“We close on it next week.”
“Mom says it’s nice. And really big. Can I help you decorate the nursery?” Hailey asked.
I hadn’t even thought about that. In the back of my mind, I knew a crib would be necessary, but a crib wouldn’t fit in the hotel room. Not even a small one. And Bean had a nice big room of her own waiting at Trex’s new house. I was suddenly relieved. Trex had fixed it before it was even a problem.
“That would be nice, thank you,” I said.
Hailey clapped with excitement. Trex glanced at me, trying not to smile.
“You’re in hospitality?” Susanne asked, standing. She fetched a plate of baked goods and brought them over. “Hailey, get the lemonade.”
“I work the front desk,” I said, taking a small, round oatmeal-and-raisin cookie and a tiny lemon square.
“How long ago did you meet?” Scott asked, looking down at my baby bump.
Trex touched my belly. “At least four and a half months ago.”
Hailey giggled. Scott and Susanne weren’t amused.
“I don’t see a ring,” Scott said.
“No, you don’t,” Trex said.
“You’re not getting married?” Hailey asked, surprised.
“Not right now,” Trex said.
“Not ready for that kind of commitment, but you’re bringing a baby into this world. Makes sense,” Scott said.
“Dad,” Trex began, already annoyed, “marriage is a piece of paper. There is no stronger bond than a child.”
“The Bible says—” Susanne began.
“To submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,” I said.
“You’re familiar with the Word,” Scott said. “Then you’re familiar with First Corinthians seven, verse eight and nine.”
“Where Paul tells the unmarried and widows to abstain or marry? Yes, I’m familiar.”
Scott seemed impressed. That was why Trex wasn’t jumping in. He knew they were about to find out their atheist son had impregnated a God-fearing woman. And somehow, that would turn a sinful act into a grandchild to be excited about.
“Which church do you attend in Colorado Springs?” Susanne asked.
“I don’t. Up until recently I’ve been working sixteen-hour days,” I said.
“On Sundays?” Scott asked.
“On Sundays, she rests,” Trex said. “She’s prayed about it, Dad. Even god rested on the seventh day.”
Scott narrowed his eyes. “How exactly is this going to work? With you being a Christian and Scottie an atheist.”
I shifted in my seat, taking a sip of my lemonade. “We’ve discussed it.”
“Are you okay with your child growing up with atheist influences?” Scott asked.
“Better than her growing up without a father,” I said.
Scott nearly snarled. “I’m not sure He would agree. He is the only father we need if we’re without a godly influence, and the Bible very plainly says that if anyone causes little ones to stumble in the path to God, it is better to hang a millstone around their neck and be thrown into the sea,” Scott said, puffing up with each verse he spewed.
“You’re right, that’s a serious threat,” I said. “I don’t think that means a child would be better off without a good father. The Lord isn’t going to make her breakfast or take her to soccer practice.”
Trex stifled a chuckle.
“Daddy,” Hailey said, disappointed. “Stop it. Scottie will be a great dad.”
“Scottie,” Susanne said in a motherly tone. “It’s important for you now more than ever to return to God. You want the best for your child, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. And it’s so fortunate for her that she’s born right here in the United States where Christianity is the primary religion, and she can worship the one true god.”
Susanne frowned. “No need for sarcasm, Scottie. We say this because we love you. It’s our duty to witness the truth to those we love.”
“I know,” Trex said. “But Darby and I have decided to respect each other’s beliefs, and we’ll do the same for our daughter.”
Hailey held her hands to her mouth. “You’re sure it’s a girl?”
I smiled and nodded, and Trex dug an ultrasound photo from his back pocket, standing and leaning forward to hand it to Hailey. She stared at it for a moment, and then Susanne leaned to the side, pointing out features.
Susanne smiled, the first real one she’d managed since we arrived. “Oh my. Would you look at that pretty little girl. I think she’s going to have your nose, Scottie.”
Trex grinned and squeezed my hand. “You think?”
Susanne took the photo from Hailey to show Scott. It took him a full minute to soften up, but when Susanne pointed out Bean’s feet, he finally cracked a smile. “She looks like a Trexler,” he said.
We sat down to dinner, talking about normal things like Hailey’s homecoming date and the weather. Trex talked more about the new house, and he pulled up pictures of it on his cell phone. I tried not to seem too excited or surprised as I scrolled through the pictures. Trex’s family assumed I’d seen the house already. Then I ran across several of us together. Mostly selfies, and a few of just me.
“That’s a good one,” Susanne said. “You should frame that.”
“That was our…fourth date.”
“Pasta,” I said.
He chuckled. “Pregnant girls remember by food.”
“She was pregnant by your fourth date?” Scott asked.
“Our first, actually,” Trex said without shame.
Scott frowned.
Trex went back to the photos of the house, pausing on one photo, pointing out the plush carpet of the living area. “Look at all that room to crawl,” he said. He scrolled to another pic. “This is the office across the hall from the master suite. Perfect place for a nursery.”
I nodded, then looked at him. “It is.”
The corners of his mouth curved up. He looked so different than he did an hour before in the car. His face had been heavy with pain, uncertainty, worry. Now he was relieved and happy.
“That was a fine dinner, Susanne. Thank you,” Scott said, pushing away from the table. “I have Sunday’s sermon to study. It was good to see you, son.”
Trex nodded once, staring at the table while his father retreated to wherever he studied for sermons. As soon as Scott was gone, Trex continued the conversation, the air lighter than it had been just moments before.
“Thanks for dinner, Mom. It was great.”
Susanne smiled. “Made all your favorites. I’m hoping it will convince you to come home more often.”
She stood, gathering the dirty dishes, and the rest of us helped, the plates clattering as we cleared the table within minutes. The kitchen was once again a center of activity, the faucet on full blast, steam rising from the single basin.
Trex took a dish towel from Hailey, but I shooed him out of the kitchen.
“I can help,” he said with a chuckle.
“We’ve got this,” Hailey said. “Beat it.”
Trex held up his hands. “I guess I’ll take a shower.”
“Hailey, don’t forget your homework, now.”
“It’s done, Mom.”
Susanne nodded, passing me a dish to dry. “I’ve never had to worry about this one. That one”—she gestured to the hall—“all we’ve done is worry. How far along did you say you were?”
“Twenty weeks and a few days.”
“Halfway mark,” Susanne said, scrubbing a pot. “I’m surprised. Trex isn’t a kid. I just thought of him as more…street smart, I guess.”
“Mom,” Hailey warned.
“I know, I know. I don’t mean anything by it. I’m glad he’s home. He doesn’t visit much since he decided, you know, that he doesn’t believe in God.”
“It must be hard for him,” I said, looking down at the plate in my hand. I moved the microfiber rag over its dry surface while waiting for Susanne to hand me the pot she’d been scrubbing. The plat
e had been dry for a solid minute, but I needed something to do with my hands. “To know he’s disappointed you.”
“Oh, I don’t think that bothers him,” Susanne said, smiling out the window over the sink. It was pitch black outside, so I wondered what she found funny. “Sometimes I wonder if he’s just doing it to get back at his father.”
“For what?” Hailey asked.
“You just never mind,” Susanne said. She looked at my bump. “He has a history of doing things he knows would upset his father. Ever since he was little. I mean since he could walk. It’s hard for two strong-minded men to be under the same roof.”
“Daddy pushes Scottie’s buttons, too, Mom.”
“I’m not saying Dad’s innocent,” Susanne said. Her voice sounded tired. “There’s a lot of animosity there that I just don’t understand. I don’t think they do, either.”
“He loves you, though,” I said. “He was looking forward to coming home.”
She finally passed me the pot. “His sister has always been the apple of his eye. He comes home to see her when he can.”
It bothered me that she wouldn’t admit Trex was abused, but I decided to leave it alone. Trex hadn’t talked much about his parents, and it wasn’t my place to try to heal them. What had happened scarred Trex enough to keep him away for months and years at a time, despite his strong love for Hailey, and maybe it was too long ago to heal. I knew exactly what that felt like. Even the thought of trying to fix the pain between my mom and me was exhausting.
“Have you been feeling all right?” Susanne asked.
“The morning sickness was pretty brutal. I’ve been feeling better and I’m back to one shift at work, so everything feels easier.”
“Good. That’s good. I know my pregnancy with Hailey was a lot tougher than the first time. Maybe it was because I was so much older, who knows?” She dried her hands on her dish-towel apron. “Thanks for the help. I hope you’ll keep us updated. Our first grandbaby and all.”
“Yes. Of course,” I said, hoping the guilt I felt wasn’t all over my face. “Good night.”
“C’mon,” Hailey said, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the kitchen.
Hailey collapsed in a chair in Trex’s bedroom. The shower was running in the bathroom across the hall. I leaned against the headboard of the bed, waiting for Trex to get out of the shower. He had talked about Hailey a lot, and he was right. She lit up the room. She was so innocent and full of life, and even seemed to have influence over her parents Trex had never enjoyed. It was hard to believe they had the same parents.
Hailey yawned. “Trex hasn’t come home in a long time. I’m glad he has a reason to now. Maybe I’ll get accepted to CSU, and I’ll be even closer and can visit a lot. I mean, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay. You’re welcome anytime.”
“Really?” she asked, sitting up.
I nodded, surprised at her surprise.
She smiled. “Cool. I didn’t think he was ever going to find you, but I’m so glad he did.”
“You mean his theory about being in love with me before he met me.”
“I don’t know,” she lilted. “You don’t look like a theory to me. He’s talked about you since high school. He described you and everything. That’s why he’s never been serious about any girlfriend, even Laura. He knew he’d find you. We all thought he was delusional or just making an excuse, but…here you are.”
“He described me?”
“Yep. More like who you are as a person, but he wasn’t wrong.”
“That’s…”
“Creepy?” Hailey said with a giggle.
“No, it’s sort of…comforting. No wonder he’s not freaked out by the whole pregnancy and house like I am. He’s had time to process it.”
She shrugged. “You shouldn’t be worried about Scottie. I see how he looks at you. He’s a goner.”
“I am,” he said from the doorway. His hair was still wet, his face shiny clean. He was in a white T-shirt and gray sweatpants, his hands in the pockets and standing in his bare feet. I could smell the combination of his body wash and deodorant, and I filled my lungs with it. Trex had become my favorite smell in the world, my favorite person, my favorite night out. “Shower’s open. Still hot water left.”
“Thank you,” I said, gathering my things.
Trex followed me into the bathroom, showing me how the shower worked. I began to unbutton my blouse and Trex leaned his back against the door, a half grin on his face.
“Thanks for saying that.”
“What did I say?” I asked.
“All of it. I’m not sure how quick you meant when you said you’re okay with moving in, but I’d still like your help with the nursery.”
“You were serious? You’re going to make the office into a nursery?”
“Yes,” he said, straight-faced. “We’ll need a roomful of stuff for her. A crib, diapers, wipes, sheets, toys…”
I shrugged. “Then as soon as the house is ready, I guess.”
He smiled. “That’s an incentive if I’ve ever heard one.”
“It almost felt too easy to say yes.”
“Not everything is too good to be true, Darby.”
“I know. You’re right. I keep resisting and arguing because it feels so…easy. And easy should be a good sign, not a red flag. Just like you said…we love each other. We should be a family. Bean should live in the home you bought for us—if you still want us to after all the fuss I made today—in a nice neighborhood, and if something happens, if for some crazy reason it doesn’t work out…I know you’ll be kind.”
He laughed once. “If I still want you to,” he repeated. He took the few steps to me, wrapping me in his arms, kissing me tenderly. He smelled so good, his hands so warm. I wanted them everywhere, all over me at the same time like a blanket. “I want you to move in with me. I want you to help me pick out furniture, and paint, and dishes, and make this house our home. I want you. And her”—he touched my stomach—“and anyone else who comes along. Ten years ago, the first day we met, four months later, forty years from now…I’ll still feel the same. I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
Trex reached down to pinch the bottom hem of my skirt, and then tugged it down till it was on the floor. He stared at me for a while, his eyes, full of desire, scanning my bare skin.
I touched my rounding belly, feeling I should mention the obvious before he thought it. “Getting big.”
The muscles in his arm tensed when he reached behind me to open the shower door to turn the knob. As the water whined through the pipes and began to stream from the nozzle, Trex’s fingertips slid over my stretched skin like silk. “I have never seen a woman so beautiful.”
He pulled his T-shirt over his head, took off his sweatpants, then he turned us, stopping when his back was to the shower. He slowly walked backward, pulling on my hands to follow until we were both under the steady stream of water just hot enough that it didn’t burn. It rained over the top of our heads as he touched his lips to my shoulder and neck, his hands sliding over my curves, his fingers stopping between my thighs like he’d been longing for them to return to that spot since the last time they were there. My breath faltered.
He hooked my knee at his hip and rocked against me, moving his hand to glide his hardness over my tender skin. I reached down, using him to touch myself. He cupped my backside, looking down at where our bodies met. His lips were on mine again, and our tongues danced where our mouths met. He kissed me differently than he had before, a little less careful, as if he finally felt like we belonged to each other and any doubts he’d had were gone. I put my hands on each side of his neck, pulling him closer, letting my fingers slide back through his wet hair. He’d told me so many times that I was his everything, and for the first time, I truly knew he was the one for me. I could feel everything broken inside me getting put back together as I fell more in love with him within the walls of that shower. I gave myself to him in more ways than
one, because I wanted him to have me, not because he took what wasn’t his.
He turned me away from him, bending me forward slightly, using one hand to reach around and touch me, the other to guide himself inside. I pressed my forehead against the wet shower wall, closing my eyes at the exquisite feeling of his hardness entering me, trying to strangle the moan building in my throat. He pulled back, and my insides held him tight, the resistance sending a sharp but pleasurable sensation throughout my body. I wasn’t sure if it was pregnancy or Trex, but everything was more intense with him. He whispered in my ear that I was beautiful, and how much he loved me, his wet thighs lightly slapping against my backside as he fell into a slow rhythm.
Trex’s fingers slowly slid over my most sensitive skin, in tune to the way certain motions made me writhe under his touch. It hadn’t taken him long to figure me out, and he exploited that knowledge in the best way. The fingers of his free hand dug into my hip, pulling me closer, and I arched my back just slightly, allowing him to submerge himself. A low, subdued hum emanated from his throat, and I could feel my body tighten around his penis even more. He was struggling to stay quiet, gently biting my shoulder. Even from behind, he made love to me, another first I’d experienced with Trex. He reached for my jaw, turning me to face him, sliding his finger into my mouth. I closed my lips, using my teeth to keep it in place, and tonguing his finger with the smallest bit of suction. Trex’s rhythm slowed, and he held me close to him, concentrating on his fingers between my thighs. He kissed my neck, moving inside me in small circles, heightening the sensation. I whimpered, and he covered my mouth, allowing me to come how I wanted. The orgasm swept over me like a tsunami, wave after wave, rendering me helpless until it was over.
Once my body relaxed, Trex gripped my hips with both hands, sliding himself into me deep, and then pulling away, his rhythm faster than before. I flattened my palms against the shower wall, jutting out my backside to again give him full access. His fingers tightening around my hips, a strangled moan trapped in his throat. He rocked into me twice more, pausing between, his entire body tense for a few seconds before he hugged me against him, pressing his cheek against mine, breathing hard.
From Here to You Page 27