Mail Order Farmer

by Marie Johnston

  “I’m his fiancée, yes.” Dalisay scooted around her to wash her hands. In the mirror, she made out the woman’s nametag. What a surprise. Trina. Defensiveness lined her spine. “And I don’t think his family’s crazy.”

  Trina raised her brows like she knew better. “They might be hiding it until it’s too late. I wasn’t surprised he had to go so far away from home to find someone.” Her smile turned smug. “We used to date. He wanted more, but I turned him down.”

  Dalisay inhaled a measured breath. She wasn’t a fighter, nor was she nasty. But her parents raised her to think for herself and go after her goals. She was in America because she was going after what she wanted and happened to find a man she desired to spend her life with along the way.

  School and the commute were bothering her enough. Another woman tampering with her relationship? There was enough to deal with.

  She dried her hands and spoke as clearly as possible. She wouldn’t let her accent be another reason for Trina to think she was better. “You met his parents?”

  Trina’s expression turned guarded. “No.”

  “You’ve met his brothers?”

  “Nick and Jake—Jackson.” She clenched her jaw. “No, I haven’t met them.”

  “He prefers Nicolas. They’re very polite young men. They each take a night and cook. Did you know that?”

  Trina’s eyes narrowed. She was on to what Dalisay was doing. Good.

  “I don’t understand why you’ve judged them if you haven’t even met them.” Dalisay stepped around Trina toward the door.

  “Be careful. Or the Walkers will control your life so much, you’ll end up unhappy, with no skills, that you have to move back in with your grown child and do nothing with your life.”

  Ouch. That hit close to home. But it wasn’t in Dalisay’s nature to cower. To be shy—yes. Meek? Often. To be a coward—not today. “Lori Walker has raised a man who runs a sizable business and cares for his family. I’ll be proud to call Nicolas and Jackson brothers. And before you target his dad, I’ll let you know that Aaron can’t get him to quit working in his retirement. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my family.”

  She slipped out the door, refusing to make a scene.

  She almost ran into Aaron, who grabbed her by the shoulders. “I was just coming to make sure you found your way all right. What was I thinking? How could you get lost in a small-town bar when you used to navigate Manila at night?”

  Trina stormed past them, her head down.

  Aaron paled. “Did something happen?”

  Someone else left the bathroom, but Dalisay didn’t look. A woman guffawed. “I’ll say something happened. That was a solid burn on Trina.”

  Abbi waddled by, her pregnant belly on display with a shirt that said “Time To Pop.” She nailed Aaron in the shoulder with a fist. “She’s like your dog’s gas. Quiet, but deadly.”

  Abbi disappeared around the corner and Aaron raised a brow. “Wanna tell me what that’s all about?”

  That she couldn’t take any more insecurity about how this marriage was going to work? No. “If I don’t show that I take our relationship seriously, no one else will. I’ll just say that Trina will now, too.”

  He grinned. “Good. She can play her games with someone else.” His gaze dipped to her mouth. “Wanna head home?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  They bounded through the snow and into the house. Aaron shuttled Daisy in first and quietly shut the door behind them. Seeing her go from bashful, nerve-ridden fiancée to ferocious, overprotective, and ready to throw down had him tied in knots.

  She’d talked to him about her possessive streak and how it had only gotten worse after her ex’s unfaithfulness. Aaron wasn’t ashamed to admit that he relished it. Was that bad? After so many years of women fleeing from him, using him only for a good time, he was engaged to a woman who’d stand up for not only him, but his entire hot mess of a family.

  As if she sensed him thinking about her, she glanced at him over her shoulder as she hung her coat up. He was going to toss his on the floor, but he made the extra effort to be tidy. It’d become such a habit, he’d have to consciously work to break it, and point out to the others how they’d let things slide.

  Her expression was as steeped in primal need as his. The last week of keeping his hands to himself had been a special form of hell. Worse were the constant questions: Did she want him again? Would she ever be comfortable enough to have sex under the same roof as his parents? They hadn’t done more than hold hands around Mari.

  Her gaze strayed to the entrance of the basement.

  He grabbed her hand and they tiptoed past the opening. Nothing but the TV emanated from downstairs.

  Daisy suppressed a giggle and they darted around the corner, past the kitchen, to the hallway. She stopped, and he bumped into her.

  “What’s wrong?” he whispered. He hadn’t snuck a girl into his house—ever. But this felt like a whispering moment. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin the mood.

  “Which bedroom are we going to?”

  He crept closer to her and pushed her hair behind one ear. “I want to be with you in our bed.” What if she wanted to wait until they were officially married? “That is, unless you want to wait. I mean we just—”

  She towed him toward her door. Thank goodness. He would’ve waited, willingly, as happily as he could’ve, but his body was primed for her. The silk of her skin, her breathy moans—he would’ve resorted to cold showers.

  The second they crossed into the room, he butted the door shut and swept her into his arms. Their mouths clashes, and their hands fumbled with shirts. She deftly undid the buttons on his shirt and shoved it down his shoulders. He abandoned his attempt to lift the hem of her long sweater and shrugged his top off the rest of the way.

  She whipped her own shirt off.

  His breath gusted out. “Aw, now that’s a sight I’ve been wanting to see.”

  Her greedy gaze drank him in. “Same here.”

  They each fiddled with their own pants until they were shed. He couldn’t wait for her to take off her underclothes.

  His mouth was back on hers and she was in his arms with her hands in his hair, and her legs wrapping around him. His cock was cocooned between them and for now, it was almost content. She was going to be his again.

  The bed hit the back of his legs and he plopped down. Scooting back, he held her to him.

  He laid down. The vision before him was staggering. Her hair was draped over both shoulders, her legs straddling him, her eyes full of desire and promise.

  “I wish I could tell you how beautiful you are.”

  She trailed a finger down to his navel. “You do. In so many ways. You make me feel special.” She blinked like it was a realization. “I can’t believe we found each other.”

  He caught her hand and nibbled on her palm. “But we did. I’ll find you wherever you are.”

  A sly smile curved her lips. She tilted her head, and her smile faltered. “Tonight was…nice.”

  “Next time will be more fun, I promise. Fewer people and less chaotic. And I’ll try not to talk shop with Lucas all night.”

  She unhooked her bra. His erection twitched in anticipation. “I like watching you talk farming.”

  The bra slipped off and dangled in her hand. He hardly noticed, his gaze riveted to her pert breasts. He skimmed his hands up her sides to cup one in each hand. Lush, warm, a balm to the part of him that had stressed over being separated from her.

  She leaned over him, her hands landing on each side of his head. Her hair hung over them like a privacy curtain. Her position was the only thing that could coax his hands off her breasts. He threaded his fingers under the waist of her panties and she helped him get them off.

  Her hot sex landed on his straining cock. He groaned. She rocked and closed the gap between them to kiss them.

  With one hand, he fumbled for the drawer handle. He’d stocked the end table with condoms, hoping he wasn’t
being too presumptuous, but dreading an interruption of any kind if he was fortunate to be with her.

  She stilled, her mouth frowning against him.

  “Condom,” he said against her lips. They hadn’t had the “do you want kids” talk yet, other than to say they each wanted kids. The process of getting married loomed before them and it was unspoken that they wanted to wait until they cleared that hurdle before broaching the topic of when and how many.

  Her pelvis rubbed against his and another moan escaped. He’d come if she did that again. Skin on skin. The sensation was unparalleled, just like the angle with him.

  He rolled the condom on before she offered to do it. Same fear of climaxing too soon.

  Moving her hands to his chest, she used him for leverage to lift herself onto him.

  “Don’t you need me to— Ohhhh.” No. She was wet and eager for him.

  How’d he get so lucky with his flower?

  ***

  Daisy forced her lungs to fill as she seated herself over Aaron’s shaft. From this angle, she needed to adjust for his size.

  She rocked her hips, and they both hissed. Her belly clenched. She wanted to relish the experience. They’d have more, but this was their first time in months and it was gooood.

  She’d been ready to sink onto him without protection. Glad he was thinking clearer. As much as she wanted to be a mom, she wanted time with her man. Time to be a wife, time to settle into the country, time to learn who Daisy Walker was as Dalisay Calamba Cortez slipped into her subconscious.

  Sliding up, she paused and met his gaze. His lips were parted, like hers, his knees braced behind her. The descent onto him was bliss. Her walls pulsed around him so hard her abdominal muscles were going to be sore.

  “Aaron,” she gasped.

  “I’m here, my flower. Just don’t stop.”

  Rocking up, she did as he asked and rode him. His hands were all over her, his rough fingertips setting nerve endings on fire. He palmed a breast in each hand and she slammed her hands over his. She dropped her head back and picked up the pace.

  His breathing quickened, as did hers. Coiling tighter and tighter deep inside, the erotic pressure built. She didn’t want it to end, wanted to ride the precipice. She wanted the validation that this was real—and was going to last.

  His grunts mingled with her moans. She bit her lower lip to keep herself quiet. Her ass slapped against his thighs, and he crunched his torso up as he ground into her. His erection thickened and, oh god, that was all she could take.

  With the quietest shout she could manage, she turned herself over to her orgasm. Her body shook in Aaron’s grip. He shuddered underneath her, gritting her name between his teeth. Her pleasure continued until Aaron sprawled flat. She collapsed onto him.

  His chest rose and fell, but he welcomed her, his arms clasping her against him.

  “I think we both needed that,” he murmured in her ear.

  She giggled and stroked his chest. Yes to the release, but a resounding yes to being intimate with him.

  He adjusted her until she was cozied underneath a blanket, then disappeared for a minute to dispose of the condom. When he curled back around her, she fully relaxed for the first time since she’d arrived.

  “What’s it going to be like?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” His voice rumbled through her back. The night before he’d left Manila, they’d talked like this. It flew to the top of her favorite things to do list.

  “Our wedding? You said we’d go to the courthouse and have a big celebration after.”

  He swirled lazy circles with his finger on her hip. “It’s your wedding, too. So…whatever you want it to be like.”

  She smiled, grateful he was behind her and couldn’t see how it must be laced with sadness. Ina.

  “I mean, you pick the dress you want. As fancy or as plain as you want. We’ll pick music to dance to that we both like, and if you meet anyone in town that you want to invite, you know you don’t have to ask me.”

  “When is it going to happen?” Part of her wanted it to happen now. The other part whispered that there was no rush. Other than the time limit before her visa expired, she was here, Aaron was here, and all was well.

  “I’ll be honest, I would marry you tomorrow. But to have the reception with semi-decent weather, the dance hall had an opening that I booked at the end of March. We can change it, but it would also be at the start of planting season. Any later and I’ll be in the fields, any earlier and we risk a spring blizzard canceling everything.”

  About a month and a half from now. “And until then? What do I do?”

  “Whatever you want. Look at nursing programs and decide where you want to go.”

  Her world dimmed a few shades. “I…don’t know if that’ll work out like I thought.” She told him about her conversation with Justin and Caleb.

  He stroked her arm. “We’ll figure something out.”

  She didn’t reply. The information had sunk harder than she’d thought.

  He nudged her until she rolled to face him. Tears burned the back of her eyes. Despite her own internal warnings, she’d gotten her hopes up about going back to school.

  Ina had moved her old textbooks to the home she was working in. Dalisay had almost packed them whether they were useless in her new curriculum or not.

  Only now there wouldn’t be any more school.

  She blinked hard to keep tears from gathering in her eyes. It wasn’t Aaron’s problem. He had his own job; he supported so many others. He didn’t need to worry about her.

  She forced a smile. “I can check it out while you’re working. If you don’t mind me using your computer.”

  “What’s mine is yours.”

  He was growing hard between them again. Her gaze dipped down, not that she could see anything in the dark.

  He flipped her to her back and spread out over her. “I know I need to be heading back to my own room soon, but… We have time, right?”

  She shouldn’t care whether his parents knew they were sleeping together already. They were adults. But she was the one hanging around them all day. The girl he’d brought to America. Aaron never pushed it. He sensed her desire for discretion.

  She cradled him between her legs. She’d take as much time with him as she could.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dalisay crossed her legs on the couch and faced out the four-pane picture window. Snow fell, the flakes in spiky clusters. There was an inch on the ground and it was supposed to be on and off flurries all day.

  Then the wind was supposed to pick up.

  The end of February sucked as bad as the beginning of the month.

  She pressed her lips together and forced herself back to the conversation with Ina. The time difference and Ina’s schedule interfered with planning calls, but really, it was all around Ina’s schedule. Because Dalisay certainly had nothing going on.

  Ina chattered about the latest house gossip. The couple she worked for had met like Dalisay and Aaron. The wife was a few years older than her and the husband was an expat of the United States and about the age of Aaron’s dad.

  “What does she do all day?” Dalisay asked.

  Ina clucked. “She raises the kids. Believe me, they give her enough to do.”

  Dalisay smiled. At times like this she could see the appeal of immediately starting a family, just for the benefit that’d she’d have something to do and someone to talk to. Then she’d be well on her journey of turning into her aunt.

  Aaron was gone all day. He worked in his shop, he was on the road hauling grain or equipment. Cash would call, needing help with the cattle now that he had a newborn baby boy to attend to. Abbi was recovering fine, but Dalisay hardly saw her.

  She’d hear Aaron and his dad talk. Abbi had Elle or Kami to help her out. Brock’s wife was friendly and always willing to lend a hand, but the couple kept a low profile. Josie wasn’t one to call and invite her over. And Dalisay didn’t know any of them well enough to beg
them to come visit.

  Beg. She was ready to.

  Aaron’s brothers managed to never be home, but Dalisay hadn’t left the house for an entire week.

  Don’t worry. I picked up groceries while I was in town.

  Yeah, the roads are icy, but spring’s around the corner.

  I did the dishes before I left so you don’t have to.

  She did laundry and straightened the mudroom. Aaron bugged the others to help. Nice gesture, but she nearly told him to shut his mouth.

  Nicolas and Jackson had their cooking nights. She dominated the other evenings, learning to cook some of their favorites. Once in a while, she’d venture down to ask Lori questions about recipes—and make sure she was still alive.

  Ina could run, swim, and bike circles around Lori, and it was sad. They were about the same age, but the life behind Lori’s eyes was that of an eighty year old.

  No, that wasn’t correct, either. Agnes, Aaron’s grandma was livelier than Lori, too. Dalisay had met her last weekend. Her one and only outing in the last two weeks.

  The visit had been…good. Agnes was polite, curious, and couldn’t say her name at all. She’d asked several questions about Dalisay and her family, and then had trapped Aaron for an hour talking about the farm and planting plans for the spring.

  Dalisay had tried not to zone out. Her phone had been a siren call to mindlessly scroll through it while Aaron and his grandma were engrossed in soybeans versus canola. She hadn’t wanted to be rude, and had sat and listened while suppressing her yawn.

  “Dali,” Ina cut in. “Did you hear me?”

  “Sorry. What’d you say?”

  “I asked how it was really going. Each time I call, you’re less and less excited. Today, you’re nearly despondent.”

  She’d picked up on it? It wouldn’t do to have Ina worry about her. “It’s the weather. I like the snow, but it’s so limiting.”

  “For everyone, or just you?”

  Of all the times to be astute. “I can’t drive yet, and if I did, I don’t have a vehicle.” She could use Lori’s car, but no license. “Then I’d have to brave the roads. They’re all used to it.”