AS SOON AS WE PULL away from the curb, Livvie turns to face me. “Opal told me everything. Why didn’t you tell me before?”
I glance at her and frown. “Wasn’t my story to tell.”
“It makes sense now.”
“What does?”
“Why you guys got so close. Why she said how much she loved you in that picture. You… you were there for her.”
I nod in agreement.
“I know. It’s just, it means a lot to me that you were there for her. You were there when Josh wasn’t, when I wasn’t, and even when the twins weren’t.”
“They had school, so there was no reason for them to be here. There wasn’t anything they could have done.”
“On top of that, how many hours a week did you work trying to get Marco?”
His name coming out of her mouth makes me want to hit something. “Don’t say his name, Livvie. His name doesn’t deserve to be on your lips.”
“Tirelessly, I bet.” Her voice lowers. “I bet you worked tirelessly.”
Don’t really know what she’s getting at, so I focus on the road. I just want to get her home and get her under me and then have her next to me while we sleep.
“And you played all the roles in Opal’s life that she was desperately missing, didn’t you?”
“I wasn’t trying to fill in for anyone. I was just doing what I’d have done for my own sister.”
“You’re incredible, Jay.” She takes my hand. “Just incredible. Thank you.”
My fingers squeeze hers slightly. “No need to thank me.”
“I beg to differ.” She leans back and stares out the window until we’re home.
We’re not even all the way into the house yet, and she pushes me against the wall and then drops to her knees. Her shaky hands tug at my belt.
“Whoa.” I put mine atop hers. “What are you doing, love?”
“Thanking you.” She licks her lips and zips down my fly.
I open my mouth to protest, but when she reaches in and fists my cock, nothing but a groan comes out.
“I can’t say it enough. I can’t even begin to tell you… so let me show you.” She yanks off my shoes and is working my pants off. “Take your shirt off, too.”
“Demanding little thing, aren’t you?” I reach behind me and take off my tee then toss it on the floor.
She starts slow, cupping my balls and lapping at them with the tip of her tongue. I want to tell her to go harder. Faster. But this is her show. She wants slow. Wants to make me go crazy with her hot mouth. She licks and sucks her way up then makes a show of tasting me.
“Mmm.” She wraps her fist around the base of my cock and seals her lips around the head then starts fucking me with her mouth.
I love watching my dick disappear behind her full lips, so I move her hair over. “You look so pretty down there, Livvie.” My spine tingles, and I grab her hair in one of my hands.
She shifts a bit and tilts her head, her hand squeezing me tighter.
“So fuckin’ good, baby.” The back of my head crashes against the wall. “God, Livvie. You’re gonna make me come down your throat if you—”
“Do it, Jay. I want it.” She pulls away long enough to say that then gets back to sucking me so good I see stars.
“You want it?”
She nods, so I give it to her, shooting down her throat. “You fuckin’ got it, baby.”
After Livvie gave it to me downstairs, I gave it to her in our bed and then again in the shower. She’s drying her hair, and I’m waiting for her to get back in bed with me. She comes out of the bathroom wearing a light purple tank top and dark purple shorts with little purple flowers on them.
“You look beautiful, sweetheart.”
She comes over and plops on the bed next to me. “I’m not wearing any makeup, and I’m in pajamas.”
“Doesn’t matter about the makeup, sweet pea. You look fuckin’ beautiful. I missed lookin’ at you. Seeing the way you smile with your eyes and how your cheeks get pink when you’re turned on.” I push some hair that’s fallen behind her ear. “I miss feeling how soft your skin is and how silky your hair is. The red hair is pretty, too. Makes you look sassy and beautiful.”
“Stop.”
“Never, baby.”
She sniffles and shakes her head. “If you keep saying things like that, then I’m just going to cry again, and I’m so sick of crying.”
I rub my thumb across her cheek. “Can’t promise I’ll stop, but I’ll tone it down.”
“Thank you.” She turns her head and kisses my hand. “Can we go through that photo album now?”
“Of course, we can.” I reach over and grab it off the top of a box she started to unpack yesterday.
She rolls over to her stomach, and I do the same. When she turns the first page, she laughs at the photo of her dad yanking her mom back as the twins walk toward the college. “That’s hilarious.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “The picture was funny, but your mom really did have a hard time with it.”
I can’t believe they’re going to graduate this year. “Yeah, she did when I left for college, too.” She turns the page. “Aww. This is an ultrasound picture?”
“The one where they found out if it was a boy or a girl, yeah.” Directly below that is a photo of Opal and Josh holding up pink balloons. “They did a little gender reveal party for the family.”
“Tell me what happened with Josh. The last I remembered, he was not a happy camper.”
I shake my head. “He wasn’t. I paid him a visit, and he snapped out of it. His parents were pissed.”
“That’s not surprising.”
“No Livvie, like so pissed they kicked him out. He was living at your parents’ house.”
Her jaw drops. “No.”
“Yeah. His dad still let him work for him but wouldn’t allow him to live at his house. Josh accepted the roof, but even young, he was a proud kid and paid his own way. That was why he still had that stupid fuckin’ bike. No payments.” I’m pissed at myself for not forcing the kid to let me pay for a car. Both Don and I said we’d go in and help him, but he was determined to save money for a down payment. “He stepped up big time, and they were happy. Fuckin’ sucks. God, it sucks. It just reminded me of how fast my parents were gone. She was pushin’ out his baby when he died. It was horrible, Livvie. I’m almost glad you weren’t here for it.”
I wince when I finish my sentence because it didn’t come out how I meant it to, but she’s not fazed by it, thank God. “I know this is a stupid question, but how did Opal take it? Like… was she able to function with the baby? Did she resort to anything bad?”
My fingertips slide over the faint scarring on her arms. “No, she didn’t. She was really strong, actually. Sometimes when everything got to be too much, she’d come here. I’d let her have a glass of wine—”
“She wasn’t legal, Jay. She told me you monitored her drinking, but you’re an officer of the law!”
I roll my eyes. “She lost her boyfriend, her baby’s father, a minute before her daughter was born into this world. It wasn’t often, and trust me, I monitored her. I was drinkin’ way more than that when I was eighteen and nineteen years old.”
“How did she get home after she was here?”
“She’d drive herself.”
Livvie’s eyes flash in anger. “You let her drive after she’d been drinking?”
“Hell, no. Let me be clear, I didn’t let her get shit-faced. And I watered down the bottle of wine before she drank out of it. Then she’d crash on the couch. I think she just needed an escape for a little bit. She got her GED and took care of that baby like a pro. It’s a lot for any woman, let alone a seventeen-year-old girl.”
Awareness settles on her face, and she softly nods. “Yeah.” She clears her throat and turns the page. “Jay.” Her fingers trace over a cake with frosting that says Happy Birthday, Olive.
“We still celebrated it every year.” That was the hardest day of the year. It felt so wrong celebrating without her—as if she was dead or something.
She continues looking through the album. Pictures of family gatherings and a couple of sunrises I’d seen on Lake Michigan that were too breathtaking not to snap a photo of. Opal getting her GED at the local college. More of Onnika and Oakley at college.
My head is in my hand, and I watch her looking at the pictures. She’s taking everything in. Slowly turning the pages and trying to memorize what she sees. When she gets to the final page, she opens a piece of paper and then looks at me with confusion.
“I’ve been eyeing this land for a couple of years now. I think it’d be the perfect place to build. It’s close to your parents and big enough that we could build an office or whatever you’d need to start your business.”
“You remembered.” She stares at the spec sheet of the property. “This is beautiful, Jay.”
“I thought so, too. The forest is protected behind it, so we don’t have to worry about that ever being cleared. And the houses next to this piece of land are at least a half a mile down the road on either side.”
She sits up and snaps the album shut. “Can we go look at it?”
“You like it that much?”
“Yes. Can we go look? I know it’s dark, but I want to see.” Her eyes are wide and bright.
“Oh. Now? You want to look now?”
Instead of a verbal answer, she nods excitedly.
“Let’s go for a ride.”
We drive down to the piece of property, and she eagerly hops down out of the SUV. I stand back while she takes in what she can in the darkness with the headlights. She puts her hand out and catches a firefly and then giggles when it crawls up her arm. “Time to go, little guy.” She watches it disappear into the night sky.
God, I love this woman.
“This is perfect.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. We need to get it, so we can start building.” I catch her when she throws herself at me.
“We’ll come back tomorrow, so you can see it during the day.”
She shakes her head. “No. I don’t need to. I’ve driven by here before. I know the area, and I know this will be perfect.”
“You’re positive?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Good. ’Cause I already bought it.”
“You’re crazy.” Her hands grab onto my face, and she kisses me before putting her feet back on the ground. “Can I ask you something?”
I can feel my left eyebrow rise. “Always.”
“Are you like your dad?”
Thinking about her question, really thinking, takes me a minute. “In some ways. Why do you ask?”
“Because there aren’t a lot of men like you, Jay. Ones who are so thoughtful and caring. Men who risk everything for the people they care about. Who love so hard and sacrifice so much. It’s just… you really are amazing. I wondered if your dad was like that, too.”
“He was very caring. I remember how much he loved my mom. Treated Mel like she was a princess. Taught me a lot about being a man. So, yeah, I’m like him in a lot of ways. But the protective part came after they died.” I suck in a big breath through my nose before slowly letting it out through my mouth. “My family was small before. And it wasn’t until they were gone that I realized how quickly and easily someone I loved could be gone.
“And then Mellicent. That was the catalyst. And then I met you, and I’d never met someone more precious in my life. It was instant. I remember walking into the bar for that call about a fight. I didn’t know you’d be there, but when I saw you behind the bar, I… I swear to Christ I’d never felt anything like that before in my life. Nothing else in that room existed but you. I saw you standing there, and I knew you were okay, but I had to touch you.” I shake my head and laugh. “I was gone. And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
She smiles up at me. “You’re doing it again.”
“Told you I’d cut back, not stop. I’ll never stop.”