Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
JETT
I’d definitely surprised her.
My wife was speechless, but our son was not.
Even though the day had multiple surprises, him being a chatterbox wasn’t one of them. He was a talker for sure, and boy was he fired up about what he had just heard. That only increased the octave at which he talked, along with the rapid speed at which the words flowed from his mouth.
“A house?” His face lit up as he jumped up and down.
“We get to have our very own house right here?” He whooped with delight, taking off to run around the field in front of us in a big circle.
“Is it this big?” Griffin hollered, waving his hand wildly in the air while taking up as much space as he could but never stopping to gain the answers to his questions.
“Can we have a treehouse in the backyard? Where will my room be?”
Once he got going, there was no stopping him. That was unless his brain snagged on something that he felt was more vital than what was currently rushing through it faster than a freight train; then his demeanor changed in a heartbeat.
I chuckled outright—because my little guy was too fucking cute—when that was exactly what happened. The wind evaporated from his sails, and he came to a screeching halt about five feet from his mother and me, the expression on his face all business now.
“Listen to me, okay?” Champ held up one finger like he was just beginning his first order of business, which we soon realized was true.
“I think my room should be right next to my brother or sister.” He flicked up another small finger.
“It’s my job to protect them.” Another finger joined the other two.
“I’ll play with the baby and feed them.” Now four fingers were in the air.
“I’m going to babysit too so you guys can have…
” he paused, clearly—by the look on his face—thinking about his next words, “so you can have those adult times.”
Patience and I both made some crazy noise, most likely both thinking where the hell our son learned about—
I didn’t get to finish that thought because he continued, thankfully bringing my pounding heart back to a somewhat normal rhythm. I’d been freaking the fuck out inside, wondering how I’d explain shit to my five-year-old that I never should have to at his age.
“You can have dates, watch movies, and just have free time.”
My wife let out an adorable, unladylike snort as I chuckled.
Leaning in close, I ran my hand down her back and whispered, “Good thing he really doesn’t know what I plan to do with you during free time.”
She sucked in a deep breath, and I felt the shiver that danced down her spine under the pads of my fingers. I loved that I had such an effect on her because my wife sure did on me. When Griffin flung a fifth finger in the air, a sour look on his face, our attention was back on our son.
“I draw the line at changing poopy diapers.” He tilted his head for a second. “All diapers,” he added. “Okay? Does that work?”
God, this kid.
I tilted my head back and sent up a silent thank you to the clouds for putting Patience and Griffin in my life. Then I added another one for the fact that he looked so much like the gorgeous lady beside me—not like the asshat who donated sperm.
“I just can’t do diapers,” our son added when we hadn’t answered.
Shaking my head as laughter rumbled inside me, but I held it in at his very serious expression, I looked at Patience, brows raised. “What do you think, Momma?”
She tapped her chin, pretending to give it some thought, and then looked at Griffin. “I think we can handle the diapers.”
He threw a tiny arm in the air in triumph. “Yes.”
When our boy started racing around in circles again, mumbling about our new home, a treehouse, how he can walk to Gramps’s, and everything under the sun, I turned to my wife.
“So…” I grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to me. “What do you say? Want to build a home with me?”
“I’m not going to cry,” she whispered. “I cry too much already, and now these damn pregnancy hormones just make it worse.”
All that laughter that had been building up while I was listening to Champ exploded from me in an instant when she said “damn” in the most annoyed tone and blew out a frustrated breath.
“Don’t laugh at me, you jerk.”
“I can’t help it.” I moved my hands around to her lower back, bringing her in even more, our noses basically touching at that point. “Your potty mouth is funny.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, but they didn’t hold any heat. That was until I quietly said, so Griffin couldn’t hear, “And it’s such a turn-on.”
There were no tears then in existence. Fire lit her eyes, small gold flecks sparking in the midst of her deep brown orbs. Fuck, I wanted to get her alone, but that wasn’t possible with our son and a party feet away.
“Hold that thought,” I told her.
Patience licked her lips. “What thought?”
I brought a hand up to her face and traced her mouth. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Her body swayed a bit, but I held tight. I needed to get the moment under control—only until we got home. So, I asked again.
“A home? What do you say? Me, you, Griffin… and this little peanut?” I asked as I slid my hands from her face down to her belly and rested them there.
“Peanut?”
“Yeah, for now. Now stop stalling, woman. Put me out of my misery and tell me you want this with me.”
Love glistened in her eyes, sucking me into their depths and holding me there when she said, “You’re my home. Wherever we live is just where we lay our heads together. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about making that place together with you and our children.”
My wife laid her hand over mine where it rested on her tummy.
“I take it that’s a yes?” I asked her teasingly as I tried to get my crazed emotions under control after her admission—her words touched my soul.
Laughter danced in her eyes. “I’d say that’s an H-E-double-L yes, but that would be two bad words in one day. So—”
Not able to handle it another minute—because fuck she was adorable—I took her mouth with mine and poured all my happiness into the kiss. One that was interrupted way too soon but also welcomed, since I loved the remarkable little man yanking on our hands.
“How long before we can move in?”
My wife’s and my combined laughter broke from deep within us as we released one another’s lips and looked down at Griffin.
Moving my hand to his head, I ruffled his slightly shaggy brown hair. “Well, I have some plans I wanted to show you guys to see what you think so we can get started.”
“You do?”
Turning my gaze to my girl, I looked into her amazed expression. “Yeah. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, so I have different plan options so there are choices. I want you guys to love the place.”
“Can I see them now?” Champ inquired excitedly.
“How long is a long time?”
My head swiveled back and forth at their questions. First, I answered Griffin. If I didn’t, he would keep asking as wound up as he was. “They’re at Gramps’s. We can look at them after the party. Okay?”
His face fell in disappointment for a second, but then he gave the ground a small kick with the toe of his shoe before saying, “Yeah, okay.”
Even when he was mad, upset, or disappointed, our son was respectful and such a good child. Patience had done an amazing job raising him while I’d been gone most of the time. Thankfully, Champ and I still found a bond that seemed to be as unbreakable as the one I had with my wife.
“As for your question,” I told Patience, “a little over a year.”
Her eyes widened. I went to add more, but Patience’s phone rang in the back pocket of her cutoff jean shorts with the frayed edges that showcased her toned, tan legs. I couldn’t wait to pull those from her body later that evening.
I shook my head and chuckled as my wife pulled out her cell that was playing the song “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera—Capri was calling.
Patience had told me which songs all the ladies had picked for each other, and I don’t know how, but between her telling me, along with hearing them from time to time, I remembered them.
It was amazing how well they fit each of them. The group of women knew each other so well, and they took care of one another.
Patience hit the speaker button, and sure enough, Capri’s voice came through. “Girl, I know you want to spend time with your man, but Ruby said to get your cute butt back here because all the kids want to know where Griffin went, and it’s time for dessert.”
The boy in question started jumping up and down at the sound of his name, and then I could hear the screams of the kids not only coming through the line, but they were so loud, they were heard from clear across the field.
We turned in the direction of Gramps’s place, and a whole load of tiny bodies were bouncing in the air like Griffin as they waved their arms enthusiastically.
“Can I go? Please?” our little guy begged.
If he bounced any more his brains were going to be scrambled.
“I promise that I will go straight there and be careful.”
Looking at Patience for her answer, she nodded just as Capri said, “I’ll watch him the whole way.”
“Go ahead. We’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
I’d barely finished my last word when Griffin took off like a bat out of hell, yelling as he went. We watched him go as Capri laughed.
“Don’t take long; the vultures want their dessert!” she told us.
Then another voice yelled through the phone. “You’ve got fifteen minutes max. No time for hanky panky.”
Patience giggled. “Got it, fifteen minutes. No time for hanky-panky,” she replied before hanging up to what sounded like a lot of cackling ladies.
Turning to face me, my wife stared at me, and I knew exactly what question swam in her big, beautiful gaze. So, without her asking, I answered her.
“I had a plan, but I was just too fucking scared and stupid to share it with you.” I stepped into her and slowly slid my hands up her arms. “When I asked Gramps about building on the property a long time ago, the old man smiled and told me that he was glad I finally used my brain.”
Her eyes twinkled with humor, but she stayed quiet.
Continuing my motion, I smoothed my hands over her shoulders and then around the back of her neck, pulling her closer.
“I can’t promise I won’t ever be stupid again,” I told her, making her laugh. “But I promise I won’t be too scared to ever tell you how I feel about you from here on out.”
Leaning in, I planted a short, sweet kiss on her mouth.
“Me and you, Roo. It’s always been me and you.”
With dreamy, love-filled eyes, she repeated my words. “Me and you.”
“And our two kids,” I added.
“Two? I was thinking you better have big house plans with a good number of rooms because I want more babies with you.”
Do you think it’s possible to feel everything your wife does while she’s pregnant? Because I have to say I wish I could blame the tears burning in the backs of my eyes on hormones.
“How much time do we have left?” I asked, once again changing the subject quickly before I really did shed some tears.
Patience scrunched up her face in confusion before realizing what I was asking. She glanced down at the phone in her hand and then back to me as she shoved it into her back pocket again while answering, “Nine minutes.”
“Not enough time, but I’ll work with it.” Yanking her so our lips touched, I murmured against her mouth, “Seven minutes to make out and then two minutes to make a run for it.”
I swallowed my wife’s whimsical laughter with a kiss.