by Freya Barker
When I look up again I find the credits rolling down the TV screen and Fox staring at me with his eyebrows drawn together.
"You really love her, right?"
"I really do, Bud," I tell him simply.
"Did you love that other woman?"
A bit taken aback by the question, I consider my answer, wanting to be honest with him.
"I did. There was a time I thought I loved her very much too, but it's like comparing apples and oranges. I was your age when I developed a crush on the most popular girl in school and had no chance in hell of ever getting her. When I unexpectedly got the chance barely being an adult, it was like a childhood dream come true, so yes, I fell head over heels. But I couldn't tell you now whether the love I felt was for her, or the promise of her, because let me tell you, the reality of her was not anywhere near that. One of these days I may tell you the whole story, but for now, let's say that was one of those mistakes a person can make that have long lasting consequences. So long in fact, that it almost ruined any chances I ever might have had with your mother, and that would've been a tragedy. ‘Cause let me tell you that even on my best days with Brenda in the past, I didn't even come close to being as happy and at home as I am right here, right now, with the two of you."
Fox, who was listening intently the whole time, doesn't say anything. He just nods, his lips firmly pressed together staring at the floor and I wonder what is going through his mind. Ready to go to bed, I slide out from under Naomi to get up, but before I have a chance to pick her up to carry her upstairs, Fox gets up too and walks right into my arms for a hug. Unsure what to do with this, I go with instinct and wrap him up tight.
"Be good to Mom, Joe. She deserves it," he mumbles against my shoulder and it's all I can do not to let emotions get the best of me.
"Always, Bud. She deserves every bit life has to offer, and so do you," I tell him, my voice cracking.
Head down he pulls away and walks to his bedroom door where he turns around.
"Night, Joe. I'm glad you're here..." he looks up from under his eyelids with a little spark in his eyes, "...but not as happy as I am that you're no longer Sheriff." Chuckling he closes his bedroom door, leaving me with a smile on my face. Brat.
I try to keep my eyes closed, listening to them talk. I don't want to interrupt this moment they're having, but I can't stop tears from escaping my closed eyelids. These men are my entire life, and both of them want nothing more than to have me happy. How fucking lucky am I?
I can sense Joe leaning over and he picks me up off the couch.
"I know you're awake, beautiful," he growls in my hair, walking up the stairs with me in his arms. "I could tell from the way your breathing changed."
I press my smile into his shirt, but don't say a thing.
In the bedroom he lays me on the bed and I blink my eyes open watching him very determinedly taking off his clothes.
"You just gonna lay there and watch?"
"I might," I tease, watching him narrow his eyes at me.
"I think you should get naked." He stands at the foot end of the bed, naked as the day he was born with his hands on his sides, his erection jutting out from his body, large and proud, just like the man. With Joe keeping a watchful eye, I sit up and slowly pull my sweater off, throwing it on the floor beside the bed.
"More," he scowls at the tank-top I have on underneath and with a little smile, I pull that over my head as well, sending it the same way the sweater went. Joe's eyes never leave my body, but when I pause again he raises an eyebrow. Knowing what he wants, I reach behind me to release the clasp on my bra and casually let the straps slide down my arms. With nostrils flaring, like an animal sensing the proximity of his prey, he sets his knee on the mattress and slowly stalks toward me on the bed. In a sudden move, he grabs both my ankles and pulls me flat on my back, grabbing for the waistband of my yoga-pants which he painstakingly drags down my body, leaving me in only my plain white cotton panties. Shit. I wasn't exactly in a sexy mood when I got dressed after my bath this afternoon. Doesn't seem to deter Joe though, as he runs his nose along the edge of my panties and down to where a moist patch is already forming. Ignoring the layer of cotton, he puts his lips right over my clit and sucks me into his mouth, the light barrier causing an extra level of abrasion on the already sensitive nub. Arching off the bed, a deep moan escapes me and the responding approval rumbles from Joe's chest, humming around my core. With nimble fingers, he makes my panties disappear, and I mourn the loss of his mouth. Until he pulls his body up over mine and feeds his hard cock inside me, and I wrap arms and legs around him to keep him close. Slow and deep, our eyes connected, it feels like he fucks me for an eternity, with a single-minded intensity that expresses more than words could.
Sated and complete, I'm on the brink of sleep when my mouth starts working again.
"Never leave..." I mumble into the fine hair dusting his chest.
"Not a chance," he returns.
"No. I mean stay here with us." I close my eyes in the dark, wondering where I found the courage to put myself out there like this. Thinking the silence following my words fills the time he needs to find a way to let me down gently. With progressively negative thoughts running through my head, I find myself slowly pulling away from him, until I'm suddenly rolled on my back, my face caught in his large hands and his lips kissing my eyes, nose and mouth.
"I can't believe you asked," he says, making me want to take back my words even more. "I would love nothing more than to stay with you and Fox. To live here and make this a new start for all of us together. I was afraid you'd think it too soon, or would want more time to establish yourself, but Naomi—getting to build this next chapter alongside you is exactly what I want."
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
"Morning, Jed."
"Morning. Heard you had some excitement again over the weekend?"
I snicker at that. Excitement is a bit of an understatement. Today is Monday, the first day Jed and his crew are back to start work on transforming the old feed store into a working clinic. The noise would be intense the first few days, he's warned us, but after that, we should barely notice them around. Or so he says. We'll see—I'm just excited to see this all come together. A dream I've had ever since I left Phoenix five years ago. Probably longer than that.
"Yes," I answer, "you may or may not find a bullet hole in one of the new boards on the porch." I joke.
"No shit?"
"Nope, definitely not shitting you. Luckily that was all that was shot and all of us and the new windows are still intact."
I follow him out onto the porch, grabbing a fleece of the coatrack. It's really getting chilly, despite the sunshine. He's stopped to eye the hole where the lab techs dug the bullet out of the wood.
"I'll probably be able to fill that with an outdoor wood-filler. You won't be able to tell the difference. But eh...what's with the bloodstain?" He points to the discolored spot where Brenda had lain bleeding just days before and despite the fact that word is she will be alright—at least physically—I can't help but wince at the reminder.
"Well...I may or may not have had to knock someone out with a baseball bat."
Jed turns to me, eyeing the full-length of me from the top of my head to my shoes.
"Huh. No shit, eh?"
"No. She's not shitting you and will you stop ogling my girl." I can hear amusement in Joe's voice behind me as he pulls me back into him.
"And quite a girl you've got. No offense intended." Jed tilts his head at Joe.
"Quite aware—believe me, and none taken."
"Alright, guys. I'm right here, you know?" I remind them, turning so I can pin them both with a stern look, but I find two pairs of mischievous eyes staring back. "Whatever, you two." I throw up my hands and walk off, leaving them chuckling at my expense on the porch. I'm smiling when I step inside.
"How's Clint doing?" I ask Jed when Naomi shuts the front door. The man shrugs his shoulders, a painful expression replacing the amused
one that was there a moment before, making me feel like an ass.
"Awake for a couple of days. At least as I understand it, ‘cause the first time he spotted me in the room, he barked at me to get out before passing out again. Haven't been back since."
"Ouch. Guess it's gonna take a while to fix what went wrong with you two," I observe.
"Probably, but I'm gonna stick it out. I deserve everything he'll be dishing out. I won't run from it." Both dejection and determination are clear on his face. I don't get a chance to say anything, which is good, ‘cause frankly, I don't know what to say, when Jed announces he'd better get to work and leaves me standing on the porch.
This morning after offering to drive Fox to school, I stopped in at Naomi's realtor's office to arrange for my house to be listed. Best way to go is to strike the iron while it's hot; at least that's the way I see it. Naomi asked me to stay and I don't want to leave. With my resignation handed it and a new job waiting for me, I'm not sad to move closer to the people who have become as close as family over the past few years. I don't have a whole lot in terms of furniture; at least nothing particularly special, but I'll let Naomi go through it with me and she can decide what has to go and what she wants to incorporate. The house is plenty big and even with both our households combined we probably would take a while before we run out of space. There's the clinic too. I'm not sure how she wants to have it furnished, but I'm sure we can make use of some of the shelving and furnishings I have. Even just to start out.
I walk to the back of the porch and sit down on the steps there, looking at the mountains in the distance. Feels right to finally set down some true roots in the same soil I came from. I hear the sliding door open behind me and find Naomi handing me a coffee before sitting down beside me.
"Deep thoughts?" She leans her shoulder against mine.
"Just feeling lucky I guess. I was wondering whether it's this particular house or the fact that it comes with you in it, that makes it feel like home. First time in my adult life I've felt that."
"Mmmm. Funny, I was just thinking this morning that I couldn't stand going back to my place in Cortez after the break-in, yet here we've had three major incidents that were technically far more traumatic, and still the house wins." She smiles at me and I tuck her to my side, my arm around her shoulder.
"It's a good house," I observe casually. "Strong foundation. Good clean lines."
Naomi chuckles. "Clean lines, huh? You're big on those these days."
"You bet. Seems like since we first discussed those, we've been able to come a long way."
"True. I've become a big fan of clean lines myself," she says turning her face to me, which I respond to by slanting my mouth over hers in a kiss that leaves no doubt who I'm a big fan of.
"Must you?" Neil comes walking around the side of the house, shaking his head.
"Yes." Is my short and simple answer. "Seems like you have some kind of perverted built-in radar, my friend. How many times does this happen to you?" Naomi starts giggling at Neil's facial expression. Disgust would be too mild a word.
"I don't want to discuss it," he manages, "Let's just say I could probably recognize a large percentage of the Cedar Tree population by the shape of their ass, and I don't even live here. I swear I'm gonna wear a cowbell next."
I throw my head back laughing.
After getting Neil a coffee, Naomi settles back beside me and turns to him.
"What brings you here this morning? Fox is at school."
"Yeah. I know. I want to see if I can upgrade his old laptop and maybe upload that game he likes playing on my computer on there. I'm leaving at the end of the week, heading back to Grand Junction. A few cases have come into the office there and I'm gonna start laying some groundwork on them. I wanted to leave Fox with something and this way we can play online from time to time. I've enjoyed spending time with him. He's a great kid."
"Awww, that's so sweet," Naomi coos, moving away from me and wrapping her arms around Neil in a full on hug. The damn pain in my ass is sporting a big satisfied smirk on his face when he looks at me. Right.
"Okay. That's enough," I say, pulling her off and throwing him a 'back-off —MINE' look. Unfortunately, he looks anything but impressed. Bastard.
"Fox'll be pumped you're doing that for him. Thanks," I say through clenched teeth.
"My pleasure. It’s the least I could do for the kid. He's been through a lot." Now he's pulling a damn puppy face, and it looks like Naomi is lapping it up; she's moving in for another damn hug. Over my dead body. I growl and tighten my arm around her waist so she cannot move making Neil laugh at my expense.
"Anyway, I'll get to it then. Thanks for the coffee, Doc," he smiles at Naomi, who practically melts under the flash of his pearly whites.
"Buzz off, Neil," is my contribution.
When he is out of earshot she turns to face me. "What. Was. That?"
"He was eye-fucking you, beautiful. You can't do that with someone else's woman."
Naomi drops her head in her hands, mumbling, "And here I thought I had a normal boyfriend."
"But you still love me right?" I give her shoulder a nudge and she nudges right back.
"May God have mercy on my soul, but I do."
"Well, that's good. But Doc? I'm not liking the boyfriend bit. I'd much prefer you refer to me as your man, or better yet, your husband."
"Husband? Is this a proposal or something?" she says with confusion all over her face. "’Cause if it is, you sure move fast—and—you could use a little work."
I just smile and pull her on my lap facing me. "Let's just say that I want you to know where my mind is going. Once we have our stuff somewhat sorted, and I've had a chance to put some of your suggested practice in, I'll make sure you know I'm dead serious about that proposal."
Naomi slings her arms around my neck and leans her face close.
"And when you do, I'm pretty convinced my response will be very receptive in nature," she replies, smiling against my lips.
EPILOGUE
Two months later...
"What do you think?"
I'm just showing Kendra the final touches in the form of a few prints for the wall and some new towels for the PT room.
"Love it. Looks like a fucking spa in here instead of a clinic. Such a relaxed vibe. You did good." She turns to me with a pleased smile.
Kendra will start with three afternoons a week and as business builds up here, she plans to build down her clients in Cortez; and move those who want to stick with her over to the new clinic.
Both of us have been eager to open the doors ever since Jed and his crew finished with the structural work two weeks ago. It looks amazing. Nice and bright with an eclectic mix of comfy furniture in the front waiting room, making it different from your standard doctor's office. There is a front desk that was built against the side-wall, not just for a receptionist, but also for Kendra and I to do some work from. We were set on having a treatment room each and a small eat-in kitchen and bathroom. With space at a premium, the choice was made to have a full-sized PT room built and drop a separate office for each of us. As an alternative, we each have a small desk in our treatment rooms when we need the privacy for phone calls and meetings, but for office work and file storage, we share the huge front desk with whoever will be a nurse/assistant. I'm actually working on getting Stacy, one of the nurses from Cortez Memorial, to join us here.
I love my treatment room which is the bigger of the two, since I'll also be doing minor procedures in there. Jed wanted to start on the old upstairs storage loft right away, moving perhaps offices up there, but I didn't want to spend my last penny without leaving a buffer to live off for a while if necessary.
When Joe's house sold after a month and he offered to invest his money in the clinic, I told him to hang on to it for now. He's already paying most of the household bills and insisted on taking over mortgage payments, claiming it was only fair since I'd paid a decent chunk down on the house. It was his condition on moving
in; as if he needed much convincing.
In twenty minutes, most of our combined friends and Kendra's family will be here for an open house and we're a little behind schedule.
Fox and Joe decided there wasn't near enough beer, so they went to get some more and Kendra and I are supposed to be setting out some appetizers. We've been kinda distracted admiring all the new gizmos and gadgets as well as the occasional decorative touches, and forgot about the clock for a bit. Time to focus on the food, ‘cause pretty soon this place will be packed.
I'm furious. People have started arriving and Joe and Fox aren't back yet. I've tried calling each of them a few times already but neither is answering. Either they left their phones in Joe's truck or they're ignoring me; I don't even want to think about the possibility something might have happened ‘cause I've had enough of bad luck for a lifetime.
Every time the door opens, my head whips around to scan who enters. Beth and Clint showing up is a great surprise and I wish I had more time to sit and chat with them, but new people seem to be coming in all the time.
When the last ones to get here are Gus and Emma, I'm near tears. Gus wraps me in his arms, congratulates me and then whispers, "A bit of faith, Doc." It's enough to allow me to mingle and smile.
I catch up with Mal, who came in with Caleb, Katie and my little guy who seems to be stealing the show. Mal's also a fairly new import in Cedar Tree and we're laughing about a few of the drawbacks of small town living, namely that everyone knows everything and often before you do, when Kendra walks up.
