Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Why had she believed she could be that bold and go downstairs and crawl into Joe’s bed? Her nerves were shot.
Charlotte had been tucked into bed almost two hours ago. There was no chance her daughter was still awake. Yet she was still stalling. She’d showered, dried her hair, applied the slightest makeup, changed nightgowns at least three times, and still hadn’t stepped out of her bedroom door.
Resting her head against the door, she remembered the feeling of Joe’s lips against hers. What was she waiting for?
She turned the knob before she could back down and rushed from her room. She went down the stairs and stood just outside his door. When her hand lifted to knock, the door flew open. Joe stood there, smiling at her.
“I thought you’d changed your mind.” He took her hand and gently tugged her inside.
“No, just… working up the nerve,” she admitted with a laugh.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Me too,” he said, against her lips. “You taste like heaven.” He sighed. “Are your nerves settled?”
“They were, until you kissed me.” She sighed. “Do it again.”
He chuckled and obliged, using his mouth over her exposed skin while his hands nudged aside the silk she’d put on.
Her fingernails scraped his arms, and she felt his muscles bunch and flex under her fingertips. When she pulled his shirt up and off him, she felt her knees go weak. Then he was sliding her top off and she stilled.
“I’m not… perfect,” she started, but he stopped her by gently brushing his lips over hers.
“You’re beautiful.” His eyes met hers.
She shook her head, suddenly realizing this was a bad idea.
She had stretch marks from having Charlotte.
There were little white lines across her breasts, darker ones that ran down the sides of her stomach and inner thighs.
She should have warned him. Ted had hated the marks and claimed she was damaged goods.
“Hey.” He cupped her face. “I can tell you’re overthinking this. No one is perfect.” He stepped back and turned to the side slightly. She was shocked to see a few large scars crossing over his ribs.
“What happened?” She ran a fingertip gently over the raised skin.
“Knife attack from a junkie when I was on duty as a cop. I also have a few scars on my knee.” He bent and pointed to a spot.
“I had surgery after I tore my meniscus.” He returned to pull her into his arms. “You’re beautiful.
Scars, stretch marks, whatever. You had Charlotte.
I’m not ignorant of what that does to a woman.
I’ve seen my sister struggle to take off the baby weight and suffer body image issues.
” He cupped her face again. “Ally, I will want to be with you, no matter what. You’re beautiful inside and out.
” He kissed her again, melting the last of her concerns away.
When he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, she vibrated under him. And as he removed the last of her clothes, she knew that there was no stopping the flood of feelings she had for him.
Whatever happened now, she would always return to this moment in her mind as one of the happiest in her life.
When he slid a condom on, she smiled and felt her insides warm. He was kind, smart, caring, and most of all, sexy as hell. He thought of things she hadn’t. Cared to protect her in ways no one had before.
Plus, she couldn’t get enough of his body. She worshiped it with her mouth, her fingertips, her eyes. He seemed to appreciate hers too and spent a lot of time licking her heated skin, touching her, fingering her until she was practically begging him to take her.
Then, he shifted over her and she wrapped her legs around his hips, holding on as he took her, branded her, made her forget any other that came before him.
When her world narrowed to just him, she felt that, for the first time in her life, she knew what making love was. Not just sex, but actually pleasing one another. Being pleased. How had she gone all these years without knowing?
Would it always be like this with him?
She felt herself building up and held onto him as he whispered soft words between kisses.
“Joe,” she cried out, feeling her body tense and explode around his, just as he stilled and covered her mouth with a groan.
She’d never imagined anything like it before. Never knew that she could want so much.
He shifted slightly, still holding his arms around her as he lay beside her, burying his face in her hair.
“Tell me you can stay in this bed all night?” he mumbled.
She thought for a moment. “If Charlotte has a nightmare, she sometimes ends up in my bedroom. If I’m not there…”
He shifted and kissed her. “I get it.” He smiled down at her. “Next time, we’ll need to use your bedroom instead of this one.”
She chuckled. “Next time?”
He trailed his mouth over her collarbone.
“Mmmm.” His hands started moving over her again.
“Okay, so, next next time.” He chuckled as she felt herself building up again.
“Tomorrow night,” he said as he slid into her again, “we will spend the whole night together.” He kissed her and she felt the whole world stop as he took her over the edge again.
Tiptoeing up the stairs and trying not to make any of the old floor boards creak as she snuck back into her bedroom reminded her of when she’d been a kid and would sneak downstairs to steal a snack from the kitchen without waking her mother.
Her body was totally sated and yet still vibrating from the feeling of his hands on her skin.
She couldn’t stop smiling as she fell into her bed and slowly drifted off, dreaming of him.
The smell of coffee hit her before she even opened her eyes.
For a few blissful seconds, she didn’t move.
The sheets were warm and the morning was quiet except for the faint sound of the waves outside her window.
Her body still tingled from memories of Joe’s hands, his voice, the way he’d whispered her name when he came.
Then reality sank in. She’d actually done it. She’d gone downstairs. To his room. Had sex with someone other than Ted.
A blush crept up her cheeks as she rolled over, groaning softly. “Oh God,” she muttered into her pillow, half mortified, half giddy.
By the time she got dressed and went downstairs, Joe was sitting at the television with Charlotte, watching cartoons. They both had hot mugs on the coffee table.
Charlotte’s hot chocolate, piled high with whipped cream and sprinkles, was half empty. Joe’s coffee was gone.
“Morning,” Joe said, glancing over from the cartoons. He looked freshly showered, clean-shaven, and unfairly handsome in a dark Henley and jeans. His eyes ran over her slowly, and the smile he gave her turned her knees to jelly.
“Morning,” she echoed, hoping she didn’t sound as flustered as she felt.
Charlotte grinned. “Joe made me hot chocolate with sprinkles.”
She met Joe’s eyes over her daughter’s head. “Of course he did,” she said softly.
He smiled back, that quiet, knowing smile that sent her heart into a tailspin.
“We were thinking of heading in and grabbing breakfast. Since it’s a perfectly snowy morning, we figured we needed cinnamon rolls and donuts.”
“That sounds…” She laughed when her daughter gave her a pouty face.
“Perfect. We can take Juliette’s SUV. My tires are too bald to drive in this snow, and I’d feel safer in a bigger car.
” She glanced out the window. “Charlotte, you’d better head upstairs and change.
” Her daughter was still in her pajamas.
“Put on your snow pants and a sweater. And a thick pair of socks.” Charlotte jumped up and raced toward the stairs.
Joe stood up, turned off the television, and wrapped his arms around her.
“Good morning,” he said after a slow deep kiss.
“Hmm,” she purred back.
His hands felt so good on her hips that she didn’t want to move.
“Mom! I can’t find them.”
She rolled her eyes. “Hold that thought.” She sighed and rested her forehead against his chest. “I have to go get her dressed.”
He chuckled. “Want some help?”
She shook her head and sighed. “No, you warm up the car. We’ll be right out. The keys are on the hook by the back door.”
By the time they were heading into town, the snow had thickened, falling in big clumps, white sheets outside the SUV’s windows. Despite the chill, they were having a fun outing and were all in a cheerful mood.
Sara’s Nook was warm and cozy, the windows fogged up from the baked goods and the dozen or so people inside. The smell of sugar and dough wrapped around them like a hug.
They sat at a corner booth, and for a while, everything felt perfect.
There was warm coffee, sprinkle-covered Christmas donuts, laughter, and the simple rhythm of being together as they ate.
Charlotte told them a long story about the snowman she wanted to build that afternoon, and Joe gave her his full attention.
Then, out of nowhere, a screech of tires broke the calm. Everyone inside turned to the windows just in time to see two cars slide into each other outside the window. It wasn’t a high-speed crash, but there was significant damage to the cars.
“Oh no.” Charlotte gasped and looked very worried.
“I’m sure everyone’s okay,” Joe assured her, already standing to go out and check.
Outside, one driver waved, holding a phone to his ear, and the other got out of their car and inspected the bumper.
Just then, a patrol car turned the corner and flipped on its lights. They watched as Tom stepped out of the car to check on the drivers.
The snow was starting to stick to the roads faster now, coating everything in a blur of white.
“What do you say we take the rest of our donuts to go,” she suggested, suddenly uneasy about the trip home. “Before it gets worse.”
Joe nodded, flagging down their waitress.
“Mama, we aren’t going to crash are we?”
“No, baby.” She smiled. “That’s why we took Auntie Juliette’s SUV. It’s got four-wheel drive.”
Her daughter looked at her.
“That means all four wheels will work very hard to get us back home safely.” Joe gently wiped a sprinkle from Charlotte’s cheek. “I’ll go get us a box to take our bacon sandwiches and these donuts home and get us coffee and chocolate milk to go.”
By the time they were bundled back into the car, the roads were even slicker and visibility had dropped. The drive back to the lighthouse was slow, cautious, and quiet as Joe drove, the kind of drive where you hold your breath through every curve.
When they finally pulled into the driveway, she exhaled in relief.
“We made it,” Joe said, glancing at her with that steady calm she was coming to rely on. “I told you I’d get you here safe, didn’t I?” He winked at Charlotte, who giggled.
“Thanks,” Ally replied, finally relaxing.
They spent the rest of the morning inside.
After finishing breakfast, she told Charlotte it was time for her reading and writing lessons.
Joe sat at his laptop and worked on something while she helped her daughter with her daily lessons.
She wanted Charlotte to be ready for school to start back up after the new year.
When Charlotte went upstairs for her mid-morning quiet time, to her surprise, Joe stepped into the kitchen and started putting together some chicken soup.
Not the stuff from a can, but real homemade stuff.
He made the dough and rolled out thin strips for the noodles.
Then he took out the biggest pot he could find and started adding ingredients while she sat at the table and answered questions about herself that he asked.
She threw a few questions back at him and was surprised when he answered every single one. Truthfully.
She watched the snow build higher outside the windows and guessed they had more than a foot at this point.
When Charlotte woke, they had lunch, soup and fresh bread, then sat at the table and made paper snowflakes.
Joe helped Charlotte tape them up all throughout the house when they were done.
She enjoyed the sound of his deep laughter filling the rooms as much as hearing Charlotte’s giggles.
It felt like peace. Real peace.
Until her phone chimed that someone had driven into the driveway. That was shortly followed by a knock on the door.
Ally froze as she was brushing her daughter’s hair. Joe set his mug on the coffee table and walked to the window, then he opened the door to a uniformed officer who stood outside.
“Ally Wilson?” the officer asked.
She moved to stand next to Joe.
He glanced down at his clipboard.
Her stomach dropped. “Yes?”
“I’m here to serve you and a Mr. Joseph Dalton,” the man said, pulling two thick envelopes from his folder.
Joe stepped forward. “What kind of documents?”
The man’s eyebrows rose. “I’m just here to serve you both.” He held out the paperwork. “Sign here.”
They both signed and shut the door when the man started walking back toward his truck.
When the door closed, Ally just stood there with her heart hammering in her chest. Her hands shook as she opened the envelope. She knew Ted would somehow shatter their peace.
“It’s a civil suit,” Joe said, running his eyes over the documents.
“Defamation… slander…” The words blurred as she read them for herself.
“He’s, he’s suing us both.” He sighed. “Me for breach of contract and for interfering with family visitation.” He muttered a curse under his breath, then chuckled.
“Unbelievable.” He looked up at her. “The contract I had him sign when he hired me gave me the right to quit at any time,” he assured her.
Ally sank onto the sofa. The edges of the room seemed to close in. It wasn’t the first time she’d been served, nor she doubted would it be the last. “How can he still do this? After everything,”
Joe crouched in front of her. “He’s desperate. He’s trying to scare you,” he said in a calm low tone.
“Well, it’s working,” she whispered, clutching the papers to her chest. “I thought we were finally safe. He… he keeps suing me, and I’m never going to be able to pay my brother back.”
Joe rested a hand on her knee. “You are safe. Charlotte’s safe.
He’s grasping at straws now.” He gestured toward the papers sitting on the coffee table.
“This isn’t going to change that.” He smiled.
“I have a lawyer on retainer who will file a motion to dismiss this nonsense. He’s really good and, most importantly, the man is not afraid of Ted. ”
Outside, the wind howled and snow swirled against the windows, trapping them inside. Suddenly, the place didn’t feel cozy any longer. It felt like a jail. She shivered and stared out at the storm, feeling just as trapped as when she’d still been married to Ted.
“Hey, how about I start a fire?” he suggested, standing up. “Then we can turn on a Christmas movie and make some popcorn.”
“Yes!” Charlotte bounced on the sofa. “Elf!” she started chanting, and Ally managed a smile.