Shades of Pink

by 33 authors

  “It’s so hard on a child, but it does get easier. My father finally remarried when my sister and I were in high school. By that point we were a little more independent and he had some time for himself.”

  “You mean I have to wait until Tammy's in high school to date again?” Michael asked.

  “No. I’m just saying that my father didn’t remarry until then. He would go out on dates, but I guess he didn’t meet anyone he wanted to marry until we were older. Besides, your love life is your business. No one should tell you what to do.”

  “How about you? How is your love life?” Michael smiled.

  “Non-existent.” Seva was embarrassed to answer his question.

  “That’s hard for me to believe. A beautiful woman like you should be seriously dating, engaged or even married.”

  “Thanks, I think.” Seva laughed. “I can’t remember the last time I went out on a date.”

  “I think we should change that. How about having dinner with me next Friday night?”

  Seva couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Michael Peterson, the handsome, single hunk standing in front of her was asking her out on a date.

  “Please,” he added hastily, “let me take you to dinner if for nothing more than to thank you for your help with Tammy. If it makes you uncomfortable, we don’t have to call it a date, that is, unless you want to.”

  Seva paused for a moment, looking into those gorgeous brown eyes and smiled. “A date it is.”

  ~~~

  C. Deanne Rowe was born in Southern Oklahoma and currently lives in Iowa. She has six books in print, five anthologies in The Stiletto Series with two other authors and one book of her own published in June 2012. Cowboy Temptation ~ Colt and Cassy is the first in her Cowboy Temptation Series. More information is available on her website www.cdeannerowe.com.

  REAL MEN WEAR PINK

  Lisa M. Harley

  In Real Men Wear Pink you'll catch up with characters from Destined to Change. Jaxon Daniels and Loralei Harper are happy. They are engaged and expecting a baby soon. This is a fun, sexy story where Jaxon and Sammy prove that real men really do wear pink.

  ~~~

  Author’s Note:

  See how Jaxon and Loralei’s story began in Destined to Change.

  “Jaxon, are you about done?” I asked, as I finished paying for my purchases at the counter. We’d been shopping all damn day. Jaxon was worse than me about clothes. He knew what he liked, and he wouldn’t settle for anything less. My best friend, Emma, invited us to a party to celebrate her new catering business. She was holding it in the only place in Kipton that was big enough for a party, the American Legion hall. So all the man needed to buy was a shirt and maybe some new jeans. Nothing fancy—nothing special.

  I heard Jaxon respond from the changing room that was right around the corner from the counter I was standing at. “Just about, babe. Perfection takes time. Now either stop rushing me, or get your sweet ass in here and help me out.”

  I walked over to the changing room and lightly knocked on the door. In a whisper, I responded, “I can’t come in there to help you, because then we’ll get kicked out of my favorite store. I cannot be banned from my favorite clothing store for having sex with my fiancé in a changing room. Ain’t gonna happen. I don’t care how hot said fiancé is.”

  “But, baby, it would be so worth it. This whole room is covered in mirrors. Imagine the possibilities,” a chuckle came from deep in his chest.

  Now back to what I said earlier, my fiancé is hot. I mean smoking hot, like I wanna lick his face and all other body parts kinda hot. Dark hair and the most amazing golden brown eyes, with those damn long eyelashes that every girl would kill for, but only men get because they can use them to torment us. I still can’t believe he’s mine and we will be married soon. Oh, and I’m pregnant. This makes me want sex constantly. When I was pregnant with the twins, I don’t remember it being like that, but of course, I was still mourning the loss of their father. I really don’t think sex was something that was even on my radar. Actually, I know it wasn’t. And it stayed that way for ten long years. Now that I had Jaxon in my life, not only did he make me amazingly happy and complete, he was super, super hot. I think even Emma was a little in love with him. Who am I kidding? All women within a hundred mile radius wanted him. That thought should upset me, but it totally turned me on. Yep, pregnancy brain equals horny brain.

  “Jaxon, please hurry up. I need to pee,” I yelled as I tossed a hanger over the changing room door.

  “Damn, what a way to kill the mood, babe. And by the way, that hurt. You shouldn’t throw shit at people like that. It’s not what respectable country girls do.”

  “No, it’s not. A respectable country girl would pull that door open and kick you in the shin with her cowboy boot. I was being nice,” I laughed.

  “I’m almost done. Just go have a seat and I’ll be out before you know it.”

  “Jaxon, you do realize you’re a man, right? Men aren’t supposed to care about their clothes,” I said, only half jokingly.

  The door opened and Jaxon walked out with not a single piece of clothing in his hands. “I’ll come back by myself. Perfection can’t be rushed. I need to look good for this party. I’m still trying to impress your friends, but I can’t let you pee all over yourself while I try to find the perfect outfit.”

  “The perfect outfit? Oh my god! I’m marrying a girl,” I shook my head and started to walk away from him. He gently pulled my arm until my body was pressed fully against his. Leaning in he placed several soft kisses from my shoulder to right below my ear. I could feel his breath against my neck. He nibbled on my earlobe while he reached behind me and firmly squeezed my backside pulling me even tighter against him.

  He pulled back and looked down at me through his dark eyelashes, with that smirk I fell in love with. “Still think you’re marrying a girl, baby?”

  I tried to speak, but damn if I wasn’t all hot and bothered. This man could turn me on just by saying my name, but when he touched me it felt like fire spreading through my entire body. It took a moment for the fire to cool enough for me to respond. “No, baby. You’re definitely not a girl.”

  “Damn straight,” he laughed as he swatted me on the butt before he took my hand in his. “Now let’s go find a bathroom for my beautiful, pregnant fiancé before she has an accident.” Surprisingly enough, I’d completely forgotten that I needed to pee.

  * * *

  “So, you’re telling me you shopped all day and he came home with nothing? Zip, zero, zilch? Seriously?” Emma asked. We were sitting on her and Eric’s front porch, chit chatting while Sammy and Mags played out front. I felt so bad for Emma because she wanted kids so bad. It seemed like it was so easy for me to get pregnant and she’d been trying for years and it just wasn’t happening. The way she watched the twins play, broke my heart.

  “Seriously. The man didn’t buy a darn thing. We left the store with an outfit for me, complete with new shoes, so I knew you’d be proud of me for that. Jaxon told me he’d go back by himself.”

  “You realize you’re marrying a girl, right?” she asked. Her eyes never left the twins as they played. I wanted so badly for her to be a mommy. She’d be so good at it. She deserved that chance. I could only hope that someday she would get to experience the joy that came with being pregnant. Hopefully sooner than later.

  “No, sweetie. Jaxon is definitely not a girl. He does this thing with that special piercing of his. Holy hell! You should really talk to Eric about getting pierced. It’s, well, it’s magical.”

  “Yeah, and how would I go about that? What would I say? ‘Uh, hey Mister, would you get your penis pierced for me? Loralei says it’s magical.’ For some reason, I don’t think he’d go for that.” She was shaking her head and her gaze had now drifted to Eric. He and Jaxon were standing out by Jaxon’s motorcycle. They were doing that “male bonding” thing that men do over motorcycles or vehicles in general. I expected to hear manly grunts coming from that
direction any time now.

  “You know that, Eric would do anything you asked him to. That man has loved you since we were nine years old. I don’t remember a time since I’ve known you that he wasn’t by your side. Speaking of marrying a girl,” I jokingly punched her in the arm.

  “I can assure you, my mister, is no girl,” she said raising an eyebrow at me. “He may not be pierced, but let me tell you, he does this thing with his tongue. Gets me hot just thinking about it.”

  “Yuck! You know he’s like a brother to me. I don’t want to hear about things he does with his tongue, unless he’s licking a popsicle.”

  “No, that’s more like what I do to him with my tongue,” she snickered.

  “You’re nasty. I can’t talk to you anymore,” I laughed as I stood up and hollered at the kids to get out of the mud. Those kids were always getting themselves dirty. I guess that’s the farm life for you.

  As I walked over to where Eric and Jaxon were standing, Sammy stopped me. “Mommy, when I’m a man, will I be like Jaxon?” he asked with a quizzical look on his face.

  “Mommy would be very proud of you if you grew up to be like Jaxon. He’s a good man, Sammy,” I said as I knelt down and gave him a big hug.

  I could tell he was thinking on something. He looked a little scared, when he said, “But mommy, I don’t want to have a ring in my eyebrow. I think that would hurt. Wouldn’t that hurt?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sweetie, you don’t have to have your eyebrow pierced, to be like Jaxon. Mommy didn’t know that’s what you were asking about. You don’t have to have anything pierced to be a man.”

  “Whew! Thank goodness!” He was so relieved. I let go of him and he ran over to his sister. He apparently picked up a bug on the way, because I heard Mags screaming, “Don’t touch me with that bug! Mommy! Sammy’s throwing bugs at me.”

  “Am not. Quit being a baby,” Sammy said as he ran faster after her. Still holding what I can only assume was the bug in his hand. “It just wants to say hello, Mags. Come on…tell the friendly little bug hello.”

  That boy was gonna be the death of me. I said the same little prayer every day—Please God let this baby in my belly be a girl. I love Sammy with all my heart and soul, but I am just not sure that I could handle another one like him. With my luck I’ll have a girl and she’ll act just like her big brother. I can’t remember a month since Sammy has been in school that I haven’t had to visit the school because he’s gotten into trouble. Usually something little, but still. ALL THE TIME. That boy was gonna cause me to go gray before I hit thirty years old.

  “Hey, baby,” Jaxon said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close to his side. He kissed the side of my head. I’d never get tired of being close to him. Eric and Jaxon had a rough start, but they were talking more now and they were both really trying to become friends. I think they finally came to the conclusion that they needed to be friends, because Emma and I were best friends and always would be. Our men were going to be spending a lot of time together and it would be more enjoyable for them if they tried to get along.

  “How are you feeling, Lor?” Eric asked, gently rubbing his hand over my protruding belly. Now, I wouldn’t let just anybody touch my belly like that, but Eric had always been like a brother to me. “That little boy in there about ready to come out?”

  “Um, excuse me. God wouldn’t do that to me. I cannot handle anymore testosterone in my house. This baby is most assuredly a girl.”

  “Uh huh. Sure it is,” Jaxon laughed.

  I pulled away from him and punched him in the arm. I glared at him and he stepped away with his hands up in front of him. “Sorry. Whatever you say, baby. We’re having another daughter.”

  “You bet we are,” I responded.

  I hugged Eric and turned around to start back to the house to see if Emma needed help with dinner, when Jaxon asked, “I don’t get a hug?”

  Turning toward him, I placed my hands on my hips and pushed my ever growing chest out, which had the reaction I hoped for. His eyes bulged and I could see the fire burning deep in them. “Nope. Guess not.” Then I turned back around, and laughed to myself while I walked toward the house.

  Emma outdid herself with dinner. She made chicken piccata with herb roasted potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and homemade crescent rolls. And as if that wasn’t awesome enough, for dessert she made my favorite: chocolate mayonnaise cake. She even used my family recipe. My grandma was an excellent cook and this cake was one of her specialties. “Emma, this cake is amazing! Your catering business is going to be awesome. You’ll have so many jobs, you won’t have time to help with my little wedding.”

  “Like that would happen, Lor. You know you’re stuck with me for the wedding and the baby shower, and every other party you have for the rest of your life,” she smiled and then pretty soon, everyone was laughing. Except for the kids, who were looking at us like we were nuts. I was used to that look, because as a mom, I got it all the time.

  “Seriously, Ems. I’m so proud of you.” I stood up and started to clear the table, but Eric and Jaxon insisted they take care of the dishes. “Are ya’ll sure?” I asked, but I was already walking toward the recliner in the living room.

  “Yeah, babe. Go put your feet up. Us men will take care of the dishes,” Jaxon said.

  “I say we let them have at it.” I linked my arm in Emma’s and said, “We better hurry up before they change their minds.”

  I fell down into the recliner and pushed back to pop the recliner out. It felt so good to have my feet up. But as all moms know, that relief didn’t last long.

  “Mags, you’re such a liar,” Sammy bellowed as he ran into the living room from the kitchen.

  “Am not. Don’t call me names. Mom!” Mags yelled at the top of her lungs as she followed Sammy into the room. They each plopped down on either side of me in the what was once a nice, relaxing, comfy recliner.

  “Hey, hey, hey. What’s going on?” I asked.

  They both started talking at the same time. “Hey, calm down. One at a time. Mags you go first.”

  “Okay, mommy.” She stuck her tongue out at Sammy.

  “Was that the right thing to do?” I asked, in my best motherly tone.

  “Sorry, mommy, but he is so mean! And he was calling me names.”

  “What happened?”

  “Sammy got really mad at me because I told him pink was for girls. I told him he had to take off his hat, because it had pink on it and boys don’t wear pink.”

  I looked down at Sammy and noticed he had on a camouflage hat from Bass Pro Shops. It had little pieces of pink leaves laced through it, not a lot, but just enough to know it was a girl’s hat. It was actually Mags hat that my mom bought her when they took a mini-vacation to Branson, Missouri.

  “Sammy, why do you have on Mags hat?” I asked.

  “Why can’t I wear it? She’s got my t-shirt on that Grandma and Grandpa brought me from their vacation,” Sammy responded.

  Sure enough when I peered down at Mags shirt, she did have on Sammy’s red Bass Pro Shops t-shirt. It was clearly unisex, but I didn’t understand why she was wearing it.

  “Honey, why are you wearing Sammy’s shirt?”

  “I wanted to. I like the big fish on the front,” Mags said, pulling the shirt away from her to get a better look at the big bass fish on the front.

  “It’s not fair, Mommy. If she can wear my shirt, then I should be able to wear her hat,” Sammy countered. And the boy had a good point, but how could I explain to him that boys didn’t wear pink without sounding like a bad mom? We live in the boonies. The boys around here don’t wear pink. They wouldn’t be caught dead in it.

  “Sammy, boys don’t really wear pink. Pink is a color girls wear.”

  Sammy looked a little perplexed, which was never a good thing. There was no telling what was gonna come out of his mouth next. “I like pink, does that mean I’m a girl?”

  “Absolutely not,” Jaxon said as he pic
ked Sammy up and sat down on the couch across from Mags and I. “There is no reason why you can’t wear pink. If you like that hat, you wear it. And Mags, don’t wear your brother’s shirts if you don’t want him to wear your hat.”

  To say I was shocked would be a huge understatement. I couldn’t believe that this big, buff, pierced, tattooed man sitting in front of me was telling my son it was okay to wear pink. I’d never seen Jaxon wear pink before, and I honestly didn’t expect to see him wearing it anytime soon. Real men didn’t wear pink, right?

  With the argument over, the twins went back to playing and Jaxon asked me to scoot over so he could squeeze into the recliner next to me. He pulled me onto his lap and ran his fingers through my long blonde hair. He placed a soft kiss on my forehead and continued to stroke my hair. Relaxation was finally mine.

  “Baby?” Jaxon whispered.

  “Yes?” I moaned.

  “I think I’ll take Sammy into town shopping with me tomorrow. Would that be okay?”

  “Of course. He needs some new clothes. That boy goes through jeans like they’re water.”

  “Cool, I promise I’ll even come home with an outfit for the party on Saturday.”

  “You better. It would shock all those old ladies if you showed up naked. I’m afraid some of them wouldn’t survive it,” I laughed.

  “Baby, don’t you know by now, you’re the only lady who’s allowed to see me naked.” He leaned down and kissed me. His lips were so soft, yet rough at the same time. His mouth was warm and so inviting. My lips parted and his tongue danced with mine.

  I didn’t even remember Eric and Emma were in the room until I heard, “Ahem!” Apparently, Eric was tired of our little show.

  “Sorry, man. But damn, pregnant women are hot,” Jaxon laughed. A look of sadness passed across Eric and Emma’s faces. Jaxon hadn’t meant anything by it, but I could tell he’d hurt them with his comment. They wanted nothing more than for Emma to be pregnant. He realized his mistake and we quickly got to our feet. Jaxon hollered for the kids to get ready to go and he went over and whispered an apology to Eric. Emma hugged me and I could see the tears welling up in her eyes.