by Sylvia Ryan
When the night wound down, John looked at Julia. “I have to leave tomorrow.”
“Why so soon? You just got here.”
“I walked away from my duty assignment…I’m AWOL.”
“Why don’t you just stay? With all the confusion out there now, they’ll just think something happened to you. Don’t go back, John. Please.”
“That’s not me, Julia, and you know it. I made my commitment, and I’m going to finish it. You wouldn’t expect anything less from me anyway, right?” he said with a forced smile. “You’re safe here. You have two of your own personal bodyguards. You stay here. You couldn’t be in better hands.”
“John, when you’re commitment is done and you’re ready to walk away, we want you to come back here,” Ben said. “The land next door is my family farm. We could always build a cabin over there if you want your own place…or whatever. We’ll work something out. You’re family, and you’re wanted back here when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Ben. I’ll be back for sure. I need to visit my sis and see the baby. The rest we can talk about later.”
When they all decided to go to bed, Julia shooed her men away.
Arden gave Julia a kiss on the cheek. “See you upstairs.”
Ben planted a kiss on the other side. “Later, yummy pants,” he murmured in her ear. The men said goodnight to John and went upstairs.
John waited for Julia to come back from the outhouse. As she closed and locked the back door, John caught her and hugged her again.
“I’ll be back in less than a year. If I don’t come back, I’m dead. Don’t come looking for me, understand?” He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.
“Yeah. And don’t come back acting like a dork next time, little brother.” Julia’s throat was clamped down so hard she could barely get the words out.
“You sure you’re good here?”
Julia rolled her eyes. “Yes, John, I’m more than good.”
They walked up the stairs, and Julia showed John Laura’s room to sleep in. As they passed Julia’s room, he asked, “Do all three of you sleep together in the same bed?”
“Yeah, most of the time.” Julia shrugged.
“This is going to take a while to wrap my brain around,” he said, shaking his head.
“You? Just think about how I felt.”
“Love you, sis.”
“Love you, too, John.”
* * * *
When Julia got up the next morning, John had already left. She wasn’t surprised at all. She knew her little brother well, and good-byes were not in his repertoire. She tried to keep busy through the day to ebb the tide of sadness that John had left so soon. The problem was that keeping busy while so pregnant was exhausting.
Julia felt as big as a cow. She was starting to worry that she was too big. Before she got pregnant, it never occurred to her that being a small woman could pose a problem during delivery. But an increased sense of urgency plagued her. She had to deliver this baby before it got any bigger. C-section was not an option.
Tomorrow, Ben was going to walk to the Yoder’s farm and ask Ann to come and stay until the baby came. Julia was irritable and hot and somewhat pissed at the men because for the last few weeks, they wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole. She had mistakenly explained to them that having sex was believed to bring on labor, and she wanted that very badly.
But ultimately, that disclosure was a bad move because now the shitheads were dick shy. She didn’t realize that the labor she wanted to start so badly was not being met with the same enthusiasm by the men.
Okay, granted, the actual accomplishment of the sex sometimes felt like…like…well, ridiculous. But this was going to be the last night in the house with just them before Ann came and then the baby shortly after.
She would get what she wanted tonight—period. She figured divide and conquer was the way to go. As long as the two were together, they’d stand strong. She would try to seduce them individually. At least one of them would give in. She knew it.
Julia approached Arden first. He had come inside to return the clean dinner plates to the kitchen cabinet. Julia stepped in front of him as he tried to leave out the kitchen door.
He stopped. “What?”
Julia took a step forward toward him, trying to give him the most seductive smile an extremely pregnant woman could give. She grabbed the waistband of his pants and pulled him toward her. “I want you to fuck me, Arden.”
Arden froze, like a deer in headlights.
“Julia,” Arden warned, “it’s not a good idea.”
Julia ran her hand down the zippered part of his jeans and cupped him with her hand. “Come on, baby, please.”
Arden pulled Julia into him.
“You know there’s nothing I’d like better than to be inside you right now. I’m already hard just thinking about it,” he said, leaning over to kiss her neck. “Let’s go upstairs. I’ll take care of you. But, Julia, you’re not getting any cock until Ann gets here.”
“Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you two?” Julia burst out while she pushed him away. She clenched her fists and fumed. “She’s coming tomorrow! Even if I went into labor right now, I probably wouldn’t have the baby until tomorrow afternoon or later.”
Ben walked in from outside. “What’s going on?” he asked, looking back and forth from Arden to Julia.
“Julia’s trying to get in my pants and having a little temper tantrum because I said no.”
“Julia—”
“Shut up, Ben. I don’t want to fucking hear it from either one of you!” Julia shrieked, then huffed out of the kitchen, stomped up the stairs, and slammed the bedroom door behind her.
Chapter 23
Julia heard them come into the bedroom.
“Go away,” she moaned.
Ben walked over to the side of the bed she was facing and climbed in next to her.
“You guys suck,” she mumbled, refusing to look at him.
She heard Arden undressing behind her, then looked at Ben and smiled. “You’re caving?” Ben nodded, and then Arden slipped into bed behind her. “Come on, let’s take this off,” Ben said as he and Arden started pulling the man-size T-shirt up over her head. When the T-shirt was completely off, Arden spooned her body with his. “I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear.
Arden caressed her, running a strong hand over the dips, peaks, and round of her belly in front of him. She felt his hard chest against her back and his breath against her neck and ear.
Ben lay back down in front of her. His eyes were hungry. He looked at her with desire, as if he didn’t see the immensely pregnant woman in front of him. His body was a masterpiece of defined muscle and tanned skin. He kissed her softly on the mouth. He traced his fingers from between her breasts over the round of her belly and down between her legs. He lifted her top leg slightly and put a folded pillow between her knees. Then, tracing his hand back up her inner thigh, his fingertips met with her short curls. She groaned.
Behind her, she felt Arden’s erection pressing into her lower back. “Please, Arden,” were her only words. Arden adjusted himself and entered her slick depths from behind, slowly and gently. Julia was already urgently pressing herself into him.
“This isn’t a race, baby, relax,” he whispered into her ear.
As Arden pumped long strokes into her, Ben invaded her curls and ran his fingers over her clit, grazed it roughly, and circled around for another pass. Over and over, Ben’s pressure on her became more intense as Arden’s strokes quickened.
“I’m going to come already,” Julia said.
“Stop or keep going?” Ben asked.
“Keep going,” she begged. “Harder, don’t stop.” Julia’s muscles tightened, clamping on to Arden’s cock. Her moans escaped her mouth more loudly, demanding more from them. She floated on the edge, her orgasm just out of reach for what seemed like an infinite stretch of time until her climax attacked her. Her cries of ecstasy were loud and long as he
r body spasmed and gripped Arden’s cock.
He plunged himself into her hard and deep. With a low rumble from inside his chest, he came in hot spurts inside her. She lay there for several minutes trying to catch her breath, eyes closed, smiling like a kid on Christmas morning. Arden withdrew, slid out of bed, and kissed her on the cheek. Grabbing his clothes, he walked out of the room and left Julia and Ben alone.
After long minutes, Julia met Ben’s eyes and smiled.
“If that doesn’t do it, nothing will. I just want this to be over. You understand, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think he’s mad?”
“No. We’re both just nervous, that’s all,” Ben said while caressing her.
“Now, sexy man, what can I do for you?” Julia asked with a mischievous glint in her eye. She sat up and crossed her legs on the bed, bringing to mind a Buddha statue.
“Do you want me to rub it, suck it, or fuck it,” she said, grabbing hold of his hard cock.
“Wow, what a mood change.” Ben laughed out loud.
Without waiting for an answer, Julia leaned over. Her mouth enclosed his hard, silky smooth sex with her hand gripped hard at the base. She lightly raked her teeth along its length. “How about this?” she asked, taking him into her mouth again and sucking him with greed, swirling her tongue around the tip before filling her mouth again.
“Oh, fuck, Julia,” Ben snarled, his body instantly strained, his defined muscles more visible under popping veins. She razed the nails of her left hand down his chest and over the defined muscles of his abs. His hand went to her hair, fingers tangling through the long chocolate-colored strands.
Julia hit her rhythm easily and started moaning in the pleasure of having him in her mouth and at her mercy. She started pumping her hand in sync with the aggressive play of her tongue on him, sucking him hard.
Only a minute or two passed before Ben hissed. “It’s been too long baby. I’m ready to blow already.”
Julia enjoyed the knowledge the two weeks of abstinence had taken its toll on him. She had not been the only one in need.
Ben rolled his head back on his neck. “Aaaaahh yes, Julia, yes.” He froze as he came in her mouth.
She captured his hot spurts, swallowing greedily. She took every drop into her mouth, releasing a moan of her own, not wanting their first contact in weeks to be over so quickly.
“My God, woman. I love when you suck my cock.” He brought her up to his mouth and kissed her. “You need to have a temper tantrum more often because I do believe that I got the better end of the deal.”
They lay together. Julia tucked herself into him.
“You ready?” he asked her.
“So ready,” she whispered back.
* * * *
The next morning, Ben left to get Ann while Arden and Julia waited on the porch swing. The day was cloudy and threatening rain. Julia thought she was starting the first stages of labor but wasn’t quite sure since this was the first time for her. Her stomach felt that twirling, butterfly feeling of unknown anticipation. She was close. She felt it.
“We haven’t talked much about names,” Arden said.
“I know. That is a little weird. Why is that?”
“Well, I sort of felt that whatever name you wanted would be fine by me. If I were to guess, Ben probably feels the same way. Have you thought about it?”
“Sure. I was thinking maybe Adam for a boy. If I named him Adam with John as a middle name, we could call him A.J.”
“I like it. I’m sure Ben will like it too,” Arden said, twining his fingers with hers and lifting her hand up to kiss it.
“I can’t sit anymore,” Julia sighed. “Could you take the plastic shower curtain in the bathroom down for me? I want to make up the bed so it’s ready when it’s time.”
Julia grabbed old linens from the bottom of the stack in the upstairs hall closet and then stripped the bed while Arden took down the plastic curtain for her. Together they re-made the bed, placing the shower curtain on the mattress and the old dingy white sheet and cotton blanket on top. The bed made a crinkling sound from the shower curtain when laid down upon.
As Julia was folding up the handmade quilt to put away until it would be safe to use again, her water broke. With a rush, warm fluid spilled out of her and down her legs, pooling on the hardwood floor.
Chapter 24
When Amos dropped Ben and Ann off, he promised to check back in a couple of days to see if she was ready to return home. Ann carried a small overnight bag with clothes and a few medical supplies that she would need to help with the birth.
Arden met them halfway down the driveway on their way to the house. He didn’t have to say a word to Ben. The look on his face was worried, solemn. That look was all Ben needed to see to know that Julia had started labor.
“Her water broke about twenty minutes ago.”
Ann smiled. “Right on time.”
“She’s upstairs. We’ll be up in a minute,” Arden said, motioning for Ann to go in.
After Ann left earshot, Arden turned to Ben. Panic shaded his face and etched lines of fear around his eyes and between his brows. “I’m really worried, man. I’m barely keeping it together. I don’t know how she’s going to get that baby out of her tiny body. We’re not going to be able to do anything to help her.” Arden’s words ran together. He was visibly agitated. “She’s going to be suffering, Ben. She’s going to be in pain, and we’re going to have to just sit there and watch. I feel like punching something.”
Ben became deadly serious. His eyes locked on Arden. “I’ve thought of the same things. I feel the same way. But she needs us. We have to be her rock, even if we’re barely holding it together. She’s going to need us to tell her everything’s going to be okay. No matter how upset we feel, we owe it to her to keep it to ourselves.” Ben’s voice conveyed an air of warning that he hoped Arden could easily translate to, “don’t let me down or we’re going to have a problem.”
Ben slapped his hand on Arden’s back as they walked toward the house. “We’re going to become dads today.” Ben’s smile flashed and helped to settle Arden a bit.
* * * *
Julia was making a perfectly folded mattress of blankets inside the deep dresser drawer they had decided to use as a crib when Ann walked in. Julia was energized and excited. The long wait was over, and with the addition of this baby, her life was going to be more perfect than she’d ever imagined. “How are you feeling?” Ann asked as she gave Julia a hug.
“Good.” Julia smiled. “Just a little squeezing tightness once in a while.”
“Let’s keep you moving around. You have a long way to go.”
Julia and Ann joined the men downstairs, and the four of them sat comfortably on the back porch through the day. The sky clouded up and threatened rain throughout the morning. Julia’s contractions increased in intensity very gradually.
They talked quietly with each other, mostly about their parents. Julia told them stories about her mother, Colette. Colette had taught Julia to be tough and drilled into her that she must always be able take care of herself even if there was somebody around that said they’d do it for her. She always said she was proud of the independent, self-sufficient woman Julia had become.
Colette had been disillusioned about love and marriage, and Julia wondered aloud what her mother would say about their unusual relationship. She thought that it probably wouldn’t bother her mother as much as other people of that generation. Colette was a very different breed from the mothers Ben and Arden had described growing up with.
They were all thoughtful, solemn, because none of the grandparents were around to welcome this new child into the world. The conversation hit home with Ben the most. His loss still rubbed him raw. The men agreed that Ben’s mother would have been the best combination of cookies and hugs for the child and sage advice for the parents.
As the day progressed, they returned to the bedroom. The already dreary day made the interior of
the room dark before it otherwise would have been. Arden lit a couple of candles, which gave a relaxed atmosphere to the room.
The night seemed to drag on endlessly, especially for Julia.
She started to become scared sometime in the middle of the night. Her labor progressed at an almost imperceptible pace, except for the pain, which seemed to be growing exponentially. She moaned with every excruciating contraction and had to force herself to breathe when she realized she was holding her breath through the pain.
The contractions became overwhelmingly painful sometime in the early hours of the morning. She lay on her side with either one man or the other whispering encouragements to her, caressing her, or rubbing her back.
But by the time the sun started rising, Julia didn’t want either one of them talking to her or touching her. Ben and Arden stood, sat, and paced around the bed. They looked helpless and pitiful. Their tense demeanors contributed to the room’s uneasy atmosphere.
When Julia’s moans evolved into cries, Ann took over, giving the men tasks to do. She sent them to boil water and get towels, wash rags, and pillows that would be used during the pushing stage, and a tray to put her birthing supplies on.
Julia withdrew from them. She folded in on herself, into a ball, eyes closed, skin beaded with sweat. She was in her own reality. Not much existed outside the confines of her own skin. She didn’t notice when the men returned with everything Ann had sent them to get. She didn’t realize Ann was talking to her, telling her it was time to push.
Ben knelt next to the bed. “It’s time to push, baby.”
She opened her eyes. She felt dazed and unfocused. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You’re almost done. Now come on.” He rumbled his command as he lifted her.
