Saving Us

by Jennifer Foor

  As we lay there under that beautiful tree, I felt Conner playing with my hair. We were both looking up at the long branches, feeling the cool evening whisking in. I’d managed to put on my bra and panties before getting comfortable in Conner’s arms again. I had no clue if someone had seen us, but I would rather have been safe than sorry.

  “Have you given any thought to names?” Conner’s question caught me off guard. I turned to look at him.

  “Why? Have you?”

  He smiled and lifted our hands up to the sky. The beams of setting sun shone through our fingertips. “I have a few I like.”

  I smiled just thinking about my big, strong man who already cared so much about our tiny baby. “Are you going to share?”

  He let out an air filled laugh. “I don’t know. I think I might just keep it a secret for a while.”

  I rolled over on half of his chest and put my head up to face him. “You can’t talk about it and then not tell me. Come on with it. I want to know what names you like.”

  He laughed even more. “Blaze, you know how much I like it when you get all roused up? I think I am goin’ to hold out until you can’t stand it anymore.”

  “That’s not fair. We need to agree on it. I’m not going to let you name our child Amos or Betsy.”

  “Damn, how did you know they were my favorites?” He teased.

  I fell on top of him laughing, giving up on the topic for now. “I like it here, Conner.”

  He wrapped his arms around my back and held me close to his chest. “It’s peaceful, that’s for sure. It ain’t like you have to worry about Rick while we’re here.”

  I hated hearing Conner say Rick’s name. Maybe it was just the fact that we still had to deal with the asshole. “I wish it could be like this all the time.”

  “I’ll admit, I do love bein’ home, but I also have history here that I don’t want to revisit. Too many skeletons are lingerin’. I don’t think you’d be able to handle them knockin’ on our door every day.”

  “Are you being serious right now? How many is it?” Did I really want to know the answer? Would it change the way I felt about this magnificent man? I didn’t think it was possible.

  “I didn’t keep count.” He scrunched his face up, and backed away, like I was going to hit him or something.

  “Give me a rough estimate. Ten…twenty…a hundred…five hundred?”

  He shook his head and kept laughing.

  “Now I have to know. Just tell me. How bad can it be?”

  “Didn’t we just have a nice afternoon? Can we not talk about this right now? Damn woman, you know how to spoil a mood.”

  I poked at his chest. “You are not changing the subject on me, mister. Just come out with it.”

  “No!”

  I laughed, but he never cracked a smile. Suddenly, I started to realize that maybe he really didn’t want me to know. Of course it made me even more curious. “Babe, I’m not going to stop loving you because of your past. We all have skeletons.”

  “Mine could fill a damn cemetery, Amy. Please, I just don’t want to discuss it. There were several times where I can’t even hardly remember bein’ with them. Before I met you, I didn’t give a shit about names, or favorite colors. I fucked for fun and it was with whatever fine looking chick I wanted. Is this what you want to hear?”

  I grabbed both sides of his face and looked into those green eyes. Yes, it hurt me to hear, but the fact that he’d told me was more important. Conner trusted my love for him. “I want to know everything about you, you stubborn ass.”

  “I’ll tell you something that I ain’t never told another woman before. You are the only woman who has ever made me chase her. You are the only one who fought me tooth and nail on bein’ with me. I knew you wanted it, but damn if you kept your distance. You made me crazier than I have ever been. When I look into your eyes, I see my future, but still, I would have kept pushing until I got into those panties.”

  Obviously, he felt that if he would act cocky, I would think it was cute. “No, I really did think you were an ass. You were a very sexy ass, but still an ass.”

  “Do you think I’m goin’ to be a good father, Amy?” That there was the only thing that would get me off of the current topic. I could hear the sincerity in his voice.

  “Of course. Why would you even ask me that? You make me feel safe and loved. Do you really think I would have left everything to be with someone that was a loser? I’ve been hurt too much in my life to go through that again. Why do you think I fought you so much? I knew I wanted you, Conner, but I couldn’t let myself have you. I knew I’d want more and more until I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I saw through that tough façade pretty quickly. Maybe it was even the night that we didn’t sleep together. You seemed so concerned about my welfare and you didn’t even know me. Our baby is going to fill that void in your heart that aches for your own father. I know it’s still there, lingering. I’d have to be blind to not see it. You are a beautiful man. Sure you have a sketchy past. Combine that with your cocky vanity and you can be damn near the king of all douches. I saw past it all, and for me, there was no turning back.”

  He giggled and brushed a piece of hair away from my eyes. “Did you rehearse that?”

  A cackle escaped my throat. “No, I meant every word.”

  “Usually women like me for being an asshole. I never got it, but I also never complained. Don’t be tellin’ anyone that I have a soft side. I can’t let somethin’ like that get out.” He smiled so wide that all I could see was his white teeth. He knew he was saying something funny and that it would drive me up a wall.

  “Far be it for the mother of your child to cock-block you. I wouldn’t want you having to suffer at all.” I was joking, but somewhere in my mind I had to wonder if he was being a little serious. I’d let myself fall so deeply in love with this man. It would kill me if he left me for someone else.

  “As long as you keep bendin’ over, we ain’t goin’ to have a problem.”

  Bend me over…

  I sat up on my knees and looked down at him. The things he said still shocked me sometimes. I fell in love with this cocky side and a part of me never wanted it to go away, but another part of me feared that it could attract other women. The fear of losing him was real and with my hormones making me think crazy things, I just didn’t want to imagine it. “You really know how to charm a girl. I used to want a real cowboy, but now, I think it was just not as good as I had imagined.”

  There, that should shut him up.

  “Bullshit! You know I’m good at what I do to you, so don’t even try to deny it. How about I cut you off then. You think you’d still be sayin’ that?”

  Oh, he was so good. That man had a God given gift.

  “It’s alright. Nothing to write home about, though.”

  He sat up and leaned his arms on his knees. Since Conner was shirtless, I tried my hardest not to stare at his chest. We played this sort of game all the time. The who wanted who more game. Each time, it made us both crazy and super horny. “You want to marry me, don’t you, Blaze? Go on girl, you can admit it.”

  It was a question that he always knew the answer to. Still hearing him ask me that caught me off guard. I sat there with my mouth open for a minute. This could be one of those tests, like I gave to him. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe, my ass. I bet you can’t wait.”

  He was right. “Like I would ever tell you.”

  Conner leaned in and got so close to me that I could feel his breath on my face. “The sooner you get a divorce, the sooner you get my last name. Keep that in mind darlin’.”

  My heart literally skipped a beat. Was he actually offering me a forever with him? “Did you just propose to me?” Oh my God, Conner Healy just proposed I think.

  He smiled and brushed his lips over mine. “I ain’t talkin’ anymore about it until I know you’re all mine. You know what you need to do, Blaze.”

  “I am all yours,” I said as I pulled away.

 
; “Not according to the state of North Carolina.”

  Sometimes, I needed to not look into those eyes of his when we were talking. They messed with my head and distracted my train of thought. My mind went to his family and how wonderful they all were. I wanted to not only be Conner’s wife one day, but also be a part of that family for real. I needed to get a lawyer. “Will you go with me to talk to a lawyer?”

  “Do you want to go home right now?” He stood up and reached out his hand for me. Once I was lifted off the ground, he walked over to put on his shirt.

  I located my clothes and started putting them on. I probably had bark and leaves in crevices that I didn’t know I had. As excited as I was to get out of my marriage, it hurt my feelings that we were going to have to leave this amazing place. I could have spent forever and a day on this ranch. “We can stay another day.”

  “That child needs to have his daddy’s last name, Amy. His mother needs that name too. I know earlier we were jokin’ around, but I am serious about this, right now. If I would have knocked up a girl in my past, I probably wouldn’t have even been responsible about it. This is how serious this is to me. I want this with you and I’m going to have it.”

  I smiled. “I wasn’t arguing.”

  “Good, because you wouldn’t win, if you were. Now, let’s get back before they send out a search party and find out where I took you.” He grabbed my hand and started walking us back to the golf cart. Our ride back to Colt’s was too short. As the cart came to a stop, Conner turned to look at me. “Amy, I want you to know that I’m crazy about you. I want to be a good father to our child, but I can’t stress enough the fact that I need you to be all mine. I ain’t goin’ to ask you if that’s what you want, because I already know the answer. When we get back, you’re goin’ to that lawyer, even if I have to drag you in there.”

  I leaned over and kissed him. “You can be so romantic.”

  “If that was romantic, you just wait until later.”

  I didn’t want to wait, but no matter when it was, I’d be ready and willing for this man. Bent over or not, he could have me every which way he wanted.

  Chapter 12

  Conner

  If I wanted Amy to myself, I knew I had to push her. She was the type of woman who would procrastinate. I couldn’t have that. Aside from the house I was getting ready to build for us, it was important for her to be free of that asshole of a husband. My child never needed to know what his mother had to go through. All he would need to know was that he was made out of my love for his mother. It was a love that I never thought I would experience.

  Once we got inside, Colt pulled me into the office. He closed the door behind us, which made me concerned that we were going to have a serious talk. “I need your help.”

  “No problem, what’s up?” Colt was pretty much the leader of the family. I had so much respect for the man.

  “I’ve waited patiently for Ty to let his guard down. Savanna and I have devised a plan, but I’m goin’ to need your help to pull it off. We need to act fast. Right now he just fell asleep on the couch.”

  This was going to be good, I just knew it. “What do I need to do?”

  Colt gave me instructions to head out to the pool shed. He told me where I could find the large blowup boat and the pump. I grabbed Amy without telling her what was going on. If Miranda caught wind, she would sure take up for her husband. Colt wanted payback and it was going to kick ass.

  Once we were back on the golf cart, I could tell that I had to convince Amy that Ty deserved this. “Are you going to tell me what we are doing? We just got there. I promised Bella and Noah that I would help them.”

  “We’re goin’ back. I just wanted you to help me get somethin’. You know how Ty is always playin’ jokes on everyone?”

  “Yes. Why, what is going on?”

  “Colt has a plan to get him back good. We need to hurry before he wakes up.” We pulled up at the pool shed and I immediately jumped off the golf cart. Amy followed close behind me.

  Since it was winter, most of the pool supplies were packed inside. It took me a while to find the damn boat and then finally the pump. Amy waited outside while I brought the two items out. I plugged in the pump and started blowing up the boat. “Conner, please explain to me how you are going to play a prank with a giant blow up boat? It’s cold outside and the pool is closed up.”

  I had to laugh. I had no idea what she could be picturing. “We’re goin’ to fill this bitch up with water and put it next to the couch. Colt’s goin’ to set off the smoke detector next to Ty’s face, so that he falls right into the boat full of freezing water.”

  Amy shook her head and smiled. “Do you all realize how crazy this is? It’s going to make a mess.”

  I started laughing again. “I don’t think they care. It’s just water anyways. Listen, Ty deserves this, so don’t you go tellin’ my sister. She will wake him up and spoil the fun. You know how she gets all defensive over him”

  She kneeled down and helped me hold the boat while I pumped it up. “Since you have forced me to be an accomplice, I think it is fair to say that I won’t be divulging her with any information. It’s best if I’m just a silent helper in all of this. Being that I am living with her, I don’t want her all pissed at me. This was not my idea.”

  “You know it’s goin’ to be funny, Blaze.” It was going to be hilarious. I couldn’t wait to see it all play out.

  “Yeah, until Ty decides how to pay ya back.”

  We got the boat all blown up and started on our way back to Colts. He had directed me to come through the back door which led to the kitchen. Colt was there waiting for me as I carried it in. Van had taken Miranda upstairs to lay down the babies for their naps.

  We quietly entered into the living room and placed the boat right against the couch where Ty lay snoring away. It was hard not to laugh, especially when we pulled the hose from outside through the front window and started filling it up. Van came into the room with four bags of flour. At first I thought she was going to flour him again, but she started pouring them into the boat, making a thick concoction.

  This was going to make a mess, but she didn’t seem to care one bit. She ran out and grabbed one more bag of flour. Only my family would have concocted this plan up and bought this stuff ahead of time. He must have been waiting for this moment. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if she slipped him a sleeping pill so that they could do it.

  Miranda came walking downstairs just as Colt was holding the lighter up to the smoke detector. I assume he had been waiting for her to get finished with the kids, even though it would most likely wake them up. She took a double take and gave us both the evil eye. Van ran over and whispered something in my sister’s ear. She crossed her arms and just shook her head. I had to keep myself from bursting into laughter. I’d do anything for my sister. I think I proved that when I went after Heather to save her marriage. I still got a kick out of seeing her get pissed off. She may have been little, but she was spunky when she was mad.

  With the creamy white, thick mixture in the boat, the smoke detector started blaring next to his ear, Ty jumped off the couch and rolled right into the boat of goop. When he pulled himself up, the entire front of his body was covered in mush. The room filled with laughter and Van was beside herself. “How do you like that, fucker?” I think we were all surprised to hear her using profanity. Since the children came into the picture, she tried not to curse at all.

  Ty took his fingers and removed the white substance from both of his eyes. We could see the stuff going inside of his mouth when he opened it to speak. “What is this shit? It tastes horrible!”

  “I made you a human paper machete project.” She giggled up until the moment that Ty got ready to lunge himself at her. In just a small instant, Colt jumped right in front of him. The white mixture was pouring off of Ty as he stood there looking pissed.

  “This ends right here, cuz. Savanna didn’t do this to you, I did. I’ve had to get naked in front of your
parents and run around in a thong. You did this to yourself. I let you think I was over it, so that I could get you real good. You got a damn problem with me beatin’ you at your own game?”

  It was just getting good. I half expected Ty to jump on Colt and them start rolling around on the living room floor. Ty just stood there, looking around at all of us. His shoulders sunk and he shook his head while letting out a laugh. “There is only one person that I know can kick my ass. I need all my body parts to work so I can keep satisfying my wife. I call truce.” He held up his hands like he was giving up.

  Colt held up his fist and pounded mine, before turning back to Ty. “That’s what I thought. Now get this shit cleaned up so my wife doesn’t have to.”

  Ty looked over to my sister. “Baby, can you help me?”

  She put her hands on her hips. “You’re on your own.”

  While laughing, I looked over at Amy. She seemed so amused by my family and the way we communicated. It was hard imagining not having a family, when I was raised with such a great one.

  Ty began whining and everyone cleared out of the room, leaving him with a pile of towels and a bucket. It was going to take him forever to get that boat drained enough to move it on his own.

  I walked over to Amy. “That there was some funny shit.”

  “So this happens all the time?” She seemed shocked.

  “It gets worse every time. Knowing Ty, he will plan some revenge on Van the next time they visit. It never fails. Someone is always doing something to each other. We’ve been doin’ it since we were kids though.”

  Most of the time, Colt would pick on Ty or myself. We were always too pussy to mess with him since he was so much bigger than us. By the time we got as big as him, the idea of playing a prank on him seemed juvenile. That was until Van came into the picture. She wedged herself right between Ty and Colt and even though they all three loved each other, it started a lifetime of pranks.

  “But it was Colt’s idea. Why does he want to pick on Van?”

  “Van is the easiest target and gets the most offended. He likes picking on her. It doesn’t matter what Colt says. Now that he has initiated retaliation, it’s definitely not over with.”