"It sailed," David said, walking up to her and kissing her on the cheek. "The moment you were gone, the kids started packing up and moving everything to my truck. They basically steam rolled me and your Dad. They're very demanding, those kids of ours, you know that though."
"I do, I know it very much," Abbey said, her heart soaring at him calling them ours. Their children together, it wasn't like Abbey was moving in with her children while David was the step dad on the outside. In his world, a man took care of his family and in this case that family included Zach and Sophie.
And that in itself meant the world to Abbey, she didn't think David would ever understand how good it made her feel to know that somebody else out there wanted her children cared for as much as she did.
Especially since their own biological father had seemed to want nothing from them or for them.
"I suggest you grab a box and help us pack or perhaps stay out of the way," David said, kissing her on the cheek once more as his eyes flashed mischievously.
"There isn't much left," Zach said, "maybe two boxes."
Abbey turned to look at her dad. He seemed almost forlorn that she and the kids were moving out and that was the only bad part of this situation. He needed to date again, he wasn't dead, in fact he was far from it, and he should spend his life loving another woman.
She might work on setting him up once her own life had settled down just a little.
"You can come over any time," she told him as she stood by his side. "You're welcome at our place like it's yours."
"I know," Dad replied, tipping his cowboy hat back on his forehead a little. "It was nice though, having kids running through the house again."
"Oh that's not gonna change," Abbey laughed, "I'll still be sending them over here to get them out of my hair. The back road is only fifteen minutes on horseback and our properties are connected through the west field.
"I know that," her dad replied and offered her a smile. "I'd like that too, having them visit."
"You'll see more of us now, so much you'll get sick of us."
"That's never going to happen. And Abbey?"
"Yeah Dad?"
"I sure am glad you found your way back home."
"Me too," she replied and sighed with contentment. "Me too."
Chapter 21
“Can you believe this yawn-fest?” Julia, one of the moms from school asked Abbey under her breath.
"It's horrible," Abbey agreed and rolled her eyes in mock pain.
They were trapped in a school assembly and were being forced to sit through every single classroom's awards ceremony for the year end celebrations.
Abbey actually didn't mind that much, this year she had David and her dad by her side in the stuffy school gym. She normally didn't have anyone with her for these kinds of things, and it felt so much better to have support.
Julia was the type of mom who loved to complain though, and she was Abbey's closest friend now, so Abbey always joined in for moral support. She didn't want to be the little Susie sunshine mom when others were griping about one thing or another at school.
But dammit, it was getting harder and harder to even fake being annoyed, life was so good lately. Her job at the Co-op was humming along, her pervy boss Rick stayed well back from her once he found out she was David's finance, and her bitchy coworker Samantha had found a job somewhere else after Abbey bubbled over with joy one day and showed her the ring David had given her to make it all official.
Even Tom had gone away, not just in person but in spirit. Abbey realized a little while ago that she hadn't heard that sibilant nasty voice in her head for some time, the one with Tom's voice, poisoning her mind with self doubt and self loathing.
And that was one of the best gifts of all, returning to the person she'd been before losing herself to Tom. Becoming the Abbey she should have been all along, the mother and future wife she could be without Tom's controlling abuse keeping her down.
And of course it was nice to have him gone from their lives as well. He'd signed the papers, hadn't fought her on them, and she had finalized her divorce just a couple weeks ago. His parents had been out a couple times since he'd signed, and everything had gone surprisingly well. They were wealthy and used to getting their own way, but they actually seemed to admire David and appreciated Abbey as the mother to their grandchildren.
And the kids loved them, family was family after all, and if the grandparents wanted to love and spoil her children, Abbey wasn't going to stop them.
They kept quiet about Tom though. She'd heard through the grapevine, friends and social media, that he had moved Candy into their old house and Candy might be expecting a baby.
Abbey felt nothing but sorrow for the other woman and her child. She would always keep the lines of communication open in case her children wanted to know their sibling, but Tom didn't seem willing to have anything to do with them now that he felt as if he'd lost.
David grabbed Abbey's hand and whispered, "Sophie's class is coming up."
Sophie was in kindergarten, so hers was the final class of the day.
Zach's class had already gone and he'd won an award for being the kindest student in his grade. Abbey had grinned like a fool at that, knowing that Tom's violent personality might have been corrected out of her son. He wouldn't inherit that particular part of his father.
"They're all so cute, I love this age," Abbey whispered back and she saw her dad straighten his back in pride again, as he had done with Zach. It was good for him, having them back close to home. As expected, he spent a lot of time at their place, eating dinner or helping David with farming while he was busy in town with the force.
He looked younger too, as if the weight of his grief had been aging him prematurely. Abbey swore his face was less lined and more relaxed now that he had his grandkids to laugh with.
Speaking of grandkids with her dad, he had promised them a date night on Saturday. Abbey and David were finally going to have some time to themselves and Abbey couldn't wait to find out what David had planned.
Abbey sat on the edge of her seat listening to all the kids receiving their awards, each one got something special and in spite of Tom snarking about kids these days being such snowflakes, Abbey loved seeing the little ones get a boost of confidence in their schooling.
"And last but not least I would like to congratulate Sophie for her special award," Sophie's teacher announced, holding up a medal for Sophie. "This one is for a little girl who was not only the first to learn how to read, but the one who helped each and every one of her classmates with anything they needed. So congratulations to Abbey, her second child also wins the kindest classmate medallion."
Abbey was so overcome with joy that she thought surely her heart would squeeze so hard with it that she would lose her grip on this world. She stood up and clapped like a crazy woman, David and her dad joined her and Sophie took a dramatic bow and curtsy upon receiving her award.
"Look, grandpa, it's so shiny!" she yelled and ran back through the crowd to show them. Abbey bent and looked at it to hide the tears that were biting the edges of her eyes.
"I'm so proud of you, you're a good person, just like Zach," her dad said and lifted Sophie into a hug. The principal told the parents that it was officially over, school was out, so everybody began to mill about and chat as the kids ran around.
"Did you see mine?" Zach asked, rushing up to them. "It's awesome, I've never won anything before!"
"It's amazing," David said, his voice indicating the pride he felt for her children.
Their children.
"How about we go get ice cream at the Dairy Queen for a treat?" Abbey suggested and everyone immediately agreed.
"Let's get them together for play dates this summer," Julia said, grabbing Abbey's arm on their way out. "Mine are going to drive me nuts within a week."
"Definitely," Abbey said as a few other moms wandered over to join the plans.
Abbey thought back to the first day of school when she worr
ied about fitting in and being the only single mom, the outcast. She'd been so wrong, since then she'd made friends with other parents and had made some good friends among them. It was her anxiety talking back then, her stress and insecurities that had made her so worried. These days she had enough confidence to know that not everyone would love her, but that didn't matter, she loved herself and had people in her life that loved her too.
They had their treats in town and headed back out to the farms, Abbey's dad followed them home for an impromptu barbecue, and it was pretty much the perfect day.
One in a long line of perfect days, with many more stretching out ahead of her.
"You know I love those kids like they're my own, Abbey," David said, reaching up to help her out of his pickup truck, "but dammit, I've been needing this bad."
It was date night, Sophie and Zach were with Abbey's dad and they were finally alone at last. They'd driven home after dropping the kids off, and Abbey had thought if there had been pavement, David would have been peeling rubber the entire way.
"Are you feeling a little constrained lately, my love?" Abbey giggled and squealed when he swept her up into his arms and rushed towards the house, taking the steps two at a time and almost kicking down the front door.
"Constrained is right," he growled and nuzzled her neck. "I want to make you scream, I want you to call my name so loud the cows will be wondering what the hell is up in here."
"Oh god, me too," Abbey moaned as he tore at her clothes like a crazed man. His fingers were nimble for him being so huge, and soon her shirt and pants were stripped off, leaving her in just a matching lacey bra and underwear set.
"I knew you were wearing something sexy under this old shirt," David said with a thick voice, his lust was apparent in the bulge at the front of his own jeans. "God, I just knew it...I could barely keep up talking with your dad, my mind was already here undressing you."
"Tell me about it, I thought he'd never shut up about the price of grain in Saskatchewan," Abbey laughed and did her own nimble fingered work on David's shirt.
She didn't think she'd ever grow tired of pulling it off him, exposing his muscled chest and thick arms, the ripples of his abs and the angled V that dipped below the waistband of his jeans.
She leaned against him, her breasts brushing up against his chest, and fumbled with the button on his jeans, desperate to have him all revealed to her, especially her favorite part.
"Let me help you with that," he said, his voice husky and deep. He moved her hands out of the way, undid his buttons and helped her slide his pants off his hips...and watching her intently when her favorite part popped out.
"Oh," she exclaimed and gripped his thick, throbbing shaft. "This is what I've been needing in my life."
He groaned and picked her up, set her down on the back of the leather couch and tore her panties off with one swift tug.
"I'll replace those later," he promised, bemusement making his gorgeous violet eyes sparkle, "For now I need this more than I need to be gentle."
He positioned himself, thrust against her and once again she was swept away into the private world between her and the man she loved with all her heart.
Their sex was furious and fast, both of them exploding their built up tensions in shared groans and cries of lust and passion. After they had finished, Abbey slowly came to the realization that she was precariously perched on the back of the couch, her body limp and in David's arms.
"This can't be comfortable for you," she smiled up at him and straightened herself up.
"It's perfect," he said and kissed her collarbone, holding her tight. "I'm still inside of you, that's exactly where I'm the most comfortable."
"We should get dressed and do whatever it is you have planned," she said, shivering as her sweat cooled in the late afternoon air.
"This is what I had planned," he chuckled and kissed her collarbone again, this time trailing kissed along her neck to her jawline, making her shiver with reawakened passion instead of cold.
"This is it?" she asked, her eyebrow raised as she tried to deny the fact that she wanted him again immediately. She didn't know why, but she was enjoying the flirtatious game they were playing so she kept it up. "I was hoping for a fancy dinner at that new Greek place in town. Maybe some flowers. Maybe some wining and dining, you know the usual."
"Wining, dining, and sixty-nining?" he laughed and she felt him twitch inside of her as he grew hard again at the mere mention of that particular sex act.
"You're incorrigible," Abbey said, but her smile disappeared as he began to move slowly inside of her.
He picked her up in his arms, still deeply connected, and began to walk towards the bedroom. "I believe the word you're looking for is insatiable," he said, his own humour fleeing in the face of his desire. "Utterly and completely insatiable for you, Abbey. to make up for all those years we should have been together."
"We'll have decades to make up for lost time," she whispered, her eyes locked on his as he laid her onto the bed.
"I want to start now," he replied and kissed his way down her body to show her how much she'd missed all those years with Tom.
Abbey didn't care if he'd made dinner reservations, or bought her flowers, or poured her gallons of fancy wine.
All she cared about was in those moments when they were together, their bodies entwined and their hearts joining together until she couldn't tell where she ended and he began.
When they were one in their love and lust, passion and dedication to their family.
That was worth more than any amount of fancy food or expensive presents, worth more to her than anything material he could possibly offer her.
Offering his heart and soul, body and mind was enough to satiate Abbey, but it was enough to leave her always wanting more. More of him, more of them.
They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening showing each other how much they were meant to be together until their growling stomachs and limbs limp exhaustion did send them into town looking for dinner.
And yes, it was the fancy Greek place, and yes David had delivered flowers for her before they arrived, and yes it came with the most expensive bottle of wine the placed served.
And none of it tasted better than the honey on her lips from David's kisses and the satisfaction in her heart from his love.
Chapter 22
“You did not just roll your eyes at me, young missie,” Abbey snapped at a very grumpy Sophie on the morning of her wedding to David.
“This dress sucks,” Sophie pouted, “why can’t I wear jeans like Zach?”
“Because you’re a flower girl, not a best man,” Julie said, sweeping in to rescue both mother and daughter before their grump fest blew up into a full on fight.
It had been a year since they’d moved in with David and Sophie was seven going on seventeen. She was as sweet as pie with anyone else in their lives, but her and Abbey clashed over the smallest things.
David said it was because they were both stubborn as bulls, and Abbey’s dad tended to agree.
Zach, being the wise young man that he was, stayed clear out of it.
“She’s going to be the death of me,” Abbey laughed as Sophie wandered out of the room, tugging at the hem of her pretty pink dress.
"She's a tom boy, and she's got your temperament," Julia said, tugging at Abbey's hair, trying to tame it into a braid. "You two will clash, but you'll end up best of friends when she needs you. Don't you worry about that."
"I suppose you're right," Abbey said and sighed, staring into the mirror. Her curls were unruly and she didn't think anyone could manage them into a pretty chignon to fit under her veil, but Julia had promised she'd try.
She felt a wave of dizziness wash over her and bile rose at the back of her throat.
"Oh god," she said and brought her hand up to her chest. "Hang on, stop brushing."
"What's wrong?" Julia asked, stopping in mid stroke.
"Nerves. I feel a little sick," Abbey replied.
"Just nerves?" Julia teased, "are you sure it's not something else?"
"I doubt it, we've been careful. I didn't want to have David's child out of wedlock."
"Welcome to the new age, Abbey, people don't care about things like that anymore."
"I know, but it doesn't feel right to me. That's all."
"Are you going to try when you're legally hitched and all that?" Julie asked.
"Sure, we haven't talked about it much but I think he'd probably be happy to get me knocked up."
"You're so romantic," Julia laughed and resumed brushing Abbey's tangled hair.
The nervous sensation didn't go away though, and Abbey had to jump up, push Julia back and rush to the bathroom off the master bedroom.
She gripped the toilet seat and grumbled under her breath that of course she would have to pick up the flu the day of their wedding and the day before they left to the Chilcotin for a week long ranch spa retreat.
She threw up the small amount of breakfast she'd eaten and washed her mouth out with cold water from the tap. She stood and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and noticed the slightest darkening under her eyes.
She'd had dark eyes when she'd been pregnant the first two times. But she hadn't really experienced many other symptoms, other than tender breasts.
On a whim she pushed her bra up and felt her nipples, gasped when they were soar and sensitive and it hit her.
She had been careful, but there had been a couple times they'd had sex when she was taking antibiotics for her tonsillitis.
And she'd read somewhere that antibiotics diminished birth control pills.
But she'd done that before and had never gotten pregnant, could it have happened this time?
Her mouth formed a perfect O shape as she stared at herself in the mirror again, wondering if she was carrying David's baby.
And wondering if he'd be happy about it.
She knew he would be, but something deep inside of her worried about his reaction. Her time with Tom had almost cleared from her system, but there was the occasional patch of poison left here and there, and right now one was rearing its ugly head in the back of her mind.
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