Link shakes his bald head. “I don’t know why you’re talking shit. You were at the same fucking show.”
“Yeah, but I was there with my daughter. You were there with your girlfriend. That’s some sick shit.”
I take a seat on the last stool. “What show are you talking about?”
“Defy This show at Walnut Creek last Sunday.”
I shake my head. “I’m glad Jimi is past that stage.” Link slides a draft beer to me and I down a few big gulps. “So what happened with Xander? Did you talk to Estelle?”
Estelle Greenway is Xander’s sister. Xander was my manager for twelve years until we parted ways over a contract dispute. We’ve stayed in touch for the past eight years, though we hadn’t spoken to each other in about five months when Estelle contacted me last week. Xander has been in the hospital for three weeks with persistent pneumonia and, despite the doctor’s best efforts, his condition continues to decline. I visited him in the hospital on Friday afternoon, but he was in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator. Tristan was supposed to visit him yesterday to see how he was doing.
Tristan shakes his head. “It’s not good, man. Estelle said they’re taking him off the ventilator on Wednesday if he doesn’t improve.”
I grit my teeth against the anger. “It’s a fucking lung infection. You’d think they could just give him some fucking antibiotics. This is no way for him to go.”
Tristan shrugs. “I don’t know. Estelle looked pretty relieved about it. She’s been watching him suffer for weeks. That’s no way for him to live.”
I don’t want to get into an argument about life and death with Tristan, so I change the subject. “I’m going to the beach house tonight.”
Tristan downs the rest of his beer and grabs the new one Link just set down for him thirty seconds ago. “I know. You told me that on the phone.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell you who’s coming with me.”
Tristan squints his eyes as he stares at the pint glass in front of him. “Wait a minute. Are you saying…?”
I nod and let out a sigh. “She came to our house yesterday.”
Link sets another beer down in front of a customer a few seats away then rushes back to join the conversation. “Who came to your house?”
“Look at this nosy hen,” Tristan remarks.
“Abigail, my first daughter. The one… we gave up for adoption eighteen years ago.”
I’ve told Link about Abby before, but it was at least a decade ago. I wouldn’t expect him to remember. And as much as it pains me to say that we gave her up for adoption, I’ve always stood behind Claire’s decision. Because I know her decision to give Abby up was made completely out of love for me. I can’t show my gratitude to her by blaming her every chance I get.
“So what does that mean?” Tristan asks. “She’s going to the beach house with you all this summer? Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“I don’t know, but there’s no way I can convince Claire that it’s not. So I’m going along with it for now. And, I gotta admit, it feels really fucking good to have her with us.”
“Is she there right now?”
“Nah, she went home to pack some things. She took Junior with her. They’re driving to the beach house with her boyfriend tonight.”
“Sounds like a perfect family reunion. Now I know why you called this emergency meeting.”
I slide the beer away and turn to Tristan. “Listen, I know Senia’s busy with Izzy’s dance stuff, but can you make sure she checks up on Claire? I know she’s going to need to talk to Senia over the next week or so. However long Abby decides to stay.”
Tristan’s eyebrows shoot up and he laughs. “Are you fucking kidding me? When I tell Senia about Abby being at the beach house, she’ll probably pack up the whole fucking family and drive down there herself.”
I let out a soft chuckle. “I guess so. Then, maybe don’t tell her right away.”
He turns to me with one eyebrow cocked. “Now you’ve really gotta be kidding me. You know I can’t keep shit from her.”
“All right, fine. Just don’t tell her I want her to check up on Claire.”
We sit for a few minutes in silence, just sipping our beers, then Tristan clears his throat, like he’s getting ready to say something very serious. “So what do you want to do about Xander?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you gonna come back for the funeral?”
I press my lips together as I contemplate this question. “Don’t talk about him like that. He’s not dead yet.” I slide off the barstool and nod at Link. “Later, man.”
THE HOUSE IS QUIET as I climb the steps to the second floor. My home is rarely quiet, so it always raises the hairs on my neck when I walk through the door and I’m greeted with silence. I enter the bedroom and see the door to the master bathroom is closed. I approach slowly, listening for the sound of running water, but I hear nothing. I raise my fist to knock on the door, but it opens on its own.
Claire screams when she sees me. “Shit! You scared me. I didn’t know you’d be back so soon.”
“Why are you naked? Are you taking a shower?”
She looks over my shoulder at the bedroom door. “Close the door!”
I smile as I turn around and head over to pull it closed. Then I lock the door, for good measure. When I turn around, she’s at the dresser, sifting through her panty drawer. I come up behind her and nuzzle my face in her neck so I can taste her skin.
“Where are the kids?” I murmur into her ear.
“Jimi took Ryder to get a new bodyboard. They just left.”
“Good.”
“Chris?” she whispers, her back arched as I slide my hand between her legs. “Remember that surprise I told you about?”
My finger slides between her flesh and she lets out a soft squeak when I find her clit. I pull her backward, away from the dresser, then I gently lay her belly-down on the bed. Sliding my left hand down the back of her left thigh, I pull it sideways to spread her legs.
“You said the surprise might involve you being naked, so I’ll just come right out and say that I really like this surprise.” My hand glides between us to undo my pants and she laughs. “What’s so funny?”
She tries to turn around, but she can’t with me lying on top of her. “Get up. I need to turn around.”
“Okay, fine. No doggy style today.”
I stand up so she can flip onto her back, but the minute I see her ample breasts trembling with movement, the sinful curve of her hips, and the light patch of hair on her mound, I can’t resist. I get right back on top of her and she laughs as she pushes me back.
“I’m serious, Chris. I have to talk to you.”
I roll my eyes as I stand up again and offer her my hand to help her up. “What could be more important than having sex right now? All the kids are gone. All of them.”
Her face suddenly gets very serious and I could kick myself as I remember Abby is now included in that statement.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”
She waves off my apology and reaches for my face. “I know you didn’t mean it that way. You’re the most amazing father and person I’ve ever known. Which is why I’m kind of glad that I get to tell you this without anyone else around. You deserve that.”
“You’re kind of worrying me right now, Claire. What’s going on?”
She gazes into my eyes, not blinking as she draws in a large breath and lets it out slowly. “I’m pregnant.”
My body suddenly feels very heavy. I blink a few times then stare at her, expecting her to tell me this is a joke, but the punchline never comes.
“You’re serious?”
She nods, her eyebrows screwed up with worry. “Are you angry?”
“What? No. Of course not. I’m just… stunned. I mean, I haven’t heard those words come out of your mouth in twelve years. I think I’m a little rusty on how to react.”
“Well, jumping up and clicking your
heels together is always an option.”
I laugh as I take her face in my hands. “I’m sorry. You definitely caught me off guard, but I know we can do this. We’ve done it before. It’s just that I had so many plans for us, but it’s no big deal. We’ve been all over the world for shows. I’m sure those places won’t be that much better without a show to play.” I kiss her slowly, sucking gently on her top lip until I get a soft whimper out of her. “Ooh, now we can have pregnant sex again.”
“Are you really okay with this? This is going to be number five. And this body isn’t getting any younger or prettier.”
“This body could not be more beautiful. Lie down.”
She manages a tiny smile as she lies back on the bed. I lie next to her and place my hand on her belly.
“This body has carried and given birth to our four children.” I lean down and kiss the soft flesh below her navel. “This body gets up at the crack of dawn every day to make my life easier.” I plant another kiss just below her breastbone. “This body yields to my every desire.” I take her nipple into my mouth and she sucks in a sharp breath as I suck on her flesh. My fingertips skate over her waist and hips, tripping over the soft curves of her flesh, until I reach her succulent ass. Then I bring my hand forward and slide it between her legs. “This body is mine.” I bury my finger inside her and she gasps. “Say it.”
She moans as I dig deeper inside her. “My body is yours.”
I spread her legs so I can position myself between them. Then, I lie down, keeping pressure inside of her with my right hand as I use my other hand to spread her sweet flesh. I French-kiss her clit, savoring the slight tang of her skin. This is Claire’s favorite way to orgasm, when I kiss her clit as if it were her mouth, which means it’s my favorite thing to do to her. Her panting quickly becomes louder, so I ease off a bit. Pulling my finger out of her, I switch to lightly kissing her swollen lips and tracing my tongue up and down her slit.
She whimpers softly, her flesh engorged and hips rocking slightly back and forth as her need increases. “Please, make me come.”
I slide two fingers inside her and lightly run my tongue over her hard nub.
“Oh, Chris,” she breathes as I gently suck on her clit. “Oh, God, Chris. Don’t stop.”
She grabs the comforter and pulls it over her mouth to muffle her screams. Her hips buck wildly, so I slow down. Lightly sucking on the flesh around her clit. Teasing her until I can see her juices running over my hand.
I turn my fingers around and press down on the rear wall of her vagina and once again take her clit into my mouth. She cries out, spasming with pleasure as I devour her while I thrust my fingers down firmly and repeatedly, simulating the sensation that she’s being fucked hard from behind. Another one of her favorite positions.
“Oh, fuck!” she yelps, though her cries are muffled by the blanket. “Oh, Chris! I’m coming!”
I smile as I gently press my forearm down on her abdomen to hold her steady. I close my lips around her clit again and flick my tongue quickly as I suck. She’s not bucking anymore, but her thighs are convulsing as she reaches for my hair.
“Oh, my God!”
I can feel her wetness all over my chin. She tries to yank me up by my hair, but I push her hands away. I’m going for orgasm number two.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE DRIVE TO THE BEACH house is filled with questions from Ryder about what we’re going to do when we get there. “Can we go swimming tonight?… Is Abby there already?… That’s not fair I didn’t get to go with Junior. Can I ride in Caleb’s car when they get there?… Are we going to the music festival again?… Is Abby sleeping in my room? She can sleep in my room. I don’t mind.”
“Abby will be sharing a room with Jimi,” I reply to Ryder.
He slumps in his seat and pouts the rest of the way there. I hope Jimi reacts better than Ryder when I give her this same news.
Chris pulls into the driveway of the beach house and I let out a sigh of relief. The gray siding and white trim were Chris’s idea, which I was opposed to at first. But, as usual, he was right. The house has a very elegant Cape Cod feel with a few homey touches, like the decorative cornices and the large wraparound porch. I love the big house in Cary, but the beach house feels more like home to me. Maybe that’s because Wrightsville was my home when Chris and I got back together more than seventeen years ago.
Jimi pulls her Mercedes into the driveway about three minutes after Chris. He takes all the luggage up to the bedrooms with Ryder’s help while I grab some linens from a closet and get them into the washing machine. I come out of the upstairs laundry room and head straight for Jimi’s bedroom.
“Why do I have to share my room?” Jimi shrieks. “My room only has one bed! Ryder has bunk beds!”
“We have the rollaway bed in the garage from when Grandma and Grandpa stayed over. She can sleep on that,” I reply. “We’ll just have to move stuff around to make room.”
“Why can’t Ryder and Junior share a room? Then she can stay in Ryder’s room with her boyfriend.”
“She’s not sharing a room with her boyfriend,” Chris replies as he and Ryder enter with the rollaway bed. “She’s sharing a room with you, so get over it.”
“This is so unfair. How can you be so naive? They’ve probably already had sex. You guys were having sex at their age.”
“Ew!” Ryder shouts, covering his ears with his hands.
“Enough!” Chris barks at her. “This isn’t up for negotiation. It’s a done deal. Now, let it rest.”
Jimi shakes her head, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. I definitely need to have a chat with Jimi before Abby arrives. I just hope I can clear some of this tension. I always expected there would be a little awkwardness between Abby and the kids when she came back to us. But I never expected it would last more than a couple of hours. I don’t know how long this is going to last. All I know is that if it lasts much longer, it will break my heart, just as it was finally beginning to mend.
“Honey, can you run to the store and get a few extra pillows? I forgot we had to throw some out last time we were here when Ryder got sick.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah, I’ll run out and get some in a little while.” Chris tests out the bed to make sure it’s locked in position, then he looks around the room. “I’ll get Junior to help me move this furniture around later.”
“Caleb can help you,” Jimi says.
Chris flashes her a look, then he seems to decide not to address this comment. “I’ll take Ryder with me to the store. You need anything else?”
“Yeah, get some eggs and stuff so I can make breakfast tomorrow.”
“Will do, babe.”
He plants a quick kiss on my temple then squeezes his way through the tight space between the two beds. I sit on the bed next to Jimi and wait until I hear Chris and Ryder are gone before I speak.
“I know this is difficult for you.”
“I don’t want to talk about this, Mom.”
She opens the top drawer of her nightstand and pulls out a set of wireless headphones. I grab the headphones before she can put them on.
“Don’t do that. I’m trying to have a conversation with you. Talk to me, Jimi. I want to hear your side of this. I want to make this easier for you.”
She lets out a short burst of laughter, and I fully expect her to make a caustic comment about how much I don’t care. Then her eyes begin to water and she pulls her legs up onto the bed so she can hug her knees to her chest and hide her face.
“Oh, honey,” I murmur, brushing her long light-brown hair back so it’s not covering her eyes. “I hate to see you this way. Please talk to me.”
“I’m not crying because of Abby or my stupid phone. I’m just upset. I… I got in a fight with Sydney and now this whole summer is going to suck. I just hate everything right now.”
Jimi has always had a problem talking about her feelings. Now she’s making up some excuse about a fight with Sydney to avoid
the topic. I scoot a bit closer and wrap my arms around her shoulders. Then I lean my forehead against hers and she lets out a soft sob. Straightening out her legs on the bed, she lays her head on my shoulder as I pull her closer.
“I’m sorry,” she blubbers into my neck. “I don’t want to ruin this for you.”
I squeeze her tighter. “Don’t apologize. You’re not ruining anything.”
“Yes, I am. But I can’t help it.”
I stroke her hair and kiss the top of her head. “Jimi, I don’t want you to set your feelings aside. You have a right to feel what you’re feeling.”
“No, I don’t. This is supposed to be a happy time… for you.”
I release my hold on her and lean back so I can look her in the eye. “You have a right to feel scared. And I love that you don’t want to share us. I don’t want to share you with anyone else either. Hint-hint, Jared.”
She lets out a congested chuckle at my mention of the cute boy she’s been exchanging text messages with since the last day of school a week and a half ago.
“But listen to me, Jimi. Just because I don’t want to share you doesn’t mean that you don’t need me to. You need the love of your friends as much as you need my love. And I need to have Abby here as much as I need you. I love you both, baby. And I know it’s probably difficult for you to understand how I can love her so much after all these years. I wish I could explain it, but I can’t. It’s just love. It doesn’t make sense. And it doesn’t mean I love you any less. It doesn’t mean you’re not still your father’s princess.”
She sniffs loudly and nods as she stands from the bed. “I’m going to take a shower.”
I stand up after her and turn around when I get to the door. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I close her bedroom door behind me to give her some privacy, then I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Senia’s number. I called her this morning after Chris left to meet Tristan, and I told her everything. She wanted to come to my house right then and there, but I told her the kids were all gone already. Senia is still the only friend who will drop everything to be there for me when I need her. As she still likes to say, she’s my sister from another mister.