“Hey there, princess,” I greeted, sweeping her up in my arms and spinning her around.
“Mom said you were going to show me the chickens,” Kellie told me.
“She did, did she?” I asked, settling Cassie on my hip and looking over at Kellie who was keeping her distance and biting her lip. “Well then, why don’t we put your bag inside and then we can all go see the chickens?” I suggested.
“Can Mom come too?” Cassie asked as I set her feet back down on the ground carefully.
“Absolutely,” I confirmed, shooting a wink in Kellie’s direction. “But first, can I introduce you to someone super important to me?” Cassie looked confused, so I kept going. “Cassie, this is my mom, Shelley.”
“Your mom?”
“Yep. My mom,” I confirmed.
Without waiting, Cassie strutted over to where Mom was hovering and stuck out her hand. “Hi. I’m Cassie Knight,” she announced proudly.
I could see Mom’s heart splitting right down the middle as Cassie strolled right in and took her place, front and center. Mom’s tears were brimming in her eyes, and I knew she wanted nothing more than to wrap Cassie in a hug and never let her go. I didn’t blame her at all. It’s the same thing I wanted.
“Hello, Cassie. I’m…” Mom paused and looked at me. “I’m Shelley.”
“Are they your chickens?” Cassie asked, focusing back on the damn chickens, not understanding the enormity of what just went down. The innocence of childhood. I wish we all still had it, and I hoped she never grew out of it.
“They are.”
“Are you going to show me?”
“I can do that,” Mom spluttered, trying to keep her emotions in check.
“I have an idea. Why don’t you two head over to the chicken coop, and Kellie and I will catch up,” I suggested, only for Kellie to shoot a look in my direction that had my balls shriveling up and retreating into my abdomen.
“Can I, Mom?” Cassie called out as she ran back over to her mother, looking up at her with huge, pleading eyes.
“Do you promise to stay with Shelley and not run off?” Kellie managed to splutter, and I saw how much strength it took for her not to fall apart. I had to give my girl credit. She was trying.
“I promise, Mom.”
Kellie looked at me, and I nodded. “All right then. But you hold Shelley’s hand and do exactly what she says.”
“I will,” Cassie replied so sassily I almost snorted. She was definitely her mother’s daughter. If I hadn’t thought so before, her sassy attitude just confirmed it.
Kellie stood beside me holding her breath, and we watched as my mom and our daughter walked across the yard toward the chicken coop, Cassie talked nonstop, and Mom hung on her every single word. When I felt Kellie reach for my hand, I didn’t say a word as she tangled her fingers with mine and squeezed so hard, I thought she was going to cut off the blood flow. This was a big, scary moment for Kellie, and I couldn’t even imagine all the thoughts and worries bubbling around inside her head.
When they rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight, I felt Kellie go stiff beside me.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “She’ll be okay,” I promised. When Kellie didn’t reply, I pressed on. “Let’s put her bag inside and then go find them.”
Kellie trailed along behind me, letting me lead her up the steps and through the door. The moment the screen banged shut behind us, Kellie dropped her bag and threw herself at me with the same reckless abandon Cassie had. When her lips slammed down over mine, I didn’t hesitate.
By the time we broke apart, we were both panting hard, and I was tenting my jeans, something Kellie didn’t miss.
“What was that for?” I asked breathlessly.
“I… I… I’m not sure,” Kellie admitted, trying to put distance between us, but there was no fucking way. Over my dead body was she running.
Picking her up, my hands found her ass as her legs wrapped around me. Pinning her between the wall and my body, I kissed along the column of her neck. Even if she couldn’t find the words, the way she was writhing against me told me everything I needed to know.
“Kellie,” I rumbled against her skin as I shifted my hips, making sure she knew the exact effect she was having on me.
Kellie blinked, trying to break out of the lusty haze we were caught in. After the other night, it was only a matter of time before we ended up here. Having Marianne catch us in Kellie’s bedroom was just like old times. And when she shook her head and told me I was too old to be climbing in and out of the window like I had when we were teenagers and I should just use the front door, we were both stunned. Back then, we’d thought we were being sneaky, but it turns out, Marianne wasn’t as easy to fool as we’d chosen to believe.
