Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  “And, Kayla? What about our daughter? Don’t you miss her? Want to see her?” I’d already come to terms with things being over between the two of us, but I couldn’t understand her not needing to see Kayla.

  Julie bit her lip and looked away.

  “I think it’s better this way…”

  “Better for her to grow up without her mother?” I pushed, my tone conveying my disbelief, my anger.

  “I don’t have anything to offer her right now, maybe some day…”

  Holding up my hand again, I shoved the manila envelope at her.

  “These are divorce papers. I’m asking for full custody, the house, everything … everything you left behind. If you want to fight me for Kayla, I’ll fight, but if you want half of the house or anything in it, we can sit down and draw up new papers.”

  I was done. Angry, heartbroken for my daughter, and eager to get back to Millie, her sisters, and my friends. I needed a strong drink, the arms of the woman I was falling for, and tomorrow, I would hug my daughter until she had no doubt in her mind that I loved her enough for two parents.

  “I don’t want anything,” Julie said, taking the papers from my hand.

  “There’s a pen in there, and a yellow tab next to everywhere you need to initial and sign.”

  She nodded and began doing just that.

  “You should call your parents, they miss you terribly,” I informed her as I watched her sign.

  Julie looked up at that, her eyes flashing.

  “How are they?”

  “Not good. Your mom’s getting thinner and she’s always sad. Your dad spends a lot of time tinkering in his garage. They’re both hurting. You need to call them, Julie.”

  She let out a breath and said, “I will.”

  I took the papers she offered and flipped through them, making sure everything was signed and initialed according to my lawyer’s instructions. When I was satisfied they were, I put everything back in the envelope and looked at my soon-to-be ex-wife one last time.

  “If you wake up and realize what your missing, give me a call and we can figure out how to reintroduce you into Kayla’s life. You do not try to go around me and contact her yourself. I need to be involved and we need to do what we can to make things comfortable for her.”

  Julie nodded, but didn’t respond, so I said, “Goodbye, Julie,” and turned to go back to my truck.

  “Jackson,” she called, and I turned in the middle of the sidewalk to look back at the stranger who used to be my wife. “I’m sorry.”

  Without a word, I turned back to my truck, told Mick I’d follow him back to his office, then left Hampton, and Julie, behind.

  Millie

  My flapper dress was purple with lots of fringe, which swayed any time I made a move. I absolutely loved it, along with the amazing decorations our team had come up with.

  The banquet room had been converted into a speakeasy, compete with whiskey barrels as tables, a mugshot photo station, prohibition signs everywhere, and you even had to use the secret code word to get in.

  Dru, in a dress identical to mine, only black, was already having the time of her life, and we’d only been here for about thirty minutes. Louis Armstrong was playing in the background and everyone was eating, drinking, and laughing. Having a great time.

  But I couldn’t stop watching the door, and checking my phone. I was worried about Jackson, wondering if he’d spoken to Julie and how that had gone.

  “Everything okay?”

  Tasha came up next to me, a drink in each hand, and passed one to me.

  She looked adorably sexy in a black pinstripe suit with nothing but a camisole underneath, her bright-red hair styled perfectly for the era in finger waves, her lips a bright red.

  “Thanks,” I said, accepting the glass. “And, yes, I’m fine.”

  “Haven’t heard from him yet?” she guessed.

  “No, not yet.”

  “Don’t worry, he’ll show,” Tasha assured me, her voice full of more confidence than I was feeling.

  “I know,” I lied.

  Commotion toward the entrance had me looking over to see a motley crew walking in. Ty, Rebecca, Rob, and Jan, all decked out and looking dapper in their twenties costumes. My breath caught as I looked behind them, hoping to see Jackson, and there he was, except he wasn’t wearing a twenties costume.

  No, he was showing off a lot of skin in his tiny white board shorts, Hawaiian shirt, which was, no lie, tied at his waist, with a captain hat on his head.

  Jackson’s eyes caught mine and he grinned, then did his best saunter all the way to me. By the time he reached me, I was laughing so hard that I was practically bent over. When he stopped in front of me and attempted to gyrate, I clapped a hand over my mouth as I guffawed.

  His eyes were twinkling as he watched me, and when I finally had some control, I uncovered my mouth and said, “That’s some Elvis costume.”

  “Thank you, thank you very much,” was Jackson’s reply, which had Tasha groaning next to me.

  “Oh my God!”

  “I know, right, it’s awful,” Ty said, giving his friend a onceover and grimacing.

  “I love it,” I purred as I put my arms around his waist and tilted my head back to look at him. “You look amazing.”

  “Don’t encourage him.” This came from Rob, as he picked up a cigar off of the table next to him and ran it under his nose. When Jan snatched it out of his hand he said, “Hey…”

  Jan just gave him a look, and he closed his mouth and pouted, causing the rest of us to laugh.

  “How are you?” I asked softly, while everyone else teased Rob.

  “Never been better,” Jackson said with a huge grin. “It’s over.”

  I leaned in to hug him tightly, then looked back up at him and asked, “And Kayla?”

  Jackson shook his head sadly, then his face cleared and he asked, “Can you step out for a minute? I want to give you your present.”

  “Now?” I asked, looking around at the party in full swing. “Don’t you want to wait until we get home?”

  Jackson picked me up, causing me to laugh as he answered excitedly, “I can’t wait that long.”

  “Okay,” I said as he put me down, then took my hand in his and led me toward the door at the back of the room, which led out to a balcony.

  The party was muted when he slid the sliding glass door shut behind us and we stepped out into the night.

  “Wow,” I said as I looked up at the stars glittering in the sky. “What a beautiful night.”

  “Only more so because you’re in it,” Jackson replied, pulling me in close to his side, and my heart melted.

  I leaned my head against his shoulder, enjoying the moment, a happy sigh emitting from my lips, when he nudged me and asked, “Don’t you want your present?”

  “Oh yeah, that’s why we came out here,” I said with mock surprise, then put my hands out in front of me and closed my eyes. “What is it? Gimme?”

  Jackson chuckled at my exuberance, then laid what felt like paper in my hand. I opened one eye and peeked at him, saw his excited face, and looked down at my hand. My other eye popped open and my jaw dropped.

  There was a brochure for Graceland in my palm.

  “Oh my God, what does this mean?” I asked, hopeful, but unable to wrap my head around what I was holding in my hand.

  “I talked with Dru and Tasha, they’ve got you covered. It’ll be a couple months before school’s out, but that gives us time to plan it all out, and then, we’re going to Graceland, Ba-by!”

  “Oh my God!” I squealed this time, jumping up and down three times before jumping into his arms and squeezing as hard as I could. “This is the best gift anyone has given me in my life.”

  Jackson laughed and said, “Good, that’s what I was going for.”

  When I was back on my feet I looked at the brochure, hugged it to my chest, and told him, “You are getting so lucky tonight.”

  To which he replied, “I already am.”
>
  Gah, this guy…

  Jackson

  I was doing my best to wrangle two drunk, and one buzzed, sisters out of my truck and up the stairs to their apartments, without someone falling on their face. It wasn’t as easy as one might think. These girls were wired and super affectionate. They kept stopping to hug each other, and me, then sat down on the steps when they deemed the climb too far.

  “Come on, ladies, you’ll feel better once we can get some aspirin and water in you, and you get in your comfy clothes,” I cajoled, thinking the comfy clothes bit always worked on Kayla.

  “Ohhhh, pajamas sound nice,” Tasha cooed.

  “Mmmhmmm, and these shoes hurt,” Dru added, lifting her leg and kicking her foot until her shoe flew off, almost hitting me in the head.

  Luckily, I caught it.

  “Come on,” Millie, the buzzed one, said, trying to help by pulling on her sister’s arms. “Let’s go get you changed.”

  “Hey,” Dru said, pulling her arm out of Millie’s grasp. “Not so rough, you’ll leave a bruise.” She turned toward me with a sloppy grin. “Maybe Jackson can carry me up; it is my birthday, after all.”

  “Oh brother,” Tasha moaned with an exaggerated eye roll. “It’s gotta be past midnight by now. This girl will milk her birthday until next year if you let her.”

  “No one is carrying anybody,” Millie denied as she put Tasha’s arm around her shoulder and they began taking it one step at a time. “Move your booty, Dru.”

  “She’s so mean to me,” Dru pouted, but she stood on wobbly legs and grasped the handrail.

  I trailed behind them, ready to catch anyone who stumbled, until we reached the top.

  We stopped in Tasha’s apartment first, Millie taking her sister into the bedroom to get changed, while I looked for some type of aspirin and poured a glass of water. Mille came out, grabbed both from me, said, “Thanks,” then disappeared back into the bedroom.

  Once she came back out, we stepped out of the apartment, locked the door, and looked to the left to see Dru sitting on the floor in front of her door, her head tilted back against the wood and her eyes closed.

  When she let out a soft snore, Millie giggled, then looked at me.

  “You hold her up, I’ll open the door.”

  Millie entered the apartment, presumably to do exactly what we’d done at Tasha’s as I strained to hold Dru’s dead weight up and cross the threshold. Once we were inside, I heard a cough and a sniffle, then looked down to see Dru staring up at me.

  “You okay?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t about to puke on me.

  “That guy who found your wife…”

  “Mick,” I supplied.

  “Yeah, him … Do you think he could find our dad?” Dru asked, then her head fell forward and I had to brace myself before we both toppled.

  Millie came out of the bedroom, some pajamas thrown over her arm, and said, “I’ve got her from here, why don’t you head to my place and I’ll meet you over there.”

  I accepted her keys with a nod, then left the sisters in peace, my mind running a mile a minute.

  Millie had never mentioned her father. I was just now realizing none of them ever had. They’d spoken about their mom, what she was like, and how hard it was now that she was gone, but nothing about the man who was their father.

  I was surprised that I’d never really thought about it, but now that Dru mentioned it, I was curious.

  I was about to open Millie’s door when I became aware of the discomfort I was feeling. Damn, these shorts were tight. And, I realized that I’d left my backpack with spare clothes in my truck. I jogged back down the steps as fast as the shorts would allow, grabbed what I needed, and headed back up to find Millie coming out of Dru’s apartment.

  “Is she all right?” I asked.

  “Passed out,” Millie replied with a smile. “But, I was able to get some Motrin and Gatorade in her first.”

  “That’s good.”

  I used the key to open the door, then stepped aside to let her enter ahead of me.

  When I would have headed straight to the bathroom to change, Millie turned and placed a hand on my chest.

  “Uh-uh.” She shook her head and guided me to stand in front of her couch, then went to the record player and messed with it until Elvis began crooning.

  I watched as she took the headdress off and shook out her hair, then sat in front of me with a big smile.

  “Entertain me, Elvis,” Millie dared with a sexy smile, and my shorts got a whole lot tighter.

  I flung my backpack onto the couch next to her, then began moving my hips as my fingers came up to first untuck my shirt at the waist, then unbutton it slowly. With my shirt hanging open, I did another pelvis thrust, which made Millie cat call and me turn red, then eased the shirt off my shoulders.

  Millie’s eyes widened, then narrowed and her face became flushed as she looked at my shorts. I looked down and saw that nothing was left to the imagination, as my dick strained against the thin fabric.

  “C’mhere,” she mumbled, her tongue darting out to wet her lips as she watched me step to her.

  When I was close enough, Millie’s hands reached out, grabbed me by the waistband, and tugged me closer, causing my blood to heat then boil when she started working on my zipper. And when she looked up at me from under her eyelashes, I was a goner.

  Millie

  I came awake slowly, my body thrumming as I was pulled from the darkness into the morning with a moan.

  It took me a moment to register what was going on. First, I felt the yearning, then the pleasure, and finally, the sweet, wet heat of Jackson’s tongue on me. I arched my back languidly with a moan as all of my senses awoke at once.

  God, he’s good at that, I thought briefly before I no longer had the ability to think.

  As I came down, Jackson kissed one thigh, then the other, then dropped kisses on his way up my body. By the time he was fully on top of me, my arms were wrapped around him and I was smiling serenely up at him.

  “Good morning,” I whispered. And it was … what a great way to start the day.

  “I wanted to do that last night, but we got a bit carried away,” he began, causing me to moan at the memory of last night.

  Me taking him in my mouth until he went wild, lost control, and bent me over the couch.

  It had been amazing, frantic, and we’d been just buzzed enough to totally pass out afterward. Somehow, we’d at least made it to the bed before losing it, but we hadn’t found the time to put on pajamas, so we were both still fantastically naked.

  “Mmmm, I like the feel of you against me,” I murmured, my hands roaming everywhere they could.

  “And I love the feel of you beneath me,” Jackson whispered before dropping his head to capture my lips with his.

  I brought my knees up, then tilted my hips up.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  We’d already had the talk about being tested, birth control, and all of that. We were both clean and I was on the pill, so I answered, “Yes.”

  We both moaned as he slid inside of me, none of the urgency from last night present this morning. No, instead, it was like we were engaged in a sleek, sexy, Viennese Waltz, our bodies dancing in tune with each other.

  “Nothing feels as good as this,” Jackson said softly in my ear, before his lips moved down my neck, loving me there.

  I shoved one hand in his hair and fisted it, matching his thrusts as I felt desire building within me again.

  “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met,” he panted, his breath becoming labored as he moved faster.

  “So are you,” I replied, not really knowing what I was saying as I felt the pressure begin to build.

  Bracing my other hand on Jackson’s shoulder, I held on and pushed up with my thighs so that my clit was in just the right spot as he moved over me. Then my whole body stilled as the orgasm crashed through me, and I was barely aware of Jackson shouting my name as he found his own release.

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nbsp; I grunted when he collapsed on top of me, so he apologized and rolled over to his side, taking me with him so that I was half splayed across his chest as we both struggled for breath.

  After a few minutes, Jackson asked, “So, I’m the most amazing woman you’ve ever met?”

  I was confused at first, then realized what I’d said in the heat of passion and started laughing so hard, I snorted.

  “Sorry, I was a little preoccupied.”

  Jackson turned his head toward me, his dimples showing.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “You should,” I agreed, running my fingers across his ribs, causing him to flinch. “Sorry,” I said, then tilted my head back and rested it against his bicep. “So, yesterday…”

  Jackson closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and said, “I barely recognized her. Not just her personality, or the way she’s been acting, but physically. She’s lost a lot of weight, had work done … I guess when she said she needed to find herself, she actually meant to become a different person. I barely caught a glimpse of the Julie I knew.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, lamely, but what else could I say?

  “Listening to her, seeing her, I got it … finally. A little. I mean, I don’t understand it, and can’t relate, but I finally understood what she meant.”

  “Wow, really?”

  “Yeah, I mean, my heart was screaming that she’s selfish, a horrible person, and a complete stranger.” Jackson looked at me warily, as if worried I’d judge him for thinking bad things about his wife. When I nodded encouragingly, he continued, “But, in my head, I could see where she was coming from, and why she felt she needed to do what she did. That’s not to say I condone it, or even forgive it, just that I get it.”

  “You’re a good man,” I assured him, thinking there was no way in hell I understood where she was coming from. Of course, I’d never even met her, let alone spoke with her, so how could I?