Текст книги "Faithful"

Автор книги: Kelly Elliott

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 25 страниц)

“Mom—”

She held up her hand and shook her head. “Give me a second here to bask in this wonderful feeling.”

I smiled at Heather. Yep, she knows.

“I have waited for so long…for you to tell that bitch to take a hike! Oh. My. God! You don’t know how happy I am right now!”

My dad started laughing as my mom walked up to him. He held up his hand, and they gave each other a high five.

What the fuck?

I looked over at Heather, and she just shrugged her shoulders. I headed over to Heather, grabbed her hand, and walked her up to my parents, who were still laughing and celebrating.

“Jesus H. Christ, y’all. Did you really not like her that much?”

My mother turned around and let out a gasp. “Wait a minute. How did you know that was Lynda?”

I smiled.

My mother screamed as she grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. “Oh my god! Do you remember?” She pushed me away from her and looked me right in the eyes.

“Yeah, Mom…I remember everything.”

My dad took both my mother and me into his arms. He looked at Heather and smiled. “Baby girl, get your ass in this hug!”

Heather started laughing as she walked up. I pulled her in closer to me, and we just stood there, enjoying our group hug for a few moments.

“Hold everything! How did it come back? Heather, why do you have your dad’s car? What the hell is going on?” my mother rattled off.

Heather started to giggle. She looked at me and then over to my mother. “It’s kind of a long story, Elizabeth, but after Josh left our house this morning, I needed to tell him something…in person. We both forgot that I’d left my car here yesterday, so I took my dad’s car.”

“And while I was at my apartment, Victoria knocked on my door.”

My mother looked confused. “How did she know you were there?”

“I’m guessing she heard me last night when I was talking about heading into Austin to my place,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

After we explained everything, my mother smiled.

“How did you know where Heather would be?”

I shook my head as I looked at the love of my life. I noticed how she’d been hiding her left hand in her pants pocket or behind her back. “Ari told me.”

Heather shook her head and let out a laugh.

“Okay, so where the hell have y’all been the last few hours, Josh? I’ve been trying to call both of your cell phones. Your father and I have been a nervous wreck.”

I grinned as I held out my hand toward Heather. I glanced over toward my parents. “I’m so sorry y’all were worried. I took Heather back to Mason.”

“Mason?” both my parents asked at the same time.

“Yep. There was a certain spot I needed to take her to…so I could ask her to be my wife.” I lifted up her hand and kissed the back of it, making sure my parents could see the ring.

My mother started jumping up and down, and my father winked at me. The next thing I knew, my mom had Heather wrapped in her arms, and they were both crying. When I looked at my dad, he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

“Just go with it, son. They’re happy tears. They can turn that shit off and on like magic.”

My mother pushed Heather away and giggled. “And?”

Heather started shaking her head. “Um…and?”

My mother put her hands on her hips and looked between Heather and me. She raised her eyebrows at both of us.

“And…we wanted to go out to eat and celebrate tonight,” I said.

She slowly grinned, and then she winked at my dad. “Okay…dinner it is.”

My mom hooked her arm around Heather’s, and we made our way into the house.

Damn! I can’t wait to see her face when she finds out we’re pregnant!

We walked into Hut’s Hamburgers while Josh and his dad talked about the business. During the whole drive over, Elizabeth had talked my ear off about the wedding. She hadn’t asked yet when we wanted to get married. Thank God! I knew if I were to tell her as soon as possible, she would figure out I was pregnant.

She smiled at me. “I love the idea of a wedding on the beach.”

We all slid into a booth, and I sat across from Elizabeth.

“I do, too. I can picture it all in my head!” My stomach did flip-flops just from thinking about marrying Josh.

Josh reached down, grabbed my hand, and placed it on the table. When I glanced down at my beautiful ring, tears began building in my eyes. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I looked over and just stared at Josh as he talked to his father.

I love this man with every breath I take. I’m going to be his wife…and have his baby. Please don’t let this all be a dream.

Breathe, princess.

Josh turned to me. Leaning down, he whispered against my ear, “Breathe, princess.”

I smiled as I placed my right hand on my stomach. I could feel that my parents were with me. They were always with me, and I swore that my father would talk to me through Josh.

Josh kissed me gently on the lips. “I love you.”

“I love you more times infinity!” I said with a giggle.

“I love you just a little more than that.” He laughed as he turned to his parents. “Heather and I are getting tattoos.”

I choked on my water.

Elizabeth reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “Honey, are you okay?”

I looked at Josh. “What?” I can’t get a tattoo while I’m pregnant!

When I looked back at Elizabeth, she seemed like she was upset. “When? What are y’all getting?” she asked as she tried to smile.

Oh shit! Is she upset that I want to get one? Josh already has tattoos, so why would she be upset if I want one?

I grinned and shrugged before I glanced back at Josh.

“Well…we’re each going to get an infinity symbol on our right wrists. Isn’t that right, baby?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

Elizabeth just stared at me.

“Because our love is so strong, faithful, and never-ending. Right, babe?”

Why does he keep bringing me into this? I nodded again. “Ah…that’s right.”

“I see. Well, I love that idea,” Elizabeth finally said. “When will you be getting this done, Heather?”

Ah shit. Oh no! I tried to kick Josh with my foot.

Greg yelled out, “Ouch! What the hell? Which one of y’all just kicked me?”

Josh started laughing.

“Josh!” I said with pleading eyes.

“Not until after September seventh, Mom! Sorry, Dad. Heather kicked you.”

My jaw dropped open. How is he so calm when he’s about to tell them about the baby?

Greg looked at me. “Heather, why?” he asked with a laugh.

“I’m so sorry, Greg. I was trying to kick Josh. I guess my aim was off a bit.”

I looked over at Elizabeth, and she seemed confused.

“Joshua Hayes. Why do you have to wait until after September seventh? I’m at a total loss right now.”

Josh turned to me and smiled. I peeked up at his parents, so I could see their faces when they heard the big news.

“Well, the reason we have to wait until after September seventh is because…that’s when the baby is due.”

It took a few seconds for it to sink in for Greg, but Elizabeth immediately screamed out and then threw her hand up to her mouth.

“I knew it!” Elizabeth called out.

“What?” Josh and I both said at the same time.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, Heather…that first day you started throwing up, I knew. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew. Your skin was glowing, and you just had a look about you.”

I sat there, staring at her. How do these women know this shit? Is it like some gift God gives you after you have a child of your own?

Josh started laughing. “Mom, you knew Heather was pregnant? For how long?”

Elizabeth smiled and shook her head. She reached across the table and put her hand on mine. With the way she was looking at me, I couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“The day Heather decided to move in with us. I didn’t know for sure, but I had a feeling.” She winked at me.

“I’m so happy for both of you!” Greg said. He called the waitress over and asked for our check.

“Greg, we haven’t even ordered our food yet!” Elizabeth said.

“Shit, my son just told me I’m going to be a grandfather. I want steak and wine, damn it!”

By the time we made it back to Josh’s parents’ house, Greg and Josh were toasted. Elizabeth and I made our way into the kitchen as the guys went into the game room to shoot pool.

Elizabeth leaned up against the counter and smiled at me. She had been doing that all night, and it was starting to freak me the hell out.

“Let’s talk wedding. How soon?”

“Soon…as in, like, the next month.”

When Elizabeth began jumping up and down, I had to start laughing. I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket, so I reached for it and saw a text from Amanda.

Amanda: I know it’s late, but can I call you?

I sent her a text back, telling her to call me. I told Elizabeth about what was going on with Amanda and Brad and that everyone was worried about them both, especially since Amanda had gone to Brad earlier today and no one had heard from her.

My phone started ringing, and Elizabeth went to check on our drunk boys. I laughed before I answered the phone while stepping outside.

“Amanda? Are you okay? We’ve been worried!”

Amanda laughed. “Oh Jesus H. Christ, Heather! I’ve never been better!”

What? “Did you go and see Brad?”

“Yes, and I ran into his parents there.”

“Oh shit, Amanda! That couldn’t have turned out well.”

She laughed. “Actually, it was probably the best thing to happen. Brad pretty much told them to shove it, and we, um…we worked everything out. I mean, it’s going to be a rough road ahead and all, but I think we’re going to be okay!”

I could hear the happiness in her voice, and my heart swelled with love for them.

“Oh, Amanda! This makes me so happy. And the baby…he’s happy about the baby?”

She let out a sigh, and I could almost feel her smiling through the phone.

“Yes! I spent the whole day with him!” She started laughing. “I don’t think I was supposed to, but I did. I went to his sessions with him, we ate lunch and dinner together, and…well, let’s just say they all pretended not to notice when I went back to his room with him!”

“Amanda! You didn’t! Oh please, tell me y’all didn’t!” I started to giggle.

“Fuck yes, we did! Do you know how fucking horny I’ve been all day? I haven’t felt his touch in months. Oh, Heather, it was amazing. I don’t know if it was because of the amount of time we’ve been apart, the fact that I’m pregnant, or if it was the thrill of being sneaky.”

When Josh came outside, I sucked in a breath of air at the sight of him. He was giving me that big ole panty-melting smile of his as he stumbled over to me. I was guessing he’d had more to drink while shooting pool. I smiled as he attempted to sit down next to me. When he fell out of the chair, I let out a laugh.

He yelled, “Oh shit!”

“What the hell was that?” Amanda asked.

“Josh is drunk.”

“Have you told him?”

“Oh. My. God. Amanda, I have so much to tell you, but yes! Yes, I did tell him.”

“And?”

“Well, let’s just say I’m now engaged and planning my wedding with Elizabeth. We told them tonight about the baby, and…oh yeah! Josh has his memory back!”

He got up and started to move on top of me. I tried to push him away, but he just smiled at me.

“I want to make love to you…but shhh, be quiet…my parents can’t hear!”

Amanda started laughing. “Sounds like you have some sneaking of your own to do. I’ll let you go! I’m heading out to your place in the morning to pack up my stuff. I have so much to tell you, and it sounds like you have so much to tell me! I’m so, so happy for you, sweets! I knew that boy would remember your ass soon enough!”

I laughed. “I love you, Amanda! See you tomorrow.” I hit End and leaned back in the chair. It wasn’t lost on me that we were in the same lounge chair we had made love in.

Josh got on top of me and attempted to sit up.

“You’re drunk,” I said with a smile.

“Baby, I’m happy!”

I laughed as I glanced toward the kitchen window. I saw Elizabeth blowing me a kiss before she mouthed, Good night. I waved, and Josh tried to turn to see what I was waving at. When he started to lose his balance, I grabbed him by the shirt. He smiled as he leaned down. As he started to kiss me, I wanted nothing more than to make love with him at this very moment.

“Josh…we can’t do this here, not with your parents being home.”

He pulled back with a pout. “Let’s go to my place then,” he said.

“How about I help you up to your room, so you can sleep off your…happiness?”

By the time I got him upstairs and into his room, he had attempted to take off my shirt twice. He’d succeeded in unbuttoning my pants and somehow unhooking my bra.

After he fell onto the bed, he looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes of his. When he smiled at me, my stomach started doing crazy things. I reached behind me and closed his bedroom door.

“Ah hell…that’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout!”

I smiled as I pulled my shirt over my head and took off my bra. I stood there as his eyes moved up and down my body. I unzipped my pants and slowly started to slide them down.

“Son of a bitch. You’re so fucking beautiful.” Josh sat up, supporting himself on his elbows.

The lust in his eyes drove me insane. I could feel how wet I was, proving how much I wanted him. Am I really going to do this with his parents at home?

Then, he laid back and motioned for me to get on top of him. He gave me that crooked-ass smile of his with that damn dimple.

Oh god…that dimple gets me every time. Yep, I’m going to make love to the father of my unborn child. I made my way to his bed. I started to unbutton and unzip his pants. He lifted his hips, so I could pull them off. I smiled when I saw that he had gone commando. I was turned on even more, knowing he hadn’t been wearing underwear the whole evening.

I snapped my eyes back up to him. “How drunk are you?”

He lifted his head and laughed. “Why? How drunk do you need me to be?”

“Are you going to remember this in the morning?”

His smile faded. “Of course I am, princess. I’m not that drunk!”

I looked down. Okay, I can do this. Leaning over, I kissed his stomach, and he let out a small moan. At least he knows enough to be quiet! I took him in my hand and started moving it up and down over him. He was so hard, and I knew he wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

I slowly inched down, and then I licked the tip of his dick.

“Jesus, Heather! If you do that, baby, I’m going to come. Honestly, baby, I want to remember this!”

I let out a small laugh before I took him into my mouth. I started to move my head up and down. When it hit me, I gagged just a little. Okay…it’s okay! I can do this. One more time. I tried again, and this time, I started to go faster.

Josh moaned, grabbed my hair, and pushed me farther down.

Nope! This shit ain’t happening! I pulled away and started gagging so bad that I knew I was going to throw up.

Josh started laughing.

That bastard!

“You think that’s funny, Joshua Hayes?” I said in between my gagging fit.

“No, ma’am!” he said as he continued to laugh.

I jumped up, ran into his bathroom, and hit the floor in front of the toilet. It was nothing but dry heaves.

Okay, so maybe giving my first blow job while pregnant wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had. I sat back and leaned against the wall. Thank goodness, I didn’t throw up.

After a few minutes, I finally felt better enough to stand up and go back into his room. When I walked out of his bathroom, he was sound asleep. I started to laugh as I made my way over to his bed and crawled in next to him.

He wrapped me up in his arms. “I love you, princess. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Josh. More than you’ll ever know.”

I drifted off to sleep and into a wonderful dream of Josh and me with a little girl in blonde curls, wearing a yellow sundress, running up ahead of us.

I walked back and forth in the barn, trying to settle my heart rate down. Gunner came up behind me and slapped me on the back.

“Dude, don’t worry. It’s the most magical moment of your life!”

“Shit, Gunner…what if they find something wrong? Ah hell. Maybe we shouldn’t do this before the wedding. We should wait.”

Gunner just stared at me, and then he busted out laughing. “Damn. I thought I was a nervous wreck. Dude, calm down. It’s going to be all good. You’re gonna see your baby today, and then we’re all heading to the coast for your wedding tomorrow. It’s going to be perfect.”

I knew Gunner was right. It’s all going to be okay. I’m just nervous about the wedding. The baby is fine. Heather is fine. Everything is going to be fine.

I looked up and saw Jeff walking into the barn. Gunner and I must have read Jeff’s T-shirt at the same time because we both started laughing.

“Where in the hell did you get that shirt?” Gunner laughed, pointing at him.

Jeff slapped his hand away and looked down at his shirt.

“I know your wife doesn’t know you have that shirt on,” Gunner said with a smile.

“Y’all like it?” Jeff said with a grin. “Shit! Ari wears what she wants to wear, so I wear what I want to wear.”

Gunner just shook his head. “Uh-huh.”

I laughed and re-read his shirt.

Endangered Species

The Long-Haired Beaver

Jeff walked up to me, and we slapped hands before he brought me in for a hug and slapped my back. “You ready to see your baby, dude?”

With that, the anxiety hit me all over again.

Jeff must have noticed because he started laughing. “Josh, it’s gonna be fine. You’re going to be in awe at the sight of your baby.”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Okay…well, what did y’all want me to drive all the way to Mason for anyway?”

“So, we know Brad’s been out of rehab for about a month or so, and he’s doing really well,” Gunner said with a smile.

“Yeah, we had lunch with him and Amanda two weeks ago,” I said.

“Did they mention that they are moving after the baby is born?” Jeff asked.

What the fuck? Moving? “Moving? Where? They didn’t say a word to Heather and me about moving.”

“I guess Brad’s dad actually did something nice for him. He got Brad a job with another advertising agency here in Austin, and they are willing to let him work at their branch in Florida,” Jeff said.

Florida…holy shit.

That’s right. Amanda’s degree was in marine biology. Brad was moving, so Amanda could follow her dreams.

I smiled as I looked between Gunner and Jeff. “Damn. That’s fucking awesome, but at the same time…Florida? It’s so far away.”

Jeff just stared at me. “Jesus H. Christ. When did you grow a vagina, dude? Are you going to cry?”

“Fuck off, Jeff! Asshole!”

“Assmole, Jeff!”

Jeff closed his eyes and shook his head. I turned around to see Matt running into the barn as Ari stood there with her hands on her waist.

Why is it she shows up with Matt when I’m the only one swearing?

When Matt ran up to me, I bent down ready to take him in my arms.

“Josh! I’ve missed you, Josh, so much! I’m going to hug you now.”

I laughed as Matt gave me a big ole hug, and I returned one just as big. “Hey, little buddy! I’ve missed you, too. Have you been a good boy?”

He nodded and turned to look at Ari, who flashed him a smile. “Josh, Ari said that you’re going to see your baby today. Can I see her, too?”

I laughed before I gave him a quick kiss on the head. “I wish you could, buddy, but not today. You see, I’m taking Heather to the doctor, and we are going to use a special machine that will be able to see the baby. The baby is only about ten weeks old in Heather’s belly, so I think it’s gonna look like a peanut.”

Matt laughed. “You’re such an assmole, Josh!”

I smiled as I stood back up and looked at Ari, who was holding her stomach.

“So?” I smiled.

Ari was just about to start talking when she noticed Jeff’s T-shirt. “Oh. My. God. What in the hell are you wearing?”

Gunner had taken Matt and walked him over to see Rose’s new colt. He turned around and yelled over his shoulder, “I told ya!”

Jeff gave Gunner the finger before smiling at Ari. “What’s wrong with my shirt, baby?”

Ari glared at him. “Well, since you seem to like long-haired beavers, I can arrange for that.”

I started laughing.

Jeff’s smile dropped. “Um…no. No, that’s really okay, baby. I’m not a fan of the long-haired beaver at all! I’m more partial to the hairless beaver.”

The next thing I knew, Jeff was taking off the T-shirt and tucking part of it into the back of his jeans.

Gunner died laughing, which caused Matt to laugh.

Matt finally stopped laughing as he looked up at Gunner. “Why are we laughing? Should I take off my shirt, too?”

Ari walked up to Matt and reached for his hand. “No, buddy, don’t take off your shirt. Let’s go in and see Mommy. You can try on your new outfit for Josh and Heather’s wedding.” As she walked by Jeff, she reached behind him and grabbed the shirt out of his pocket. “I needed a new cleaning rag.”

I had tears coming out of my eyes as I watched Ari walk out of the barn with Jeff’s T-shirt.

When I was finally able to stop laughing, I managed to get out, “I’m the one with a vagina, dude?”

Jeff looked at Gunner and then me and shook his head. “Fuck off, both of you! Let’s talk about doing something for Brad and Amanda, like we were supposed to. Assholes.”

As we waited for the doctor, Heather reached over and took my hand in hers. “So, you never did tell me what y’all are going to do for Brad and Amanda?”

I knew she was just trying to keep my mind busy. How is she so damn calm? “I was going to tell you about it. Jeff and Gunner already talked to Ari and Ells, and they’re totally on board with the idea.”

She smiled at me, and my heart melted.

“Okay. You’re going to have to tell me the idea, babe, for me to be on board, too.”

“What? Oh yeah, right. Okay, so when I told you that they’re moving to Florida, you already knew. I love how I’m the last to find out, but that’s beside the point.”

She started to giggle as she rolled her eyes.

I let out a sigh. “They wanted to pull together some money to give to them before they left. To help them get settled and all. With Brad’s parents totally cutting him off, they’re not going to have much of anything after they sell the house. His mother is insisting that they pay back everything his parents paid for in regard to the wedding.”

“Wait a minute! That bitch was the one who wanted the big fancy wedding, and now, she wants them to pay her back for it?”

I nodded. “Yep. She always has been a bitch.”

I was just about to keep talking when Dr. Johnson walked in. Heather was so happy that the same doctor who had delivered Alex was also going to deliver our child.

When he held out his hand, I stood up and shook it.

“Josh, Heather, how are y’all doing?”

“Good!” we both said together.

Heather quickly glanced over at me and winked.

“So, how are Alex, Gunner, and Ellie doing?”

Heather let out a laugh. “Alex is doing great! I can’t believe she’s two months old already.”

Dr. Johnson sat down and looked over at me. “Josh, you doing okay, buddy? You look a little white.”

“I’m good. I’m fine. I’m just ready to see my baby girl and make sure she’s okay.”

He smiled. “Baby girl, huh? Well, we might be able to hear the heartbeat if we’re lucky.”

Heather snapped her head over toward him. “But I’m only ten weeks! Can the sonogram machine pick that up this early?”

He started laughing. “We actually just got this new sonogram machine in. It’s capable of picking up the heartbeat as early as eight weeks, so let’s keep our fingers crossed. So, Josh, you think it’s a girl? Heather, how about you? Any guesses?”

Heather smiled and nodded. “Well, everyone keeps telling me it’s a girl because of the morning sickness I’ve had. By the way, that’s not limited to just morning, so why they call it that, I don’t know. I just have a strong feeling it’s a boy.”

The nurse walked in, and Dr. Johnson stood up. “Well, let’s get the show on the road and see us a baby.”

After they put some jelly shit on her stomach, he started moving the contraption all around. I couldn’t see anything, but then a small lima bean thing appeared. That was when we heard it—the baby’s heartbeat. Heather looked up at me as a tear rolled down her cheek.

I leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “I love you.” I looked back up at the monitor. “Does she look okay?”

Dr. Johnson laughed. “Yes.”

Then, he made a funny face, and it almost sounded like the heartbeat was echoing. He started moving that little contraption all over the place as he pushed down more on her stomach.

Heather must have noticed it also because she frowned at me. She turned back to the screen. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

I looked up at the nurse, who was smiling.

Just then, there were two distinct heartbeats.

“Are you picking up my heartbeat also?” Heather asked.

“Or mine ’cause it’s pounding loud enough in my chest!” I said.

Dr. Johnson and the nurse started laughing.

As I looked back at the screen, I saw it. Another little lima bean showed up.

“Oh. My. God. Is that another…” Heather’s voice trailed off.

“Wait. What? Why are there two lima beans?” I glanced down at Heather.

She was smiling so big as she looked at the monitor, and then she started crying.

What in the hell is going on?

Dr. Johnson turned and smiled at me. “Josh, I think you should sit down.”

“Why? Is something wrong with her?”

The nurse came and stood next to me.

Oh god! Something’s wrong. Why is Heather smiling? She’s crying and smiling? Who does that?

“Josh, it looks like y’all might both be right.”

“Both be right about what?” I asked.

I felt my legs about to give out, and the nurse grabbed on to my arm.

“The two lima beans are two babies. Y’all are having twins.”

Twins? Holy hell. We’re having twins! I stared down at Heather with tears in my eyes. She was looking up at me with most beautiful smile I’d ever seen on her face. Twins.