Cherished (Wanted) (8 page)

“Oh, believe me, at the time, it made perfect sense to me. Today, I see what a terrible mistake it was. I could have driven him into that tramp’s arms. One time, I drove by our place. I almost died when I saw her standing on the porch, talking with Jack. My heart broke, and I spent three days wondering if she had just stopped by…or maybe she was leaving after they had just had sex. I about drove myself mad before I broke down and called her. I told her to tell me the truth.”

I sat up straighter. “You called her? Look at you, you gutsy bitch. Ari would be so proud!”

Grace giggled. “I guess so.”

“What did the tramp say?”

Grace winked at me and said, “That she had stopped by to see if she could help in any way because she felt guilty. She had liked the attention Jack had given her, and she’d egged on the flirting. She had asked him if she could help with trying to find me.”

“Gasp! What did you say to that?”

“I asked her to please leave my husband alone. Then, I told her that I really hoped when she married the man of her dreams someday, some little bitch would do the same thing to her. I hung up, and then I picked up the phone and called Jack. The moment I said his name, he broke down, crying. My heart had never beat so hard in my chest like it did in that moment. He begged me to come home, and he promised to never hurt me again if I would just come home.”

“Jack cried? Hard-core Jack from the Army?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Yep, that same Jack. I asked my friend to give me a ride home, and when I walked through the door, he pulled me to him and kissed me like I’d never been kissed before.”

Her cheeks were stained a beautiful rose color as the memory must have been coming back to her.

“One thing led to another, and…well…” She looked over at me and smiled a huge smile. “I’d never felt so loved in my life as I did when Jack made love to me that afternoon. Let’s just say that afterward, something told me that we had just made something magical together. Nine months later, Drew was born.”

She felt it, too.
I smiled and nodded. “Gunner thinks I’m crazy, but I know when the baby was conceived. I just felt it afterward one night. Everything was just…perfect. It was…”

Grace and I both said, “Magical,” at the same time.

We looked at each other and started laughing.

“Grace, thank you so much for always being here for me. I’ll always appreciate how you treat me like your daughter.”

I watched as Grace’s eyes filled with tears.

“Ellie, you
are
my daughter, and I love you more than life itself. Thank you for loving my son and for being an amazing wife and mother. I watch you, and you just amaze me.”

My eyes betrayed me as I struggled to keep the tears from falling. We both stood and hugged each other before I heard Alex laughing over the monitor.

Grace hooked my arm with hers and said, “Come on, let’s get the birthday girl ready for her big party.”

“Luke…please get Grace’s foot out of your mouth.”

I reached down and picked Grace up and out of her bouncy chair.

I looked over toward Josh and Heather. Heather was holding Will and laughing at something Jeff was saying. Josh was holding Libby and dancing with her as he sang in her ear. My heart just melted.

Damn that boy. He sure has Gunner beat in the whole romance department.

Then, Gunner caught my eye. I smiled as I watched him run after Alex, and then he grabbed her. He brought her face up to his and smiled. I thought that even his one-year-old daughter was smitten with him.

Stupid good-looking bastard.

I watched Gunner smile at his daughter as she grabbed his face and practically bit him while she was trying to give him kisses. With the way he was looking at her, I just knew there wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do for her.

Poor thing. I sure feel sorry for her when she starts dating.

Jeff walked up to me and kissed me on the cheek. He took Grace from my arms and walked back toward Heather and Josh. I sat there and watched my husband with our daughter. I’d been through a flood of emotions the last few months—overwhelming happiness to sadness to nothing but anger. During the last two weeks, I’d finally felt normal. I thought back to when my mother and I had had lunch a month after Grace was born. She’d insisted that I had postpartum depression.

I shook my head and took a deep breath. I couldn’t pull my eyes from Jeff. Luke came up and started pulling on my shirt, trying to get my attention. I leaned down and whispered for him to go attack Gunner.

When I looked back up, I saw Jeff walking with Grace. He was talking to her, and she was just staring back at him.

What is he saying to her?

I watched him walk away from everyone. I quickly glanced over to Gunner and saw him chasing Luke and Alex. I started to make my way over to where Jeff was sitting on the tree swing with Grace. I snuck up and stood behind another tree as I listened to him talk to her.

“Oh, Grace Hope, I don’t think you’ll ever know how much I love you and how you’ll always be my baby girl. Your mommy says you’ve already got me wrapped around your little finger, and even though I’ll never admit it…you do. You’re so precious, and you look so much like your mommy. Your mother is so beautiful, Grace, and she takes my breath away with just one look at her.”

Oh. My. God.
My heart was beating so hard, and I felt the tears beginning to sting my eyes.

“Even when she leans over in the morning with her terrible, yucky bad breath as she says good morning to me, she still captivates me.”

Bastard!

“I love her so much, and I love you and Luke so much, too. The three of you are my whole world, but you…you are my special little gift. Your big sister brought you to us, and I know she’ll always be with you—just like she’s with your mom and your big brother and me.”

I grabbed my angel necklace as I put my head against the tree, and I just let the tears fall.

“You see, Grace, I made a terrible mistake one day, and I walked away from your mommy when she needed me the most. I’ll never forgive myself for that. Your mommy has…but I won’t.”

No…oh, Jeff, no.
I felt my heart slam in my chest, and I placed my hand over my mouth to keep from crying harder. I looked back up and continued to watch Jeff talk to Grace.

“Then, you came along. And just with that first sight of you in your mommy’s tummy, I had the strangest feeling come over me.”

Jeff held Grace out in front of him, and she just stared at him, like she was looking into his soul. It was all I could do to just stand there and watch it all unfold.

“You healed me, Grace Hope. Mommy says everything happens for a reason, and I think she’s right. But shhh…don’t
ever
tell her I said that. It’ll go to her head.”

I grinned as I watched a little smile move across Grace’s face. I sucked in a breath of air. If I hadn’t known any better, I would swear she knew what he was saying.

“Now, this might be a little too early to talk to you about this, but someday…” He started to shake his head as he sat Grace down on his lap. “Someday, some nasty boy is going to come along and try to take you from me, and you’re going to want to go with him. It’s going to break my heart for sure, but I’m going to have to let you go. I can only hope that you have the heart of your mother.”

He let out a laugh as Grace started hopping up and down, making noises.

“Oh, Grace…your mother is a firecracker. She’s tough as nails, but at the same time, she’s the sweetest angel from God. I pray every night that you’ll be like her. Don’t ever take any crap from anyone. If a boy ever makes you feel less than what you are, walk away. No…first, kick him in the balls for making you feel that way, and then walk away.”

I held my hand tight against my mouth. I was unsure if I should be crying harder or laughing.

“You need someone like Gunner. Your Aunt Ellie is so lucky to have your daddy’s best friend as her husband. He loves her so much, and he treats her so good. He is just a good ole country boy. I’ll never, ever tell him this…but I admire him. He makes me want to be a better father and husband. But the stupid bastard is overly romantic, and sometimes, I’d like to knock the hell out of him. And now…now, Josh is the same way.” Jeff took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “But I love them both like brothers, and I know they would kill anyone who hurt any of y’all.”

Grace let out another little laugh. Jeff stood up as he brought her up to his chest, and he started slowly dancing with her. I couldn’t possibly love him any more than I did in this very moment. As he started to sing “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw to Grace, I slid down the tree. I buried my face as I listened to my husband serenade our daughter, and I fell more in love with him as the seconds passed by.

“I think we should get back to the birthday party. What do you say? Your mama is gonna wonder where we went.”

I stood and wiped the tears from my eyes. I watched as he started to head back toward the house. I tried to call for him, but nothing would come out.

“Jeff!” I finally shouted.

He jumped, and Grace started laughing, thinking he was bouncing her.

“Motherfucker! Ari, you scared the shit out of me,” he said.

I walked up to him, and then I reached up and smacked him on the head. “Don’t swear in front of her like that! You want her to walk around, cursing like Luke?”

Jeff shook his head and gave me that smile that still made my knees weak.

“Jeff, I love you so much, and right now, I just want to go home and make love to you.”

Jeff’s smile dropped as Grace started leaning out for me to take her. Before I could reach for her, Jeff put his hand behind my neck and pulled me closer to him. He brought his lips down to mine and kissed me. I felt like I was floating on a cloud just from his kiss. As he slowly pulled away, our eyes caught.

“I love you, Ari.”

I shook my head and smiled. “I want you, Jeff. I need you.”

He closed his eyes and licked his lips.

Oh god…I just want those lips all over my body.

“There y’all are! Your father and I have been looking everywhere for you. Now, give me my granddaughter, so I can love on her properly.”

I looked around Jeff and saw my mother walking up to us. I smiled at her and watched her take Grace from Jeff’s arms. As she made her way back toward everyone else, I glanced back at Jeff. He had the biggest grin on his face, and I followed his eyes as he looked over toward the barn.

I laughed and shook my head. “No! Are you kidding me? Everyone is just right here. No. I’m not having sex in Gunner and Ellie’s barn.”

“Oh, come on, baby. Just think of the last time we had sex in a barn.” Jeff wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “The barn is far enough away from the house that no one could possibly hear us. I mean, you’ll have to keep your screams of pleasure down and all.”

I instantly felt the wetness between my legs. I quickly looked back at the house before turning and walking toward the barn.

“I’m so going to hell for this,” I said as I heard Jeff say, “Oh, hell yes!”

I hadn’t even walked into the barn before he grabbed me and spun me around. He pulled me to him and lifted me up as I wrapped my legs around him. He backed us up and leaned me against the wall. His hand moved up and under my shirt. The moment I felt him push up my bra and then squeeze my nipple, I almost came on the spot.

“Jeff…
oh god
,” I whispered.

He slowly let me down to unbutton my jeans.

“Jesus, Ari…you drive me crazy. Do you know that?” he asked.

I watched him pull my pants and then my panties down. I lifted each leg as he took my sneakers off, and then he pulled off the pants and panties. He quickly undid his pants, and I felt my breathing pick up as I watched him push his pants down, his erection springing free. I licked my lips and looked up into his eyes.

“Fuck…” Jeff said as he picked me back up.

I wrapped my legs around him again. In one movement, he slammed his dick into me, and I let out a small whimper. I threw my head back and bit my lip… attempting not to yell out in pleasure. Nothing felt as good as having Jeff inside me.

“Ah…Ari…baby, come on,” Jeff said as he moved in and out of me.

I tried so hard to hold off, so I could just enjoy the feel of him inside me.

“Baby…”

That was it—his pleading voice was my undoing. I snapped my head forward, and our eyes met.

“Jeff…I’m gonna come.”

He let out a grunt and whispered, “Yes.”

I bit hard on my lower lip as Jeff closed his eyes. I swore I could feel every ounce of him pouring into my body. I’d never felt so damn sexy in my life as I did at this very moment with my husband holding me up after making such passionate love to me. He stood there, panting to catch his breath, still inside me.

I smiled as I leaned in and grabbed his lower lip with my teeth.

“Ah hell, Ari. I could totally do that again if you’d just give me a few minutes.”

I started laughing and then instantly stopped. I could hear someone talking.

I looked at Jeff as we both said, “No fucking way!”