Jeremiah by Kris Michaels
Chapter 25
Present Day:
Eden sat on the porch rocking Carmen even though she’d fallen asleep a half-hour ago. The sun was warm, and the house blocked the cool spring breeze. She watched as Jay helped his father by handing him tools from the toolbox. It would have taken half the time to work on the old thing if Jeremiah had gone at it alone.
She couldn’t hear what was being said, but Jeremiah’s low rumble as he pointed and talked made her smile. He was so patient with Jamison, who wanted to know everything about everything. She glanced down at their daughter and smiled. She was blessed. With Jeremiah’s practice at full capacity thanks to Guardian, she’d followed her heart and quit her full-time job with the county. She still worked one day a week to give Zeke a day off. It was the best of both worlds for her. Phil Granger’s wife watched Jay and Carmen until Auntie Gen was done at the cafe. The children loved Gen, and the woman doted on each of them.
Speaking of which, she smiled as Gen’s truck came into view. Auntie Gen was going to take the kids for the night. She did it once a month, which gave Mom and Dad some quality time together.
When Jay saw her truck, he took off running down the dirt road, his arms waving wildly. Jeremiah shouted, “Jamison Riley Wheeler, you be careful!” She stood up and watched. Gen stopped the truck and got out, going to her knees for a hug. They climbed back into the truck, and although she couldn’t see it, she knew Jay was driving the truck the rest of the way down the drive.
Jeremiah walked back to the house and leaned down to kiss her and then brush his lips on Carmen’s dark hair. “I’ll have to fix that tractor tomorrow; he wants to help.”
She leaned into him when he wrapped his arm around her. “He’s grown up when we weren’t looking.”
“When did he get so big?” Jeremiah chuckled and waved when his sister’s truck came to a stop and Jay put it in gear. His smile was bigger than the South Dakota sky.
“Mom, Dad! Gen said she got a new superhero movie and we’re having popcorn. I’ll go get my bag. Be right back, Auntie Gen!”
Gen laughed as she walked up to the house. “Ah, there’s my little sweetheart. Come to Auntie Gen.” Gen took Carmen and kissed her as she started rocking back and forth. “I love the smell of babies.”
Jeremiah snorted. “Some smells I could do without.”
Eden laughed and led them into the house. “I’ll get her bag.”
“I got it, Mom. Come on, Auntie Gen, we got to go.” Jay raced back through the house, his backpack and the diaper bag bouncing as he ran.
“Whoa there, mister.” Jeremiah lifted the diaper bag. “Trying to put me out of work?”
“Nope, but it’s the latest release, dad.”
Jeremiah leaned down. “See if she’ll let us borrow it so I can watch it, too.”
Jay put out his fist and Jeremiah bumped it with his own. They were out the door a moment later.
Eden chuckled at their antics. “Thanks, Gen.” She kissed Carmen one more time and gave Gen a baby quilt to keep the cool wind off Carmen.
“I love this. I plan for it all month. Besides, I want to see that new movie. Jay has me hooked on those damn superheroes. I’ll have them back about noon tomorrow, then I’ll head into Rapid for my monthly run. Do you need anything?”
“Let me grab the bottles out of the fridge and yeah, actually, I do have a list. I’ll give it to you tomorrow along with the cash for it.” She put the bottles into a thermal tote, and they walked out to where Jeremiah was putting the car seat into the truck.
Gen handed the baby to Jeremiah when he turned to her and nudged Eden. “I’m not worried about the money. I know where you live.”
“I’ll have it, anyway. You’re coming out for dinner when you get back?”
“God, yes. I’ll drop off all the orders from Hollister and my stuff and head out here. Hey, did you hear Andrew Hollister is coming home? According to Phil, he was hurt pretty bad overseas.”
“No, I hadn’t heard. I expect his father is glad to get his boy home.” Now that she knew the bond between a parent and a child, she was positive of the fact.
“Yeah, not what I heard.” Gen glanced at Jay, who was strapping into his seatbelt. She added, “But that’s a story for another time.”
“I look forward to it.” Eden watched as Gen got into her truck, did a wide turn, and headed back into Hollister, ten minutes away.
Jeremiah dropped his arm over her shoulder. “I miss them already.”
She chuckled; she did too. “How about I promise to take your mind off them for a minute or two?”
Jeremiah turned her and wrapped both hands around her waist. “Only a minute or two?”
She shrugged. “I could try harder.”
He lowered and spoke a few millimeters from her lips, “You never have to try for me.”
The kiss was slow and sweet, perfect in every way. They walked into the house and headed to the bedroom. Their time together was precious, and the stresses of a practice, the children, and day-to-day life fell away like autumn leaves in a soft wind.
After Carmen, she’d kept a little of the baby weight. She wasn’t as toned, was softer, and most definitely self-conscious of the changes to her body, yet Jeremiah’s passion for her hadn’t changed. She undressed as he did, and they slipped under the sheets.
He pulled her to him. Not in a hurry. They touched, teased, and reconnected. A far cry from the rushed love making they caught through the month, this night was special; it grounded her as his lover, not just the mother of his children but something more. This connection was a foundation to all the rest.
Since she’d given birth, he’d taken extra care to excite and entice her. The feel of his fingers and lips on her skin as he went lower and lower pushed a shiver through her. As his lips found her core, she grabbed his hair and arched. The deliciousness of that gripping feeling low in her belly rolled with the passion his touch and kisses created.
She pulled his hair and beckoned him back up to her mouth. He obliged and situated himself between her legs. She wrapped her legs around his waist and reached down to guide his shaft to her center.
He entered her and stared down at her. “You are so beautiful.”
She smiled and reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Only to you, but that’s all I ever wanted.”
They rose to the crest slowly, in no hurry or rush. He found a rhythm that grew the tension and excitement but would draw out their pleasure. Eden kissed his shoulder and chest, sucking up a hickey where it wouldn’t be seen, and used her hands to once again memorize every muscled ridge of the man she loved.
When they climaxed, she floated on the remnants of the lovemaking, closing her eyes and just being with her husband, the peace in the house amplified by the sounds of his breaths as he lay beside her. The utter contentment was perfection.
Until it wasn’t.
Jeremiah’s phone vibrated from somewhere on the floor. “Don’t answer it.” Gen would call her first, not Jeremiah, so the call wasn’t about the children.
He sighed and rolled over. “Not really a choice.”
She knew it, and the interruption shouldn’t have bothered her as much as it did. However, a feeling of dread overtook her. She sat up in the bed as he stretched to reach his jeans.
“Wheeler.” His eyes darted over to hers and then he raced to the window facing east. “When?”
“Who?” He ran his hand through his hair. “Do you need me?”
He sent her another look, this one scared her. “All right. I’ll be on standby.” He ended the connection.
She immediately asked, “What is it? What’s happened?”
“There was an incident. A plane crashed just before landing at the Marshall ranch.”
Eden untangled from the bed and went to him. “Do they know who was on board?”
He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. “Not yet. This isn’t good, babe. This isn’t good at all.”
Click here to read the next in the Kings of Guardian Series, The Siege Part One, Book Fifteen and The Siege Part Two, Book Sixteen.
Do you want a hint as to what’s going to happen? Read Reaper’s book for a small glimpse!
Reaper, Guardian Shadow World, Book Seven
This is not the end. It is just the beginning.
