Special Delivery by April Wilson

Chapter 11 - Annie

Annie McIntyre

It’s nearly eight-thirty, and the girls are up way past their bedtime, and it’s showing. They’re both fussing and fidgeting, barely able to keep their eyes open. It’s past Aiden’s bedtime, too.

“Is it family time?” Aiden asks as we leave the great room and head for the stairs.

“You bet it is,” Jake says.

It was Jake’s idea to institute family time into our routine. Every evening, Jake and I get the kids ready, and then we all climb onto our big bed. Jake and I take turns reading to them. This has become a sacred ritual for our family, and Aiden really benefits from it. It gives him the stability that he craves, and I know it’s helped solidify his bond with Jake.

As we follow Jake up the stairs, the sight of him carrying our daughter Emerly sends a wave of emotion sweeping through me. I’ve loved this man since high school—since the day we met. It was a classic high school love story—the geeky teenage girl swept off her feet by the very handsome high school quarterback.

Jake was my first love, my first kiss, my first crush. And after a tragic parting, we somehow managed to find our way back to each other years later. We got a second chance, born out of an abusive first marriage on my part. Destiny had other plans for us; in the end, nothing could keep us apart.

When we reach our room, Jake opens the door wide for us, and we all file into the room.

“It’s family time!” Aiden yells gleefully as he rushes into the room and climbs up onto our big bed.

Towering over me, Jake looks at me with a heated gaze. The look in his eyes tells me he feels it too. Fate gave us this second chance—it’s a gift.

“Thank you,” he says, and then he drops a sweet kiss on my lips.

He says this a lot to me—it means thank you for giving me a family.

Once in our suite—we now have an adjoining room for the kids—I take Evvy from Jake. “I’ll get the girls ready for bed,” I tell him, “while you get Aiden ready.”

Jake takes our son to the bathroom to supervise getting him ready for bed.

While Evvy waits in her crib, I change Emerly’s diaper and dress her in a clean sleeper. When I leave the nursery with the girls, Jake and Aiden come out of the bathroom, both ready for bed. Aiden’s wearing his favorite pair of dinosaur pajamas, and Jake has changed into a pair of gray sweats and a black muscle shirt.

I allow myself a moment to admire the fine picture my husband makes.

Jake scoops Aiden up into his arms and gently tosses him onto our bed. The girls and I join them.

There’s a small stack of children’s books on the nightstand. Aiden grabs the one on top—his favorite, Goodnight Moon. “This one first,” he says.

Jake and I sit propped up against pillows at the headboard with Aiden between us. While Jake reads the book, I take turns nursing the girls. They’re mostly weaned, but they still want their bedtime feeding. Aiden has Stevie, his dinosaur, tucked close to his chest.

As Jake reads, Aiden clutches Jake’s T-shirt, just to be connected to him.

Seeing the way Aiden trusts Jake makes my heart swell with emotion. Aiden’s birth father, Ted, was an abusive monster who beat me. When Ted first began to turn his anger on Aiden, that was the final straw—I knew then that I had to leave him. I couldn’t let him hurt our young son. Thank goodness Aiden didn’t let his early years with a bitter, angry father prevent him from forming a strong attachment to Jake.

As I gaze at my little family, my throat tightens. It scares me to think of how close I came to missing all of this. If Jake hadn’t come back into our lives when he did—if he hadn’t saved me from my abusive ex—I never would have known this happiness.

Jake reaches over to squeeze my arm gently. “You okay?”

I nod with a sniff. “Just happy. And grateful.”

He smiles with a depth of understanding that can’t be measured. “Yeah, me too.”

Jake finishes the first book and goes on to read another one about frogs. By the time he’s done with the second book, the girls are asleep in my arms, and Aiden can barely keep his eyes open.

“I think it’s bedtime,” Jake says quietly as he sets the storybook aside. He gets out of bed, picks up Aiden, and carries him into the adjoining room. A moment later, he returns and takes Emerly from me.

Jake and I put the girls in their cribs, turn out the light, and after making sure the baby monitor is on, we close their door and step back into our bedroom.

Jake slips his arms around my waist and draws me back against his muscular chest. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

I chuckle. “Yes, just this morning.”

Seemingly satisfied, he nods. He scoops me up in his strong arms and carries me to our bed, lays me down, and then joins me. He leans close and kisses me, his mouth hot and hungry as his hand slips underneath my top.

I laugh when his hand starts traveling. “The kids just went to bed. The odds of one of them waking up and calling for us in the next five minutes is pretty good.”

He chuckles softly. “Five minutes is all I need.”

I lightly smack his shoulder. “You’d never be satisfied with five minutes.”

“True.”

Then he rolls us so that I’m beneath him. He wedges a muscular thigh between my legs and presses into me so that I can feel the ridge of his erection. Then he starts sucking on the skin at the base of my throat.

“Stop that.” I lightly swat his rock-hard bicep. “You’ll give me a hickey.”

“So?”

“Your parents will see it.”

“What, you think my mom’s never had a hickey before? Trust me, she has. When we’d ask her about them, she called them love spots. Wear a scarf.”

I laugh. “They’ll know why I’m wearing a scarf.”

“So? We’re married, Annie. They know we fool around.”

He slips his hand down my torso to the tingling spot between my legs and presses against my heated core. “Just a quick one,” he murmurs close to my ear. “We’ll take our time later tonight.”

Twice in one night? The man’s a beast. “Okay.”

He starts unbuttoning my blouse.

The baby monitor crackles, and then we hear, “Daddy? I’m thirsty. Can I have a drink of water?”

With a resigned sigh, Jake pats my belly. “I’ll be right back. Don’t you dare move while I’m gone.” He drops his forehead to mine and sighs. “Parenting is so hard.”

* * *

One drink of water turns into Jake reading Aiden two more stories. I stand in the open doorway between the two rooms and watch them lying on Aiden’s bed, a contented smile on my face.

After the second story, Aiden is asleep. Jake stays with him a little while longer, rubbing Aiden’s back until he’s sure he’s sound asleep.

When Jake finally returns to our room, he quietly pulls the door shut. “He’s asleep.”

“Come here,” I say as I grab his T-shirt and pull him close.

He walks me backward until we meet the bed. “Let’s give them an hour,” he says. “If they’re all still asleep by then, I think we’re good.”

He’s such a good dad.