Not that he thought that his parents wouldn’t do a good job with Harri.They had raised them when they’d been four.But she was his little girl, and he didn’t want to part with her.It had been okay when he dropped her off at her house with her mom, but to leave her behind with his parents was going to cause him anxiety.She was going to be staying from Friday evening when she got there from school until dinner time on Saturday evening when they all showed up for dinner.Nearly twenty-four whole hours.He had to pause what he was doing so that he could catch his breath.Putting his head between his knees was his next step, and he couldn’t believe he was getting this worked up over a stayover at his parents’ home.
“What’s the matter with you?”He told Anna what was going on, and she tsked at him.“I’m her mother, and I’m not getting as worked up as you are.Something must be wrong with you to be acting like it’s the end of the world.I’m not crying right now, and you shouldn’t be doing whatever it is thatyou’re doing.You’re not helping me.”
“I’m sorry.But I’ve never had to leave her before.”She said he should have seen her when she dropped Harri off at preschool the first few times.“I bet you were a mess.I don’t know how you’ve done it this long.”
“She’s growing up.And as much as I hate to admit it, she’s taking this a good deal better than we are.”That was true.She’d packed her little overnight case so that he could bring it to her after school.“I checked her bag for her, and the only thing she forgot was slippers.I’m very proud of her right now.”Then she burst into tears.“I don’t want her to grow up, damn it.She’s too little to be wanting to stay someplace overnight.”
“Not really.”He got glared at.“But really, she’s going to be staying with grandma more and more often, so we’re going to have to get used to her not being around us all the time.I can barely drop her off at her own house, and you’re there.What am I supposed to do when I take her to my mom’s and leave her?I’m not cut out to be a father.I want her all for ourselves.”
“That’s good though, right?It means that we love her a great deal.”Anna looked at him with pleading in her eyes, and he agreed with her.“Look at us.We’re a mess.And it’s only Friday afternoon.You’ll pick her up, take her to your mom’s, and I’ll be there when I get things finished up here.We have to be brave about this because if she thinks that she’s upsetting us, she won’t stay, and that won’t be good for any of us.Especially not your mom.She’s looking forward to this as much as Harri is.”
“I think my mom will understand.”Anna shook her head and said that they weren’t going to say a word about how upset they were.“You’re right.If Harri thinks that we’re not all right with this, she’ll never stay with someone again.And while that does have its merits, I don’t want to scar her for the rest of her life.”
“What if I told you that I had plans for us?”He said they’d have to be good plans.“They are.I want to jump your bones on Friday night.I know that we’ve been getting close with you staying over and all, but I thought that with Harri gone for the evening, we could have some fun too.We could console one another, too, while we’re at it.”
“Are you sure?I don’t want to pressure you into anything.”She promised him that she knew what she was doing.“Yes, I think I can leave her behind if I know that you’re going to be mine.But I don’t want to rush you into anything.”
“It’s my idea.So how is that you rushing me?Besides, we’ve been together for about two months now, and I feel like it’s the next step.I want you.However, I want you to know that I’ve not had sex in over five years, so keep that in mind when you make love to me.There’s been no one since Harry.”He told her that he was honored that she was ready for him.“I don’t know that I’m fully ready for anyone.Like I said, it’s been years since I’ve had sex.But I do want you in my bed and in my life.And the sooner that we get married, for Harri, I think things will go better for her as well.She’s asking if you’re going to be her daddy, and I don’t know what to say to her other than we’re working on that.Are we?Working on that, I mean?”
“I have a ring for you.”He pulled it out of his pants pocket and handed the box to her.“My Great Aunt on my mother’s side left it for me.Well, she left it for the second born to my mom.I think she thought I would be a girl.Anyway, it’s beautiful, but if you don’t like it, we can get you anything else you’d like.”She handed the box back to him, and his heart did a little hiccup.
“You have to do it right.”He got down on his knee and took her hand into his.“I don’t want a wedding.I had one of those, and I didn’t care for all the stress that went with it.Just let us get married at the justice of the peace, and that’ll be all that I need.All right?”
“Whatever you wish.”He kissed the finger that he was going to put the ring on and pulled the ring out of the box.“I hope this fits.It’s not really all that big.But here we go.Anna Gibson, mother of my daughter to be and love of my life, will you make me the happiest man on earth by consenting to marry me?I will take care of you and Harri and any other children that we have for the rest of my days and pamper you in all ways that you need.”
“Yes.I will if you would allow me to have your children and not treat my daughter like she’sany different than any other children that we might have.”He told her that it was easy.“Good.Then yes, I’ll marry you.”
Since she had the day off, they decided not to change their schedule.She’d gotten someone to trade with her today so that she could get some things done around the house.He’d been taking up most of the weekend, just hanging out with the two of them, and had been in the way of weekend chores.
“By the way, you don’t have to worry about your house being sold.I bought it yesterday.I was going to tell you, but I got sidetracked again.”She asked him why he’d do that.“I knew it was something that bothered you, and I thought that we seem to have enough room in this house for now, so why not just live here until we find something that we both like.Also, I know we have to take into consideration Harri when buying a house, and so I thought that we could go house hunting with her too.What do you think?”
“I think it’s a fantastic idea.”She looked at her watch, and he did the same with his phone.“You have to go back to work now.I was hoping that we could talk more.About tonight.”
“We’ll be fine, and if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t.We’ll both be fine.”She nodded but looked unsure.“You never said how the ring looked?Do you like it or not?”
“I love it.I was just thinking that it will go perfectly with the necklace that I have.It nearly matches the stones in it.I think your great aunt had excellent taste.”She showed it off in the bright sunlight.“You’d better get going before I forget the plans for tonight and try to seduce you now.I don’t know how good I’ll be at it, but it’s been a long time for me.”
He kissed her goodbye and was out the door before he could change his mind about going to work.He loved Anna very much and wanted to show her how much she meant to him.But like he told her, it would happen or not.It wasn’t going to change his love for her at all.
Getting back to work late, he was side-eyed by Earl.He wasn’t going to be captain for very much longer, as he had to lose some weight to pass the physical.He was taking it out on all of them, and so far, it had been Aaron who was running interference for them.
Just yesterday, he’d heard that he had to lose two hundred and fifty pounds just to get to a weight they could work with.Then they wanted him to lose at the minimum two hundred more pounds before he could be considered fit for the job.He had weighed in at over six hundred pounds.No wonder he only sat behind the desk anymore.He could barely walk around the place as it was.
It was his turn to go around the town in the cruiser, and for some reason, Earl thought it would be a good idea if two people rode around in it so that they looked good.He didn’t care; he got to ride around with his brother, Alaric, and they had a good time.It wasn’t often that the two of them would get to work together, and they both said that they missed that.
The day seemed to drag on, and he wished that he’d called off today.He didn’t have any reason that would sound good to the captain, but he really wanted out of the office.Just as he was going to pick up Harri, he realized that things were going to be different from now on and that he’d be with the girls in his family all the time.He only hoped that he didn’t have another meltdown to go with the one he’d had at lunch with Anna.It wasn’t too terribly manly to have to put his head between his knees like a little girl when something wasn’t going his way.He knew that he’d be fine; it was just getting out of the house with his dignity that was worrying him.His brothers would never let him live it down if he were to do something like that again.
~*~
Dinner was a hit as usual.LouCinda said that it had all been on Mac as she was going to be taking over the Saturday night meals.Anna thought that it was wonderful that she was handing over the job to someone who would be new to the family.She wondered if she should help out more around their home so that she could take over some of the traditions that had been going on for decades.Anna knew that she’d like that.
She was nervous.And on top of that, she was going to miss her baby girl when she wasn’t going home with them.Harri seemed to be having fun at the table with her uncles around.And when shecalled LouCinda, Grandma, it nearly made everyone at the table weep.They were becoming a family, and it was working out well for all of them.Now she just needed to get through tonight, and she’d feel better about everything.She shouldn’t have worried.As soon as they got into the house, he was pressing her against the door and taking her mouth.
They were tearing at one another’s clothing even as he made love to her mouth.It was greedy the way he was taking her, and she found that she didn’t mind at all.As soon as he pulled her pants down to her thighs, he dropped to the floor and took her pussy into his mouth.
“Yes!”It was all she could manage as she came right away.As soon as he sucked her clit into his mouth, she came twice more before she could get his cock inside of her.Even as they made love right there in the hallway, she knew that she was going to be his forever.“Take me, please.I need to feel your cock inside of me.”
“I want that too, but I’m loving the taste of you.”She told him that she wanted him again, and he stood up and slammed his cock deep inside of her.Even as she came three more times, she knew on some level that it wasn’t enough.There was more, and she wanted it right away.
