“I picked up a bunch of steaks for grilling, if y’all are hungry,” Reed said as he pulled me closer to him.
Being in his arms made every fear and doubt just melt away. I looked at Whitley. She was trying to smile but doing a shitty job of it.
“Oh, hell yeah, I’m starved,” Layton said.
Reed kissed me on top of the head before he began walking out of the barn with Layton.
“You must be starving and tired from the long trip. You want me to make a salad, too?” I said to Whitley as I began to follow Reed and Layton.
“Courtney?”
I stopped and closed my eyes. I can’t do this right now. I slowly turned around and gave her a weak smile. “Whit, give me a couple of days, and we’ll talk, okay?”
The concern flooding her eyes made me feel terrible. I knew she was wondering why I’d never told her about my sex life, or lack thereof, but right now, I just couldn’t tell her, not when I was so happy.
She slowly nodded her head. “Okay.” She smiled and walked up to me. “So, tell me about this whole Reed-running-around-the-cows-naked thing.”
We both began laughing as we walked out of the barn. Reed turned around and looked at me with so much love that it caused my heart to skip a beat. He winked before turning back around, and then he slapped Layton on the back.
I put my arm around Whitley and began telling her about last night with Reed and how he had done all the things I liked.
“I knew it! I knew he would be romantic like Layton!” Whitley said with a giggle.
We made our way into the kitchen where all of us talked about the honeymoon, Reed’s new job with Layton, and how happy we all were.
When I glanced over at Reed, he mouthed, I love you.
There goes my stomach again…and my heart…and the blush on my cheeks. I got up and walked over to him. I leaned against him, and I could feel his hard-on as he pulled me closer to him. I instantly smiled.
“I love you, Courtney,” he whispered.
I reached up on my tippy-toes and kissed him on the lips. “I love you, too, Reed.”
I just wanted to stay in this bubble forever.
But something was telling me that my bubble was going to be popped…and sooner than I wanted.
A couple of months had passed since Layton and Whitley came back from their honeymoon, and tonight, Mimi and Frank were finally throwing them a barbeque. I decided to get a cup of Court’s favorite coffee for her before heading over to her house to pick her up.
I pulled up to the coffee shop, jumped out of my truck, and made my way in. I couldn’t help the smile on my face. I was thinking about last night and how we had finally made love on the kitchen island in the cabin. It couldn’t have been more perfect. As I stood in line, the memory flooded my thoughts.
“Courtney, I can’t take it any longer. I want to make love to you, baby,” I whispered as I pulled her body closer to mine.
We were painting the kitchen a different color than the one my sister had picked out. The moment Court had mentioned the color she wanted in her kitchen at home, I’d decided it was going to be the color in the kitchen at the cabin.
I looked down at her face and let out a chuckle. She had paint everywhere—in her hair, on her nose, and even on the tip of her ear. I brought my lips down and crushed them against hers, and she let out a small moan. I pulled back and picked her up, and then I set her down on the kitchen island.
“Oh God, Reed, I can’t seem to get enough of you,” she whispered.
I saw the look of lust fill her eyes at the idea of me making love to her on the island. The first time I’d shown her the house and she’d run her hand along the granite, I’d pictured me inside her, making love to her on top of the island. With the way her cheeks had flushed, I had been pretty sure that she was thinking the same thing.
As I began taking off her sneakers, the smile spread across her face. I started to unbutton her shorts, and when she lifted up her ass, I took both her shorts and panties off in one fast movement.
“Shit! The granite is cold,” she said with a giggle.
“I’ll heat you up, baby.” I licked my lips as I began taking off her T-shirt.
She was wearing a white lace bra, and her nipples were hard and so ready for me to suck on them.
“Courtney, I want you so much,” I whispered.
“Yes. Please, Reed. I need you,” she said as she took off her bra.
She began moving back on the island as I quickly stripped out of my clothes. This was not the time for sweet lovemaking. I wanted to fuck her hard and fast, and I couldn’t get in her quickly enough.
“Courtney, I want to fuck you hard and fast,” I said before I even thought about how she would react to me talking to her like that.
Her eyes lit up, and she arched her body as she pulled me to her. “Yes. Shit, that turns me on even more when you say it like that,” she panted.
Okay…she liked it. Now, my dick was even harder and beginning to hurt because I wanted her so badly.
I leaned down, took her nipple into my mouth, and began sucking on it. She whispered my name as I gave each nipple equal attention.
“Damn it, Reed…touch me now.”
I reached my hand down, and when I touched the inside of her thigh, she jumped with anticipation.
“I’m not going to last two minutes, Court.”
“You better. I want it hard, Reed.”
I let out a moan as I slipped two fingers into her wet, warm body. “Jesus, Courtney…you’re always so ready.”
She pushed her hands through my hair. “Yes, I’m always ready for you.” She pushed her hips up and let out a whimper. “Reed. Please. Fuck me now.”
I swallowed hard and pulled my fingers out of her. I grabbed her hips and slammed my dick inside her in one quick move. She let out a cry, and I stopped in fear of hurting her.
“No! Don’t stop. Faster, Reed. Oh God, go faster and harder.”
I did just that. I moved so fast and hard, and I fought like hell not to come before she did.
She began moving her hips right along with me as she called out, “Harder!
So, I gave her just what she’d asked for.
“Oh God, Reed! Feels…so…damn…good.”
“Court…come for me, baby. Please…I can’t hold off much longer,” I said between pants.
“I don’t want it to end. Oh God…oh my God. Yes! Right there. I’m going to come, Reed!”
I pulled almost all the way out, and then I slammed my dick back into her as she began screaming out my name over and over. When she looked into my eyes and said my name, I lost it. I exploded in her, and I couldn’t believe how it felt. I’d never in my life experienced such an orgasm as I did just then. It felt like I was never going to stop pouring myself into her body. As I lay there, holding my body weight off of her, I could feel my dick still twitching inside her. I didn’t want to pull out. I wanted to stay buried inside her forever.
“Don’t move yet,” she whispered as she held on to me tightly.
“I never want to move, Court. I want to stay this way forever.” I moved my lips along her neck and up to her lips where I began kissing her.
We were both so lost in the kiss.
When I pulled away and looked down at her, I whispered, “I want to marry you, Courtney.”
I watched as she swallowed, and her eyes filled with tears. For a few seconds, I regretted saying it out loud while she just kept staring into my eyes, not saying anything, but then I could see the love in her eyes.
“Will you promise to fuck me like this at least once a week? And teach me about plants?” she asked as she raised her eyebrows.
I smiled and let out a laugh, feeling my dick growing inside her. “I promise.” I began moving in and out of her again, each movement causing my dick to get harder and harder.
She let out a soft moan before she wrapped her legs around me, pulling me closer to her. “Then, it’s a done deal. With a promise like that, I’d be
a fool not to want to marry you.”
I shook my head and gave her my crooked smile that I knew she loved. “I’m going to make love to you now, angel. I love you, Courtney.”
“I love you, too, Reed, so very much.”
“Are you not even going to say hello to your old man?” a voice said, snapping me out of my daydream.
I looked to my right and saw my father standing there. A girl, probably around my age, was standing next to him, eye-fucking the shit out of me.
“Oh my, your son is just as handsome as you are, honey,” she said.
She bit down on her lip, and my stomach turned.
“Reed, it’s been a while,” my father said as he put his hand out for me to shake.
I looked down at his hand and then up into his eyes. “What are you doing here?” I asked, panic filling my whole body. If he’s even thinking about going to see my mother, I will kick his ass.
“I came to see Paul, Wesley, and you, of course. Maybe your mother, too, if I have time.”
I grabbed his shirt and pushed him. “You stay the fuck away from her and Paul and Wesley. No one wants you here. You made your choice years ago when you left us all for some slut.” I looked at the girl and smirked. “I see you found a new one.”
She gave me a dirty look.
My father grabbed me and got right in my face. “Don’t you talk to her like that. You think you’re better than me, Reed?”
I pushed his hand away. “Yes, sir, I do. I’d never leave my wife and kids—ever.”
He threw his head back and laughed as Jim, the owner of the coffee shop, came walking up.
“Reed, Mr. Moore, is everything okay here?”
My father looked at Jim and smiled. “Jim, good to see you after all these years. Yeah, all is well. I was just letting my son here know that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
With that, he grabbed the slut by the hand, and they started to make their way out of the coffee shop. My heart was pounding, and that familiar fear that I’d thought I had pushed away came creeping back.
Jim put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t listen to him, Reed. You are nothing like him. Nothing.”
I glanced over at Jim and tried to smile as I nodded my head. “Thanks, Jim. I think I’ll skip the coffee.”
I turned and headed to my truck. The moment I got in, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I never wanted to hurt Courtney—ever.
I grabbed the steering wheel hard and yelled out, “Fuck! Why the fuck did you come back?”
I reached for my cell phone, and with shaking hands, I hit my sister’s number.
“Hey, big bro. I’m just about to pull up to Mom’s to pick her and Paul up, and then we will be heading out to Mimi and Frank’s place.”
“Wesley,” was all I could get out.
“Reed, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Is Courtney okay?”
I tried to talk, but I couldn’t.
“Reed! You’re scaring me!” she yelled over the phone.
“He’s back. Dad is back,” I whispered.
“What?”
“I just ran into him at the coffee shop. He was with some bitch our age. Wesley, he told me that I was like him. I can’t be like him. I promised Courtney that I’d never hurt her.” I barely got the last few words out while I fought to hold back a sob.
“You listen to me right now, Reed. You are nothing like that man. Our mother raised you to be a gentleman and to treat women with respect, and I’ve never in my life seen you not do just that.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding and put my head down on the steering wheel. “Wesley, I’ve done things, things I’m not proud of. If Courtney ever found out—”
“Stop this, Reed. Stop this right now. I know Courtney, and I know how much she loves you. What you did in the past has nothing to do with how you feel about her. We all make mistakes, Reed. Please…please don’t let him do this to you. Promise me.”
I sat there and thought about what I’d done in my past. I needed to tell Courtney, or I’d never be able to shake this fear of losing her if she ever found out.
“Reed? Please talk to me,” Wesley whispered.
I cleared my throat. “I’m here. I promise, Wesley.”
“Don’t let him ruin your happiness. He doesn’t deserve it. I’ll let Paul know that Dad is back in town. Are you still going with us to take Paul back to school?”
I nodded my head even though I knew she couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I’m still going. I think Court wants to come along as well.”
“Perfect! I know Mom really loves Courtney, so it will be nice for her to spend time with the whole family. I gotta run, honey. Please don’t worry about Dad. Reed, you are nothing like him. Just always remember that,” Wesley said as I heard her punching in the gate code to our mom’s place.
“Yep. Talk to you later, sis.” I hit End and sat there for a few minutes.
Then, I started driving toward Courtney’s house as I thought about how what I was about to tell her could possibly end my whole future.
I sat on Mimi and Frank’s porch swing, looking out over the pasture, lost in thought.
Whitley walked up and hit me on the shoulder before sitting down. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked as she pushed the swing.
We began swinging back and forth, and I shook my head as I kept staring straight out.
“Courtney, did something happen with you and Reed?”
I turned and looked at her, giving her a weak smile. “I don’t think so. I mean, after we made love last night, he told me he wanted to marry me.”
Whitley gasped and threw her hand up to her mouth. “What? Did he ask you?”
I smiled and shook my head. “No, he just said he wanted to marry me, that’s all.”
Whitley let out a gruff laugh. “That’s all? Um…that’s pretty big. So, if he’s saying he wants to marry you, why are you sitting out here, looking like someone just killed your dog? Or worse yet, like someone took your Kindle.”
I laughed. “I think something has changed. When he picked me up earlier, he was very distant—I mean, scary distant. He’s hardly talked to me at all, and I keep wondering if maybe he has changed his mind. Maybe he just blurted it out, and he didn’t really mean it,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders.
Whitley put her arm around me and let out a sigh. “No, Reed doesn’t act on impulse. I know that for a fact. Besides, I heard him talking to Layton earlier. I wasn’t going to say anything to you, but with how you’re filling your mind with doubt, I have to.”
I turned and looked at her. The smile on her face made me giggle. “What do you know?”
“Promise that you’ll never, ever repeat what I’m about to tell you. Ever!”
I nodded my head quickly, and hope began flooding back into my heart.
Whitley clapped her hands and leaned closer to me while looking all around. “Mimi asked me to grab more sausage for the grill. I went to the kitchen, and the back door was cracked open. Layton and Reed were in there, and…well, they didn’t hear me coming in. I overheard Layton ask Reed…” She threw her hand up to her mouth and smiled even bigger.
“Oh my God. He asked Reed what?” I grabbed her hands.
“I feel like I’m going to ruin your surprise if I tell you.”
I pulled back and shot Whitley the dirtiest look I could. “Really, Whit? You’re going to go that far and then say you shouldn’t tell me? Spill the beans, bitch, or no new book recommendations from me for three months.”
Whitley let out a gasp and then quickly spilled the beans. “Layton asked Reed if he had picked up your ring yet from the jeweler in Austin. Layton said something about it being sized and cleaned.”
Whitley had spit it out so fast that I had to sit for a few seconds to process it.
“Wait, what?”
Whitley quickly shook her head and looked at me like I was crazy. “What do you mean, what? He picked up a ring. He told you he wanted to marry you. He’s going to ask you to marr
y him, you idiot! I don’t think he’s changed his mind.”
My heart started racing, and my stomach took a dive straight down to the ground. “Do you think?”
Whitley rolled her eyes and giggled. “Yes! Courtney, stop letting fear creep into your mind. Reed loves you, sweetheart. Everyone who looks at the two of you knows how much you love each other.”
I smiled and looked at her as I tilted my head. “Just like when they look at you and Layton. The love pours off of y’all. Speaking of, you two have been awfully giddy today. I mean, the way Layton keeps looking at you and smiling is turning me on. What’s going on?” I gave her my best mom look.
A beautiful blush instantly covered her face, and her eyes lit up.
“Oh. My. God. You’re pregnant,” I said as I jumped up and stared at her.
“What? How in the world did you know?” Whitley asked with a startled look on her face.
I let out a small scream as I grabbed her hands and pulled her up into a hug. “I don’t know. I just saw the look on your face, and you just seemed…different!”
We kept hugging each other.
She pulled back and gave me the biggest grin I’d ever seen. “Yes, I’m pregnant! I went to the doctor yesterday, and they confirmed it. It looks like I’m about eleven weeks along.”
I put my hand up to my mouth and let out another scream before I got myself under control. I took a deep breath and asked, “Your honeymoon night maybe? Oh my God, how romantic, Whitley!” I pulled her into another hug and whispered to her, “I’m so incredibly happy for you both.”
She was laughing when we finally sat back down on the swing. “I didn’t think it would happen so fast, especially with me stopping the pill just the day before the wedding.”
“Well, ya know what they say—it only takes one time,” I said with a wink. “How is Layton taking it?”
Whitley’s head dropped back, and she let out a sigh as she looked at the clear blue sky. “He is so happy, Court.” She looked back at me and shook her head. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man so happy in my life as when the doctor came in and said the test was positive. Then, we did an ultrasound, and you could see the little angel on the screen. It was the most amazing moment of my life.”