Chapter 25
D ominic
Kate made a quick recovery, only spending one night in the hospital for observation. I hated seeing the finger-shaped bruises on her neck, and each time I caught myself staring at them and seething with anger, Kate would gently touch my face and bring my gaze to hers. I’ll never forget how much love I saw shining in her eyes.
Not surprisingly, Savannah was immediately arrested. When she was taken in for questioning after her theatrics in my office, she was only informally spoken to. This time, due to an obvious crime, she was fully arrested and booked. That allowed our officers to find out she had warrants out in multiple counties, as she and Tony had conspired to commit a host of crimes throughout Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. They were both extradited to Montana, where they’re awaiting trial for two counts of attempted murder.
I was initially angry that she wouldn’t be here, because I wanted to watch her get the book thrown at her. Kate, however, said she was relieved.
“How can you be relieved? Don’t you want to see her get her comeuppance for her actions?” I asked.
Kate shook her head. “No. I want her out of our lives, and I don’t want to subject the kids to that kind of trauma. It would undoubtedly be fodder for that stupid gossip website, and if any news channels in Denver caught wind of it, they might come here to harass us. I don’t want our kids to deal with that. ”
I love when she calls them ours .
Interestingly, the stupid gossip website, The Eagle Has Landed , only issued a brief snippet about the renewal ceremony and subsequent drama.
Dominic and Kate Santo held a small vow renewal ceremony at Everlasting Hotel and Spa last week. What began as a beautiful event turned dangerous when Dom’s ex-wife crashed it with an unknown accomplice. When the unknown assailant threatened Dom and Kate with a large rifle, Dom’s eldest brother, retired National Guard First Sergeant Alex Santo, the newest member of the Eternity Springs Police Department, used his training in taekwondo to detain the man, providing a tornado kick to dislodge the rifle. We’re told Dominic and Kate enjoyed a quiet weekend honeymoon at a mountain cabin, and are now back home with the littlest Santos’.
Absolutely no mention of Savannah trying to kill Kate, Savannah getting arrested, or the long list of warrants out for her arrest. Who the hell is writing this shit? It’s been a couple decades since Alex earned his black belt, and he certainly doesn’t still practice taekwondo actively. To know the spinning kick is called a tornado kick means the writer has knowledge of taekwondo or karate, but I still can’t figure out who it is.
Explaining to my children why their biological mother wouldn’t be showing up randomly anymore involved very different reactions from all three of them. Aspen shrugged, sat in Kate’s lap, and asked if Kate would braid her hair. Carter let out a relieved sigh, then confided he never felt like he could be himself around Savannah, because she would comment about his preferred toys, his disinterest in sports, and sensory issues that really impact his day-to-day life. She refused to cut tags out of clothing, allow him to wear preferred fabrics, or turn down volume when he was overstimulated. Suffice it to say, Savannah refused to acknowledge Carter’s specific needs.
Sienna, however, was crushed when we explained Savannah’s extradition to Montana. While Carter seemed to only associate his mother with negative memories, Sienna was the opposite. She’d somehow blocked out all the bad memories. She cried that she felt Savannah was abandoning her, and worried she would miss out on milestones a daughter should share with her mother. As I was about to tell Sienna to focus on other things, Kate subtly shook her head.
“Sienna, it’s okay to be sad,” Kate said. “You’re allowed to grieve the things you thought you’d experience with your mom.”
“I don’t know why I’m sad though. She makes me so angry. She was ready to get rid of me, but I still want to have her in my life. It doesn’t make sense. She might come back, right?” Sienna asked tearfully. My poor girl. I hate that I can’t solve this for her. I hate watching her grieve.
I sighed audibly. “I don’t know, sweetheart. Your mom made some really bad choices, and she might have to go away for a while.”
“To prison? Like your dad?” Sienna asked Kate.
“Exactly like that,” Kate replied.
“Why didn’t she think? I hate how selfish she is,” Sienna muttered.
“You’re absolutely right, sweetheart. Your mom is selfish. And you’re entitled to feel all these emotions. Anger, sadness, disappointment.” Kate slowly stroked Sienna’s hair as she patiently let Sienna unload her thoughts, and I realized I’d picked the perfect mother for my children.
Kate didn’t take offense to Sienna being upset about Savannah. Rather, she encouraged Sienna to vocalize her emotions. She also gave Sienna a journal, telling her that sometimes writing out her thoughts can help her get past them. I often found Kate and Sienna, and eventually Aspen, in the backyard, writing in their journals.
A few months after our renewal ceremony, I felt quite restless, and ended up on our back porch, wrapped in a blanket, listening to the leaves rustling in a light breeze. There’s a bite to the air as summer changes to autumn, and I swear I can smell the promise of snow in the near future .
“What are you doing out here?” Kate murmurs through the screen door.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
Kate quietly opens the door and tiptoes over to me. Holding her own blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders, she joins me on the porch swing. I wrap my arm around her as she nuzzles against me.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” she asks quietly.
“I’m not entirely sure. I feel … restless, and like something is missing,” I finally confess.
“In work, home, or life in general?” Kate asks.
“I think in home life. I don’t know.”
“I feel like you know what you want to say, but you’re afraid to say it,” Kate whispers. It’s almost scary how well my wife knows me.
“You’re right,” I admit.
“Rip the band-aid off, husband,” she says. Her voice is even, but her body is tense against mine.
I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and blurt out, “Do you want to have more kids? Your own kids, I mean. Are you upset that I had a vasectomy? We never talked about it after I blurted it out in front of Savannah. I can get it reversed, you know. If you wanted to get pregnant, we could try.”
Kate is quiet for a moment before speaking. “I’ve honestly tried to avoid thinking about having children. I knew it would be miraculous for me to get pregnant with only one ovary, endometriosis, and PCOS. I think I made peace with that years ago, Dominic. And once things began happening with you, I was so focused on the kids that I didn’t think about pregnancy. I love that I get to be their bonus mom, and I’m content with that. But I’ll admit, the thought of us creating a life together is exciting, and I guess I never let myself wish for it because I figured it wouldn’t happen.”
Resting my cheek on the top of her head, I let her words marinate. “I think I feel restless because I want to see a little Kate running around our yard after her older sisters. ”
“What if it’s a little Dominic?” she questions softly.
I smile against her hair. “As long as he has your eyes and smile, and definitely your sparkle and laugh, I’ll be happy.”
“Maybe he’ll be a little grumpy, but have a heart of gold like his daddy,” Kate says with a light giggle.
“Whatever we make will be perfect, because we made him, or her, together,” I murmur.
“Can we just take it day-by-day right now? I kinda like the idea of being just the five of us for a little while,” Kate whispers.
“I’m absolutely okay with that. And I’m not pressuring you to have a child. I wanted you to know that I’m okay with having another if you are. But if you don’t want more kids, I’m okay with that too.”
“I’m willing to keep it on the table. And I’ll bring it up to my OBGYN at my next appointment and see if it’s even a viable option.”
I sit up, turning to Kate so I can see her face. “I’d like to get my vasectomy reversed. It’s not because I want to knock you up right away, although I don’t think I’d be sad if I did —” Kate laughs and rolls her eyes, “— but I figure it’ll take a few months to get an appointment, get the procedure done, and I don’t know how long recovery is. And if it never happens for us, I’m fine with that. But in order for it to happen, I’d need to have all the working parts anyway.”
Kate throws her head back in raucous laughter. “Working parts! Thankfully, I’m pleased with all of your parts.”
“Glad to hear it, Mrs. Santo,” I tell her, pulling her into my lap. Her legs automatically split so she’s straddling me, her blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “You cold? We can go inside.”
“I’m okay. I wanna make out a little,” she says bashfully. Chuckling, I grab the back of her neck and bring her face to mine. I love how I still feel butterflies in my stomach every time I kiss Kate, and I hope this feeling never goes away.
Our tongues touch, and the taste that is so inherently Kate explodes in my mouth. Mint, sensuality, and promise. She sighs in my mouth as she scratches her fingernails along my scalp, sending shivers down my spine. I harden incredibly quickly, and I’m acutely aware of the heat from Kate’s pussy pulsating against me. Pushing one hand between our bodies, I snicker when I find my wife is wearing a nightgown with no panties.
“Did you come out here with a plan, wife?” I say huskily as I pepper kisses down her neck and onto her shoulder.
“I didn’t, but I’m not mad at how this worked out,” she says breathlessly as I suck on her pulse point. The tank style of her nightgown allows me to gain access to her breasts. Pulling a nipple deep into my mouth, Kate lets out a soft moan. Her hips subconsciously shimmy, and my fingers move deeper into her slick channel.
“You wanna take this inside, or —”
Kate cuts me off. “Right here, right now.”
“I’m beginning to think you have an exhibitionist kink, Katharine,” I whisper as she pushes me to sit back on the swing, her hands finding the waistband of my joggers and pulling them down just enough to release my cock.
“Maybe a little, but I think I just have a Dominic kink,” she pants as she positions me at her core and drops onto me. We both moan as I feel her walls clamp down on me. Kate moves slowly, her head thrown back in bliss, and I stare at her in awe of her beauty. Clouds partially cover the moon, and what minimal light there is shines down, appearing to add an aura around her. When she lifts her head again, she rests her forehead against mine, and her hair covers us in a curtain, like we’re the only two people in the world. And right now, she’s the only person that exists for me, so it’s fitting.
“Dominic, I’m close,” she stammers, breathing heavily against me. Her walls flutter around me, and I know the second she comes, she’ll pull me right down with her.
“Make me come, Katharine. Milk me,” I demand, and her eyes roll back as she lets out the most guttural moan I’ve ever heard. I can’t, or won’t, silence her, because it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. Unsurprisingly, her orgasm triggers mine, and I follow her over the cliff.
I know I have an exhibitionist kink, and adding in my newfound Kate Reynolds Santo kink, I realize it’s one lethal combination.