Heartwood (21 page)

“Joe, it’s way too much.” I stammered. “I got you some pictures with your old truck and you bought me a business.”

“It was a steal.” He replied. “The sellers were eager to drop it on someone else.”

My mind swam with a potent combination of gratitude and concern.

“The restoration must have been expensive...” I trailed off, not really sure what to say.

“Not really. Your brothers have been in on it from the beginning. We called in a few favors. Hell, some guys volunteered. They said it was a community service. If there was even a chance of the famous Hildebrandt brisket coming back, they were in.”

I turned to look at the gorgeous sight of daddy’s restaurant restored to its former glory. I noticed he’d made a few subtle improvements that gave the place an updated look. The For Sale sign was nowhere to be seen.

“How could you afford it?” I asked, feeling tears stinging my eyes.

“My mother gave me our wedding present back when we announced our engagement, remember?” He bumped his shoulder into mine playfully. Joe’s mom signed Joe’s trust fund from
her
side of the family over to him, saying to invest it in our future. It was pretty clear to both of us his father knew nothing about it. I wondered if that was still the case.

“But, Joe!” I started, thinking about the babies, their college fund, Joe’s business, and all the other things he could have done with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“But nothin’, baby girl.” He tipped my chin so that he was looking me in the eye. “I’m investing in you. In us. Everything you touch turns to gold. You can do anything you set your mind to. You’ve proven so time and time again. I believe in you.”

I was so choked up that when I spoke, my words came out sounding strangled. “Thank you.”

Joe put his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder. “You don’t have to open the place. It’s yours to do with as you please. Sell it, burn it down. It’s entirely up to you. I just wanted you to see it the way it used to be. I can’t have that sad look on your face ever again. Not if I have the power to do something about it.”

The sound of the surf woke me, and I opened my eyes to the faint glow of dawn wrestling to overthrow the horizon. It was early, but we’d gained an hour during the flight to Cabo San Lucas, so for me, it was actually sleeping in. Add in the lack of a two a.m. feeding, and I felt decadent.

I sat up on the edge of the king-sized bed and stretched. Picking up my panties, which had somehow ended up on a standing lamp nearby, I took a moment to admire the oceanfront room Joe had booked for us. Now that I could actually see it in the light of day, I realized it was no standard room. It was spacious enough that we could spend hours in the room without feel cooped up. The neutral tones were inviting and elegant without feeling obnoxious.

I was wearing Joe’s t-shirt from the night before, having lost my lingerie somewhere in the tangled bed sheets. He’d insisted on handing me the shirt off his back, making some crack about not wanting me to get a chest cold.

That’s my husband. Chivalry over comfort.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw he still slept soundly, in his typical position on his stomach. The twisted sheets fell short of covering my favorite feature, the arch of his back sloping down to his perfect ass. Resisting the temptation to trail my finger down his spine and slip my hand beneath the sheets, I stepped into my panties and padded over to the sliding door. I quietly slid it open and strolled out into the warm, breezy morning. I breathed in the salty air and sighed.

When I opened my eyes, the expanse of the azure Pacific made me suck in a loud breath. A long white ribbon of beach stood between me and the endless blue, and I had the strong desire to run down the beach and dive into the rolling waves.

As I reached out to grasp the wooden rail, I caught site of my wedding band which now spooned snugly against the engagement ring I’d worn on my left hand for many months. I stared at them for a long while, moved by their significance. This was all too good to be true.

A feeling of foreboding gripped my heart, and I fought with myself to let it go. After several deep breathing exercises and forcing myself to sit and then stand back up again, I was consumed with the need to touch Joe. I needed to hold him against me to confirm that this wasn’t some wildly vivid dream.

I turned to do just that and he was there in the doorway, almost as if he’d read my mind. The intensity of his eyes on me was the truest, most anchoring real there was, and I felt the invisible burden I’d been struggling with leave me as if it had sprouted wings.

Joe had never looked better. His fair hair was mussed from sex and sleep, and it complimented his golden brown skin. His navy boxer briefs hung low on his hips, and the defined lines of his body made me hungry, but not for breakfast. Try as I might, I couldn’t decide which part of him I wanted to touch first.

He closed the distance between us, and in typical Joe fashion, he made the decision for me as he pulled me against his rock hard chest.

“Mornin’,” I said between kisses to his collar bone and neck. His spicy smell made me melt further into him.

“Good morning, my beautiful wife.” He whispered, making me tingle everywhere from my scalp to my bright red toenails. “Ready for some—”

“Coffee?” I asked, pulling back just far enough to see myself reflected in his olive eyes.

His eyes crinkled as a smile claimed him. “Yeah. That’s what I was gonna say.”

He pulled me into the shower, and we got very dirty before we cleaned up. Joe tossed on a red shirt and a pair of kaki cargo shorts. Following his lead, I wore some simple flat sandals and a white sundress with tiny flowers all over it.

When we finally made it down to breakfast, I was delighted when the hostess sat us at a table right out on the beach.

“You chose well, handsome. It’s so beautiful here.” I sighed, trying to take everything in. My eyes settled on Joe, who regarded me with a loaded grin. “What?”

“For someone who had to be dragged kicking and screaming on a honeymoon, you sure seem to be enjoying it.” He puckered his lips as if in contemplation and I leaned in to kiss them.

“You know better. Speaking of which.” I reached for my phone and dialed Tamryn’s number. She sounded chipper and assured me that Eva was doing well and slept through the night.

While I was talking to her, I saw Joe dial his phone and heard him discussing Logan with Robin. I hung up with Tamryn in time to hear him say, “Yep. Sounds like Logan. He’s a little shit. Tell the girls to keep their hair away from him, too.”

I giggled as the waitress deposited a plate of sweet rolls and fruit between us and poured our coffee. I was adding cream to both of our mugs when he hung up the phone and shook his head.

“That son of yours...” He picked up my phone and stuffed both of them into my purse. “He’s going to give someone a concussion. He’s got quite a kick. I’m lucky that I didn’t have a shiner for the pictures.”

“You did have a Shiner in several of the pictures, as I recall.” I quipped, referring of course, to our favorite Texas beer. He gave me an appreciative grin and raised his coffee to his lips. “So what did you plan for us to do here in Cabo...besides have copious amounts of sex?”

He wriggled his eyebrows at me and grinned rakishly. “I planned two things a day. I didn’t want to over-schedule us. We don’t have to do any of it if you don’t want to. I’m cool either way. I just want to chill with you.”

I put my hand on his knee and leaned in for a kiss. “You say the sweetest things.”

“I do have some rules, though.” He slid his eyes sideways at me as he took an aggressive bite of cinnamon roll.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well don’t keep me in suspense, Master.” I joked. As much as it initially upset me, I secretly loved it when Joe tried to get bossy. It was so adorable.

“First of all...the phones stay put away. We check messages once in the morning and once at night. We’ll check on the twins twice a day. Otherwise, we stay unplugged.”

“But what about pictures?” I whined. I hadn’t brought a camera. Who the hell needs one of those these days? “If you think I’m not getting a pic of you in just your swim trunks, you’re smokin’ something.”

“Alright. But if I catch you posting it I’m tossing your phone in the ocean.”

“I’d like to see you try.” I smirked.

He narrowed his eyes with a smirk of his own. “Don’t make me turn you over my knee, Little Girl.”

I felt a cheeky smile twisting on my lips. “Maybe that’s what I’m going for. Did you ever think of that?”

We spent the morning parasailing, and I can say without hesitation it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. We went up at the same time. Joe had arranged it that way, and it was pretty insightful of him. He’d have been freaking out the entire time I was in the air, and it was nice to not have him worrying about me. He did have them double-check that I was secure, but I’d grown accustom to Joe’s cautious nature, and I appreciated that it was coming from a place of adoration. Sometimes, he was so over protective it was embarrassing. Like the time someone almost bumped me with their car when we were walking through the parking lot. It was a month before I found out I was pregnant, and Joe ripped the guy a second asshole the moment he stepped out of his car, cornering him physically. I thought the young man was going to piss himself, and I stepped between them and scolded Joe for making a scene. He stepped back and let the kid pass. Showing wisdom beyond his years, the kid bolted into the store. Joe refused to apologize.

“You’re the most precious thing in my world.” He told me, taking me by the hand and leading me into the store. “That little fuck needs to watch where he’s going.”

Like I said, sometimes Joe was over the top, but most of the time his passion to look out for me just made me feel valued. And even when he went too far, part of me liked it.

He made me feel safe.

The rest of the day was spent in the pool and our hotel room. Joe continued to slather me with sunscreen so I didn’t fry, and I somehow managed to remain burn free.

Just before we went out for a sunset booze cruise, we called to check on the twins and I posted all of my shirtless Joe pics to Facebook. The comments from Jay and Dan were hysterical, and some of them made Joe blush. Thankfully, Mason chimed in with his snark and turned their virtual cat-calling into a big joke.

The next few days were a mix of sand, sun, and adventure. We snorkeled, which I never thought I’d have the guts to do. I loved the water, but getting into it was a tougher experience than it was when I was a kid. The whole incident with Draven nearly drowning me kind of put a damper on frolicking in the waves. Somehow, Joe coaxed me to try it.

“It’s okay, baby. I got you.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me against him with one arm as he waded further into the surf. The rocks provided a break that formed a small lagoon, and the water was so clear that I could see the bottom. I saw fish swimming right up to our legs, and I couldn’t suppress a squeak of surprise.

“Shhh...they won’t hurt you.” He whispered, his lips grazing my ear. He took his time getting me comfortable with putting my face in the water and breathing properly. Joe was a patient teacher, and soon we were paddling the length of the lagoon together. Schools of fish in every shade of the rainbow zigged and zagged beneath us, and the time passed quickly. I was grateful that Joe had pushed me outside my comfort zone, and was amazed at how much he knew about the pastime. I wondered if he’d gone snorkeling with Jessica on their honeymoon, and when mental pictures of him with his perfect blonde dream girl started to dampen my mood, I tried not to dwell on them.

That afternoon we went zip lining. Joe was so excited, it was like watching my nephews at the state fair. We had a blast, and the hung over college kids who were on the excursion with us seemed annoyed that we weren’t as miserable as they were. Since they were taking turns puking into the trees, we got to go a couple of extra times. Joe was practically glowing when the guide suggested it.

We also did a Jeep excursion into the dessert. We sat in the back and listened to the elderly couple in front of us bitch about everything from the speed our driver traveled to the dessert being too dusty. Joe and I had a good time rolling our eyes behind their backs, but their East Coast accent set my teeth on edge. It reminded me way too much of Draven, and he was the last thing I wanted to think about.

“You two here for your anniversary?” The old man called back to Joe.

“No. Our honeymoon.”

“Congrats! You have quite the looker there.”

“That’s why I married her.” I elbowed him and he pressed his lips together and held his gut with a silent laugh.

“Just wait till you have a couple of children, honey. That figure will be trashed and he’ll be more interested in the television than you.” His wife called back.

“Actually, we have twins.” I stated as we came to a stop at a scenic overlook. The couple both turned around and gaped at me in surprise.

“Twins!” The old man turned to Joe and offered his hand. Joe shook it, looking amused. “She bounces back nicely. What a pair of legs!”