Chapter 12
Nate
Soft gentle licks to my neck wake me from a dirty dream where I’d just slid into Callie’s wet, warm pussy. I open one eye and gaze lazily at…Rudy.
“Oh, come on,” I mutter. But he must have sensed what my dreams were about because he sends me a doggie smirk.
“Where’s our girl?” I ask him, pushing to sit up in her bed.
After I took Callie last night, Rudy wouldn’t stop whining at her door. She insisted that it was fine to let him in the room, and the next thing I knew the big lug was curled up on top of the blankets right next to us.
I move to check the crib, but Danny is gone too. I can hear the soft sounds of breakfast starting in the kitchen. I take a quick shower, hating that I’m washing away her scent. I’ll just have to get her all over me again today.
When I get dressed, I put the engagement ring in my pocket. I bought it after our first date, and I’ve been walking around with it ever since. In my mind, our marriage is a done deal. I’ve already started thinking of her as my wife.
As soon as I stumble into the kitchen, Callie gives me a soft smile.
She’s standing by the toaster, putting down bread.
She looks delectable today in her blue jeans and faded sweatshirt with a gingerbread house on it.
Her still damp hair is pulled into a loose ponytail but it’s her eyes that get me.
They’re extra sparkly today. She looks like a woman in love.
As soon as I think the thought, hope fills my chest. I knew the moment I laid eyes on her she was meant to be mine. Now, she’s looking like she wants that too.
I accept the cup of coffee she passes my way and press a kiss to her puffy lips. “Morning. How did you sleep last night?”
“Pretty good. Some handsome cowboy came into my room and tired me out.”
I smirk. “Sounds like a good time.”
I glance around for Mary and Christopher, but Callie answers my unspoken question. “They’re already out at the barn. Apparently, more farm equipment broke down.”
Danny is in his highchair and waves to me.
I set my coffee mug down on the counter before I approach him.
His motor skills are improving almost daily it seems, and like most babies, he’s entering his grabby phase where anything that’s within reach should be explored. “Hey, buddy, how are you doing today?”
He squeals excitedly which I take to mean he’s happy. Then he points and that’s when I realize he wasn’t nearly as happy to see me as he is to see Rudy. Rudy places his head on the tray for the highchair and doesn’t even flinch when Danny tugs on his ears.
“He’s so good to Danny, so patient,” she says right as her toast pops up. “How old is he?”
“Vet thinks he’s two years old about now.
I found him on the side of the road when he was around six months.
All ribs and sad eyes. When I opened my truck door, he bounded right in.
Just like he’d been waiting for me.” I shake my head.
“He wasn’t wearing a collar or chipped, so I figured finders keepers should apply. ”
By that logic, she and Danny are mine too. It seems obvious to me that I should be allowed to keep them. They got into my truck, same as Rudy.
“Oh, by the way,” Callie says, “you got a delivery.”
I frown, not sure what would have been delivered.
Then I remember that Hunter overnighted me a box of my jams. I hold up my hand. “Don’t eat that toast yet. I have just the thing for it.”
I stumble to the front door to find a small cardboard box on the porch steps. I lift it, noting that none of the jars make a sound, which means Hunter must have followed my packaging instructions perfectly.
As I step into the threshold, I hear the distinct sound of an engine.
I glance over my shoulder to see a sports car a few hundred feet from the house. It doesn’t look like it belongs here. But this time of year, there are so many guys coming and going from the Naughty List Ranch that I don’t pay too much attention.
Whoever it is, I’m sure they’ll find their way to Mary and Christopher when they need to. I close the door behind me with my boot and walk into the kitchen.
“What do you have there?” Callie asks, sipping from her own mug.
I set the box on the kitchen island and grab my pocketknife. I step back so she can examine what’s inside.
She peers into the box. “Jam.”
She lifts out a glass jar with a pretty simple label that reads strawberry. “Who made these?”
“Me,” I answer, feeling a rush of pride.
I like seeing my jars clutched in her hands, and I really like the look of awe on her face right now.
“These jams are from fruit I grew on my farm. When I lived on the Naughty List Ranch, Mary made fantastic jams. I started using her recipes and improving them a couple of years ago. I have them just about perfect.”
“I’ll be the judge of that, mister,” she says and pops the top off the jam.
She puts a spoonful in her mouth and lets out a groan that has me getting hard because all I want to do is tackle her and slide into her wet heat.
“I’d like to sell my jams,” I explain. “I want to pair them with the perfect pastries. Maybe biscuits or something. I tried to hire a baker, but I haven’t found anyone for the job.”
She looks like she’s about to say something, but there’s a knock on the door. I think of the fancy sports car I saw earlier.
“I’ll get that,” she says, and sashays out of the room.
I watch her hips move. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that perfect sway. I follow her into the living room just in time for her to swing the door open.
She gasps at the man standing on the front porch. He’s wearing an expensive suit, something bespoke if I had to guess. He definitely looks out of place standing there.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, at the same time I demand, “Who the hell are you?”
The man steps into the living room uninvited and looks at Callie with a smirk.
“I’m her husband,” he says, full of confidence and swagger.
I don’t believe this bastard for a second. Callie is nothing like my ex-girlfriend. There’s not a lying bone in her body.
Callie’s gaze instantly snaps to mine, concern on her face. “We are divorced.”
“I know that,” I tell her, my own voice ringing with quiet confidence.
I can hear the sounds of Danny’s laughter and Rudy’s nails clicking on the floor in the kitchen. I’m glad he’s not old enough to see this or hear it. I’m glad that Rudy is in there with him, standing guard over his new friend.
Callie turns her attention back to Corey, pointing with her index finger. “You know we’re not together anymore.”
“If that’s true, then I want my rings back.”
Her voice shakes with righteous outrage. “The wedding band and engagement ring were mine since you gifted them to me. As it was my property, I sold them to pay the hospital bills for the birth of my son who you abandoned.”
This fucker has a set on him. Callie told me he’s never called to check on his son or how he’s doing. The way he could just walk out on his wife and child is disgusting.
“You’re a lying cunt,” Corey says.
I grab him by the collar and shove him against the wall so hard his head bounces off of it.
In a voice that’s cold steel, I ask, “What did you just call my woman?”
“Do you have any idea how much that jewelry was worth?” he wheezes.
“Do you know how little your life is worth to me?” I counter. I’ve never been prone to violence without good reason, and this monster I’m holding, well, his existence is good reason enough.
“You wouldn’t—”
“You, dumb fuck. You don’t get it. I’ve searched my whole life for a woman as amazing as Callie. I’d never let her slip through my fingers.”
He gives me the smile I hate. It’s what I heard called the bro smile once, guys that think because they look down on women that every other man does too. “Oh, I see what she’s done. She’s made you think I’m the bad guy. Well, let me tell you about this little whore—”
He doesn’t get the rest of the words out because there’s a spray of blood and a satisfying crack as my knuckles connect with his nose. He yelps, and I release him so he can collapse onto the floor.
“Do you have any idea what you just did?” He demands, clutching at his face.
Callie steps closer to me, and I instinctively put my arm around her shoulders, drawing her even closer.
“I don’t know who you were talking about,” I say, “but this woman is my wife. She’s my whole damn world. Now, if you don’t want to spend the rest of your life shitting in a bag, I’d advise you get the fuck out of here and never contact her again.”
“I’ll sue her for the ring,” he insists, his voice coming out in a nasally tone.
Callie looks down at him. Her features aren’t twisted with anger or hatred like I expected. Instead, there’s only pity on her face as she says, “And who’s going to pay for that lawyer? We both know you wouldn’t be here if mommy and daddy hadn’t finally cut you off.”
“Just give it to me,” he pleads, defeat finally crossing his features. Underneath his eyes are already turning purple and his nose has a knot that’s rapidly swelling. It brings me some satisfaction to know he won’t be able to sleep comfortably for the next few weeks.
I reach for him, and he flinches. Fucker isn’t just a big talker. He’s a coward too.
I grab his shoulder and haul him to his feet. “Say you’re sorry to my wife, and you get to walk out of here. Don’t say it, and you’ll spend the next six months in traction.”
He drops his gaze to the floor. “S-sorry.”
“Like you mean it,” I grit out. “Or your wrist is next. It sucks when you can’t even wipe your own ass.”
“I’m sorry.” He whimpers. “Don’t let him hurt me. I didn’t do anything.”
“Except walk out on the most beautiful woman in the world and her child,” I mutter. I won’t even acknowledge Danny as his. In my mind, he’s nothing but a sperm donor.
She sighs, her voice weary. “Just go, and don’t come back.”