Shelter Me Home

by T. S. Joyce

  He stroked the curve of her stomach. “My girls,” he whispered.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Aanon pulled off the highway and into the gas station in Homer where they’d met.

  “Why are we stopping here?” Farrah asked with a suspicious little grin tugging at her lips.

  “I thought we could grab a bite to eat here for old time’s sake.” She leaned to open the door, but he stilled her. “Farrah?”

  “Yeah?”

  He had a hard time watching the road with her so close, so beautiful. She was radiant. A day would never pass when he didn’t think about how she looked at the airport. Glancing around like she halfway expected him to stand her up. Vulnerable, all her hopes and dreams packed into the suitcase she carried behind her. His insecurities were mirrored in the woman he loved. She’d worn jeans and a cherry red sweater that hugged her beautiful curves. She’d changed in the past few months—somehow she’d grown even more intoxicating than when she’d left.

  He tucked a flyaway lock of her silken hair behind her ear. “I missed you.”

  The most alluring color touched her cheekbones, and pride swelled that he’d been able to cause it.

  “Give me a second to grab Dodge and I’ll help you out.”

  “You know,” she said as he unbuckled the car seat for his son. “You won’t be able to coddle me like this at the homestead.”

  “Oh yes, I can. I’m not taking as many construction jobs this year so I’ll be there to do the bulk of the work around the house with you. And anyway, Dr. Jansen said you’re going to have to take it easy until the baby comes, and then for a couple months after. I’m fully prepared to coddle.”

  ****

  Aanon and Dodge rounded the back of the truck and helped Farrah out. And thank goodness for the hand, because the Chevy was a lot higher off the ground than she remembered. Or maybe she was just a much different shape with a new and unimproved center of gravity.

  The same waitress who had served them the day they met those months before, Clara, gave them an uncertain frown.

  “I remember you. You two were in here a long time ago. Bickering from what I remember. And now look at you.”

  Farrah grinned over Dodge’s head as Aanon stared at her with such pride in the icy blue hues of his eyes.

  He hadn’t even remembered her that day, and now she was his.

  After putting their order in, Aanon said, “We’re going to have to stop by your mom’s house on the way home. She’s been worrying something awful about you.”

  She touched the condensation on her glass of ice water, and a fat drop trickled down and disappeared into the napkin beneath. “You talked to my mom?”

  “I’ve been bringing her food every so often.”

  “Aanon, you can’t keep taking care of her like that. She needs to learn to stand on her own.”

  “It wasn’t for her. I visited her for me. You talked to Miles about the custody hearings and that was your only connection with me, right? Well, talking to your mom was all I had.”

  “Oh,” she said, swallowing hard. It was difficult to come to grips with Aanon suffering as she had those months apart. She’d do just about anything to save him pain. Even borderline desperate to see the homestead again, she agreed to the stop. It would be nice to see Mom again. Geez, she’d never thought she would ever think that, but things had changed. She had changed since she’d let Aanon into her heart. For the better.

  Loaded back into the truck, the snowy Alaskan scenery she’d pined for passed by in a blur. If it wasn’t for the bone-chilling cold, she’d open the window to feel the fresh air against her face. The greens and browns of the passing foliage fused with the blue-white of the fallen snow and made the most beautiful artwork she’d ever seen. Condensation clung to the inside of her window and she wrote I Love U into the moisture with her fingertip.

  With a shy smile, she squeezed Aanon’s hand and leaned back for him to see.

  The look of adoration in his eyes was breathtaking. “I love you, too,” he said in a thick voice and dragged his gaze back to the road that stretched in front of them.

  Cooper Landing, Population 289, the green sign read as they passed into the town. Something lifted in Farrah. Fate kept leading her back here, and for good reason. The Landing was where she belonged.

  Mom stood waving on the front porch of her house as they pulled up, as if she knew exactly when they’d show up. Maybe she did.

  Hugging Farrah around the neck and laughing despite the tears in her eyes, she gave in and melted into the embrace.

  “I won’t keep you too long. I just wanted to be the first to see you when you came home,” she rambled as she shooed them into the warmth of the house.

  Dodge immediately found a chest of toys from Farrah’s childhood that sat in the corner and started sorting through them.

  “Where did you get that?” she asked Mom.

  “I’ve been saving those toys in case you ever gave me a grandbaby. I had Bob bring them out of the crawl space last week. I also got these.” She handed over a pack of corner protectors for baby proofing.

  “Mom, this is great. I’m going to have to get some of these. I need to get a lot of things, honestly.”

  “Oh, I got too many so you can have the extras. We really don’t have three packs worth of corners to protect the baby from, and I have two more than I need.” The cabinet under the sink creaked as she dug around and muttered to herself. “Here,” she said, handing them over. “And this.”

  A light pink gift bag with yellow tissue paper dangled from her outstretched fingers.

  “What’s this?” Farrah asked.

  Mom had rarely given her a present growing up besides the toys that cluttered the bin. One per Christmas.

  “A gift for Oleanna. Aanon told me the name.”

  “You did?” she asked, bewildered.

  “I told everyone,” he said with a sheepish grin.

  “As he should. It’s a beautiful name. The perfect one to suit my granddaughter.” Pride filled every word.

  Miles may not have liked the name she had chosen, but the people who mattered did.

  Inside the bag was a onesie and pant set, pink with a yellow smiling sun that said, You Are My Sunshine.

  It was possibly the cutest thing she’d ever seen. It was so tiny. She stared at it in wonder, draped across her palms. It was the first time she’d realized how small babies really were. Dodge was a sturdy three year old, and she had only been around a handful of kids, none of them newborn.

  “Dodge, clean up the toys,” Aanon said. “You can play with them again next time we come over.” With minimal grumbling, he replaced the toys and took Aanon’s hand on the way out.

  In a move that surprised her to stillness, Mom clutched her shoulders and looked her square in the eye. “I’m proud of you, Farrah. I messed up everything when you were growing up, and you still turned out good. I know I can’t take credit for any of that, but I’m still so proud of you I could burst. You’ll make a great momma.” She pulled her in for a quick hug, then turned and disappeared in the house, leaving Farrah stunned. She swayed like a tranquilized buffalo, and Aanon gripped her arm as she descended the stairs.

  “Well that was…unexpected.”

  It was also unexpected when Aanon pulled the truck into a parking spot near Briney’s Bar.

  “I don’t think the bar opens this early,” she said.

  The sign on the front door was flipped to closed. The late afternoon sun reflected off the snow that blanketed the town, but inside, the bar was as dark as a black hole.

  “Briney’s in back. I swore I’d bring you by for a minute before I took you home. He’s been chomping at the bit about getting you back to work in a few months.”

  What she really wanted was a hot bath cradled in Aanon’s strong arms at the homestead, but it was a while yet until Dodge’s bedtime, so sure, she’d go see Briney about the job.

  Aanon and Dodge followed her through the unlocked door,
and the lights flickered on.

  “Surprise!” What seemed like the entire town was piled into every inch of space in the bar.

  She jumped and clutched her chest in an attempt to keep the scream inside her throat. A hand painted sign that read It’s A Girl and another with Oleanna in cursive letters decorated the whiskey cabinet. Pink streamers and balloons dangled from every rafter, and someone popped off a confetti canon in the back, dousing them all in glitter, paper, and streamers.

  The laugh that bubbled from her was nothing short of joyous. She recognized every face in the room, and Briney himself yelled, “Welcome home, and happy baby shower.”

  So, her baby shower was being held in a bar? It was absolutely perfect. Audrey surged forward to hug her and Mayva followed.

  “Did you plan this?” she asked Aanon breathlessly at a break in greetings.

  “Briney and I started it, but the entire town got on board by hour four. Do you like it?”

  “I love it. It’s—” She looked around at all of the happy clusters of friends, talking and laughing together. “It’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

  Aanon beamed, but his smile wavered. “I wanted your mom to be here. It’s why we had to stop off at her place first. Briney was attached to throwing your welcome home party at the bar, but your mom is really making a go at remaining sober. We thought it best if you had your moment with her at the house.”

  She pressed the palm of her hand against his jaw, smooth and shaven, angled and masculine. “You did good.”

  “Kiss her!” Ben yelled to the cheers of the house, then he started the obnoxious chant.

  Heat rushed her cheeks, but Aanon didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Humor and challenge danced in his eyes. The man was irresistible, and she arched her neck as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Slowly, he leaned forward until all she could see was the handsome planes in his face. The background noise faded as the moment held her in Aanon’s embrace. His lips were patient and warm against hers, and she threw her arms around his neck and angled her head to kiss him thoroughly.

  The man chuckled as she pulled away, and he shook under congratulatory claps on his back. Still, his eyes never left hers, and hunger, deep as eternity, swam in the seductive color there, making captivating promises of nights to come.

  Briney climbed on the bar top. “Listen up! Aanon and I did some research on baby shower games, and we reject them all. We made up one of our own. Every time someone says Oleanna’s name, we drink! Burtlebey, go hand Farrah and Dodge those glasses of orange juice. The rest of you, come name your drink.

  “Oh, dear Lord,” she said, laughing. “I’m going to go help him behind the bar.”

  As she worked, pouring drink after drink with Briney, she couldn’t keep her gaze from Aanon. Dodge was in his arms, talking animatedly, and the easy laugh that pulled from his daddy’s mouth was hypnotizing. Those lips were hers, that beautiful man with a heart devoted to the people he cared about—he was hers. Just days before, she’d been drowning in a sadness so deep, she’d never breathe again. Now, she stood in the bar she loved with the people who meant the most, and the best man she’d ever known had chosen her in front of everyone.

  The next hour was taken by opening an overwhelming number of gifts the people of Cooper Landing had thought to bring. She didn’t know what half of them were, but Aanon, confident Aanon, winked, telling her in one gesture, he’d teach her everything he knew about baby rearing, and they’d learn the rest together.

  Occasionally, a happy drink was taken by all when someone said Oleanna’s name in conversation, and laughter filled the bar until Farrah felt drunk with happiness. Dodge helped her open the first seven gifts, but when he noticed everything was pink in color, he lost interest and played thumb wars with Ben. Mayva wrote down who gave what gifts so Farrah could send out thank you cards, and Aanon sat beside her and helped clean up the wrapping paper as they went.

  She lingered as people started trickling out of the bar. She spun Dodge slowly on one of the stools as Ben told her about what a bore Aanon had been since she left. It was tough to hear about, but it showed her the depth of his feelings. Aanon and some of the others made trip after trip, filling up the bed of the Chevy with Oleanna’s gifts.

  Briney leaned against the bar with a conspiratorial grin. “Did we surprise you?”

  “Briney, I don’t think I’ve ever been so surprised in my life. This was one heck of a welcoming home party.”

  “And baby shower,” he said.

  “That was possibly the greatest baby shower in the history of baby showers.”

  “I knew it,” he whispered and turned to pull pink streamers from the rafters above.

  “I thought you only decorated once a year.”

  “You’re momma would have my hide if I didn’t use the decorations she got for your shower.”

  She stopped Dodge’s slow spin and glanced up to determine if Briney was serious. He tugged at the tape that held the biggest sign in place with nary a twinkle in his eye. Huh. Mom had helped plan and decorate for the shower and hadn’t shown up to enjoy it in her attempt to stay sober.

  “Hey,” Aanon, said, deliciously close to her earlobe. From behind, he ran gentle fingers up the small of her back, massaging little circles until she wanted to groan in bliss. The chair on the plane had been less than comfortable.

  Leaning back so she could drink in his towering form, he smiled down at her. “You ready to go home?”

  “Not if you’re going to keep massaging my back. Nuh uh. I’m staying right here.”

  He leaned in closer and whispered into her ear. “I can be more thorough at home.”

  “Well, ladies and gents. We’re out of here,” she said, helping Dodge off the chair.

  Ben gave Aanon a rough hug and said something low to him. They laughed, and Audrey rolled her eyes.

  “We should meet up for lunch this week,” Mayva said. “Without the boys, just us girls.”

  Surprised, Farrah said, “That actually sounds wonderful.”

  “The weather is supposed to hold. How about Thursday at the diner?” Audrey suggested. “Say noon?”

  “I’ll be there,” Farrah said.

  She finished her goodbyes and held Aanon’s hand all the way home. She’d never get tired of touching him. At one time, their future had been impossible, but now it stretched on and on with its possibilities.

  The big house jutted proudly against the backdrop of the clear Alaskan sky. Snow hugged the land, but the house looked warm, inviting. Luna poked her head out of the dog house and stretched until her toes separated. It wasn’t until Farrah stepped out of the Chevy that she went wild, barking and pulling against the rope attached to her pink collar. She was huge. Much bigger than when Farrah had left those months before. Luna showed promise of growing into her giant feet.

  When Aanon released her, Farrah expected the dog to bowl her over, but Luna belly-crawled the last few yards, tail wagging manically.

  “Luna,” she cooed as a new flood of tears threatened. She’d missed so much about her old life, and Luna was a big part of that.

  She licked under her chin and whined a constant sound as Farrah knelt by the truck, enfolding her. It was real now. She could accept being home because she was here, on the land where her heart was whole. Cattle bellowed, and one of the horses snorted against the quiet of the clearing. Even the winter birds called out greetings, as if welcoming her home. She hadn’t realized the depth of pain she’d endured in the days she was away until that moment when she finally felt like herself again.

  “The way you look at this place, it makes me want to kiss you,” Aanon said.

  Still kneeling, she looked up, taking her time to appreciate his work boots that were scratched and faded from laboring on the land. Long jeans fit athletic legs, and not even his heavy winter jacket could hide the breadth of his shoulders or his tapered waist. Her favorite part though, the dimple that only came with a well-earned smile for her, sat hi
s cheek, begging to be kissed.

  “Everything I want is right here.” Her whisper was honest, ragged, as she stood.

  “This place was empty without you. I couldn’t look in the yard without imagining you there. I’ll make you happy, Farrah.” He knelt beside her, captured her completely with the openness of his gaze. “I can’t promise things will always be easy, but I can promise I’ll fight for us every single day. You and Dodge and Oleanna, you’re my life. No matter what comes at us, we’ll manage together. Please, just don’t ever leave me again.”

  “I won’t,” she promised, kissing his dimple, then his lips to seal the oath. “I’m home.”

  Epilogue

  Summer had come to The Landing and everything was bathed in shades of green. Plants sprang to life after months of dormancy, and the trees sprouted lush leaves like the long, cold winter had never occurred. Five new calves had been born and the peep peep of chicks in the coop was constant.

  Farrah leaned more comfortably into the lawn chair they’d set out for the celebration and Luna, now nearly full grown and looking more like a wolf every day, licked her hand and curled onto the ground beside her.

  Aanon talked to Ben, Briney, and Billy’s dad, and their laughter filled the clearing. He cradled Oleanna against his shoulder, rocking gently as he shifted his weight from side to side. There was no more a beautiful sight than a man enamored with his child. And though Oleanna had dark hair and eyes and was obviously not the child of his blood, she was the child of his heart.

  Aanon was in trouble when she got older. Already, he couldn’t refrain from giving her everything she wanted at the slightest whimper. He kissed Oleanna’s forehead absently, and her little fists bunched his shirt until the corner of his tattoo peeked out from under the gray fabric.

  Dodge ran around the men’s legs with a couple children his age, laughing and yelling as they played tag. Whatever Erin had done, it hadn’t had a lasting effect on the boy. Not with Aanon as his father. She stepped in when Dodge seemed to need mothering, and their bond had grown until he was her child as much as Oleanna was.