SomedayMyGoodOleBoyWillCome

by AliyahBurke

  “Yes, Mama?”

  “Wash up and set the table please.”

  “’Kay.”

  Jacey looked over to where Shadow lay watching her son. Stirring the spaghetti sauce, she glanced at her son. Caleb had settled in well here. He loved it. He peeked at her, his blue eyes sparkling with joy.

  “All done.”

  “Thank you, Caleb.”

  She turned off the stove and drained the noodles. They sat down and were just about to give thanks when the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, getting up. “No eating until we say grace.”

  “I know, Mama.” Caleb grinned innocently.

  Laughing, she headed for the door and her heart jumped when she saw a familiar figure on the other side of the screen. Derek Harmon Moser.

  “Hello, princess,” he drawled.

  “Derek. What are you doing here?”

  “Am I interrupting?”

  “Umm, no. Caleb and I were just sitting down to dinner. Care to join us?”

  “I’d love to.”

  Jacey stepped back when he entered the house. She was caught by his gaze, it burned hot. And she knew it was for her.

  “After you, princess,” he uttered.

  “Behave,” she ground out.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how good I can be,” he teased as they walked in the kitchen.

  “Hi, Papa!” Caleb said, running over and jumping into Derek’s arms.

  Jacey watched with a smile on her face while she grabbed another place setting for Derek. They were whispering among themselves. Reaching for a glass, she poured him some sweet tea and added a lemon wedge.

  “Okay, guys, let’s eat.”

  “Mama?”

  “Yes, Caleb?” Jacey sat down. Derek sat across from her beside Caleb.

  “Can I say grace?”

  “Of course.”

  He reached out his hands. Soon they were all holding hands. Jacey dropped her head and waited.

  “Dear God. Thank you for the food we have. I also want to thank you f…for giving me my papa. Please let us be a r…r…real family. Amen.”

  “Amen.” Derek’s smooth Southern voice echoed Caleb’s.

  “Amen,” Jacey added. Lifting her head, she found Derek staring at her.

  She got lost in his gaze until Caleb said, “’psketti, please.”

  “How much?” Derek asked him.

  Jacey felt her heart tear sitting there watching her two men interact. Indecision welled up within her and she worried her bottom lip until Derek looked at her.

  “Hand me your plate, Jace,” he said.

  She did and forced her mind off the road it had begun to travel down. Most of dinner she listened to Caleb talk to his father, chatting happily about what he’d done all day.

  After dinner, she and Derek sat outside on the porch while Caleb chased lightning bugs. They sat side by side on the swing.

  “You’re very quiet, princess. What’s wrong?”

  “Just thinking how chummy you looked with Shelby this afternoon in town.” She clamped her mouth shut in disbelief she even mentioned it, much less sounding like a shrew when she did so.

  His arm settled around her shoulders tugging her nearer. “Are you jealous, princess?”

  “Not in the mood, Derek,” she bit off, realizing she really wasn’t.

  Derek must have sensed the truth in her statement. He withdrew his arm and turned on the seat to face her. “Look at me, Jace.” Grinding her back teeth, she stared over the white railing to where her son ran with Shadow. “Jacey Damia,” he muttered. “Look at me.”

  Oh, full first name and my middle one. He must be serious. She turned her head toward him. “What?”

  “I was trying again to convince her we were through. I don’t want anyone but you, Jace. No one but you.” He touched her face lightly. “That’s not what’s really bothering you, is it? Talk to me, Jace.”

  She wanted to. Lord knew she needed to, but Jacey couldn’t make the words come. Closing her eyes, she pulled away from his touch and got up from the swing before hurrying down toward Caleb.

  Running is the coward’s way out. Jacey didn’t care. Bottom line, she wasn’t even remotely close to facing the decision which was rapidly approaching. The wedding was in a few days after which she would be leaving.

  What about Caleb? And Derek?

  Shaking her head, she sank to the grass and listened to the happy cries of her child. Footsteps brought her gaze to an approaching Derek. In one hand he held a glass of tea. When he reached her, he handed it silently to her, his intense blue eyes understanding more than she wanted to admit. When she took the cold glass, he left her there and went to help Caleb in his quest to fill the jar. Her parents returned and she walked to her mom’s side.

  “Why don’t you go with Derek and get this talk done with? You can’t keep putting it off,” Etta Mae said in a gentle tone.

  “I’m scared, Mama. He’s my whole world. My whole world.”

  “And you two are ours. Can you imagine how Derek feels? That man loves you so much he can’t hardly see straight. And y’all have a son together. He doesn’t know what to do. The longer you wait, the harder it will be on you. On all three of you.”

  “I know.” Jacey shook. “Caleb,” she hollered. “Time to come in.”

  “Okay, Mama,” he said, disappointment lacing his words.

  “We’ve got this, Jacey. Go tend the other matter.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Walking towards her son, Jacey said, “You be good for Grandpa and Grandma okay?”

  “Where are you going, Mama? Are you leaving again?” He sounded so sad.

  “Just for a short time. I’ll check in on you when I come back.”

  “You’ll be here tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be back before you wake. Come give me a hug and kiss.” He did and after he’d done the same to Derek he ran to the house. “’Night, Marine.”

  “’Night, Mama. ’Night, Papa.”

  Her parents and Shadow went inside as well.

  “What’s going on, Jace?”

  “We need to talk,” she said.

  “Where?”

  “Owl Lake?”

  “Sure.”

  The headed in silence to her Jeep and it continued all the way up to the lake. Jacey parked and sat there, gripping the steering wheel.

  “Jace?”

  “He’s my whole world, Derek,” she blurted as an unexpected wave of tears exploded from her.

  “Ahh, Jesus, Jace.” She wiped her eyes and looked up to find Derek standing by her door. “Come here, Jacey.” He took her hand and led her to a blanket he’d spread out. Sinking down, Jacey didn’t fight when he pulled her close. His lips caressed her temple while he rubbed her back. “I know he is, Jace. Baby, I don’t want to take him from you. I just want to be a part of his life. Of y’all’s life.”

  The tears returned and Jacey tried desperately to keep them at bay. Tried and failed.

  “Oh, Jacey. I don’t want to make you cry. Ever.”

  All she did was cry harder. Derek called her Jacey when he was being serious. “I don’t know what to do, Derek. God help me, I don’t.”

  * * * *

  Derek held her close and tight. Each sob, each tear, each whimper tore at his heart and soul. What have I done? Tears pricked the backs of his eyes as he squeezed them shut and tried to keep them contained.

  “We’ll figure it out, Jace. Together.”

  Her tears soaked his shirt until no more fell. The moon had risen over the lake. Derek stroked her hair. She shifted and placed her face in the crook of his neck.

  “We’ll go tomorrow to Atlanta and have the papers filed.”

  I’m going to get my son. “Thank you, Jacey.”

  “I still don’t know how it will work out when the wedding’s over, but you should at least be on the certificate as his father.”

  The words “just in case” weren’t spoken and he swallowed back the nau
sea which came with that thought. Jacey Damia. I can’t lose you. She shifted against him, her bare leg sliding along his jean clad one to wedge between his. He groaned and tried to control his lust.

  “Tell me what you’re scared of, Jace,” he whispered. Jacey shifted again, her lithe body tensing. “Talk to me, Jace. No repercussions, no accusations. Just talking.”

  “I’m scared of losing my son.”

  “Do you think I would fight you for custody, Jace?” Derek hated the uncertainty in her voice. The wavering. The shuddering.

  “I don’t know, Derek. I honestly don’t know.”

  “But you’re still willing to put my name on the paper?”

  “You are his father. Caleb wasn’t an immaculate conception.”

  “Sit up, Jace. Or at least look at me.” She rolled away and propped her head up on a hand. “Is that the only reason?”

  “Is there another one?”

  Love. “Do you trust me, Jace?”

  She rolled over onto her belly and pulled at some grass. “I believe so.”

  “Will you let me take Caleb for a whole day and keep him overnight?” He could see her stiffen in the moonlight. “Shadow too.”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow after we get back from Atlanta. Overnight and until the rehearsal dinner.” Derek held his breath.

  “Okay.”

  Derek grinned and slid her closer to him. “Thank you, princess.”

  She pushed up and pressed him back flat before straddling him and putting them face to face. Derek groaned slightly as he grew hard from her body rubbing against him. He lay still because somewhere deep within him, he knew her actions weren’t about sex.

  “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my son, Derek.”

  Her words flowed from her lips to his ears on a strand of warning and promise. He bristled for a brief second then calmed down. He was Caleb’s father, true, but Jacey was his mama. And moms defended their young aggressively and fiercely until the end.

  “I know, princess, I know,” he whispered his tone as soft as hers had been hard.

  Wrapping his arms around her, Derek rolled them so she lay beneath him, his legs between hers. His erection brushed along her core. In the moonlight her eyes were like black velvet staring at him. Readjusting so his hands were deep in her soft hair, Derek leaned forward and kissed her. Jacey moaned and shifted against him. Her arms stole around her neck and she arched deeper into him. Derek rumbled low and increased the kiss.

  Jacey ended it, turning her head, separating their mouths.

  “Jace?” he questioned.

  “I didn’t come out here for this.” Her fingers teased the back of his skull.

  “I know. Neither did I, but here we are.”

  “Is that all that’s between us, Derek? Explosive sex?”

  He froze before tightening his hold on her. Staring at her in the light, Derek asked, “Is that what you think?”

  “I’m not sure. Jesus, Derek, even when we were getting info about the Turners it went to sex.”

  Oh yeah, I remember that. Derek could taste the uncertainty and frustration. She was right. “Okay. So we talk and get to know one another again.” His body was so hard he felt he may explode, but he could live with that to make his Jacey happy. Releasing her, Derek rolled off and drew her in close, cuddling her. “Okay then, Jacey. Tell me about this,” he tugged on the bracelet she wore, “where’d you get it?”

  “This was made for me and my three friends. Each square with the square is representative of us. Mine is the black one, it matches the onyx spade I wear around my neck. Mac, who is Sanura, Gavin’s wife, wears an emerald club. Serenity, who we all call Chandi and is married to Brandt, wears a melanite diamond. And there’s Kenya, or Shanni, not married and she wears a sapphire heart.”

  The love she felt for these women was obvious to him. “So y’all have your own code.”

  “Yes. We came up with it the first time Kenya went into the hospital.” Fury vibrated her timbre.

  Frowning over her words, he ground out, “First time?”

  “Yes. The first. Her ex-husband was a cop and used to beat her.”

  Fury laced through him. “Where is he now?”

  “Prison. Kenya is such a sweet gentle person. You’ll like her if you meet her.”

  I plan on meeting all your friends, princess. “I can’t wait.” He remained silent for a moment. “So can you tell me more about how Shadow helps Caleb?

  “Like I said, Caleb stutters when he’s really excited, nervous, or scared. Shadow is never going to judge him and is always there for him. Caleb knows that so petting him allows him to calm down enough and go over his exercises. Plus Shadow can protect him should the need arise.”

  “You’ve done an amazing job with our son, Jace.”

  “He’s a great boy.”

  “I’ll be a good father to him, Jace. I swear I will.”

  “That’s never been my fear, Derek. It was never about would you be a good enough father. I know you will. This is me not wanting to lose him. I know that I’m being selfish but this is freaking me out. Caleb’s always been there when I return home. If he’s with you…” she trailed off.

  Derek gathered her close and held her. Marry me, Jace. Come home to both of us. There wasn’t anything he could say. She had to work through this for as much as he wanted to protect her from pain, Caleb was his son as well.

  “Together, Jace. Like I said before, we’ll figure it out together.”

  They lay together, the sounds of nature around them. “Derek?”

  “Yes, princess?”

  She turned and pressed back into him, her ass tight against his hard cock. Derek gathered one hand in his and stroked her skin. He closed his eyes and allowed the feeling he got from being with Jacey to flow over him.

  “Tell me what you’ve been doing.”

  Kissing the back of her neck, Derek did just that. Filling her in on what he’d been doing for the past fifteen years. They fell asleep out there and he woke about four in the morning to her shaking him gently. She dropped him off at home and as he kissed her goodbye. Derek longed to carry her in with him.

  “See you in a few hours,” she whispered against his lips.

  “Thank you, Jace.”

  She kissed his palm. “I have to go. I’ll be by about oh-nine-hundred.”

  Derek watched her drive away before he went inside. He crawled silently into bed and immediately wished Jacey’s warm body lay next to him again.

  He waited on the porch with Honey when Jacey drove up in her Jeep. His heart flipped when she sent a wide smile up to them. The music blared from her speakers and he jogged down to meet her. Derek groaned when he stared at her outfit. She wore a black, fitted, button-down, short sleeve top and a blue plaid mini skirt. Her feet were strapped into some black heeled sandals. All the blood in his body rushed south.

  “Damn, Jace,” he growled, hopping in the Rubicon. “You trying to kill me?”

  “Hello to you, too,” she said, shifting into gear and pulling away from the farm. She looked at him. “You clean up pretty good, Derek.”

  He grinned and buckled his belt. “You look sexy as hell.” Derek reached out and placed his hand on her knee, smiling when she jumped. He moved his fingers in idyllic little patterns.

  “Derek, stop,” she whimpered, lifting his hand off her leg.

  “You’re driving me crazy, princess.” He propped his boots up on the dash and held his hand out to her. “Can we at least hold hands?” His heart expanded when she placed hers in his.

  The trip was done in relative silence, the music the only constant. Derek didn’t mind, he enjoyed the opportunity to watch Jace without any other distractions. Her thick black hair whipped around her face, her eyes covered by rectangular Tommy Hilfiger shades. Her mouth moved enticingly as she sang along with the music.

  Sitting there, he tried to imagine her pregnant. Carrying Caleb. How I wish I’d been a part of that. The thought of her la
rge with his child did strange things to him. He’d never given any thought to pregnant women before, but he’d bet his last breath Jacey had been a knockout.

  With a sigh, he released her hand as they entered the outskirts of Atlanta. He stared at the city while she drove without hesitation to their destination. Derek climbed out after she parked and ogled her when she bent over to grab her bag.

  “Ready?” she questioned with a smile.

  “Definitely.”

  “Okay.” They headed to the courthouse and up the steps.

  He could see the strain on her face and hurried to her side. Touching her arm, Derek gathered her near and kissed her. Thrust his tongue into the deep recess of her mouth until she sagged willingly into him. Standing in front of the doors, Derek pulled back and stared into her unfocused gaze.

  “Have I told you thank you for doing this, princess?”

  Her tongue snuck out and dampened her kiss-swollen lips. “No,” she whispered. “Not today.”

  Leaning in, he traced her bottom lip with his thumb. “Thank you.”

  Jacey blinked a few times before their surroundings became clear. Her black gaze narrowed and she spun around, heading for the door, allowing him a beautiful view of her swaying ass in the blue plaid skirt she wore so well.

  “Damn!” he uttered, following her, praying his erection would subside.

  His belly was in knots when he handed the last paper over to be filed. I’m officially Caleb’s father. Derek snuck a glance at Jacey. Her face was a mask of polite professionalism. He took her arm when they left the room and steered her toward the elevator.

  “I’d rather walk down,” she said softly.

  That was all she said until they reached the Jeep. Derek pinned her against the driver’s door. “Look at me, Jace.” Her onyx eyes were haunted when she did meet his gaze. “Are you regretting this?”

  “No. I’m not. It’s not easy, Derek. He’s been mine for so long, it’s…hard to share.”

  Setting his body so her legs were between his, he trailed his hands up her figure to curve around her head and sink into her hair. Nothing else mattered but the sexy vixen in his arms. His cock ached to be buried within her.

  “I know you don’t want to hear it, Jace, but thank you.” Derek stepped close and kissed her. It was gentle but deep.