When her father hands her off to me, I don’t hear the minister. He spoke at the rehearsal, so I know what he plans to say. I stand in awe of my bride feeling like the luckiest bastard on the planet. Then I have a moment to say a prayer for feeling guilty. If not for Drew McKnight passing from this world, I wouldn’t have this opportunity. I know what I have to do. When it comes time, I am ready.
I take her hands in mine and stare into the windows of her soul because she needs to know I’ve never felt this way about anyone else and I never will. She is my first and my last, my only and now is the time to not only tell her, but tell the world.
“Cate McKnight, I knew when I met you I wasn’t your first love. That honor belonged to Drew McKnight. And his shoes won’t be easy to fill. I’m thankful to him for encouraging you to love again, thus giving me the greatest opportunity of a lifetime to spend it with you.” I want to glance at his parents who sit somewhere in the pews to the left of me, but I refuse to take my eyes off my girl. “I knew this when I decided you were the one with whom I wanted to share my life. Your beauty, your heart, and your mind encourage me to be the best person I can be. And I vow that I will do whatever it takes to be, if not your first, your last love. I promise to love you without reservation, encourage you to achieve all of your goals, laugh with you, comfort you in times of distress, always be open and honest with you, cherish and be faithful to you for as long as we both shall live. For this is my promise and my solemn vow.”
I see Cate’s tears and reluctantly, I let her hand go to produce a tissue from my pocket. This is something I did the first day we met and it seems as important. She smiles at me in a way that tells me she remembers as well, and dabs her eyes with it. Then she takes my hand again and it’s her turn.
“Drew Mercer, I didn’t think I could love again or even want to. When you came in my life, you came with your patience and understanding. You offered friendship and encouragement in my time of need. Our love wasn’t hurried. It came over time in a way that scared me at first, but made me feel secure in the end. Drew McKnight did leave big shoes to fill and not because he wore a size fourteen.” That gets a few laughs and even a chuckle from me. “But I know Drew would approve of you knowing you could handle the job. I promise from this day forward I will give you all my love and you will not walk alone. Your love is my anchor, your trust, my strength. I give you shelter for your heart and may my arms be your home. I willingly give you all that I am and all that I will become. My love for you has no beginning or no end. For this is my promise and my solemn vow.”
I want to kiss her now. I want to take her in my arms and tell her that her words are my own. But I wait as the minister has us say a few more things before he finally lets me kiss my bride. Her lips are my lifeline and I have to break it off, otherwise I’ll have a serious tent in my pants. When she pulls backs, she leans up again. Her lips slide against my cheek and up to my ear.
“There is one more thing I need to tell you, husband.”
I wait as everyone gets on their feet ready for us to walk down the aisle joined hand in hand.
“We’re having a baby.”
And I thought there was no greater joy in marrying the woman I love until I hear those words.
After pictures and the cutting of the cake, I can’t wait any longer.
“Where are we going?” Cate asks as I take her hand in mine and drag her along with me.
“The limo.” Her eyes grow in size and it only makes me harder. “Fuck Cate, you can’t look at me like that. I won’t last.”
The door is unlocked and the driver is nowhere in sight. I take her down NFL style, full on tackle. My hands gather more and more of her dress with no end in sight.
“How much fabric does this dress have?”
She laughs. “Wait, let me help you.”
She’s teasing me and she doesn’t know the state I’m in. Seeing her and not being able to touch her for the last month has made me lose all finesse. I kiss her hard and her teasing dies away. She fists her hand in my hair, tugging me closer and I know she’s as desperate as I am for me to be buried balls deep inside her.
There’s no need for a condom, as if I’d worn any since that first time without one—which explains the baby thing. After I dip two fingers inside her and find her wet and ready, I dive in.
I groan out my relief because she’s heaven. I languish being inside her skin to skin. When her nails dig in my ass, that’s her sign, telling me to move. I oblige and rock myself forward hard and at a steady pace.
“Harder,” she begs.
I lift her ass off the seat and angle her differently. I know just how to set her off and give her her first orgasm in seconds. Her pussy milks my dick, almost setting me off. But I’m not ready yet. It feels so damn good to be inside her again, I want it to last. So as a diversion, I think of work for a second and that halts everything. Leaning down, I capture her lips in a searing kiss. She tastes like the sweetest cake and I feel myself building again.
It isn’t long before I’m saying, “Fuck Cate, I’m going to come.”
My words rocket her second orgasm. Her back arches off the seat and I ride her all the way back down. My climax jars me so hard, I collapse on top of her when I’m done.
“I hope you believe me now that my balls really were a nice shade of blue.”
About eight months later, I stare into the eyes of the woman I love so completely, I’m mesmerized every time I look at her. I try not to smile at the frantic look on her face. She’s totally out of sorts as they wheel her into labor and delivery.
“Andy, don’t let go of my hand.” Her plea for my support does something to my chest and I feel almost like beating on it.
“Never,” I say gently as she squeezes the ever loving life out of it.
“It’s not fair, you’re all calm. You don’t have to push a turkey out of Louise. I mean how do they know she’s ready? She doesn’t have a basting button on the side of her head.”
“We doctors don’t know. We usually leave that up to the baby. That’s why our daughter has made her opinion known on the subject.”
Cate glares “You know it’s a girl, don’t you?” She whips out an accusatory finger pointed in my direction. “You said she. You promised it would be a surprise and you wouldn’t sneak and find out.”
They set the gurney in the room and prepare to shift her over to the specialized bed they use for the delivery. She doesn’t let go of my hand. I have to stretch in order not to pull her off it as I make my way around and next to her.
“I didn’t find out. You called her ‘a her’ and I went with it.”
Her eyes narrow and I swear the chuckle I’m holding in will burst out of me. Before she can say anything else, her face gathers at the brow, pinching in pain. “Andy, I want pain medication.”
It had been Cate’s idea to go without meds. I’d supported her decision either way. “Okay, let me see if Dr. Yancey is on the floor.”
I’m about to let her go when a man walks in as Cate continues to squeeze my hand like it’s an orange and she’s trying to make juice. The man holds a chart, but I don’t recognize him.
“Dr. Carter,” Cate says in surprise.
His face grows a smile at my wife in a way that says he’s familiar with her. “Mrs. Mercer, it’s good to see you again.”
I hold up a finger. “A moment.”
He glances up at me and I’m sure he’s dealt with plenty of fathers over the years.
“Sure.”
When Cate’s pain passes, I kiss her knuckles. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to step over here and talk to Dr. Carter.” I nod at the nurse and she steps over to reassure Cate while I confer with the good doctor.
Three steps and I stand to one side of the room with the other man. He gets the jump on the conversation to come.
“Dr. Mercer, your wife has nothing but great things to say about you. I’m sorry we haven’t met. Apparently, the two times I had the pleasure of seeing your wif
e, you had emergencies that kept you away.”
I take his proffered hand and shake it.
“Nice to meet you Dr. Carter. My wife mentioned you.” She had. She hadn’t said he was a he. Not that it should matter. I get to the heart of the matter. “Cate wanted to go without an epidural; however, she’s changed her mind.”
“I’m sure you know it all depends on how far along she is. Can you tell me about her contractions?”
I run down medically how labor began with her water breaking and what we did since that point. We’d opted to stay at home where I walked with her, rubbed her back and generally got her through the pain until this point. Last checked, I clocked the contractions at about five minutes apart and told him so. Although things had progressed on the drive over, she’d been so worried, I found myself talking to her instead of timing the pauses between her pain.
“As long as she’s not crowning, I can send the order for an Anesthesiologist to come down.”
“Andy, I think I need to push.”
Dr. Carter and I turn to see Cate. Her face is strained like she’s physically holding herself back. Frozen, we both watch as the nurse checks her.
“Dr. Carter, I think it’s time.”
He glances at me and I feel like an ass. He’s a doctor, not a pervert. I nod giving him permission to do his job as I quickly make my way over to Cate.
“It’s too late isn’t it?” she asks.
I give her my hand and push tendrils of hair off her forehead. “Let’s see what the doc says.”
Dr. Carter gives us the news. “Go ahead and push Cate the next time you feel it.”
And just like that, my gorgeous wife pushes our son into the world.
Over five years later, I steer my car through the streets of DC to get home. Traffic is ridiculous despite it being before rush hour. I’d hoped to be home by now. I pull into our Great Falls neighborhood in Virginia, just outside of DC. Our home is lit up and a smile forms on my face. When we first bought the place, Cate had been reluctant. I sold her on the safety of the neighborhood and good schools.
When I open the door, the real reasons for the large five bedroom house come running toward me.
“Daddy,” shouts my two and half year old daughter. Her blonde curls bounce as she wraps herself around my leg. I pry her off so I can toss her up and catch her, sending her into a fit of giggles. Her pink princess dress circles her before she lands in my arms. “Daddy, Dew called me a baby and said I need a labodomee. What’s a labodomee?”
I laugh for several reasons. One because she hasn’t yet mastered the word Drew, opting to call him Dew instead. Ethan had proved too much for her as well. Two, a lobotomy. I shake my head wondering where he hears this stuff.
“Ethan,” I call out. I had intended to ask my five-year-old about school. Instead, I will have to address his treatment of his sister.
My son with his dark hair so much like his mother’s is decked out in scrubs and carrying a doctor’s bag. He strolls around the corner as if all’s well in the world wearing a plastic stethoscope around his neck.
I bend down so we can talk man to man. “Ethan, let’s talk like men.”
“Then call me Drew, Daddy, just like Grandma calls you. I wanna be a man, just like you, Daddy.”
It’s hard to maintain my parental look. “Okay, Drew, did you call your sister a baby?”
His face changes to remorseful as I’m sure he knows he’s in trouble. “Emma cries too much and babies cry. So she’s a baby.”
I can’t argue with that logic and good thing my daughter who clings to my chest chimes in.
“He says my castle is just a bed, not a princess castle.”
I sigh. “Drew—”
“Dad, she’s needs a reality check.”
I chuckle unable to stop it. “Where did you hear that?”
“Mom said that to Aunt Shannon.”
I shake my head only imaging the conversation that preceded that statement. “You need to be nice to your sister and not tell her she needs a lobotomy.”
“But Aunt Shannon told Uncle Eric he’s crazy and needs a lobotomee. And Emma’s crazy.”
“Ethan Andrew Mercer.” I glance up to see Cate with her Mom face on. She does a better job at maintaining a stern face than I have in the past few minutes. Only, to me, she looks sexy as hell doing it. “You won’t go trick or treating if you’re mean to your sister. Now apologize.”
Drew’s head bows and he manages to eke out a “Sorree Emma.”
“Now go eat your snacks on the table before it gets dark.”
Food is more important than me as my kids rush off to the kitchen table. I stand so I can kiss my beautiful wife. It lingers and my hand catches the curve of her ass.
She giggles, which turns me on because she doesn’t laugh like that often. I have to shift because my scrubs won’t hide the evidence of my arousal. And that’s a conversation I’m not prepared to have with my kids.
“What was that for?” Her smile is infectious and it spreads on my face.
“You’re so damn beautiful Cate. I swear you get prettier every day.”
Her eyes warm her face. “You are full of shit. I look and feel like a beached whale.”
I rub her belly with my other hand. “Any day now.”
“Any day? My due date was two days ago. And I really don’t want to have a Halloween baby. Can you imagine throwing a party every year on Halloween?”
I laugh because she’s been talking about this since we first found out she could deliver near this day.
“Then you should get off your feet.”
I bend and catch her off guard. I lift her in my arms.
“You’re crazy. I weigh a ton.” She heartily laughs.
“You two should get a room.” I glance up to see my sister-in-law.
“Shannon, can you watch the kids for a few minutes?”
“Sure.” She winks at us. “Just as long as you take that somewhere else.”
I don’t ask twice. I carry my wife up to our bedroom and close the door behind us. I set her down in her favorite chair in front of the fireplace where I remove her shoes and massage the bottom of her feet.
“Really, you brought me up here for that?” She may be joking, but there’s heat in her eyes.
“Believe me, I want you. Sex, however, can bring on contractions and you said you wanted to wait another day.”
She shrugs. “It’s up to you, but you’ll be sorry. Six weeks will be a long time to wait.”
It isn’t like Cate and I have been abstaining. We’ve had sex every night this week because she was ready to give birth hoping to avoid this day.
“I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Or maybe, I’ll do you.”
She urges me to stand and come around to the side of the chair. I follow her instructions because I know what she’s about to do. And I’m right. She gives me the best damn blow job of my life. Practice can certainly improve on perfection. I didn’t think it possible, but it is.
Later, after I take the kids trick or treating, we sit on the on the back deck on a porch swing. Ethan finds a place in his mother’s lap as Emma curls herself in mine. Our two kids sleep as my fingers twine with Cate’s.
The swing rocks back and forth in a calming rhythm. Cate’s eyes are closed and her features smooth out. Her lips are curved as if she’s is having a pleasant dream. And I think about how lucky I am.
Cate decided not to work after our son was born, which was her decision. Still, my wife can’t be idle. She started the Drew McKnight foundation, which serves people with Ewing’s Sarcoma, both young and old. She’s hired full time people now, but she still oversees it and watches the financial end of it like a hawk. She used some of the money Drew left her to start the non-profit and she involved Drew’s parents who have become true activists on the subject. We named them honorary grandparents to our kids. It was something I wanted to do and Cate too, so she readily accepted. Their faces light up every time we bring the ki
ds around to visit when we’re in Charleston. And they come up to spend time here as well because we have plenty of room. In fact, after the baby is born, we will have rotating grandparents visiting two weeks at a time to help Cate as she nurtures our latest gift to the family.
I don’t know how Cate does it all, but she doesn’t want to hire a nanny either. She’s a superhero to the kids and the best wife ever to me.
“Cate,” I call out. I can’t help myself.
“Hmm.” Her eyes flutter open, clear, and focus on me.
“I love you and our life.”
I tell her I love her every day. Yet I feel the need to confess that to her.
“I love you too, and our life.”
I lean over and kiss her, careful not to wake our children.
Then I see it. Her face forms a frown. “It’s time.”
I nod, grateful Shannon has been staying with us. She wanted to be here to help. She doesn’t have classes the next few days and offered to come and stay for this very reason. I pick up the kids and carry them to bed. I tuck them in and kiss their foreheads. On the way, I knock on Shannon’s door and tell her what’s going on.
Then I walk back down and gather my formidable wife in my arms remembering how messed up I’d been when she left me the first time. I’d assumed after that I’d never find love. But fate brought us back together and I knew I had to win her over. Even if we did have to fight to overcome the cruel, we hung on to the beautiful and it was damn worth it.
The Cruel and Beautiful Series Boxset Page 43
