Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 160732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 804(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 804(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
He heard a hissing in his head and whispered, “You?”
“Yes. But—”
“She called you.”
“Yes. And—”
“Personally. Your phone.”
She nodded. “Yes, West. But, listen—”
“How’d she get your number?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Now—”
He pulled his phone out and engaged it.
He didn’t get further because her hand was around his wrist.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Calling her ass and making it clear you are off fuckin’ limits for her.”
“Buck, she asked what the kids wanted for Christmas,” she said softly.
Jesus.
“Seriously?”
“And she wanted to know, since they both dissed her for Christmas stuff, if we could do a day-after-Christmas thing. Like a lunch or something.”
Buck stared at her.
“I told her we were going to Vail the day after—”
“Babe, that’s a surprise and she’s gonna share that shit,” he growled.
“No. I told her it was their present and she promised she wouldn’t.”
She got closer and dropped his wrist but fitted her tits to his chest.
He could smell her.
See the bright in her eyes.
And feel her.
So he suddenly felt a whole lot better about just about everything.
“She wasn’t exactly nice, but she was polite. I think she was a little embarrassed she had to ask. But she did. And she said she’d be cool to wait to do an after-New-Years thing.”
“Right,” he muttered, sliding his hands along her waist.
“And I told her it’d be cool for her to come down and deliver her gifts. Not tomorrow. We’re visiting Locke tomorrow. So I said the day after. If you agreed. And she agreed if you agree. So…do you agree?”
“She wants the kids here when she drops them?”
“That’d be optimal.”
“It’s up to them, Toots.”
She nodded.
“The after-New-Years thing is up to them too.”
She nodded again.
“I’ll tell Kristy that. I don’t want her to think she has a line to you.”
“It wasn’t a terrible conversation, West. And it was for good reasons.”
“I’ll talk to Kristy. I don’t want her to think she has a line to you,” he mostly repeated.
Again, she nodded, but this time, she put her hands on his shoulders when she did.
“You’re gonna get icing on me,” he murmured, having lost interest in the conversation with her mouth that close.
“Do you care?”
“Fuck no.”
“I didn’t think so. Are we gonna make out?’
“Fuck yes.”
“I thought so. But, West, we can’t do it for ages. We have comp—”
He kissed her quiet.
He didn’t do it for ages.
And when he was done, they both had to go to the bathroom and brush icing out of their hair.
She giggled through doing this.
Buck enjoyed listening to her giggle through it.
After, they rejoined their company.
He formed burgers.
He grilled them.
The women cleared away the cookie shit and got down to frying tots, slicing tomato and onion and sorting other hamburger stuff.
He fed their family.
And it was Buck’s estimation they overstayed their welcome.
But seeing Clara, ass on the floor in front of the tree, leaning against Gear, who had his arms around her, both of them talking and laughing…
He couldn’t find it in him to give much of a shit.
* * *
“You want an early Christmas present?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain you’re sure you’re sure?”
Buck rolled his woman off him onto her back and looked at her through the moonlight.
Everyone was gone.
The kids were out.
They’d just finished fucking.
They didn’t have a long drive tomorrow to see his dad.
But it was late, he’d come hard, he’d made her do the same, and he needed sleep.
And now she was giving him this.
“Is it another set of underwear?” he asked.
“Nooooooo.” She drew that out.
“Is it a trip around the world?”
“Do you want a trip around the world?”
“No.”
“Then, no.”
Fuck.
“Was it a trip around the world?” he asked.
“Buck, just let me give it to you.”
She wanted to give him something?
She dug doing that (and she did)?
He’d let her do it.
“Right. Go for it.”
“I’m pregnant.”
Buck grew solid.
“And it’s confirmed. Like, not pregnancy-test pregnant. Doctor-test pregnant. So we can tell Locke and the kids tomorrow!” she stated gleefully.
“Were we trying?” he asked.
“Well,” she said, now hesitant, “only in the sense that you seemed to want to have a baby. And I’m not twenty-two anymore. You aren’t either. And we have our wedding planned for the day after Valentine’s Day, because Valentine’s Day is too gooey, and that day falls on a Saturday. And…” She paused, a long time, and then asked, “Did you not want to, you know, uh…see, I thought it’d be a really good present.”
“I’m trying not to howl at the moon.”
“Pardon?”
“I am trying not…to howl…at the moon,” he said slowly.
“Is that, um…a good thing?”
“You got my baby in you?”
“Yeeeessss,” she drew that out too.
“And you gotta ask that shit?”
“You don’t seem very…elated.”
“Until I have a minute to let the news settle, I might hurt you, I’m so…elated.”
“Really?”
His hands moved and her body jumped, they did it so fast.
But he caught her head and put his face in hers.