Meadowlarks (22 page)

             
“Anything you have I would have caught by now anyway. I would risk it just to be close to you.” I pull her into me and kiss her hair. “I love you.”

             
“Mmm. Back at ya, handsome.” She nuzzles into my chest and kisses my heated skin.

             
“You know, your brother thought you might be pregnant.”

             
Silence.

             
“Ha, he would think that, wouldn't he? I'm not though, baby. I took a test at work before you came to get me.” She looks up; her big eyes are more gray than blue. “Besides, you know I would tell you if I was.”

             
“I know. He was just being Alex. He got really excited when I told him Riley was coming.”

             
She chuckles a little.               “He's got it bad. He just won't admit it. Too bad I don’t think Riley would ever give him a
real
chance.”

             
We sleep in each other's arms. I wake up sweating from the heat of being under all the blankets and being against her hot flesh. I slowly lift her so I can get out of bed, laying her back down gently. She mumbles something I don't understand and smiles sweetly in her sleep. Her cheeks have a little color; hopefully she's almost kicked this bug. I call the hospital to tell them she won’t be in, which they fully expected, since she left early after throwing up.

             
It's Thursday, so Jeremiah and Alex are both off. I want to stay around the house in case she needs something, so it looks like an uneventful day for me. I tidy up the kitchen, putting away the clean dishes from the dishwasher. Collecting all the laundry, I do a few loads and watch some TV while I wait for the washing machine to finish.

             
Addison has been sleeping almost all day. When she wakes up, she's going to be starving, and I have no idea what she'll want. Chicken noodle soup, maybe? I open my laptop and Google a recipe, since I was unsuccessful in finding a can in the pantry. When I find everything I'll need, I set it all on the island in the kitchen and smile, pleased with myself for having such a great idea. I exhale loudly and cross my fingers that I can pull it off.

             
“Mmm, something smells good.”

Startled, I
sit up. I must have fallen asleep on the couch, waiting for the soup.               “Hey, you.” I hold out my arms to her, and she sits on my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. “You look so much better. How do you feel?”

             
“Much better. Thank you for taking care of me.” She touches my nose with hers and smiles. “Did you make chicken noodle soup from scratch?”

             
“I did! You seem surprised.” I snort. “Hungry?”

             
She sits with her legs crossed on the couch, covered by my mom's quilt, blowing the steam from the bowl in her hands.

My phone buzzes.

             
Jeremiah:
How's Addison feeling? R U still up for tomorrow?

             
I reply to Jeremiah’s text.
She's better. I'll let you know, I don't want to leave her if she's sick.

Jeremiah:
             
K. Talk to you in the morning, bro!

             
“How is it?” I ask Addison, putting the phone on the coffee table and turning to face her.

             
“It's delicious. Old family recipe?” She smiles.

             
“Google.” I laugh.

             
I don't hear her phone ring, but she does.               “My phone. Can you bring me my purse, babe?” She looks around for it and points to the small wooden table by the front door.               When she pulls it from her purse, she narrows her eyes and presses a few buttons, then holds it up to her ear.               “Alex, hey…Yeah, rude, considering I've been sick!” She looks at me and rolls her eyes. “I know; I didn't forget. Okay...See you later.” She hangs up and puts her phone down next to mine.

             
I raise my eyebrows, waiting for her to tell me what that was all about.

She does.
              “He texted me about tomorrow night, making sure I'm not going to keep you at home because I'm sick.”

             
“Well, I'm not going to leave you here alone while you're sick.”

             
This time she rolls her eyes at me.               “No. I'm feeling much better. Please, don't not go because of me. You're only going to have one bachelor party, you know.”

             
I grin and pull her hand up to my lips, kissing her knuckles.               “Well, for now...” I look at her and smile; she drops her jaw in astonishment.

             
“Well then, when I'm at
my
party, I'll have to keep an eye open for my next husband!” Picking up her bowl of soup from the coffee table, she takes a mouthful, then points her spoon at me with narrowed eyes.

             
I love this woman beyond words. She's everything I could ever want, even when she's dishevelled in PJ’s with her hair piled on her head in a messy bun. She's perfect.

             
By the next morning she's back to her normal self, up and out of bed before me, showered without me and downstairs making breakfast.

             
“Mornin'.” I smile when I reach the bottom of the stairs.

             
“Mmm! Good morning! I'm in a huge rush; sorry but I have to go.” Since we haven't pulled her car out of the garage where it was stored for the winter, she grabs my keys off the hook by the door. “Can I take the truck, or do you need it today?”

             
“Nope, go ahead. See you tonight.” I wrap my arms around her, inhaling her sweet scent, and kiss her goodbye.

             
“Love you!” She smiles and heads out the door.

             
“Love you.”

             
Jeremiah and Alex pull into the yard about five minutes after she leaves for work. They both almost hop out and skip over to the porch where I'm standing drinking a cup of black coffee.

             
“Are you ready for tonight?!”

I don't know whether Alex is asking me a question or making a statement. He's beaming ear to ear.

              “I'm starting to get nervous considering the two of you look like kids who are about to touch their first pair of tits.” I hold my hands up to my chest, circling in a motion to resemble breasts, and I laugh. “Where are you taking me?”

             
“Can't say, sorry.” Jer is stone-faced serious, with a slight smirk in the corner of his mouth. Wherever it is, I know I'll probably have a good time.

             
“Let's get to work, make this a short day then.” I take the last sip of coffee and set the mug down on the wooden step of the porch. “Come on, boys!” I whistle to Rex and Luca, who get up from laying on the grass and follow us out into the field.               “I was thinking of buying Addison a new car; do you think she would mind?” I ask Alex.

             
“If you're offering, I'll take one, too!” He laughs.

             
“Nice try. Want to go into town?”

             
Jer slices into the ground with the mouth of his shovel, pushing down with his boot.               “Yeah, I bet Bruce—”

             
I cut him off.               “No Dodges.” I smirk.

             
The three of us wipe the dirt off our clothes and pile in Jeremiah's truck; Alex leans over the front seat from the back and cranks the music. We fly down the dirt road and sing our hearts out to Jason Aldean’s
Dirt Road Anthem
—how fitting. Usually I turn the tunes down when the pavement begins, but not today. We drive down the street with the bass thumping and the windows down.

             
When we approach a stop light, we pull up beside another truck with two pretty girls in it. Alex leans out his window, serenading them, slapping his hands on the door to the beat, and the girls giggle at each other. When the light turns green the driver, a pretty blonde, floors her black Chevy, and the sound of them laughing is louder than the music flowing out of the truck.

             
“Catch them!” Alex yells like he's a captain of a pirate ship after some sweet booty.

             
Why not?
I think to myself, and Jer floors it, quickly shifting into second gear. We are on a long stretch of road with no other cars around. It takes about four seconds to catch the girls in the Chev; we pull up beside them, and the guys go crazy. The passenger, another blonde with very curly hair, blows a kiss, and Jer holds his hands over his heart dramatically.               She laughs.

             
At the next light, we're stopped beside them again.

             
“Where you boys headed?” The driver asks, biting her bottom lip.

             
“Wherever you're going, baby!” Alex shouts from the backseat.

They laugh, and when the light turns green, we all fully expect them to drive straight again. She pretends to, but turns right at the last minute, and we can hear them yahoo-ing and cat-calling as they drive away.

              “Awe, damn.” Alex pouts.

             
When we arrive at the Ford dealership, Derek, who I usually do business with, walks out of the big sliding doors with his arms open. “Mr. Blackstock! Where is that big bad truck of yours?” he says, obviously noticing I arrived in the competition.

             
“My girlfriend has it today, but I'm actually looking for a car for her.”

             
“Oh, very nice! Let me guess; she's a Mustang girl!” He's good.

             
“You should see the 'Stang she's got now! Sixty-seven Fastback…” Alex pipes up as he climbs out of the Dodge.

             
Derek doesn't say anything, just puts his hand on my shoulder and walks me over to a long line of cars. They're all freshly washed and sparkling in the sun. He stops in front of a Fiesta, and I curl my lip. I can't picture her in that.

             
“We like the new Taurus. An SHO would be even better.”

             
Derek's eyes light up.               “We have twelve right over there. Let's go check 'em out!”

             
I trail my fingertips along the hood and fender of the Taurus. This is the one. Black and sleek just like my truck, a matching pair.

             
“I'll take it.”

             
Alex gapes, and I grin.

             
At Derek's desk, I sign all the paperwork, writing Addison's name as the title owner.

             
“Our current promotion also gives her two years of free oil changes and a three hundred dollar gas card!”

             
“Even better! Thanks, Derek.” I lean over his desk and shake his hand.

             
“Always a pleasure, Mr. Blackstock.”

             
Alex is sitting in her new car when I get outside. He's almost drooling.

             
“Jealous?” I smirk.

             
“You know, my birthday is coming up soon.” He laughs and gets out of the car. “She's gonna freak!”

For a second, I'm nervous.

Freak? Freak good, or freak bad? I decide to text her.
When is your lunch break today?

             
She replies.
In about 30 min. What's up, babe?

             
I don't text back. The guys are going to The Wolfbarrow for lunch, and since it's one of the last places I want to be, I drive over to the hospital to surprise Addison. While I sit in the parking lot for a few minutes, trying to think of how to tell her I just bought her a car, I see Reid get out of a Lexus SUV parked one car over. I narrow my eyes watching him. He looks like a snake; something about him crawls under my skin, like poison, and I shudder remembering the dream I had about him and Addison.

             
I have the car engine off, but my window is down and I can hear him talking when he pulls out his cell phone and makes a call.

             
“Yeah, you got it all right? I told you to get some extra just in case...Hell, yeah. Buddy, it's gonna be good!” He looks around and must see no one because he keeps talking. “Whatever, man. I’m trying, and she's worth it. Fuck, you should see the ass on this girl.” Then he catches a glimpse of someone coming out of the hospital doors. “Shit, call you later.” Reid jams the phone into his pocket.               “Hey, there she is!”