Heartwood

by L. G. Pace III

  He closed the distance between us, and in typical Joe fashion, he made the decision for me as he pulled me against his rock hard chest.

  “Mornin’,” I said between kisses to his collar bone and neck. His spicy smell made me melt further into him.

  “Good morning, my beautiful wife.” He whispered, making me tingle everywhere from my scalp to my bright red toenails. “Ready for some—”

  “Coffee?” I asked, pulling back just far enough to see myself reflected in his olive eyes.

  His eyes crinkled as a smile claimed him. “Yeah. That’s what I was gonna say.”

  He pulled me into the shower, and we got very dirty before we cleaned up. Joe tossed on a red shirt and a pair of kaki cargo shorts. Following his lead, I wore some simple flat sandals and a white sundress with tiny flowers all over it.

  When we finally made it down to breakfast, I was delighted when the hostess sat us at a table right out on the beach.

  “You chose well, handsome. It’s so beautiful here.” I sighed, trying to take everything in. My eyes settled on Joe, who regarded me with a loaded grin. “What?”

  “For someone who had to be dragged kicking and screaming on a honeymoon, you sure seem to be enjoying it.” He puckered his lips as if in contemplation and I leaned in to kiss them.

  “You know better. Speaking of which.” I reached for my phone and dialed Tamryn’s number. She sounded chipper and assured me that Eva was doing well and slept through the night.

  While I was talking to her, I saw Joe dial his phone and heard him discussing Logan with Robin. I hung up with Tamryn in time to hear him say, “Yep. Sounds like Logan. He’s a little shit. Tell the girls to keep their hair away from him, too.”

  I giggled as the waitress deposited a plate of sweet rolls and fruit between us and poured our coffee. I was adding cream to both of our mugs when he hung up the phone and shook his head.

  “That son of yours...” He picked up my phone and stuffed both of them into my purse. “He’s going to give someone a concussion. He’s got quite a kick. I’m lucky that I didn’t have a shiner for the pictures.”

  “You did have a Shiner in several of the pictures, as I recall.” I quipped, referring of course, to our favorite Texas beer. He gave me an appreciative grin and raised his coffee to his lips. “So what did you plan for us to do here in Cabo...besides have copious amounts of sex?”

  He wriggled his eyebrows at me and grinned rakishly. “I planned two things a day. I didn’t want to over-schedule us. We don’t have to do any of it if you don’t want to. I’m cool either way. I just want to chill with you.”

  I put my hand on his knee and leaned in for a kiss. “You say the sweetest things.”

  “I do have some rules, though.” He slid his eyes sideways at me as he took an aggressive bite of cinnamon roll.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well don’t keep me in suspense, Master.” I joked. As much as it initially upset me, I secretly loved it when Joe tried to get bossy. It was so adorable.

  “First of all...the phones stay put away. We check messages once in the morning and once at night. We’ll check on the twins twice a day. Otherwise, we stay unplugged.”

  “But what about pictures?” I whined. I hadn’t brought a camera. Who the hell needs one of those these days? “If you think I’m not getting a pic of you in just your swim trunks, you’re smokin’ something.”

  “Alright. But if I catch you posting it I’m tossing your phone in the ocean.”

  “I’d like to see you try.” I smirked.

  He narrowed his eyes with a smirk of his own. “Don’t make me turn you over my knee, Little Girl.”

  I felt a cheeky smile twisting on my lips. “Maybe that’s what I’m going for. Did you ever think of that?”

  We spent the morning parasailing, and I can say without hesitation it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. We went up at the same time. Joe had arranged it that way, and it was pretty insightful of him. He’d have been freaking out the entire time I was in the air, and it was nice to not have him worrying about me. He did have them double-check that I was secure, but I’d grown accustom to Joe’s cautious nature, and I appreciated that it was coming from a place of adoration. Sometimes, he was so over protective it was embarrassing. Like the time someone almost bumped me with their car when we were walking through the parking lot. It was a month before I found out I was pregnant, and Joe ripped the guy a second asshole the moment he stepped out of his car, cornering him physically. I thought the young man was going to piss himself, and I stepped between them and scolded Joe for making a scene. He stepped back and let the kid pass. Showing wisdom beyond his years, the kid bolted into the store. Joe refused to apologize.

  “You’re the most precious thing in my world.” He told me, taking me by the hand and leading me into the store. “That little fuck needs to watch where he’s going.”

  Like I said, sometimes Joe was over the top, but most of the time his passion to look out for me just made me feel valued. And even when he went too far, part of me liked it.

  He made me feel safe.

  The rest of the day was spent in the pool and our hotel room. Joe continued to slather me with sunscreen so I didn’t fry, and I somehow managed to remain burn free.

  Just before we went out for a sunset booze cruise, we called to check on the twins and I posted all of my shirtless Joe pics to Facebook. The comments from Jay and Dan were hysterical, and some of them made Joe blush. Thankfully, Mason chimed in with his snark and turned their virtual cat-calling into a big joke.

  The next few days were a mix of sand, sun, and adventure. We snorkeled, which I never thought I’d have the guts to do. I loved the water, but getting into it was a tougher experience than it was when I was a kid. The whole incident with Draven nearly drowning me kind of put a damper on frolicking in the waves. Somehow, Joe coaxed me to try it.

  “It’s okay, baby. I got you.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me against him with one arm as he waded further into the surf. The rocks provided a break that formed a small lagoon, and the water was so clear that I could see the bottom. I saw fish swimming right up to our legs, and I couldn’t suppress a squeak of surprise.

  “Shhh...they won’t hurt you.” He whispered, his lips grazing my ear. He took his time getting me comfortable with putting my face in the water and breathing properly. Joe was a patient teacher, and soon we were paddling the length of the lagoon together. Schools of fish in every shade of the rainbow zigged and zagged beneath us, and the time passed quickly. I was grateful that Joe had pushed me outside my comfort zone, and was amazed at how much he knew about the pastime. I wondered if he’d gone snorkeling with Jessica on their honeymoon, and when mental pictures of him with his perfect blonde dream girl started to dampen my mood, I tried not to dwell on them.

  That afternoon we went zip lining. Joe was so excited, it was like watching my nephews at the state fair. We had a blast, and the hung over college kids who were on the excursion with us seemed annoyed that we weren’t as miserable as they were. Since they were taking turns puking into the trees, we got to go a couple of extra times. Joe was practically glowing when the guide suggested it.

  We also did a Jeep excursion into the dessert. We sat in the back and listened to the elderly couple in front of us bitch about everything from the speed our driver traveled to the dessert being too dusty. Joe and I had a good time rolling our eyes behind their backs, but their East Coast accent set my teeth on edge. It reminded me way too much of Draven, and he was the last thing I wanted to think about.

  “You two here for your anniversary?” The old man called back to Joe.

  “No. Our honeymoon.”

  “Congrats! You have quite the looker there.”

  “That’s why I married her.” I elbowed him and he pressed his lips together and held his gut with a silent laugh.

  “Just wait till you have a couple of children, honey. That figure w
ill be trashed and he’ll be more interested in the television than you.” His wife called back.

  “Actually, we have twins.” I stated as we came to a stop at a scenic overlook. The couple both turned around and gaped at me in surprise.

  “Twins!” The old man turned to Joe and offered his hand. Joe shook it, looking amused. “She bounces back nicely. What a pair of legs!”

  “Herb! Honestly!” His wife muttered, shuffling away from the vehicle.

  We wandered around, snapping pictures and holding hands. I kept stopping for a better view, but Joe seemed pretty bored.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” I sighed, when we’d finally hiked out to the waterfall at Fox Canyon.

  He shrugged. “It looks like west Texas.”

  “I think it’s cool.” I replied, snapping some pictures.

  “You were away too long.” His lips curled in a sexy, Elivis-like snarl. “All that time in Washington State made you homesick for barren lands and stunted trees.”

  “There’s no place like home.” I shrugged, cuddling up to his side. I pulled away from him and stripped off my top. “I’m going for a swim. Are you coming?”

  I didn’t have to ask him twice.

  “Don’t look now, but I think you’re starting marital bedlam.” Joe said, and I saw the elderly woman storm off in the direction of the Jeep. Her husband was trailing after her, but he was looking over his shoulder at me in my swimming suit.

  “That poor man.” I mumbled. “I hope we’re never like that.”

  “I want to grow old and grouchy with you.” He replied, and I laughed a little too loud.

  Once we were canoodling in the water, he asked. “So you really like it here?”

  “I love it. Thank you for bringing me.” I wrapped my entire body around him, glad for the buoyancy of the water as well as the privacy.

  “Think we should move here?” He joked. “Wrapgasmico Mexicano?”

  I huffed out a laugh. “I’m not going anywhere. Austin is the most beautiful place in the world.”

  He snorted, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

  “I’m serious.” I splashed him. “It’s where we fell in love.”

  He blinked his droplet covered eyelashes and brushed a wet strand of hair off my cheek. “I love you, baby.”

  We stopped at a brewery on our way back for lunch and Joe and I tasted the local beer. The brews were delicious, and we both agreed we could live happily in Mexico without ever drinking the water.

  Our trip continued to be relaxing and carefree. Every time we checked on the babies they were doing great. I started sleeping a full eight hours, and I actually felt more rested than I had since before I married Draven.

  When Joe and I weren’t on an adventure of some sort, we spent a lot of time at the swim up bars. I discovered that my husband had a thing for sweet girly drinks and teased him about it, singing the lyrics to Escape (The Pina Colada Song). He tickle-tackled me and kissed me to shut me up.

  When we weren’t at the pool, we were lounging in our private beach bed. The bed was a large wicker canopy with flowing curtains. Though there was a great deal of snuggling and some pretty heavy make out sessions, we refrained from taking things too far on the beach. Joe was afraid the footage would end up on the internet and his employee, Nick would see it.

  Our nights were spent alternating between ferociously hot sex and relaxed, languid love-making. I tried out every piece of lingerie I was given for my bachelorette party, and they all seemed to do the trick. Joe’s favorite seemed to be a black see through baby doll with a matching thong. It was the only one of the ensembles that he left on me for more than ten minutes.

  Sometimes we were late to excursions because one of us decided we were more important than someone else’s itinerary. Oddly, no one ever left without us. I guess the word was out that we were honeymooners, and there was a certain expectation that clocks didn’t mean as much to us. Everyone, locals and guests alike, seemed willing to give us a free pass.

  A couple of nights before we were set to come home, we rented a car and drove an hour down the coast to San Jose del Cabo. The town square and the architecture of the cathedral made me swoony, and we ate some great authentic Mexican food. We had to turn down two or three drug dealers who offered us pot and ecstasy, but we found some terrific local art galleries intermingled with the strip clubs. I quickly became obsessed with the painting of a particular artist, and decided to buy a large canvas with cacti and bold desert flowers painted across it.

  “Where the hell are you gonna put that?” He joked, as I picked it up and carried it to the counter. “In your carry-on?”

  “Nope.” I replied. “It’s going in our bedroom.”

  “The hell it is.” He plucked it from me and headed back to put it in its rightful spot.

  “Please?” I whined, trailing after him. “Joe, it’s amazing! I want to wake up to it every morning.”

  “You’re joking.” His cocked eyebrow told me that he didn’t think it was as aesthetically pleasing as I did.

  “No, I’m not. I want to open my eyes every single morning and see you lying on one side of me and that picture hanging on the other.”

  He frowned down at the painting, and I ran the pads of my fingers along the back of his neck.

  “Every time I look at it it’ll remind me of our honeymoon.” I added quietly in my sweetest voice. His eyes swept my face and I blinked at him demurely, watching his resolve slowly wither.

  “How are we gonna get it home?” He moaned, as if I were a monstrous burden to his good time.

  I smiled. “They’ll ship it.”

  “You owe me, woman.” His deep, virile voice held much more promise than threat. As he marched it up to the counter and pulled out his wallet, I admired the view of him from behind.

  Our last day was perfection. In the morning, we swam with the dolphins and I was so moved by the experience it made me cry. Joe wouldn’t let it go.

  “Sure...no crying at our wedding but the dolphins bring you to tears.” He teased.

  I wrinkled my nose, dunked him, and then swam away as he tried to grab me. The wide smile he wore as he stroked the smooth sleek dolphin gave him away. He seemed to have been as touched by the experience as I was.

  We went back to the room for a midday nap. As expected, nap time digressed into a sweaty, scream-inducing romp.

  As we lay panting side by side afterward, laughter erupted from me like Old Faithful.

  “Do I amuse you?” Joe’s dry impression of Joe Pesci made me laugh even harder.

  “It’s really no wonder we got pregnant, is it?” I asked, and he began to laugh too.

  “Ready to make another one?” He asked, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. I grabbed a pillow and smacked him in the face with it.

  We spent our final night walking along the beach before our candle lit dinner at a private table set up next to our beach bed. The only person around was our server, and only when we needed him. We sat watching the sunset and savoring impeccably prepared seafood. A light breeze made the palm fronds sway hypnotically, and I tried to commit every detail of the scenery to memory.

  “I miss the kids.” Joe confessed, tossing down his cloth napkin onto his partially eaten plate.

  “Me too.” I murmured.

  “Ready to go home, baby girl?”

  “Almost.” I sipped my wine and allowed my eyes to travel down to the spot where his buttoned up shirt ended. “There’s one thing we haven’t done yet that I have my heart set on.”

  His eyebrow arched, and I saw his jaw working as he suppressed a smile. “Is that so?”

  I nodded.

  “I think we’re done.” Joe called to the server. The man nodded with a knowing glance in my direction and hurried away with the plates.

  “So sex on the beach?” I asked, standing and offering him my hand.

  “Naughty girl.” He growled, and backed me up to the beach bed. “Why don’t we go back to the room?”

  “C
ome on, Joe.” I purred, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  THE SECOND WE landed Molly had her phone to her ear.

  “Robin. We just touched down.” Her speech was rushed and her pale eyes sparkled. “Can you bring Logan over to the house? We need to stop and pick up a couple of things, but it shouldn’t take long.”

  I saw her nodding as I grabbed our bags down from the overhead compartment.

  “Great. Thanks so much, hun! We’ll be home in an hour, okay?”

  Following my wife’s lead, I called Tamryn as we lugged our bags to the car. Tamryn asked if she could meet us halfway between our place and theirs, since she had to get her girls ready for school in the morning and their ranch was pretty far outside of town.

  “Sounds like a plan.” I replied. ‘Thanks for keeping Eva, Tamz.”

  “She was an angel.” Tamryn replied.

  We swung by the small grocery store closest to our house. I took off down the aisle to grab milk and eggs. Meanwhile, Molly picked out some fresh fruit and vegetables. She snatched up a can of formula and a bag of diapers and hurried to join me in line for check out.

  “We can come back for more later.” She insisted, looking eager and exhausted at the same time. “Right now I just want to get home to the kids.”

  “I feel ya, babe.” I ran my hand down her back as we waited in line. She leaned against me for support, and I lovingly stroked her long hair. Though we’d both agreed during the flight home that the trip couldn’t have been more perfect¸ we were both ready to hug our babies and sleep in our own bed. “Why don’t I drop you off and go grab Eva? You can put this stuff away and you can spend some one on one time with Logan. I hate to drag him back out.”

  “Alright.” The soft, sweet lilt in her voice made me want to kiss her right there in the middle of the grocery store, but it was inappropriate. I had to recondition myself from the honeymoon to being back into the real world. My mature and reasonable decision to behave was one I would soon regret.