Jake
Another year later
Oh my God, there were kids and dogs everywhere. Maverick rolled in the grass with Lucky, Bess and Lane’s new golden retriever puppy, and Luna, our new chocolate Lab pup, while Brooks staked out a quiet spot so he could keep a watchful eye on everyone.
Maddy was running through Lane and Bess’s backyard with a kite flying behind her, helped by James, who was all dolled up in linen pants and a dress shirt and carrying the baby he’d recently adopted, Cliffie. He couldn’t let Bess have one up on him with her gorgeous family; he wanted one too. He’d finally settled down with a man named Zach, who worked at the hotel where Bess used to work. The two of them gave a baby left at the local church a second chance. Now they were permanent fixtures in all of our lives. Weston toddled behind all of them, desperate to catch up to his big sister, chanting his favorite word for Maddy, “Ma, Ma, Ma.”
And under the tree, next to calm Brooks, my beautiful Tabitha slept in a Pack ’n Play, her tiny pink-covered bottom facing up, the mass of red curls matted on her head, her back rising and falling with each breath. I didn’t miss a one; my heartbeat was in sync with that little baby.
When Tabitha was born, I decided to take a final stand with Shirley. The tiny person placed in my arms right after she was delivered deserved a whole me, and it was about time I punched the past in the gut.
I knew Shirley had wanted to reconcile and be a part of our lives, but that was never going to be possible with me. I’d gone to see her and thanked her in person for returning Aly—I even gave her a gentle hug. She’d thought it meant one thing, but it actually meant the opposite. I’d explained how I needed to leave her in my past with all the other crap. I was moving forward, and I couldn’t do it with her hanging around. I had a new family that was depending on me, and they kept me grounded in the present. To maintain that, I needed to give up my fight with what happened.
I asked her to be happy for me and understand, and if she couldn’t, Lane and I would be taking legal action. She’d been upset and disappointed, but after her husband had urged her to cooperate, she’d agreed and stayed away.
Aly supported me in whatever I chose regarding Shirley, but I’d obviously pick Aly and Tabby any day of the week. No contest. With them, I permitted myself to go forward, to stop internalizing my anger. It wasn’t exactly perfect absolution, but more a new beginning, “starting over” or whatever Doc Wells called it. I’d come out the other side of whatever hell I’d resided in for so long.
Surrounded by my small circle, I felt confident in my purpose. Like today.
Lane was wearing some designer getup as he manned the grill, and looked as ridiculous as he usually did when I caught him venturing into the outdoors around their house. Bess and Aly came out the back door carrying various salads. Bess was pregnant again; my brother really needed to keep his dick to himself or wrapped the fuck up. Aly’s cheeks were slightly pink from the sun, her curves still a little rounded from having a baby, but her limp was now barely noticeable. She wore yoga pants despite it being summer because she still preferred not to put her prosthetic on display. I thought she looked gorgeous either way.
Pregnancy had been rough. The hormonal surges weren’t easy to begin with, let alone when you’re missing half a leg. But ever since Tabitha was born, Aly had been good. Really good. She’d worked for the last year for me, trading in defense strategies for business law. Apparently, while she was home recuperating from the whole incident, she took an online course on business malpractice and how it pertained to exercise facilities. That had been her grand plan, and I’d loved it the moment she’d shared it with me.
Aly had decided she was better suited for contract work. It was objective and clear-cut, and rarely resulted in abductions. Now she headed up my legal team. Actually, she was my legal team, but had been on maternity leave, taking a few months off to be with Tabby. I was her boss; she could do whatever the fuck she wanted.
“How do you want your burgers?” Lane called out.
“Cooked by a real man, not one in some Prada shit!” I yelled back, surreptitiously giving him the finger, to which he responded by mouthing fuck you back to me.
“Lane, why don’t you let Jake handle the grill?” Bess asked, laughing.
“Oh yeah, I want to see you behind that hot, smoky grill!” Aly chimed in, turning her grin toward me.
“Both of you, stop! I’m perfectly capable of grilling,” Lane said in his own defense before turning his attention back to his burgers.
Aly came over to where I was sitting and drinking beer, and sat on my lap. I rubbed my hand up her leg and let my thumb graze the crease between her thigh and that sweet, sweet pussy of hers.
“Want to go upstairs for a quickie?” I mumbled into her long red hair. She was wearing this gauzy, see-through white tank, and her hair was all wavy and wild. I wanted to yank it back and fuck her from behind. “Or we could take a quick ride in my new car and stop for a little nooky?” I teased her.
I’d kept the Hummer for the car seat and dog crap, but I did buy myself a hot date car. It was a fast little Porsche convertible in cherry red—my favorite color, by the way. Lane had tried it out this past week, and wanted one himself. Maybe I’d get him a little present for helping me get to where I was in my business.
“Al, you hear the big plans?” Lane called out.
Shit.
She raised one of her eyebrows. “Um, no. Do tell.”
Lane paused from flipping the last burger and scowled at me. “Jake, what the hell? Why do I have to be the one?”
“Because you have a big fucking mouth,” I shot back, frowning back at him.
“Jake, Maddy can hear you and repeat after you,” Bess said, scolding me.
Aly poked my arm, definitely not letting this go. “Lane, Jake? Bueller? Anyone? Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”
Lane shot me a shit-eating grin before he focused on Aly. “You’re sitting on the lap of a mogul, Al. My brother just stroked a deal with the biggest luxury hotel chain in the country to franchise his gyms in every single location. That’s right . . . Fizzle To Go will be in almost every major city soon, so when you travel, you don’t have to miss your gym at home.”
Her eyes huge, Aly turned in my lap to gape at me. “Babe? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I ran my hand over her cheek. “I needed to make sure it really happened. I still don’t believe it, but it looks like I need you to come back to work and go over the papers and actually hire a legal team. Lane’s guy has been filling in, and I need my main girl back.”
“Seeing as how I totally took advantage of my maternity leave, I get it.” Aly wrapped her arms tight around me, hugging me in only the way she could. “How did this happen?” she whispered. “It’s like a dream come true!”
I shrugged. “Well, the baseball team was traveling and didn’t like the hotel facilities after using mine, so they may have suggested to one hotel to check my shit out.”
“Jake!” Bess yelled at me again.
“Okay, Bess, I got you. I’m watching my language.”
“You have a baby now too, so clean up your act.”
I nodded and went back to my wife, whose ass was rubbing my chubby. “Let’s go celebrate upstairs.”
She smacked my chest. “Later, after Tabby goes to bed, I’m going to give you a little congrats present, but not now.”
“Promise?”
We were interrupted by the dogs barking at a squirrel scampering up a tree, and the puppies going wild trying to climb up right behind it. Whining ensued when they couldn’t catch the damn thing. Then crying followed, which was my cue to grab my baby girl. I knew it wasn’t bad for her to cry for a minute, but not my Tabby.
“I can get her, babe,” Aly said, hustling behind me.
“I was just going to bring her to you.”
She stopped and hooked her hands on her hips. “That’s not it, and you know it. You just can’t stand her crying for an extra second, and you’re the fastest one here.”
I nuzzled Tabby’s hair as I lifted her, inhaling her awesome baby smell. “Okay, yeah, but so what?”
“No one is ever going to live up to her softie of a daddy, Jason.”
I shrugged. “And that’s a bad thing?” I asked, knowing no one was ever going to be good enough for this little girl.
When I handed Tab over to Aly, she situated the baby’s head under her shirt. Of course, I stood guard to make sure no one saw boobage. My boobs.
“By the way, I’m not a softie,” I told Aly as I stroked a finger down her cheek. “I’m a bad-ass bodybuilder, Aly-cat, and don’t you forget it.”
“You’re just like your brother,” James chimed in. “You were all hard until you met a woman, and then you went soft like mush.”
“Isn’t it time for Cliffie to get a bottle or something?” I said, and shooed him away.
James just laughed and snagged a wine spritzer or some other girlie drink from the cooler next to me before walking off.
“You know I’m tough, right?” I asked my wife as I plopped down in the chair next to her, running my hand over Tabitha’s back under Aly’s shirt.
“Yeah, babe. You’re big and tough on the outside, but neither of us were survivors until we met each other. We’re our own little fairy tale, meant to be together. Beauty and the Beast.”
Isn’t that the truth? I leaned in to kiss the top of her fiery red hair, trying to get a quick look at those gorgeous tits of hers.
Maybe later.