Perfect Chaos
Asa
Crew, Grady, and I are standing off to the side, watching a slew of teenagers gathered around a bonfire. The music is loud, Keelie and Danielle provided a mountain of food, and now that Keelie’s family left, it’s just the kids.
All the kids.
Keelie’s after-graduation party for Levi has proved to be the hotspot. I lost count around the seventy-fifth teenager and now I just have to make sure no one wanders off into the woods and gets pregnant on my watch.
Levi is sitting by the fire with Carissa curled into his chest. He looks away from a group of people they’re talking to and leans in to whisper something in her ear that makes her smile.
I shake my head. I don’t know whether to cringe because they’re too serious or be happy because he’s happy. My son graduated this afternoon and he leaves in a little over two months. I’ve reached the point in parenting where I can’t do much anymore—he is who he is. I’m just glad he’s not a dumbass and has his head screwed on straight. At least I’ll have more time with Emma.
“How’s Keelie doing?” Crew asks. “It’s only been a week. She looks okay, but she also looked okay right after she was grazed by a bullet the first time I met her.”
I lift my beer to my lips. “She’s good. Surprisingly good. I keep watching her, waiting for her to implode. She went to see Tom Logan yesterday. It hasn’t been easy, but he’s recovering. She also found out Maggie’s parents have put her in rehab for at least the next month. I guess she’s done a lot of experimenting. Beth is home and should make a full recovery.”
“Good news.” Grady tips his head toward the other side of the yard where Emma is sitting with a group of kids. “That, on the other hand, does not look like good news.”
When I look over, I have to agree—that is really bad fucking news. It’s all I can do not to go over there to rip the boy’s head off who’s been giving Emma way too much attention all night. I have no idea who he is, but he looks way too fucking old for her. They’d better not leave my sight or someone’s going to end up scared shitless. After all she went through this past year, I want nothing more than for her to be a teenager, enjoy school, and be happy.
But not that kind of happy.
I had less than a year with Levi, at least I have three more with her. But if this is what I have to look forward to—watching some hormonal boy drool all over my beautiful daughter—it’s going to be a long three years.
I’ve been looking at cars for her and after what happened to Keelie last week, I might just put her in a tank to keep her safe. I’m still working on ways to keep her away from the opposite sex.
“Chloe’s only a few months old and I’m already not looking forward to that stage,” Grady adds.
The goats start to raise hell, vying for attention from a group of teenagers who wandered over to see what they were all about.
“Since you and Keelie are officially a thing,” Grady starts and motions to the pasture. “You’re now the owner of a shitload of goats and a donkey.”
I don’t answer and raise a brow, wondering where this is going, because I can tell from his tone, his smartass is burning strong.
Grady looks to Crew and keeps talking. “And don’t pretend you haven’t come to like the cows. Every few months you come home from the auction, or whatever the hell that place is, with a new one.”
Crew smirks. “It’s better than mowing the pastures. And Vivi loves them, too.”
“Don’t make excuses. If you’re a cow lover, just be a man and own it. My point is that you two were badasses who traveled the world doing what we did and now you’re both basically farmers.”
I shake my head and Crew laughs silently.
Grady pushes away from the side of the barn he was leaning against and heads for the house. “You two should get your animals together for a playdate or some shit. Those goats would drive the cows up a fucking wall—they do me.”
Grinning, I call back, “I’m gonna get Cayden a goat for his birthday. He’ll love it.”
Grady pins me with a glare. “You wouldn’t dare.”
I shrug. “No, but Saylor would. If you dare her, I bet she’d give him two.”
Frowning, he heads for the house, probably to find Maya and his kids to get them home. Chloe’s only a few months old and he’s already talking about having a third.
“Took you a while.”
I look to Crew. “To do what?”
“To find it. But when you did, you did it up big,” he smirks.
“We’re getting married next month,” I tell him.
His eyes widen. “Really?”
“Yeah, we didn’t want to announce it before Levi graduated and take away from his day. Not that the kids and everyone else don’t know it’s coming since we’re living here. It can’t happen soon enough.”
“Happy for you. Talk to Addison if you want to have it at the vineyard. She’ll have Evan make it happen whenever you want.”
“I don’t know.” I look around at the property I just paid off—where I met Saylor and Knox for the first time, where we got Emma back on track, where Levi is celebrating a milestone, and where we agreed to plant roots together. “I think we might do it here.”
My goal is for Keelie to live easy for the rest of her life and paying off her mortgage was the first step. Before I did it, I asked her if she wanted to move, find something easier to maintain or closer to town. She thought about it for about two seconds before reaching up and putting her lips on mine. That’s when she said, “And leave my first memories with you behind? Not a chance. I fell in love with you in this house. I used to hate it and everything it stood for. But you gave me memories here—ones I love and never want to leave.”
Even though that happened late at night after all the kids were settled, her words were enough to make me want to create memories everywhere I could. I pulled her into the pantry and fucked her on the counter with the wine fridge humming away below us. A wine fridge I keep fully stocked, but it still has kiddie drinks stuffed in every available space.
This is our life. A family of six, with kids spanning the ages of eighteen to five, goats, dogs, a donkey, and enough random barn cats that I still have no idea if they’re all ours since I can’t keep track of them.
I look around at what might seem like bedlam to others—but to us, it’s become a perfect kind of chaos.
*****
Keelie
“You tired?”
He asks me this at the same moment he takes my mouth and slides his hand into my panties.
When he moves his fingers through me and circles my clit, even if I was tired, I’d push through. I’ll never be tired enough to say no to Asa.
His voice dips. “You put your ring back on.”
“I did.” I bring my hand up and touch the platinum band holding a completely ostentatious diamond, the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Asa slid it on my finger three days ago. There’s been so much going on with the fall of Brett White and everything surrounding that debacle—not to mention Levi’s graduation—I wanted to wait to tell everyone. Levi deserved to have his day.
“We’ll tell everyone tomorrow.” He kisses me again. “How about we get married here?”
My hands on his face tense and he stops to look down at me when I ask, “You’d want that?”
“It’s okay if you don’t. We’ll talk to Addy about doing it at Whitetail.”
“No.” I shake my head. “That’s not what I meant. I’d love to do it here, I just didn’t know if you would.” I relax and smile. “You think the animals will be quiet long enough for us to say I do?”
He grins and gives my clit more pressure. “I’ll have them shipped out for the day. They can go to a goat hotel.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or moan. “You’ll have to be the one to explain that to Saylor.”
“I can handle Saylor.”
“Yeah.” My smile fades. “You do it like you were meant to—like you were meant to be here for both of them.”
He kisses me again before murmuring against my lips. “Love you, baby. Love all of you.”
“Love you, too.” I kiss him back before adding. “And thank you for working so hard at unfucking me.”
Before he kisses me again, I get his smiling, hazel eyes. “I’ll work at unfucking you for the rest of my days. You can count on it.”
I know I can, because that’s Asa. His most precious gift is him.