Forever's Affection (Forever In Luck Series Book 3) (21 page)

Hands
on her hips, he pushed himself onward, finding his release within her. Watching
him amongst lidded eyes and panting breaths, she admired the cords in his neck
and shoulders as he tossed his head back. He kicked inside her and she felt
it…wait. Stop. No. Wait.
Nooooo
!

Sitting
up with a howl, she hopped off him and burst into tears. Jumping off the bed,
she ran to the bathroom. Throwing open the shower curtain, she turned on the
water and hurdled the side of the tub to get inside. Hop, hop, hopping up and
down, she grabbed the soap and began scrubbing herself as she cried, unable to
stop the tears.

“
Ahhh
,
gorgeo
—,”

She
screamed. Whipping open the shower curtain, she yelled, “Do NOT sneak up on
me!” Then she snapped the curtain closed.

Pounding
on the wall, he said, “Fair warning, I’m coming in.”

Stepping
in, he reached and took the soap from her hand, set it down, then pulled her
too him. She bawled and bawled.

“
Shhhh
, it’s okay, it’s alright,” he said, comforting her.
When her crying slowed, he said, “Tell me what happened, so we can work on
fixing it.”

“Too
late,” she said with a sniffle. “Nothing can be done, I’ll figure it out.”

Standing
there in the streaming water, he held her saying nothing until finally he said,
“What do you mean it’s too late, what’s too late, and why can’t anything be
done?”

Crying
again, she looked up at him and said, “We didn’t use birth control.”

His
eyes popped open. “What?”

Standing
back from him and trying to be strong, she answered, “It’s my fault,
I’ll…I’ll…I don’t know, I’ll figure it out.”

“The
hell you will!” he barked, taking hold of her, trying to pull her back. “We’ll
figure it out. Dani if you’re pregnant, I want this baby.”

This
made her cry more. “You…you…you’re not taking my baby. I won’t let you,” she
sobbed, as she shoved against his chest.

“Take
your baby? What the hell...” his voice trailing off as he looked at her in
total confusion. Tilting her head up with a hand, he looked into her eyes and
said firmly, “Hello sunshine, listen up, I want the baby
and
the baby’s mother. Now come here, now.” Taking her hands from
his chest, he wrapped them around his waist. “I hate that you’re crying. Don’t
cry, please. This is not a bad thing—”

Pulling
back, she looked at him angrily and said emphatically, “Yes, it is!”

Taking
a deep breath, he looked over her shoulder at the streaming water. “Okay, okay,
calm down,” he said, pulling her back to him. “Is hopping up and down in the
shower after, a way to keep from getting pregnant? Because I don’t think it
is.”

“I
don’t know,” she cried in frustration, “but I don’t know what else to do.” She
started banging her forehead on his shoulder.

He
put a hand up to the back of her head and held her to him. “Stop, stop! You’re
going to hurt yourself. Tell me why it’s bad.”

Starting
to cry again, she sobbed against his shoulder, “Because then I’ll be just like
my mother.”
More bawling.

Shaking
his head, he said calmly, “I don’t think you have to worry about that,
something tells me you’re nothing like your mother.”

Pushing
back, she glared up at him. “I am when I’m an unwed mother who can’t support
her children. The only difference is I’d know who the father is!”

Taking
a deep breath, he said calmly, “That’s easily fixed, Dani.”

Her
eyes popped open.
“Oh no,
noooo
way!
I’m not trapping you. Forever bachelor, no kids, remember?
Nope, not happening.”
She turned and shut off the water,
pulled back the curtain, grabbed a towel and hopped out. “I’m not entering into
a marriage of forced regrets, period.”

Standing
in the shower, dripping wet, he answered her, “I want you, I want it all with
you.”

She
shook her head,
then
banged on the sides of it as if
trying to get water out of her ears. “I can’t hear you,” she sang out loudly.

“Dani—”

“
Braaawk
,
braaaawk
, CUCKOO-DOODLE-DO!”
She tore out of
the bathroom.

*****

Okay,
he had to give her props for using the code word. She was running scared, and
he needed to slow this train down, now. How many women had there been over the
years that had wanted something more permanent with him and he’d said no, only
to find the one he wanted and she wouldn’t have him. Thing was, he couldn’t
remember who any of them were, and yet, he knew he’d never forget Dani.

Grabbing
a towel, he wrapped it about his waist and went after her. He couldn’t believe
he’d forgotten the condom. He never forgot the condom.
Ever.
What had he been thinking? Oh, that’s
right,
he hadn’t
been, because one look at her and all manner of rational thought left him. He
was back to trying to figure this all out. It had to of been a lightning
strike, it just had to of been. The clincher though, was that he couldn’t find
one thing wrong with his reality with her. He meant what he’d said. He wanted
it all with her.

Going
to the bedroom, he froze when he saw her. Unable to stop the smile that pulled
at the corners of his mouth, he stood staring at her. In stark contrast to one
another, she had on what would be considered sexy lingerie, except that it was
fashioned from hunting inspired, wilderness themed fabric. Did they carry that
shit at the sporting goods store, because if they did, he was buying one of
everything.
Man she was sexy, and he was pretty sure he
could go another round right now without waiting.

“You’re
staring, stop staring,” she said, her words clipped and cool as she ripped a
brush through her wet and tangled hair.

Ahhh
, he knew this
behavior, he needed to be patient. Walking over and stilling her hand, he said
softly. “Be gentle. You’re beautiful.”

“You
need your eyes examined, my hair’s wet and wild, and I’m a hot mess.”

She
was back to her old self and back to not believing in them. “You’re hot, I’ll
give you that, but you’re not a mess. I love the hunting inspired nightwear,
let’s get more.” Finding a pair of shorts, he pulled them on.

Stopping
the brush, she watched him tighten the drawstring at his waist. “You need
glasses.”

He
chuckled, she was testing him. “Not a bad idea, but not because I can’t see,
but because then I could see your beauty better.” Well that got her going. She
was off the bed and out of the bedroom in a flash. He followed her, taking his
time.

She
was in the kitchen digging through a drawer. Going to the fridge, he pulled out
the wine and removed the cork with the corkscrew he found on the counter.
Pouring them each a glass, he went to stand next to her. Handing her the glass,
she took a sip, then a swallow. Setting the glass down, she just stood staring
at the roast in front of her.

“I
can’t cook,” she said, as a matter of fact. “All Jules said was to take it out
of the oven and let it rest, then cut it and serve. If there’s a right way to
cut this thing, she didn’t say.”

Setting
his glass down, he stepped behind her and took her hands in his. “Why don’t the
rooster and the hen figure this out together?” Grasping the knife with his hand
around hers, he used their other hands to stand the roast on its side. “Why
don’t we start by getting rid of these old bones, they’re just in the way of us
enjoying something great.” They sliced off the ribs and put them aside. Then he
set the flat of the roast back on the plate and paused briefly, letting things
sink in. “Now look at that, it’s perfect, any way we slice it, it’ll be
perfect.”

“In half.”

Using
the knife, they cut it in the middle making two. “Look,” he said. “Two halves
that make a
whole,
and their perfect just the way they
are.” God he hoped she was getting this.

“But their raw!
See, I ruined
it,” she said despondently.

“No
Dani, it’s not ruined, it’s not raw, it’s rare, what we have here is rare, and
it’s perfect.” Turning to him, she threw her arms around him and wept, holding
him tight just like Junie did. Rubbing her back, he soothed her.
“Why the tears, beautiful?”

“Because—she
hiccupped and sniffled—because I don’t deserve you.”

He
kissed the top of her head. “Yes you do, you just think you don’t because you
don’t know how to be loved. Let me love you, Dani, because I really do.” He
felt her hold on him go tighter.

Tilting
her head back, she looked up at him. “Thank you for being patient with me.”

He
nodded and gave her a little kiss.

“D.D.
taught me a lot of what I know. He’d say, ‘Use your head, but listen with your
heart, and you’ll find what you’re looking for.’ My heart is telling me he was
the best man I’ve ever known, until now, and I think I’ve found what I’m
looking for, but I’m reluctant with reason.”

Staring
into her eyes, he saw her pain and knew his words had come back to haunt him.

“Forever
bachelor, no kids, remember?”

If
this was going to work, he needed to pony up and be honest. “Okay, you’re
right. This is not what I was looking for, but it’s what I found, and it’s so
much better than what I ever imagined for myself. I have no doubts, none. My
statement still stands, I want you, and I want it all with you. The whole nine
yards, love, marriage, children, a future, memories, all of it, the good and
the bad.”

“Oh
Kris,” she said with anguish, as she closed her eyes and shook her head. “We
have to talk. There’s stuff you need to know. Let’s eat first, I need the
break.”

*****

 
Dinner eaten, dishes done, and wine finished,
Kris took her hand and pulled her in close, giving her a kiss. “Can we talk now
or do you need more time?”

“Nah,
let’s get it done and over with,” she said without much enthusiasm. “Then maybe
I’ll be able to relax some.”

“You
want to sit at the table, on the couch, or somewhere else?”

Oh
no, she needed to be doing something physical to drain off the energy that came
with opening this can of worms. “I want to go for a walk,” she said, moving to
the laundry room and grabbing a robe, slipping it on, while he pulled on a
shirt.

“Ready?”
he asked after sliding on boots and opening the door for her.

Stepping
outside, she looked up at the stars. Zillions and zillions of stars, she
thought, then noticed some light, fluffy clouds sailing by here and there. A
nice breeze bathed her face and she felt thankful for the needed oxygen. “The
wind should be good for keeping the mosquitoes away,” she said, trying to grasp
normal. “That’ll be nice.”

“
Mmhmm
.”

Where
to start, she wondered, as they walked. Complete silence except for the crunch
of gravel under their feet and the nearby noises of the night. She sighed,
trying to blow off the tension

He
spoke first. “I already know you’re not Junie’s mother, and that the two of you
are sisters, if that makes it any easier.”

Dairy
farmers my ass, they’re undercover agents that’s what they are. “Who all
knows?”

“My
family, that’s it.”

“How?”

“Junie
let it slip the day of the rodeo,
then
cried when she
realized what she had said.”

Dani’s
heart hardened with the knowledge that Junie suffered this burden,
then
she grew angry. “I hate my mother,” she said flatly,
“and I struggle with that every day for the guilt it brings me. She’s a horrid
person, who thinks of no one but herself and the stud she’s doing at the time.
Her children are nothing to her except a dollar sign, for the money they can
bring her from either the government or their father.

“Like
she’d even know who it is,” she said with disgust. “And,” she said with
emphasis as her tone escalated, “I can tell you, he could give a rat’s ass
about the child either, from the likes of the riff raff she hangs with.” She
growled in agitation.

“She’s
gone through so many men that apparently the scum at the bottom of the barrel
in Wyoming is drying up, because she’s had to widen her scope to include
Colorado. Get
this,
just to give you an idea, her name
is Tippy Reed, but the men, they all call her
Tuppy
Reed. She’s so proud of her credentials she thinks it’s a compliment!” She
snorted in disgust. “She’s an embarrassment to us.”

Having
made it to the end of the driveway, they turned back. “So that’s my mother,”
she said with a sneer, the hatred palpable in those four simple words. “There
was never enough food, and
us
kids were made to wait
until her and her
fan club
finished
stuffing themselves before we could eat. There were times when all we got was a
plate to lick or slop from a bucket. And trust me,” her voice turned sharp and
hard, “you licked that plate and ate from that bucket, and you didn’t complain.
Ever.”
Stooping, she picked up some rocks and hurled
them off into the distance with all her might.