Only Her

by Allie Everhart

  He kisses the side of my neck as his hand slides down to my breast. “When you’re ready you’ll find out.”

  I feel his arousal against my backside and it turns me on. I press into him to feel it even more.

  “I think I’m ready to find out,” I say.

  And so he shows me, and the tub heats up even more.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  24

  GARRET

  “What time are they coming over?” Jade asks. We’re in the kitchen and she hands me the orange juice from the fridge.

  “They said they’ll be here around noon. I told them we’d have lunch on the patio.” I take some glasses from the cupboard and pour the juice.

  “Why are they getting here so late?”

  “They’re busy.” I try not to laugh. My sweet, innocent Jade doesn’t get it. “They seemed kind of preoccupied when they called.”

  “Are they staying with us tonight?”

  “Probably not.” I grab some cereal from the pantry.

  “Why aren’t they staying with us?”

  “Jade, really?” I smile at her. “They haven’t seen each other in fifteen years.”

  “Oh.” Now she gets it. “I guess I just didn’t think they’d get back together that fast. I thought they’d want to get reacquainted first.”

  I laugh. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what they did last night. And this morning. I don’t want to think about it. They can do what they want. They’re married.”

  “Not really. I mean, they’re not legally married anymore, right?”

  “I’m not sure how that works. Even if they’re not legally married, in their heads they are. When they were together yesterday, they were already acting like they used to when I was a kid.”

  “What do you mean?” She hands me a cereal bowl.

  “I don’t know. I just felt like I was watching my parents again. Like how they used to be. My dad was looking at her the same way he used to look at her. And my mom kept touching his hand and his arm and smiling at him. They were always really affectionate with each other.”

  Jade steps up to me and whispers, “So you really think they did it last night?”

  I smile. “Why are you whispering?”

  “I don’t want anyone to hear us.”

  I glance left and right. “There’s nobody here, Jade.”

  “Abi’s here.” She points to Abigail, who’s in her high chair, munching on some dry cereal and concentrating on picking up each little round circle. She’s into finger foods right now. Mastering fine motor skills, according to the parenting books.

  “Abi has no clue what we’re talking about.” I give Jade a kiss, then turn around to pour my cereal. “And to answer your question, yes, I’m pretty sure they did it. Probably more than once.”

  Jade grabs my arm. “Garret! What if she gets pregnant?”

  “Who?”

  “Your mom!”

  I laugh again as I pour my cereal. “My mom is not going to get pregnant.”

  “How do you know? I bet your dad didn’t bring any condoms.”

  “Jade, they don’t need condoms. My mom isn’t in her childbearing years anymore. Now what do you want for breakfast? I’m just having cereal but if you want some eggs or pancakes, I’ll make some.”

  “Your mom’s not that old, Garret. I bet she hasn’t even hit menopause. I saw this story on TV where this woman was like 50 years old and she thought she couldn’t get pregnant, but she did. She had a baby boy. It’s not that unusual. I’ve heard other stories like that.”

  I shrug. “Then maybe I’ll get a baby brother or sister out of this. I’d be okay with that.”

  She rolls her eyes. “You are not taking this seriously. You should’ve sat those two down before they left and had a talk with them.”

  I raise my brows. “About sex?”

  “Shh. Don’t say that word.” She points to Abi, who has absolutely no interest in us. She’s pushing her cereal around the tray of her high chair, babbling to herself.

  “She’s not listening,” I say to Jade, turning her toward Abi. “Look. She seems to be concocting some kind of scheme over there. Maybe she’s playing war games and the cereal pieces represent tanks and she’s mumbling her strategy so we can’t hear. We should be worried, Jade. Very worried.”

  She flips around and swats at me. “Fine. Don’t believe me. But when your mom gets pregnant—”

  I kiss her mid-sentence. “She won’t get pregnant. Now as for the person standing in front of me who actually is pregnant, tell me what you want for breakfast.”

  “I’m not hungry. I’ll just have juice.”

  “You need to eat.” I put my hand over her stomach. “You’re growing a baby in there and she needs to eat.”

  Jade smiles. “She? Did you decide we’re having a girl?”

  “I was just throwing it out there to see how you’d react. And you smiled, so does that mean you want another girl?”

  “I’d take either one. It doesn’t matter to me. Are you hoping for a boy?”

  “I just want a healthy baby, which means you need to eat.” I kiss her again.

  “Then I’ll have some cereal.” She gets another bowl and pours herself some. I grab the milk and some spoons.

  We go to the table and I sit next to Abi, who’s still moving her cereal pieces around. She seems very focused.

  “What do you got going on over there?” I ask her. “Are you gonna let me in on your strategy?”

  Jade’s sitting across from me, laughing. “She’s not playing war games, Garret.”

  “She’s planning something over there.” I point to the cereal that’s scattered across Abi’s tray. “That’s not random, Jade. She’s deliberately placed them that way. She has a definite strategy going on there. The question is…” I hold my spoon up. “What is it a strategy for?”

  Jade scoops up her cereal. “You’re crazy,”

  “No crazier than you, thinking my mom’s going to get pregnant.” I smile at her.

  “So why didn’t your parents ever have more kids?”

  “I don’t know. They never said. I’m guessing it’s because of the organization. My dad didn’t want his kids to be part of it.”

  “But he had you.”

  “Probably to make my mom happy. I’m sure she wanted more than one. She loves kids. But my dad must’ve only agreed to one.”

  “I don’t know how he kept the organization a secret from her all those years.”

  “He didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t tell her. She’s not allowed to know.”

  “What happens now? You think your dad will get in trouble because she knows?”

  “No. He’ll talk to William and they’ll figure it out.”

  “Gah!” Abi yells as she shoves all her cereal on the floor in one big swoop of her hand.

  I look at Jade. “Apparently that particular strategy wasn’t working for her. Or maybe it wasn’t a strategy at all. Maybe it was some type of artwork. What she did just now? That was the move of a temperamental artist.”

  Jade’s laughing so hard she spits some of her cereal out.

  “Mama.” Abi points to Jade and giggles.

  I’ve found it’s best to laugh it off when Abi throws food on the floor or spills her juice or does other stuff kids her age do. Jade tends to overreact to that stuff, which she did when Abi was younger. She didn’t yell at her, but I could see Jade tensing up, like she was trying to hold in her anger. Her own mother would’ve hit her for tossing food on the floor, so Jade isn’t always sure how to react. So it’s my job to keep her calm and remind her that it’s not the end of the world if Abi dumps her bowl of milk over her head, which she has done several times. Jade is much better now than even just a couple months ago, which is why she didn’t even react when the cereal went all over the floor, other than to laugh at my joke.

  The back door opens and Grace walks in.

  “Hey, Grace,” I say. “Do you want breakfast?”

  “No,
thank you. I already ate.” She goes over and kisses Abi’s head. “How’s my little Abigail Grace today?”

  “We’re not sure,” I say. “We’re keeping a close eye on her. We think she’s up to something.”

  “What?” Grace asks, confused.

  “Don’t listen to him.” Jade gets up from her chair. “He has an active imagination this morning.” She starts to pick the cereal off the floor.

  “Jade, I got it. You shouldn’t be doing that.”

  “Garret, I can clean up cereal from the floor. I’m barely pregnant.”

  “You’re pregnant?” Grace asks.

  Jade sighs as she stands up. “Yes. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. I was going to wait.”

  I laugh. “Jade, you might as well tell everyone. We already told my mom and dad, and now Grace knows.”

  Grace hugs Jade. “Congratulations, honey. That’s wonderful. When did you find out?”

  “Last week. I’m not very far along, which is why I was going to wait to tell people. But I guess I don’t need to wait anymore.”

  Abi starts banging her fists on the high chair and kicking her feet, which is her not-so-subtle way of telling us she wants out of the chair. A few months ago, that would’ve driven Jade crazy, but now it doesn’t bother her at all.

  Jade lifts Abi out of the high chair. “Looks like she’s done with breakfast.”

  “So Garret, where are your parents?” Grace asks. “I wanted to say hello.”

  “They’re not here right now, but they’ll be here at noon. We’re going to have lunch outside. I was hoping you could join us.”

  “I’d love to. How did everything go with your father? He must’ve been thrilled to see her again.”

  “He was. They both looked really happy.”

  She smiles at me. “You look happy too.”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “Well, I’m going to go tend to my garden. I’ll cut some flowers for the table and bring them over when I come by for lunch.”

  “Bye, Grace.” Jade’s at the sink now, washing off Abi’s hands.

  “Bye, honey. Bye, Abigail.” She waves at her as she leaves.

  Around noon, my parents arrive. My dad has his arm around my mom and they’re both smiling. They obviously did not get two rooms last night. I don’t know what my dad was thinking. I knew my mom would want to be with him. I saw how she looked at him when he got here yesterday.

  I am surprised that she didn’t need more time to get over the fact that he’s a member. I thought that would be the one factor that would keep them apart. But she seems to have accepted it. Then again, she’s had years to think about it so maybe she’s accepted it over time.

  “Hi, honey.” My mom gives me a hug. “I missed you.”

  “Yeah, we didn’t get much time together yesterday.”

  My dad gives me a look to keep quiet. He wants more time alone with her, which he won’t get if she’s spending time with me.

  I just smile at him. “Hey, Dad.”

  “Hello, Garret. Were you working this morning?”

  “No, I took the day off and so did Jade.”

  Jade walks in, holding Abi.

  “Hello, Jade. Hi, Abigail.” My mom goes up and hugs them both.

  “I see where you learned to hug, Garret,” Jade says. “Your mom’s really good at it.”

  She laughs. “Did Garret tell you how I hug everyone? It’s kind of a problem since not everyone likes to be hugged.”

  “Jade was one of those people.” I come up behind her and hug her. “I had to teach her how to hug. She was an extremely difficult student.”

  “I was,” she admits. “And it took me forever to get it right.”

  “Rachel had to teach me as well.” My dad puts his arm around her again.

  “You did?” I ask her.

  “Yes. Your father was not a very good hugger when I met him. His technique was all off. But he improved over time.”

  “Over time?” He acts offended. “After you corrected me, I had it down after one hug.”

  We all laugh.

  “Lunch is almost ready if you guys want to go outside,” Jade says.

  “Rachel, go ahead,” my dad says. “I want to talk to Garret.”

  “Just follow me,” Jade says, and the two of them go out to the patio.

  “So I’m guessing you went with one room?” I laugh as I say it.

  He tries to hide his smile. “Yes. But I let your mother make that decision.”

  “So are you two back together now?”

  “We’re getting there. She’s agreed to move in with me.”

  “In Connecticut?”

  “No, she doesn’t want to go back there. She wants to live out here.”

  “Really?” I smile. “And you agreed to that?”

  “I want to be with her, so if she wants to live here, then that’s where we’ll live.”

  “What about the company? And Lilly?”

  “I’ll find a way to work from here. As for Lilly, she’ll be thrilled. You know she’s always wanted to live closer to you and Jade.”

  “Katherine will fight you over it.”

  “Let her try. She knows doing so will get her nowhere.”

  “Shit, this is awesome. I can’t believe you guys are going to live out here. Jade’s going to be so excited.”

  “Don’t tell her just yet. And don’t tell Lilly. I don’t want anyone to know about this until things are more settled. Your mother and I have a lot to work out before we move here.”

  “How do you think Lilly will take the news about Mom?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll tell her about Rachel when I get back. I don’t want to tell her over the phone.”

  “When are you going back?”

  “In a week. I asked your mother to go with me, but she hasn’t agreed to it yet.”

  “She could stay here with us.”

  “She would love that, but right now, I’d feel better if she were with me.”

  He says that because he would kill anyone who tried to hurt her. I would too, but I don’t have his level of experience and training. I haven’t shot a gun in over a year. I have one, locked away, but I haven’t ever used it, other than for target practice. My dad is an expert with guns. I’ve gone to the shooting range with him and he has perfect aim. And he’s killed people before. I haven’t. I’d hesitate. He wouldn’t.

  “Have you called William yet?” I ask.

  “No. I was going to do that now. I don’t want to discuss this over the phone so I’m going to ask him to meet me here, if that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll let you make the call. I’ll be out on the patio.” I go to leave but hear him behind me.

  “Garret?”

  “Yeah.” I turn back and see him holding his phone.

  “I would prefer that your mother not know what went on with us during your teen years. If you decide to tell her, I understand, but I don’t think it’s something she needs to know, at least not now. Not when she’s dealing with so many other issues.”

  “Yeah, I agree. I won’t tell her.” I point to his phone. “Call William. He needs to get out here.”

  I walk out to the patio. Grace is there, along with Jade and my mom. My mom is holding Abi. I instantly smile seeing them together. I always wished my mom could’ve met my daughter. I never thought she actually would.

  “Lunch is ready,” Jade says as I sit next to her. She has all the food set out on the table. It’s nothing fancy, just some sandwich meats and salads we picked up at the deli. “Is your dad coming?”

  “Yeah. He just had to make some phone calls.”

  My mom is sitting on my other side, trying to hold onto Abi as she reaches for me.

  I lean over and kiss her. “You stay with Grandma. She wants to spend time with you.” Abi fusses and tries to climb off my mom and over to me. “I think I better move.” I get up and go to Jade’s other side just as my dad comes out of the house.

  “You ready t
o eat?” I ask him.

  “Yes.” He eyes the food. “It looks good.”

  He sits next to my mom and they smile at each other, in a flirtatious way. My dad lays his arm along the back of her chair and she scoots closer to him.

  Grace, Jade, and I are all staring at them. We shouldn’t stare but we can’t help it. It’s so shocking to see my parents back together. They don’t even notice us staring. It’s like they’re in their own little world. They can’t stop smiling and looking at each other.

  “Papa!” Abi squeals, holding her arms out toward him. She loves my dad. Whenever he’s here, she gets all excited and begs for him to hold her.

  My mom frowns. “She doesn’t want to stay with me.”

  “She’s just not used to you yet,” Jade says. “Once she knows you, she won’t let you put her down.” She smiles at my dad. “Right, Pearce?”

  “Yes, that’s true.” He takes Abi from my mom. Abi hugs him, her little arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder. “She’s just like Garret that way.”

  “What are you talking about?” I ask him.

  “You used to get mad when I’d put you down. You wanted me to hold you all the time.”

  “I did?” I laugh. “I don’t remember that.”

  “You wouldn’t. You were too young. This is when you were Abigail’s age. And when you were just an infant, you hated being in your crib. You’d cry until we picked you up.”

  “But you were better after a couple months,” my mom says.

  “You must not have got much sleep,” I say to her.

  “Actually, it wasn’t too bad. Your father got up a lot and took care of you so I could sleep.” She smiles at him. “It was very sweet of him.”

  My dad used to take care of me as an infant? I never knew that. My dad’s never told me anything about when I was a baby. I didn’t think he was that involved during that stage of my life. I assumed my mom did all the work.

  A phone rings. It’s my dad’s cell phone and he has to maneuver around Abi to retrieve it from his pocket. She won’t let go of him.

  “Yes, William,” he says as he answers the phone. “Tomorrow would be perfect. Thank you. We’ll see you then.” He hangs up and sets his phone on the table.