by A. D. Ellis
It should be considered a miracle that no wrecks took place along the street as this crew walked to the park. Five very attractive men, no matter their ages, laughing and caring for seven children is quite the sight to see. Add in that Jeremiah, Nate, and Nicky all had on those types of pants that hang just perfectly off of low hips and hug the backside just right, all while wearing warm skull caps on their heads with The North Face jackets. Well, many a woman almost got whiplash that day. But not a single one of these men realized the effect they had on women; their minds thought only of their wives. Now, Captain Decker was a bit of a different story. While he wasn’t actively pursuing a relationship, he had found himself recently contemplating dating. Before now, he wasn’t anywhere near ready to date, but now that he had his personal junk more straightened out, he thought that maybe a date was something he’d like to do. He actually had the perfect woman in mind as well. Now he just needed to work up the courage to ask her out.
After a few quick rounds on the swings and slide, the crew headed back to the house. The daddies knew that the littlest ones would be down for the count within minutes; the four boys were dragging butt by this point. Beckett would rest while reading or drawing in the living room; Megan and Abby could watch My Little Ponies in the Captain’s room with the hope that they’d fall asleep for at least a brief nap.
Once everyone was settled in for naps or at least resting, the grown men settled in as well. Jeremiah and Nate took the basement to be with the little boys. Nicky and the grandpas spread out over the living room. The entire house was quiet within ten minutes of their arrival back home from the park. They had a few hours before it was time to meet up with the women for the evening meal.
Chapter 5
While the men had the children under control, the women had tackled the hardest job of the day. Starting very early that morning, plenty of coffee at hand, the women unloaded gifts from their vehicles and their hiding places. Judy’s living room was spacious enough that the paper and boxes could be spread out and then grouped in separate areas for easy transport back home or to wherever they needed to be.
“Who decided that 7 am was a good time to start wrapping gifts?!” Audrey’s sleepy voice produced yawns in all of the women.
“I think it was you, Audrey.” Carly quietly piped up as she stifled a yawn of her own.
“Yeah, well, next time tell me to shut it and go for at least 9 am!” Audrey said with a smile. “I need coffee STAT! Oh my Lord, are those donuts from The Cakery? Janie makes the all-time best donuts. You are an evil woman bringing a box of donuts into this house, Judy Jordan.” Audrey joked with her mother-in-law as she picked out her first donut.
“Well, I knew we’d need some breakfast so I sent Jack to get a box this morning. Now, don’t get on the boys, but he slipped and let me know that he’d seen Robert at The Cakery getting a box of donuts for their breakfast as well. I bet the kids will enjoy these donuts and then crash a little later. But, that’s not the most interesting part of the story,” Judy paused for a moment to let her little hint sink in.
“Ok, so the guys fed the kids pure sugar for breakfast, but that’s not the most interesting part? You’re right, it’s the most aggravating part, but I’ve learned you can’t fight every battle. So, what’s the interesting part?” Libby spoke with a smile mixed with evident curiosity.
“Wait, The Cakery? Is that where Janie works? Uncle Robert has spoken about her a lot recently. Janie this, Janie that. I swear he goes to get donuts every morning. He says they are for me, but I think he goes to see Janie.” Josie had settled in quite nicely in Torey Hope. For the moment, she was living with Captain Decker and getting her feet back under her, but she had plans to do more. Until then, she loved getting to know her cousins and the whole Decker/Morgan/Jordan family.
“You guessed it, Josie! Jack said that Robert was quite flirty with Janie and her with him. What do you all think? You know Janie, Audrey; do you think she’s interested in your dad? Do you think the Captain is interested in her?” Judy, ever the match-maker, had her wheels turning already. “Oh! We should invite Janie to the Christmas Eve party! That would be perfect!”
Audrey and Libby looked at each other. They were past the age of being upset if their dad moved on; he deserved to be happy and if he wanted to date that was his choice. Janie? She was a wonderful woman. A few years the Captain’s junior, but a good person inside and out. Janie was a widow of about ten years; maybe the two of them were finding that they were ready for a friendship or even more.
“Hmmm, I think maybe I need to drop off an invite at The Cakery for Janie.” Audrey spoke with a bit of mystery and intrigue as she waggled her eyebrows; it was obvious she was getting into playing matchmaker as well.
“I’d love to see Dad happy with someone. I just don’t want to push him into something. Let’s see if he’d like Janie to come to the party first before we accidentally put either of them in an awkward situation, okay?” Libby, ever the voice of reason, suggested.
It was decided that they would ask the Captain that evening and drop the invite off at The Cakery soon, assuming he was okay with it.
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The women were surrounded by at least fifteen different wrapping paper rolls, numerous gift bags of various colors and sizes, a plethora of ribbons and bows, and at least six pairs of scissors and five rolls of tape, all of which kept getting misplaced or lost under paper or boxes. But the giggles, stories, laughter, and camaraderie that floated on the air were worth the paper cuts, the lost scissors, the aching backs, and the feet that fell asleep in their seated positions on the floor.
The mommies told funny stories about the kids or their husbands; the grandmas told funny stories about their husbands and their own sons as children. Libby, Carly, and Audrey could never get enough of Cindy and Judy’s stories about Nate, Nicky, and Jeremiah as children and teens. Their broken bones, their escapades at school and at home, their milestones: the girls soaked these stories up like sponges.
At one point, during lunch at Judy’s kitchen table, before they headed back to the living room for about two more hours of wrapping, Judy was telling a story about Jeremiah and Jack when her son was just a toddler. Judy’s eyes got a faraway look as she remembered something; based on the dreamy look in her eyes, it was written all over her face that she was remembering a bit of romance with Jack.
“Um, I recognize that look. That’s the ‘my husband was such a stud back then’ look. Spill it, lady!” Audrey teased her mother-in-law out of her dreamy memory.
Judy’s cheeks blushed as she shook herself out of the clouds. “Oh, Jack definitely was a stud back then, but I think he’s still pretty hot today. Tell you what, since we got to hear Robert’s story at the last little get-together, how about I wait until the kids are all settled in tonight and Jack and I can tell our story then? Wouldn’t want to miss the chance to make Jeremiah squirm a bit over love talk from his parents.” Judy smiled and all the women agreed that another story was a perfect plan for that night.
They lingered a bit over their salads and iced tea; none would admit it, but their zest for wrapping had started to die down about 30 minutes before lunch. Finally, a tentative Josie spoke up, “If we get busy, we can have the rest of those gifts wrapped in one hour. Turn on some good music, and I bet we can make it 45 minutes.” She smiled at the women gathered around the table and they smiled back at her; she’d only been in their lives for a short time, but it felt like she had belonged forever.
One hour and ten minutes later, after some breaks for impromptu singing and dancing, all evidence of Gift Wrapping Day had been concealed, cleaned, and packed. The ladies headed to their own homes to put away what wasn’t staying at Judy’s house. Knowing the children and men were probably taking naps right then, the ladies agreed they’d each rest a couple hours at home and then get ready for the evening get-together; the whole clan was meeting back at Jack and Judy’s for dinner. It was Chinese Take-Out Night; the women adored family dinner n
ights because it was almost always take-out of some sort and that meant quick and easy clean up. All of them would freely admit they had hit the jackpot with their husbands; all of the Decker/Jordan/Morgan men were great with helping do the dishes, wipe down tables, clean up kids, and put away food.
**********
The evening began at Jack and Judy’s with take-out containers laid out buffet style while the adults fixed plates for the children. The families had purchased a long table for the Jordan home so that all the children could sit at one table. “Okay, everyone have the food they want and a drink? Anyone want another crab rangoon or eggroll?” Nate checked to be sure all the kids had what they needed and then went to get his own plate.
The adults always loved stopping to watch and listen to the kids. These seven little people truly loved each other and got along as well as you could expect cousins to get along; there were occasional tiffs and squabbles, but mostly they interacted as best friends. Once the giggles had quieted, the parents knew the little ones had started eating so they commenced getting their own meal started.
Once the meal was finished and cleaned up, Cindy declared that the mommies and daddies needed to take a little break; they hadn’t seen each other all day and should recoup together for a bit. She didn’t have to tell the three younger couples twice. Jeremiah and Audrey headed out the backdoor to their own home. Nate and Libby went for a quick drive. Nicky and Carly retreated to the den and shut the door.
The grandparents and Josie knew they’d have the kids all to themselves for about 30-45 minutes and then the adults would be back. Setting up a game of charades, the grandparents, Josie, and kids settled in for a rousing game while the adults were probably doing some rousing of their own.
**********
“Do you know that I’ve wanted to kiss you all day? I’ve missed your lips.” Nicky pulled Carly closer to him as he kissed her mouth and moved down to her neck. “I love the way you smell, I want to smell you all day.” Carly giggled as Nicky spoke.
“I smell like Chinese food!” She laughed and wiggled so that she was lying under him on the couch.
“Mmmmm, I love Chinese food.” Nicky lowered himself over her and settled between her legs. Very seriously he looked into her eyes. “I want another baby, Carly. I want Zach to have a baby brother or sister. Do you think we can make another baby?” The two had been preventing pregnancy for a while because they didn’t feel ready for another baby too soon after Zachery; now though, their son was four-years-old and it seemed like they were doing just fine as parents. Carly’s eyes twinkled as she leaned up to kiss Nicky and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I want another baby, too, Nicky. Tonight, no more condoms; let’s see if we can make a baby.” Had they not been in the den of the Jordan home there would have been some attempted baby-making right then and there.
“I’m glad no more condoms. They are slimy and smell like rubber. I don’t like the way they feel at all.” Leave it to Nicky to speak his mind on the subject at hand.
A few more minutes of making out with promises of more to come once they got home and they joined the grandparents and children in the game. Nicky loved charades.
**********
“Nate, where are we going? We can’t go far; they’ll expect us back in less than 45 minutes. They can’t keep all the children entertained with charades for much longer than that.” Libby’s voice held concern, but was also laced with anxious longing to be in her husband’s arms.
They pulled up to The Hobby Store; since Nate’s Uncle Dale owned it, Nate had access to the building. He jangled the keys in front of Libby. “No worries, Libby-girl, Uncle Dale closed early today because Aunt Jenny needed his help with something. I thought we could maybe take stock of the inventory in the back room for a while.” His eyes danced with mischief and Libby giggled as she rolled her eyes.
“Take stock of inventory, huh? Is that what the middle-school students are calling it now?” He didn’t bother to answer her question; he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the backdoor of the store.
Once inside, he locked the door behind them and immediately had her up against the door. He raised her hands over her head and ravished her mouth with his. “God, Libby-girl, I’ve been thinking about you all day. We’ve got about 30 minutes; let’s use our time very wisely.” Nate’s mouth trailed down her jawline and to her ear and neck. His hands were quickly under her warm sweater and his cold fingers brought a gasp from her.
“Nate! Your hands are so cold!” He knew part of her wanted to protest against sex in the back room of the hobby store, but he could tell from the pebbled nipples he felt under his hands and the breathlessness of her voice that she very much also wanted to do this.
“Come on, sweet girl, we’ve got time; there are no cameras here; Dale is gone. We didn’t get to do anything last night because of Decker’s bad dream. Please, baby, we’ll make it quick.” Nate slid her sweater over her head and delved his hand under her waistband. Her moan urged him on and he found the spot he was looking for. “Damn, Lib, you’re already soaked for me. Admit it; you want this just as much as I do.” He pulled back to smirk at her as his hand continued to work its magic.
“Nate?” Her questioning tone caused him to pause and draw his eyebrows together.
“Yeah, pretty girl?” His breathing was heavy, but if she really didn’t want to do this he would stop.
“Shut up and get busy. Our time is running down quickly.” Libby’s mouth met his; their hands roamed and caressed and stroked.
“Pants down, baby.” Nate unbuttoned her pants and slid them down her hips. He stood back and watched as she shimmied out of the jeans. Left in her bra and matching thong, Nate stood mesmerized at the beautiful woman who he was lucky enough to call his own. Rubbing himself he gruffly told her, “Take the rest of it off, Lib.”
Complying coyly, Libby stripped the thong off and then undid the clasp on her bra; she was completely enjoying her little striptease for her husband.
Within seconds of the bra hitting the store-room floor, Nate had her in his arms. He lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist and brought his mouth to her breasts.
“Nate, please, we don’t have a lot of time. I’m so ready for you; I need you inside me. Now.” Libby’s breathless voice pleaded with him.
“Hold on to me, baby.” He told her this as he reached under her bottom to unbutton his jeans and slide them and his boxer briefs down to his knees. Libby giggled as she struggled to hold herself up with her legs and arms. They looked into each other’s eyes; heat met with humor, they felt like horny teenagers in a broom closet at school. “I love you so fuckin’ much, Libby. This is only one of a million reasons; we can laugh even during a time like this. Now, if I don’t get inside of you I may lose it before we even get started.” Nate positioned himself and let her slowly slide down the length of him.
“Ohhhhh, God, Nate. That’s so good. Move, baby, you’ve got to move.” Libby bucked her hips against him. They found a rhythm as old as time and before many more minutes passed they were panting heavily as they came down from their high. Nate’s forehead leaned against hers.
“Libby-girl, you never cease to amaze me. That was amazing.” He kissed her and they proceeded to clean up and redress. “Now, we better get back to the house before everyone knows what I’ve been doing to you.” Nate winked.
Libby’s cheeks blushed but she said, “Nate, I’m pretty sure this is exactly what your mom had in mind when she sent us away for a bit.”
“Well then, I’ll have to sincerely thank my momma!” Nate kissed her lips as they headed back out the door, locking it soundly behind them.
**********
“Alright, Sweets, we don’t have much time, but we’ve got it better than the other two.” Jeremiah practically sprinted toward their house.
“What do you mean, J?” Audrey laughed as he pulled her up the steps and into the backdoor. “How do we have it better? Everyone got sent to recoup.�
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“Nah, Nicky and Carly are in the den. They can’t do much in there. Nate and Libby will no doubt be doin’ the nasty somewhere, but they have to drive to get there so that’s time wasted. We wasted only about 30 seconds walking to our house. We have the best situation here, Angel.” Jeremiah seemed quite pleased with his assessment.
“What exactly is our situation, husband of mine? What do we have more time for? Did you want to try to get that load of laundry folded? Or, we could maybe watch a quick episode of ‘24’; if we fast forward through commercials it will only take about 45 minutes.” Audrey listed options while trying to hide the smile that threatened on her lips.
With no warning, she was snatched up and carried like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder as he headed toward the bedroom. “Ha ha, Angel, you’re very funny. You know damn well what I have in mind for you, and you’ll love every second of it.” Audrey started to protest the caveman-ish way he was carrying her and behaving, but the thought of what he had in mind excited her too much so she decided to just let him have his way.
Reaching the bedroom, Jeremiah pushed the door shut with his foot and locked it. As parents, they never felt comfortable with an unlocked door, even in an empty house.
“Lie down on the bed, Angel. We’ve got about 40 minutes and I plan to use every single second of our time.” Jeremiah stripped his shirt off along with his shoes and socks. Audrey pushed up from the bed on her elbows to watch her gorgeous husband; there was something incredibly sexy about a man in nothing but a pair of jeans slung low on his hips. She licked her lips as her eyes perused his chest and the perfect V that disappeared under the jeans. She knew the ‘for-her-eyes-only’ angel tattoo was waiting for her under those jeans. She looked back at his chest and admired the three sets of footprints that adorned him; Beckett, Megan, and Kendrick were permanently etched on his heart.