Beyond Expectations (Mended Hearts Book 3)

by Sarah Markel

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  “Wow, you three look great.” Zane said when the trio arrived home a few hours later. Dej beamed happily and struck a pose to show off her painted nails and newly styled hair. Zane chuckled and clapped appreciatively for his sister. “Thanks, son. Where are the others?” Alex asked. Because the day was for the girls and Ryan, Zane had opted to stay home and watch movies with Colton, Shantell, and Willow. “They all left about an hour ago. I was just cleaning up our mess.” the boy replied, flopping onto the loveseat. Alex just nodded as she took off her shoes and hung up their coats. “Well, Pawpaw said he wished you had come, all the girls were driving him crazy.” Zane gave Alex a tight smile. “As much as I love you all, there was just too much estrogen in that house for me to even think about going. I’ll give the aunties their gifts when we go over for turkey.” Kelly snorted loudly as she sat on the couch to remove her shoes, and let out a groan as a wave of nausea washed over her. “Babe?” Alex asked, giving Kelly a cautious glance. Holding up one hand and resting the other over her roiling stomach, Kelly just shook her head. “I’m alright. It was just…” Kelly’s words trailed off as she surged to her feet and took off down the hall.

  Chapter 5

  “Gramma Karen!” Dej squealed as she barreled toward the woman coming out of the terminal. Karen spread her arms wide and enveloped the girl in an excited hug. “Marissa Dej, good heavens child, you’ve gotten even more beautiful!” she said happily, twirling the child around in her arms. Dej beamed up at her grandmother and pulled her along to the car. Alex and Kelly both smiled at the sight as they leaned against the car. “How was your flight?” Alex asked, hugging the woman. “Dreadful. I was stuck in coach because I was late getting to the airport.” Karen replied, kissing Kelly on the cheek and hugging her tight. Kelly shook her head and chuckled, knowing that her mother would never change. The year before Alex and Kelly’s wedding, Karen had re-entered her daughter’s life with the news of cancer. After a bone marrow donation from Alex, Karen had beaten it and has been cancer free ever since.

  “We’re going to head back to our house for a while before we take you to my mom’s house.” Alex informed Karen as she stowed the woman’s luggage. “Mama and Hank won’t be home for a few more hours.” Karen nodded and climbed into the back seat with Dej and Zane. Looking to her grandson, who had been in the car the whole time, playing on his phone, she asked “Zane, is that you? What happened to your hair?” Kelly chuckled and turned in her seat to see the others better. Zane pushed his long bangs out of his face and gave her a mischievous grin. “I’m protesting haircuts, it’s a teenage rebellion thing.” Karen just chuckled and ruffled the boy’s hair. Hugging his grandmother with one arm, Zane explained his decision to keep his hair long. “Alright, everyone ready?” Alex asked as she slid into her seat and started the car. Pulling out of the pick-up lane, Alex expertly maneuvered the maddening traffic of PDX.

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  “Is she alright?” Karen asked as Kelly pushed past Alex to get into the house and sprint for the downstairs bathroom. Alex nodded and set Karen’s bags in the living room. “She’s had the stomach flu for the last few days.” she answered, hoping her answer would suffice. Karen made sympathetic noises and went to her daughter as Kelly came into the living room. “Why don’t you lie down and I will make you some soup.” Kelly smiled at her mother and shook her head. “I’ll be alright, Mother. I took some medicine for it, and I’m not hungry right now.” Karen eyed her daughter and shrugged her shoulders. “You’re the doctor. But all the modern medicine in the world can’t hold a candle to homemade chicken soup.” Alex hurried into the kitchen so that no one would hear her snort. If she only knew! She thought, grabbing a bottled water and a couple of sodas from the fridge. She went back into the living room, handed the water to Kelly and the sodas to the others, and plopped down in her recliner. When Kelly stood from the couch and moved over to sit in her lap, Alex held the woman close and rubbed her hand absently over her wife’s hip. They sat together in contentment while the kids caught Karen up on their current social activities.

  “Sweetheart, I’m hungry.” Kelly whispered a short time later. “What do you want to eat? I think Mama is making lasagna tonight.” Alex replied softly, so as not to interrupt the excited conversation between Karen and Dej. Kelly thought for a moment and shrugged. “I don’t know, I just know I want something.” she replied, rubbing her hand over her stomach. As if in answer, Kelly’s stomach growled, making Alex chuckle. Nudging Kelly up, Alex grabbed her phone off the table and called her mother. “Mama, I know you aren’t at home, but what time were you planning on serving dinner?” she asked when the woman answered on the second ring. “Actually I am home, and I am almost done getting it put together. If you all want to head over, it should be done by the time you get here.” Andrea replied. Smiling, Alex hung up the phone and pulled Kelly into the kitchen. “Mama said dinner will be ready by the time we get there. Do you want to wait or do you want to eat something small to hold you over?” Kelly thought for a moment before leaning up to kiss Alex softly. “Since I am assuming that you are off the menu, I guess I can wait until we get to Mama’s.” she said playfully. Alex chuckled and shook her head. “Let’s round up the troop and get going. I don’t want my little Rookie to starve.” she said, bending down to place a kiss next to Kelly’s navel.

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  “Thank you again for letting us stay here, Andrea. I am really looking forward to Thursday.” Karen said once everyone was seated at the table. Andrea just smiled and passed a basket of garlic bread around the table. “It’s really no problem. We all want a piece of Alex and Kelly during the holidays and it’s easier to have you five come out here than to have a hundred Walkers invading Florida.” Alex chuckled at her mother’s response. “Yeah, nothing like a hundred of me waltzing in and converting the masses.” she said, helping herself to some of the bread before passing the basket down. “Well, no matter the reason. Kelly’s father and I are grateful to have such a wonderful family looking after our little girl.” Karen said, raising her wine glass in toast. It was different having a meal at Andrea’s when there were so few people, and Kelly felt a little out of sorts. Alex’s step-sisters were with their mother, so it was just Alex, Kelly, the kids, Andrea and Hank, and Karen for dinner. The atmosphere was nice, it was just not something she was used to. Mentally shrugging, Kelly happily tucked into her dinner.

  While everyone ate, and conversation topics ranged from hobbies and pastimes to gardening and decorating tips, Alex did her best to keep her attention divided between her family and her wife. She half-listened to the ever changing topics, enough to be able to add her opinions when asked, but focused more on Kelly’s body language. At the beginning of the meal, Kelly had started with gusto, inhaling the lasagna, garlic bread, and salad in record time before quickly going back for seconds. Now, halfway through the second plate, she was spending more time pushing the food around and checking to make sure that no one was watching as she grimaced every so often. Laying her hand on Kelly’s thigh, Alex squeezed gently to get her attention. Looking up, Kelly smiled when she saw the look of concern on her wife’s face. She laid her hand over Alex’s, returning the gentle squeeze. “I’m alright, just full. I guess my eyes are bigger than my stomach.” she said quietly. Excusing herself from the table, Alex pulled Kelly with her and led her out onto the back deck.

  “Are you sure you’re alright? You aren’t feeling nauseous at all?” she asked once the door was closed behind them. Kelly turned to face her and rested her hands on Alex’s hips. “Honey, I promise, I’m alright. I’m just uncomfortable, my stomach feels too full.” she said, resting her head on Alex’s chest. Alex wrapped her arms around her and ran her hands gently up and down Kelly’s back. “If you start feeling worse, just say so and we will go home. When we got home from the airport, your mom asked about you being sick. I told her that you had a touch of the stomach flu. I hope she doesn’t get suspicious, I really want it to be a surprise when we te
ll her.” Kelly took a deep, calming breath and snuggled her head between Alex’s breasts. “Me too.” she murmured quietly. Standing silently for a few moments, Alex sighed and took them both back inside.

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  Later that night, once Karen had been squared away at Andrea’s, and the kids were in bed, Kelly relaxed on the couch with a book and Alex watched the news in her recliner. “Babe, do you think you will be up to going skiing this year?” she asked when her program ended. Kelly looked up at her and shrugged. “I don’t know, sweetheart. Do you not want to go?” Alex shook her head. “It’s not that, I just wondered. If you don’t think you will be up to it, I will cancel our reservation so Eric can rent out the cabin.” Alex had maintained a standing reservation for the luxurious Snowy Owl Cabin at Snowy Owl Ski Resort for almost fifteen years. She and Callie had started the tradition of spending the final week of the year at the resort, the year they had decided to have Zane. After Callie’s death it was just Alex and the kids, until Kelly came along. Alex always looked forward to the trip, but this year if Kelly wasn’t up to going, then she didn’t see any reason to keep the cabin tied up. “Honey, you and the kids can still go, even if I don’t.” Kelly said, suddenly worried that Alex might be disappointed if she didn’t go. “No, we’re a family and the ski trip is a family event. If you can’t or don’t want to go, we will all stay and do something else this year.” Alex replied quickly.

  “Alex, there is no reason to disappoint the kids. They need the ski trip just as much as we do, and even if I can’t go with you guys this year, its tradition. Next year we are going to have a baby with us, and we both know the kids are going to spend more time with the baby than out on the slopes.” Kelly explained, moving from the couch to sit on the floor between Alex’s legs. Alex leaned forward and slid her hands over Kelly’s shoulders, massaging them gently. Kelly groaned and hung her head, “Mmmm… that feels wonderful.” she murmured, content to let Alex work the muscles in her neck and shoulders. Alex frowned as she used her thumbs to knead the tight knots between Kelly’s shoulder blades. “Baby, you’re really tight. I don’t like it.” she said with concern.

  Kelly chuckled and tipped her head back to look up at Alex. With a sly grin, she wiggled her eyebrows. “I thought you liked me tight, sweetheart.” she said, a seductive lilt in her voice. Alex considered her wife for a moment, before leaning down to brush her lips over the woman’s ear, “I like you no matter what your muscle tension is.” Kelly shivered as Alex kissed her temple, then let out a startled squeal and pushed herself forward when Alex dragged her tongue over her eye. “What the hell?” she asked, wiping her eye with her sleeve. Alex sat back and laughed, enjoying the look of annoyance that was sent her way. “I just wanted to make you laugh.” she said, holding her sides as she laughed. Kelly growled loudly and flung herself at her wife, landing in her lap and causing the woman to grunt at the impact. “Oh shit! Get off of me!” Alex groaned, playfully pushing at Kelly. Laughing, Kelly let herself go limp over Alex’s lap. “Your wife is tired and too lazy to walk upstairs.” she said, stretching long over the chair. Alex shook her head and tried again to push her off. “Then sleep on the couch!” she said, leaning down to capture the woman’s lips. Kelly smiled, “But I’m carrying your child inside me, the least you can do is carry me up the stairs and let me sleep in the bed.” she whispered. Alex looked at her with a sly smile and splayed her fingers over Kelly’s belly. “Nice try, love. My child is only the size of a walnut right now. There’s no reason you can’t walk your happy ass upstairs.” she said playfully, seizing the moment when Kelly’s jaw dropped, and carefully pushing the woman to the floor, using her own legs to make sure she did not get hurt.

  “That wasn’t nice.” Kelly said, a look of mock-outrage washing over her face. Pushing to her feet, Kelly turned without another word and walked up the stairs. Alex chuckled and stood to follow, turning off the TV and the lights as she went. When she reached the bedroom door, after stopping to peek in on the sleeping kids, Alex poked her head in. She smiled to herself when she saw Kelly in the process of removing her shirt. Content to watch her wife undress, she stayed where she was and watched as Kelly removed her bra and rubbed her hands over her bared breasts. Just watching the unconscious action made Alex’s thighs twitch. She stayed where she was and bit her lip as Kelly slid her jeans and panties down her hips and stepped out of them. Once she was stripped of her clothing, Kelly turned to face the bed and slipped an oversized white sleep shirt over her head before climbing under the blankets.

  Stepping quietly into the room, Alex closed the door behind her and stripped off her own clothes as she made her way to the bed. Sliding naked between the sheets, she scooted close to spoon with her wife. She slid her hand over Kelly’s hips and pulled her back to nestle tightly against her crotch. When Kelly didn’t make any sound, Alex pressed her lips to the woman’s ear and murmured softly, “You’re sexy when you’re mad at me.” Kelly shrugged her shoulders and kept her eyes closed. “You should have carried me up the stairs. I was really in the mood until I had to use up all my energy to climb all the way up here.” she mumbled. Alex frowned and tipped her head to the side, contemplating the woman beside her. “Well that’s a crying shame.” she said on a sigh, “I wanted to try something new tonight. I guess it will have to wait until after the baby is born.” Flopping onto her back, she laced her fingers behind her head and waited, knowing that would pique her wife’s interest.

  Smiling to herself, Kelly readjusted and turned to her other side to face Alex. Scraping her nails gently over the swell of Alex’s bare breast, she watched happily as the woman’s nipple tightened under her fingernails. Alex shivered and yawned, pretending that Kelly’s touch did not arouse her. “I’m tired. Goodnight, I love you.” she said, closing her eyes and pretending to sleep. Kelly smirked and leaned her head down to capture the firm bud between her lips. When Alex gasped involuntarily, Kelly rolled the nipple between her teeth and sucked gently. “That’s not nice.” Alex gasped, arching her back to offer her breast more fully to Kelly’s mouth. Kelly smiled and lifted her head, letting the nub pull from between her teeth and rolled onto her back. “Goodnight, I love you too.” she said, pleased with herself when Alex growled.

  No longer amused with the playful teasing, and almost painfully aroused, Alex quickly shifted and pulled Kelly over on top of her. Holding the woman tightly to her chest, she crushed her lips to Kelly’s and claimed her mouth in a bruising kiss. When the kiss broke, Alex looked into Kelly’s eyes and spoke with urgency. “You need to lose the shirt.” Kelly smirked and gave her best questioning smirk. “But I’ll get cold.” Alex reached down and pulled Kelly’s legs into position so that her wife was straddling her hips. When Kelly chuckled and sat up on Alex’s middle, Alex thrust her hips up and spoke through her teeth. “Either take it off and you can wear it after, or I’m going to rip it off and you won’t be able to wear it again.” Rolling her eyes, Kelly sighed and slowly started to pull her shirt off. When Alex growled and closed her hands roughly over Kelly’s newly exposed breasts and squeezed her nipples, Kelly cried out. “Alex, that hurt!” she said, pulling away from Alex’s rough hands. Covering her breasts with her hands, Kelly glared down at her wife. “What the hell, Alex? You need to relax!” she said, tears of pain in her eyes as she climbed off of Alex and sat on the end of the bed.

  Alex grunted in frustration and sat up. Turning to sit up and slide her legs around Kelly, she touched Kelly’s shoulder gently. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” she said tentatively. Kelly swiped at the tears in her eyes and grabbed her shirt before wordlessly heading toward the bathroom. Alex sat where she was and stared after her wife until the bathroom door closed. You bitch! You couldn’t control yourself for two fucking minutes and look what you did! You hurt Kelly! Why in the hell couldn’t you just be gentle? She scolded herself, anger washing over her. One of the things that Alex had always fought to control was her aggression in bed. With Callie, who despite her
very butch appearance was very submissive in bed, Alex could let her aggression out. Callie had liked it rough, and had encouraged Alex’s aggressive side during sex. Kelly, however, was not like that. She rarely liked it rough, and when she was in the mood for it, she said so. Hanging her head in shame, Alex stood and went to the bathroom door. “Baby, can I come in?” she asked, knocking on the door before opening it an inch. When Kelly didn’t answer, Alex eased the door open more. Seeing Kelly with her face in her hands while she sobbed broke Alex’s heart. Rushing to her wife, Alex knelt down in front of her and placed her hands on the woman’s knees. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me, but I didn’t mean to hurt you.” she whispered, the knowledge that she had been the cause of Kelly’s pain bringing tears to her own eyes. Resting her head in Kelly’s lap, Alex let her tears fall while she tried to think of something else to say.

  After several moments, Kelly took a deep breath and dropped her hands to run her fingers through Alex’s hair. “Alex?” she whispered when the woman didn’t move. Alex lifted her head and wiped her eyes, avoiding Kelly’s gaze. “Yeah?” she muttered, her head hung in shame. Kelly placed her fingers under Alex’s chin and urged her to look at her. Meeting her wife’s eyes, Kelly leaned down and brushed her lips softly over Alex’s. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.” she whispered, “I’m alright. I was just surprised at your eagerness, and my breasts have been really sore lately.” Alex searched Kelly’s face before she spoke. “Baby, I’m sorry. I should have thought, but I just wanted you so bad that I didn’t.” As she spoke, Alex lifted her hand to cup Kelly’s face and rubbed her thumb over her cheekbone. “I never want to be the cause of your pain, Kelly. It’s killing me to know that I put those tears in your eyes.” she said, choking out the words past the lump in her throat. Kelly smiled down at her and leaned into Alex’s hand. “Sweetheart, it’s alright. I’m fine now, you just need to be a little more gentle in bed.” she said as she snaked her hand behind Alex’s head, pulling her up to once again meet her lips. “How about I make it up to you?” Alex said, standing and lifting her wife into her arms. When she made her way to the bed, she laid Kelly down as gently as she could and crawled into the bed next to her. Smiling, Kelly took Alex’s hand and brought it to her breast. “I want you, Alex.” she whispered, moaning as she pressed her wife’s hand against her breast. Alex frowned, “Are you sure, I don’t want to hurt you.” Kelly reached up and cupped Alex’s face, brushing their lips together. “Just be gentle and remember that I am a little more sensitive than usual.” she said, kissing her wife deeply.