Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
I often get mistaken for an adult because of my age.
—Nettie’s secret thoughts
Nettie
“I’m going to get started on the dishes.” Eddy headed into the kitchen, careful to stay as quiet as possible as she moved.
Margery was asleep on one side of me, and baby Margery was asleep on the ottoman on the other side of me.
It was cute.
It was even cuter that they were both on the same nap schedule.
Margery had practically moved in with us when we got home from the hospital, and I would forever and ever cherish the days that we got with her.
It was like she’d gotten a second wind upon her namesake’s arrival.
“Nettie,” Boone said quietly, drawing my attention from our daughter’s face to my husband’s.
“What?” I asked, worried about the blankness of his face.
“I…” He hesitated. “Come outside.”
I frowned but got up, leaving our daughter to sleep on the ottoman with blankets wrapped around her so she couldn’t roll.
When we got outside, he tugged me to him and hugged me tight. “It’s over.”
The suddenness of the movement called a small twinge in my nether regions, but I didn’t complain.
Not when the look on Boone’s face was scaring me.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s over,” he answered.
“What is?” I asked.
“She was found dead in that same snowplow that she smashed into us with.”
We both knew who he was talking about without naming her name.
She’d been a bad stink that never seemed to go away.
It was like we were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I blinked. “What?”
“Some fly fishermen found her this week in the river. One of their flies got stuck on something in the middle of the river. When they were right on top of it, they noticed that whatever the fly was hooked on was shiny and red. They called the authorities, and they sent some divers down. It was the snowplow that hit us. It looks like my mother tried to sink it into the river. But she didn’t think that far ahead and wasn’t able to get out of the truck in time before the cab filled up with water and she drowned.
She was confirmed dead a couple of minutes ago. ”
“Whoa.” I was so shocked I couldn’t come up with words.
A cry came from the house behind us, and Boone left me like a hot potato and hurried toward his one true love.
He picked her up and curled her close to his chest, cooing soft, soothing words to her as he did.
“Shhh, baby girl. Shhh,” he rumbled, which always calmed her down instantly. “I’ve got you, Margery Mae.”
The middle name that I fought so hard for slipped so easily out of his mouth now.
“What now?” I finally asked. “Do we finally get to go through her things and find out maybe why?”
“That’s the thing,” he said. “The apartment that she was staying at was rented to another tenant. The apartment put her stuff up for auction a couple of weeks after no contact and no payment. Since we weren’t listed as her emergency contact or contact people at all, they auctioned all her stuff off. There’s nothing left.”
“Well, shit.” I threw up my hands. “Nothing?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Dad’s been on the phone all day. I knew that there was a possibility that it was her, but since I was in surgery, I never got a chance to call you.”
“Great,” I sighed. “Now we’re never going to know anything. What about all that money?”
“It’s Dad’s, since they weren’t officially divorced,” he said. “Dad has access to all the money she’s hidden over the years that was in the States. But he’s going to have to work to get access to the stuff that’s in offshore accounts.”
“Damn,” I said. “What now?”
His eyes were excited when he said, “Now we get to live without fear of her showing up and ruining our lives.”
That was all that I’d ever wanted.
I pushed myself back into his arms and wrapped him up tight.
“I’m sorry, Boone.”
It was his mother after all.
“I’m not,” he admitted. “I feel like I’m free, Nettie. Finally free. Like my life is finally like it always should’ve been.”
I hummed and pressed a kiss to his chest.
For three months since Margie’s birth, we’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Boone was always hesitant to let me leave alone with Margie because we were worried that Gail would show up out of nowhere and harm us.
But now that threat was gone.
We were truly and finally free.
Speaking of free…
“I have a babysitter.”
He froze. “Okay?”
“I want to try.”
He hesitated.
“I think I’m ready.”
We’d tried sex one other time, and it hadn’t gone well. I’d had to make him stop halfway into putting his cock inside of me.
It was embarrassing for me, uncomfortable for him, and slightly disheartening.
But today felt like my day.
Plus, with my sister here to watch my girl if she needed someone, it was the perfect time.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
I smiled. “Take me to bed.”
He didn’t ask me twice.
He took me to our bedroom and laid me down gently on the bed.
Neither one of us wasted time. We shed our clothes, and he was diving down between my thighs in the next breath.
He worked me up to a fever pitch, not stopping until I was a writhing mess on the bed.
When I was so desperate I’d do anything, he reversed our positions and put me on top.
From there, I slowly lowered myself onto him until he was sheathed all the way.
I felt full. So full.
But this time, there was no pain.
No lingering achiness.
It was all pleasure.
Which Boone must’ve read on my face.
“Oh, baby,” he said as he cupped my breasts.
He didn’t squeeze them, though. Nor did he play with my nipples.
We’d learned that lesson the hard way.
I was a very sensitive breast feeder.
All it took was a touch of my nipple, and I was letting down.
He just held them, offering support as I rode him into oblivion.
“Oh, yes,” he growled as I gained speed.
His eyes squeezed shut, and I saw his mouth moving.
Counting.
Trying to distract himself.
I threw my head back and laughed.
Then I climaxed.
He growled and followed right behind me, filling me up full.
When I opened my eyes again, it was to chaos.
“Um.” I hesitated at what I saw.
The entire bed was wet.
The walls were wet.
Boone was wet.
He had milk dripping from his face. His eyelashes. His hair.
“Oh my god,” I breathed.
He opened his mouth and licked his lips.
My breasts continued to spray the liquid gold everywhere.
“What do I do?” I asked.
He shook his head and blinked as milk sprayed him in the eye.
I reached for the pillow behind his head, watched his head flop back onto the mattress in surprise, and covered them.
We both stared into the aftermath.
Then we started laughing.
“We’ll plan better next time,” he promised.
I was so, so embarrassed.
That’d happened a time or two with Boone, but I think this particular embarrassment episode took the win.
My smile was huge as my cheeks flushed. “Sure, right. Like we’ve ever been able to plan anything when it comes to sex.”
His eyes sparkled. “There’s a first for everything.”