Jake

She was wet and I wanted her again. I managed to keep my hands off her as we walked back and slipped through the back door. In her room, I fought for control as she stripped out of her clothes, letting them plop onto the bathroom floor. Mine followed.

I lost the battle and herded her into the shower. She’d already turned it on and the water was piping hot.

“I can’t get enough of you,” I murmured, cupping her breasts.

She was the sun, and I was the moon, too cold when I wasn’t pressed against her.

Her nails raked over my back, sending shivers through me.

“You’re ready again?” She sounded surprised.

“I’m always ready when it comes to you.”

I left her mouth in favor of savoring the swell of her breasts. They overflowed my hands. An animalistic need snapped in me. I hooked my arms in the crook of her legs and hoisted her up, using the wall as leverage. Then I was inside her hot heat.

Her eyes darkened, her desire making me weak in the knees.

“You’re fucking perfect,” I said.

Her head fell back as I changed the angle of my thrust.

“More,” she begged.

I obliged, driving the point home over and over again.

A sweet moan escaped her throat as she came. An expression of bliss parted her lips. I couldn’t hold back. I came hard and had to bite back a slew of curses.

When I pulled out, my body felt cold again. Having her was all consuming. I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of her.

I helped her dry off, gentle as I touched every square inch of her body. Blood still hummed through me and if I wasn’t careful, I would take her yet again. But duty won over my baser instincts.

“I have to go check on Dad and Jamie. But I want you in my bed tonight, even if it’s just for sleep.”

Honey grounded me in a way no one had before. To have her close may give me the soundless sleep I hadn’t had since before I joined the armed forces.

I managed to slip out of her room. Dad and Billy were on the front porch, and I heard Jamie singing in her room. I slipped down the hall past her door, feeling like a thief, but a happy one.

Dry clothes never felt so good. My first stop was to check on my daughter.

“Jamie.”

She ran into my arms and I felt slightly guilty. “What were you singing?”

“‘L–’” she paused. “‘Let It Go.’”

Her words came out as a song. I smiled. “Will you sing it for me?”

She grinned. I held her in my lap as she serenaded me. Her voice was young but beautiful. I could listen to her all day.

By the time I heard the door open and men’s voices fill the air, she’d finished.

“Let’s go check on Pop.”

She nodded and ran on energetic legs into the other room. She gave her grandfather a hug, and I nodded at Billy.

“Have a nice talk?”

Billy nodded. “It was great catching up.”

Honey stepped into the room, and I watched Billy’s appreciating glance land on her.

“Billy, this is Honey. Honey, this is Billy.”

They shook hands. I didn’t want to introduce her as Dad’s caretaker. In the short time she’d been with us, she’d become much more than that.

“I should get dinner going,” she said. “I hope you’re staying. I’m making beer-can roasted chicken.”

Billy’s eyes lit up. “I sure am.”

Honey didn’t come to my bed later that night. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I didn’t complain or stalk her. I wanted her to stay, to feel comfortable in our house. As much as my inner caveman wanted to beat on her door and claim my woman in a grand announcement, I let her be, for that night anyway.

I surprised her the next evening by having pizza brought in for everyone, including the hand who’d been working hard for me. But I had ulterior motives. Setup for our date was finished and within shouting distance of the house. Once the pizza arrived, I took Honey by the hand.

“Jamie, holler if you need me.”

She nodded. I’d already spoken to my father. Honey was puzzled, but I led her to the east side of the house, opposite the barn and the compound where the hands stayed. With the sun setting, the picnic blanket I set out was in the shade.

She gasped. I had a bottle of wine in a silver bucket Mom had stowed away. Our plates were covered with the glass cake domes Honey had been using for the delicious desserts she made every night.

“When did you have time?”

I shrugged. Steak didn’t take much time on the grill. I’d also grilled the green veggies she liked so much. Jamie was in on my plan and had kept Honey busy with a card game while I cooked.

“With Dad being Dad and Jamie so young, I can’t take you out to a restaurant like you deserve.”

Her eyes misted. “No, this is great.”

“I hope it tastes as good as it looks.”

I’d been a decent cook, or so I thought until she came into our lives.

“I’m sure it’s fantastic.”

Still clutching her hand, I helped her sit. Then I opened the wine and poured two glasses.

She sipped and stared at me.

“What?” I asked, cutting my steak.

“Maybe this is none of my business, but what happened to Jamie’s mom?”

I put my knife down and sighed. It’d been only a matter of time before she asked. And if I wanted to pursue a relationship with her, she had a right to know since Tara would be involved, if only through Jamie, for the rest of my life.

“I dated Tara all through high school. During that time, I felt pressured to take over the ranch since I’m my parents’ only child. But I wanted to be my own man, and not just Ford’s son.” I paused to remember Dad when he was stronger. “Tara wanted to be on the big screen. She wanted us to go to LA. But the closer it got to graduation, I realized that if I followed her, I’d be living her dream, and not my own. And I already didn’t want to live my dad’s.”

“College?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I had the grades and had been accepted to UCLA, but college didn’t appeal to me, either.”

She sipped her wine. “I can understand that.”

“My father used to say that the measure of a man wasn’t in what degrees he had or the amount of money in his bank account.” I chuckled, picturing him say those words. “He said the measure of a man was in his deeds and actions.”

My mind drifted, remembering Tara’s face as I broke the news to her about my plans.

“The war was going on, and I felt the pull.”

“To war?” she asked.

I nodded. “I’m not a violent man, but Dad taught me to shoot and I was good at it. I thought I could make a difference, not only for me and my family and Tara, but for our country. It was something I had to do.”

“What did Tara think about it?”

“She wasn’t happy at first. But when I promised to send her money to take the fancy acting classes she wanted, she didn’t say much.” I closed my mouth, wondering for the millionth time when things had changed. “She was always there when I came home on leave. The last time was no different. By then, though, the war had made an impression. I had no desire to go back, but I had to finish my tour.”

Honey ate steadily as I unloaded my truth.

“Mom had been diagnosed with kidney failure and needed a transplant, and I wasn’t a match. I had to tell Tara yet again that I wasn’t moving to LA. I’d gotten sloppy drunk that night, afraid of what she would say. She’d been my compass while out on the battlefield. Knowing that she was waiting for me helped me survive.”

Concern built in her eyes, but I had to be honest if I wanted us to start things on the right foot.

“I’d always been careful. I know I used protection that night, but my emotions were raw with everything going on—my mom, going back, Tara possibly leaving me …”

“She ended up pregnant.”

I nodded.

“I didn’t find out until after Jamie was born. As soon as I got home, Tara’s mother dropped off the baby like she was a FedEx delivery.”

“That’s awful. Tara?”

“Neither she nor her mom have graced my door since.”

She put her glass down on the hard placemats I’d brought.

“I’m going to sound like a shit for asking—”

I already knew what she was going to say. “Go ahead. It’s not something I haven’t asked myself a million times.”

“If you always used protection, how can you be sure Jamie’s yours?”

A picture of my daughter filled my head. With her sandy hair, I couldn’t be sure of anything. The only thing we had in common was our baby-blue eyes, like the sky right after dawn.

“I can’t.”

“You haven’t done a DNA test?”

I shook my head. “There’s no reason. She’s mine now. If I found out that she wasn’t, where would I take her?”

“Her grandmother?”

“That woman wanted nothing to do with her. She’s more worried about her next government check or whatever else she does.”

Honey nodded.

“She’s mine. And I will fight the devil himself if anyone tries to take her from me.”

I must’ve said the right thing for once because Honey launched herself at me. Her lips were feverish against mine. I clutched the fabric at her hips—having her that close was a temptation I wasn’t sure I could avoid. And though we were hidden, we were easily exposed.

When she pulled back, her cheeks were flushed, her lips bruised.

“And what about you?” I asked.