Life&Limb (PASS Series Book 2)

by Freya Barker

  “Mom! Give us a minute, okay? We’ll be right there.”

  Willa is kind enough to toss me a pair of boxer briefs from the dresser as she pulls on a pair of yoga pants.

  “Fine. I’ll make a pot of mushroom coffee to go with the hemp muffins I brought. That sweet child still here?”

  “No, Mom, she’s not here, and even if she were, you’d have scared her off with your hemp muffins and mushroom coffee by now!”

  Now Willa has a hand clamped to her mouth to hold back the laugh shaking her shoulders. I drop my head, grinning, as I fit my prosthesis on my stump and quickly get dressed in sweats. I grab a shirt out of my laundry basket, sniffing it first for offensiveness before I pull it on.

  “Let’s go,” I tell Willa, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Word of warning, though, sip only. Mom’s coffee is vile.”

  She’s still snickering beside me when we walk into the kitchen, where Mom’s made herself at home and my dad is sitting at the counter, shaking his head and grumbling. I kiss his cheek before walking to my mom and wrapping her in a hug.

  “To what do I owe this honor?” I ask her. “Yanis not home?”

  “We surprised him last weekend. Today we surprise you.” She pats my cheek before she shoves me aside. “Come here, precious. Good goddess, you’re even beautiful straight out of bed. Isn’t she beautiful, Max?” she asks my dad, as she’s already pulling Willa in her arms.

  “Just lovely,” Dad replies, without taking his eyes off the newspaper he must’ve brought inside.

  “How was your trip?” Willa asks, throwing me a sharp glance when I inadvertently groan.

  “Let me get you some coffee. We can sit outside and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  That’s what I was afraid of.

  I have to admit, the hemp muffins aren’t bad, but the mushroom coffee still makes me want to hurl. I drink it anyway, because Mom swears by the stuff. It’s supposed to be healthier for you than regular beans and I’m not about to argue with her on that.

  For the next twenty minutes, I have to listen to more details than I ever wanted to hear about my parents’ vacation activities. There’s just something about visualizing your folks playing badminton or practicing yoga in the buff that simply isn’t right.

  Willa seems to be in a perpetual state of amusement, her twinkling eyes occasionally darting my way. The fact she doesn’t seem put off or is downright mortified by Mom’s detailed descriptions of certain fellow nudists’ attributes only makes me love her more.

  It’s clear my mother is already halfway gone for Willa as well, and I even notice Dad is eyeing her with a smile occasionally. As much as my parents exacerbate me, it means a lot they seem to take to her so well, and vice versa.

  After we’re done with what was supposed to pass for breakfast, and Mom starts pelting Willa with questions about her family and her work, I slip inside heading for the bathroom to get cleaned up. I can hear them laughing as I’m brushing my teeth, and I realize I’ve never felt this at ease around my own parents. The difference is Willa.

  “What are your plans?” I ask, walking out on the back deck.

  “Us?” Mom answers. “We don’t have any. Thought we’d stick around until tomorrow before heading back home.”

  Disturbing thoughts of my parents sleeping in the spare bedroom, down the hall from where I share a bed with Willa, must’ve shown on my face because Mom starts giggling.

  “Chill out, Son,” Dad intervenes. “We’re going to crash at Yanis’.”

  “Does he know?”

  “What’s the fun in that?” my mother shares. “You know I love to surprise people.”

  Yes. Yes, I do. I also know Yanis is going to have not one cow, but a herd of them, when he finds out.

  Let’s just say my parents have an active sex life. Believe me, I wish I didn’t know that, but they’ve stayed with me before. As if childhood hadn’t scarred me enough, listening to them go at it down the hall left me with some fresh reminders. I’d rather have my balls removed with dental floss than have to listen to that again.

  Yanis is fucked. Normally I would’ve given him a heads-up, but seeing as he didn’t do me that favor last week when they showed up, I’ll let Mom ‘surprise’ him.

  “Thank you for breakfast,” Willa says, as she gets up and collects the dishes. “We’ll do the dishes, and I’ll make the next pot of coffee. You guys sit and relax for a bit.”

  To my surprise, Mom doesn’t object and Willa motions for me to follow her inside. I make sure to close the sliding door behind me.

  “I love your parents,” Willa stage-whispers as she drops the dishes in the sink before she turns to face me. “They’re warm and funny. God, you’re so lucky to have them.”

  I pull her into the circle of my arms and she plants her hands on my chest, smiling up at me.

  “They’re also weird, invasive, and horribly inappropriate,” I counter, but Willa is not deterred.

  “And loving,” she adds. “I’d much rather have that than traditional, authoritarian, painstakingly appropriate, and cold.”

  She makes a good point.

  “I love how easy you are with them,” I admit. “It makes me easy too.”

  She slides her hands up and around my neck, pulling my head down. I read and welcome the invitation, kissing her lush lips as my hands sink down to the swell of her ass. Easily lost in the combination of her taste and the feel of her body pressed against me, I barely hear the first knock.

  I don’t miss the second, though.

  “Shit,” I mumble against her lips. “Who are these people who think it’s a good idea to show up unannounced on a fucking Sunday morning?”

  Willa

  “Hey, Auntie Will,” Britt chirps when I open the door.

  I don’t even have a chance to formulate a greeting when I spot my sister, father, and mother standing behind her.

  Connie looks tortured and mouths, “Sorry,” at me.

  “Guess who showed up at your house?” Britt says, walking past me inside, followed by a demure Connie.

  “Morning, dear,” Mom says, stepping over the threshold and I bend to give her a kiss on the cheek.

  “Mom,” I manage.

  My father just nods as he steps inside, instantly roaming the place with critical eyes.

  “Dad.”

  In my head I can already see the disaster ahead. Like watching a movie scene unfold with the privilege of knowing all the players in advance.

  It’s Sunday—the day of reckoning.

  Numb, I hear Mom saying hello to Dimas, his deep voice rumbling a greeting as I close the door and lean my forehead against it. I’m not the praying kind, but I’m willing to sink down on my knees and plead to any being with higher powers to send a swarm of locusts, or a big flood, to distract from what I’m sure will be a catastrophe of epic proportions unfolding behind me.

  “Oh my goddess! What a surprise!”

  And there it is.

  I can only imagine my prim and proper mother’s reaction when she encounters the eccentric and free-spirited Ana. I’m sure she thinks people like that only exist in movies. Certainly not in any circles she’s ever moved in. And my dad…oh God, I think I’m going to be sick.

  “Breathe, sweetheart.”

  His voice is soft in my ear as he pulls my body into his and I lean back, letting him take my weight. Even if only for a moment.

  A short bubble of reprieve, even as the sound of Twister’s barked greetings and Britt’s excited introductions filter through.

  “I’m okay,” I finally whisper, feeling the brush of his lips over the skin at the base of my neck.

  I turn in his arms and look up into his smiling green eyes.

  “Thrown in the deep end,” he states fittingly, letting me go but taking my hand, entwining our fingers. “Let’s swim.”

  With help of a smiling Britt, Ana is handing out hemp muffins—I now secretly hope she laced with pot—to everyone. A little mellowing wouldn’t be misplac
ed in this room. Max, who has come inside and is leaning against the door, seems to do his casual observing from the sidelines, while my parents appear transfixed, struggling to keep their careful composure. They probably think they’ve landed on Mars. Connie’s wide eyes bump around the room, trying to take in this strange dichotomous tableau.

  The only ones unaffected by the weirdness in the room are Britt and Ana.

  “I didn’t know your parents were coming,” Ana titters. “I would’ve brought more mushroom coffee.”

  Dimas chuckles behind me at the look of shock on my mother’s face, while I thank the gods for small blessings.

  “I’ll get a pot of regular going,” I offer, rushing to the coffeepot. That’s something I can do.

  “Chuck,” I hear Dimas behind me. “How about you, Dad, and I go pull some folding chairs out of the garage? It’s a nice day, we shouldn’t spend it inside.”

  Have I mentioned I love that man? I watch him open the door and head outside, followed closely by the dog and our fathers.

  “What is in these?” Connie asks Ana, and my heart stops for a moment.

  Please don’t say marijuana or any other cannabis related product.

  “Well, hemp and sunflower seeds. Almond flour, overripe bananas, ground cardamom, and cinnamon. Oh, and coconut oil.”

  Thank God.

  “No eggs?” my mother wants to know.

  “Completely gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and organic,” Ana confirms proudly. “They’re good, aren’t they?”

  “Surprisingly, yes,” Mom confirms, and I finally allow myself to breathe normally again.

  Not for long.

  “You should try my hash brownies.”

  Bless her heart, but right now I want to stab Ana with my coffee scoop.

  “Oh look,” I say in desperation. “More chairs. Why don’t you guys head on out while I get coffee ready?”

  “I can help,” Mom immediately says, but I can feel a passive aggressive parental chat coming on and that would tip me over the edge.

  “Nope. Absolutely not. Connie will help, right, Connie? You go right on out and relax.”

  “Hash brownies?” my sister hisses behind me when the door closes behind the others.

  I turn to face her with my eyes bulging out of their sockets.

  “They grow pot. They grow it, they smoke it, and apparently they eat it. And Connie? They’re the nicest people ever.”

  “This is going to be a disaster,” she echoes my thoughts and I give an affirmatory nod.

  “Without a doubt. Now help me get coffee ready for everyone.”

  Right before we walk out with everything we’ll need, Connie holds me back.

  “Hey, do you think they brought extra?”

  “Muffins?”

  “No, pot.”

  “That went well.”

  Dimas climbs into bed behind me, immediately hauling me into his body I discover is blissfully naked.

  He’s right. That disaster I’d been waiting for never really happened.

  As it turns out Max and my dad have an appreciation for vintage cars in common, something they discovered when pulling chairs out of the garage, where apparently Dimas has a vintage 1964 Mustang hiding under a tarp. I had no idea.

  Britt hung mostly with the guys while they spent most of the day tinkering around with the car, since it’s apparently still a work in progress. Bummer. I was looking forward to taking it for a spin.

  Ana and my mom bonded over food, albeit from completely different directions. All was well until Ana asked Connie if she was perhaps sick. Said she read a darkness in my sister’s aura. That drew my mother’s attention and brought up Connie’s asshole husband. Apparently, Connie had to explain how she came to be staying at my house without me, and bit the bullet even before they showed up here this morning. It had not gone well, judging by Mom’s pleas for my sister to reconsider what she might have done differently to avoid this outcome. That had me jump to Connie’s defense. I told Mom, even if years of verbal abuse were in any way excusable—which they aren’t—beating and kicking Connie so violently she had to go to the ER certainly wouldn’t be.

  “Other than a few little hiccups, I’d have to agree.”

  “Will your sister be okay?”

  My parents insisted she come and stay with them, but I told her she could stay at my place as long as she wanted. The old Connie and the new Connie seemed to struggle over that, but she ended up making the correct decision and staying right here in Grand Junction. Even if it’s only temporary.

  “She will be. I think she’s made of sterner stuff than she even realized.”

  Dimas presses a kiss on my shoulder.

  “Just like her sister,” he mumbles, his hand tugging up on my nightshirt.

  “What are you doing?” I twist my head to catch his eyes as his fingers find me naked underneath. His hand clenches on my hip as I hear him curse under his breath. Then he slips a few digits between my legs, finding me wet for him already.

  “Finishing what you started this morning,” he answers hoarsely.

  “I’m on board with that.”

  I moan when he dips a finger inside and wantonly open my legs for him.

  “God, you’re so perfect,” he growls, rolling me on my back and settling his hips in the cradle of mine.

  “You’re blinded by love.” I look into his eyes and see right down to the soul of him.

  “I’m fucking helpless with love for you,” he whispers, and my eyes fill with tears.

  “Ditto,” I manage before his mouth descends on mine, kissing me with such conviction, it leaves no question to his feelings for me.

  Then he gently slides inside me, filling me body and soul.

  Chapter Thirty

  Dimas

  “You sure you’ll be okay?”

  We’re parked out front of the shelter with Twister, who was supposed to be on the back seat, with her paws on the console in between us, tongue lolling.

  “I’m fine. My throat is fine; the dog is fine. We’ll be fine,” she says rolling her eyes. “You’re overprotective.”

  “I’m cautious with very precious cargo,” I fire back. “Sue me.”

  The corner of her mouth twitches and she finally gives in to the smile. Then she reaches over and puts a hand on mine.

  “Honey…I promise I’ll be careful, but you have to promise to let up a little. Driving me to work every day is not an option. You have work to get to and so do I.”

  I wasn’t happy she was ready to go back to the shelter today, but she conceded I could drive her and pick her up. Apparently only today.

  “You let Connie use your vehicle, though.”

  “And she can keep it. I’m signing it over to her; she needs wheels. I’ve got some money saved up and I’ve had my eye on a cute Kia Soul. I’m thinking lime green. Maybe Rosie wants to go shopping with me.”

  I twist in my seat and look at her with disbelief.

  “Kia Soul? Hell no. First of all, those things are cookie tins; one tiny bump and it’ll crumple into origami artwork. Secondly, you’re not taking Rosie. I’m car shopping with you and we focus on safety, fuck color and fuck cute. We go tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  Wait. That capitulation was far too easy and she looks much too pleased with herself. Have I just been had? I would’ve been happy with the status quo, driving her wherever she needs to go, but suddenly I find myself insisting on taking her car shopping. Tonight, no less.

  I reach over and tag her behind her neck, pulling her toward me. Twister takes immediate advantage of the proximity of our faces and we’re both rewarded with excited licks and a hefty whiff of dog breath. I nudge her back a bit so I can touch the tip of my nose to Willa’s, staring her down

  “You just manipulated me,” I accuse her.

  Her loud peal of laughter, as she tilts her head back, rolls over me like the warm sun on the first day of spring.

  “That was easier than I thought.” She gri
ns smugly, her dancing brown eyes fixed on mine.

  Only one thing to do. I tilt my head and kiss that smirk off her face until I can feel her whimper in my mouth.

  “Fuck, but I love you.”

  Her hand comes up and strokes along my jaw and down my beard.

  “Love you too, Dimas.”

  We clearly wore out the dog’s patience and she starts whining, nudging her face between ours.

  “What time do you want me to pick you up?” I ask her, scratching Twister’s head absentmindedly.

  “Probably five. I’ll have a little catching up to do.”

  “Five it is.”

  She leans closer to give me a peck on the lips before hopping out of the truck, taking Twister with her. I don’t drive off until I see both of them disappear into the building.

  I spend the fifteen minutes it takes me to get to the office thinking about all the ways my life has changed in the relatively short time I’ve known Willa. How I can no longer imagine waking up every morning without feeling her warm body snuggled against me, her long hair tickling my face, the soft puffs of air escaping between her luscious lips. How we seem to easily move in each other’s space, without it feeling crowded or oppressive. How content and relaxed she makes me feel, even as we deal with a house full of our collective, somewhat dysfunctional families.

  She moves through life with an ease, a calm confidence, that seems to rub off on me in the best of ways. Her sharp mind, her generous heart, her sexy as fuck body. I’ve never felt so perfectly connected to another human being. It’s both exhilarating and terrifying. I used to scoff at the concept of needing someone else to feel complete, but not anymore.

  With Willa I feel like a better version of myself. A more rounded version. Life is less black and white, less rigid angles and hard edges. She smoothes and softens those.

  My instinct is to shield her from the world, keep her safely tucked away under my control for fear of losing her, but the truth is; her independence, her fearlessness, her capacity for trust, are what made me fall in love with her.

  “Good morning, Lena.”

  Our assistant slash office manager lifts her head in surprise.