Stone Hearts

by Kelly, Amber

  “You’re welcome. Just make sure you leave by eleven fifteen, and we should have plenty of time.”

  Bells hurries back to the house, and I start picking Dallas’s things back up and loading them in my truck.

  “I guess I just volunteered you to chauffeur me home without asking. I’m sorry,” she apologizes.

  I slam the tailgate shut and turn to her. “You never have to ask, Dal. I’ve always got you. Besides, you’re on the way home,” I say as I slip her bag from her shoulder.

  Her eyes find mine. She’s wearing an odd expression.

  “You do, don’t you?” she asks softly.

  “Do what?”

  “Always have me,” she answers.

  I lean in, brush the hair from her face, and tuck it behind her ear. “Yes, ma’am. Always.”

  She’s silent the entire drive. I’m not sure what’s going on in that beautiful head of hers, so I leave her to it.

  When we get to her house, I put the truck in park and start to get out to walk her safely to her door, like I always do. Before I can exit, she places her hand on my thigh to stop me.

  I look over just as she hesitantly pulls herself over to my side.

  “I need to try something,” she says as she moves both of her hands to my chest, takes a deep breath, grasps my shirt, and tugs me to her. Then, her mouth is on mine.

  It’s an unsure kiss at first, but after a few stunned minutes, my brain starts to fire again, and I wrap my arms around her, bring her in closer, and take control.

  She opens for me on a moan, and I deepen the kiss, our tongues gently wrestling. She tastes like cinnamon. My left hand slides into her hair and grabs a fistful while the other glides down and caresses her lower back.

  She feels like heaven.

  A groan escapes my lips as she starts to pull away and gasp for air.

  I adjust myself, and just as I’m about to apologize for losing control, she grabs me by my ears and pulls me back to her mouth as she crawls into my lap.

  This time, her kiss is wild. Like a dam breaking and finally letting go of the weight held behind it for too long, she throws her whole body into the kiss.

  My body reacts, and I know she can feel me growing hard beneath her.

  I grasp her hips.

  I try to keep ahold of her, but she starts moving frantically against me. Her flesh begging for something more. Then, she suddenly bears up, and her head smacks hard against the roof of the truck.

  “Ow,” she howls as she rubs the top of her head and sits back against my thighs, trembling. Her back presses into the steering wheel, and the horn begins to blare. “Shit!” she cries and leans back into me.

  “You all right?” I ask, trying my best to hold back laughter.

  “Yes. No,” she says breathlessly. “I hope I didn’t wake up Momma and Daddy or Beau.”

  She looks nervously over my shoulder toward the farmhouse.

  “Hey, let’s go inside,” I suggest as I draw her attention back to me.

  I reach around her for the door handle.

  She doesn’t move, just watches me. Chewing on her bottom lip.

  “Dal?”

  “If we go inside, it’s gonna change everything,” she whispers.

  What she doesn’t realize is, everything already has changed.

  “Yeah,” I agree. “You ready for that?”

  “I don’t know,” she answers honestly.

  I sit up and take her mouth again. She opens and melts into the kiss.

  When I pull back, I look her in the eyes and whisper across her lips, “Yes, you do.”

  Dallas

  When we make it inside the house, I drop my bag on the floor beside the door and stand there, uncertain what to do next. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. It’s not like I haven’t made out with boys in trucks before or even invited one in, but this is different.

  This is Myer.

  I’m not sure what possessed me to kiss him like that, but it’s all I’ve thought about since I woke up in his arms this morning.

  I hear him walk in behind me and shut the door. Then, he waits. I know he wants to make sure this is what I want.

  Is it?

  Still facing forward, I reach behind me and offer him my hand. He takes it and walks into my back. I can feel my heart beating rapidly against my chest, and I take a deep breath, trying to calm it.

  His arm snakes around my middle and pulls me into him. He lays his chin on my shoulder. “Relax, Dal. If all I get to do is kiss you tonight, it’ll still be the best damn night,” he says softly, assuring me.

  I close my eyes and turn to face him. His heat feels so good. I lay my forehead on his chest and let him hold me for a minute. Then, I make my decision. I bear up on my tiptoes as I wrap my arms around his neck, and I kiss him.

  After a couple of beats, he starts to back us up toward the couch. I want to touch him. To feel his skin against mine again.

  I grab the hem of his tee and start yanking. Our mouths disengage just long enough for him to step back and pull it over his head. It drops to the ground at our feet. I watch as it falls, and then I bring my eyes back to him. I really, really like his chest. I step in and lightly run my fingertips over his torso. I memorize every muscle as it contracts under my touch. With a growl, he picks me up and deposits me on the couch.

  He kneels beside me and slides his hand down the inside of my thigh to my calf. Then, he holds it up and tugs my boot loose. He repeats the move with the other leg, and I watch as my body starts to hum with anticipation.

  He sets the boots aside and then joins me. The heat of his body covers me, and he brings his lips back to mine. I love the weight of him.

  He tears his mouth away and kisses a line across my jaw to just beneath my ear where he whispers, “You taste so damn good.”

  Then, he slowly glides his mouth down the column of my throat as he laces a finger in the strap of my tank. He tugs it down, giving him access to my chest.

  I writhe underneath him as he wraps his hand around one mound and starts to knead lightly.

  “God, you’re beautiful, Dallas,” he says before he wraps his mouth around my nipple and sucks gently.

  My hips buck from the couch in response, and I cry out at the sensation.

  My core turns to molten liquid as he continues to lavish attention on my breasts.

  I glide my hands down his back into the waist of his jeans.

  His heated gaze finds my eyes, and he watches my reaction as his hand slides my tank up, exposing my stomach. He crawls down my body and twirls his tongue around my belly button as he pops the button to my jeans. He looks up, his eyes asking for permission.

  I raise my hips to allow him to slide my pants down my legs. He presses a kiss into the curls at the top of my thighs, and then he spreads my legs apart and sits back to look at me.

  “Gorgeous,” he says reverently as he kneels back down and swipes his tongue across me in one unhurried lick. The scruff on his face lightly scoring the inside of my thigh.

  My breath catches, and I grab the sides of the couch to keep from coming up to my feet.

  He does it again, and I let out a tortured moan.

  I need him to touch me. I start circling my hips, trying to reach his face, and he grins. He tucks his large hands under my hips and raises me. Then, he moves his body under mine and pulls me fully on top of him.

  For a second, I’m confused and a little bereft. He was right where I wanted him. Then, he tugs my hips forward till I’m sitting upright against his face. I clasp the back of the couch to steady myself as he securely holds me up in his grasp. Then, he leans in and brings his mouth back to me again.

  That’s when I lose all self-control.

  He wraps his lips around my clit and firmly sucks it as he finds my opening with his finger.

  Finally.

  I slowly start to ride his face, but I can’t hold back as he presses another finger inside. I begin wildly bucking against him as I feel the pressure rapidly bui
lding within me. My fingers find his hair and grab a fistful of it as I move faster against his tongue.

  He softly bites down on me as I explode around his fingers, and his name escapes from my lips.

  He grasps hold of my hips as I tremble from top to toe, panting to catch my breath.

  After my shudders subside, he releases me, and I crawl back down his body until my chest is flush with his. He watches me as I bring my mouth to lick the beads of salty sweat that have gathered at the hollow of his throat.

  I proceed downward. Exploring him with my tongue with every intention of making him feel as good as he just did me when, all of a sudden, there is a pounding at my door.

  My head shoots up as I hear my mother’s voice calling to me from the other side.

  I leap from the couch, pull my shirt down and frantically look around searching for my jeans.

  “Just a minute, Momma,” I call. I look to Myer and whisper, “I’m so sorry.”

  He shakes his head. He reaches up and places his hand on the side of my face, and then he quickly kisses me.

  Once we are both semi–put together, I open the door.

  Momma is standing there with Beau in her arms, wrapped in a quilt. “I’m sorry to interrupt your night, but he woke up with a stomachache about an hour ago, and he’s been asking for you,” she says apologetically.

  “No, that’s okay,” I say as I reach out and take him from her arms.

  All thoughts of embarrassment evaporate as I take him in. He is white as a ghost, and his little body is shivering.

  “Mommy,” he cries weakly.

  “I’m right here, baby.”

  I lay my lips against his forehead.

  “He’s burning up,” I say. I turn to Myer, who got up to stand behind me. “Can you get me a bottle of water from the fridge?” I ask.

  “Sure,” he says as he lays his hand on Beau’s head. “Hey, little man.”

  “Are you having a sleepover?” Beau asks as I turn to walk him inside.

  Just as I start to answer, he makes a pitiful retching noise, turns his head, and vomits all over himself and me. Then, he starts to cry harder.

  “Shh. It’s okay, Beau. Mommy’s got you.”

  I head toward the bathroom.

  “I’m getting him into a cool bath,” I yell over my shoulder.

  Myer

  Mrs. Henderson walks quickly to the kitchen and opens the door beside the back door. She retrieves a mop and a pail. I come to her side.

  “I’ll take care of it,” I say as I take them from her hands.

  “Oh, Myer, you don’t have to,” she says wearily.

  “I want to. You look exhausted. You need to go back to bed,” I tell her.

  She smiles up at me. “I guess I am a bit tired. It’s been a long time since my children were little and needed me in the middle of the night.”

  “Go on home. He’ll be okay, and I’ll stay with them until he is settled,” I assure her.

  She lays her cool hand against my cheek and looks up at me through watery eyes. “You’re a good man, Myer Wilson.”

  “I just care about your daughter and grandson,” I admit to her.

  “I know you do,” she says. Then, she kisses my cheek.

  I walk her to the door, careful to avoid the mess.

  “Please tell Dallas I’ll be back by to check on him in the morning. I’m not sure he’ll be up for school tomorrow though.”

  “I’m guessing not,” I agree.

  She reaches into the pocket of her night coat and hands me a pair of small, round glasses. Then, she heads down the steps, and I stand in the doorway and watch as she crosses the drive to the farmhouse.

  “Good night, Myer,” she calls from her porch.

  I wave as she disappears into the house.

  I shut the door and get busy, cleaning up the vomit.

  Dallas comes back into the living room about twenty minutes later, carrying Beau, who’s wrapped in a big, fluffy towel.

  “His fever broke,” she says as she looks to the place where he got sick. “Did you do that?” she asks as she takes in the clean floor.

  “Yeah, I didn’t want you to have to deal with that too. Beau needs you,” I tell her.

  She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. She’s exhausted too.

  I walk to them and take Beau’s weight from her arms. She still has puke in her hair, and her clothes are soaked.

  “I’ll get clean pajamas on him while you get a shower,” I offer.

  Her lips tremble, as she nods at me.

  “Thank you,” she says as she brushes the back of her hand against Beau’s forehead. “Baby, Myer is going to help you get clothes on while Mommy gets cleaned up, okay?”

  “Okay,” he mumbles.

  She heads back into the bathroom, and I take him to his room. I stand him on his bed, tucked in the towel.

  “Which drawer has pajamas?” I ask, and he points to the top one.

  I fish out a Batman footed onesie. After I get him dressed, he wraps his arms around my neck, and I carry him back to the couch.

  I sit and turn the television on the Disney Channel, and he lies down, propped against me.

  Dallas emerges, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe with her damp hair piled on top of her head.

  She stops short and takes us in.

  Beau lifts his head. “Mommy, can we have a sleepover in here?” he asks hoarsely.

  “You and I can, but I think Myer has to get home. He has to be up really early to feed the cattle,” she gently breaks to him.

  He brings his eyes to me, and his bottom lip quivers as he nods his head.

  “Okay,” he says as he leans up off of me.

  I look up at Dallas. She still looks worried.

  “I can stay for a sleepover. I’ll just slip out in the morning.”

  Beau looks to his mother for her reaction. “Please, Mommy. Can he stay?”

  She brings her eyes to him and smiles weakly. Indecision written all over her.

  “I want to stay in case he gets sick again,” I tell her.

  “Are you sure?” she asks.

  “I am,” I say as I tuck Beau back into my side.

  “All right, I’m going to go put on pajamas, and I’ll be right back.” She gives in.

  Before she returns, Beau is fast asleep. His arm is wrapped around my middle, and his little head is resting on my chest. She has pillows in her arms, and she hands me one before she grabs the quilt off the back of the couch and settles in on the other side of Beau.

  She checks his temperature with the back of her hand one more time.

  “I gave him Tylenol. I think the worst is over,” she whispers.

  “Yeah, he seems to be sleeping peacefully now,” I agree.

  I hoist him up a little higher and open my arm wider, so she can cuddle into us.

  She lays her head against my side and covers the three of us with the quilt.

  Before long, her even breaths join his. I click the television off, and then I lay my head back against the top of the sofa and close my eyes.

  I could fall asleep like this every single night.

  My internal clock wakes me a few minutes before four in the morning. Beau’s entire body is wrapped around my middle, and his head is up under my armpit. Dallas’s head is lying on his legs on the opposite side. Both are softly snoring. I sit still and enjoy the sight of them cuddled up before I try to disengage and slip out.

  I wish I had my phone to snap a photo before disturbing them.

  I carefully lift Beau and attempt to hurry to the side, but the arm of the couch is blocking my exit.

  Dallas feels me shifting, and her eyes blink open. Her confused expression is adorable as I see her mind working to figure out where she is.

  “Myer?” she asks groggily.

  “Shh.” I gesture down at Beau, who is still sleeping like a rock. He’s a deep sleeper, just like his momma.

  She blows a wayward curl from her face and looks down at her son. She
reaches over to brush her hand through his hair, and then she sits up, bows her back, and stretches her arms above her head as she yawns.

  “What time is it?” she asks.

  “Almost four,” I answer as I slide completely clear of Beau and tuck him back into the couch on his tummy.

  She stands with me. “Want me to make you some coffee or something?” she asks as she looks around the room, trying to wake up fully.

  “No,” I say as I take her shoulders and lead her back down to the couch. “I want you to go back to sleep.”

  She lays her head back against Beau’s behind and wraps herself around a pillow. “You sure?” she says as her heavy eyes start to close.

  I don’t answer her. I just lean down and press a kiss to her mouth.

  She smiles in her sleep.

  My heart melts.

  Dallas

  “How is he?” Momma asks as she comes through the front door, carrying her purse, a thermos, and a basket of fresh muffins. She marches past me and unloads everything onto the kitchen island and turns for my answer.

  “He’s still sleeping, but he’s feeling better. No fever this morning.”

  I woke around nine when Beau stirred and needed to go to the potty. I forced him to take another dose of Children’s Tylenol and drink a glass of Pedialyte before he fell back asleep, and I carried him to his bed.

  “I’m keeping him out of school today to be on the safe side though. That fever took it out of both of us,” I tell her as I pluck one of the muffins from the basket and start to butter it.

  “Yes, I think that’s best. Don’t you have to work today?” she asks.

  “Yeah, I already texted Faye to tell her I couldn’t come in. She was okay with it. They had a slow morning, and Kim didn’t make that many tips, so she was happy to pull a double.”

  Kim is Faye’s other waitress and the two of them are always willing to cover for me when something unexpected arises and I do the same for them when I can. I’m incredibly lucky that both my bosses are lenient with me when it comes to Beau’s needs. Not all single mothers are as lucky.

  “I notice your truck isn’t in the drive.”