Meadowlarks

by Ashley Christine

  The sight makes me harden slightly.

  “So, I thought I could help around here and keep myself busy.”

  “Well, you could. Or...” I pull out my phone. “I could call Lynn and ask her if she can bring someone over today instead of waiting until the weekend.”

  Yeah, that worked. Rotted barn boards forgotten, she squeals in excitement. The idea of having her new little colt brings her eyes to life. “Really? Thank you, babe!”

  Lynn loads up the mare and colt and is at the house within a few hours.

  “He looks like he's grown so much in a week!” Addison holds her hands together under her chin in excitement as Lynn leads him off the trailer. The mare whinnies for him and stamps her hoof down.

  “Oh, calm down there, Barbara. He'll be just fine without ya,” Lynn calls into the trailer as if the mare can understand her. “Mares.” She smirks and hands Addison the lead rope.

  “Thank you so much! I love him already.” She rubs his neck and her fingers flow through his mane. “Hi, my little guy.”

  In a sectioned off part of the pasture she leads her new colt around; he follows her almost like a dog. He's one of the calmest I've ever seen at this age, and I'm impressed with Lynn's progress. The other horses notice him right away, and they all end up standing at the fence that divides him from them. They whinny, and he perks up and whinnies back.

  “Should I let him go?” she calls to me.

  “Yeah, he'll be fine.” I'm standing at the gate with the guys; she unclasps the lead rope and stands back to let him go. He trots over to the others, keeping his distance, but leaning in just close enough to smell them. Mischief rears, and it scares him. He turns and runs a few feet, then stops and looks back. He's not ready to be in with them yet. Maybe I'll put one of the other mares in there with him for now so he's not alone.

  After we finish tearing as much wood out as we can, the guys go home, and Addison and I drive into town to Zeke's feed store. She's going to get her colt some new goodies; that's what she called them. My terms would be halter, brush, feed bucket—you know, all the things I already have around the farm. But she insists that he needs all brand new and all his own.

  “Well, hey there, you two.” Zeke's behind the counter, rolling coin when we walk in. “I haven't seen you in a while!”

  “Hey, Zeke. How's it going?”

  He ignores me.

  “Miss Cole, how's that big mally of yours? You haven't come in to get any treats lately.”

  I smirk and shake my head. This is the usual around other men; I'm nobody, and she's the only person in the room.

  “Hi, Zeke. Luca's good.” She smiles. “I know; I've been so busy with work.”

  “Well, what can I help you with today?”

  “Blaine got me my own colt for my birthday!” She beams and wraps her arm around my waist.

  Hmm, there ya go, Zeke, my friend. Eat your fuckin’ heart out.

  “Well, Blackstock. That was awful good of you.”

  “I'll need a new halter and lead rope...” She trails off and wanders down an aisle. I stand at the counter, and we both watch her.

  “Never thought that was gonna happen, huh, buddy?” He taps my arm with the back of his hand.

  “What?”

  “That girl.” He grins, and it makes me uncomfortable. “Remember that day? Oh, man. We were all gawkin' like horny kids.”

  “All right, all right.” I cross my arms and refrain from telling him to fuck off.

  She picks out royal blue everything, and I mean everything. Whatever a horse could possibly need at this stage in his life, she's put it all on the counter.

  “Are you sure you got it all? I saw a few more shelves you didn't clear in there.” I smirk as we climb into my truck.

  “Hey! It's not that much.” She turns and looks into the back seat at the bags. “Okay, maybe I went a little overboard. But I couldn't help it…Just think how much I'll spend when we have actual children to buy for.”

  I look over at her, and she smiles. “Should I get the boys to start building an addition to the house?”

  “You just might have to do that!” She laughs and turns up the radio.

  Her moods have been so good since the Reid incident. Too good, even. I'm afraid it all might collapse like a house of cards, and that this is a front she's putting up so I don't worry about how she's really feeling.

  As it inches closer and closer to our wedding, Addison slowly transforms back into the girl I met almost a year ago. I was right about her enthusiasm being too good to be true, though. She had a breakdown while we were in bed a few nights ago. I woke up to the sound of her sobbing, and I jumped up to turn on a light.

  “Baby? What's the matter?” I held her in my arms and stroked her hair.

  She melted into my body, her not saying anything was agonizing to me, but I knew she needed to just let go. Eventually she opened up and said she just felt like crying. She's been overwhelmed, and it just started flowing like a burst dam. Since that night, she's been wonderful. All the poison released from her body, and she's recovered in her own way, I guess.

  Riley moved a few belongings to Wyoming; she's been staying with Alex and her son, Isaac, in Jeremiah's house. When she found out about what happened with Reid, she almost marched down to the jail herself.

  “If I ever see that dick, I'll crush his balls.” She held up her hand and tightly gripped the air. I think Jer, Alex and I all felt that one. “Cover your ears, baby,” she said to her son.

  Isaac smirked at his mother and covered his ears with his hands.

  Addison went back to work after a week, and Ruth called to tell me she's been having great days. The Human Resources team would like her to talk to a counsellor, probably so she doesn't have a breakdown at work. She agreed and told me that she speaks to a kind woman at work.

  She makes it an effort with her colt every night after work. She asks for my help sometimes, but other than when she asks, I don't interfere.

  “Are you ever going to name him?” I joke while I bend down to pick up his hooves, checking each one.

  “Well, yeah. I was thinking of a few names.”

  “Like what?”

  “How about...” She stands back and looks at him, like she's done about a million times since his arrival. “Jax.”

  “Jax?”

  “Yeah, he looks like a Jax.”

  I have no idea what a Jax looks like, but what my baby wants, my baby gets. “Good, I'll get Lynn to start on his papers.”

  This will be a little piece of ownership for Addison, which she'll probably frame and hang somewhere in the house proudly.

  “You'll need to think of a registration name for him too.”

  “Oh, really? It took me forever just to come up with three letters!”

  “Well, you want to show him off someday, right?”

  “Yeah.” She smiles and hugs me.

  I lean in and pick her up so she's lifted above my head. “Do you know how lucky I am to have you? You are everything to me.”

  She stares down at me with those big blue eyes, and her long red curls fall over my shoulders. “You are everything to me too, handsome.”

  “I finished my vows last night.” I slowly stand her back on the ground, but she doesn't take her hands off me. She takes off my hat and puts it on her head, scruffs my unruly hair with her hand.

  “You did? When?”

  “You know what it does to me when you have that on,” I tell her. This girl could convince me to rob a bank if all she was wearing was that Resistol.

  “I know what everything does to you.” She grins. “Tell me when!”

  “Oh, right. When you were sleeping. I sat downstairs watching infomercials, and it all just flowed out.” I try and sound like I knew what I was doing, when really what I had was a pad of paper full of gibberish and many spelling mistakes. I know what I want to say to her when we're standing hand-in-hand in front of God and all of our friends and family—that I love her—does there
really need to be more than that?

  “Well, I haven't finished mine yet. Still perfecting my masterpiece.” She laughs and pushes my hat up off her forehead. “Blaine? Do you remember that day? Over there?” She nods toward the picnic table and starts slowly walking backwards.

  “I remember...” I follow her, narrowing my eyes and growing extremely hard.

  “Well, good...” She unbuttons her blouse, and it falls open, showing her beautiful body. At that moment she turns and starts running, taking my hat off and holding it in her hands as she goes. I follow but can't catch her. Like a cat she climbs the steel gate and leaps over the other side, laughing the whole time.

  “Come on, old man!”

  Oh, she's really going to get it now.

  I stop running and walk casually to the gate, opening it and closing it behind me. I look over at her and smile. This cat and mouse game we play keeps my blood thumping through me, and I love it. It's like the build-up to the best sex I've ever had, the anticipation of touch and taste and sparks.

  She's standing by the picnic table now, shirt still unbuttoned and hat still in hand. I walk over and rake my hands through my hair. Then I pull off my t-shirt, throwing it over my shoulder, not breaking my gaze with hers. “Old man, huh?”

  “Well...” She swallows and bites her lip.

  “Well what?”

  She knows she's lost this one. She drops my hat and almost knocks me over by jumping into my arms. We kiss, deeply and feverishly. I weave my fingers in her messy red hair and pull it down, forcing her face up. I suck and bite her neck.

  “Ahhhh!”

  “Mmm...What, baby?” I breathe.

  “You drive me crazy!”

  “Is that what you wrote in your vows?”

  “Did you peek?” She giggles and kisses me again. We fall onto the ground, and she straddles my stomach, running her hands on my chest.

  The sun blazes through the locks of her hair, igniting them, and she looks like she's ready to burst into flames. She sits up and unbuttons my jeans; I lift so she can pull them down, boxers, too. I am rock hard, and she grins when I break free from the clothing. I don't even notice when she takes off her own jeans; I think I was too busy being locked in her eyes.

  When she eases on to me, I get a rush of tingles, and I have to lean my head back into the ground and close my eyes tightly. It feels like every time is our first time, and it's an indescribable sensation to be inside of her.

  She rises and falls slowly, leans down to kiss me, and her hair falls in my face. She strokes my chest with her tongue, and I devour her shoulders and neck, high on my redheaded morphine again. I can't get enough.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Three days. Three days until the big day. Maria, Kelsey, Riley and her son Isaac have been here from sunrise to sunset almost all week, whipping us guys into shape and getting the farm looking wedding-ready.

  An enormous white tent arrives, and the crew it came with set it up to the right of the house. It has no sides but large towering peaks, like God had reached down and pinched a sheet on the ground, pulling it up toward the sky. Large beams on the inside keep the peaks up. It's amazing, and it's not even finished yet.

  Day Two brings stacks upon stacks of wooden folding chairs and a trailer full of long tables. The guys and I set everything up with the direction of my relative party planners. Kelsey might as well have a whip in her hand. Maria tells her a few times to relax and reminds her that it's not her wedding.

  “It's gotta be just right, Maria!” Kelsey whines.

  “It will be. Just let the boys have their space.” Maria winks at me, and I smile back. I want to stick my tongue out at Kelsey, who is almost pouting at this point.

  Riley and Addison have gone into town to pick up their dresses, though I'm sure that's not all. When they return, they've got a truck full, just like I expected. Maria and Kelsey load bags into their arms and scurry into the house. I offer to help, of course, but I'm told not to look.

  One of the bedrooms upstairs has been transformed into Wedding Central. The door stays closed, and I don't bother to look in. I'd probably be risking life and limb if Kelsey caught me.

  Tonight everyone from Maine flies in—Mr. and Mrs. Cole, the girls, and Riley's parents. We have two vehicles to pick them all up at the airport from their five-fifteen flight.

  “Just look at this place, Richard!” Lillian gasps when she steps out from Addison's car and takes in all the wedding decor. “It's just breathtaking!”

  Addison takes her parents into the house and she and her mother go upstairs to the room they'll be staying in.

  “Now who is this beauty?” Richard stands at the fireplace and points at the photo of my mother.

  “That's my mom.” I smile, looking at her. I wish she was here for all of this, for her to tell me I'm going to be a good husband and she's proud of me.

  “Lovely woman…Just lovely.” Lillian walks up behind me and smiles warmly. “When are your brothers and father going to be here?”

  I look at the clock on the wall. “In about an hour.”

  “Well, my dear. What can we do in the meantime?” She looks at Addison and crosses her arms on her chest. “Anything your dad and I can help with?”

  “Actually, yes; come with me!” She grins and takes her parents by their hands, leading them outside.

  Once Nick and Owen arrive with their kids and my dad in tow, it's time for dinner. Because there are so many people in the house, we all eat outside, enjoying the beautiful evening. Jeremiah makes another fire, probably the thousandth one he's made over these years.

  Isaac fits right in with the other kids, and they all run around the yard, playing in the massive tent. Kelsey gets after them a few times, like an uptight mother hen, or an anal perfectionist. Take your pick.

  Bobby and Alex take turns driving them around in the side-by-side when they get bored with the tent, which relaxes Kelsey.

  Riley's parents, Ann and Clive, seem like very nice people. They're staying at Jer's for the duration of wedding. They are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their second grandchild, and even though they seem sad she's living out here now, they said they're happy as long as she's happy.

  “Addison, you've got some catching up to do!” Ann grins, and Lillian nods happily in agreement. Richard shifts in his seat, probably uncomfortable with the talk of his daughter making babies.

  “We do.” She smiles and takes my hand in hers. “We're going have to put an addition on the house for all the children, right, babe?”

  I smile, remembering our conversation about kids in the truck after the shopping spree at Zeke's. “That's right.” I squeeze her hand and rub her fingers with my thumb, envisioning all the practising we will have to do.

  Tomorrow is the last day of details. Then it's all or nothing, and the day will be a blur, I'm sure of it. We both try and fall asleep after such a long day, but to no avail. We're wide awake.

  “Are you ready for this, baby?” she whispers softly.

  I turn on my side and look at her. “Of course I am. Are you?”

  “Yes. I was just making sure.” Addison looks at the ceiling and smiles.

  “You're going to make the most beautiful bride; I can't wait to see you.”

  “This is our last night together you know.”

  “I know.” I kiss her hand and she places it on my cheek, gently feeling my stubble.

  I want to make love to her so badly, but the last time we had company, we gave them quite the vocal show. I press into her, my growing erection sliding against her heated skin, and she turns to look at me.

  “My parents are across the hall!”

  “So…”

  “So?”

  I smile, slyly. “There's no gun under your dad's bed this time.”

  “Blaine!” She whispers. “I can't be quiet when you touch me; you know that.”

  I grin. “Oh, I know. Let's have a shower then.”

  The sound of the water will hopefully drown out m
ost of the noise. I just want to feel her; I don't care if we even have to go outside.

  “Or we could go outside...” I cleverly suggest.

  “Shower. Let's go.” She whips the sheet off and strips her t-shirt while skipping toward the bathroom.

  I make sweet and deep love to my girlfriend for the last time tonight. She holds my hand against her mouth and bites down when she's splitting at the seams. Her soft moans are muffled by her clenched jaw and the water from the shower.

  The next time I do this, it'll be with my wife. The thought drives me crazy, and even though she's unhinged, I thrust deeper and faster. Her eyes go wide, and she looks like she could scream. Her palm slaps the glass wall, and she ripples again. When I release, I feel light-headed and almost crumble to my feet.

  The heat from the water and the electricity flowing in my veins is almost too much. Is it going to be like this every time? No one has ever made me feel like this; our connection is unlike any other I've experienced. I never want this to end. I slowly lean down the tile, sitting under the shower head.

  She slides down and sits with me. “Are you okay?” Her hands are holding my face, and I catch my breath.

  “Yeah. I hope we were quiet enough.”

  “I think so. You sure you're okay?” She looks at me with concern in her eyes. “Do you want me to turn the shower off?”

  I take her hands and hold them in mine, pulling her to sit on my lap, the water still rushing out like a waterfall down onto us. “Baby, do you feel it, too?”

  “Feel what?”

  “Feel like you could just...explode.”

  “When we're making love? Every time.” She giggles and looks away from me and blushes. “After that time in the barn I had to seriously consider doing it again. My heart didn't stop racing.”

  I look surprised. “Really?”

  “Blaine, I don't think you know what you do to me.” She blushes again and wipes the water from her face. “After that day, when you punched Reid, I was devastated. Not only because I thought I lost the one person I loved most, but also because I couldn't imagine anyone else touching me like you do. Or making me feel like this.”