by KB Winters
“Sure do. It happens to everyone.” Chase smiled down at Jackson. “Luckily, I have something super cool planned for today that should help take your mind off of those bad dreams!”
Jackson’s eyes went bright and big as he squirmed with excitement. “What is it? Is it a surprise?”
Chase and I chuckled at his enthusiasm. I glanced at Chase from the corner of my eye. I had no idea what his surprise plan was—or whether he’d just pulled something out of a hat to cheer Jackson up. Either way—it was appreciated. Since I found out about the pregnancy, I hadn’t been my normal self, and I worried Jackson might have been feeling even more abandoned as I worked through my own feelings. However, there was no need to worry since Chase was more than willing to fill the gap.
“Come on, spill the secret,” I said with a wave of my hand.
Chase reached around behind him and dug something from his back pocket. When he brought his hand around to show Jackson, two pairs of snorkeling goggles dangled from his fingertips. “I picked these up a few days ago. Today looks like the perfect day to give them a try.”
Jackson erupted with a loud cheer. “Yay!”
Chase grinned and handed a pair to Jackson who clutched them to his chest like they were made of gold. “I thought we could all use a day at the beach. One of the locals told me that just on the other side of the canal, there’s a trail that leads to a small gulf. Now, it’s not the Great Barrier Reef or anything, but from what the guy told me, there’s lots of fish and different plants to check out. What do you say, buddy?”
Jackson continued to cheer his overwhelming support of the idea and I nodded, knowing that Chase would keep him safe. “What about you, mama?”
I grinned at him and the secret smile we shared. “Sounds like the perfect way to spend the day.”
Chase flashed a wide grin at me before he reached back behind him and pulled out a third pair of goggles. “I’m glad you feel that way. I got a set for you too.”
* * * *
We spent the day out at the inlet that Chase had described. He was a natural in the water, which made sense considering his SEAL training. He helped me and Jackson learn to use the snorkels and we spent a few hours exploring the shallows. When my skin officially crossed over the line from wrinkled to raisin, I got out of the water and found a smooth boulder to perch myself on. It worked as a makeshift beach chair and gave me a clear vantage point of the swimming hole to watch Chase and Jackson play.
The gentle breeze and birds chirping was like listening to one of those white noise machines and eased the stress I’d been carrying since finding out about the baby. The night before, spent in Chase’s bed had been a healing balm and though this morning had been a near disaster—I felt better and calmer than I had in days. I let my mind wander back to thinking about what it might be like if Chase and Jackson and I never went back to California. The cottage wasn’t the ideal place to bring home an infant, mostly because the nearest hospital was a boat ride away, but there were plenty of other places that we could settle down. It was a thought I’d had before finding out about the baby, but became even more interesting in light of the fact that—planned or not—I was having Chase’s baby.
A full week had passed since I took the pregnancy test. And with each day, the weight of the secret got a little heavier to carry. Why hadn’t I gathered the courage to tell him last night? It would’ve been the perfect time. I couldn’t wait much longer—and sure as hell hadn’t known him long enough to even attempt to guess at how he’d respond. He was a dream with Jackson. Most men I knew kept their children at arm’s length. At least at Jackson’s age. Chase wasn’t even Jackson’s father but had spent more time with him over the past month than Henry probably had in the last two years.
Sitting on the rock, watching them play and laugh together, I remembered what it was like the day I’d told Henry we were having a baby. His birthday fell a week after I took the test. Somehow I’d managed to keep the secret to myself for a whole week and waited until his birthday dinner to surprise him with the news. I went to great lengths to make it a big production, a special memory for us to cherish. Forever. All of our friends and family gathered for his birthday dinner at his favorite steak house. At dinner, I told him I would give him his gift in the car. He made a crass joke about me giving him a blowjob in the backseat. Everyone had laughed. After dinner we got into the back of his town car and I presented him with his gift. Inside the wrapped package, I’d stashed the positive pregnancy test.
I smiled sadly at the memory. It was so bittersweet. We’d been so in love and head over heels about starting a family. Henry had immediately launched into upgrading to a new house with more space for our future child. We made love that night, slow and sweet, and when I fell asleep on his chest, we were batting back and forth name ideas for each gender.
“God, how delusional…” I chided myself and pushed off the rock I’d been using in lieu of a beach chair. I brushed off the back of my legs and adjusted my bikini. My stomach was still flat but I knew it wouldn’t be long before it started to show the baby growing inside. I laid my hands over my bellybutton and wished I could feel the heartbeat. It would anchor me and remind me that everything was going to be all right.
Chase and Jackson went back underwater and I watched their snorkel tubes bobbing in the water from where they must have stopped to explore something. I smiled and wrapped my arms around my waist. I had no idea what would happen between Chase, me and Jackson, our relationship was far from being definable in my mind—mostly because baby daddy sounded like nails on a chalkboard—but I knew he loved Jackson—or at least seemed to—and he’d love the little one growing inside of me.
They popped up from the water and Jackson waved at me. I waved back and he launched into a story before I could get out a single word. “Mom! Mom, we saw a puffer fish! It didn’t blow up though…” he sounded sad about the last part. “But it was so cool!”
I laughed, amazed at how quickly he could perk up. “Wow! You better be careful, sweetheart. I don’t want you getting stung.”
Chase grinned. “Don’t worry, Mama.”
My heart fluttered at the look in his eye and the easy way he rolled Mama off his tongue.
Little did he know how appropriate the nickname really was…
Chapter Five
Chase
Around dusk we all trooped it back to the house. It was best to not be out past dark in an unfamiliar part of the island. I wasn’t sure what was lurking in the thick foliage but I knew that between the snakes, spiders, and monkeys—it wasn’t smart to wander around once the sun went down.
Besides that, we were all starving from our day of adventure. Even Melissa commented on being hungry enough to eat a bear.
“Well, I don’t know that we’ll find any bears out here. A wild boar perhaps…though that wouldn’t be a battle I’d voluntarily pick.”
She laughed and came to match my pace. “Oh, come on. Mr. Navy SEAL would be scared of a little piggy?”
I chuckled. “I’m okay with admitting that a two-hundred-pound pig with sharp tusks is not something I’m prepared to mess with. Goring doesn’t sound like a great way to go.”
Melissa laughed again and tossed her long hair back over her shoulders. After she had left me and Jackson to go sun on a rock, she’d let her hair air dry and the resulting waves were far more seductive than anything a stylist in a fancy salon could come up with. Between her tan, the smattering of freckles across her makeup-free face, and her loose waves, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes fixed somewhere other than on her.
Not to mention the sweet bikini she’d strut around in all day.
I adjusted myself under the cover of the beach towel in my hands. As much as I enjoyed Jackson’s company, I was ready for him to scoot along to bed so we could cook up something even hotter than the night before. Though, last night would be hard to top. The image of Melissa grinding on my cock got me rock hard in my swim trunks.
“Probably t
rue. That’s all right. I won’t send you out into the jungle with a spear and war paint.”
“Gee, thanks.”
She nudged into me with her shoulder and I started to reach for her before Jackson’s small voice reminded me I wasn’t allowed to touch her at that moment. “Chase! Do you think we could do this tomorrow too?”
I laughed and pat him on the shoulder as he squeezed between the two of us and took one of each of our hands, making a chain. “I think we could swing that. But…if you’re interested, I have another idea for an adventure.”
Melissa raised her eyebrows at my suggestion. I hadn’t run it by her yet but I figured she’d be up for it. She was getting just as stir crazy as I was. “A new adventure?”
“Uh-huh. There’s a flea market coming to town. I saw something about it on TV last night.”
“Before you nodded off?” Melissa asked, smiling.
“Yeah. Pre-nap. Anyway, we’d have to take the ferry over the canal but it looks nice and we need a few things.”
“Sounds good to me. What about you, bud?” she asked before reaching over to smooth Jackson’s hair.
“Okay, but then more snorkeling the next day!”
We all laughed and headed into the house to fix something for dinner. Since we were running low on supplies, we ended up eating leftover fish from the night before and wrapped it up in corn tortillas. It was a far cry from proper Mexican food, but it filled us up after a busy day of exploring the island.
When dinner was done, the dishes put away, and Jackson bathed and sleeping soundly, I captured Melissa in my arms and carried her off to my bed for another night of sweet lovemaking under the stream of light from the full moon outside the window.
* * * *
“Chase! You have got to see this!”
I turned to look down at Jackson as he tugged on the edge of my shirt.
“Sweetheart, don’t pull on people,” Melissa corrected him, patting his hand away from me.
Jackson held up a worn piece of paper with old looking markings on it. “Do you think it’s a treasure map?”
I leaned down to inspect the page as he pulled it tight. It was a map of some kind but the shape didn’t look familiar to me. But, Jackson clearly wanted the answer to be yes, and it would keep him entertained. “Ya know what, buddy. I think it just might be. Should we buy it?”
“I’ll pay you back when I get my share of the treasure!” His eyes went even wider, already seeing a chest of coins.
I laughed. “You strike a fair bargain. Come on, let’s go.”
I glanced back at Melissa as Jackson dragged me in the direction of the vendor who had the map for sale. She smiled at me and shook her head, clearly amused by her small son’s big personality.
The flea market was much larger than I’d expected. There were close to thirty different booths set up in a semi-circle and three rows deep. Some of the vendors had jewelry and other accessories, like wallets and purses. Others had larger items, like woven baskets in all different sizes and shapes, piles of multi colored blankets, and one shop even had an array of furniture, mostly made from locally sourced wood. A handful of tables were there to sell food and beverages. The resulting mix of smells and sights and sounds was intoxicating. For the first time since the job had begun, I let myself go a little, and slipped into tourist mode.
If things were different, and Melissa was my wife, and Jackson was my son, this might be just a normal day for us if we were on vacation in Manzanilla. We’d have woken up in a hotel room, had a great breakfast together, and then spent the day wandering the city, taking it all in.
“Here they are! Oh, look at this one, Chase!”
The vendor smiled when we approached.
“These are beautiful,” I told the woman in Spanish.
She nodded and blinked slowly. “Your son is very charming.”
I glanced down at Jackson who had no idea what the woman had said. “Thank you,” I replied, not wanting to get into the weeds over the particulars. “We’ll take one of each.”
“Very good, sir.” She went about selecting a map from each of the stacks, three designs in total, and carefully wrapped them in a thin layer of tissue paper before rolling them up into a tight cylinder. I paid her and took Jackson by the hand to lead him back over to his mother.
“How do you know all those words?” he asked me once we were a few feet away from the stall.
“I learned Spanish back in high school,” I replied. “Someday you’ll learn another language too. Maybe even more than one. You’re a smart guy.”
Jackson beamed at the compliment and then scampered off to see what Melissa was looking at. She was standing in front of a stall that had a large array of jewelry. She was fingering a turquoise pendent on a silver chain but let go of it when Jackson barreled into her legs. I winced at the impact. Jackson might be small for his age but at full speed, he could pack a wallop.
Melissa said something to him and he cast his eyes down at the ground.
On second thought, the flea market might not have been the best place to bring an energetic five-year-old.
Melissa took Jackson by the hand and they wandered down to the next row of shops. I swooped over to purchase the necklace that she’d just been admiring and stashed it away in my pocket before going to join them at the stand selling tamales that were rolled with banana leaves.
When we finished lunch, we left the flea market and wandered the beach. Jackson was fascinated by the workers and buzz at the docks. I smiled as I remembered the satisfaction when I’d dropped the tracking device into the produce barge. It seemed so long ago.
A lot had changed.
“It’s nice to be out of the house for a little while,” Melissa said, drawing my attention away from Jackson as he started hunting the beach for seashells.
“Yeah, I think we were all going a little crazy.”
She laughed. “That obvious, huh? And here I thought I’d hid my crazy pretty well.”
I brushed her hand with my fingertips as we strolled. “Hey, I got you something.”
“You did?”
I pulled the necklace from my pocket and held it up, letting it dangle from my fingertips to show it to her. She gasped and covered her mouth. “Chase!” she exclaimed, reaching for it. She ran her fingers over the stone. “How did you know?”
“I saw you looking at it before Jackson ran you over.”
She laughed. “Right. Perks of having a bodyguard, huh? You’ll always know just what I like from watching me window shop. Or, booth shop?”
“I’m always watching. In a totally non-creepy way.”
She burst out laughing. “Good to know!”
“Here, spin around and I’ll put it on you.”
She turned and gathered her hair, revealing the nape of her slender neck. I clasped the necklace but let my fingers linger, desperately wishing we were alone so I could nibble at her sweet sexy neck. I groaned.
After a moment, she spun back around and let her hair fall back around her shoulders. “Thank you.” Her fingers rested on the stone and she glanced down to admire it against her skin. “Turquoise was my mother’s favorite stone. She would have loved this necklace. That’s why it caught my eye in the first place.”
I swallowed a lump, struck by the significance of the gift. “I’m glad you like it. It looks beautiful on you. Or maybe… you look beautiful on it.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Chase. This really means a lot to me.”
Chapter Six
Melissa
“What in the world is he watching out there?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at the sound of Chase’s footsteps on the kitchen floor.
Chase chuckled. “Sponge Bob. En Español.”
“Good heavens.” I rolled my eyes at the sound of Jackson cackling like a pint sized maniac in the background.
“Apparently Sponge Bob’s comedy genius transcends language barriers.”
“I guess so.”
Chase came to stand bes
ide me at the kitchen sink. “You need some help in here?”
I rubbed at my cheek with the back of my hand, avoiding the soap suds on my fingertips. I glanced around the kitchen. I had most of the dishes corralled in the sink and was going to work scrubbing the burnt rice from the bottom of the cast iron pot. “I think I got it. This rice got all stuck—”
“Here,” Chase said before nudging me out of the way. “I got it.”
“Putting those muscles to good work?” I grinned at him and relaxed my hip against the counter.
Chase laughed. “Something like that. I could think of other ways to get a work out…” he growled, his tone low and thick.
“You’re asking for trouble, Mr. Hart.”
He chuckled. “Begging for it, actually.”
I smacked his shoulder playfully.
“What? You can’t blame me for trying. You had me popping a tent all day with that dress you had on today.”
I dropped my head back and roared with laughter. I changed after the walk at the dock but most of the day I had worn a black strapless dress made from a lightweight jersey fabric. “Oh, really?”
“Uh-huh.” He grinned over at me and my heart fluttered at the cocked curve of his lips and the dark look in his eyes. He was a man with one thing on his mind.
“Well, if I can tear the little man away…” I paused, realizing that the sound of Jackson’s laughter had stopped. I tiptoed to the edge of the kitchen and peeked out to see Jackson laying on the couch, his head drooped back, looking like a miniature version of Chase as I’d found him the other day. My hand went to my stomach, overwhelmed by the thought that the baby inside me would be an actual miniature of Chase.
Chase’s hand startled me and I jolted up, as though I’d been digging around in the cookie jar. “Where have you seen that pose before?” he joked.
“That’s what I was just thinking.” I smoothed my t-shirt over my stomach.
“Want me to carry him to bed?”
“Would you mind?”
“No, not at all. Come on.”
Chase went into the living room and scooped Jackson up into his arms and I killed the TV. Silence fell heavy over the house and I followed behind Chase as he carried Jackson to the bed we’d been sharing since arriving at the cottage. I pulled the covers back and Chase laid him down gently. Jackson didn’t even stir. I covered him up, smoothed his hair out of his face, and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.