by Kaylee Ryan
“Because you were always more than that. Strip.”
“So this future wife business, let’s talk about that.”
“We will. But first.” He unzips his jeans, pulling them and his underwear down, letting them pool at his knees. He takes his hard cock in his hand and strokes. “I need to be inside you, Laney. Now.”
“What if I’m not quiet?”
“They’ll distract her.”
“What about them?”
He throws his head back and laughs. “They know we’re sleeping together.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do know that.” He closes his eyes as he strokes himself. “Laney, they know I love you. They know you’re my forever. They know that even though the odds were stacked against us, we made our way back to each other. They also know I’m not an idiot. They know I crave to be a part of you.”
“H-How do they know that?” His words are turning me on, and suddenly this little game to get him riled up has turned on me, and I’m ready for him. That’s why I’m unbuttoning my jeans and sliding them and my panties off, kicking them aside.
“Because they know I love you.”
“What are you waiting for?” His eyes pop open, and the dark brown orbs are full of desire. I take one step, then another, then another until I’m standing so close our bodies are touching.
“Arms around my neck, baby.” He doesn’t give me time to reply before he lifts me in the air. My arms and legs lock around him, and he pushes inside me. “Fuck.” He buries his face in my neck as he slowly pushes in and out of my body. “It feels so… fuck. Condom.”
“I’m on the pill.”
“We’ll talk about why later. You sure?”
“Don’t you dare stop. My monthly cycle was all messed up after Kendrix. It helps to keep it regulated.”
“Never been bareback.”
“Never?”
He lifts his head to look at me. “No. The only one I ever would have considered it with was you, and we never did. We never discussed it.”
“Well, now we are. Since I’m going to be your wife and all.” I wink at him and he smirks. “Let’s just agree to toss them. This, it feels way too good.”
“Deal. Now, hold on tight and be quiet.” I barely have time to lock my hands behind his neck before his relentless thrusts have me immobilized. “C-Close. Can’t hold on,” he grunts.
“I-I’m close. I can’t be quiet. Oh, God.” I moan from how good it feels, and that we’re about to be discovered.
“Bite down on my shoulder.”
“I can’t bite you.”
“It’s either that or let them know I’m fucking you.” Holding me with one hand, he slides the other between us and swipes it over my clit. He walks us toward the wall, and he presses me against it.
“The paint.”
“It’s dry. We did this room first.” He unleashes… all I can do is hold on. Between his cock and his fingers, I have no option but to do as he says and bite down on his shoulder as my body convulses around him. “Fuck,” he grunts, and I feel him as he releases inside me.
“That,” I say, sucking in some much-needed air. “We should do more of that.”
He throws his head back in laughter as he pulls his body from mine. “Let’s get you cleaned up and we can do more of that when we get home tonight.”
“When can we move in? I meant what I said. If you’re okay with it, I’d like to live here. It’s paid for, and with my inheritance, we wouldn’t have to worry about the taxes eating our life savings away.”
“We can move in as soon as the floors are finished. Do we need to go to California to get your stuff? Kendrix’s stuff?”
“I’ll call Mo— Tillie.” I’m angry with her, and with my father. Calling her mom or mother right now, I just can’t do it. I have too much in my head that I need to work out in regard to her. “I need to talk to her anyway. Hopefully, she’ll have it shipped here. If not, I’ll go get the important things like photos and mementos from when Kendrix was a baby. Everything else is just clothes and can be replaced.”
“She’s still in town. Her rental car is still at the hotel.”
“Do you think your mom will watch Kendrix tonight? I can ask her to meet us here?”
“You know she will. Let’s get cleaned up and we can ask her.”
With a roll of paper towels, we do the best we can to clean up. The linens are all in totes so that the bathroom could be painted. We do okay with what we have. Back in the kitchen, the adults give us knowing looks, and my face heats, but I try to ignore it. He is the father of my daughter after all. That’s how she got here.
“Mom, do you think you can watch Kendrix for a little while tonight?”
“Oh, I spend the night.” Kendrix bounces on the balls of her feet. “Papaw, can we build another fort?’
“Sure, we can,” Gordon quickly agrees.
“How about we ask Uncle Ridge and Uncle Seth if Finley and Everly can come too? You girls can all have a sleepover,” Georgia suggests.
“Yeah!” Kendrix cheers.
“Sounds good to me,” Ridge comments.
“Me too,” Seth agrees.
“It’s settled then. Sleepover at our house,” Georgia tells our daughter.
The guys give Georgia and me a walk-through of the house, and I love it. There is nothing I would change. They did exactly as I wanted, only it’s better than I imagined it could be. I can’t seem to calm the giddy excitement that this is my home. Mine and Kent’s. This is where we’re going to raise our daughter and any future children. It feels right, all of it. The house, the man, the moment, it all feels right.
Chapter 22
Kent
“Come on in,” I tell Tillie as I answer the door. She doesn’t sneer at me or try to scratch my eyes out, so I call that progress. “Laney’s in the kitchen.” She walks away from me and heads that way. I follow along behind her. Laney asked me to be here for this, and nothing Tillie says is going to keep me from doing just that.
“Tillie,” Delaney greets her.
“Is that any way to greet your mother?”
“Stepmother,” Delaney corrects, and lets that hang in the air between them.
“What did you do?” She turns and glares at me.
“It was Dad. He left me this.” She holds up the letter. “I get it now. The reason you wanted to control me. I understand that you hated this town and this house. But Kent, he did nothing to you. You kept my daughter from her father for your own selfish reasons. You robbed the three of us of so many years.”
“Oh, and I suppose your father is innocent in all of this? And him”—she points at me—“his mother and her,” she spits, “were close. I knew they would tell you.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Tillie. Georgia recognized me right away, but she never said a word. She never let on, not once. Not until I read the letter from Dad, and she found out he had told me the truth. I understand he cheated on you. I can respect the fact that you were hurt and angry. I’m grateful you stepped in as my mother under those circumstances.”
I watch Tillie closely and see the cracks in her armor. Her shoulders deflate just a little and the scowl on her face is less prominent.
“Thank you for raising me. Sure, you were a little controlling.”
I hide my grin, pretending to cover a cough at my girl’s dig.
“But you were good to me. That is until you weren’t. I can’t remember the days when Kent and I were dating. Not really. I’m having more and more flashbacks, but the truth still remains the same. You lied to me. You kept me from him, and him from us. You sabotaged my family.”
“I was your family!” Tillie yells. “Me. I raised you. I loved you. He was going to take you away from me.”
“No, Tillie. He wasn’t. That never would have happened. You were selfish. You didn’t want to have the memories thrown in your face, so you lied. You manipulated me. You took advantage of the fact that I lost my memory. You made
me think he was a bad man when he’s anything but. His friends, his family, they’re all incredible people who enrich our lives. Kendrix and I have had their love and support from day one.”
“He’s feeding you lies.”
“No. My father… that’s who you’re upset with. I understand that too, but you chose to stay. You chose to raise me as your own. You chose to lie to me. Those choices, they were all yours. You ruined our relationship. Not Kent and not my father. That was all on you.”
“So, what? That’s it? I’m no longer your mother? I’m not welcome in your life? What about K—my granddaughter?”
“See.” Delaney points at her. “You still can’t even say her name. A name that is so much like her father’s. Even not knowing him, I named our baby after him. That’s love, Tillie. Deep-rooted, forever-in-your-soul love.”
My need to touch her outweighs anything else. I move in closer, where we’re both standing with our backs leaning against the kitchen counter, and slide my arm around her waist. “I love you,” I whisper, my lips next to her ear.
“I love you too.” Her voice is loud and clear. No hesitation.
“You’re all I have,” Tillie says, her voice cracking.
Finally, her stone-cold façade is slipping. Delaney leans into me, and I stand strong, offering her support.
“You should have thought about that sooner. I’m staying here, Tillie. I’m keeping the house. Kent and I are going to live here, with our daughter.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means that I’m not coming home to California. I would appreciate it if you would ship our things, but if not, I’ll make the trip and do it myself.”
“I’ll never see you.”
“You know where I live.”
“I hate this town.”
Delaney shrugs. “I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t just forgive and forget what you did to us. I’m not saying never, but I am saying not right now. If you want to see your granddaughter, because through it all, to her you’re her grandmother, you’re going to have to come here. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone with her.”
“I never meant to hurt you, Delaney. I was scared of losing you, and I needed you to listen.”
“So you yank on my hair, causing me to slip on the ice and be knocked unconscious? You know I can press charges against you, right? That what you did was assault?”
Her eyes well with tears. “Yes, and I’m so terribly sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”
“What exactly are you sorry for?” Delaney asks, her hands resting on her hips.
“All of it,” she whispers.
“We have plenty of space. You’re welcome to stay with us,” I speak up. Even through everything, she’s still the only mother and until recently grandmother my girls had in their life. I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, and I hope one day we can all be on better terms.
“He’s right. You are welcome here, with some conditions.”
“Which are?”
“You speak not a word of this to Kendrix. You accept Kent as my future husband, and you accept Kendrix as his daughter. That goes for her name as well.”
“Delaney.” Tillie’s voice is pleading.
“No. We’ve played by your terms for far too long. I’m taking back my life. Starting now. Take it or leave it.”
The room is silent for several minutes when Tillie finally nods. “I’ll ship your things.”
“Thank you. I’ll send movers to come and pack it all up. I just need you to let them in.”
“Can I see her? Before I leave, can I see my granddaughter?” She swallows hard. “C-Can I see K-Ken-Kendrix?”
“I think she’d like that.”
Tillie nods. “Thank you.”
“Will you two be okay here? I’ll run to my parents’ and pick up our girl.”
“Thanks, babe. We’ll be fine. Drive safe.”
“Love you.” I kiss her quickly and rush out the door.
By the time I’m back, Delaney and Tillie have managed to whip up some spaghetti for dinner, and have plates set out at the island.
“Grandma!” Kendrix rushes toward Tillie and hugs her legs tightly. “You’s been gone fowever.”
“I know, sweetie. Grandma has been giving you time with your daddy.” Her eyes flash to mine then back to my daughter.
“Oh, I love my daddy. I gots a mamaw and papaw too.”
“I heard that. I’m so happy for you, Kendrix.”
Delaney sucks in a breath, and when I look at her, I see tears in her eyes. It’s then that I know everything is going to be okay. The odds may have been stacked against us, and the future uncertain, but we battled our way through.
Life has thrown us some curveballs, and there have been times when the unexpected changes have literally knocked us on our ass. We’ve had to learn to live one breath, one second, one minute, one hour, one day at a time. We learned that the best things in life are truly unexpected. We’ve embraced it and learned to live with our unexpected odds.
Epilogue
Delaney
Today is a special day for so many reasons. Let’s start with the fact that my little girl turns five. I can’t believe how fast time has passed. She’s been talking about today, her princess party, for the last two weeks. She’s not the only one who’s excited. Her daddy, my fiancé, he’s also a bouncing ball of energy. This is the first birthday he’s gotten, and he ran with it. Our house looks like someone puked pink and purple, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be sweeping up glitter for months. I’ve let him plan and make this day so extravagant I don’t know how we’ll ever top it. So yeah, that makes today extra special.
“I gotta admit,” Reagan says with her hand on her growing belly bump. “I never thought I’d see Kent all pinked out.” She chuckles.
I’m sitting with the wives, Kendall, Reagan, Dawn, and Mara, while the guys finish with the decorations. “He’s a big softie.”
“Oh, they all are,” Mara agrees.
“Honestly, I still find it hard to believe there are five of them. Five guys, the best of friends, and all great catches. They love us and our children fiercely, yet still manage to look like badasses.”
“Shh.” Dawn laughs. “Don’t let them hear you. They don’t need their egos stroked.”
“I don’t know.” Kendall rubs her baby bump. “We should give credit where credit is due.” She points down at her belly, and we all break out into a fit of giggles.
The guys look over at us, each one of them only having eyes for the leading lady in their lives. Kent’s eyes sparkle with happiness as he winks at me.
“Let me see that rock again.” Reagan reaches for my hand and places it on her pregnant belly. “He did good. He did damn good,” she praises.
“You guys really didn’t know?” I ask them.
“Not a word. Ridge came home with Kendrix saying we were watching her so you all could get the house ready for the party and that Kent wanted it to be a surprise,” Kendall explains. “I called him out on it when we got here, and you all told us you were engaged. He knew!”
“Oh, they all knew,” Reagan tells us. “Tyler sang like a canary. Apparently, it’s the pregnancy hormones or something. He said he was scared for his life.” She cackles.
“We’re lucky,” Dawn says wistfully. “Sure, I mean, so are they, but really, we’re lucky. It’s rare to find a love like we all have, and look at us. All five of us have found it. Not only that, but it brought the five of us together. I cherish that, and each of you.”
“Damn pregnancy hormones.” Mara laughs, wiping her eyes.
“What?” Kendall shrieks. “Are you?”
Mara’s face goes beet red. “I meant Dawn.”
“Nope. Spill it, sister.”
“Fine, yes, we’re pregnant. I’m freaking out. Ryder will be thirteen months old when the baby gets here. That’s two under age two, plus an almost four-year-old. What were we thinking?”
“You weren’t. It’s that swee
t yet alpha voodoo they put on us. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Reagan points at each of us.
“I love that all four of us are pregnant at the same time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the guys planned it,” Kendall jokes.
“What about you?” Reagan looks over at me. “Any thoughts about adding to the Baldwin brood?”
I open my mouth to speak and then close it. I do this twice more before these ladies, my friends, figure me out.
“No!” Dawn says excitedly.
“Shh. I haven’t told him yet.”
“Why not?” Mara asks, concern in her voice.
“I found out for sure yesterday. Then last night when I got home, Kendrix was gone, and he had flowers and candles and all the sweet romantic ‘I want you to have my last name’ stuff, and he was so proud of himself for pulling it off without me finding out. I had no clue, none whatsoever. I didn’t want to take away from his night.”
“I know you missed your chance with that the first time around,” Kendall says gently. “But, he’s just like the others. That news wouldn’t have taken away from the night, but it would have added to it.”
“I know. I just chickened out, I guess. I know he loves me and he’s been open and honest about having more kids. I don’t know. I just froze up and didn’t tell him.”
“Well, what do you say we keep an eye on Kendrix, and you tell him now?”
“I’m going to tell him tonight.” What I don’t tell them is that I have something else to tell him. I had a dream the night before last. We were in the meadow, lying on a blanket. His arms were wrapped around me as he whispered, “I missed you,” into my ear. It was summer break from college, and my first day back in Jackson. We made love in the open field, and he held me the entire day. It was perfect. When I woke up, it wasn’t just a dream. It was my life. Our life. It all came rushing back to me like a flood. Even the night he didn’t show up. I was scared to tell him I was pregnant. We had never identified what we were to each other. I didn’t know how he was going to take it and then he never showed up.
Crushed, I left town early. I still had every intention of telling him about the baby. I never would have kept it from him. It was his choice to make if he wanted to be in our lives. His and his alone.