Family Be Mine

by Tracy Kelleher

  Hunt shook his head. “That Fred. Sarah tells me he misses me so much that he won’t leave my bed, so to keep him company, she’s sleeping there, too.”

  Ben nodded, his mouth open. “You don’t say? Anything else you want to tell me about Fred or…ah…Sarah?”

  Hunt cleared his throat. “Not really, but listen, Ben. I want to talk to you about the business.” Ben waited.

  Hunt wiped his mouth. “You know how you’ve been after me to get back to work? Well, now that I had time to think, especially the last few days, I’ve come to some conclusions.”

  Ben cocked his head. “I’m all ears.”

  “Let me just come out and say it then. I’m ready to go back to work, but I don’t want to go back to work with you.”

  Ben uncrossed his legs and sat forward. “I’m a problem?”

  “No, it’s not you. You’re a great friend, and I couldn’t ask for a better business partner. No, it’s more that I’ve decided to retire from the world of high finance. I’ve had a lot of fun working with you, solving problems, getting results, but it’s not what I want to do right now, not what I have a passion for. One thing I’ve learned, life can be short—very short. And there’s no point in doing what you don’t love.”

  “And have you decided what you want to do next?”

  “Don’t laugh. I was thinking of going to medical school. I know I’m already thirty-five, and I won’t be able to practice until I’m in my forties, but I figure if I have to have a midlife crisis, it’s about as good as any. I talked it over with Sarah already, and she thinks it’s a natural fit, considering what I’d been through. Tell me. Am I being crazy?”

  “I’ve heard stranger. Actually, this trip with the family got me thinking, too.”

  Hunt leaned forward, hanging onto the IV stand. “Oh, yeah? Please, don’t tell me you want to run a B and B?”

  “No way. Those places are scary. No, just hear me out—there’s a whole thought process going on.” He held up his hand. Hunt nodded.

  “Anyway, I kept thinking more and more about how great it was to be together as a family, and then Lena had us all over for dinner last night. There she was, going on and on about how she’d read this magazine at PT and that got her thinking about how she’d never gone to Montana, and how maybe she could learn fly-fishing.”

  “Sure, why not. She’s perfectly healthy enough to travel,” Hunt agreed.

  Ben held up his hand. “Just wait—hear me out. Anyhow, I told her I’d be happy to teach her, even fly out with her, make it a family event with Matt and Katarina in fact. After all, Matt hasn’t been back to Colorado since he came east. We could combine the two trips into one.”

  “Am I allowed to say that sounds great?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. A kind of a father-son experience with the grandmother and stepmom thing thrown in for good measure. Then when we got home, I got to thinking that it would be a great experience for other people, as well. I could act as a guide for other families, a multiple generation thing. I could even start by teaching a course on fly-fishing at the Adult School for parents and children, grandparents and grandkids—kind of a warm-up for the trip. Then for people who couldn’t afford the travel, I could even start some kind of foundation, promoting intergenerational travel as a way to foster stable upbringings. Heck, I have more than enough money to get the thing off the ground, then maybe get some donations to help out.”

  “Somehow I feel you’re touching me up for a donation, am I right?” Hunt laughed. “I’d be happy to. But I have to say, you must be having a midlife crisis when you start mentioning the Adult School.”

  “Kind of scary, isn’t it?” Ben nodded. “But, you know, I think it probably is a good time to wind the investment firm down. I’ve got enough going on helping out with Katarina’s business on the side, plus when the baby comes…”

  Hunt nearly yanked the IV out of his arm. “When the baby comes? Katarina’s pregnant?”

  Ben beamed. “Yup. The whole trip, she was feeling a little under the weather, and then we put two and two together and made a midnight run to an all-night CVS. We weren’t really trying—but then we weren’t not trying either, mind you. Anyway, she took the test and bingo!”

  Hunt whistled. “Congrats, old buddy. So no hard feelings about dissolving our partnership?”

  Ben shook his head. “A little bit of sadness maybe. We had a good run. But it seems that we’re both ready to open a new chapter in our lives.”

  FRED BOUNDED ON THE BED and landed directly on Hunt. Hunt swore and rolled over. “I missed you, too. How was class?” Hunt asked, rubbing the dog’s ears.

  “Class was grueling. We learned loose-leash walking and ‘sit,’” Sarah said. She stood by the open door to his bedroom. “But as much as I love Wanda, I’m not going with her again. She’s just too competitive. We almost came to blows with Toulouse.”

  She waddled into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Unconsciously, she was drawn to cuddling the dog, too. “So, enough of this lollygagging in bed, Hunt Phox. I let you sleep like a baby for two days after coming home from the hospital, but now it’s Sunday. I think it’s time for a change of scenery—especially if you’re going to be ready for obedience class next week.”

  “Can I hold off on the loose-leash walking? ‘Sit’ I think I’m up for.” He abandoned Fred’s ears for Sarah’s arm and pulled her down to offer a kiss.

  She pulled back and laughed. “All right. But just this once. I don’t want it getting out that I’m getting soft in my old age.”

  “But I like you any which way—soft, hard.” He tugged her harder and she fell next to him. “Here on the bed’s good, too.”

  “I take it you’re not talking about sleeping.”

  “Do I look like I’m talking about sleeping?”

  The sheet covered Hunt to his waist, and even with a pair of boxers on, Sarah caught his drift. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” She groaned and covered her face.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

  “You can’t begin to understand just how happy I am to say that, yes, indeed, I am.” Hunt grinned broadly and turned on his side to face her. He brought his hand to the zipper of her hoodie. “Hey, this is mine, isn’t it?” he asked.

  “You don’t mind, do you? I’m getting a little short of things to wear that still fit me.”

  “You can wear or not wear anything of mine you want.” He unzipped the sweatshirt. “You want this, don’t you?” He looked up.

  She nodded and smiled. “I can’t think of anything I want more. Only I have a favor to ask.”

  He raised his eyebrows. Fred pricked up his ears.

  “I want the curtains to stay closed and the lights turned off. My stretch marks are just disgusting.”

  “Like I haven’t seen them at the pool?”

  “This is different. We’re not bouncing up and down in front of a bunch of pregnant women and old folks.”

  “I should hope not. But I don’t know why you are so worried about the way you look. I’m the one who can count every rib. Not exactly the height of machismo.”

  “Excuse me, after all the cookies I’ve made not every rib is visible. I bet your pants can stay up on your hips now without the benefit of a belt.” Sarah looked down.

  In the course of discussing their individual body faults, he had managed to get off not only her hoodie but her bra, and she was naked from the waist up.

  Hunt shooed the dog off the bed and discarded his boxers to the floor. He twisted to slip down her warm-up pants and underpants at the same time. “Now that we’ve dismissed this whole light or no light objection of yours, could you lift your hip up and help me?”

  “Who said I’d given up?” Nevertheless, she raised her hips, and helped him by kicking off her clothes with her feet.

  He held up the sheet and let her slip beneath.

  Sarah snuggled up against him, face-to-face, her naked body against his. She ran her toes down his lower legs.<
br />
  “Hey, give me your lips,” he said.

  “Why?” She did as he asked.

  And he took her head in his hands and kissed her with a fierceness that took her breath away. Then he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and kissed her sweetly on the tip of her nose. “I got to warn you,” he said.

  “You need more time?” she asked, pulling back.

  “No, just the opposite. I wanted to say, that while I enjoy all this kissing and cuddling—and which I will gladly resume at another time—I’m not sure I can wait too much longer.”

  Sarah could have screamed with joy. “Good, because I can’t wait even that long.”

  She got to her knees, and with less than balletic grace straddled his hips, positioned herself above his arousal and plunged down, enveloping him in her warmth.

  Their coupling was swift and intense, a mating in every sense. And when they climaxed at the same time, it was an agonizing release, and the only way to come down was with silence. With a tender pat here and a gentle rub there.

  And when Fred ventured into the bedroom five minutes later, they were asleep in each other’s arms, leaving room for the dog to curl up at the end, nestled against their entwined feet.

  BY THE TIME THEY WOKE, it was dark. Sarah rotated her head to the side and lifted her neck to look at the bedside clock. “Gee, it’s already seven.”

  Fred rose and stretched. He delicately inched his way up the bed and plopped down, his nose between Hunt’s and Sarah’s. He licked them both.

  Sarah wiped her nose. “I guess he’s trying to tell us he wants his dinner.”

  Hunt wiggled his hips closer to hers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Well, he can wait a few minutes. I want to enjoy you more.” He rubbed his cheek against hers and kissed the side of her head. He breathed in deeply. “I want to remember this moment.”

  Sarah closed her eyes and smiled. “Me, too. You know, I don’t want this to go to your head, but you’re pretty special.”

  She felt him smile against her hair.

  “And why shouldn’t I let it go to my head?” he asked mischievously.

  “Because then you’ll be even more insufferable than you already are, and then it would simply take too much effort to keep knocking you down to size.”

  He slipped his arm out from underneath her and propped himself up on an elbow. “Are you threatening to leave me?”

  Sarah looked at him and blinked. She realized he was being serious. “No,” she said. And she realized she was being serious. Because she loved him.

  She reached for his hand. “All my life I tried to be everything to everybody else—and failed miserably at it.”

  “But—”

  She put her hands to his lips. His beautiful, sexy lips. “When I was growing up, I tried to be the type of daughter I thought my parents wanted—someone who never wanted to leave home and wanted to study animal husbandry and make my own curtains.”

  “I don’t need curtains.”

  “Quiet! I mean it!” she warned him. Fred hunkered down immediately.

  “Anyway, I soon knew I wasn’t cut out to be a farmer’s wife. That’s when I thought I found the man of my dreams and followed him to New York to be the dutiful indie music groupie. Well, he didn’t make much music, and anyway, I found it boring hanging out in clubs. Then came the young professional scene in Manhattan, the hip student, the committed professional and then the incredibly competent mom-to-be. And all this time I was trying to fulfill a role that I thought everyone expected me to fulfill. Only I’ve finally come to understand that none of them were me.”

  “They weren’t?” he asked.

  She inhaled deeply. “No. Because what I’ve come to realize through you—yes, you—is that what I really should have been doing all along is to be true to myself. Because only that way would I find real happiness.”

  “So have you found yourself?” Hunt asked.

  Sarah nodded. “I think so. No, I know so.” She looked him in the eyes. “I’ve found what I was looking for. A home. And a family. Because home is that special place in my heart, wherever I have my family—the baby, you, even Fred.”

  At the sound of his name, Fred tentatively stood up and dipped his head to hers.

  “I love you,” she said.

  “You love Fred?” Hunt asked.

  “Not Fred. Well…yes…I love Fred. But what I really mean, is I love you.” Sarah looked at Hunt. “So? Aren’t you going to say anything?”

  Hunt frowned. “I’m still thinking about you being an indie band groupie.”

  Sarah frowned.

  He kissed her hand. “You know what’s so great about you, Sarah Halverson?—you’re focused on what’s essential. And you make me focus on what’s essential. So, as much as I would like to fall back on my usual witty repartee, and make light of your declaration, I won’t.”

  “You won’t?”

  “No, because it deserves equal honesty.” He swallowed. Then inhaled slowly. “Just practicing a little Lamaze therapy.”

  Sarah had venom in her eyes.

  “Sorry, sorry. Just because I’m having problems altering the habits of a lifetime, doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

  “Wait a minute. Could you say that without all the double negatives?”

  “I.” He kissed one eye. “Love.” He kissed the other.

  “You.” He kissed the tip of her upturned nose. Then drew back to drink in her expression. “Very, very, much.” And then he kissed her lips tenderly.

  Fred nudged between them.

  “Oh, all right.” Hunt threw up his hands. “I’ll get up and get you your dinner.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed. “See now. You’ve got him being a slave driver, too.”

  “I’ll get his food,” Sarah offered, pushing herself to a sitting position.

  Hunt bent over and retrieved his boxers and reached for a pair of sweatpants. “No!” He held out his hand. “For once, you don’t get to do anything for anyone else. You get to be a lady of leisure.”

  Sarah lay back in bed and sighed. “I think I like the sound of that. Hurry back, though.”

  Hunt slipped one leg in the pants and hopped over to her side. “Quickly, my love, as soon as I feed and walk our demented dog.”

  She laughed.

  He stole a kiss while she was still laughing. It felt fizzy.

  He leaned over the bed and looked at her. “All kidding aside—”

  “All kidding aside…”

  “I want this to last longer than the baby’s birth,” he said.

  She nodded. “Me, too.”

  “So you’ll move in?”

  “But what about my place?”

  “Details. We’ll work it out.”

  “Well, in that case, okay. I’ll move in.” She could feel the happiness welling inside.

  He looked away and then back. “I’ve got to warn you, though. I can’t think long-term yet.”

  “If you’re talking about dying, don’t. I mean, I could be hit by a bus tomorrow. There’re some things you just can’t know. There are no guarantees.”

  “But I’ve had cancer.”

  “That’s in the past. And the statistics are now overwhelmingly in your favor.”

  Hunt nodded. “Logically, I know you’re right, but emotionally, I’m not there yet. I can’t make any promises.”

  “Was I asking for promises?”

  He shook his head and grabbed her hand. “You’re too good for me.”

  “I know.” She smiled. And with time, she knew he’d truly realize the prize they had found, truly realize that what they had together would last a lifetime.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Three weeks later…

  “LIKE THE LOOK, HON,” Hunt said, rising from the chair in Sarah’s waiting room. He closed the review book for the med-school admissions test that he had started plowing through a couple of weeks ago.

  He had been a chemical engineering major, and he’d actually fulfilled
the course requirements for med school. And as he somewhat sheepishly admitted to Sarah since it was damaging evidence for a self-proclaimed lazybones, his three-point-eight grade point average, wasn’t too shabby either. Still, cracking the books in his thirties was tougher than he had expected.

  “But it’s not like having a baby,” Sarah was wont to reply when he moaned particularly loudly.

  He wasn’t moaning now. Well, maybe internally, and for different reasons. The love of his life, now a week away from her due date and in all her voluptuous glory, had just appeared in the reception room of her office dressed as a very pregnant French maid. I love Halloween, he thought.

  Rosemary finished shutting down her computer and got up to empty the coffeepot. “I’ll see you two love-birds tomorrow then,” she said, slipping on a ski jacket and adjusting the reindeer antlers in her hair. It was an office tradition to dress up for Halloween. “And I can’t thank you enough, Hunt, for running to Kmart for me to get candy on sale. I never would have had the chance before the hordes start descending.”

  Sarah came over. “I recognize what you’re doing, you know.” She twirled her finger at him threateningly. “You’re attempting to turn the office staff’s loyalty to you—picking up everybody’s dry cleaning, coming in and acting all charming. And just to show you that it’s working…”

  She kissed him on the lips. Then she stepped back to study Hunt’s costume. “I could get used to the look,” she said.

  He was dressed like a swashbuckling pirate, with a black eye patch and a rakishly angled red bandana over his hair, which had grown longer over the weeks. Sarah liked the long, loose curls so much she’d refused to let him get them cut. She also liked the white shirt unbuttoned to the waistband of his tight black pants, which she vaguely recognized as a pair she’d used for yoga. Not that she’d ever fit into them again.

  “Shall we?” He removed the shawl she had over her arm and draped it over her shoulders. He picked up his review book. “See you tomorrow, Rosemary. We’re off to torture ourselves at water aerobics.” He didn’t bother to hide the sarcasm.