Chapter 16
Eve took a seat at the island, plopping onto the barstool. Kaley joined her and I was suddenly panicking that the stools didn’t have a back. Was five old enough not to fall out of tall chairs?
“Can we eat now?”
Kaley asked and thank God, I loved her bluntness. There was no beating around the bush with her, whereas Eve watched me with wariness.
“Yeah, absolutely.”
I handed them paper plates and watched in shock as they dove into the boxes.
Mom laughed as she wrapped an arm around my waist. “I remember when you were like this. Something about coming home from school left you starving.”
She scoffed and shook her head. “And when puberty hit, forget having anything in the pantry.”
Eve took a big bite of a breadstick and nodded. “I am hungry all the time lately.”
Kaley shrugged and bit off a huge chunk of pizza. Suddenly, I was running through my CPR training. Should I have cut her pizza for her?
She swallowed and continued her desolation of the slice in her hand. Okay, crisis averted. I let out a breath of relief. Ok, so five was mostly independent, noted.
“What movie are we going to watch Mr. Garrett?”
Kaley asked, reaching for another slice of cheese pizza.
“Well, my mom’s favorite movie is Christmas with the Kranks. Will that work?”
I gauged both girls’ faces waiting for any indication that it would not be the preferred. I knew that Thanksgiving was technically tomorrow, but decorating tonight just felt right. I needed it and if I was guessing right, everyone else needed it too.
Kaley thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know that movie.”
Eve rolled her eyes. “We used to watch it every year with Dad on cookie night.”
Kaley’s eyes went wide as she talked around a mouthful of bread. “Oh, yeah. Do you think we will have cookie night here?”
“What is cookie night?”
Mom chimed in, saving me from the crushing weight of reminding them of their dad. Was that wrong? I didn’t know it was their tradition.
“We would make gingerbread and sugar cookies to take to school each year,”
Eve explained. “Dad was the baker. He’d kick mom out of the kitchen for burning cookies.”
She chuckled as she fidgeted with the slice in her hand. “I doubt we will have cookie night this year, we didn’t last year.”
“Yeah, but Daddy had just died. Maybe this will be different.”
Kaley argued as my body went up in flame. What was I supposed to say? Should I offer to make cookies? I can’t make cookies. I’d burn them worse than Lucy.
“What a lovely tradition,”
Mom said as she plated her food. “I am sure you will find wonderful traditions to carry on and build here in Whispering Springs.”
Eve smiled politely and ate her food. Kaley hopped off the barstool, literally. She jumped from her seat, landing in a squatted frog pose and I was ninety percent sure this was what a heart attack felt like.
“Where are the decorations?”
She asked as she stood up from the floor.
“I have to get them from the basement.”
I watched her warily, preparing for my next heart attack.
“Can I help you get them?”
Her big brown eyes went wide as saucers, and I was certain I would never be able to tell her no.
“Sure.”
I snagged a breadstick and led her to the basement door.
“Eve and I will finish eating, then we’ll help.”
Mom smiled at Eve, getting a contented nod as she finished her slice.
“Come on. Mr. Garrett!”
Kaley pulled my hand.
“Alright, Half-pint. Let’s go.”
I opened the door, flipping the light on and we made our way downstairs.
“Are there spiders down here?”
She held on tightly to my hand. Hers was so small in mine.
“I mean probably, but they are more scared of you than you are of them.”
She peered around the ceiling, clinging to my arm as we walked to the back of the small cellar space.
“I see cobwebs,”
she whispered as if speaking louder would summon the spiders out of hiding.
I laughed and guided her to the tubs with ornaments, lights, and other decorations. Picking up a small box, I asked, “Do you think you can carry this up?”
She eyed it suspiciously, but nodded, taking the box from my hands and practically sprinting back up the stairs.
Smiling, I grabbed the weathered cardboard tree box, hefting it onto my shoulders and carried it upstairs.
As I stepped through the doorway, Lucy returned and made her way to the kitchen with Liam on her hip. She was grinning ear to ear while speaking with Eve and Mom. It was as if everything in the universe seemed to come together and scream, “This is it. This is what your future could look like.”
And dammit if I wasn’t completely head over heels for this family in my dining room.
Lucy turned her attention to me and her smile only broadened. “Hey, Sheriff.”
I smirked, giving her a heated once over. “Daze. You ready to decorate?”
“I am!”
Kaley called from the living room.
Eve smiled. “I am.”
“Let me scarf down some pizza and I’ll be right in.”
Lucy set Liam down on the floor and the overwhelming realization that this was a farmhouse with farm dirt and germs rammed into me like a ton of bricks.
“Um, is he safe on the floor? I mean it’s not filthy, but I’ve worn my boots everywhere in here.”
I set the tree down in the living room and made to pick up the barely walking baby.
Lucy placed a gentle hand on my chest. “He’s okay.”
Her voice was low and soothing. “I don’t see any clumps of dirt or manure. In fact, I see your robot vacuum on patrol. Liam will be just fine.”
“Yeah, he ate a clump of dirt outside the other day with Uncle Josh,”
Kaley added as she peeked into the box she brought up.
Lucy’s shoulders dropped as she frowned at that declaration. “Well, that’s less than ideal, but yeah he will be ok.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright, you eat, and we will get everything started. Eve, would you help me put the tree together?”
Her smile was slight, but some part of me felt like I earned some brownie points in asking.
“Sure.”
Eve joined me at the box, and we began sorting branches by the color tape on the metal connectors.
We worked together silently, only speaking when necessary and honestly, I think Eve preferred it that way. She didn’t seem like one to enjoy small talk, and truthfully, neither was I.
“Here you go,”
she said as she handed me the top of the tree.
“Thanks.”
I placed it in the slot, and we stood back to marvel at our work. “Good job.”
I offered my hand for a high five.
She beamed and smacked it. “It does look good. Do you have lights?”
I nodded. “I still need to get the other boxes; do you want to turn on some Christmas music on the TV?”
“Ok,”
she nodded eagerly and began searching for the remote as I headed back downstairs.
Lucy grabbed my hand as I walked past her. Electricity seemed to shoot through me, the way my heart reacted every time she touched me. Her warm eyes caught mine. “Need help?”
I squeezed her hand and grinned. “If you want.”
She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t.”
“Then, follow me.”
“Eve, watch your brother. I’m going to help Garrett get the rest of the boxes,”
she called over her shoulder as we headed downstairs.
Closing the door behind us, I gave into every primal thought coursing through my mind and pushed Lucy against the wall, pressing my lips hungrily against hers. She responded instantly, gasping into my mouth and gripping either side of my face in her cold hands. She met me with just as much desire, her leg lifting to wrap around my waist. I should have been the gentleman, but God knows where that version of Garrett went. All that was left was a sex-craved man whose hand was now trailing her long leg, sliding up and up, grabbing a handful of the best ass I had ever seen or felt. Fuck, it was like she was made for me.
She tipped her head back against the wall, moaning as my grasp tightened and my lips trailed down her neck.
“Garrett,”
she begged and if she said my name like that again, our first time would be on the basement stairs with our family just on the other side of the door.
Cupping her face in my hands, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Daze.”
She grinned, still breathless. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
She glanced down the stairs, clearing her throat. “So, are we going to get the decorations or are you going to fuck me?”
“Lucy Marie!”
I scolded as I swatted her ass.
She giggled and skipped down the stairs, leaving me completely stunned. “Come on, Sheriff. We’ve got decorating to do.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Yet I stood there, watching her hips sway as she took the last step.
“We only have a few more minutes before someone comes looking. Hurry up, Garrett.”
Her eyes glinted with humor as she waited for me to come to my senses.
Blood must have finally returned to my brain because a chuckle left my chest, and I was able to point her in the direction of the decorations without jumping her bones in my basement.
She did a squat, to lift properly of course, but my mind short-circuited and, well, I pushed the box out of her hand, pulling her into my arms.
“Garrett,”
she gasped as she smiled up at me.
“Lucy,”
I teased, hands slipping to cup the swell of her hips.
Her eyes closed as she leaned into me. “We should grab the boxes and head upstairs.”
“Just one more taste.”
I didn’t give her time to argue. I lowered my head and kissed her slowly this time, reveling in the soft sigh she released, and the slow perusal of my lips with her tongue. She was perfection and my body made it clear it approved. Lucy pressed her hips against my erection and lord help me, I groaned and gripped her hips enjoying the feel of her body against mine.
A knock sounded on the door.
“You two get lost down there?”
Mom called down.
Lucy blushed as she giggled.
I hugged her to my chest as if to protect her from our family pulling us out of this moment. I wasn’t ready for it to be over. “We’ll be right up.”
Lucy was still smiling as she grabbed the box she had been holding and made her way upstairs. Hell, I was still grinning as we emerged from the basement.
Kaley ran over to us, cupping her hands around her mouth as she whispered, “Was it the spiders? Did they find you?”
I grinned down at her. “Yeah, it was the spiders, but don’t worry. I saved your mom from them.”
“Good.”
She breathed a sigh of relief while Lucy rolled her eyes.
Mom joined us and gave me a knowing look as she shook her head with a smirk.
Eve and I made quick work of wrapping the lights around the tree. Lucy and Kaley worked on sorting through the ornaments, while Liam played with one of his blocks that lit up and sang. It was such a simple and beautiful sight, all of us in my living room working together and enjoying time with one another. It wasn’t forced, no one was nervous, it felt right. Grandpa’s house finally felt like home.
Mom grabbed the first ornament and hung it right in the middle. She smiled and went to grab more. I couldn’t put into words, the emotions that filled my chest as I watched my mother decorate, still lucid after such a long day. I thanked God that we had these moments together, that Lucy and her family could share these moments with us.
I finished stringing the lights and invited everyone to begin hanging ornaments.
The girls immediately began choosing what they wanted and made quick work of adorning the tree. Lucy picked up Liam, handing him a sturdy ornament. She modeled how to put one on the tree, then told him to try.
He blew raspberries and bounced on her hip. She smiled as she shook her head. “Put it on the tree, Liam.”
He held the reindeer ornament and stared at it contemplatively before reaching out and setting it on a branch.
All the girls cheered at his success. He grinned before burying his head on Lucy’s shoulder. It was the cutest damn thing I’d ever seen.
Decorating took about ten more minutes, then we all settled in to watch the movie. I added another log to the fire as Lucy rocked Liam in my grandma’s old rocking chair. Kaley was snuggled against Eve as they watched the movie. Mom had relaxed into Grandpa’s old Lay Z Boy chair, chuckling at the scene on TV with the neighbor’s cat.
I winked at Lucy as I made my way back to the couch. She smiled and mocked a kiss with her lips. If we didn’t have an audience… I would have taken that kiss.
As the movie went on, Mom eventually dismissed herself and went to bed. Lucy and I both wrote notes for her to have around the room, should she wake up and not understand where she was.
Charlie finally came in and curled up in his bed by the fireplace. Eve and Kaley fell asleep on the couch before the movie ended.
“I’m going to bring in the horses for the night, will you stay until I’m done?”
Lucy rocked her sleeping boy and nodded.
“I’ll be quick.”
I pulled on my winter coat and boots before heading outside and cursing the bitter wind.
Thankfully, the horses were already at the door ready to come in for the night. As I put them in their stalls, I was shocked to see all their bedding had been replaced and there was still fresh food in their buckets. Lucy had truly gone above and beyond tonight.
As I came back in and shucked off my coat, I nearly fell over as Lucy threw her arms around my neck and kissed me as she’d been holding back all night.
Catching my balance, I wrapped my arms around her curves and kissed her back, matching her intensity.
“I laid Liam down in the other spare room.”
She kissed my neck, and my body immediately reacted, begging for her attention everywhere.
“Ok.”
I gripped her sides as she bit and kissed my neck.
“The girls are passed out on the couch,”
She whispered in my ear.
Dear God, was she implying what I was comprehending. “Are you? Do you?”
I had no words.
She met my eyes and spoke slowly, clearly, “Would you like to show me your room, Garrett?”
“Fuck, I would love nothing more.”
She grinned and gestured down the hallway. “After you.”
Instead of leading the way, I lifted her into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist. Her giggle of excitement shot electricity straight to my cock. Her lips quickly found my neck, kissing and nipping as I took us to my room, and locked the door.
“Think you can be quiet, Daze?”
I lifted a hand from her ass and brushed a stray curl out of her eyes.
She offered a playful grin and shrugged. “Depends on what you have to offer, Sheriff.”
“Oh, really?”
I lifted a brow giving her barely two seconds to perceive the threat before throwing her onto the bed.
She squealed as she landed, laughing immediately after.
“Tsk, tsk. That doesn’t bode well, Lucy. Do you need something to occupy that pretty mouth?”
I stalked towards the bed, gripping her ankles and pulling her towards me until her legs were on either side of my hips.
She grinned, tucking her hands behind her head. “Depends. What do you have in mind?”
Her seductive tongue crept out to lick those full lips.
I made quick work of undoing the button of her jeans and gripping the hem of her pants and underwear. “I suppose that’s up to you and what you want from tonight.”
Heat filled her gaze. “I want everything.”
“Thank God,”
I breathed and pulled her pants to her ankles in one swift motion. I stared breathlessly at the half-naked woman I’d wanted for the last twenty years now lying in my bed. My bed! “You are stunning,”
I said as I pulled her pants off, kissing from her ankle slowly to her knee, caressing her skin as I made my way up.
Breathlessly she demanded, “Loose the shirt, Garrett. Make it fair.”
I chuckled against her bare skin, eliciting a trail of goosebumps. “Who said I wanted to play fair?”
My hands roamed up her thighs, spreading them further and reveling in the gorgeous sight at the apex of her legs. “I think I’d rather have dessert first.”
“Garrett, I swear to God-”
Whatever she was about to say was cut off as I brought my lips to her aroused core, licking calculated and slow circles around her clit.
Her gasp filled the silence of the room, my erection was throbbing against the zipper of my pants. I slid a finger into her and stroked slowly as I continued making Lucy pulse beneath my tongue.
“Garrett, please,”
she breathed.
“Please what?”
I hummed against her skin.
“Get fucking naked and let me return the favor.”
She writhed beneath my touch, grasping the sheets as I stroked that little spot.
I laughed as I gripped her ass and playfully bit the tender skin of her inner thigh. “Patience, Lucy. Let me savor the woman I’ve wanted for the last twenty years of my life. It’s like tasting heaven. Don’t rush me.”
Her groan turned into a gasp as I removed my fingers to thrust my tongue inside her and circled her clit with my thumb.
She quickly moved a hand to her mouth, barely muffling her cry of ecstasy.
“You’re cutting it pretty close their, Daze. Should I stop?”
She flipped me off, eyes rolling back as I continued torturing her with the slow rhythm of my tongue and fingers.
“Loose the shirt baby girl,”
I ordered as I brought my face back between her legs.
She obediently shucked her shirt, making quick work to toss her black sports bra as well. Fuck me, her breasts were perfection, I needed them in my mouth, around my face, in my hands.
I moved to do just that, when she stopped me with an outstretched arm.
“Lose your clothes, Garrett.”
Her eyes gave no indication of leniency, and well, who was I to deny an angel any longer?