Ready For Him: A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Alyson Hale

  The doctor who examined her father comes out into the waiting room. I see the alarm in Cheyenne’s eyes and want nothing more than to scoop her up into my arms and tell her it will all be okay.

  “Don Jefferson’s family?”

  “That’s me,” Cheyenne replies. I lean toward the two of them, hoping to hear the conversation, but the doctor makes sure to keep it quiet. By the end of their conversation, Cheyenne looks ready to crumble, but she’s bravely keeping it together. She nods, and the doctor heads back into the emergency room.

  Cheyenne crosses the room to me and takes a seat beside me. I lean in and whisper, “What’s going on?”

  “They’re going to have to do emergency bypass surgery.” She swallows hard. “If they don’t, he’s going to die.”

  “Fuck, Cheyenne. I’m so sorry.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.” She looks up into my eyes. “I want you to know that. He shouldn’t have been out there in the heat, although this was bound to happen anyway. His heart suffered major damage in his last heart attack, so it was only a matter of time. The doctor said that hopefully repairing the damaged arteries will help him get better for good.”

  I reach for her hand. Hesitantly, she threads her fingers through mine.

  “Please stay,” she whispers softly.

  “I’m here for you,” I tell her. “Mom has Hudson, and she knows what’s going on. I can stay here as long as you want me to.”

  Cheyenne leans her head on my shoulder. I stroke her hair while she lets the tears fall. It amazes me how she can hate me one second and need me to be her rock the next. Our bond transcends anything I’ve ever felt before. If I had to leave her in this hospital by herself, I don’t think I could do it. I’d camp out in my car in the parking lot for as long as she was in here.

  “I didn’t mean to call you a gold-digger,” I blurt out. “I thought Britney was a nice girl when I married her, and then she took me for half of everything I owned. She abandoned our son. I know you’re nothing like her, but I was trying to be cautious until I was sure everything was going to work out between us. My boy’s heart was at stake, and so was mine. I couldn’t take any risks.”

  Cheyenne nods, and I know she understands.

  “I love you, Cheyenne. I want you more than anything in the world. You’ll never have to face anything alone again.”

  Her hold on my hand tightens, and she looks up into my eyes as if searching for sincerity. A faint smile grows on her face through the tears. “I love you, too.”

  I lean down and kiss her gently. She snuggles under my arm, and I wrap it around her tightly, happy to spend months in this waiting room with her if that’s what it takes.

  Chapter Thirteen

  This is my third visit to the bathroom since Dad’s been in surgery, and it hasn’t even been three hours. My stomach is so upset I can’t keep anything down. Grant got me a water bottle and some crackers from a vending machine, and I threw them all up and then some. I keep telling myself it’s nerves, but truthfully I think it may be a virus. I hope I didn’t pick up the stomach flu or something worse from staying in the hospital for the past couple of weeks.

  Dad had to stay in ICU after his first emergency surgery. The doctors weren’t able to repair everything in one go, and they wanted to monitor him while he rested between surgeries. His oxygen levels have been down and other things are wrong with him, too. I don’t understand everything the doctors are saying, but one thing is clear: his life is hanging in the balance every day.

  The stress has been terrible, but Grant has been my anchor in the storm. We’ve spent every night clinging to each other on a small lounge chair in my dad’s room. Grant holds me on his lap and whispers sweet nothings to me until I fall asleep. I don’t think he sleeps much, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

  Now I have to go back to the waiting room and sit some more while we wait to see how this second surgery went. It’s hell waiting for hours to hear if the person you relied on all your life is going to make it or not. Without Grant, I probably would have fallen apart by now.

  Grant is waiting for me with a cup of ginger ale when I come back to the waiting room. I sit down next to him and swallow down some bile before taking a sip.

  “You okay, angel?” Grant brushes my wild hair back from my face and presses a kiss to my temple.

  “I don’t think so,” I tell him honestly. “I think I may have picked up a stomach bug.”

  Grant’s lips quirk up, making his dimples pop out. My heart thumps just looking at him. I still don’t know how he manages to be ruggedly handsome and adorable all at once. “Are you sure it isn’t something else?”

  Furrowing my brows, I shrug. “I mean, yeah, it could be stress, but I—”

  “No, I mean…someone else.” He lays his hand on my belly with a shit-eating grin.

  A gasp catches in my throat. Thinking back over the past few weeks, I realize I haven’t had my period in over a month. Usually I have one every twenty-five days on the dot. “Do you think it could be…?”

  His lips are on mine before I can blink. He pulls back with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on him. “I think you’re mine for eternity now, Squirt.”

  I giggle at the use of my old nickname. It doesn’t bother me anymore now that I know beyond a doubt he doesn’t view me as a child. We have history together for sure, but I’m excited now more than ever for our future together. I can put up with a “stomach bug” for a few months if it means that dark-haired, dimpled baby I’ve been dreaming about is on the way.

  Now I really hope my dad lives to meet his first grandchild.

  Soon, the doctor comes back out to find us. Grant and I stand slowly, looking at each other with uncertainty in our eyes.

  The doctor smiles, and I feel the tension leave my shoulders. “Your father came through the surgery and he’s doing very well. The worst is over. He’s in the recovery room waiting for you.”

  “Thank God,” I breathe, and Grant squeezes my shoulders. The doctor passes us off to a nurse, who leads us into the recovery room.

  When I see Dad, he’s hooked up to some machines and a breathing tube, but there aren’t nearly as many machines as there have been for the past two weeks. I breathe a sigh of relief and walk to his side. He reaches up for my hand even though his eyes are closed.

  “Hey, Daddy.” I squeeze his hand, tears building up in my eyes. “How do you feel?”

  “I’m…half here.” He chuckles as his eyelids flutter open. “Morphine is a wonderful thing.”

  “Yes, it is,” Grant agrees. I look up at him with an unspoken question. “Fall of my senior year in high school. Remember?”

  “Oh yeah. The pile-up. You got sacked by the entire other team while playing football.”

  It hurts my heart to think about it. I remember visiting Grant in the hospital. It looked like his entire body was in one huge cast. He was hooked up to an IV and kept grinning like a fool. I thought it was because he was proud to have scored the winning touchdown in spite of the pile-up, but now I realize it’s because he was flying high on pain meds.

  “You stayed by my side and read me books for hours while our parents talked.” Grant slips an arm around my waist, smiling down into my eyes. “It was what got me through all those broken bones.”

  “Cheyenne and Grant.” Dad chuckles deep in his throat. “How did I never see it? I mean, the age difference, clearly, but still…”

  “That doesn’t matter to me, Daddy.” I sink down into the hospital bed next to him and take his hands. His poor hands are punctured and mottled by all the needles, but he curls his fingers around mine. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but Grant has always been it for me.” I look up at Grant and smile. “I’ve loved him for as long as I can remember.”

  Dad breathes out a long sigh. “Well…to be honest, I can’t think of another man I’d rather entrust my little girl to.” I look at him as his gaze shifts to Grant and turns deadly serious. “You’d better take good care of her, son. I didn
’t pour the last nineteen years of my life into raising her just for some other man to leave her brokenhearted.”

  “I swear on my life.” Grant pulls me to my feet and turns both of us to face my father. “Sir, there’s something I need to ask you. I hope now isn’t an inappropriate time, but in light of recent events, I’ve realized life is short and everything can change in an instant. I love your daughter, and it would mean the world to me if I could have your blessing to make her my wife.”

  My balance fails me for a second, and I sway back and forth in Grant’s arms. If our suspicions are correct, I have pregnancy hormones now, which would explain why I’m suddenly a breath away from passing out.

  That, and I’ve been dreaming of this day since I knew what marriage was.

  All Dad can manage is a smile and a nod. Grant takes that as his blessing and is down on one knee before I can process what’s happening. He pulls a small black box out of his pocket and opens it, revealing a gigantic princess-cut diamond. It takes some willpower, but I redirect my gaze from the scintillating gem to the beautiful depths of my man’s eyes. They’re so full of sincerity and longing. I can see the years of suffering he’s endured and how desperately he hopes I’ll say yes and at last give us our happy ending.

  “Cheyenne Jefferson, I wish I could say that from the moment I met you, I knew you were the one for me. When we met ten years ago, we both had some growing up to do before we were ready for each other. Today, I know without a doubt where my future lies. We have belonged to each other since the beginning of time. Age is just a number, and I’m not about to let numbers get in the way of us. If you will do me the honor of becoming my wife, I’ll show you every day how much I cherish you and the family we’ll build together. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes.” The word bursts out of my mouth. He slips the ring on my finger and springs to his feet to plant a kiss on my lips, right in front of my father. A hospital room wasn’t the proposal setting I always dreamed of, but Grant and I have the rest of our life for perfect, “fairytale” moments. As long as Grant Sherwood’s lips are on mine, his arms are around my waist, and his ring is on my finger, it will be a beautiful life.

  Epilogue

  My heart races as I snuggle into my old twin bed, surrounded by the sheets, stuffed animals, and artwork of my childhood. Getting caught like this by my father would be absolutely humiliating. Luckily, I know he’s working until late tonight, so Grant and I are perfectly safe to live out this scandalous fantasy without interruptions.

  I still have a spare key to my old house, and Grant’s mom has the kids overnight. It’s been so long since my husband and I had some real privacy, and after telling him about this fantasy of mine, Grant wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Since we were married three years ago, everything I’ve ever even slightly alluded to that I wanted, Grant has provided for me tenfold. He has such a generous heart. I’ve been spoiled beyond anything I ever pictured in my wildest dreams. Clothes, jewelry, art pieces, furniture—it’s like his greatest joy in life is buying things for me and giving me gifts, yet if I had to live in a mud hut in the most remote part of Africa, I’d be just as happy as long as I had my man.

  I hear scuffling outside the door, and I pull the covers tightly over my barely-clothed body. My hair is in long pigtails, just like I used to wear it, and the only thing I’m wearing is a sheer lingerie set with ribbons on it that match my pink hair ribbons. For a moment, I’m transported back in time. This is what I used to dream about when I was a teenager discovering my body, and now it’s really happening. Grant Sherwood is stealing into my room, and he’s about to ravage me from head to toe. Everything below my belly button is clenched. I can barely breathe.

  A sharp rap comes at the door. I whisper, “Come in.”

  The door flings open, and Grant is standing there in a white tank top and athletic shorts, just like the outfits he used to wear in the heat of summer. His bronze skin is glowing with a sheen of sweat, and his eyes are black with lust.

  “Little Cheyenne…” He closes the door behind him and locks it securely, not taking his eyes off of me for a second. “My God, you’ve grown up beautiful.”

  “Grant, what are you doing in here? This is my bedroom,” I squeak.

  He crosses the room to me and crawls onto my bed, predatory in his advance. Pulling down the covers, he runs his fingers over the sheer fabric covering my breasts and wets his lips with his tongue. “I’m here to take what’s mine, angel. No man claims this sweet pussy but me.” He moves one hand down to my thong, which is drenched with my desire. I bite my lip when the tent in his shorts grows even bigger. He’s loving this as much as I am.

  “I’ve reserved this pussy for you.” His lips connect with mine, and we move in perfect rhythm as he positions himself on top of me. “It’s all yours.”

  “I want you so much, sweet girl. Only you,” Grant tells me as he pulls my hair back from my neck and sinks his teeth into my sensitive skin. I shudder against him as his lips move down toward my chest. He rips my sheer covering apart and exposes my naked body. I curl up against him, wanting to feel nothing but his heat radiating into me.

  “I want you too, Grant. I always have.”

  Grant tears the clothes off his body and flings my thong into some unknown part of the room. He pulls my labia apart and thrusts his tongue into me so fast, I don’t have time to blink. My back arches off the bed, and moans rip from my throat. Our lovemaking is always passionate, but he’s never been this fast and furious before. My old room fades into a pleasant blur around me as he works his thumb into a fast vibration on my clit and his tongue into a frenzy inside my pussy. My nipples turn impossibly hard to the point of pain as he reaches up one hand to play with them.

  “Oh, Grant! I need to come on you.”

  His groan vibrates my sweet spot, making me lose control and gush on his face. He drinks down every last drop like the good husband he is.

  “More, baby.” Grant teases the rest of my orgasm out of me. I let him take me to paradise, knowing this release is only the first of many tonight.

  After I’ve come down from my peak, Grant moves up to tower over me and inserts his lubed tip into my entrance. Swirling it around, he teases me without mercy.

  “Please, baby,” I whine. “I need you so bad.”

  “Who do you need?” He clenches his teeth as sweat runs down his temples. “Tell me.”

  I let out a tortured moan in response.

  “Tell me who you need, Cheyenne. Who have you been dreaming of your whole life? Who is the only man in the world who can satisfy you?”

  “Grant Sherwood.” Gasping, I roll my hips toward him. “I need Grant Sherwood.”

  Grant finally plunges inside of me. He holds me up by my pigtails as he devours my mouth and destroys my pussy. I brace on my elbows and pull back to take a look at his body as he becomes one with mine over and over. His core muscles are so strong he doesn’t need to brace on anything. I watch them as they expand and contract, bringing every inch of his huge shaft home inside me.

  He brushes stray hairs away from my face and leans down to whisper in my ear. “I love you, Mrs. Sherwood.”

  I cling to his strong shoulders, feeling the tension coiling in my lower abdomen again. “I love you, too, Mr. Sherwood.”

  Kissing my neck, Grant lets go and I feel his warm streams shooting up inside me. The feeling of his cum inside my body gets my hormones raging, and I follow him into paradise. Hearing the sounds of his satisfied groans just intensifies my own release, and we go on for a long time.

  It’s an hour later when we finally decide to move the fun back to our house. Grant wraps a blanket around me protectively as he walks me next door. Once we’re on our front porch, Grant tips up my chin and chuckles as he presses a gentle kiss to my lips.

  “What was that for?”

  He lets his fingers run down my cheek, smiling like a fool.

  “For being the ultimate girl next door.”

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  About the Author

  Alyson Hale is a naughty little minx who lives in an undisclosed location in the American South. Her weaknesses are rock stars, cowboys, and billionaires. Alyson promises no story of hers will ever end without an HEA because her readers deserve an escape from reality. Her favorite activities are writing, designing graphics and covers, and taking long walks in the country.

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  Note from the Author

  Hey, my pretties!

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