by Stella James
“Pop!”
An older version of Eric with the same thick dark hair and trim muscular frame turns from the BBQ and squats down with his arms open wide as Jamie barrels into them. Karen is tall, at least by a few inches compared to me, but Eric’s dad is massive. No wonder he and Brent are built the way they are.
“James! How are ya kiddo?”
“It’s Jamie, pop,” she says giggling. “Not James. How many times to I have to tell you that?”
“At least once more, I’m old you know, and senile,” he says, glancing at me over her tiny shoulder.
“Jerry, this is Grey, Eric’s girl,” Karen says.
He stands with Jamie firmly in his arms and offers me his hand. “Very nice to meet you darling, I hope these two haven’t been driving you crazy. Especially this one,” he nods his head towards Jamie, causing another giggle to rise as she pushes her glasses up her nose.
“Not at all,” I say. “I’m very fond of both of them.”
“Have a seat kids and grab a cold drink,” Karen says.
“Can I help with anything?” I offer.
“No no, you sit over there in the shade with Hanna and little Max. I’ve got everything ready to go in the house.”
I take a seat beside Hanna and admire Max as we chat and Jamie runs around the yard blowing bubbles. Eric, Brent and Jerry stand at the grill and visit while Karen sets the picnic table up. It’s the perfect kind of day where troubles and pasts are easily forgotten and a person can appreciate the simple things.
It’s the kind of day that you try not to take for granted, and the kind of day when you realize that you no longer own your heart. Because somewhere along the bumpy path that it’s taken you to get here, you’ve given it away to a man you never expected and his precious little girl.
Chapter 12
Eric
I slide the large blue plastic cooler into the box of the truck and close the tailgate followed by the tonneau cover. We’re finally caught up at work and I’m taking the next few days off to take Jamie and Grey camping. We go to the same local campground every summer up in the mountains where it’s peaceful and calm and the tourists are scarce. Most people prefer the surrounding sites with RV hookups and cabins over the tent only spot, leaving it mostly for those of us that just want a weekend away. When I asked Grey if she wanted to go she lit up with excitement and confessed that she’d never been camping before but had always wanted to go. She’s downstairs in her suite packing her bag right now with Jamie while I finish loading up the truck.
Our living arrangements are something that need to be sorted out when we get back. Every night for the past two weeks, since I kissed her in front of Jamie, Grey has shared my bed. Hell, I can’t even get out of bed in the morning without having her at least once. I haven’t felt this far gone in a long time, not since those early days with Brandi. I know Grey is worried about Jamie and I am too, but she’s adjusted fine so far and I want things a little more permanent between us. I want her to move her things upstairs, she spends most of her time with us anyhow and it seems silly for her to go down into the basement just to grab a change of clothes or a book. Grey belongs with us. She belongs with me.
I place a box of groceries into the back seat just as Jamie comes running up the steps, Grey right behind her with a backpack stuffed so full it looks like it might burst open.
“We’re ready Daddy!”
“I see that,” I say, taking the bag from Grey. “You know we’re only going for the weekend right?”
“I know. But what if it rains? What if it’s crazy hot? What if my feet get wet? Haven’t you ever seen Forrest Gump? Socks are important when you’re out in the wilderness,” she says.
“I see your point,” I grin. “I’ll make room for this in the back.”
“Thanks,” she brushes her lips quickly against mine but before she can pull away, I kiss her properly.
“You’re welcome.”
She laughs as she rounds the truck and opens the back door, making sure Jamie is buckled. I do one last check in the house and soon we are on the road and heading for the Twin Pine campground.
When we arrive thirty minutes later, Grey helps me unload the tent and I show her how to set it up while Jamie rides her bike along the short loop surrounding us. The campground isn’t completely full but I see quite a few familiar faces as we set up camp.
“It looks a little small, are we all going to fit in there,” Grey asks.
“Babe, it’s a six man tent, we’ll fit,” I say.
She bends over and crouches inside the tent to roll out our sleeping bags and I can see her red thong poking out above her jeans.
“You’re killing me woman,” I groan from behind her.
“Aw, you’ll survive,” she laughs. “It’s only for the weekend,” she throws my own words back at me and smirks as she stands.
“I have not thought this through,” I say, tugging her close to me, zeroing in on her full lips as she licks them and smiles up at me.
“It’ll be fine. Think of how hot it will be to rip each other’s close off on Monday,” she says.
I press my mouth to hers and try to keep it PG since there are families with children on either side of us.
“Daddy, I’m hungry,” Jamie says as she peddles back into our site and comes to a stop. “Can we have hotdogs?”
“I’m on it!” Grey says, slipping from my arms.
It’s only the weekend…shit.
*
Once we’ve had a bite to eat, we decide to take a walk around the grounds. Grey slips her hand into mine and we walk behind Jamie as she rides her bike. We’re halfway around the loop when we spot the Parkers and Jamie and Ivy quickly conspire for Jamie to spend the night with them since they are heading back to town in the morning. I leave it up to Anne and her husband Will who say they are happy to keep Jamie for the night and have more than enough room in their kids’ tent with Ivy and their two older daughters. Jamie leaps into my arms and gives me a quick kiss before doing the same to Grey and running off with her friend.
Grey and I finish the loop back to our site just as it begins to get dark. I build us a quick fire while she sets up a couple old folding lawn chairs and soon we are side by side, watching the flames.
“This, I could get used to,” she says with a sigh.
“It’s not much,” I say. “But it’s quiet.”
“Mm, yes. God I didn’t realize just how much I was craving peace until I arrived in town,” she smiles. “Too many years in the city I guess, and I just became used to the noise and the people.”
We sit in silence under the now shining stars for a while longer before deciding to get to bed. We plan on hiking up to the hot springs tomorrow and since it takes up most of the day, we’ll have to get an early start. I smother the fire down to a few coals so it can burn down and point Grey in the direction of the nearest washroom before doing the same. I meet her halfway as she walks back and reach for her hand with mine, pulling her close.
“I want you in that sleeping bag, in nothing but that red thong when I get back,” I growl against her ear. Her breath hitches and she nods her head while her brown eyes gleam in the light of the lamp post above us.
“You better hurry up then, or I may have to start the show without you,” she winks, turning on her heel and continuing on.
I wash up in record time and practically jog back to our tent. When I unzip the doorway, the enclosure is lit up by the small propane lamp set in the corner. All that I see is Grey’s beautiful face peeking up out of the top of the thick green sleeping bag that I counted on us sharing.
“Cold babe?”
“Nothing that a little body heat won’t fix,” she says.
I strip down to my boxers and crawl over Jamie’s hello kitty sleeping bag, reaching for the zipper on ours and pulling it down while Grey shifts over and makes room for me. She’s wearing nothing but that sexy red thong and my mouth instantly begins to water at the sight of her ample breasts. I re
ach behind me and pull the zipper closed as she scoots over and molds herself against me. My arms wrap around her and once the sheet of goosebumps that covers her soft skin begins to dissipate, I lean back and roll her slightly onto her back.
“Looks like I don’t have to go all weekend without having you after all,” I say, brushing my hand down the tattoo along her ribcage and dipping my fingers into the side of her flimsy underwear. I pull at the fabric and she lifts her hips up, allowing me to roll them down her legs. “Fuck me, you are beautiful Grey.”
She shudders beneath the roughness of my fingertips as I slowly trace a line back up her stomach and gently across the hardened peak of her breast all the way up until my fingers sink into her hair. She snakes a hand down between us and rubs her palm over my hard cock before I dip my head to hers and kiss her firmly. I begin slowly. But as predicted, the minute she moans against my mouth, I need more. I lick the seam of her lips until she opens up for me and I can take us both deeper. Her fingernails dig into my arm as I cage her beneath me and lay between her open thighs.
It isn’t long before the scent of her arousal hits my nose and I’m grinding myself against her bare pussy, seeking some kind of relief for the never ending hunger that I have for this woman. I rip my mouth from her as her fingers thread together behind my neck. Her eyelids flutter open and when I look into her eyes it’s like a punch to the gut.
“Tell me what you need baby,” I rasp against her skin, taking one hard nipple into my mouth and biting down gently.
“Mm, you Eric, I just need you,” she moans, placing her palms on my chest and firmly pushing me back until she can sit up and switch our positions.
I lay back and admire the sway of her hips as she unzips part of the sleeping bag, giving her more room to tug my boxers down my legs, freeing my aching cock. She crawls up my body and slides her wet pussy along my dick, leaning down she nips at my earlobe.
“How quiet do you think we need to be?” She asks, rubbing herself against me. “I’m not sure that I can be quiet with you,” she says.
“Fuck baby, you’re killing me,” I groan. “You’re so Goddamn wet.”
“Mm, yes I am,” she whispers. “Can you be quiet while I’m on top of you Eric?”
She wraps her small hand around my cock and guides me to her center before sliding down in one harsh, slick thrust.
“Christ.”
She sits up and in the soft glow of the small lantern, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. She begins to rock her hips back and forth along my length, grinding down and humming with pleasure as her swollen clit rubs against me. My hands grip her hips until she places her palms above them and guides them to her chest.
“Touch me Eric,” her breath ragged. “God, I need your hands on me.”
“That’s it babe, take your time and take what you need. You’re fucking gorgeous riding my cock like that,” I say with a guttural groan.
She looks down at me, her blonde hair trailing over her shoulders and over my hands. Her pace quickens and I’m so damn close to coming inside her that I take one of my hands up to her mouth and watch as she sucks in two of my fingers.
“Get them wet,” I demand.
I place them on her clit and rub firm circles against the bundle of nerves, watching in fascination as she’s overcome with pleasure and begins to move faster and harder.
“Eric, Eric,” she gasps.
“Come on my dick Grey, let me feel you,” I groan.
She falls over my chest and squeezes the hell out of me as she clamps her teeth into my shoulder and tries to stifle her climax. I shoot off a second later and growl so deep in my chest that I feel it all the way down to my toes.
“Fucking hell Grey,” I pant.
“Mmm, so that’s camping eh?” She grins down at me.
“Can’t say that I’ve ever camped like this before babe,” I say, rolling us over and hugging her body close to mine.
“I kind of like that it was a first for both of us,” she says, pausing before speaking again quietly. “I’m not trying to replace any of your memories, but it feels nice to create new ones.”
“Everything is new with you Grey,” I tell her truthfully.
I know I should take this moment to explain to her that things weren’t perfect in my marriage and the reality of just where Brandi and I were at the time of her death. But before I can form the words, her body relaxes beside me and her breath becomes even.
*
Before I know it the weekend is over and the reality of Monday seeps in. We made it home late last night after spending the entire day at the lake. Grey didn’t use half the stuff in that back pack of hers, much to her disappointment but we had a great time. Watching Jamie and Grey together fills me with a sense of peace I didn’t realize I was ever missing. I’ve been so busy over the last three years trying to make up for Brandi being gone that I became so focused on being everything Jamie would ever need. But watching the way my little girl smiles up at Grey or the way she seeks her approval makes me realize that as much as I want to be everything for my daughter, there will always be a void that I’m unable to fill. Grey makes things easy. She’s patient and kind and has this love for the simple things in life that matches my own in such a way that she seems like a dream.
I left my bed this morning knowing that tonight things need to change. I need to tell Grey that I’ve fallen in love with her and we need her. That I need her. She has no reason to question my feelings for her but something about speaking the words and solidifying what’s between us just feels necessary. I know she’ll have to deal with the loose ends of her old life eventually and when the time comes I’ll stand by her side and support her in whatever way she needs.
It’s nearly time to shut down for the day, Grey will be picking Jamie up from camp and we have plans to use the outdoor grill for supper tonight. Summer is coming to an end and our days of warm weather will soon be gone. I swing my tool belt over my shoulder and head for the office trailer, feeling an itch to get home to my girls. I swing open the door and see a few of my guys hunched around a laptop, looking over at me as I step inside.
“Those scraps of insulation planning on cleaning themselves up or what boys?”
“Uh right boss man, sure thing,” stutters Dwayne. “Come on fellas, you heard the man.”
The guys slip back outside quickly, with Dwayne hesitating beside my temporary desk.
“Something you need?”
“No, it’s just, I’m sorry man, but you should probably have a look at this,” he says, setting the laptop in front of me and practically running for the door.
I glance down at the screen and see a bright pink ad with an address and phone number blinking in the corner. The rest of the space is taken up by a woman posing seductively with her arms above her head, her chest bare and nothing else covering her except a pair of tiny black bikini bottoms. If the familiar tattoos weren’t enough to clue me in, the pair of soft brown eyes staring back at me certainly were. Grey. Mine. The woman I’ve fallen in love with, on display for all to see. Blood rushes through my ears as I slam the laptop shut and pack it with me to my truck, slamming the door and ignoring the gawking stares of my crew as I rip from the lot and head home to get some Goddamn answers.
Chapter 13
Grey
I’m just about to head to the back and take off for the day when a woman whom I recognize as Lily’s mother in law walks through the front door of the diner holding hands with a little blonde haired girl.
“Go ahead and have a seat wherever you like,” I smile. “I’ll be over in two seconds.”
“Perfect, thank you dear,” she says.
Molly’s in the office and both Megan and Ellis are busy taking orders so I grab the coffee pot and head over to at least get them something to drink.
“Did you want a coffee?”
“Please,” she says. “And a chocolate milk for Miss Lyddie here.”
The little girl looks up at me and smiles b
rightly.
“Mama has the flu,” she says.
“That’s right, Mama is hugging the toilet right now and praying for death and little Kacey is napping with Grandpa so we’re having ourselves a date, aren’t we?”
“Yup.”
“We haven’t actually met but I know your son and his wife, I’m Grey,” I say.
“Oh that’s right,” she smiles. “You’re the new gal that finally got Eric to pull that stick from his a-s-s. It’s nice to finally meet you sweetheart, I’m Judy.”
“Grammie did you swear?”
“It doesn’t count when you spell it out babe,” she winks. “This is my granddaughter Lydia, she is very observant.”
“It seems so,” I laugh.
“It really is nice to see Eric happy,” she goes on. “He’s been so focused on Jamie these last few years, as he should be. But grown-ups need other grown-ups…if ya know what I mean,” she whispers.
“Yes, I believe I know exactly what you mean,” I reply. “I’m actually just headed out the door but I’ll have one of the girls bring over a chocolate milk,” I say, smiling down at Lydia.
“Thank you,” she says.
“It was nice to meet you honey, I hope you’ll come out to the house with the kids soon. We’d love to have you,” she says sincerely.
“Thank you, I would love that very much.”
I relay the order of one chocolate milk to Ellis on my way out the door and head for my car. I’m digging my keys out of my bag when I look up and see a man leaning casually against my driver’s side door. But there is nothing casual about his visit and the happiness I felt moments ago in the diner quickly turns into a tangle of knots in my stomach.
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s time Grey,” he says. “We have the big players in custody and we need your testimony if we’re going to keep them there.”
Detective Miles Monroe was the last person I spoke to before I left my old life behind and began a new one. It was understood that I would make myself available when it became necessary to help put Eddie and whoever else had their greedy fingers in that whole drug operation behind bars when the time came.
