Uncontrollable

by Shannon Richard

  “What about my homework?”

  “You will get it for an hour a day when I’m home. Nothing more. And if I so much as see you on Facebook you won’t even get that anymore!”

  The screaming continued as Tripp set the bags of dinner down in the kitchen before he headed into the living room. There he came across Penny and Grant.

  Penny was sitting on the floor and hugging her pink elephant Evangeline, tears streaming down her face while she sniffled. Grant was huddled in the corner of the sofa, arms wrapped around his legs while he stared off glumly. Duke was immediately at the boy’s side, pressing his nose into Grant’s ribs.

  “Come on. Let’s go outside.” Tripp bent down and scooped Penny and the elephant into his arms—the little girl burying her face in Tripp’s neck—before heading to the back door.

  Both Grant and Duke followed, and when Tripp closed the door behind them it shut out almost all of the yelling in the house. They went out onto the patio. Tripp sat down on the stone steps first and Grant took the space next to him.

  “I don’t like it when they argue,” Grant said, running his hand through the fur on Duke’s back. The dog had stationed himself at the boy’s side.

  “What happened?”

  “Nora dyed her hair blue,” Penny whispered into Tripp’s neck as she nuzzled closer to him.

  “Really? Blue?”

  “Bright blue.” Grant nodded. “At first Aunt B only grounded her for two weeks…but then Nora slammed the door in her face and it became three. They’ve been in there yelling for the last twenty minutes.”

  It was then that the door behind them opened, and Beth walked out to the patio. Her hands were shaking and there were bright patches of pink on her cheeks and neck.

  But as she looked between Penny and Grant her anger deflated…and so did she. “I’m sorry, guys.”

  * * *

  Tripp pulled the bottle of sauvignon blanc from the refrigerator and walked over to the kitchen island, where two wineglasses sat. He filled both up about halfway before tossing the now empty bottle into the recycling. Glasses in hand, he headed to the back porch where Beth was sitting on the sofa.

  If anyone needed a drink at that moment, she did. It had not been the relaxing evening he’d planned. Not at all.

  There’d been another confrontation over dinner when a blue-haired Nora marched into the kitchen, grabbed the carton of Lo Mein and some chopsticks, and attempted to head back to her bedroom.

  Beth had stopped her and told her in no uncertain terms that she could either eat with them at the dinner table, or she wasn’t eating at all.

  Nora chose to eat, but she sat at the table without saying a word to anyone.

  It was after nine now, and all three kids were in bed. Beth turned when he opened the door and stepped outside. She still had that deflated look about her, like she wouldn’t be able to handle anything else for a while.

  He handed her a glass before he sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his body. They took a few minutes to sip their wine, staring out into the darkness that stretched over the backyard.

  “How are you still here?” she asked, turning to look up at him.

  “What do you mean?” His gaze met hers and held.

  “How are you not running out the front door?”

  Run out the front door and go where? To his empty house? Yeah, the only way he would’ve left was if she’d asked him to. But she hadn’t.

  “I told you before, Beth. I’m not easily intimidated. Not even by a seventeen-year-old with blue hair.”

  “Oh God,” she groaned as she turned her face and pressed it into his chest. “That blue hair.”

  “It could be worse.” He moved his arm that was on the sofa behind her, bringing his hand to the back of her head, his fingers delving into her hair.

  She looked at him again, frowning. “How? How could it be worse?”

  “She could’ve dyed it orange.”

  A huff of air escaped her nose in a bitter laugh. “Orange would’ve been worse.” She turned away from him before she said, “Tripp, I’m so bad at this. So bad at being a parent.” Her voice caught on the last word.

  Tripp leaned forward, setting his wineglass on the table before he moved his hand to her face, gently nudging her chin until she was looking at him again. Tears were brimming in her eyes, and when she blinked they fell, tracking down her cheeks.

  These tears affected him a lot more than when she’d cried a couple of weeks ago. He hated them. He hated seeing her in pain like this.

  “The only way you would be failing is if you gave up. Have you given up?” he asked as he ran his fingers beneath her eyes.

  “On Nora? I would die before I gave up on her.”

  “Then you aren’t failing.”

  She let out a long and low breath as she continued to look up into his eyes. “Thank you,” she said after a moment. “Thank you for saying that. And thank you for staying.”

  “Where else would I be?” He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

  Her mouth opened to his, and as he kissed her he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there wasn’t any place he’d rather be, even with everything that had happened over the last few hours.

  Nope. Nowhere else but in that moment with her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Captain Commando

  Before Beth even realized it, twelve days with Tripp turned into five weeks. He’d become a fixture in her—and the kids’, for that matter—day-to-day life.

  He ate dinner with them more evenings than not, even cooking for her and the kids on his days off. She’d come home on multiple nights to find him in her kitchen, Grant acting as his little culinary helper. The change in Grant had been amazing. He talked more, smiled more, laughed more.

  Baseball had become Tripp’s and Grant’s thing, the catch sessions in the front yard continuing with regularity. Grant’s progress had been remarkable, especially when it came to his strength, accuracy, and confidence. And something Beth really loved was that Tripp had even started calling Grant Goose. Adopting the moniker for her nephew had meant more than she could have ever imagined.

  Then there was Penny. That child adored Tripp, following him around and asking him a million questions. She’d wrap her little fist in the fabric of his pants leg and tug, looking up at him before holding her hands out to be picked up. He always complied. He also never denied her a story at the end of the night. She’d crawl into his lap with a book in her hand, and politely ask him to read to her.

  Nora was a different story. The blue hair incident had been a pretty significant setback. For a couple of weeks she’d been way more sour than usual. But as the blue faded from her hair—a process that had been sped along by a hair treatment Beth bought—her attitude seemed to improve slightly.

  As for Nora’s attitude toward Tripp…

  In the beginning it appeared that her niece was just tolerating Tripp’s presence. But as the days progressed her stone cold demeanor seemed to soften, showing that she might actually like having him around.

  The biggest change had happened two weeks ago. Nora had asked Tripp for help with her chemistry homework. As Tripp was a science whiz it made perfect sense, but the fact that Nora had asked him? Yeah, Beth’s jaw had almost hit the floor.

  Tripp was beyond patient with Nora, too. He’d sit at the dining room table with her and go over the theories and formulas until she completely understood. And miracle of miracles, he’d even been able to make her laugh on occasion.

  It didn’t even upset Beth that for the most part Nora was nicer to Tripp than she was to Beth. Mainly this was due to the fact that anything good coming from Nora made Beth happy. She was able to get glimpses of the niece she knew, and she’d take that over nothing any day of the week.

  Another part of Beth’s optimism had to do with the effect Tripp was having on Beth herself. Many people had told her that she looked much happier and way less stressed. There’d bee
n a marked change in her life and in the kids’ lives, and Tripp had been the catalyst.

  There were some nights and weekends where he wasn’t around because he was working. When he was on call, he’d had to leave the dinner table a handful of times to respond to an emergency. Other times his truck was missing from the driveway when she got home, or sometimes it was already gone when she woke up in the morning.

  The worry that accompanied those days was unavoidable for Beth. How could she not be concerned? Her boyfriend walked into danger for a living. She’d be lying if she said the risk involved in his profession didn’t worry her. The relief that coursed through her when she saw his truck pulling into the driveway or when her phone would light up with his name on the screen proved that. But with what had happened in the last year there was anxiety involved in caring about anyone, really.

  Other facets of their relationship were taking some time to figure out as well…like their sex life. It was pretty much a get-it-when-they-could situation, which meant they could only be together on her lunch breaks or early in the mornings on the weekends. As for sleepovers, those took place solely at Tripp’s house, and those had been few and far between. Sleepovers only happened when the kids were with Papa Wallace.

  They might have been over a month into the relationship, but Beth wasn’t ready for him to stay the night when the kids were home. And that was something he completely understood: the kids were still getting used to him being around and she hadn’t been ready to introduce that particular element to them…yet.

  The “too soon” conversation was one that she was going to need to talk out with her friends, not just with regard to his spending the night, but to how quickly their relationship was moving. Luckily for Beth, she was getting together with them that Friday night for margaritas and mayhem.

  Nora was no longer on house suspension. The blue was entirely gone from her hair and her three weeks of being grounded were up. Though she might still be the sullen teenager Beth was becoming accustomed to, her behavior—for the most part—was better. That, and the fact that she’d made the honor roll for the third time that year, made Beth a little more agreeable when Nora asked to go to the high school basketball game that night.

  Since both Beth and Nora would be out, Wallace said he’d come over to watch Penny and Grant until Beth got home.

  Friday was a supremely slow day at the doctor’s office; there weren’t even any appointments scheduled after the lunch hour. It was Beth’s turn to go home early, and she jumped at the chance to spend a few extra hours with Tripp, who just so happened to have the day off.

  She pulled out her phone as she headed out of the building and dialed Tripp’s number. He picked up on the second ring.

  “Hey, babe. What’s going on?”

  “I got off early today.” She looked around the parking lot to make sure no one was within hearing distance. “And I was wondering what the odds were of us getting each other off.”

  “I’d say they were pretty damn high.” She could hear the grin in his voice.

  “You at home?”

  “On the way now.”

  “I’ll see you there.” She hung up, picking up her pace to her car.

  * * *

  Tripp was just getting out of his truck when Beth pulled into her driveway. He leaned back against the door of the truck as she made her way across the lawn, letting his eyes linger over every inch of her. She was wearing dark purple scrubs today, blond hair thrown up in a high ponytail, sunglasses perched on her nose.

  She walked right up to him, grabbing the front of his shirt and stretching up for his mouth. Her lips opened instantly, her tongue finding his. It was the kind of kiss that always let him know she was in the mood, and had the ability to make him hard in an instant.

  Though her phone call had pretty much taken care of that.

  “Hello, gorgeous.” He smiled against her lips.

  “You already know you’re getting laid, right?”

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t tell you the truth.”

  She raised her eyebrows at him.

  “What? I’m becoming partial to these scrubs of yours. Maybe because I’m peeling you out of them more often than anything else.”

  “Well, then how about you get to peeling?”

  “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her to the house.

  Once they were in his bedroom, they began to undress each other. He started with her hair first, pulling the tie out so all of that blond goodness fell down around her shoulders. She started with his belt buckle, her hands delving past the waistband and stroking his erection.

  When all of their clothes littered the floor, Beth took charge, pushing him back onto the bed. She climbed on top of him, straddling his thighs as she slid the condom down his cock…and then she was sliding down his cock.

  Now Tripp was an equal opportunity guy when it came to the bedroom. He liked a woman on top just as much as he liked being on top. But Beth? Damn, there were no words for her taking control. No words for watching her ride him, for watching her lose herself in the moment.

  He held onto her hips, more for the opportunity to touch her than to guide her. She didn’t need guidance. She knew exactly what she was doing and she was fucking magnificent at it, too.

  They’d found their rhythm, him thrusting up as she moved down, her blond hair falling over her shoulders, her breasts bouncing with every movement. Then there were the sounds she made, those gasps and throaty moans. But his favorite thing? Well, his favorite was when she said his name.

  “Tripp.” She threw her head back as he brought one of his hands between their bodies and found her sweet spot, applying just the right amount of pressure.

  “That’s it, baby,” he told her. “Take it. Take what you want.” Lord knew he was taking exactly what he wanted.

  “Oh God.” She leaned forward, bracing her hands on his chest as she started to move on him harder…faster.

  She cried out his name when she hit her peak, her body tightening around him in the most perfect spasms. He let go, giving in to the pleasure he’d been holding back from until she came first. Both of his hands were at her hips again, thrusting up hard and riding out his release.

  Beth fell onto him, those perfect breasts of hers smashed against his chest, her face pressed into his neck. Her breaths were ragged, hitting his skin in uneven puffs. A thin sheen of sweat coated both of them, and when he opened his mouth on her shoulder he tasted the salt on her skin.

  He brought his hand to her back, trailing his fingers up and down her spine and making her shiver against him.

  “Cold?”

  “No.” She nuzzled her face into his throat. “I like your hands on me.”

  “That makes two of us.” He rolled them, now hovering over her as he looked down into her face. “I’ll be right back.” He kissed her lips before he pulled from her body and got out of bed.

  He cleaned up and when he stepped back into the room, Beth was sitting at the edge of the bed, pulling his T-shirt from the pile of clothes on the floor. She stood as she slipped it over her head, the blue fabric dropping down and covering her to mid-thigh.

  “Now why do you insist upon covering up such an awesome view?”

  She shook her head at him, but a grin fought at the edges of her exasperation. “I thought we already discussed that I’m not an exhibitionist. But you, Captain Commando, should feel free to walk around however you like.” She gestured below his waist with one of her hands, eyes lingering for just a moment before she cleared her throat and looked up.

  “Captain Commando?” He raised his eyebrows.

  “Yup. Your aversion to underwear has been noted. Now I’m going to get some water,” she said before she turned to the door. “I’m feeling rather parched. Probably from all of that screaming you make me do.”

  Tripp laughed as she walked away, reaching for his discarded jeans on the floor. He pulled them on before following her out into the kitchen. She already had a glass in her hand a
nd was pressing it to the water dispenser on the fridge.

  “Changed your mind, I see?” She asked before she took a long drink of water and then slowly lowered the glass from her mouth.

  “I didn’t want you to get distracted again.” He moved closer to her, reaching up and catching a drop of water that clung to her lip with his thumb.

  “I’m not inclined to believe you.”

  “You shouldn’t.” He grabbed the half full glass from her hands and finished off the water. “You eat lunch yet?”

  “No, you?”

  He shook his head. “Soup and sandwich sound good?”

  “Perfect.” She nodded, heading for his pantry for the bread. “Tripp?”

  “Hmm?” He pulled a pot out of the cabinet before turning to her.

  She was facing him now, a half empty jar of peanut butter in her hand. “I thought you hated this stuff. You have three jars of it in here.”

  “I do hate it. I bought it for Grant.”

  Besides her eyes going wide with shock, her entire body froze. “You did?”

  “What?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Sometimes when he comes over after school, he wants a snack. I thought it would be a good idea to have something here that he likes. It isn’t that big of a deal.”

  Beth had still been holding the jar of peanut butter up in the air like a statue, but her arm finally dropped as she shook her head. “I disagree.” She turned back to the pantry and put the jar back on the shelf. When she grabbed the bread she shut the door and headed to the counter space next to him.

  “You stocking up on stuff for Grant is super sweet.”

  “Oh yeah? Then what would you say to the fact that I stock up on stuff for you too?”

  She’d been working on the twist tie at the top of the bag and she stopped as she turned to look at him. “What do you stock up for me?”

  “Condoms.” He smirked, waggling his eyebrows.

  Her head fell back as a burst of laughter escaped her lips, and he swooped in close, lightly nipping her neck with his teeth. God, he loved that sound, could listen to her laugh all damn day.