by Jaci Burton
Seemed as if even Otis was going to have all kinds of dog friends to play with for the next couple of days.
While Tabitha and Ryan dashed into the pool with Hazel, and Will headed over to grab a beer, Jane slid into one of the chairs.
"How's it going, Jane?" Megan asked.
Jane gave them all a serene smile. "Well, I'm officially pregnant."
Loretta jumped up and gave Jane a hug. So did everyone else.
"This is such exciting news," Loretta said as they all sat down again.
"Yeah, except for the fact you get no margaritas now," Sam said, pouring herself a refill.
"That just means more for us," Megan said with a grin.
Jane laughed. "Considering my level of nausea at the moment, the idea of alcohol repels me."
"Are you sure you wanted to come here?"
Jane looked over at Sam. "Oh, definitely. The kids are excited about this weekend. Will is, too, and I figure I can either hide in the house and nap or just sit in the shade or soak in the pool."
"But definitely no boat rides on the lake," Josie said.
"Ugh. No, no boat rides for me."
"I'm beyond thrilled for you," Sam said. "You must be so excited."
"Honestly, I am. A little freaked out about starting over again, since Ryan and Tabby are mostly self-sufficient now. But Will has assured me he's going to be there for me, and God, he's such a wonderful dad to them. I know he's so excited about having a new baby in the house. Tabitha is thrilled beyond belief to be a big sister."
Megan reached over and grasped Jane's hand. "You're a great mom. You're going to be fine. Plus, you have all of us."
"Thank you. And I'm so happy that Chelsea and I will both have babies so close in age."
"That'll definitely be fun," Loretta said.
After chatting awhile about babies and their jobs and personal lives, they all went inside and started prepping food for dinner. Tonight would be easy--burgers and hot dogs. Megan took the meat outside for the guys to start grilling. Loretta and Josie chopped up lettuce and vegetables for a huge salad, and they shucked corn cobs to put on the grill. Sam and Jane sliced strawberries and melon for a fruit salad. When Loretta and Josie were done preparing the salad and corn, they headed into the ridiculously oversized dining room to set the table for dinner.
"Who owns this place?" Josie asked.
Loretta shrugged. "I have no idea. I assume someone Zach knows."
"Huh." Josie spread out the utensils after Loretta laid the plates.
Loretta paused. "'Huh' what?"
"I don't know. I'm just wondering who knows someone who owns a place this . . ."
Josie didn't finish, so Loretta did. "Ostentatious?"
Josie laughed. "Yes."
"The condo I lived in in Dallas was over five thousand square feet."
Josie's brows shot up. "For a condo? Really?"
"Yes. If you look up ostentatious in the dictionary, there'll be a photo of my ex-husband next to the word. He was all about having the finer things. A doorman, a workout center, a business center, marble flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows, a security system, blah blah blah."
Josie wrinkled her nose. "Sounds very . . . sterile."
"It was. We weren't allowed to leave anything lying around, like toys or books, nothing that gave the appearance that someone actually lived there, just in case he wanted to bring a client home. We lived like houseguests in our own home."
Josie paused and gave her a sympathetic look. "No wonder you divorced the bastard."
She was quickly finding out that Josie said exactly what was on her mind. "Yes, well, it took me a while to summon up the courage to leave him, but eventually I did."
"Sometimes it takes a while to figure out how to get away from a bad situation. Which doesn't mean you lack courage, Loretta."
"Thanks for that. I'm working on that courage and independence thing every day."
They moved back into the kitchen. "Independence is a hard-fought battle. It doesn't happen overnight. There are so many factors and people who will try to keep us down, to make us think that we can't do it on our own."
Loretta tilted her head to the side and studied Josie. "You make it sound like you've fought your own battle for independence."
Josie shrugged. "Not the same one as you have, but I had to learn the hard way that trusting some people isn't always a smart thing to do, and the only person you can really rely on is yourself."
She was about to ask Josie to elaborate on that, but just then Sam and Megan came inside with plates filled with burgers. "These are done, and Jane's coming in with the corn."
"Perfect," Loretta said. "We have the table set. I'll go roust the kids out of the pool."
"Don't bother," Sam said. "Deacon and Will are taking care of that."
Which meant she didn't have to worry about her own daughter.
Having a guy around who actually handled things? Pretty awesome. And certainly new for her.
This weekend was going to be all kinds of fun.
Chapter 24
* * *
DEACON SAT BACK, completely stuffed after a huge dinner of burgers, hot dogs, vegetables, and fruit, not to mention the amazing cheesecake Megan had served. Now he was enjoying listening to his friends chat, mainly Reid and Zach as they argued about baseball teams. Occasionally Brady and Will would chime in as well. And then Josie had to add in her opinion, which got the women started on sports.
He smiled at that. Women could be just as opinionated about their favorite sports teams as men, sometimes even more ferociously. Loretta had been quiet for a while, but then she got into the middle of the fray, spouting off about her love for the St. Louis Rivers baseball team.
"They're my favorite, too," Josie said.
"Not the Atlanta team?" Sam asked.
Josie shook her head. "I've always loved the Rivers. I've been a fan since I was a kid. Don't forget I grew up in Oklahoma, and since we don't have a pro team, the Rivers were the team I chose to support."
"They're doing well this year," Brady said. "Should have a shot at the play-offs if they keep playing the way they have been."
"I hope so."
"Unless Chicago kicks their butts, which they probably will." Zach grinned.
Josie shot him a glare. "Not gonna happen, buddy."
"We'll see who makes the postseason, won't we?"
Josie pointed her finger at his chest. "Yes, I'll see you crying come October."
Deacon laughed. "I have a feeling she's going to take you down, Zach."
Zach frowned. "Shouldn't you be on my side?"
"I dunno. I'm kind of afraid of her."
Josie looked over at Deacon and grinned. "I like you, Deacon."
"I like you, too, Josie."
"Well, I like New York," Hazel said.
Everyone turned to her, their mouths dropping open.
"That is not allowed," Reid said.
Hazel giggled. "Just kidding. I like the Rivers."
Then Hazel proceeded to get into an argument with Jane and Will's son, Ryan, who was a big fan of Kansas City. Deacon observed that argument with interest. Though Ryan was a few years older than Hazel, he was respectful. He teased her, but he wasn't mean. And Hazel was ferocious and stood up for herself and her team, like any red-blooded fan would. All in all, a decent argument that ended with both kids laughing.
After dinner, everyone cleared the table and did dishes, then headed outside for drinks by the pool. The kids went into the water again.
"Hazel's going to sleep soundly tonight," Loretta said.
Jane nodded. "That's the best part about swimming. It wears them out. Ryan and Tabby will be out cold as soon as their heads hit their pillows."
Loretta looked forward to a nice quiet night. Maybe she could sneak out and spend a few minutes of alone time with Deacon. There wasn't a huge crowd here, but the guys had tended to gravitate together, so it was possible he'd hang out with his friends tonight. Not that she'd blame him for that. He worked
hard, and he'd spent a lot of his free time working on things at her ranch. He could use some downtime to catch up with the guys.
Jane wrangled her kids out of the pool around nine, and Loretta did the same with Hazel. Hazel grumbled about that, but Deacon came over to them.
"I thought we might go fishing early tomorrow morning."
Hazel's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah. But we'll have to get up really early, so you need to get some sleep."
"You got it."
"Can we go, too?" Tabitha asked.
"Sure you can."
"I definitely want to go fishing," Ryan said. "I'm great at it."
Tabitha nudged him. "You are not. You've never fished before."
Ryan shot his little sister an affronted look. "Have, too. With the Boy Scouts."
Tabitha raised her chin. "Well, I'll be better at it."
Jane rolled her eyes, then looked over at Deacon. "You don't have to take them if you don't want to."
Deacon laughed. "I'd love to take all of the kids."
"Now that that's all settled, it's time to head in for the night," Loretta said, shuffling Hazel off to the shower and to get ready for bed. She supervised her so she didn't waste time, but she could tell Hazel was exhausted from sun and pool time. Once she got into bed, Loretta read Hazel a chapter of the Nancy Drew book they were enjoying together. Then she left Hazel with a couple of her own storybooks to read. Hazel was yawning and barely saying a word, so she figured about fifteen minutes until she'd be asleep.
Otis had followed them into the bedroom. He'd had his share of fun playtimes today as well, so he curled up on his blanket on the floor at the foot of Hazel's bed.
Loretta kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Good night, pumpkin."
"Night, Mama."
She shut the door to the bedroom and went back outside. Everyone had gathered around one table, so she made her way there. She noticed Deacon had left an open seat next to him, so she took it.
"Thanks for inviting Hazel to go fishing tomorrow. I had no idea she was interested."
Deacon took a swallow of his beer. "I just threw it out there. Figured she could say no if she thought fishing was a disgusting idea."
Loretta laughed. "I think if it has anything to do with you, it'll be fun for her."
"I like doing things with her, too."
Loretta wanted to tell him how much it meant to her that he'd take time out of a free weekend to hang with Hazel, but she didn't want to make a fuss in front of everyone. She made a mental note to thank him later.
Instead, she stayed quiet and listened to Deacon and Reid talk about the various projects they had on their books. Of course, it didn't take long before Brady's building came up and he joined in their conversation as well. It turned out Deacon and Reid's business was much broader in scope than she had been aware of. They not only did renovations, but new builds as well, and after the renovation of the old building next door, Deacon and Reid would be in charge of construction on the new movie theater in town.
"We're all so excited about that," Megan said. "The current one is ancient. The screens are small, the seats are threadbare and uncomfortable, and we've been in need of a new movie theater for years."
"You'll like this one," Reid said. "It's state-of-the-art."
"Yeah. Even has cup holders and reclining seats."
Sam put her hand over her heart. "Don't tease us, Deacon."
"Not teasing. It's pretty fantastic. It'll be equipped with the latest sound system, and you can 3-D yourself into ecstasy."
Loretta laughed. "Hazel will enjoy that."
"So will Tabby and Ryan," Jane said. "Will can take them to the 3-D movies. They make me nauseous."
"Babe, lately everything makes you nauseous," Will said, kissing her shoulder.
"This is true. But especially 3-D."
"Reid and I love 3-D movies," Sam said. "We'll take the kids or go with you."
"Done," Will said. "Always need help wrangling."
Josie had been inside, and she came out and pulled up a chair next to Loretta. "What did I miss?"
"New movie theater going in. And we were discussing 3-D movies."
"Oh, how exciting. I love movies."
"Let me guess," Zach said. "You like period films like that Jane Austen stuff."
Josie arched a brow. "Let me guess. You surmised that because I'm an English teacher? How very Neanderthal of you, Zach. Actually, I love action films. And kid movies. And horror. And I'll bet you enjoy sports movies, since you're the football coach."
Zach laughed. "You know I only said that to get a rise out of you. You take the bait way too easily, Josie."
Josie sighed, then turned to Deacon. "Does anyone like him?"
"No. We're only here with him because he knows people that own multimillion-dollar lake houses."
Zach took a long pull of his beer, then grinned at Deacon. "Bunch of users."
"Yeah, that's us." Deacon got up. "Who wants another beer?"
"I'll take one," Zach said.
Everyone else declined.
"I'm getting a cup of decaf," Loretta said. "Can I get anyone something from the kitchen?"
"If you find Chris Pratt in there, bring him back for me," Josie said.
Loretta smirked, then caught Zach's glare.
Interesting. Very interesting.
She had no more closed the French doors than Deacon had hauled her against him.
"Following me?" she asked.
"Yes."
"I need to check on Hazel first."
"Well, hurry up so I can kiss you before someone comes in."
She laughed. "Okay."
She went down the hall and into the bedroom. Just as she suspected, her daughter was sound asleep. She collected the books off the bed, then went back down the hall and into the kitchen. Deacon was still wearing his board shorts from earlier, but he'd added a tank top that showcased his broad shoulders and muscular arms.
She sighed in appreciation. The man had an amazing physique. She walked over and pressed her body against him. When he slid his hand into her hair and kissed her, she sighed. This was what she'd thought about ever since that brief kiss outside today. She craved his touch, the feel of his lips against hers, the way his heart pounded against her when they kissed, as if just being near her excited him. Knowing that turned her on.
Oh, who was she kidding? Everything about Deacon turned her on. And when his hand roamed her back, inching lower to cup her butt and draw her against his erection, she moaned against his mouth. She was damp with desire, and wanted nothing more than to be naked and feel him moving inside of her. The fact that they didn't have any alone time was so frustrating.
But then he took her hand and pulled her down the hall and into his room and shut the door. "Deacon, what are you doing?"
"I mentioned to Zach that I wanted some alone time with you. He knows not to come in."
She shouldn't, but oh, she wanted this. "Just a few minutes."
He pushed her against the door and framed her face with his hands. "Babe, I'm so hot for you right now, that's probably all it's going to take."
He pulled the straps of her sundress down her arms, then freed her breasts from her bikini top, cupping the globes in his hands. He flicked his tongue over each nipple until fiery desire shot through her nerve endings. Then he pushed the dress over her hips, taking her bikini bottoms with it, until she was naked.
He made quick work of his shirt and his board shorts, then slid his hand between her legs, coaxing a moan from her in response.
"I sure hope you thought to bring condoms with you this weekend," she said as she teased his shoulder with her teeth.
"Like I'd forget something as important as that when I know I'm going to be with you." He smoothed his hand over her sex, rubbing her clit until she was ready to explode.
"Deacon. I need you inside of me."
He walked away for a few seconds and grabbed a condom from his bag, then tore the wrap
per, put it on, and pressed her back against the door. He cupped her butt in his hands, used his knee to spread her legs, and slid into her.
He filled her completely, grinding against her and taking her right where she needed to go. She was conscious of where they were, so she kept her responses low, focusing on Deacon, on the way he moved within her. She bit back the loud moan that hovered in the back of her throat in answer to him driving deep. Her body quivered and tightened around him.
She dug her nails into his shoulders and he groaned. The sound was like an aphrodisiac, spurring her on to the pinnacle of pleasure.
And when she felt the contractions of orgasm crashing through her, she bucked against him, clutching him as her lifeline. He grasped the back of her neck and took her mouth, breathing in her moans as she catapulted over the edge.
He went with her, pushing her back against the door as he thrust and shuddered against her. It was a wild ride as her climax roared through her body and Deacon's entire body shook with the force of his orgasm, prolonging her pleasure.
Spent, she fell lax, pinned against the door by Deacon, who pressed soft kisses along her jaw and neck.
"Everyone's going to know I had sex," she whispered.
He drew back and searched her face. "How? Are you planning to announce it to the group?"
She laughed while they disengaged and headed to the bathroom. Deacon flipped on the light.
"Well, no." She looked at herself in the mirror and straightened her wild hair. She had beard burn on her chin and cheeks. "And okay, maybe I just don't care."
"Good." He pulled her around to face him. "Because I sure don't. And surely people know we're together."
Together. Is that what they were now? She supposed they were. Sort of. She hadn't labeled it--hadn't wanted to label anything about Deacon and herself other than what was happening today.
"Is that okay with you, Loretta?"
She gave him a smile. "Perfectly okay." She lifted up and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'm going to check on Hazel again."
He grinned down at her. "I don't think we were loud enough to wake her."
"I don't think an earthquake would wake her. But I'll check anyway."
"Okay. I'll see you outside."
She nodded and went to the bedroom door, opening it a crack to be sure the hallway was clear. It was, so she hurried across the hall and into her bedroom. Hazel hadn't even moved. Otis opened his eyes to check her out, then he dozed off again, so she went into the bathroom, washed her face and brushed her hair, then headed back outside.
