Chapter Sixty - Westin

CHAPTER SIXTY

WESTIN

THREE YEARS LATER

The air is cool. The grass is a deep, rich green.

Spring is here.

I'm leaning on the paddock behind the barn. Gracey had a foal a year ago, a stallion with a blaze down its nose. They stand at the crest of the hill, tails switching, mist rising around their feet as they forage. At my feet, Billie sits with her chin rested on my boot.

Everything is so still. The fields are rich with tall grass already. We'll have a good haying season.

Last spring, unexpectedly, Sovereign gave me another strip of land, bringing the property line even closer to his ranch house. I think that was his plan all along—to meld the farms as closely as he can. That way, we can have our separate homes, but nothing changes all that much.

A door slams behind me. I turn, squinting against the sun. Matthew Hewitt's truck is parked next to mine. The door opens, and he steps out, putting his hat on. He's a quiet, bearded man with silver hair. Last spring, he showed up at the house and asked if I minded if he proposed to my mother. I said I was happy to give my blessing and a few acres of land as well. During the summer, with Jensen's help, we built a house over the hill for them to live.

Everything is good now. The world is peaceful.

I start down the hill, Billie running ahead to jump on Matthew. He digs around in his pocket and comes up with a crushed biscuit. She takes her prize and flops down on the porch.

"Here to pick up the little one," Matthew says, shaking my hand.

"Is she spending the day with you?" I ask.

He nods. "Eve called early this morning and talked to Diane," he says. "Wants me to take them into town for the fair. You all are welcome to tag along."

I shake my head. "I've got a full day of work, but thanks."

We step into the cool front hallway. I take my hat off and hang it up, dusting off my hands. From deep inside the house comes a soft patter. It comes closer, full pelt, and then my daughter veers around the corner and throws herself against my leg. My heart warms as I bend down and pick her up, hoisting her on my shoulders.

I never thought anybody could get me as wrapped around their little finger as Diane did. Then along came Allison Lilly Quinn. Curly blonde hair like my wife. I hope to God she doesn't have an ounce of me in her, but time will tell.

She digs her damp, sticky hands into my hair as I carry her to the kitchen. Diane is at the counter, packing a picnic basket. She's just as pretty as the day I met her, maybe more—golden hair braided down her back, skirt tucked around her belt, long legs and feet bare.

"Matthew's here for Allison," I say.

She looks up, offering her mouth for a quick kiss. I set our daughter on the floor, and she scampers around me to jump into Matthew's arms. He laughs, patting her on the back.

It means a lot to me that he's the person my mother chose to be a grandfather to my little girl. He's a good man; I've never heard a harsh word from his lips. He has got endless patience with Allison, and anything my mother wants, she gets.

My daughter will grow up never knowing my father. That's the way I want it.

"Eve made her a dress for the fair," Matthew says. "Pink, lots of frilly stuff around the edge."

"That sounds about right," I say.

"Just make sure she wears her sunscreen," says Diane. "And her hat, or her hair will bleach white."

We pack my stepfather and my little girl into the truck along with the picnic basket. Then, I stand with my arm around my wife's waist as she waves goodbye. The crunch of the truck's tires fade away until we're left in silence. I bend to kiss her temple, breathing in her sweet, familiar scent.

"What's your plan for the day?" she asks.

I slide my hand lower to grab her ass. "Thought I might fuck my wife."

She steps back, gathering her skirt in one hand. Her head tilts. A little blonde curl grazes her cheek.

"Maybe if you can catch me," she says.

She hitches up her dress and takes off, running towards the barn. Diane is quick, running through the fields with our daughter every day, but my legs are long enough that I know I can catch up to her. I still let her think she'll win, just for the fun of it.

She dashes into the cool of the barn, and I follow, not breaking a sweat, just in time to see her scramble up the hayloft and disappear. I catch the top of the ladder and swing up. She's at the far end, a little glitter in her eyes as she backs against the wall.

I take a step closer. She bites her lip.

She tries to dart around me, but my arm shoots out and snags her waist, throwing her down into the soft straw. My body falls over hers, and she gives up, palms open. She didn't have much fight in her anyway.

I kiss her neck, then down where the neckline of her dress gives me a glimpse of her breasts.

"I love you, darling," I murmur.

She sighs, turning her head to the side so I can kiss her neck. "I love you too."

I nip her shoulder. "Love me enough to make another baby with me?"

She goes serious, her fingertips coming up to touch my cheek. She runs them through my beard, letting them rest on my mouth. We've talked about having another baby a few times before, but before now, it was just talk. Now, it feels real.

"Maybe," she whispers.

I kiss the top of her nose. She's got early summer freckles already.

"What do you want?" I ask. "Another girl?"

She shakes her head. Then, she shrugs. "Anything."

"I'd like a little boy," I say.

She purses her mouth. "What, so he can grow up and be as rough and rowdy as you?"

"Hey now, I haven't been rowdy in quite a while, darling," I say. "I'm behaving."

She slips her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a deep kiss. I'm lost in her taste and her warm body beneath mine. The longer she kisses me, the harder I'm getting in my pants. Mindlessly, I push her skirt up to find she's naked underneath.

Fuck me.

She moans as I slide my fingers over her pussy, wet, warm, and as soft as velvet. Her lips part, and my tongue swipes against hers. I shift to brace my knee so I can undo my belt and pull my zipper down. Her body lurches as I position myself and push inside. Her mouth breaks from mine, and a soft moan escapes it.

"Oh, you feel so good," she breathes.

I thrust in a short stroke. "So do you, darling."

We fuck in the straw, panting and sweaty. I roll over onto my back, and she straddles me, sinking down on my cock. I can't bite back the moan the sensation elicits. Her hands tangle in the front of my shirt, her eyes shut. Her hips work hard, taking her pleasure as it comes. When I come, we both collapse against each other.

She lifts her hand, tracing the beams up above .

"I'll have another baby," she murmurs. "Just one more, I think."

"And whatever it is, that's fine by me," I say.

We lay on our backs for a while. Then, I help her down, and we go inside to clean up. The day passes like any other as I head out to repair fences, then into town for supplies. I run into Jensen at the feed store, so we have a coffee and a cigarette on the curb outside. He's on his way up to Sovereign Mountain to do some work. Later in the month, Keira is having Diane and I up for a few nights while I help reroute the river.

The summer tumbles by in a haze of warm nights. Some of them we sleep; others, we stay up and play. When we need privacy, I take her out to the barn or the field so she can be as loud as she wants.

The haying season is good. We bring in a better yield than I anticipated.

Fall creeps in on silent feet. One second, the world is hazy with heat, and the next, I wake up in my cold room with my wife curled up against me for warmth and ice on the windows. Sleepily, I run my knee down her thigh and check her ankle for the little gold anklet. It's there, warm against her skin.

I duck under the covers, rolling her onto her back. She smells so good, it makes my brain hum pleasantly. She's in her little blue slip, the one she knows I like best. I pull it to the side and open her thighs. The scent of her pussy hits my nose a second before my tongue does, her taste spreading through my senses.

She moans, and I slip the tip of my tongue inside to feel her muscles clench around it. Then, I lift my mouth to her clit and lick, back and forth, one palm on her lower belly so I can feel the muscles in her hips tighten, two fingers in her cunt. Her spine rises, a ripple moving through her body. A soft moan comes from somewhere above as she comes, pumping around my fingers.

I love that—the rush, the release, the fluttering of her helpless body in my hands.

Drunk, I move up and roll her onto her stomach. Her lashes flutter, her eyes fixed on me, barely conscious .

Bodies entwined, I fuck my wife, my eyes fixed on the gold chain around her neck as I come, emptying myself into her pussy.

She's still sleeping after I shower and get dressed. I draw the blankets aside, my dick twitching at the sight of her wet inner thighs. She's such a good girl, so fiery but so sweet at the same time.

That image of her floats around my mind as I work through chores. The chilly morning is bright, the sky blue overhead and the trees gold.

Somehow, I got everything I wanted.