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Kylie drops her head back with a laugh. “Not the groove!”
What the fuck is she wearing? The thin straps look like they’re one shrug away from sliding down her shoulders. And then she reaches out for her mug of tea, and I almost curse out loud. The sides dip down low enough that it would be so easy to slide my hand around her rib cage and cup her generous tits. My cock begins to fill until my daughter’s voice acts like a bucket of cold water.
“Kylie!” London yells. She yanks my phone from my hands and starts talking a mile a minute. For once, it doesn’t annoy me because I need a second to get my dirty thoughts back under control. “Daddy and I were having a dance-off. I was winning, of course.”
I scoff. “We hadn’t even gotten to my turn yet.”
“You’d have won, Luddy. I have no doubt,” Kylie says, her voice full of warmth. London’s nickname came from her inability to say her name when she was learning to talk. Everyone thought it was the cutest, and the nickname stuck.
Gasping, I pluck my phone out of London’s hands. “Judas! You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Kylie’s face softens. “I’m always on your side, Gray.”
My chest pinches like usual when she looks at me like that. Her whiskey-colored eyes are warm through the screen, but it’s not the same as seeing them melt like that in person. Thankfully, she’s sitting at the breakfast bar now, so I can’t see her dress anymore. “How are you feeling?”
A few weeks ago, she had some abnormal bleeding and wound up in the hospital for a couple of days. It was just the latest in a long history of infertility issues. Her useless excuse of a husband, Chris, couldn’t be fucked to come home from his work trip to be with her, so I flew out to Seattle to stay until she felt confident things would be fine.
She’s a little over halfway through this pregnancy now. It’s the furthest she’s made it since she told me she was pregnant the first time on the dock all those years ago. I think that’s why this hiccup hit her as hard as it did. I still remember how fucking destroyed she was when she lost her first baby.
And the four miscarriages that came after have only torn her down even further. It’s been gut-wrenching to stand on the sidelines while she needs more support than I’m allowed to give her. I’ve been pushing those boundaries with this pregnancy. I’m tired of tiptoeing around the lines that propriety dictates.
For years, I’ve reminded myself that she has a husband who should be supporting her. This time, I’m not letting that bastard stand in the way of me being there for Kylie because he sure as hell isn’t doing jack shit to take care of her.
I live states away and have done more to be there for her than he has, and the fucker lives with her.
In the beginning, I thought it was my own jealousy that made me not like Chris. I’d been in love with Kylie for so long that it made sense that I wasn’t going to like the guy who ended up with her instead of me. But looking back, I know it’s because he’s a shitty man who has no idea how good he has it.
And also, I’m jealous as fuck.
“I’m feeling really good. I think getting past the halfway point has helped settle my anxiety a little.” Kylie looks tired, but her smile meets her eyes, so I believe she’s telling the truth.
“Is flying home still out?” I walk into the kitchen while London gets out her coloring books. She knows my conversations with Kylie can go on forever.
Kylie grimaces. “I don’t want it to be, but yeah, probably. I just can’t see my anxiety letting me get on a plane. Which means Mom won’t be with me when the baby arrives. As difficult as she can be, I still want her here.”
Kylie’s mom hasn’t left Pine Creek Falls since her dad passed away a few years ago. She barely leaves their house for longer than it takes to get groceries. And half the time, Kylie’s brother Jacob ends up bringing her groceries because their mom hasn’t ventured out to get them herself.
I can’t really blame her. If Kylie died, I’d be so grief-stricken I wouldn’t want to leave my house either.
“We’ll figure it out, Ladybug. Maybe I can drive her out to Seattle.” And selfishly, I could be there for the birth as well.
Kylie’s eyebrows shoot up. “You think she’d go for that?”
I shrug. “I don’t have a clue, but I could float the idea to Jacob. Maybe he could help convince her to come if she’s with us.”
“I won’t get my hopes up, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.”
“I’ll text Jacob later.”
“What are you and London up to today?”
I walk back into the living room and set my phone up on the table so Kylie can see both of us. We color and talk to Kylie for a while. It makes me sad that Kylie stays on the phone with us for hours while London and I go through our day. It’s only when I realize I haven’t finished editing some of the videos I filmed yesterday that we finally end our call.
When social media videos blew up, I started an educational page about my job as a farrier. What I thought would be me teaching people how to care for horses turned into a thirst trap with a side of education. Kylie makes fun of me for not realizing that women would salivate over my tattoo sleeves and cowboy hat, but I genuinely believed the only people who would watch would be in the equine industry.
What’s even crazier is that I make a decent living off social media. I made good money as a farrier because we have more horses than people in and around the Pine Creek Falls area, but the social media stuff has given me a comfortable life. I love being able to spoil London without worrying about bills or paying for the important shit.
It’s hard work, don’t get me wrong, but I enjoy editing the videos I take of my normal job. And I might’ve started leaning into the thirst trap aspect of things. I sure as hell am not getting any in real life, so the comments are a boost to my ego.
