An Unexpected Wife

by Masters, Constance

  “That’s what I thought. Besides, this old furniture is solid, you can’t buy stuff like that anymore.”

  “No you can’t,” Sage said. “Okay, pass them here and I’ll get sticking, although there really isn’t much I want to keep.” They weren’t touching the living areas yet so she went straight to the bedrooms. She went to Netty’s room first, she stuck a sticker on her toy chest, a small rocking chair, a bookshelf and a dresser. In Bailey’s room the items she saved were practically the same, with the exception of a rocking chair. She did though, add stickers to about six models of airplanes that she knew that Bailey had put together and painted with her dad.

  Her parents’ room was harder. She found herself really looking at things and touching them for the first time since this had all happened, her mom’s dresser especially. It was old fashioned with a large oval mirror. She could almost see her sitting there on the chair that slid in between the two sets of drawers, brushing her hair. Her mom had had lovely hair. Sage almost stuck a sticker on the items but stopped herself, this wasn’t a time to live in the past, it was time to move forward. She wasn’t going to keep any of this, not then. As Cliff had said, they would only go to the bunkroom; she could always retrieve anything she wanted later. She nearly left but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the quilt on her mom’s bed. The kids loved that bed and kept going back to it after their parents died. She doubled back and placed a sticker where it would be plainly seen.

  It seemed, as soon as that decision was made, an odd feeling came over her. She felt very warm but cold at the same time and her skin was prickled with tiny beads of sweat. Sage clutched the bedspread and leaned over, she felt like she was going to pass out.

  “Sage?” Cliff was behind her. “What’s wrong?” He scooped her up and laid her gently on the bed. “I’ll get you a cool cloth, are you going to be sick?”

  “I don’t think so. I just felt like I was going to faint is all. It’s hot in here.”

  He came back from the bathroom with a wet cloth and placed it on her forehead. “I shouldn’t have sent you in here by yourself. Of course it was going to be stressful, deciding what to keep and throw away of your parents’ things.”

  “I don’t think it was that.”

  “Are you hungry, can I get you something to eat?”

  “Nah. I think I’m just tired.”

  “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

  “No, I feel better now.” Sage said slowly sitting up. “Let’s go to your place like we planned.”

  Sage yawned and stretched as Cliff pulled the car to a stop. “You should have woken me, sorry.” They were really going to have to try and get a little more sleep.

  “You can’t help being tired,” Cliff said. “You okay? You still look a little pale.”

  “I’m fine, I just need an early night. I mean to actually sleep.”

  “Fair enough, tonight we’ll both turn it at a reasonable hour.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “I hope you’re not coming down with something. Maybe we should take you to the doctor’s office.”

  “I told you, I’m just fine.”

  “This is not a question I’m used to asking, but is it time for your woman’s cycle?”

  Sage felt the world stop. Their lives had been such a whirlwind she hadn’t even thought about it. Her periods were sketchy at the best of times because of the birth control pills she took. After hearing the dreadful news, she rushed straight home and nothing had been normal. She had missed a couple of pills but started again as soon as she realised. “No, I don’t think so,” she answered honestly. It was probably unrelated. They really hadn’t been getting much sleep, that was probably all it was.

  “Okay, time for you to go lie down in my big bed for a while and nap.”

  “I’m not going to nap in the afternoon like a toddler,” Sage scoffed. “I would like to take a look at this bed though. It must be something if you want to go to the trouble of bringing it with you.”

  “It is,” Cliff said with a grin. “And you are going to nap if I have to turn you over my knee to make you do it.”

  “You don’t scare me,” she poked her tongue out at him as he walked past the front of the car to get to her side. He was a stickler for gentlemanly things like opening car doors for ladies.”

  “Don’t scare you huh?” he said. “I must have been too soft lately. I can rectify that.” He stood waiting for her to get out with a smile on his face.

  “Why don’t you go and talk to your friends for a bit, I can get out by myself,” Sage said, returning his grin.

  “Nope, I wouldn’t be much of a gentleman then, now would I?”

  Sage knew she’d lost again but when she got out of the truck, she tried to keep her rear end facing away. Fail. His hand bounced off her bottom several times before she could jump out of the way.”

  “Hey! People will see,” she said.

  “They’re too busy to notice. Good incentive to do as your told though hmm?”

  “You’re a brut.”

  “You’re tired and you’re going to take a nap.”

  Sage stood in the doorway completely entranced. “Wow, that is a bed.”

  “It’s great isn’t it?”

  “When I pictured this big bed you were talking about, I didn’t imagine a canopy bed. This thing is huge and it has the four posts, kind of princess like and yet it’s the most masculine bed I’ve ever set eyes on,” Sage said. “I like it.”

  “Try it,” Cliff said, “Come on, we’ll both try it.”

  “Really?” Sage giggled.

  “No! Not like that. You, little girl, have a dirty mind. You’ve just been sick. I meant we’d lie on it and see if you like the mattress.”

  “Oh, okay.” They climbed onto the big bed and laid flat. “Wow, this is like heaven,” she said.

  “I told you,” Cliff said, “roll over.”

  “Why?”

  “You need to really work on this doing as your told thing, I’m only half joking. We’re married Sage and I want you to understand, I will be the head of our household. That is the man I am; I will always listen to your opinion but I will have the last say. Can you accept that?”

  “I guess I can,” Sage answered. “I can accept that you’ll have the final say, but you need to accept that I’m probably going to be a challenge for you from time to time. That’s the person I am.”

  “Sounds like a recipe for fun to me. Now turn over.”

  She did turn over and waited for whatever it was that he had in store. When he raised her shirt and started to rub her back, she closed her eyes. “That is so good,” she said. When his hand moved lower, she wriggled her bottom. “Even better,” she said.

  “You know spankings don’t always have to hurt,” he said smacking her bottom lightly. “In fact, sometimes they can be enjoyed.”

  “Mmmm,” she said, melting into the feeling of his moving hand. His hand was spanking her bottom, a little harder than before but not in a punishing way. She was so relaxed that she could feel her cheeks bouncing and wobbling underneath his hand and she didn’t even care.

  “You like?” he asked, stopping to massage and squeeze her soft cheeks.

  “Don’t stop,” she muttered.

  “Don’t stop this?” he asked massaging and dipping his fingers underneath her pants. “Or this?” He spanked her a little sharply, and then stopped.

  Again she bounced her bottom, not wanting to say the words. It was embarrassing to say that you liked getting spanked. Well, she didn’t always like it, but she really liked the way he was doing it now.

  “I want to hear the words, Sage. Tell me,” he said low right beside her ear. “What do you want?” He slapped her a little harder. “Say it.”

  “I want you to spank me.” There she’d said it, may as well tell him the rest. “But I don’t want it to hurt, too much.”

  “You’re not in trouble now, darlin', you can have it any way you like.”

  She
closed her eyes and savoured the delicious new feeling as her husband covered her entire behind with smacks that surprisingly stung but in a good way. “That’s so nice,” she said.

  “Up on your knees.” When she was on all fours he yanked her pants and panties down and then placed a pillow beneath her.

  “Okay, back down again,” he said. He slipped one hand beneath her and walked his fingers over her shaved mound and wiggled them between her wet lips until he found her already swollen nub. “You do like this,” he whispered with a chuckle.

  “Uh huh.” What he was doing with his left hand then was lovely but she wanted him to start spanking again. “Please?” she almost begged.

  “Usually you’re begging me to stop,” Cliff said, “see the difference?”

  “Hmm.” When the spanking started again, it was harder and Sage didn’t care. The spanks from one hand and the tingling from the other were almost more than she could take and yet, she never wanted it to stop. She was unable to speak, the smacks got harder and the fingers moved faster and then it was on her, that hot, cold feeling of exquisiteness that made her cry out like she was in pain, and yet it was the exact opposite. She was in rapture as she floated back. Then embarrassment hit her. “Sorry,” she said, feeling her face glow.

  “What on earth are you sorry about?”

  “I don’t know; I kind of lost myself.”

  “I would say more that you found yourself,” he said running his fingers through her hair. “Don’t ever be embarrassed or apologise for enjoying yourself, especially when I helped you get there.” Cliff chuckled and she turned over and crawled into his arms.

  “I think it’s different when we’re both naked and we both, enjoy ourselves.”

  “You are such a prude sometimes,” he said. “I loved giving you pleasure.”

  “And now I want to give you some pleasure,” She pulled down his pants and took him in her hand, slowly moving up and down, letting her fingertips graze over the head where she knew he would be most sensitive.

  He sucked in a deep breath. “You don’t have to, Sage, you should be resting,” he ground out with difficulty.

  In answer, she lowered her head, kissing the tip before taking him between her lips and letting her tongue dance along the length of him while cupping his balls with her other hand.

  “Sage, I want to be inside you,” Cliff said. “Lie on your back.”

  She crawled up the bed and lay on her back, giggling when he nudged her legs apart. She was more than ready for him and she didn’t have to wait, he was in deep inside her within seconds, causing her to emit a groan that she herself had never heard before. “Oh man,” she muttered. He seemed to fill her completely. His entire weight was on her, pressing her down into the plush mattress.

  “Am I crushing you?”

  “I like it.” Sage wasn’t lying. She loved the feeling of being underneath like his big, hard body like that. Her nipples pebbled under his hard chest and her hands roamed anywhere she could reach as he ground into her. She threw her head back and he latched onto her neck, suckling the soft skin, leaving his brand.

  “Oh, Sage.” His mouth covered hers and his tongue delved deep, his kiss long and hot.

  She whimpered as the feeling took over again, the sizzle starting low in her belly and swirling all around. She squealed into his broad chest as she reached her peak and then the words escaped, “I love you, Cliff.” She didn’t even know why she chose that intense moment to say it for the first time. He probably didn't even hear her.

  He took her hands, raised them above her head and kissed her long and hard. “You’re mine,” he said. His body jerked and his eyes closed as he surged into her one last time.

  Neither of them moved for a few minutes and Sage was wondering if he had, in fact, heard her. When he finally rolled off, he looked straight into her eyes. “You love me,” he said with a smile.

  “I guess I do.” Was this going to be one of those awkward moments when one person said it and the other said ‘thank you’?

  “I love you too,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose.

  * * *

  When Sage opened her eyes, it was dark outside and her bags were neatly standing in a corner of the room. So he won after all, she did take a nap. At least his methods of wearing her out first had merit.

  “I wondered when you were going to wake up,” Cliff said from the doorway. “How do you feel?”

  “I feel great,” Sage said. “You should have woken me.” She flipped back the comforter that Cliff must have placed over her and got up.

  “I made us dinner.”

  “Great, I just need the bathroom.”

  Dinner was nice. Cliff had made them chicken cutlets and some kind of vegetable casserole. It was delicious, as was the fresh jug of lemonade that he’d squeezed. “This is really good,” she said.

  “Thank you,” he said, “now are you sure you don't need to see a doctor? We could see someone tomorrow.”

  “I’m fine, and I promise that if I feel lousy again tomorrow, I’ll make an appointment at the doctor’s office.”

  “Okay then. Feel up to a tour?”

  “Yes, I need to know where everything is while you’re working tomorrow. I’m excited about the bunk house aren’t you?”

  “Sure am and I can’t wait to get the house all finished. Then we can finally be a family.”

  “Is that what you want, Cliff? A family?”

  “You know it is.”

  “I believe you love us and you want to make a good life for the kids and I, but that’s not what I was getting at. I meant to say, do you want to have more children one day, of your own, of our own?”

  “Oh yeah, I would love that. The more the merrier. I was going to talk to you about that. How would you feel about, I don’t know, six?”

  “Maybe, I think we might have enough on our plate for now.”

  “We’ll cope with whatever happens,” Cliff said.

  “Yes we will,” Sage agreed.

  * * *

  The next morning, Sage woke in the huge bed alone. It wasn’t a surprise this time or a disappointment, she knew that Cliff had to go and work at the other ranch. What she didn’t expect was to feel so horrible. Her head hurt and her tummy was twisting and turning like she was on board a ship. As soon as she sat up, she had to jump from the bed and make a dive for the bathroom.

  Sage finally dragged her sad self to the kitchen and plonked onto a chair with her head in her hands. There was a distinct possibility that she might die right there on that spot. Her tummy felt terrible; she must have caught something. Maybe a drink would help.

  She tried to figure out what she wanted to drink, or eat or if she would be able to keep down anything. Then there was a knock at the door.

  “Are you decent, Sage?”

  It was Cliff’s grandma. “Come in,” she said. She was pretty sure Grandma had a key, and she just didn’t think she could make it to open it for her.

  “Hi there, honey,” the older woman said, coming into the kitchen. “Oh good Lord, you’re sick.” She ran to the hall closet and came back with a cloth that she wet and put on Sage’s forehead. “What on earth was Cliff thinking, leaving you alone like this. He should have called me.”

  “I was fine last night. He doesn’t know I’m sick,” Sage said, holding the cloth to her head.

  “You don’t seem to have a temperature. Would you have eaten anything that might have made you sick?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “And it only just came on today?”

  “Well I was felt a bit faint yesterday, then I felt better and now I’m sick again this morning.”

  “Oh,” Grandma said. “Oh. I think we should get you back to bed and I’ll bring you up some tea and toast.”

  “I promised Cliff I’d see a doctor if I was still feeling unwell today.”

  “Well, first things first,” Grandma said. “I think it might be worth trying something else first.”

  “
What’s that?”

  “A pregnancy test.”

  * * *

  “Have you read it yet?” Grandma said through the bathroom door.

  “I have to wait five minutes.” Sage was feeling better but Grandma had gone to the store and picked up several tests. She insisted that she use one and she insisted on waiting to know the results. “Okay, any minute now.”

  Sage opened the bathroom door and stood there saying nothing.

  “Well? Any news?” Grandma had a grin from ear to ear.

  “I’m pregnant.” Sage was stunned.

  “Congratulations!” Grandma wrapped her in a giant hug and she burst into tears. She didn’t even know if she was happy, excited or sad.

  “How do you feel?” Grandma asked.

  “I don’t know. Happy I think. Do you think Cliff will be happy? It’s so soon.”

  “He’s going to be over the moon.”

  “I don’t think I am going to tell him just yet,” Sage said.

  “I really don’t think that’s a good idea, Sage, it’s his baby too.”

  “I know, I was thinking of telling him a special way, surprising him. He told me the other day that no one can surprise him. I think I may have just found the perfect thing.”

  “Now that’s a great idea.”

  “You can’t tell anyone. Promise me, please, Grandma?”

  “Of course, honey, now what did you have in mind?”

  “You might be able to tell Grandpa. I have an idea but we might need his help.”

  * * *

  It was a miracle that they were able to sneak away to the church without anyone else finding out. Cliff had hoodwinked them by getting Grandma and Grandpa to organise and prepare for the unveiling party at the house. Sage was beyond excited about several things; the vows, the unveiling of the bunkhouse and the painted bedrooms. Not least, Aunt Jen and Uncle Harry were bringing the kids back to give them the final verdict on whether they could stay. There was also a small surprise that Sage had planned for her husband. She was lucky that he’d been working such long hours to get everything finished. It made it a bit easier for her to hide the morning sickness that plagued her until lunchtime each day. That was why she’d talked him into an afternoon ceremony. “Ready?” she asked, slipping her hand into his.