Love Unclaimed

by Jennifer Benson

  “I love calling your name when I come.” She reached between them and wrapped her hand back around his cock to guide him where she needed him. She rubbed the bead of moisture with her thumb then moved so she could feel him pressing against her opening. “Gavin,” she whispered.

  “Yes, Audree.” He pressed against her.

  “I…” she moved so he could slide into her and, with one thrust, her mind went blank and her head tipped back. He moved in and out of her slowly, until she moved her hands from his back and grabbed his ass, telling him to push harder and deeper, which is just what he did.

  “Audree.” He was close, but wanted to make her to come again before he found his own release. “Audree,” he repeated as he circled and tipped his hips again. When he felt her tighten around him, he thrust one last time and emptied into her with her name on his lips. He closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair as their breaths slowed.

  “Gavin,” she whispered his name.

  “Let’s sleep, Audree.” He moved behind her and pulled her back against him. He knew she didn’t fall asleep right away, that that she just lay there like he did. He didn’t usually stay to cuddle after; this was something new and neither seemed to know what to do about it, so they lay in silence until they each finally drifted off to sleep.

  Audree was, of course, not surprised, but was very disappointed when she woke the next morning in her own bed, alone. At some point during the night, he had woken or, maybe he just stayed awake until she fell asleep, and then he carried her into her own room, for her to wake as she usually did after they had had sex, alone and totally confused about what was going on between them. She tried not to cry when she rolled over and saw the empty space next to her.

  Audree thought she should be used to waking up alone after spending hours having mind- blowing sex with Gavin, but it still hurt every time. They had only woken up once together, in the bed of her truck the morning after her eighteenth birthday and, after a night of making love under the stars, he still disappeared on her.

  ***

  “Momma! Momma!” Eva called, as she ran into Audree’s bedroom, barreling through the bedroom door and jumping onto the bed. “Momma, where is Uncle Gavin? He said he’d take me riding today, but I can’t find him.” She threw her arms around her mother and laughed when Audree started tickling her. “I knocked on his door, but he didn’t answer,” she said, out of breath.

  “And good morning to you, too, Eva, my dear.” Audree nuzzled Eva’s neck and made her laugh again.

  “Sorry, Momma.” Eva sat up in front of Audree and took a deep breath. “Good morning, Momma. How was your party last night?” She looked her mother in the eyes and Audree could see the twinkle.

  “Why, thank you, Eva. Good morning to you, too. Yes, the party was a great success and everything went well. Thank you for asking.” Audree laughed which made Eva laugh. “Now, as for your plans for today…”

  “Uncle Gavin is...”

  “Right here.” Gavin stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, watching Audree with Eva and wanting to join them in their playtime on the bed. “I just went for a run,” he said, not meeting Audree’s eyes and looking only at Eva. “Give me ten minutes to shower and change and I’ll meet you…”

  “Downstairs,” Talia said from behind Gavin. “I have breakfast started, and I packed you a basket lunch.” She looked from Audree to Gavin, neither giving anything away about the night. “Ruby called and asked if you would stop by her place and pick her up on the way, over to the farm. She went home earlier to change; something about needing to look good for Harry or something.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Your father’s already been out working for hours,” Talia said with a satisfied smile when Gavin’s head shot up and he looked questioningly at Audree. “Travis and his friends stopped by earlier on their way to the farm, to pick you up, but you were still sleeping.” She stepped more fully into the room and reached her hand out to Eva. “Come on, Eva, let’s get you some breakfast so you will be ready to go,” looking back at Audree and then to Gavin. “Ten minutes or I’ll be back up here,” she said and left with Eva jabbering excitedly about going riding with Gavin.

  “I didn’t know you were going over to the farm today?” Gavin said, not moving from the doorway.

  “I usually go over on Sundays, after riding with Eva, but I have to talk to Ruby and Travis about my new plans for the barn,” she swung the comforter off her lap and got off the bed. She hadn’t even given a thought to the fact that all she was wearing a purple tank top and matching boy shorts until she looked down then back at him. “How kind of you not only to return me to my bed, but to get me dressed, too.” She waved her arms in the air and stormed to the connecting bathroom.

  “Audree.” He took a step into her room, but stopped when the bathroom door slammed and he heard the water start running. “Damn it.” He hit the doorframe with his fist, turned around, and walked toward his own room.

  “Audree?” Gavin walked into the kitchen to find Eva sitting at the table with Talia.

  “Momma left already to get Aunt Ruby. They’re going to Grammy and Grandpa’s. Grammy’s running to town,” Eva said through a mouthful of pancakes.

  “Thanks for the rundown.” Gavin laughed.

  “Are you hungry, Gavin?” Talia asked, pouring coffee into a mug and sliding it across the counter to him.

  “Thank you.” He took a tentative sip of the hot coffee and sighed.

  “Uncle Gavin, have some pancakes,” she said stuffing another piece into her mouth. “My Grammy makes the best pancakes ever.”

  “I remember.” Gavin stepped over to the counter, filled his plate, and took a seat next to Eva. “So, I hear you have another two weeks of school,” he said as he cut into his stack of pancakes.

  “Yup, can’t wait until I’m all done for the summer.” Eva gulped her milk and Gavin laughed.

  “I remember feeling like that, too; summer was always so far away, and it always went by so fast.” He chuckled. “So what grade will you be in next year? High school?” He smiled at her shocked face.

  “No, Uncle Gavin.” She giggled. “I’m only in second going. I’ll be in third next.”

  “Wow, a third grader, already? You are growing up so fast; soon you’ll be running off and getting married.” He winked at her.

  “No, I need a boyfriend first.”

  “Whoa, boyfriends? No boy will ever be good enough for my favorite girl.” He stood up, kissed her on the forehead, grabbed her empty plate along with his own, and walked them over to the sink.

  “You’re so silly, Uncle Gavin.” Eva carried her empty cup over to the sink.

  “I’ll take care of those; you two get going on your ride,” Talia said as she came back into the kitchen.

  “Are you sure? I really don’t mind.” He began to rinse the dishes.

  “Yes, I’m sure. You two go on. Come give Grammy a hug.” Talia leaned down to Eva. “Be careful love and make sure you listen to Uncle Gavin.” She squeezed Eva and watched her run to the back door.

  “Yes, Grammy, love you.” Eva opened the door.

  “You be careful, too, and be careful with my girl,” she said with a knowing look.

  “I will, with both of them.” He smiled at her.

  “Make sure you go see your father at some point, too.” She kissed him on the cheek as she gave him a hug.

  “Yes, Ma’am.” He smiled and ducked out the door behind Eva.

  ***

  Gavin and Eva spent the morning riding their horses to the edge of the farm and ended up at the lake for lunch. They sat there and had lunch; they talked about everything and nothing. It continued to amaze him how much he actually enjoyed spending time with Eva. He hadn’t thought he would be good with kids, but Eva made it so easy to love her. She was so much like Audree back when she was little. Eva was so very easy to be around and so knowledgeable about all things farming, ranching and, not surprisingly, even the farm equipment. She had told him,
unlike Audree’s love for horses; Eva wanted to work the cattle ranch side more than anything, the best of worlds, working with the cattle and riding her horse.

  “Well, little lady, are you ready to get a move on?” Gavin picked up the picnic stuff that Talia had packed for them and stood up.

  “Yes, siree.” Eva stood and dusted her bottom off. “We have to take Momma and go swimming in the lake. We come here to go swimming all of the time.” She threw a rock into the water and skipped it.

  “Whoa, who taught you how to skip rocks like that?”

  “My daddy,” Eva said a little more solemnly.

  “You miss your daddy, don’t you?” He stood next to her and tossed his own rock into the water.

  “Yeah, but I’ll see him for the whole month of July.” She turned to Gavin. “Why doesn’t your daddy like my momma?” The question completely surprised him.

  “Why would you say something like that?” Gavin turned around with her, and they made their way back to the horses, where she waited for him to lift her up onto her saddle.

  “I heard him yelling at her then Uncle Travis made me wait in the store with Mr. Gibbs while he went out and got her. He yelled at your daddy, and then we left without bringing home the stuff Momma had in the cart.”

  “Oh,” Gavin said, getting onto his own horse next to Eva. “I don’t really know how to answer your question; I’m going to have to sit down with your momma and your Uncle Travis and see what happened and then see what your momma wants to tell you,” he explained honestly, as they started to ride.

  “So, because I’m a kid you are not going to tell me,” she sighed.

  “I didn’t say that, Eva. I made you a promise, years ago, that I would never lie to you, and that I would answer anything you asked, within reason,” he clarified the last part.

  “Uncle Gavin, do you love Momma?” she asked, without skipping a beat.

  “Of course, I love you and your momma,” he answered honestly.

  “You need to tell her that you are in love with her,” she said and galloped away leaving Gavin to catch up with her.

  “Eva, you are only eight.” He chuckled, trying to relieve the tension he was feeling in his chest. “What do you think you know about what love is?” he asked after he’d galloped to her side.

  “I can read. I’ve watched princess movies, TV, and my grandparents are very much in love with each other. They stare at each other, smile, and touch each other all the time. Daddy and Marissa, they love each other and do the same thing. You and Momma do that, too, when you think no one is looking.” She laughed. “I told Momma yesterday that you look at her the way Grandpa looks at Grammy, not the way Uncle Travis looks at Trudy.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Sounds like you don’t like Trudy.” Better this than the subject of Audree and him.

  “Have you met her yet?”

  “No, I haven’t. Uncle Travis never brought her with him when he visited me and when I came here, she was never around.” Gavin shrugged, like it was normal that he hadn’t met his brother’s soon to be wife. Gavin stayed away from home as much as possible and Travis showed him pictures of her; she seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t place her. He didn’t think he had ever actually met her; at least he didn’t think he had.

  “That’s just weird,” she said, shaking her head. “You’ve never met the girl your brother is going to marry.” She looks over at him. “She lives right down the road from us. I don’t know how you could have missed her.” Eva giggled, shaking her head.

  “Eva, what do you mean, she lives down the road from you?”

  “Trudy is Mr. Meager’s daughter. They are the farm next to Grandpa’s, the one with the huge house and stable.” She didn’t see Gavin’s eyes glaze over and his face go pale. “She seems kind of spoiled to me. Like the snotty girls on TV that everyone doesn’t like, but are afraid to say so. I don’t know why Uncle Travis is marrying her. She doesn’t seem to be very nice to him and hardly ever comes to visit with him.” She shrugged again. “Want to race back to Grammy and Grandpa’s? Momma is probably still there.” She didn’t wait for him to answer and tapped her horse’s sides, taking off—away from Gavin.

  “Hey, Eva, wait up.” He woke from his stupor and chased after her.

  “You are an amazing rider, Audree,” Scotty said with a smile from his seat on the horse next to her, as they rode behind Ruby and Harry.

  “Thank you, I’ve been riding since I was a baby. I have pictures of my parents riding horses with me in one of those baby carriers strapped to their chests. Of course, one of my grandmothers thought it was too dangerous, but my dad said that, if I was going to be a farmer’s daughter, I was going to be taught all of the ins and outs of being one.” She laughed when he smiled at her.

  “Well, you make a lovely farmer’s daughter.” His smile widened when she blushed.

  “So, you are from Washington? I know you went to school with Travis and now you are trying to start up a business; what else can you tell me about yourself?” She felt stupid asking the question, but he seemed like a very nice guy and, since the guy she wanted kept pushing her away, she would take Ruby’s advice and not close the door to other options.

  “Well, I am the youngest of three. I have an older brother and sister. They are both married and living back home. My parents have been divorced since I was seven; both are remarried and are much happier. I have a brother and sister from each of them. My mom is still in Washington and my dad is in Virginia. I met Harry our freshman year in school and Travis, junior year. I guess, because of your daughter, you transferred back here to finish school, which is why we never met.” He looked over at her.

  “Yeah, Eva was quite the surprise my sophomore year. I couldn’t be that far away from her, so I transferred back here and don’t regret it one bit,” she stated truthfully. She loved Eva and was happy with her decision to keep her; her one real regret was that Eva didn’t belong to Gavin. She loved Brooks and they were still very close; he was still one of her best friends, but she had always secretly wished she had gotten pregnant with Gavin’s baby. Maybe then, he would have stayed with her or, at least, she would have a piece of him with her, always. Gavin was still very adamant about the condoms, so there was very little possibility of that ever happening.

  “I didn’t mean to offend you. I think it is great that you have a kid. Travis talks about you guys all the time, I’m glad we have finally been able to put a real person with the pictures and stories. He is wild about Eva; he loves her a lot.”

  “He actually offered to marry me before, and again after, she was born. Eva’s dad moved back to the west coast after school.” She laughed at the memory of how nervous Travis had been when he told her that he would marry her and take care of Eva like she was his own. As much as she loved Travis, there was no way she was going to marry him, or anyone else, just because she had a baby. Besides, she’d still had her heart set on Gavin.

  “Her dad is still a big part of the picture?” He sounded almost disappointed. “That is a good thing. My dad kind of wigged out after the divorce and disappeared for about six months. Travis said Eva’s dad is a good guy and you guys have a great relationship.”

  “Travis sounds like an old washerwoman, talking over the clothes line,” she said tightly then giggled when he laughed.

  “You guys are his family, and he loves you very much.”

  “Yes, Brooks is still very much involved in Eva’s life. He’s one of my best friends, and I love him dearly. We just weren’t meant to be more than friends, and we both knew it. We have Eva and …”

  “And then, there is Gavin.” He turned back when she stopped her horse.

  “Gavin and I are not together.” Audree cringed when she said it.

  “Oh, well, I thought … the way he was looking at you and the way he was dancing with you, I …”

  “Gavin has never asked me to be his…” Well, anything, she thought sadly. As she moved her eyes away from Scotty, she saw Eva riding
toward them from over Scotty’s shoulder.

  “I got the impression that….”

  “Gavin has made it quite clear we cannot be together,” she interrupted, almost too quietly for him to hear, but she knew he had.

  “Are you okay with that? I’d like to take you out sometime.” He took out his cell phone. “Put in your number and I’ll call you and ask you out properly.” He held the phone out, almost like a dare. He watched her as she looked over his shoulder at Eva then saw as Gavin appeared next to her. Audree took the phone from his hand, pushed the buttons, and handed him back the phone just as the two horses and their riders arrived at their side.

  “Momma, we had such a good time,” Eva shrieked, out of breath. “We rode out to the lake and had a picnic and Uncle Gavin promised to take me fishing,” she said excitedly. “Who are you?” she asked Scotty.

  “Eva,” Audree said, reproachfully.

  “Excuse me.” Eva ducked her head. “Hello, I’m Eva Edwards.” She guided her horse so that she and her horse were next to Scotty and she offered her hand.

  “Hello, Eva, I’m Scotty,” he said and shook her hand. “I’m a friend of your Uncle Travis.” He looked down at her horse. “That is a beautiful horse and you are a great rider, just like your mom.”

  “Thank you.” She ran her hand through the horse’s mane and patted its neck. “Uncle Gavin gave me Star for my birthday last year. Isn’t she wonderful?” She turned and beamed at her Uncle Gavin.