by Taylor Lee
Gazing at the woman that he loved more than anything in the world, he wasn’t surprised at the moisture stinging the backs of his eyelids. They were grateful tears. How could they be anything else? He slipped into a deep sleep, his last conscious thought was that today he would make Annika his wife. He then had a lifetime to love her the way she deserved to be loved. The thought was a joyous one.
Chapter 8
After a grueling workout in the state of the art training center, Jake and Nate headed for the terraced patio where the rest of the wedding party had assembled for breakfast.
Nate marveled. “Damn, I thought the studio in my cabin was high end. When’s the last time you saw fifteen different machines plus a regulation ring in a ‘home’ gym? Hell, this setup rivals the multi-million dollar facility I wrangled the city into building next to the precinct. I wanted to take away my fat-assed cops’ excuse that they couldn’t work out because it was too cold. Hell, when it’s below zero, five months out of twelve, weather can be a convenient excuse to lard up like the grizzly bears do in a long hard winter.”
Glancing at the dark-haired muscled man striding alongside him, Nate added appreciatively, “That was some sparring we did, bro. Thanks. I’m not accustomed to being evenly matched with an opponent. You remind me of Sam in terms of flat out fucking skill. Only, both you and I have at least twenty pounds on Hollywood. You ought to spar with him sometime, Jake. Among his many attributes, the guy is a nationally ranked MMA fighter. I’ve done a bit of ring scrapping myself and when it comes to brute strength I can take him. But as for finesse, he beats me coming and going.”
Jake laughed. “Yes, I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of underestimating the lean machine that lives inside that impressive dude. Don’t know when I’ve fought a more accomplished fighter and come closer to having my ass kicked by a guy that I gotta outweigh by thirty pounds.”
Jake whipped the towel from around his neck into the bin. “You know, Nate, if you want to see an accomplished warrior, not to brag, but you should take a gander at my wife. It’s unlikely that Lexie can take you down. But, I promise you when you finish a round with her, you will know why you never want to go up against a Chinese trained fighter unprepared—particularly if she studied for twenty years under Master Wan Fong. I’ve worked with her on some additional moves to make up for the fact that she weighs 120 pounds soaking wet. I can tell you, twenty minutes in the ring with her and the term ‘pussy-whipped’ takes on new meaning.”
Nate whistled. “Forewarned is forearmed. Yeah, bro, I’ve heard about that accomplished wife of yours. Hard to believe that someone who looks like she could grace the cover of Vogue magazine is a world class fighter. But then, looking at the women that you and the rest of us badasses have managed to lasso, lucky doesn’t begin to describe us. I’m grateful we had this opportunity to meet, Jake. The best news is that if the relationship between Erin and Lexie keeps going the way it appears to be, we’re gonna have the opportunity to hook up on a regular basis.”
Jake stopped and placed his hand on Nate’s arm. “Let’s be clear, Nate, that lovely wife of yours is an angel in disguise. If she does decide to back Lexie to the extent they are discussing, you and I are gonna get to step back and watch a miracle in the making.”
Taking advantage of the distance from the assembled group that by the sound of their laughter and chatter were enjoying the crisp morning, Nate turned to Jake.
“Can I ask you something, bro? You knew my cousin in the sandbox. What’s your read on how he’s doing?”
Jake motioned for them to move over next to a hedge of fragrant Texas sage blooming with tiny lavender flowers.
“Yeah, man, I knew your cousin, mostly by reputation, but we did have the opportunity to work a couple of parallel missions. I’ll tell you, brother, what you already know. Your cousin is a fucking hero. Christ, dude, he feels like things turned to shit over there, but his actions prevented a fucking bloodbath. Saved countless lives including a house full of Afghani women and children.”
Nate ran his hand through his carelessly coifed chin-length hair.
“I know that, bro, and so does everyone else, including most of the families of the guys who were killed. Unfortunately, the guy who went in first was one of Luke’s and my best friends. We went from kindergarten through high school together. Luke’s the reason that Chad joined the Rangers.”
Jake scrubbed at the beard shadow decorating his chin. “That’s tough shit, man. Not an easy one to get over. Especially for a guy as righteous as your cousin. All I can tell you is that you and Sam have worked a miracle involving his physical recovery. The intel I heard is that it’s a fucking miracle that he isn’t chair-bound and sucking his dinner through a straw. Fuck, except for that cane the guy looks almost whole.”
“Yeah, between Sam and me, we didn’t give him a chance to become a cripple. It wasn’t easy. The guy didn’t care if he died, much less walked again. In the beginning, the biggest problem we had was keeping him from triple-sixing himself.”
Nate pointed his finger up under his chin acknowledging the time honored gesture for self-inflicted homicide.
Jake nodded. “Your cousin owes you and Sam plenty. I know he knows that. You’re just going to have to give him time, Nate. Luke’s a soldier. Through and through. He’s tough to the bone. Time is going to help. Sam told me that you’re wrangling a position for him as Sheriff of the county you guys work in.”
“Yeah, I am. Luke was a cop before he signed up. When the current sheriff announced his retirement, it was easy to talk the county into offering Luke the job. The hard part is getting him to accept it. He insists that the good people of Eagle County deserve more than a crippled sheriff who drinks too much and belongs in a cell—not putting other assholes there.”
Jake pressed his lips together in a firm line. “That’s hard, man. Don’t give up on him. If I can help in some way, let me know. Your cousin is more than worth saving.”
Nate let the heavy silence settle for a moment then huffed out a sigh. “I got another question for you, bro.”
Gardner shrugged. “Shoot. What do you need, dude? Can’t imagine that I can do anything for you, or your cousin, that you and Sam aren’t already doing.”
Nate took a breath and nodded. “No, man, this one’s personal. It’s about Erin.”
Jake reared back, a surprised frown creasing his brow. Nate was gratified to see that the dude took him seriously.
“Hmm. That’s a different issue. How can I help?”
Nate sighed. “Erin’s pregnant.”
Jake jerked back, a smile lighting his face. He slapped Nate on the back, a congratulatory whack. “Hey, man, congratulations, that great news. Why the frown? I'm telling you, Nate, even if your kid brings you a third of the joy that my little sprite has brought me, it’ll be the best thing that ever happens to you and Erin.”
Nate nodded, not able to keep the disbelief out of his voice. “Yeah, so all you proud dads say. I’m coming to grips with the fact that we got a kid on the way. I’ll be honest. In the beginning the idea of bringing a kid into this fucked-up world scared the shit out of me. I’m working through that. Seeing you and that adorable heartbreaker of yours has helped. Christ, I’m even thinking it might not be the worst thing in the world if the little tadpole turns out to be a girl.”
Before Jake could begin waxing eloquently about the myriad accomplishments of his pride and joy, Nate broke in.
“I got a more immediate concern. This one gets to the heart of what I see as the downside of pregnancy.” Seeing the curiosity in Jake’s gaze and knowing that he’d already revealed himself, Nate shrugged and went for the jackpot.
“Dunno, bro, but you seem like you might share some of my proclivities.” At Jake’s questioning frown, Nate shrugged and added, “You know, man. When it comes to sex.”
Jake startled and then a knowing smile tugged at his lips. Nate was glad that the guy had the decency not to laugh but there was no mistaking the twinkle in hi
s eyes.
“Hmm. My sexual proclivities, huh? That’s an easy one, man. And yeah I get the vibe that whatever I say won’t shock you.” He tugged again at his chin as if considering. “Let’s see, my proclivities… How about down and dirty, hard and often, no holds barred? That about describe it?”
Nate breathed a sigh of relief and grinned. “Yeah, man. With a lot of bells and whistles that does about describe it.” His amusement died and he asked the question that had been killing him.
“I’m serious, Jake. I’m already freaked with the fucking pregnancy. Erin is about to put a hit on me if I don’t stop hovering over her. God it’s hard enough knowing all the bad things that could happen to her in the next six months. And yeah, you can think that I’m a selfish prick but one of the things that’s bothering me most is not being able to have my woman the way I’m accustomed to. Hell, bro, you and I both know you can only jerk off so often. After the sex I’ve known with that hot woman of mine it’s like scarfing down one of those fucking veggie burgers instead of chowing on porterhouse steak.”
Jake made a visible effort not to laugh. He nodded seriously.
“Ahh… I hear you, brother. You came to the right place. I can tell you without boring you with TMI, that you and I are more than brothers in arms. Hell, man, under ordinary circumstances, if I could, I swear I’d put Lexie in one of those plastic bubbles and take her out only long enough to feed her and fuck her. Pregnancy was not on my radar. When she threatened to cut off my prick if I didn’t stop hovering over her, I decided I would be the most well-read ‘father to be’ alive."
Nate frowned. “I don’t know, bro. I think I’m more in the market for practical hands-on advice, not book learning.”
Jake held up his palm. “Hear me out, Nate. As the proud owner of seventeen ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ manuals, I’ve become a fucking expert. Everyone thought I was just being over protective, more OCD than usual. You know needing to run the show, even if it was Lexie who was carrying the baby. Now, man to man, I’ll admit my dirty secret. The first thing I did with each of those books was to scan the table of contents for sexual position ‘do’s and don’t’s’ when your wife is pregnant. I finally found one written by a guy who’s as raunchy as I am. What I’m gonna tell you, man, will change your life. We had the best sex that we’d ever had when Lexie was pregnant. Seriously. She’s always been hot as hell but there was something so feminine, so ‘mother earth’ about her that with that miracle happening inside of her, I wanted her even more than I usually did. And in any and every way that I could. Thanks to ‘Raunchy Roger’ as I came to think of him, I learned that some of my favorite ways to take her were at the top of his recommended list.”
Nate frowned. “You’re not shittin’ me are you, man? Just so we’re on the same page, when I say I like it down and dir—”
“Say no more, man. Don’t wanna brag. But anything you can do, I can do–if not better, at least as well. I’m tellin’ you, brother, ‘Raunchy Roger’ opened doors to Lexie and me that we’re still walking through.”
Nate breathed a heavy sigh and let the relief he felt flood him.
Jake put his arm around Nate’s shoulder and chuckled. “I’d give you my copy, man, but it’s so dog-eared, it’s not much use.”
Nate guffawed. “Hell, just the title, man. That’s all I need. Besides no telling what’s all over that copy of yours.”
Jake roared. “You got that one right, brother. Every guy needs his own. To mark it up anyway that rocks your cock.”
~~~
Erin sighed watching Ana turn somersaults in the dewy grass oblivious to the grass stains she was getting on her size 2 bling-covered designer blue jeans.
Her shrill voce rang out.
“Watch this, momma. I’m a fighter, just like you.”
The delighted crowd of women and Sam and his father hooted in appreciation at Ana’s reasonably correct martial arts fighting stance. The fierce look on her tiny face brought approving sighs as well as laughter.
Erin hesitated then turned to Lexie whose eyes were shining with pride at her precocious child’s antics.
“Lexie, can I ask you something?”
Lexie glanced at her and shrugged. “Of course. What’s on your mind that’s put that frown on your face?”
Erin sighed. “You know that I’m pregnant. I’m sure it won’t surprise you that Nate has had a hard time getting used to the idea. He’s overprotective to a fault. God, you’d think I’m the first woman who ever got knocked up. I’m about to choke him if he asks one more time how I’m ‘feeling.’ ”
Lexie laughed. “That’s what happens, girlfriend, when you hookup with a man who’s accustomed to running the world. All of a sudden, the woman he loves has been taken over by something bigger than he is—much of which is out of his control. Not a comfortable reality for control freaks like your husband and mine.
Erin managed a small smile.
“You’re right, Lexie. Although, Nate is getting better. Last night I heard him bragging about teaching his son how to bag a deer, with a TenPoint Carbon Fusion Crossbow, no less. So if it’s Ted Nugent I want, I’ll have him. But now I’m worried what’ll happen if by chance the baby is a girl. We’ve decided not to find out the sex. I know how Nate feels about girls—they’re the only thing that frightens him. It would scare him to death if he knew we were having a girl.”
Lexie reached for Erin’s hand. “Tell me, girlfriend. Do you think that Jake, doting father extraordinaire, who has spoiled my child beyond anything that is acceptable, is unhappy that Ana is a girl?”
“Oh my goodness, no. He’s gaga over her. We’re all delighting in the fact that a two foot little heartthrob has that big tough guy of yours eating out of her hand.”
Lexie agreed. “You don’t know the half of it. I will only tell you that once Jake gave in to the fact that I was indeed pregnant, he began spending his time envisioning what he and his son were going to do. For six months he told the world about the son that he was having. Thirty seconds after the baby was born, and ‘he’ turned out to be ‘she,’ Jake was horrified, even angry at the suggestion that he might be disappointed. In his revisionist history that began ten seconds after Ana opened those big baby blues of hers and gazed at her papa, Jake declared anyone who thought that he’d wanted a boy was certifiable. As you can see, Erin, the only one who is nuts is Jake. Crazy as a loon over that little ‘Sprite’ of his.”
Chapter 9
Sam sucked in a deep breath, seeing his mother come down the aisle by herself. As expected, Margaret was gorgeous. She looked like a fashion model for an Oprah magazine spread on the art of looking fabulous at fifty. It was hard to believe that his mother was closer to sixty. But Sam didn’t dwell on her appearance; he was more concerned that she came down the aisle on the arm of an usher, alone. His father was nowhere in sight.
Sam nudged Nate, who was standing beside him. He needed to know if there were signs of trouble that he hadn’t been told about. Something that could have kept his father from coming in with his mother.
Keeping his voice to a low murmur, he asked, “Any idea where my Pops is, Nate? You’d tell me, bro, wouldn’t you? If something’s wrong?”
Nate’s grin was camera worthy.
“Relax, bro. Take a deep slow breath. I got a feeling your Pops wants to make an entrance.”
Sam tried to smile. “You’re probably right. He’s always been a showboat. Doesn’t like to share the stage.”
At that moment the strains of Pachelbel’s one and only canon drifted across the terrace. Sam’s chest tightened at the haunting notes signaling the imminent approach of the bride. He closed his eyes to prepare for the moment he’d see her. Opening them he allowed himself to survey the scene. The garden resembled a Christmas fairyland. In the early evening dusk, the sparkling lights on the trees competed with the emerging stars in the darkening sky. The sliver of a crescent moon peeked through the tall pines ringing the terrace. Hundreds of luminaries
lit the cobblestone walk between the rows of chairs. A bank of poinsettias in every color from stark white to deep royal red framed the arbor where Sam and Nate waited for the bride.
Erin had elicited oohs and ahhs when she came down the walkway. Her dark curly hair was piled high on her head, held in place by a crystal studded white orchid. Her slender red velvet sheath hugged her curvy body. The low-cut bodice displayed her ample décolletage. Sam didn’t need to look at Nate to know the pride and love shining in his best man’s eyes. Nate and Erin were Sam and Annika’s best friends. Having them standing beside them was a gift neither he nor Annika would forget.
The cello added emphasis to the melodic notes rising above the expectant audience alerting that the bride had arrived. Gazing up at the top of the stairs leading to the terrace, Sam saw his father. On the Chief’s arm was Annika.
Later Sam would remember thinking that if he looked like his father when he was sixty years old, he would be blessed. The tall dark-skinned man was fit, strong. Resplendent in a pin-striped tuxedo, his closely cropped grey hair underscoring his ebony eyes, Pops was the epitome of a handsome, imposing black man. It took Sam a full ten seconds to realize that his father was escorting his ‘bride to be’ to him. The magnitude of the gracious gesture brought tears to his eyes.
That was before he allowed himself to fully see Annika. He gasped at the sight. Nate’s low chuckle confirmed that his choked breath was audible. Annika looked as though she might have emerged from an icy horse drawn carriage in the snow covered Swedish Alps. A true Ice Princess in the grandest sense, she was a vision in white. Like Erin, Annika’s glorious golden curls woven with strands of sparkling stones were piled high on her head. The diamond pendant earrings he’d given her for an engagement present were her only jewelry. Taking in her dress, Sam tried to swallow but it was a fruitless task. The slender floor length strapless sheath skimmed over her body, highlighting every luscious hill and valley. A thigh high slit in the front of the dress revealed enticing glimpses of her beautiful legs and ankles. Sam didn’t have to wonder what was under her dress. He was certain a white lace garter belt was responsible for securing the silk stocking encasing Annika’s toned athletic legs. If she’d honored his request regarding her underwear she wouldn’t be wearing panties. Five-inch sparkling high heels added to her own height brought Annika almost to his father’s chin.
