Almost a Family

by Stephanie Bond

  Fire spread through her limbs, and she weakened under his seeking hands. She moaned into his mouth and ran her palms over his muscled back, reveling in the smoothness of his skin. He smelled of soap and talc, his hair curled damp against his neck. She buried her fingers in its softness, pressing his mouth harder against hers.

  He dragged his mouth away with a moan, then picked her up and laid her on the bed. Before he joined her, he stripped off his boxers, his erection and muscled behind outlined to her briefly. She gasped when he rolled in next to her, scooping her up to hold her in an iron embrace.

  “Ginny,” he whispered, “I thought I’d never get to make love to you again.”

  He began kissing her ear, then moved to her neck, then lower, teasing a nipple through the thin fabric of her gown. His tongue left a trail of fire, causing her muscles to dance and her body to moisten itself in preparation for him. Lifting the sheer garment out of his way, he fell upon her breasts, greedily kissing and sucking, the electric barbs paralyzing her with pleasure.

  He eased down her panties, moaning as his fingers encountered her wet anticipation. Virginia’s knees rose at his explosive invasion, clenching around his fingers, urging him deeper. Using his thumb, he massaged her most sensitive spot, moving his fingers inside her in unison. The waves began to build, and she rode them, moaning his name. “Bailey, oh, Bailey… “

  At the crest, she bit down on his shoulder, remembering with sudden clarity how quickly he could bring her to climax. He brought her back down gently, slowly. She groaned in utter satisfaction.

  He grinned and whispered, “Like riding a bicycle.”

  She laughed, swinging at him playfully.

  His arousal branded her thigh, hot and unyielding. She reached to encircle him with her hands, rousing a sharp gasp from his open mouth. Moistening him with her own wetness, she stroked him slowly, the way she knew he liked it, then began to move under him, with him, as if he were already inside her.

  His head went back, a look of rapture on his face. “Ginny,” he whispered, “you know just what to do to make me crazy.” He lowered his mouth to draw on her breast, and she arched into him, her thighs sliding against each other, slick with satisfaction and growing need. Bailey moved lower still, kissing her abdomen and navel, nipping at the outer edges of her private mound, licking her thighs. Suddenly his tongue probed her womanhood, and Virginia gasped, throwing her head back. For several vaulting moments he made love to her with his mouth as she writhed under him, then once again carried her past the brink of ecstasy.

  He slid back up to kiss her mouth, his lips tasting of her musk. “I can’t hold out much longer,” he gasped, “I want you too much.”

  “I’m not protected,” she warned him.

  Then he laughed. And she laughed.

  “Which is what got us in trouble in the first place,” he said. “But this time,” he added with a quick, tender kiss, “I planned ahead.” From out of nowhere appeared a condom, which he broke open quickly and unrolled on his erection.

  He went to her swiftly, kissing her deeply as he probed her entrance. She was more than ready for him. His breath was ragged. “I have to have you now,” he said, taking a deep breath, then plunging inside.

  Virginia’s body convulsed when he entered her. He filled her completely, physically and emotionally. She wrapped her legs around his body and clenched her inner muscles, letting him ride her as slowly as he wished. She threw her arms over her head, her fingers wrapping around the metal bars of the headboard to allow her more leverage to move under him.

  Bailey was a vocal lover; she knew which of her movements he found the most pleasurable by listening to his moans. Arching to meet his thrusts, she followed his pace from sensual to urgent to frantic until he shuddered on top of her, moaning low and long with each spasm. Bailey’s breath was ragged and shallow, his sighs satisfied. Their rhythm slowed to a lazy grind, then stilled.

  She lay beneath him, his weight comforting and warm. She had come full circle… back to Bailey’s arms, where she’d always belonged.

  Chapter 13

  “Just relax,” Virginia said to Chad. “Horses can sense when you’re afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid,” he scoffed, but his eyes told a different story. “Am I doing it right, Bailey?” he asked, pointedly ignoring Virginia’s attempt to instruct him.

  Before he stepped in, Bailey looked to Virginia with a raised eyebrow. She nodded for him to go ahead, and slowed her horse to fall in behind Bailey’s and Chad’s mounts.

  She yawned, then winced when her horse shifted, the saddle rubbing against too-tender skin. A not-so-marvelous reminder of Bailey’s marvelous night of lovemaking. Predawn, he’d slipped from her room to prevent any awkward hallway encounters with Chad.

  Strange, but despite the passionate night they’d shared, she felt irritable this morning���headachy, short-tempered���nothing that could even be remotely called afterglow. As the morning wore on, the more she replayed last night’s script, the more she suspected her unease was due to the fact that not once had Bailey mentioned the word love. Or marriage. Or commitment.

  “Hey, Ginny,” he called, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Yeah?”

  He stopped his horse until she caught up. “Let’s ride over to the meadow.”

  She swallowed. Not really in the mood for more unsettling memories, she stalled. “The meadow? Hasn’t someone built a house there?”

  “Just getting ready to,” he said. “The footers were poured Friday.”

  The knowledge saddened her beyond belief. She couldn’t imagine anyone else living in their meadow, overlooking their pond. But if it didn’t bother Bailey, she supposed she couldn’t get too upset about it. “Sure, why not?”

  She knew the way by heart, but followed a few paces behind so she could be alone with her reactions. Since they rode slowly for Chad’s benefit, it took several minutes to climb the gentle rise that leveled and gave way to the north meadow.

  Her heart sank. It was more beautiful than ever���more lush, more inviting, more stirring. The pond was about the size of a football field, opaque green in the center, brown around the muddy banks, edged with giant sunflowers, cattails, and thistle.

  On the back of the property, a framing semicircle of trees had matured and would provide the family and their home with valuable shade. She squinted and spotted the wide strip of land that had been staked off, saw the concrete corners that were the beginnings of the foundation. She felt as if something had just slipped through her fingers and out of reach.

  “What do you think, Ginny?” Bailey asked.

  She stared out over the meadow, her throat tight. “The owner is lucky to have this place.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m just a lucky guy.”

  She jerked around to look at him, amazed. “You?”

  “Yeah, me, a homeowner, imagine that.” His eyes crinkled with pleasure.

  “Wow,” Chad said, his voice and eyes excited. “Will it be a big house?”

  Virginia could see the wheels turning in his head, and she felt a flash of panic. Of course he’d want to live there with Bailey.

  “Big enough,” Bailey said.

  Her stomach churned. “Th-that’s great, Bailey.” She forced a smile to her lips. “When will it be finished?”

  “If the weather cooperates, about three months.”

  Her alarm increased. “That soon?”

  “Wow! I can’t wait!” Chad said.

  “But with my new job, I may not be able to get out here during the day as much as I’d like to check on the progress.”

  “What kind of house are you building?” she asked, her voice weak.

  He looked into her eyes, then said, “I’m sure you’d find the plans familiar.”

  She dropped her gaze and pretended to be engrossed with adjusting her horse’s halter. “Those old plans we ordered from a magazine?”

  “With a few modifications. I guess I have my sights set a little h
igher now than I did in my twenties.”

  He was building their house in their meadow���did he intend to ask her to share it with him?

  “Look at that tree!” Chad yelled, pointing across the meadow. “It’s huge!”

  Virginia looked up and smiled in spite of her muddled thoughts. It was Bailey’s tree, the one his father had planted for him.

  “Want to ride over?” Bailey asked Chad, who responded with an eager nod.

  The three of them rode abreast slowly, and Bailey recounted the story of Chad’s grandfather planting the tree. The sprawling oak was a magnificent sight, having grown exponentially since she’d last seen it. She estimated the trunk at ten feet in diameter.

  “That’s awesome!” Chad exclaimed.

  Bailey smiled. “I’m glad you think so,” he said as he reined in next to a smaller, lone oak tree, about fifteen feet tall. “Because this tree is yours.”

  “Really?” Chad asked.

  Virginia was as surprised as Chad.

  “Yep. I took an acorn from my tree and planted it the day you were born.”

  Chad didn’t say anything, just stared at the tree with an awestruck expression.

  The news shook Virginia to the core. “You never told me, Bailey.”

  He shifted in his saddle. “I wasn’t even sure it would germinate, and by the time it started growing…” He trailed off and smiled sadly.

  By the time it started growing, Lois Green had ripped their son from their lives. She bit her tongue���God, would she ever stop hurting?

  “You mean that tree is the same age as I am?” Chad asked, grinning.

  “To the day,” Bailey responded.

  Chad looked at the older tree. “Is it okay to climb it?”

  Bailey pursed his lips as if he were pondering the question. “Well, if you’re going to find a good place to build a tree house, I guess you’d better scout it out with a good climb.”

  “Oh, boy!” Chad said, kneeing his horse forward.

  “Be careful,” Bailey called sternly. “Walk him over to the fence to climb down, just like you mounted, then tie him off like I showed you.”

  “Okay, Bailey.”

  Virginia watched the exchange, feeling more and more like an outsider. The house, the tree, the open space, the paternal guidance���in Chad’s eyes she could never compete with any of those things. Her face must have betrayed her emotions, because Bailey asked, “Ginny, what’s wrong?”

  She shook her head, smiling sadly. “Chad loves it here.”

  “I loved it when I was his age too.” Bailey dismounted, then offered her a hand.

  She swung down, her body inches from his, her head still spinning.

  Bailey held her gaze for a few seconds, then cleared his throat. “Listen, Ginny, I don’t know if this is the right time, but I realize you’re having a rough time with Chad, and I was hoping you’d consider letting him move in with me at Rita’s while you and I work things through.”

  Stunned, she only stared at him. Let Chad move in with him while they “worked things through”? “I don’t understand,” she murmured.

  “Well, I’ve been giving this some thought,” he said, his words sounding rehearsed. “School will be starting in a few weeks, so it would be best to get him settled in now, rather than move him in the middle of the school year.”

  “Move him in the middle of the school year?” she parroted.

  “Well, yeah, the house should be finished by mid-October.”

  Her mouth tightened in dawning realization. It had all been a ploy. Butter her up to let Chad move in with him, knowing full well it would be next to impossible to revert if she and Bailey couldn’t “work things through.”

  “No,” she said.

  He frowned slightly. “What?”

  “I said no,” she said, her voice louder. “Chad’s not coming here to live. He belongs with me���his mother.”

  “But I don’t want to live with you!” Chad shouted.

  She spun in surprise, as did Bailey. They hadn’t heard him approaching on foot.

  “Chad���” She took a step toward him.

  “No!” He backed up. “Tell her, Bailey, tell her about our plan!”

  “Chad.” Bailey’s voice held a warning note.

  Virginia narrowed her eyes. “What plan?”

  Chad turned on her, his eyes flashing. “Bailey told me last week that I could move in with him and live at Shenoway, but you weren’t supposed to know because you’d probably try to ruin it like you’re trying to ruin it now.”

  Her blood ran cold, her limbs were paralyzed. No wonder Chad had been alienating her more and more. Bailey must have promised him it would be just the two of them, without her in the way. All she could manage was a steady stare at Bailey. What had he said one night at her house? That he would have to resort to drastic measures? How foolish could she have been? A few flowers, a few kisses, and she’d jumped right back into his arms like a na��ve coed.

  “Ginny.” He raised his hand in stop-sign fashion. “He’s taking my words out of context.”

  “You can’t keep me from living with my father!” Chad yelled.

  “That’s enough, Chad,” Bailey said, his voice low and commanding. “I need to talk to your mother alone.”

  “She’s not my mother!” Chad shouted as he walked away sniffling, pulling out his slingshot.

  “Be careful with that thing.” He turned to her. “Ginny���”

  “How dare you,” she said through gritted teeth, tears scalding her eyes. “How dare you pretend to care for me, take me out, even make lo”���she choked���“have sex with me… it was all a setup.”

  “Ginny,” he growled, clasping her arms, “listen to me! I meant that I wanted us all to be here together���Chad misunderstood, that’s all.”

  She pulled away. “Don’t touch me.” Turning her head, she yelled, “Chad, come with me. We’re going home.”

  Virginia climbed back into her saddle, avoiding Bailey’s eyes. She burned with humiliation… her heart felt raw.

  “No.” Chad jutted out his chin, then rocketed another stone onto the pond’s rippling surface.

  “Get on your horse and come with me,” she said evenly.

  “Do it,” Bailey said to his son, his voice sounding resigned.

  She watched as Chad moved to obey Bailey, biting her tongue to control her fury. Bailey had to get in one last demonstration of how well Chad minded him and how well he ignored her. Wheeling her horse away from Bailey, she waited until Chad’s mount caught up with hers, then began a slow walk back.

  Bailey watched them ride away through watery eyes, his hands fisted in frustration. How had things gone from promising to impossible in the span of a few minutes?

  *

  “But I don’t want to go,” Chad said, his tone belligerent as he slung his duffel into the trunk.

  Ginny shut the trunk lid firmly. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to go, but we have to.”

  “But why?” he persisted.

  “Because,” she said calmly, swinging into the driver’s seat, “we can’t stay here.”

  “I can.”

  She bit the inside of her cheek as she started the engine and shifted into gear. “You’re coming home with me.”

  “I hate that place���it’s boring.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. I’ll talk to a realtor next week about finding a house with a bigger yard.”

  “Big deal,” he said miserably.

  “I’m trying to make things better for you,” she said, looking both ways before pulling into traffic and driving away from Shenoway.

  He looked out the window for several seconds quietly, then asked, “Why?”

  She frowned slightly. “Why am I trying to make things better for you?”

  “Yeah, you couldn’t care less about me.”

  Virginia nearly ran off the road, then slowed her speed. “How could you say such a thing?”
>
  “Because it’s true,” he said. “When I got in trouble at the mall, you wanted the cops to take me away.”

  She gasped. “I didn’t want them to take you away, I only wanted you to understand the consequence of your actions.”

  “You won’t let me do things by myself because you don’t trust me.”

  “That’s not true,” she said, shaking her head. “I guess I’m a little overprotective���I’ll work on it.”

  “You said you hated my mom.”

  She closed her eyes briefly. “I said those words out of frustration and anger. I wish I could take them back. I don’t hate Lois, I hate only that you and I lost all that time together.”

  “You broke my game,” he said, his voice growing more angry.

  She inhaled deeply. “You’re right, I did, but it was an accident. I swear I didn’t see it lying there.”

  “Then you accused me of stealing your locket.”

  She bit her lip to stem her welling tears. He was building quite a convincing case against her mothering skills. Despite her intuition about the locket, he was right, she had no proof. “I apologize, Chad,” she said in a low voice. “It must have fallen off while I was wearing it and I didn’t notice.”

  “And now you’re using me to get back at Bailey.”

  Virginia’s speed fell off and the car behind her blared its horn. “What did you say?”

  “You’re using me���”

  “You’re way out of line, young man.”

  “It’s true,” he yelled. “You didn’t mind him coming over to see me as long as he kissed you all the time! Now you’re mad because he wants it to be just the two of us, so you’re not going to let him see me at all!”

  His words reverberated in her head, triggering a low hum of panic. Chad was treading closer to the truth than she cared to admit. She had begun to anticipate Bailey’s visits nearly as much as Chad did. Now, after discovering he was only trying to get next to Chad, she had retaliated by taking Chad away. In one week she’d already made the mistake she’d seen coworkers and acquaintances make, the one thing she’d promised herself she’d never do… use her child to get back at the other parent.