Weathering the Storm by Brynn Paulin
Epilogue One
~ Becca ~
Four Years Later
“Kyler, look it’s daddy,” I said to my toddler. My little bruiser bounced in my lap, no doubt excited that he could see his father finally. Sort of. We were far enough away in the auditorium that he could have been just about any guy crossing the stage, but I knew that walk, and apparently, my bored kiddo did, too.
“Daddy!” he yelled while I clapped.
This was the second graduation I’d attended for my man, the first being for high school four years ago, and I was no less proud. In fact, I was more proud, because I knew how hard it had been to power through and graduate with honors again. He’d already been accepted into the school’s law program and would be starting in the fall.
I was really glad not to be moving. We had a cute little house in a suburb close to here, and I’d managed to land a job at one of the National Weather Service’s offices, not long after we’d moved to the area. I loved it. I was doing exactly what I’d always wanted to do. My position had helped us to move forward, too, made it easier for Heller to go to school and not feel as if he had to work multiple jobs to support us. We were a team, in life, in parenting.
I cuddled Kyler, keeping him busy through the rest of the long ceremony. He was such an active kid, but good, too. So curious and headstrong about everything. Just like his father, he knew exactly what he wanted and his little brain was always figuring out how to get it.
“Daddy!” he yelled a little later when we finally found Heller in the post-commencement crowd. Heller caught him up and spun him around. “You’re wearing a dress,” Kyler accused.
Heller glanced at me, and I raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He could explain this. I knew he would. He was incredibly patient with all of Kyler’s questions. I had no doubt it would serve them well as our son got older.
He tickled Kyler’s belly. “I’ll tell you about it in the car. Were you good for mommy?”
“Nope.” He giggled knowing he was getting more tickles for that.
Heller leaned in and kissed me. “I don’t know. Maybe no ice cream then.”
“I was good! I was good!” Kyler chirped.
I ruffled his hair. Heller and I always made time for each other, but Kyler really was the center of our universe. “He was excellent. Entertained all of the people near us by explaining why it’s going to be colder here tomorrow.”
“Apparently, he actually listened while you were explaining cold fronts. Budding weatherman, huh, Ky?”
My son’s little head shook fiercely. “Imagonna play football!”
“Only if you take good naps.”
Kyler groaned and threw back his body dramatically. I had no idea where he got that theatrical streak from.
“Mommy, you need a nap, too?” Heller asked.
“Oh, definitely.” I had a very congratulatory nap planned for my husband. Thankfully, Kyler dropped off to sleep on the way home after our ice cream celebration. And once dozing, he slept like a champ.
“Can I interest you in joining me in bed?” I asked Heller after he closed our son’s door. My hand wrapped around his guiding him into our room across the hallway.
“I’m definitely interested. I’d like a peek at all that lace I glimpsed earlier.”
“Just the lace?”
He stopped, crossing his arms as I moved a few feet away. “When we’re together alone, you’re mine,” he reminded me. As if I needed that. “And what I say goes.”
My teeth sank into my lip as I looked at him through my lashes, my body getting warm and my pulse already speeding up for him. When he got like this… Things went wild.
He pulled at his tie, never taking his eyes from me. “Get undressed. Now.”
Unlike the first time he’d given this speech, I didn’t hesitate. I slipped off my light sweater and loose sundress, and in moments, stood in only the lingerie he’d been waiting to see. I’d had to special order it, in light blue and white, his school colors. The low-cut panties had a lightning bolt right over the front of my pussy—the bolt was his school’s symbol but also apropos to my job and how we’d met.
His eyes went dark, his pupils taking over as he studied me. “My weathergirl,” he murmured, forgetting about his clothes and closing the space between us. His palms immediately went to my breasts that had stayed a little fuller after having the baby.
“Only yours.” I started unbutton his shirt. “You looked so handsome today in your dressy clothes and your cap and gown,” I told him, kissing his chest as I revealed it. Even while studying his ass off and being a great dad, he’d maintained his workouts and kept his muscles. “I’m so proud of you, Heller.”
“All for you.”
I shook my head. “All for us. And you’re amazing.”
Slight color flushed his cheeks. Both arousal and the fact he’d never grown comfortable with compliments. He chuckled ,and I knew he’d deflect as he always did. I wasn’t wrong.
“You know where I’m amazing?” he teased, lifting me into his arms. I wrapped mine around his shoulders while he carried me to our bed. “In the sheets.”
“Prove it,” I goaded.
After placing me atop the comforter, he straightened and shrugged off his shirt. “Oh, I intend to. We have about an hour and a half, and I’m going to have you smothering your screams the whole time.”
“Big talk.”
“All truth.” He shoved down his pants and climbed over me as I held out my arms.
“Prove it,” I whispered again before his mouth took mine.
And he did.
