Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

W arrick

"Okay, when the buzzer goes off, start throwing the ball toward the hoop. Ready, Peaches?"

Georgia was up on my shoulders, her giggles sounding in my ear like the cicadas in summer, constant and relaxing. The basketball game started and I handed her a ball. She threw it, nearly hitting the game operator in the face when it went wild.

"Try again. Remember, the hoop is your target." I handed her another ball after it rolled down the shoot. She threw it again and got closer. I repeated the action several more times, getting bopped in the head when she tried to dribble the basketball before shooting it and nearly going deaf from a shriek when one of the balls finally went in the basket. Em cheered from beside us, giving Georgia pointers that went largely ignored.

The buzzer sounded with a measly one point on the board, but my girl was having fun and that was all that mattered. Georgia cheered for her one point and clapped her hands on my cheeks .

"We did it, Wa-wy!" I felt her lean down and kiss the crown of my head. My heart turned to mush in an instant. God, I loved this kid.

I squeezed her calf and bounced her on my shoulders over to the next carnival attraction: the bottle throw. Em insisted Georgia come off my shoulders so I could get in a round. I was about to protest when Em gave me a pointed look. I held up my hands in peace and let her pull Georgia off my shoulders. I knew better than to argue with the mama bear. Handing over the necessary tickets, the game operator set five balls on the counter and pointed at the pyramid of bottles twenty feet away.

I warmed up my arm with some arm swings. "Everyone over forty needs a warmup," I explained to Em, who just rolled her eyes and laughed. She'd understand one day when she reached my age. Just daily living caused weird injuries. "Stand back, girls."

Georgia giggled and gave me a wide berth. I cocked my arm back and let the first ball fly, knocking all but one bottle over. The girls cheered and I felt like I was sixteen again, trying to impress a girl. This time, however, I was trying to impress my wife. I kept throwing, knocking all the pyramids over by the last ball. The game operator pointed to the top row of stuffed animals and I pointed at the worst one. It was bright pink, sparkly, and resembled a deranged unicorn. Immediately I handed it over to Georgia who looked so excited I worried she might pass out. Tucking it under her arm, she skipped ahead of us, off to see the next attraction. I laced my fingers with Em's and swung our hands between us, feeling like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

I'd arrived here in Blueball with concerns for my father, a big huge question mark when it came to my future, and a disconcerting sense that life had passed me by. Not now though. Now I felt like I'd been waiting to come back to this town, to this woman, and this little girl.

"There you are!"

Em and I turned to see Paisley and her family rushing up to us. Paisley gave us both hugs and Gannon clapped me on the shoulder. Their oldest daughter, Cora, was nowhere to be found. Probably off with a swarm of other preteens giggling over the boys. Aster and Georgia were shrieking unintelligible words as they pet the unicorn.

"We were hoping to take Georgia with us on some of the smaller rides so Aster doesn't have to go alone. Can we steal her for an hour?"

Em said it was fine, and after agreeing to a meeting place and a time, Georgia ran off with her friend and her family, leaving Em and I alone with the entire town racing around the fairgrounds. Anton had peeled off after a couple of carnival games, saying he was headed for the beer tent to enjoy all the local brews while flirting with the single women of Blueball.

I turned to Em and waggled my eyebrows. She looked positively delicious in a blue-and-white sundress, her tan legs on full display. Her hair was down and I'd never been more proud to have a woman on my arm. I'd been having a hard time keeping my eyeballs in check since she came out of her room after her shower.

"Wanna go back to my truck and make out?"

She bit back a grin. "Is that what you used to do at the Blueball Summer Crawl?"

I shrugged, remembering a time or two that that was the case. "I actually have something I always wanted to do at this carnival that just never happened."

Em eyed me warily. "What's that?"

"A kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel."

She glanced down at her bright pink-painted toenails and then lifted her gaze, looking shy. "I'd love that."

I practically dragged her to the line for the Ferris wheel. She laughed, sounding a lot like Georgia when she was happy. The line took forever, but we used our time wisely, each of us getting to ask the other a question before it was the other person's turn. She told me all about growing up with four older brothers, her mom, her old construction business, and even her vague memories of her dad. I told her all about growing up on a hobby farm and the shenanigans my brothers and I got up to. By the time we got into the metal contraption and the wheel moved us higher into the air, I felt like we were officially on a date, something we'd skipped right over in our hurry to the courthouse.

I looked out over the town that had been a constant for me growing up. I'd never experienced the kind of loss Em did, or the betrayal. As I saw familiar families all out having a night of fun together with smiles on their faces, my heart ached for everything she'd lost. Cayden had not only turned his back on Em, he'd told lies so that others in the town had sided with him at first. He'd made it so that Em had to leave the place she'd grown up. The only place that held memories of her father and mother.

Every muscle in my body was drawn tight, wanting to bash that fucker's face in for everything he'd done to the woman who was now my wife.

"Hey. Everything okay?" Em asked, placing her hand on my thigh and snuggling tighter into my side.

I blinked, seeing we had passed the top of the Ferris wheel and were descending again, the cool breeze of the motion a welcome respite from the summer heat. One thing I wouldn't do is let that fucker steal the present. I ran my thumb along her soft shoulder, then pulled her to me.

"Everything's more than fine when you're with me," I said quietly, dropping my head to seal our lips together. She sank into my chest, letting me lead the kiss. My hand left her shoulder to sink into her hair, angling her head for better access. She sighed into my mouth and everything crystalized for me. I wanted Emmerleigh forever. Not temporarily. Not for convenience. I was truly in love with her and I would do everything in my power to make her stay. To provide a life for her and Georgia that would make them both feel safe.

My hand slipped under the hem of her sundress, and to my surprise, Em parted her thighs, letting my hand travel higher, each tattoo on my arm disappearing slowly beneath the material. She nipped at my lip and reached down to grip my forearm. My hand paused, assuming she'd keep me locked right there on her soft thigh, but she actually pulled until my hand felt silky, damp panties.

"Fuck, Em," I breathed against her mouth. "So wet already."

The Ferris wheel swooped us up into the sky again and she grinned at me, lips wet and red from our kiss. I didn't waste any time, knowing this ride had to end at some point and this moment would be shattered. I kissed her again, right as I pulled the panties aside and slid a single finger into her heat. She gasped into my mouth, but ground her hips against my hand, wanting more. I slid in and out of her easily, groaning at the wet heat, the way she was gasping for breath, and the shuddering of her breasts in that fucking sundress. My thumb found her clit and kept up a steady rhythm that matched the thrust of my tongue. Right as the ride swooped us into the air again, she began to shake, clamping her thighs around my hand, and kissing me back with an urgency that had me wondering how the hell I was going to walk off of this ride without being arrested for indecency.

The ride began to slow and I softened my kiss. When Em went limp against me, I slid out of her, replacing her panties and making sure her dress covered her properly. She buried her head in my shoulder, even as I hummed my approval as I discretely adjusted myself. Fucking hell, I was harder than a sledgehammer and had about thirty seconds to get myself under control.

"Well, shit, this has been an ideal first date," I muttered, trying to turn my brain to the farm animals and how Bessie wouldn't let me milk her to get my erection to go down.

Em snorted, lifting her head. "This isn't a date."

Well, that ought to do it. "Excuse me? This is most certainly a first date."

Em sat up and scooted over, like the blush staining her cheeks and the wild look of her blonde hair wasn't a dead giveaway to what we'd been doing on this Ferris wheel. "A date is two people agreeing to go on a date. You never asked me."

I waved my hand like her definition was a pesky fly in the air. "You dressed up. I picked you up. We held hands. I won a stuffed animal for your daughter. We made out on the Ferris wheel. I hate to break it to you, Slaywright, but this is most definitely a date."

She harrumphed, but didn't get a chance to answer as the young kid running the ride opened the gate to our bucket and motioned for us to get out. She did, careful to keep her skirt down as she climbed out. I followed, irritated that we had to argue about everything after we'd just had quite the moment up there in the sky.

Em pointed at a game with bright lights trailing up and down. "I bet I can beat you."

She ran ahead and I followed, rolling my eyes when I saw what the game was. She dug into my pocket for tickets—which did not improve the situation in my pants—and handed them over before grabbing a large sledgehammer device. She took up a pro stance, looking so serious I wanted to take her picture. Then she wound up and swung, clanging the sledgehammer on the platform so hard the lights flew all the way to the top of the booth and a siren rang out. Several people clapped as they walked by and Em's face broke out into a huge smile. The operator handed her a pair of blue shaggy balls hanging from a thin tassel.

"What the hell is that?" I asked when she came back over, holding up her prize.

"Blueballs for my rearview mirror!"

I groaned and dropped my head. She nudged me with her elbow.

"You gonna take a swing?"

I shook my head and put my arm around her waist. "Not a chance, hotshot. I don't need to get shown up by my wife on our first date. "

Em burst out laughing and I couldn't help but join her. Life sure was fun with her. I steered her in the direction of the food trucks.

"Let's go get some deep-fried food that'll make us sick to our stomachs."

She settled into my side, swinging those fucking balls like nunchucks as we perused the food options. Em pointed to one I recognized, pulled me in that direction. It was a truck that sold corn dogs, hot dogs, and various combinations of food that always had sausage in it. When we got to the front of the line, Em ordered a cheddar corn dog, and from experience, I knew to order the loaded hot dog.

The woman at the window taking our order was nudged aside by another woman, this one with flaming red hair and very familiar. "Warrick Wolfe, is that you?"

I shot her a smile and she gasped, disappearing again before bursting out the side door and running up to give me a hug.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I'm running into you!" She pulled back and gave me a once-over. "Holy shit, you own jeans."

That made me laugh harder, but I was all too aware of Em slinking back behind me and that just wouldn't do. I hooked my arm around her waist and thrust her in front of me. "Melissa Dobbins, meet my wife, Emmerleigh Slaywright. Em, this is Melissa, one of my chef hires."

Melissa yelped and pulled Em into a startled hug. "You got married! Oh my God!" She pulled back and shot Em a wink. "You lucked out. This man is one of the greatest people I know. He gave me a shot when no one else would listen to my ideas. I now have six food trucks because of this guy."

Em smiled at me, as if seeing me through a different lens. I waved away the compliment. "It was just a matter of time before your dogs took off. I just lucked out to be at the ground level."

Melissa ignored me, putting her hand on Em's shoulder. "Do not listen to him. He loaned me money to get started and then gave me so much free business advice that things took off right away. He's one of the good ones, honey. Don't ever let him go."

Em looked as embarrassed as I felt. I didn't do what I did for accolades. Believe me, I made plenty of money in business and I always helped people out when I felt like they deserved it or had an idea that was truly exceptional. And Melissa had been both.

Anton crashed into my side, holding up two beers and shoving one in my hand. "Got you an IPA, Wolfe." He saw Melissa standing there and turned to face her. "Well, hello there, beautiful. Are you from Blueball?"

Em rolled her eyes. "Nice to meet you, Melissa."

"Oh, you too, honey. Warrick…" She shook her head with a smile. "The dogs will always be on the house for you, my friend."

And then she let Anton lead her away, laughing at whatever he had to say. I felt Em staring at the side of my face.

"What?"

She clutched my bicep. "You're embarrassed."

I shrugged, still not meeting her eyes. "Maybe. Just feels weird when people gush like that when I was just doing my job."

Em lifted onto her toes, both hands sliding up onto my shoulders and then into my hair at the back of my head. Her breasts smashed against my chest. That sure got my attention.

"You know, I have a thing for good guys," she drawled.

My eyes widened. "Oh yeah?"

She nodded and licked her lips. "Most definitely."

Heat built between us like it always did, even when we were arguing. "Let's find Georgia and go home," I said in a rush, needing to be alone with her.

Em laughed, digging her heels in. "Hey, I want my cheddar dog first."

I groaned and dropped my head. If I had to watch her eat a corn dog and moan at how yummy it was, I might just get arrested for indecent exposure after all.

"You're killing me, Slaywright."

"I'll make it up to you tonight," she whispered.