Chapter 7 #3
Riley had heard about Brain’s temporary amnesia when it came to all the foreign languages he knew, but she didn’t know that Aspen’s ex had hurt him. Porter had skipped that part in the story…probably because he didn’t want her to worry about Miles. “What happened to your ex?” she asked.
Aspen sighed. “He died the same night he tried to kill Kane. Got electrocuted.”
“And the asshole got a hero’s burial,” Gillian grumbled.
“Seriously?” Riley asked.
“Yup. It was my word against a dead man’s,” Aspen said. “A dead man who had several Army commendation medals and who’d never been reprimanded for anything in his career.”
“That truly sucks,” Riley said. “I could write a letter to someone, letting them know that he wasn’t as great as he seemed, if you thought it would help.”
All four women stared at her with wide eyes.
“I mean…if you wanted me to,” Riley stammered.
“Thank you,” Aspen told her. “But it’s okay. I can’t say that I’m happy with how it all played out, but I’m fine, and Kane is all right, and we’re happy. I’m satisfied with that.”
Riley admired the other woman. She wasn’t sure she’d be as gracious if she’d been in her shoes.
Thinking about what had happened to Aspen, how it had been her ex who’d hurt Brain, predictably got her thinking about Miles and how he hadn’t stopped texting and calling her.
It was getting harder and harder to ignore his messages.
In his latest, he was bitching that she had one of his video games.
She’d looked through all her CDs and DVDs and hadn’t found the stupid thing.
But Miles hadn’t stopped harassing her about it.
She hadn’t thought about it before…but what if he saw her with Porter? Or Logan? And decided to go after them? She shuddered. She didn’t even want to think about someone else getting hurt because of her bad choices.
But she didn’t have time to dwell on it as Aspen began speaking again. “Besides, Kane and I have better things to think about than my asshole ex…”
Everyone leaned forward when she didn’t continue right away.
“Yeah? Like what?” Kinley asked impatiently.
The smile on Aspen’s face was huge when she said, “I’m pregnant.”
There was complete silence for a beat as her words sank in. Then everyone leaped to their feet and surrounded Aspen.
“Oh my God! Congrats!” Gillian gushed.
“That’s so awesome!” Kinley told her.
“Better you than me,” Devyn said with a chuckle.
“Congratulations,” Riley said with a smile as she gave the other woman a small hug.
When everyone got settled in their chairs again, Gillian asked, “Were you trying? I mean, no offense, but you aren’t even married.”
“Yeah, we’ve discussed getting married a few times, though he hasn’t officially asked me yet.
We had a talk about kids, and we agreed that we both wanted them.
I’ve had weird periods my whole life and my gynecologist told me once that it might be more difficult to get pregnant.
We decided that I’d go off birth control and we’d take things one day at a time.
I swear to God Kane has like, super sperm or something, because I’m pretty sure I got pregnant almost immediately. ”
“That’s so cool. What does that mean about your job?” Devyn asked. “You just started that new paramedic gig with the ambulance service around here, right?”
Aspen wrinkled her nose. “I did. And I feel horrible about it. I mean, isn’t that any manager’s nightmare?
They hire someone, and then they get pregnant?
But I’m determined to work as long as possible, and as long as it’s safe for me and my baby.
I love what I do, and I’ll go back to it after the baby is born. I do feel kind of cheated though.”
“About what?” Kinley asked.
“I don’t get to have ‘hurry up and get home, I’m ovulating’ sex,” Aspen said with a grin.
Everyone laughed. When they’d gotten themselves under control, Gillian asked, “So…when’s the wedding?”
Aspen shrugged. “I don’t know. Kane said even though we weren’t doing things in the conventional way, he didn’t want to deprive me of the whole proposal thing.
I’m perfectly all right with a low-key wedding.
My parents, and his, will want to be there, but I don’t want to spend the money on the dress, huge reception and all that.
Will you guys be upset if we don’t have a reception? ”
It was obvious to Riley that Aspen was worried about it, but everyone immediately reassured her.
“No way. You have to do what’s right for you,” Devyn said.
“We get to see you every day, we can celebrate with you any way you want,” Gillian reassured her.
“I don’t think you guys need anything for the house or anything in the way of presents to start your life, so we’ll just buy you all the baby things,” Kinley added.
“I think you should do what’s right for you and Brain,” Riley added. “If you try to please everyone else, it’ll just be more stressful, which isn’t good for the baby.”
“Very true,” Aspen said with a smile. Then she turned to Kinley. “When are you and Lefty getting married?”
“As soon as we can plan a trip to San Francisco. He’s already upset that it’s taken as long as it has. He’s about ready for us to elope to Vegas, I think,” Kinley said with a smile.
“I mean, honestly, it’s not a bad idea,” Gillian said. “With their jobs, I know they all feel a bit of pressure to get married sooner rather than later. They just want us protected.”
“I know. But I think we’re going to see if we can’t get to San Francisco in the next month or so. We just want to be married. Is it bad that I just want it behind me so we can get on with our lives?” Kinley asked.
“I don’t think so. When you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want that life to start as soon as possible. As least that’s the way it was with me,” Gillian said with a smile,
“I totally agree,” Aspen said. “And now that I’m pregnant, I’m guessing my proposal will happen pretty soon, and he’ll get right on arranging some sort of quick ceremony.”
Riley was relaxed enough that she felt comfortable asking, “Because they’re in the Army?”
Four pairs of eyes swung her way, and she felt as if she’d said something wrong because of the way they were studying her.
“You don’t know what they do?” Gillian asked.
Scared she’d really fucked up now, Riley swallowed hard. “Um…they’re in the Army. I don’t know what their exact jobs are though. Doesn’t everyone have a specific…um…MOS, I think that’s what it’s called?”
“Yeah, military occupational specialty,” Aspen said. “I was a Sixty-Eight Mike, for example.” She looked at the others. “Do we tell her? I’m not sure of the etiquette here.”
Riley felt sick. Tell me what? She felt as if she was ten years old again and sitting on the sidelines while everyone else ate lunch with their moms on Mother’s Day at her school. Always an outsider.
Gillian leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “Tell us about you and Oz,” she asked.
Feeling as if she was in the hot seat and not understanding why, Riley felt extremely uncomfortable. “He’s my neighbor. I’m helping out with Logan until he can get home from work during the week.”
Gillian impatiently waved her hand. “Right, but are you dating? I mean, Oz hasn’t brought a woman to one of our get-togethers before.”
Riley was unsure where she stood with the other women, but she was suddenly a little irritated.
“I’m not sure what you want to know. Do I like Porter?
Yes. I think he likes me back. As far as if we’re dating…
it depends on your definition. We’ve eaten together almost every night since Logan came to live with him.
He kissed me last night, and said he wants to take me out.
But we still don’t know each other very well…
as evidenced by whatever it is I don’t know about his job that you guys are being so secretive about. ”
“I’m sorry we’re being so mysterious,” Aspen said. “But their jobs aren’t something they talk about a lot. Someone saying something to the wrong person can literally be a matter of life and death.”
Riley gaped at her. “Then you shouldn’t tell me. I’m really no more than Porter’s neighbor. If it’s something super-secret that he does, then I don’t want to know. At least not right now. And not from you guys. The last thing I’d want is to put him in danger.”
“I appreciate that, Rile,” a deep voice said from her right.
Turning, Riley saw Porter standing by the side of the porch. She had no idea how long he’d been there, but he’d obviously overheard at least some of their conversation.
He turned to the other women. “And I appreciate you following OPSEC protocol. I’ll take it from here.” He held out his hand to Riley. “How about that four-wheeler ride I promised you?”
Riley looked from his hand to the barn. To her surprise, it was mostly disassembled.
She’d been so focused on the conversation with the other women that she hadn’t even noticed.
Porter had put a shirt back on, but his temples shone with sweat.
She’d never been much of an outdoorsy girl, but seeing the evidence of how hard Porter had been working turned her on even more than she’d been while watching him without his shirt.
“Do you guys need anything before I go?” she asked the others.
They all smiled at her.
“We’re good,” Kinley said. “Go.”
Riley looked at Aspen. “Does he know about…you know?”
The other woman winked. “Probably not, since he hasn’t said anything. Feel free to tell him though. Kane and I will let the cat out of the bag for the other guys while you’re gone.”
“Do I know what?” Porter asked, looking concerned. “Are you all right?” he asked Aspen.
“I’m fine. Now you both have something to tell the other. If I were you, I’d go while you still can,” she teased. “I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of time to yourself now that Logan is around. While he’s being entertained by our guys, it’s the perfect opportunity for some alone time with Riley.”
“If you’re sure you’re okay,” he said.
“I’m sure. Go on,” Aspen ordered.
Porter walked around to the stairs and held out his hand again.
She immediately stood and headed toward him. She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back at the women. “You’ll still be here when we get back? I’d hate for you to leave without getting the chance to say goodbye.”
“We’ll be here,” Gillian told her. “Promise.”
Riley nodded and went down the few steps until she could take hold of Porter’s hand. His warm fingers closed around hers, and while she was still nervous about what the women were discussing and what he might have to say, she still trusted him.
As they walked toward a four-wheeler sitting alongside the house, Riley asked, “How’s Logan?”
“He’s great. Hanging out with my friends has been good for him, I think. He seems more relaxed than he’s been since moving in with me.”
“Good,” Riley said on a relieved sigh. If anyone needed this, it was Logan. She hoped he could see the true friend his uncle was to the other guys, making Logan more comfortable with his new situation.
Porter stopped by the machine. It hadn’t seemed that big when she was sitting on the porch, but now that she was next to it, it looked huge.
“You’ll be fine,” Porter said as if he could read her mind.
He picked up a helmet and strapped it on her head.
Riley couldn’t help but feel tingles when he touched her.
She loved being this close to him. Then he put on his own helmet and threw his leg over the seat.
“Come on, Rile. Climb up behind me and hold on.”
She wasn’t sure exactly how to get on and hoped no one was watching her clumsy attempt at mounting the machine. She heard Porter chuckle but ignored him. When she was finally seated behind him, she suddenly got shy. She lightly put her hands on his sides.
“I said, hold on,” Porter told her, taking her hands and curling them around his stomach.
Riley scooted forward to make her position more comfortable. She was now plastered against Porter’s back, and he pressed her palms flat against his belly. “I’m not going to break,” he said. “And the last thing I want is you falling off backward. So hold on, sweetheart.”
Fall off backward?
Riley gripped Porter tighter and ignored another chuckle.
He started the four-wheeler and the sound of the loud engine made it clear they wouldn’t be talking while he drove.
“Hang on!” Porter reminded her one more time over his shoulder, then pressed on the gas and the machine lurched.
Riley squeezed her eyes shut as they shot forward.