With my shoulder turned, I leaned back, so I could see his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Not a thing. You’re here and I’m happy. I’m really happy. I didn’t think this day would come.”
“I’m sorry I put you through all of that, I-I just had to find myself. I thought I’d lost everything. My life has been so broken and filled with empty promises.”
He nuzzled my neck with his day-old scruff and nibbled my jaw, but he kept me wrapped tightly in his arms. “When I met you a year ago over a dead battery, I thought about you non-stop for days. Curious where you were headed and who you were really. I waited for a message that never came. I even sat there at the same store countless times, hoping I’d see your car. I figured you must not have returned to school.”
“What did I do that morning to catch your eye?”
“Well, your ass looked great in those jeans, when you leaned over into your car. I’m not gonna lie,” he paused and reached under me to give my ass a grip. “But, when you said you were going home to see the only person you had in this world, I thought how true that was for me too. Grandfather was all I had until I met you. When he’s gone, you and our baby will make us a family.”
I turned to face him, sitting cross-legged in between his spread thighs. His heart was visible to me, laid out with his love for me to see—to feel.
I placed my hand on his chest, feeling the thunderous race of beats under my fingers. “Loving someone is very risky. You never know if they’re going to return your love or stay with you out of pity. At first, I loved you from a distance, afraid that if I let you in, I’d be hurt when you left me. Scared of losing myself, I looked for an out and easily got it when that woman answered your phone. After Stephan died, I knew I wasn’t ready to open my heart again, and I didn’t trust myself, much less anyone else. But I now know I don’t have to keep you at a distance. I can love with all my heart and believe that if God takes you from me, that he’s left me with the most precious gift of your child. I’m saying I love you, and I want to be with you forever—for however long we have—if you’ll have me.”
“Only ever you,” he answered, pulling me on to his lap.
He kissed me with conviction, passion, and pure lust. Our clothes flew through the air, pieces at a time. We were ripping, pulling, and clawing our way into each other’s soul.
I kept waiting for him to claim me—take my body for his, push me to that place of ecstasy as he had earlier in the car. His movements became slow and taunting, and he bore an evil little grin dimly lit by the lamplight—the sparkle in his blue eyes was back.
Unable to control my lust for him, I moved from his side and climbed over him. With my hips rocking back and forth—teasing his erection underneath, but not inside me—his eyes searched mine. The cocky grin gone, the presence of desire returned, as he closed the distance between us.
He flipped me on my back and slowly entered me again. Slick from his earlier climax in the car, it was easy for him to slip back in to me. With his elbows propped beside my face, he paused his thrusts into me. “Sex and making love are two different things to me. What we did in the car was plain hot, fucktastic sex. What we’re doing now—making love—is committing our bodies to the beautiful escape only you bring for me. I want you to remember that. Know that I’m one hundred percent with you, and no one has ever moved me the way you do.”
He knew all of my weaknesses and flaws, and yet, he still loved me. His words touched me, and the tears streaked my cheeks. His body rocked in delicious rhythm, bringing mine to completion. There were no longer any crumbs of doubt lying around.
But I wondered how he felt about a long-distance relationship.
A strange sound woke me from a deep dream. Startled, I sat up in bed unsure of my surroundings. The room was dark, the bed empty beside me. I heard a voice in the distance. Slipping from the bed, I bent down to the floor, trying to find my shorts and T-shirt. I ended up crawling around until I found Dane’s shirt and slipped it over my head then felt around until I came upon my underwear.
Slowly crossing the smooth, stained concrete floor, I felt my way around in the darkness. I could hear Dane’s voice as I got closer.
He was down the hall, arguing with someone on the phone. “Stella, I repeat, I’m not coming right now. It can wait.”
There was pause.
“There’s no need to speak with my grandfather. He’s not in the power seat. I am.”
Another pause.
“Fuck you too.”
I heard a loud noise, which sounded like he’d slammed his phone on the counter. “Dane?” I asked softly from the hallway.
“In the kitchen.”
A light came on, which helped direct my way. I turned the corner to find him standing naked by the long granite bar with his elbows locked and both hands on the counter. One covered his phone.
My gaze trailed up his body to find his jaw clenched tight. He didn’t bother to look at me, his eyes focused on a bowl of fruit between us.
“What on earth is wrong?”
“The factory in China is having serious issues with supply shortages, stemming from customs, and it’s like they’re being paid off by someone in our internal management. I have to go back there, and I don’t know if I can hold off selling.” He finally lifted his eyes to mine. His voice was harsh. “Grandfather has to understand you and the baby come first.”
I wanted to touch him—soothe him in whatever way I could. I approached him slowly, keeping the counter between us. To see him so angry was unnerving—chilling—and made me shiver in my exposed skin. I covered his hand with mine and waited for him to speak.
He trembled; something like terror had him gripped.
“What are you not telling me?”
“It’s business, and there are always going to be problems.”
“Business doesn’t make you this upset. You didn’t answer my question.”
He looked at me finally. “The Chinese government doesn’t want to deal with our middle management. They only want to deal with our legal team and Grandfather or me. There have been some threats, but they think it’s coming from our inside.”
“Take me with you then.” I closed the distance between us and laid my head on his back, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“I can’t. It’s not safe.” He pulled away from me abruptly and threw his phone against the wall. “Fuck.”
Emotional outrage was an understatement. I’d seen that look in another man’s eyes years ago, and the next thing I knew, I’
d been thrown over a chair with a broken arm. A man on overload scared the piss out of me.
Unsure of what to do, I slowly retreated to his room, found all of my clothes, and snuck in the bathroom to get dressed. My only plan was to get the hell out of there, but while I fumbled with my clothes, my mind was focused on one thing he’d said, one name—Stella.
Within a few minutes, he’d joined me. “I need you to listen to me very carefully and do exactly as I say.”
“I don’t know who you are right now or what’s going on, but I want to go home. I’m calling a cab.”
With both of his hands, he took me by the shoulders and leaned in to my ear. “Threats have been made against both of our lives, and I take these things seriously. I would prefer for you to stay here.”
I pulled back and shook my head. Keeping my voice to a whisper, I said, “No, I want to go home.”
“Fine, so fucking stubborn.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Well then, when you go home, you have to stay there. You’ll have protection with you at all times. I have to act as if these threats real until I know otherwise. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I searched his eyes for answers and shook my head. I didn’t have a clue what was going on because he never told me anything.
He walked over to the closet, opened a large black box—something resembling a tackle box—took out a few things, and came back to me, whispering again. “This is a drop phone. You can use it to call me. I’ll have one too, and I’ll call you on this phone only. Don’t answer any calls on any other phone and leave your cell phone here.”
“If it’s life or death, then I guess nothing else matters, but I don’t like not knowing what’s going on, Dane.”
“Right now, it’s life or death. You’ll leave tonight when it gets dark.”
At first I thought he might be over-reacting to the call. When he described using drop phones, I realized this wasn’t his first experience in this situation, and this was no joke. That was when it became real for me. My body vibrated from fear. The thoughts running through my head were like a Nascar race on steroids.
Forgiveness Creek: The Creek Series Page 10