Chapter Sixteen – Vivianne
Vivianne
Six Months Later – River Falls Ranch
Ladd pulled off the road and parked. We exchanged a look and smiled. “Ready?”
I nodded. “I’m so ready!”
“Wait there.”
He jumped out of the ranch truck and jogged around to my side to help me out. We walked to the head of the trail, and I shielded my eyes as I looked up. Everything was so green, and a light wind blew, making it sound as if nature was playing us our very own song.
We’d been back to this spot numerous times, but today was different. Today we were finishing our carving so that it would be there when we got married tomorrow.
Ladd took my hand in his, and we made our way up. The walk was a lot easier without snow, and we were up at the top within a couple of minutes.
Once there, I drew in a sharp breath. A blanket was laid out with a picnic basket. Turning to Ladd, I asked, “What’s this?”
“I asked Lily to help me out with a surprise picnic lunch.”
Lily and I had become the best of friends, and we talked nearly every day.
When I had asked Mollie if she could be my maid of honor, she had said yes, but then ended up being unable to attend the wedding.
So I had asked Lily after making sure Mollie was okay with it.
Of course she had been, since she wasn’t able to attend the wedding.
My other two roommates I hadn’t been close enough with to ask, but they had been invited to the wedding, but both had declined since they were heading back home.
Lily had been over the moon when I asked her.
She knew I had asked Mollie first and there had been no hard feelings at all.
Ladd and I decided to have only one attendant each at our wedding.
He’d made his brothers draw straws. David had pulled the longest straw, so he was Ladd’s best man.
“That was so sweet of her to do that,” I said as I drew closer. She’d put out a few pillows as well, and there were rose petals sprinkled all over the blanket and around it. “It smells so good! The food and the roses.”
Ladd chuckled. “Before we get to lunch, we have something to do.” He took out his knife and started carving our wedding date.
June 6, 1992
Once Ladd finished, we sat on the blanket and he got busy taking out the food. Lily had packed small finger sandwiches, fruit, a bottle of wine, and my favorite dessert, carrot cake.
“I feel a bit guilty sitting up here eating a picnic lunch when there’s so much to do,” I said several minutes later, enjoying my second little sandwich.
Ladd winked. “You told me everything was all ready to go.”
“It is…”
“But?” he asked.
“Everyone’s down at the house getting ready to come up here, so they can get everything set up.”
“And you and I will be helping them, so don’t feel guilty.”
The only thing that was already in place was the beautiful arbor that Mike and Jason had built as their wedding present to us.
It was stunning, and Gus had decided it needed to be kept up here permanently.
It was made of oak, and yesterday, Lilith, Nellie, and I had spent a few hours putting greenery and flowers all over it.
Lilith had even made little plastic sleeves with water for the flowers, so they wouldn’t die before the wedding.
It was such a great little invention they’d made that Gus was trying to urge her to mass-produce them and sell them for weddings.
After much internal debate, I’d decided to have our wedding announcement put in the River Falls Gazette.
It wasn’t like anyone from River Falls would care if they knew about my connection to my father.
And I hardly thought anyone from his team would see the announcement.
It was more for the Wilde family, keeping with tradition and all.
“What are you thinking about?” Ladd asked after I set my empty dessert plate aside. He removed his white cowboy hat, which he’d been using to shade his face from the sun, then lay back on one of the pillows.
“My parents.”
He got back up on one elbow. “Do you wish they were here?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “No. Not at all. But, I will admit, a small part of me wishes that I had parents who loved me like your parents love you and the boys.”
He took my hand in his. “Someday, when we have kids of our own, I swear to you that I’ll love them with my whole heart.”
“I know you will.” Leaning in, I brushed a kiss across his lips. “We should pack up and head back to the house.”
Ladd groaned and dropped back onto the blanket, pulling me with him.
“We should make love.”
“Here?” I laughed.
“Why not?”
“What if someone shows up?”
It was his turn to laugh. “Like who? Everyone is at the house, and they think we’re on a romantic pre-wedding picnic. They wouldn’t dare interrupt us.”
I glanced around and back to Ladd. “We’ll have to be quick.”
He grinned, and I was once again reminded why I loved this man so much. That boyish smile, his adventure for life, and his love for me.
“I can be fast. Can you?”
I sat up and folded my arms over my chest, eyes narrowed. “Is that a challenge?”
He waggled his brows. “There a reason you’re wearing that pretty blue dress? You know that dress brings back the best memory.”
I felt my cheeks heat. The memory of straddling Ladd in his car back in November after a long day of classes and making love to him while we were both still dressed flooded my mind.
“Are you asking for a repeat?” I purred, lifting the hem of my dress and straddling him.
“Fuck yes, I am.”
I reached down and unbuckled his belt. He suddenly lifted his hips with me still sitting on him, causing me to shriek, then laugh.
With he pushed his pants down to his thighs, I lifted my brows. “Commando, huh?”
“Maybe I hoped this would be an option after lunch?” He smirked and reached up and pulled my panties to the side before slipping his fingers inside of me. We both moaned.
“You’re so wet, Viv.”
I nodded and moved over him as he guided himself to my entrance. I slowly sank down, my hands pressed against his chest.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” he said softly as he gripped my hips. “Fuck me, Viv. Make yourself come.”
Moving slowly at first, I relished the feel of him.
We’d both been staying at his parents’ house for the last week because Ladd wanted us to be closer together, not me at the house and him on the other side of the ranch.
Neither of us attempted to sneak into each other’s rooms, even though I knew we both wanted to. I’d missed the feel of him inside me.
“Viv, you’ve got to move a little faster or I’m going to lose control.”
Rocking faster, I rubbed myself against him as I felt my orgasm begin to build.
“Yes,” I panted as I leaned down so my clit brushed against his body. “Ladd, oh God. I’m going to come!”
He grabbed hold of my hips and began pounding into me from below, fast and hard. The idea that we were making love…no…that we were fucking out in the open and could be caught was more of a turn-on than I would have expected.
“Yes! God, I need more!”
He pulled me off of him and moved so fast, I didn’t have time to process what he was doing. Then Ladd was behind me, pulling me toward him, pushing my panties out of his way before he thrust back inside.
“Yes! Harder…oh God, that feels so good!” I cried out as I clutched the blanket and forced myself not to scream out in pleasure.
“Viv, I’m so close. Baby, come for me.”
I dropped my head and reached between my legs. It didn’t take much, just a few rotations of my fingers on my clit, and I was crying out his name.
“I’m going to come, Viv. Yes!” he hissed, as he slammed into me repeatedly. When he finally stopped, he bent over and kissed my back.
“Fucking hell, Viv. That was the best orgasm of my life.”
I laughed, but then moaned when he pulled out of me.
He quickly had something between my legs, cleaning me.
I wanted to fall onto the blanket, curl up, and take a nap.
Sex with Ladd was amazing. Each time I swore it got better.
There was something about this particular moment, though. It felt so perfect.
Ladd moved my panties back into place and put the napkins he’d used to clean me and himself in the small garbage bag, which had been packed in the basket.
He dropped down onto the blanket, still breathing a bit hard, as I rolled to my side. “Why did that feel so different? So good?”
Staring up at the sky, he turned his face to look at me and smiled. “Maybe because we made a baby?”
For a moment, my heart felt like it stopped beating. I’d stopped taking my birth control pills after Ladd and I talked about wanting to have a baby right away. Then I smiled. “Do you think it can happen that soon after I stop taking the pill?”
He returned my smile. “I’m not sure. I guess we’ll find out.”
I laughed. “It only takes one time.”
He reached up and cupped the back of my neck, drawing me to him. He kissed me softly, our tongues moving together in the familiar dance we shared. The kiss was deep, long, and full of emotion. When we finally broke apart, he said, “I would be over the moon if we made a baby today.”
“I would too.”
“What about your new job?” he asked.
I was set to start working at the elementary school, teaching English and history to the fifth graders. River Falls Haven didn’t have anything open yet for me to teach there, but I was still going to volunteer as much as I could. “Nothing says I can’t work and be pregnant. Or work and be a mom.”
Ladd’s sky-blue eyes lit up, and I was suddenly thinking about a little boy with brown hair and blue eyes who was the spitting image of his father, running around this very spot.
Smiling up at me, he winked. “We should get going before they send a search party.”
I giggled and stood. We had everything packed up in no time and headed back down to the truck, and to Gus and Nellie’s house. My heart felt so full of love, and I was positive nothing could wipe the smile from my face.