After The Fall: A collection of Matt and Abby short stories

by Claudia Connor

  They arrived at the couples–only resort with plenty of daylight left to hit the beach. But more rose petals strewn across the white comforter of the giant four poster bed, champagne chilling in a bucket, and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries on the mahogany dresser… They decided the beach could wait.

  It was nearing sunset when they made it out of their room for a walk on the beach before a quiet dinner for two. They’d met at the beach, fallen in love to the sound of the crashing tide, and with that same sound as a backdrop, they began their life as husband and wife.

  Before leaving their room for dinner on the third night, they called Matt’s parents and talked to each child. Matt ran up the phone bill guessing the answers to Jack’s riddles and listening to Gracie’s running monologue of life at Grandma’s.

  An hour later they sat at an intimate outdoor table for two. The sound of Latin music mixed with the deep rustle of palm fronds. The cobblestone patio and strings of bistro lights criss–crossing above added to the ambiance. Everything about this resort was perfect. Every detail seen to.

  “So good,” Matt said, scooping up his last bite of beef carnitas. “Probably the best Mexican food I’ve ever had.” He smiled as he said it, but glanced at his phone for the third time in half an hour.

  “I know. Me too.”

  He picked up his drink, looked at it then set it down. “Did Gracie sound stuffy to you?”

  Abruptly, she lowered her fork, her gaze jerking from her plate to his waiting eyes. “I was thinking that, too. But she was fine at the reception, didn’t you think?”

  “Yeah. I think so. But it was busy.”

  “True.” She reached for her margarita, took a small sip. “Your mom will call us if she starts running a fever, right?”

  “Uh…yeah. I’m sure she will.” Matt actually wasn’t sure at all. His mother wouldn’t want to interrupt their honeymoon. He didn’t want it interrupted either.

  They were in a tropical paradise. He finally had Abby all to himself with her sexy little bathing suit, miles of bare skin, and an almost hourly need for coconut scented lotion spread over all that smooth skin. Damn. “Did you hear Mary crying?”

  Abby’s expression was nearly pained. “Did you?”

  “Um…I thought…maybe.” He stared at his finger tapping a furious beat near his plate. “But, hey.” His eyes met hers with a quick, bright smile. “I’m sure she’s fine.” Abby had left plenty of breast milk, and he knew Mary would take formula in a pinch. But she was only six weeks old.

  “Matt?”

  “Hmm?”

  “We’re not going to make it five days are we?”

  The tension drained out of him in one huge exhale and he reached across the table for her hand. “I don’t think so.”

  Abruptly, she scooted her chair back and in the next second was in his lap. “You’re not disappointed?”

  “Are you?” Her smile was his answer and he clasped her face in his hands. “Abby. As long as you’re in my sights, I couldn’t be disappointed, ever.”

  “I love you.”

  They shared a long kiss, because they could— it was an adult–only honeymoon resort after all— but mostly because she was his wife and he would kiss her whenever he damn well wanted to.

  They broke apart, laughing, then laughed again when they caught the look of their waiter standing beside the table with his hands over his eyes. He’d been teasing them all night.

  “Will you be having dessert?”

  “Yes,” Abby said and started to stand.

  Matt held her fast in his lap. “We’ll have one of everything.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Boxed to go,” Matt added.

  A wide grin spread across the young waiter’s face. “Yes, sir!”

  Abby raised an eyebrow? “To go, Mr. McKinney?”

  “Absolutely, because in about ten minutes I’m going to be doing a lot more than kissing you.”

  “Then you’re going to take me home and do the same thing.”

  “Absolutely. With the kids sleeping feet away. All of us under the same roof.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  And it was.

  2

  A Valentine’s Day To Remember

  IT STARTED OUT as the perfect day. Abby McKinney laid warm and loose in her husband’s arms after her Valentine’s Day wake–up call, as Matt had called it.

  It was still dark as they breathed together, their bodies intertwined, listening to Mary’s morning sounds on the monitor.

  “We have to get up.” His voice rumbled through his chest and into hers.

  “Yes. We do.” She didn’t move.

  When Mary’s coos grew louder and more insistent, Matt patted Abby’s bottom, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and rolled away. “Better get a move on,” he said with a wink and a kiss to her lips. “I’ve got big plans for you today.”

  Awake now, she watched him grab some clothes to take into the bathroom. He closed the door and she rolled to her back with a smile. She had some plans of her own.

  Thirty minutes later, dressed in jeans and a thick red sweater in honor of the day, Abby entered the kitchen. She wasn’t always dressed for breakfast, but Valentine’s Day in elementary school was almost as big as the day before Christmas Break.

  She’d been over everything in her mind, but just for her own satisfaction, she took a marker from the drawer and went to her TO DO list on the refrigerator. She drew a line through the items already accomplished:

  Valentine boxes, A, G, J

  Valentines A, G, J

  Choc strawberries

  Icing for cookies

  J belt ?

  NL to the W

  No way Matt would know that last one meant— new lingerie to the wash.

  She prayed she could find Jack’s karate belt by 4pm. No doubt Annie’s was already laid out with the her gi even though her class was two days away.

  She passed Matt where he stood at the sink with the baby over his shoulder and kissed his freshly shaven cheek. “Mmm. Yummy,” she whispered at his ear, as she always did when she smelled his aftershave.

  Their four other children sat at the kitchen table, wearing various pieces of school uniform. Except Charlie, who didn’t wear a uniform for preschool. Instead he wore navy blue sweet pants and long sleeved gray T-shirt with a T-Rex on the front. And there was Annie who was already completely put together, including a matching plaid headband.

  “Jack, put your bowl in the sink if you're done. Gracie, hurry up and put all your cards back in the bag,” Abby said, taking Mary from Matt.

  “So, I’m hitting Jack’s party at eleven and Annie’s at eleven thirty,” Matt said, handing her a mug of coffee.

  “Right. And you’ll have Mary with you while I run crafts in Gracie’s class.”

  “Got it.” He was looking forward to all the kids’ parties, but especially Annie’s. He knew she still held a small seed of doubt. That he’d remember to show up, that he’d want to. It would be one more step in eventually ridding her of all fears.

  “I’ll nurse her right before,” Abby went on. “But you’ll need powder formula just in case she gets fussy.”

  “Roger that,” he said, fastening Mary into her baby swing. “Formula, small water bottle, and all my baby charm. Isn’t that right? Huh? You gonna fall for Daddy’s charms?”

  Abby smiled then opened her mouth to continue the daily run down when their three— almost four—year old let out a desperate cry from the table.

  Gracie had upended her cereal bowl all over her Valentines—because she’d insisted she needed to count them one more time. She and Matt both jumped into action, doing whatever they could to minimize the damage. A crash from the counter had them both spinning.

  Jack stood open mouthed over thick shards of what was a white platter. Every one of the chocolate covered strawberries she’d stayed up late last night to make for the teacher’s luncheon lay in the midst of disaster on the kitchen floor. All except for t
he one frozen in Jack’s fingers just inches from his mouth.

  As Gracie continued to wail over her now soggy Valentines, Annie jumped out of her chair to avoid the cereal milk running over the table and toward her lap.

  Matt moved fast and caught Annie before she stepped on the glass. Then grabbed Charlie under his other arm as the two–year–old wild man had decided he’d like a strawberry and wasn’t at all deterred by the broken platter.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Jack swatted down, reaching to salvage what he could.

  “Freeze. Everybody freeze.” Matt didn’t yell but his low, commanding voice got their attention.

  “You.” Matt pointed at Jack, who still stood barefooted in the kitchen, a tiny bit of blood on his shin where a shard had hit him. “Don’t move.” He carried Charlie and Annie a safe distance away and put them down. Then went for Jack.

  “Son,” Matt said with a sigh as he picked Jack up and surveyed the damage.

  Tears welled in the boy’s eyes. “I just wanted to try one,” Jack said, choking on the last word,

  “Okay, Bud.” Matt rubbed his back. “I think you learned a lesson, huh?”

  Jack nodded and sniffed. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”

  Abby looked up from where she stood at the table, comforting Gracie as she blotted Valentines with a dish towel.

  “But I already wrote my name twenty-four times!” Gracie cried.

  “I can still see your name and it’s okay, baby,” she said to Jack, inwardly groaning at her own lost work. “It was just an accident. You might as well eat that one.”

  Jack looked at the strawberry now squished in his little hand. “I don’t want it anymore,” he said with hiccuping breaths.

  Matt growled like a bear and went for the strawberry in Jack’s hand, drawing a small smile from his son and an eye roll from his wife.

  “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Matt said, looking around the room at his family. Even with the chaos, he knew he was one lucky bastard. “I’ll take Jack to medical.” He sat Jack on the counter and opened the kitchen drawer that held Bandaids. “Then after I tackle the floor Gracie and I will make a quick fly-by the store and get more Valentines.”

  Gracie started to protest again, not wanting to write her name even one more time.

  “You only need to redo about five of them,” Abby said, sorting the damp from the ruined. “The rest are fine. See? I bet Annie has enough extra ones.”

  “Okay, even without the extra pit stop, we need to hustle. Let’s go, team. Shoes, socks, teeth.” Matt carried Jack a safe distance away and watched the older three race up the stairs then turned to smile at Abby. “And they said the circus wasn’t coming to town.”

  Abby just shook her head. Chaos reigned often in their house. And as always, Matt was the voice of calm and reason. Thinking she could spare a couple seconds—it was Valentine’s Day after all—she went to him, laid her hands on his smooth cheeks and her lips on his.

  Without hesitation his arms slipped around her. “What was that for?”

  “Do I need a reason?” she asked, stepping back with a smile.

  “Never.”

  He made a grab for her but she danced away. They didn’t have that much time. She grabbed the broom from the pantry. “After the parties, I’ll take Mary and Charlie home for naps so you can make your afternoon meeting.”

  He nodded, taking the broom from her hands. He did in fact have a meeting, though that’s not the only reason he’d need a few hours this afternoon. But Abby didn’t need to know he’d also be finalizing his plans for the evening.

  “Beth wanted to decorate cookies with the girls after school,” Abby said, dumping the dust pan Matt had filled with broken platter pieces.

  “And Jack has karate at four.”

  “Yes. I guess Valentine’s Day isn’t reason enough to cancel class.”

  “Pfft.” Matt made a face as he scooped up the last of the broken glass. “After all the sugar that will be consumed today, they’re going to need to kick some boards.”

  “Good point.”

  “Ah, damn. Darn,” he corrected even though the kids were out of the room.

  “What?”

  Matt held up his phone. “A text from the sitter. Cancelled. Said she’s sick.” And his stomach sank. He really wanted this special night for Abby. “Don’t worry. I’ll ask my mom. As long as none of the others have hit her up, we’ll be good.” He hoped.

  Abby took Mary from her swing and Matt took a second to watch her as he often did. Her long, dark hair was pulled back in a messy knot and she hadn’t gotten to her make up yet. So beautiful.

  He stepped toward them, kissed Mary’s cheeks. “I think we’ve covered all the mission objectives. Except the last one.”

  “Mmm.” Abby shifted Mary to her shoulder, and wrapped a hand around his neck. “What’s that?”

  He took her mouth in a deep kiss, pulling her closer until they both heard a stampede of feet coming down the stairs. It was their first Valentine’s Day and he was going to make it one she never forgot.

  FIVE HOURS LATER, Matt and Abby pulled up side by side in the school parking lot. They’d need both cars since Abby would be taking home little ones for naps while Matt checked on a few construction sites.

  By the time she got out, Matt was already at the back passenger door, reaching in for Mary.

  “Hello, my angel. Ready to part?”

  Mary gurgled and drooled like any woman would when Matt cooed at them.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to leave her in her car seat?” she asked, pulling her knit hat farther down over her ears.

  “We’re sure, aren’t we, baby? Who wants to sit on the floor when there’s a party going on? Huh?”

  He waited as Abby loosened up the straps of the Baby Bjorn infant carrier to fit over his shoulders. Drawing on his years of Navy SEAL training and strapping on parachutes & high tech gear, Matt worked to get Mary situated.

  He slipped her tiny legs into the carrier, then fastened the sides with the skill any mom or Team Leader would be proud of, then made sure her clothes were straight and she was comfortable.

  Abby had to admit, he was better at it than she was. Not that she minded, she thought with a smile. It was exceptionally hot. Her husband, in a navy sweater that hugged his chest and arms with a baby strapped to his chest.

  Still smiling, she redid the Velcro on one of Mary’s pink buckskin booties. “You know you’re going to be the hit of the party, don’t you.”

  “Of course she is.” Matt kissed Mary’s hat covered head.

  Abby grinned. “I was talking about you. Mary’s not going to be the only one drooling. I almost feel sorry for the other moms.” And God, she truly did taking in the whole picture. Dark jeans hugging his massive thighs, the brown eyes, killer smile.

  “You know I only have eyes for you,” he said, leaning over Mary’s head to kiss Abby’s lips.

  She caught his face in her hands. “I know.”

  “I love you.” He took one hand from Mary to curl his fingers around the back of her neck and deepened the kiss.

  “I might have a surprise for you later,” she said, smiling against his lips.

  “Oh, really? I might have a surprise or two of my own.”

  “Mmm. I can’t wait.” But duty called and she forced herself back. “Time to party.”

  ABBY HAD JUST gotten Mary and Charlie out of the van and into their beds, and was desperate for a few minutes of peace after the whirlwind of classroom parties.

  She froze where she was, at the sound at the front door, crossing her fingers and listening for Mary. If the doorbell woke her, there was a very narrow window in which to get her back to sleep before she worked herself up to the point of no return.

  So far, so good.

  By the time Abby got to the door, the flower delivery guy was jogging back into his truck. Busy day. No doubt he had a lot of stops to make.

  She smiled as she reached down for the gorgeous arr
angement of white roses in a glass vase. Must be three dozen here, she thought, sticking her nose into the petals and breathing in the scent. She carried them into the kitchen. Trust Matt not to send the usual pink or red. She pulled out the card, eager to read her husband’s words.

  Rhonda, please forgive me. Please.

  The note went on, with tiny handwriting stretching up the side of the small card and onto the back. Poor Tyler. He was really, really sorry.

  She smiled at the mistake, then had a thought. If Rhonda didn’t get her flowers, this could be very bad for Tyler. Especially if Rhonda received some kind of, I love you, note addressed to someone else. Yikes.

  With the florist card in hand, she dialed the number and explained the mistake. Luckily, the man on the other end seemed to grasp the extent of the problem. She told them she’d put the flowers back on her porch so they could pick them up with Tyler’s hand written card. She just hoped they got them to the right person before the end of the day.

  She’d barely ended the call when her cell rang in her hand. Half expecting it to be the florist calling back, she nearly cringed when she saw that it was the kid’s school calling—never a good thing.

  She hung up a minute later, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then called Matt.

  “Hey, Babe.”

  “Hey. I just got a call from the school,” Abby said.

  “Uh, oh.”

  “Yeah. Uh, ohs right. Jack threw up.”

  “Oh, boy. Too many cupcakes?”

  “Let’s hope. The babies are napping, but I can get him if you’re still in your meeting.”

  “Nope. I just finished. I’ll get him, hose him off, and hide the rest of his candy.”

  Abby laughed. “I also got a beautiful bunch of flowers.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yes. From a very sweet, very apologetic Tyler.”

  “What? Tyler who?”

  “They weren’t for me.” She laughed softly at the hint of jealously in his voice. “They were for someone named Rhonda from Tyler with a handwritten plea for forgiveness.”