A Love Story

by Jean C. Joachim

  An entire wall of windows brought the breath-taking view of the lake and almost blinding sunlight into the living room. It was noon and the sun was high in the sky. Sunshine glistened on the lake, rimmed by lush green trees and shrubs.

  “The lake! The lake!” Jason squealed with delight, pointing. He raced around, opening all the doors and running up and down the stairs. There was a big sectional sofa facing the fireplace in the large living room. Behind the fireplace was a big kitchen sharing the fireplace with the living room.

  There were two small bedrooms on the other side of the living room. They were obviously for the boys, being decorated in a masculine blue and white. Callie went upstairs. The master bedroom was huge with big sliding glass doors and windows facing a valley. The view was awesome and there was a small terrace outside the bedroom with two chairs and a little table, perfect for watching the sunset.

  “Where’s the little room your dad mentioned?”

  “It must be here somewhere,” Mac said, “I’m taking Jason to the lake because he’s driving me crazy.”

  In the upstairs hall, there was a linen closet and another door. When Callie opened it she found darkened stairs. She climbed up using a flashlight.

  The stairs led right into a small room with a big skylight, and large windows at one end filling it with sunlight. Callie opened the windows to get some fresh air. She sat down on the comfy loveseat and looked around. The room was decorated in rose and white and there were ruffles on the curtains and pretty pillows. This was definitely a woman’s room.

  Photo album after photo album sat on bookshelves. One wall was covered with family pictures of Mac as a baby, Mac and his brother, Peter, dressed for Halloween, Mac graduating high school, Mac graduating college, and Sam and Ellen Caldwell as young newlyweds. Callie felt the shared love of the Caldwell family in this room, it became her favorite room.

  The days passed like magic. They led a simple life. Hiking, swimming in the lake, cooking together, reading and playing tag with Jason occupied their days. They picked huge blueberries and juicy wild raspberries.

  The privacy of the small deck off the master bedroom encouraged Callie and Mac to start their lovemaking at night outside. Sitting on the deck with a glass of wine and Jason safely in bed, they slowly undressed each other while the cool evening air caressed their skin and candlelight gave a soft glow to eyes dark with desire.

  Moonlight kissed Callie’s beautiful body making it even more alluring to Mac. Slowly swaying shadows emphasized the strong outlines of the muscles of Mac’s chest, drawing Callie to him to cool her hot hands on his skin.

  Mac kissed Callie, teasing and tantalizing her tongue with his. She sighed and pressed against him, feeling the soft hair on his chest against hers, running her hands down his smooth back and over his hips. Mac stepped back to look at Callie, her naked beauty starting a fire in him. He dropped to his knees, burying his face in her breasts and belly -- his mouth captured her peak, sucking and circling first one then the other with his tongue. He moved his hands possessively over her soft body down to her firm behind, pulling her closer to him. She lost her hands in his silky, hair, blue-black in the moonlight.

  He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, depositing her tenderly on the bed. She pulled him down on top of her and claimed his mouth passionately with her tongue while he started the familiar ache inside her for him by slipping his hand down to gently explore her moist heat.

  The hush of the night was broken by their soft whispers and sighs, moans and cries of pleasure as he entered her and she surrendered to the powerful excitement he was creating. Mutual passion increased in intensity until it burst into molten release as her hips moved in rhythm with his and their strong physical and emotional need for each other was satisfied. Afterward they lay in each other’s arms, content to be together peacefully, listening to the songs of crickets and frogs and the whoosh of the night breezes through the trees, while they drifted off to sleep. They made love almost every night in the Lake house.

  It was a relaxed time, being outdoors most of the day, watching the birds, listening for deer, scouting bears, foxes and raccoons. Mac taught Jason to swim. They went fishing and never caught anything. They laughed and played and ate and loved. It was idyllic, Callie had never been happier, wrapped in the warmth of love from Mac, Jason and Mac’s family, with no bad events to cloud their days. Too soon, it was time to return to their home and get ready for the new school year. They packed their things reluctantly.

  “But we can come back. Any time we want,” Mac said.

  Callie nodded. It was hard for her to tear herself away and go back to the land of responsibility. Every fairyland must end some time, she told herself. But she wasn’t ready to leave.

  The last night, Callie tucked Jason into bed.

  “Can I call you Mommy?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she said, surprised and pleased. “I love you, Jason,” she said, pulling up the blanket around his little frame and kissing him.

  “Me, too, Mommy,” he said as he rolled over and went to sleep.

  Mac was in the doorway, smiling. He kissed Jason and they crept out of his room and turned out the light.

  “Is it okay if he calls me ‘mommy’” Callie asked Mac.

  “It’s more than okay, it’s great!” Mac said, kissing her.

  They stood on the deck, watching their last July sunset. Callie felt sad but happy at the same time. She was a little scared about new challenges awaiting her back in Willow Falls. But she knew with Mac, Jason and their friends, she had the love and support she needed to face anything. Mac pulled her to him and kissed her. He felt calm and happy. With Callie his dreams had come true. She turned to him and pulled her tee shirt over her head.

  “Mac, look,” she said.

  “What?”

  “My boobs are big again, aren’t they?”

  “Amazing…they are,” he said, staring at her chest.

  “I may have to make another examination,” he said, warming to the idea.

  “Perfect,” she said.

  As he reached around her to unhook her bra, Callie whispered in his ear, “I’m pregnant, Mac.”

  *THE END*

  Please enjoy this sneak peek of,

  NOW AND FOREVER 2

  THE BOOK OF DANNY

  By

  Jean C. Joachim

  Copyright 2010 Jean Joachim

  Chapter One

  “This way, Danny,” Cal motioned.

  “No, don’t go that way," Danny hollered.

  But he was too late. The explosion might have deafened him, but Danny was lucky. One minute, he was running away from what he thought was a bomb and the next thing he knew, he was in an Army hospital in Germany. Still, he was the lucky one—he got the Purple Heart and he was going home. Cal had not been so blessed.

  Danny had only been out of the hospital for three days when he hitched a ride on a military plane back to the United States. It was a long plane ride, but it was a chance to say goodbye to his buddies.

  “Hey, Captain, ever get the guy in Iraq who killed your brother?” asked Sgt. Josh Benson.

  “Sure Benson. Him and the rest too. All those bastards,” Danny retorted.

  “You got the highest score. How many killed?” Benson asked.

  “Lost count.”

  “More than me.”

  “Everybody got more than you, Benson. Jenny behind the desk hit more than you,” Danny joked.

  “Can’t see nothin’ on you. Look like they never touched you.”

  “Yeah, looks can be deceiving. How’s your leg doing?” Danny asked, moving away to make more room for Benson’s leg casts.

  “Good,” Benson lied as he grimaced from the pain beginning to creep through his meds.

  “Glad to be delivering you back to your sister. Say what does she look like again?”

  “Stay away from her, Captain. She’s got enough to do takin’ care of me. She can’t be cryin’ her eyes out over losin’ it
to you,” Benson chuckled.

  “Too bad. But then if she looks like you, maybe not!” Danny laughed.

  “I’m not tellin’...say Captain…you sleep good?” Benson asked, his brow furrowed.

  “Okay, I guess,” he lied.

  “I see things. I wake up. I don’t sleep all night,” Benson said quietly.

  Danny nodded, looking away.

  “Will those things go away? Will I always be seein’ Joe or Cal when I go to sleep?”

  “I hope not,” Danny said, without conviction, looking down at his hands.

  “At least I’m still here. Thanks to you.”

  “I told you, just shut up about it,” Danny snapped.

  “Why?”

  “Everybody here does his bit. I did mine…with you. Don’t talk about it,” Danny said in a low voice.

  “Okay, okay.”

  “You’re one brother I’m returning home,” Danny said softly to himself.

  “Hey, Maine, we’re coming down over Syracuse. This is your stop, right?” the pilot hollered back to Danny, who moved up to the cockpit.”

  “Yeah. That’s me.”

  “Where do you go from here?”

  “I got a ride with Sgt. Marie Willis to Willow Falls,” Danny said.

  “Some hick town?”

  “College town.”

  “You going to school?”

  “Teaching.”

  “Marie, huh?”

  “Better warn her about the Captain,” Benson piped up from the back.

  “Shut up Benson or I’ll have to break your arms, too,” Danny called.

  “Ever see her, Benson? Don’t think the Captain will be interested.”

  “She’s female, isn’t she?”

  “As far as I know.”

  “I’m interested,” Danny said with a snicker.

  “Your vitamin E pack, Captain,” Benson said, handing a pouch to Danny.

  “Thanks,” he said, putting the pouch in his duffel bag.

  “Just mention the word ‘female’…” Benson joked.

  The plane landed and Danny parted from Benson and two other members of his squad. Marie Willis was waiting for him at the gate. Danny stored his gear in her trunk then got in next to her.

  “How long a trip is this, Sergeant?” Danny asked the washed-out brunette.

  “Call me Marie.”

  “Okay, Marie. How long?”

  “Maybe four hours?”

  “Too bad. Thought we might need to stop for the night,” Danny said, looking her over suggestively.

  “That could be arranged,” she said, glancing over at the handsome man’s powerful build, sandy blond hair, and keen hazel eyes with appreciation.

  * * * *

  When he got to Willow Falls, Danny checked into the only motel in town. The next afternoon, he left the motel for the three-mile walk to the reception for new professors. The walk was a piece of cake for him compared to the long, hot, dry treks with a seventy-pound-pack on his back he endured in the desert.

  While he walked, he wondered what kind of women he would find here. Danny dated and bedded lots of co-eds in college and graduate school. He achieved an enviable sex life by reciting love poetry by heart and discussing books with young women. When his lovely bed partners discovered he was heading for the Middle East to fight, they dropped him.

  Overseas, he got to know only prostitutes, a group of desperate women doing whatever it took to survive. He turned to alcohol and women to deal with the pressure dull his senses and escape the horror of reality.

  He arrived at the Dean’s house twenty minutes late for the party. It was a colonial house, bigger than some in the neighborhood, painted beige with white trim and black shutters. When he rang the bell, an angel answered the door—The Dean, dressed in a chiffon print aqua and soft green dress that matched her eyes. Her short, blonde hair was shining in the afternoon sun, framing a delicate face with large green eyes, a small nose, and sensuous lips. A gentle fragrance of gardenia followed from her slender neck down to the tips of her pink fingernails. Danny was speechless. He never expected such beauty to be standing right in front of him in the middle of nowhere.

  Now and Forever 2, the Book of Danny will be available as an eBook Fall of 2011 at www.secretcravingspublishing.com, www.amazon.com, and www.barnesand noble.com and in print in 2012.

  About The Author

  Jean Joachim is an author, wife, and a mother of two sons. She is owned by a rescued pug named Homer. She lives in a small apartment in New York City during the winter and spends summers writing in a cabin in Sullivan County, NY. She has always wanted to be a writer and storyteller and was making up fantasies to share with her friends when she was a child. She spent years writing in advertising as a copywriter and media director.

  She has had seven non-fiction books published but didn’t try her hand at fiction until 2010. Her first romance, “Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights”, a sweet contemporary romance was published in February 2011. Now and Forever 1, a Love Story and Now and Forever 2, the Book of Danny, two sensual contemporary romances in the Now and Forever series are being published by Secret Cravings.

  Secret Cravings Publishing

  www.secretcravingspublishing.com