Under the Magnolia (13 page)
Read Under the Magnolia Online
Authors: Moira Rogers
The pleasure inside her soared again
as her body spasmed around him. There was nothing left in the world
but him. Addie cried Wes’ name out again as his thrusts turned
frantic. When he muffled a fierce moan against her skin as he came,
she felt a different sort of pleasure, one borne of possession and
satisfaction and the knowledge that she was exactly where she wanted
to be.
Addie scrambled to gather her wits
as Wes stilled above her. His body pressed hers down into the sheets,
all warm skin and strong muscles and absolute perfection. Her
pounding heart slowed as she dragged in a deep breath and let it out
against his cheek. "I love you, Wesley."
He rolled over, bringing her with
him, and whispered, "I love you, too, Adelaide."
She relaxed against his chest,
soothed by the soft beat of his heart and warmth of his body beneath
her. Wes stroked his fingers through her hair in long, steady
movements, separating the wet strands until her hair fanned out over
both of them.
There was no more need to talk, not
for now. Later, they would figure out what they were doing, would
make plans for the future. For the rest of the morning, Addie wanted
nothing more than this. She wanted to drift to sleep in Wes’
arms, wrapped in the scent of his pine shampoo.
She wanted to wake up in his bed,
warm and safe no matter what nightmares tormented her sleep.
She wanted a life with him.
"Under the magnolia out at the
Carter place," she murmured against his chest, already drifting
in the place between sleeping and wakefulness. "It's a date."
Epilogue
The Gardner family was out in force
that morning, spilling out of the waiting room at the County Hospital
and causing all manner of fuss as children tumbled over one another
in an attempt to gain their elders' attention. Belabored mothers
snatched toddlers out of mischief while teenagers congregated on the
other side of the room, striving to appear above it all.
Cecily Gardner, the matriarch of the
clan, sat in the seat of honor. She'd been enthroned on the waiting
room's most comfortable chair early that morning and had spent the
intervening hours surveying her kingdom with immense satisfaction.
She was surrounded by nieces and nephews, children and grandchildren
and great grandchildren, and life had never been more perfect.
"Granny!" Her youngest
grandson, fourteen-year-old Alan, had given up his attempts at
nonchalance. He burst through the door, a wide, excited smile on his
face. He held the door open as he raised his voice to be heard over
the din. "Wes has got the baby!"
Cecily rose to her feet, ignoring
the excited exclamations from her family as she walked to the door.
She could have closed her eyes and still made her way through the
crowd without a single misstep. This moment had been frozen in her
mind for twenty years, every sight, sound, and smell.
What she hadn't counted on was the
emotion. Addie was the only child of her eldest daughter, the only of
her many grandchildren to grow up without being surrounded by family
at every turn. Cecily had done her best to replace the parents Addie
had lost, but she'd worried for years about the girl's penchant for
being alone.
Not anymore. Wesley Saxon had blown
into Addie's life like a hurricane, bringing with him all the things
that her granddaughter had needed. Love, trust, family—someone
to be there for her in the good times and the bad.
And today...
Cecily looked up, and there he was,
standing in the doorway with a smile so wide it almost split his face
in two. Wes cradled a small, screaming bundle of white blanket, and
his smile grew even wider as he transferred the baby to her arms.
"His name is John Wesley."
She looked down at the baby for a
moment, drinking in the sight of his reddened face and the tiny knit
cap that covered his head. He quieted a little and opened his big
blue eyes, and it was just as she remembered.
"Hello, Johnny," she
whispered.
The End
About the Author
How do you make a Moira Rogers? Take
a former forensic science and nursing student obsessed with
paranormal romance and add a computer programmer with a passion for
gritty urban fantasy. Toss in a dash of whimsy and a lot of caffeine,
and enjoy with a side of chocolate by the light of the full moon.
By day, Bree and Donna are
mild-mannered ladies who reside in the Deep South. At night, when
their husbands and children are asleep, they combine forces to
unleash the product of their fevered imaginations upon the page. To
learn more about this romance writing, crime fighting duo, visit
their webpage at
http://www.moirarogers.com
.
(Disclaimer: crime fighting abilities may appear only in the
aforementioned fevered imaginations.)
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