Beginnings (Crawley Creek Prequel) (4 page)

The rumble of an engine woke her from a doze
a few hours later, and she hurried to pull herself to a standing
position, waving at the driver to stop for her. Her surprise at
seeing her own husband made her giddy.

“Seraphina, angel? What are you doing out
here?” Abe asked, jumping down from the truck and hurrying to her
side. “You’ve been crying; are you hurt? Should I go call an
ambulance?”

“No! No, I’m fine, just emotional. The car
died on my way home from town, and I’ve been out here a while. I’m
hot and tired. Do you have a drink in your truck?” She fell into
him, her head seeking out the strength of his chest, and sighed
with relief that her wonderful man had once again rescued her.

“There’s a bottle of water in the first aid
box under the seat. You go get in and cool off while I look at the
car.” He walked her over to the truck and helped her in before
disappearing under the hood of her broke down vehicle.

It only took him a few minutes to make a
determination, and she was bummed to see him collect her purse from
the car and head back to the truck. Once inside, he shook his head,
“No good. You’ve got a busted radiator. We’ll have to have the guys
tow it back to the ranch.”

“Oh, no! That’s just what we need on top of
everything else,” she sobbed, covering her face in her hands.

While they were land-rich, right now they
were cash-poor, and making their bill payments each month was a
struggle. The idea of a large car repair bill just made the weight
of her problems seem that much heavier.

“It’s okay, angel. We’ll see if we can find
a used radiator, or maybe it’s time to just get you a new car. I
don’t like you driving that bucket of rust around on these
highways. How long have you been out here?” Abe eyed the empty
water bottle in her hands. He reached out and ran his finger over
her cheek making her grimace.

“Long enough to get sunburnt,” she said. “We
can’t afford a new car, Abe.”

“We’ll figure it out. We always do,” he said
positively, lifting her hand to kiss her knuckles as he drove
toward home. “I’m just glad I came across you when I did. You could
have roasted sitting out there until someone realized you were
missing.”

“Me, too. What were you doing in town?” She
let her head fall back against the back of the bench seat right in
the path of the air blower. The cold air stung her burnt skin, but
she wasn’t even going to consider moving.

“I took that bench in that I built for Linda
Kilburn. Jack met me at the hardware store with the payment, and I
bought the supplies for the bed tables you wanted.”

“Did Jack like the bench?”

Abe nodded, grinning. “Loved it. Said, Linda
will be over the moon when she gets it on her birthday.”

“I agree. It’s absolutely beautiful work,
but then, you always do a good job.”

She loved the way he seemed to glow with the
praise, and her heart ached a little in her chest. Guilt was a
terrible weight to carry.

“Abe, we need to talk…” she began.

His eyes shot over to her, and narrowed.
“Yeah, we do.”

Frowning back she wondered if he already
suspected her news. “Um, well, see, I’m not sure how to tell you
this—”

The sound of barking dogs cut her off, and
she turned to see their pair of German shepherd pups running toward
the driveway as Abe parked the truck.

“Looks like you’ll have a couple more
minutes to think on it.” Abe said, throwing the door open and
greeting the dogs.

Frustrated with the interruption, Sera
opened her own door and eased down to the ground before he could
get around to help her. She saw the confusion on his face as she
limped past him and the excited animals to the house. It seemed
like the whole world was against her today.

Abe followed Sera in the house after he
found a couple of ranch hands available to go tow her car home. His
search for her took him all over the first floor and up to the
second floor, but it wasn’t until he heard the shower come on in
their master bathroom that he tracked her down. Entering the
bedroom, he noted the clothes neatly piled on the foot of the bed
awaiting transport to the laundry room. She might have had a bad
day, but even when she was upset, she still made time to care for
the things around her.

Easing the bathroom door open, he watched
her silhouette through the pale yellow shower curtain. His wife was
a thing of beauty. Her curves were supple and feminine, and they
made him hard as a rock. Adjusting his stance, he reached for his
zipper. There was nothing better than holding his wife after she
was freshly showered and smelled like her favorite apricot
shampoo—unless it was holding her in the shower while she was still
using it.

She jumped when he reached for her, glancing
over her shoulder and blinking water from her eyes. “What are you
doing?”

“Showering with my beautiful wife,” he
murmured, kissing his way across her shoulder to her neck, and then
pressing his nose into her wet hair. “Is that a problem?”

He pressed his naked body against her round
ass, and she moaned, relaxing into him. “I figured you had things
to do this afternoon.”

“I do, but there’s always time for
this.”

He reached around and cupped her full
breasts, squeezing their softness together to make a deep valley of
cleavage. Water pooled in the valley before he released the mounds
and it cascaded over her soft tummy. She responded to his
passionate touches with enthusiasm, rocking back against him, and
reaching up to tangle her fingers in his hair. The water made their
movements even more erotic as they slipped and slid against each
other, each craving more friction to ease the ache building inside
them.

Sera gasped when he slid his fingers through
the dark curls on her mound and sought out her clit. She had a
large clit that poked its head out from between her pussy lips when
she was aroused, begging to be teased to completion. He was only
too happy to oblige, pinching the sweet button between his thumb
and index finger.

“Oh my!” she groaned. When she went to widen
her stance in the tub her foot slipped, and he had to catch her to
keep her from hitting the ground.

“Are you okay, angel?” Concern filled him.
He hadn’t meant to get her hurt.

“I’m fine, but this isn’t the best place for
us to fool around. There’s not enough space in here for two,” she
said, pulling away and turning around in the tight space so that
the water was hitting her back instead of her front.

Abe stared down into her expressive brown
eyes, and his heart swelled even larger than his cock. “I know
baby, one of these days though, I’ll give you the bathroom of your
dreams.”

She smiled up at him, kissing his chin from
below. “The only bathroom I dream of is the one where you and I can
soak in a tub together.”

“Mmm, that does sound nice.”

“For now, we’ll have to take turns
showering, and continue playing in the bedroom.”

Abe nodded, and took a small step back
trying to give her enough room to finish washing. Once she was
clean, she gave him a wink, running her eyes down the length of his
body and back up to his bobbing cock.

“Don’t take too long.” She said
suggestively, pushing the curtain aside and disappearing into the
bathroom, leaving him alone to wash himself.

His shower was lightning fast, and he barely
wiped the water away from his body before he was barreling through
the bathroom door into their bedroom. There, spread out on the bed,
he found Seraphina, his angel, completely naked, and sound
asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~

Sera felt Abe’s hands on her body, drawing
her from her slumber, and into a world of erotic sensation. She
loved the rough calluses on his fingertips as they grazed over her
skin, and the way he took the time to kiss nearly every inch of her
before pushing her thighs apart and rubbing his cock against her
pussy.

The stretching sensation as he filled her
completely left her breathless, even after all these years, and she
felt her muscles clenching around him. It was a dance they both
knew well. From the first teasing touch to the last pounding
thrust. They were explosive together, their bodies electrifying
each other. Sera had no regrets that Abraham Crawley was the one
and only man she’d ever slept with, because he was the be-all
end-all for her. Her soulmate.

Each time they made love, she felt their
connection like it was a string tied between their two hearts. This
time though, guilt rode heavily on her conscience. When they were
both satisfied and relaxed from their orgasms, Abe eased off her
and disappeared into the bathroom to clean up. He returned quickly
with a wet rag and helped her clean herself.

“That was wonderful.”

Abe grinned at her, “It always is. I wasn’t
sure if I was going to be able to wake you up. I got out of the
shower and you were out like a light.”

“The heat drained me I think. I’m
sorry.”

“Don’t be. There’s something very sexy about
waking my woman with my hands...” He wiggled his eyebrows. “...and
mouth, and—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” she said with a
laugh. Slowly easing herself up, she pulled a blanket up over her
nudity and leaned against the headboard. “Abe, we need to
talk.”

He nodded, “Yeah we do. You know I went to
town today to take that bench in, and hit the hardware store, but
Pastor David caught me before I could head for home.”

“David? What did he want?” Sera wondered if
somehow Mary had spilled the beans to her husband before Sera had
had an opportunity to fill him in. If so, she was going to throttle
her best friend.

“He needed a favor…” Abe rose and pulled his
jeans back on.

Sera shook her head, “Why would David need a
favor from you? I just saw Mary and she didn’t say a word.”

“I’m not sure if he’s had a chance to fill
her in. It’s a mighty big favor, actually.”

As if to punctuate his statement the
doorbell rang, startling them both. Sera hurried to pull clean
clothes on as Abe groaned.

“Blast it, of course someone would
interrupt.”

“Don’t just stand there; see who it is. We
can finish up our conversation over dinner.” She went into the
bathroom without waiting for his response knowing that he’d most
likely take care of their visitor before she made it downstairs.
Whoever it was, they’d just bought her a few more minutes to figure
out what to say to her husband.

~ ~ ~ ~

Abe knew the moment the doorbell rang he was
well and truly screwed. The clock over the fireplace read six
fifteen, which meant that the person at the front door was Danica.
Crap on a cracker, this was going to be a tough one to explain
now.

Pulling the door open, he found Danica
holding the sweetest looking toddler he’d ever seen.

“Abe, I was beginning to think maybe you
were out in the barn or the pasture.” She adjusted her hold on the
squirming child. She had a bag over one arm, her purse on her
opposite shoulder, and she was struggling to hold it all.

“Nope, I’m here. Come on in.” He held the
door open wide as she stepped through it, and then he reached to
relieve her of her burden. “Come here little guy. Let me take a
look at you.”

“This is Vincent Rhone. His mother said he’s
three, but so far, he doesn’t say much himself,” Danica explained,
putting both her purse and the bag on the bench next to the door.
“This is all she brought with him, but I’ll do my best to get a few
more things for you guys. I’m not sure how long—”

“Why, hello Danica!” Sera said, stepping off
the stairs and heading their way. “It’s good to see you. And who is
this you’ve brought along?”

“This is Vincent. I was just explaining to
Abe that his mother didn’t leave much for him, but I’ll get a few
more things from the shelter tomorrow if I can.”

Sera’s eyes widened as she glanced back and
forth between Abe and the boy, and then turned confused eyes on
Danica. “Um, forgive me, but I think I’ve missed something.”

Danica frowned at Abe and stammered, “I
thought you told David that you would take him in. Did I
misunderstand?”

Abe stood in the foyer with a three-year-old
stranger in his arms with two women glaring at him in frustrated
confusion, and he wanted to just melt through the floor. Or maybe
throw on a heat shield to protect him from the irritation blazing
out of the females’ eyes.

“Uh...well, I did tell David that, but I
hadn’t had a chance to tell Seraphina about it yet,” Abe explained.
“This is the favor David asked of me.”

“He asked you to take in a baby?” Sera was
flabbergasted. “What in the world?”

“David said that the boy’s mama left him
with Danica because she couldn’t take care of him, and they needed
a temporary place for him to live until they could find him a
permanent home.”

Danica nodded in agreement, “Yes, this isn’t
going to be permanent, just for a few days. I’m hoping that his
mother will reconsider and come back for him. Either way, the court
will have to determine if she’s fit to take custody again.”

Sera stared at him, her face completely
unreadable. The anger had melted away, but he didn’t see the
approval he’d been hoping for. After all, he was doing a good thing
here, right?

“Well, I need to get back home to my own
clan, so unless you two have any questions for me, I’ll just leave
you to get to know each other.” Danica said.

“Is it potty trained?” Abe asked,
instinctively knowing the answer.

“Of course not, Abraham,” Sera said,
reaching for the child. “
He
is wearing a diaper, so he’s
clearly not potty trained. Danica, you said he’s three. Do you know
anything about his health? Do we need to call the doc and have him
checked out?”