by Lainey Davis
Juniper’s idea, of course. Right before she leaves us for the judge’s robes. I should be happier for her. Our profits have increased and we all seem to enjoy our jobs a little more. This is why we need her. I'm thrilled for Juniper as my sister-in-law. She's going to kick ass in this election and make a fair judge. I'm damn proud to have her in the family.
But as her boss? I'm going to be screwed. I'm losing an amazing lawyer. She's helped me diversify and build my empire here at Stag Law. At least I still have my wife working here, keeping me sane. And fed. My stomach rumbles and I realize I missed lunch today. If Alice had been here, she would have come and found me. Made sure I tasted whatever she was making.
I hired her as the corporate chef here at Stag Law, but I had no idea she would transform my entire life. I used to think I only lusted after her, that once I slept with Alice she’d stop driving me to distraction. But actually, Alice taught me how to trust. How to let someone love me. Now, I can’t think straight when she’s not around.
I can count on one hand the number of times I've left work before 5, but I'm not getting anything done here and I'm just making myself grouchy. I decide to go home and find Alice. I stop by my assistant's desk on my way out the door. Donna raises an eyebrow at me and says, "You don't have any outside meetings on your schedule today. What's up, Timber?"
"Donna," I say, rapping her desk. "I'm going home early today."
Her mouth hangs open for a second, and then she shakes her head and pulls herself together. "I'll have a briefing on your desk for your key cases and clients in the morning."
“Thanks, Donna.” I pause. “You should go home early, too. I can do the briefing from home.” She smiles and shakes her head at me as I take the elevator to the parking garage.
I realize Alice has left me without a car, so I call up a ride. This shit makes me nervous. I hate letting other people drive me around. My mother was killed in a car accident, and while Alice is helping me work on letting go of my tendency to control everyone, I'm pretty stuck on needing to control the steering wheel, especially with my family on board. I pull up my case notes on my phone to take my mind off the driver.
There’s a note from Ty’s agent—coach is concerned Ty has lost his edge. I wonder what’s going on there. I think about calling him to take my mind off this ride, but we pull up to my house just as I finish reading my email.
I can see my front door is hanging open even though it's freezing outside. I also hear a ruckus in the house, so I know Alice's sister Amy is over with her 3 boys. I exhale deeply, wondering if they've shoved Petey down the laundry shoot again or flushed my best neck ties down the toilet.
My home life used to be a lot more orderly, too. I have to remind myself how miserable I was with my tidy corners and clean countertops. But shit, do all these kids have to leave the door hanging open?
I close the door behind me and try to yell out that I'm home early, but the boys are shrieking and running up and down the stairs. "Ouch!" Something hits me in the neck. I hear my nephews cackling and see that it's just a foam bullet from a toy gun. Little snots. I walk toward the kitchen rubbing my neck, and I freeze in my tracks when I see my wife.
Her back is toward me and she's holding her wild, curly hair to the side. Her sister Amy is leaning close to check out something on Alice's back. I can see the skin is red and raised. I walk closer as Amy meets my eye. She smiles and I peer down. My wife has a tattoo.
I touch the warm skin of the fresh tattoo and Alice yelps. She turns around in my arms and her huge, violet eyes look up into mine. "Damn it. It was supposed to be a surprise."
My wife got the Stag family tattoo on her shoulder blade. I'm speechless, touched. I just never considered that she'd want to be part of that with me and my brothers. “Alice,” I breathe. “I’m definitely surprised. Can I see it again?"
She nods and turns around. When I see that she added a baby deer to the image, I am so overcome that I have to grab the counter to steady myself. Alice bites her lip and looks at me, eyes wide. "Tim, you have to say something. You're glowering."
"I'm…not glowering, Alice." I run my fingers through her hair. "I'm just so happy you did this."
"Really?" she asks, licking her lower lip now. Fuck, if she keeps doing that I'm going to have to go back outside and stand in the cold air until my dick calms down. "You like it, Mr. Stag?"
I nod and she extends up on tip-toes to give me a kiss. "Good," she says, picking up her sweater from the counter. "I was going to do this whole big thing and show you, make you dinner. Since when do you ever come home early?"
Petey zooms by in pursuit of his cousins, and I snatch him up into my arms. "It was too quiet at work," I say, nuzzling his curly hair with my nose.
Amy explains that her role in this plan was to take Petey over to her house until bedtime, and I raise my eyebrows as Amy whistles “Santa Baby” and starts gathering up the boys. Alice shoves a huge container of lasagna into Amy's arms and helps with the assembly line of coats and sneakers. They're gone in a whirlwind before I can even process Amy's mischievous wink. When I turn around, Alice has disappeared.
"Babe? Where'd you go?"
"Come and find me, Mr. Stag," she yells, and then she giggles. I loosen my tie as I climb up the stairs.
Our bedroom door is ajar. "Is my grandma home, or did you send her away, too--" My words catch in my throat when I see Alice fully nude, on hands and knees on our bed.
"Come here," she says, looking over her shoulder. Her wild curls fall over the tattoo and her round ass points up, begging me to massage it. So I do. "This is how you were supposed to find me," she says, "and then I was going to ask you to kiss my back." I comply, planting a row of kisses up and down her spine, just like she likes. Soft and gentle.
"Then what," I ask, licking a line down to the curve of her hip, peppering kisses along the silvery stretch marks from where her belly stretched growing Petey. I love tracing the fine lines on her body, the reminders that she grew our baby, forever altered our lives by making this beautiful combination of both of us. Her body changed forever to give me my son, and I fucking love that. I keep licking and kissing, massaging her ass just how she likes.
Alice moans softly in appreciation and tells me, "You were supposed to gather up my hair like you always do, and then you were supposed to notice my tattoo, and say, 'What have you done, Mrs. Stag?'"
Once I do as she asks, I can't control myself anymore. I'm so overcome. My dick is like steel, bursting to get out of my suit pants. I've got her mass of curls twisted in one fist and I hastily unfasten my pants with the other. My cock springs out, begging to be inside her. I reach down between my wife's legs and find her slick with wanting. She sighs as I massage her folds and I lean forward to kiss her shoulder where the skin is still slightly pink around the edges of the tattoo. I line myself up and thrust. When I ease inside her, I whisper into her ear, "You're mine, Alice Stag. And I’m yours."
I move slowly in and out, savoring the feel of her body. My hands are everywhere, massaging Alice's peachy skin while she practically purrs. I love making her feel good. I love how she takes me out of that anxious space in my head, keeps me present in the moment. Suddenly, I need to see her face, and I pull out, flipping her over. Alice squeaks and giggles and nuzzles my nose with hers as she wraps her short legs as far around me as she can. "Come back inside me, Tim," she says. "I need you."
I capture her mouth in a kiss and she reaches down to guide me back home. Our eyes meet and I can feel her pleasure building. I know I won't last much longer. This is too intense to draw out, but I have to get her there first. "Alice," I gasp. "Come for me, baby." She nods as I reach between us, rubbing her clit how I know she needs it. I increase my pressure and slow my rolling fingertips until I feel her start to pulse around me.
"Oh god, Tim! Fuck, yes. I'm coming!" Alice's hips roll into me, drawing me in deeper. I swell inside her and, locked in her violet gaze, I lose myself. I spill inside Alice and, just like the very firs
t time, I am lost to her. Amazed at what she and I can do together.
"Alice, god, I need you so much," I say when I can talk again.
"I'm not going anywhere." She wraps her arms around me and kisses me until my heart slows.
A bit later, Alice gets up to take a shower and finish the special dinner she promised she was making me before Petey comes home. I hear her singing to herself as she moves through the house and I stretch back on the bed, arms behind my head. It's still so strange to me to feel content. For so many years, I held my breath. On edge, worried all the time about keeping my family safe. I still have a family to protect, but Alice is really helping me see that I don't have to do it all on my own.
I'm about to nod off when I hear my phone buzzing from somewhere. At one point, I had kicked off my pants and I look around the mess of blankets until I find it, Thatcher's face coming up on the screen. He usually doesn't call--Thatcher's more of a text guy. "What's up, brother?"
"Tim!" he gasps, sounding panicked. "I don't know what to do."
I sit up and start to get dressed, flying into action mode when I hear the concern in my brother's voice. "Ok, I’ll help you. Thatch--what happened?"
"It's Emma," he gasps. "We're in the emergency room."
I'm walking to the car before he gets the sentence out. I mouth "Emma's in the hospital" to Alice, kissing her cheek. She clicks off the burner on the stove and pulls out her phone to call her sister.
"Hang on, Tim. I'm coming with you." As soon as she says it, I'm relieved. Alice always knows how to talk to Thatcher, reassure him. Together, we head to the hospital.
4
THATCHER
Dr. Khalsa meets me in the emergency room after Emma's seizure. We know each other pretty well, since I usually drive Emma to and from her appointments. I leave my truck running in the parking lot and scoop Emma into my arms, stomping past the security guard. Dr. Khalsa grabs a wheelchair and tells the guard to please see to my truck while we walk back to a room.
"Did she mention an aura this morning?" He furrows his brow. She's out cold, either asleep or passed out. I don't even know. I shake my head as he hooks her up to some monitors.
“She didn’t mention any symptoms at all.” Once he sighs seeing some numbers, I can see him relax a little and I know he's not worried anymore. "We were having a fight," I tell him. "She's angry with me. Would that have caused her to have a seizure??"
He frowns. "I really don't think she'd have a tonic clonic event with no warning signs over a domestic dispute," he says. He pulls out his tablet device and starts clicking around. "She hasn't had a seizure in several years now and hasn't even reported an aura since we began the medical cannabis trial."
His cheeks puff out as he exhales. "I'm going to run some bloodwork and see if maybe something else is going on that triggered the seizure." I see him studying something on Emma's chart and he pages a nurse. I pace around the room, tugging at my hair and trying not to panic but I freeze in my tracks when I hear him say, "Standard panel…oh, and why don't we do a pregnancy screening. Let's rule that out first."
"Pregnancy?" My voice is louder than I intended, but what the hell? Emma's on the pill. I don't even know what it means if someone with epilepsy gets pregnant, but that sounds pretty scary to me, especially since she just had a major seizure.
Dr. Khalsa pats my arm. "I was just reading here that she was on an antibiotic this fall for a sinus infection. Antibiotics render birth control pills ineffective." He squints, studying my face. "Did you and Emma use protection during intercourse when she was taking that medication?"
I sink into a chair, unable to answer him. Emma and I have never used condoms. Ever. He clicks his tongue and follows the nurse out of the room. I hadn't even noticed her drawing vials of blood from Emma's arm. I look at Emma on the bed, red hair splayed everywhere, skin pale. She looks so small. God, I can't shake the feeling that this is my fault.
What the fuck was I thinking, not proposing to Emma? Not taking her to the courthouse to make things official? I let myself get used to her, just sort of comfortable with our lives. But of course she wants more. From my end, she's it for me. I’m not going anywhere without her. But I’m still learning how to be a decent guy. What if Emma gets sick of coaching me through all my baggage? What the hell is wrong with me?
I need my brothers or I'm going to freak the fuck out, but none of them are answering their damn phones. By the time I get Tim to pick up, I'm almost hyperventilating, but he tells me he will be here soon.
Dr. Khalsa comes back in the room and drags a chair next to me. "Thatcher," he says. "Emma still doesn't have you listed on her HIPAA forms. Are you legally married?"
My mouth hangs open. "No," I whisper. "But she's my world, Doc. You know that. I built a house for her. We live together and share a bank account. What are you saying here?"
He sighs through his nose. "I can't discuss the details of her health with anyone who isn't next of kin or listed on her privacy forms."
I feel my temper flaring, my panic starting to rise. "Well who the fuck does she have listed? Don't tell me it's still her fucking parents because--"
"Nicole Kennedy," he says. "Do you know her?"
Relief floods over me at the name of Emma’s best friend. Nicole is like a female Tim. When they were college roommates, Nicole dragged Emma to Dr. Khalsa, knowing with proper care she could control her seizures and live a normal life. Nicole has been there for Emma for years…but I’m her man. I’m the one here with her at these appointments now. Did Emma leave me off her forms to spite me because I haven’t proposed to her yet?
I'm pissed and helpless here, but at least I don't have to deal with Emma's snooty mother and politician father. I nod to Dr. Khalsa and pull out my phone to call Nicole. As soon as I tell her Emma's in the hospital, I hear her screaming something at her assistant. Nicole works around the clock. I always wonder whether she and Tim were separated at birth. As I try to explain details, Nicole starts yelling and trying to micromanage me. She hangs up before I can give her more details, so I assume she's on her way.
Dr. Khalsa is still standing there, checking Emma out, and she's still totally zonked. He nods, reading some test results the nurse brings him, and I decide I'm not above begging. "Doc," I say to him. "Are you saying even if she's pregnant you can't tell me about that? About what it means?"
He shakes his head. The guy looks genuinely sorry, but I want to pull my hair out. "But it would be my baby," I tell him. "Mine and Emma's together." My voice cracks, and I know I'm going to lose it if somebody doesn't tell me what the hell is happening.
I start pacing the room in tight circles until I hear Nicole clomping down the hall in her high heels. "What's the situation here?” she doesn't even look at me, though, and strides directly to the doctor, saying, "Nicole Kennedy, in-case-of-emergency-person for Emma Cheswick, reporting for duty."
She gives him a salute gesture and Dr. Khalsa asks if she'd like me leave the room. I'm really glad I don't have to kill someone, because Nicole says, "Obviously not. Spill it, doc. Don't make me sorry I brought Emma to your clinic all those years ago."
5
TY
I must have fallen asleep on the couch waiting for Juniper. She wakes me up with a soft kiss, pulling the heating pad off my shoulder. I feel a rush of cold air and I groan, trying to figure out where I am and what happened. "Sshh," she whispers. "It's just me."
Other parts of my body wake up faster than my head, especially when she starts rubbing my arm and straddles my knee while she digs out the remote to turn off the TV. "Shit, Junebug. What time is it?"
"It's late," she says. "I'm really sorry, Ty. I wanted to get all that work sorted so I can focus on this last week of the campaign. We can spend time together tomorrow."
I shake my head and pull her onto my lap. "Nope," I say, running my fingers through her short, dark hair. It's sleek and smooth and I love how it flows against my skin. "The Fury leave for Denver tomorrow morning."
&n
bsp; "Fuck," she says. She sits up and looks me in the eye. "Seriously? How could I lose track of your schedule like that?" She climbs off my lap and kicks the couch.
"It's ok, baby. Come back and sit on my lap again…"
"No," she shouts. "It's not ok! I signed you up to make an appearance with me tomorrow night. Fuck, I'll have to redo the whole plan for the event if you won't be there. Plus everyone will be watching hockey."
"I thought you just said we can hang out?"
"Yeah," she says. "At a fundraiser at someone's house. They're writing post cards and donating to the campaign. We were going to make an appearance…" She drifts off, noticing the table is clear. "Where the hell is all the laundry?"
I lean back with my hands crossed behind my head like some smug fucker. "I took it to the all-night cleaner, JJ. Your panties and my boxers are swirling around together as we speak." Realizing I took care of everything, Juniper groans. This is not the effect I was going for when I cleaned up our place. I can see in her face that she's overwhelmed. She sinks into a chair. "Hey, babe," I pat my lap. "I've got a comfortable seat for you right here."
She doesn't move, but starts mumbling about how she didn't think it would be this way. She says something about Thanksgiving, and I can tell she's spiraling, so I walk over to her and start massaging her temples. "Juniper Jones," I whisper into her ear. "I don't want you to worry about anything. Tell me what you need me to do."
She turns then and buries her face in my shirt, crying a little bit. "What's going to happen if I get elected," she asks. "You're gone half the time and then I'll be gone half the time and I don't even know where you put the laundry. Who is going to buy the bread for Thanksgiving?"
