Chapter Fourteen: Kelsey

Was it possible to be in a sex-fueled, blissful haze twenty-four seven? Because I was.

Ever since Andrew and I had sex a week ago, it was all I could think about. I nearly orgasmed while driving to meet with the Easterlys for their family dinner on Sunday from the vibrations in the truck. Of course, when I told Andrew I was close, he pulled over and let me ride him in the driver’s seat. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve worried we’d get caught by someone as they drove by.

But in this haze, I didn’t care.

Going to dinner with the girls on Friday night had been complete torture. I offered to be the designated driver, so no one called me out for turning down a drink, though Alex kept me company, since she was expecting soon. I kept thinking about what was waiting for me when I got home.

The craziest part was that in the last week, I started considering Ashfield home and not Nashville. I wasn’t sure when the change occurred, and I worried that all the sex I’d been having was knocking my brain cells free. Because what prospects did I have in Ashfield?

I had the people, but I needed a job. Using the degree I worked tirelessly to earn was a priority for me.

And then there was Andrew, my grumpy cowboy with a heart of gold he only let a select few see.

“Mmm,” I moaned as my dream got extra spicy. In my fantasy, Andrew had me pushed up against the stable wall. My leg was draped over his shoulder as his tongue explored my sex. We were in the middle of the rodeo stalls set aside for the horses, and Andrew had found an empty one and shoved me inside. People were milling about the area, and if they looked hard enough, they’d find us hidden in the shadows.

“More,” I whimpered, as my climax was within reach. Hands wrapped around my thighs, and I realized what I was feeling was more than a dream.

My eyes flew open, and I found Andrew hunkered down between my legs, gorging himself on my pussy.

“Oh my—!” I cried out as the first quakes began. My hand instinctively gripped Andrew’s hair while the other clawed at the sheet beneath me.

He growled against my slit, and the vibration caused my body to shatter.

Any bit of sleepiness I had was immediately gone as Andrew scooched forward and slapped his cock against my mound before sliding it across my drenched slit.

“Ready?” he asked, and when I nodded, he thrust forward to the hilt.

I was still a bit sore after our weeklong marathon of sex, but I was as addicted to him as he seemed to be to me. Andrew pounded into me over and over again, and I shoved my hips toward him each time.

I wondered if I’d ever get enough of him.

He waited until I reached another orgasm before falling into his own. His lips pressed kisses against my neck as I held him against me, the pecks leaving little spots of electricity in their wake.

“You should have been more careful with your knee,” I whispered through my panting.

“I’ll be fine. My therapist says I’m getting better every day.”

Andrew twisted us until we were both lying on our sides, facing each other. I could stare at this man every day. The easiest thing I’d ever done was fall for him. And I had fallen hard.

“I think your therapist is full of it,” I joked, trailing my fingers through the smattering of hair on his chest.

“Full of my cock,” he replied, tugging me closer and kissing me quickly before tucking me under his chin. “Get some more sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”

The town had been prepping for their big Fall Festival over the past week. It was actually one of the few Saturdays when they didn’t hold the farmers market. Most of that space was used for food trucks and games. There were also a few rides that would be placed on the surrounding farmlands.

I knew this was something the town was used to, and it was just another festival, but I was excited. I’d never been to a small-town festival before and planned on indulging in fried foods and sugary sweets.

Andrew and I had also talked about telling his family about the pregnancy while we were gathered at the festival. I was almost out of the first trimester, and the medicine the doctor prescribed nipped my morning sickness in the bud.

“I can hear your gears spinning. You need your rest, sweetheart.”

“Well, someone so lavishly woke me up,” I reminded him.

“What a bastard,” he joked as he kissed the top of my head.

“Yeah, but I love him anyway,” I mumbled, allowing the sandman to pull me into slumber.

I listened to Andrew’s heartbeat, the soft thumping lulling me to sleep.

“It’s mutual, sweetheart,” I thought I heard him mumble, but I could have been wrong.

***

The town was transformed into a kid-friendly, spooky masterpiece. Whatever ideas I had in my head about what the Fall Festival in Ashfield would look like didn’t even compare to the reality.

It seemed like overnight—literally, because I was downtown the day before, grabbing a sweet treat from Alex’s shop, and none of the decorations had been hung—the town had pulled out all the stops. Who knew all of this was in the storage containers that appeared around the square this past week.

There were fall wreaths hanging from every light post. Fake cobwebs stretched from every awning. Creepy spiders and witch hats sat along the back and armrests of benches.

It looked like I walked onto a television set.

Andrew parked the truck behind Alex’s shop, and we walked hand in hand toward the official festival entrance.

Neither of us was prepared to come clean to Rory yet, so that meant an entire evening of keeping our hands to ourselves. Which we both knew was going to be torture.

Just before the block opened up to the oversized gravel lot, Andrew tugged me into an alleyway and pushed me up against the brick wall. Our lips met in a desperate kiss, tongues dancing as our hands roamed over each other’s bodies.

“I’d fuck you right here if I thought we wouldn’t get caught.”

“Stop teasing me like that,” I groaned as his lips pressed against my neck and his hand slipped between my legs, rubbing at the seam of my jeans.

“Not teasing when it’s a fact.”

With a quick spin, he pulled us farther into the shadows, and the sound of my giggle echoed off the masonry.

Then, with ease, he flicked open the button of my jeans and shoved his hand inside. My body immediately recognized his touch and gave into his intrusion.

“Already so wet, baby?”

“I’m always turned on around you,” I tell him as I pulled his head down for another scorching kiss.

“I read that being pregnant can make you want to fuck all the time.”

“Hm…,” I moaned as he finger-fucked me against the wall. “Being with you makes me want to fuck all the time.”

“Jesus Christ,” he growled as he kissed me again. “Better come soon, baby. I can hear people walking close by.”

My walls clenched around his fingers at the thought of being caught.

“Does that turn you on? Thinking that, at any moment, someone could see me getting you off with my fingers? What if it was my cock? Would that turn you on even more?”

“Andrew,” I hissed out, my hands clawing at the back of his form-fitted Henley shirt as I tried to grind myself against him.

“Come for me, sweetheart,” he commanded, and as usual, my body soared over the cliff.

Leaning against the bricks, he slipped his hand free and stuck his two fingers in his mouth, sucking my cum from his digits.

My eyes darted down to the erection in his pants and then back up. I silently asked if he needed some relief, but he smiled and shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Walking around the festival with my mother and sisters is enough to keep him down for hours.”

When we joined the crowd, no one seemed the wiser about what just happened in the alleyway a hundred feet away. My hands itched to hold Andrew’s as we bought our tickets and walked through the gates.

Well, Andrew bought them. He refused to let me pay for anything. That included tickets for the games and my two servings of funnel cake. Powdered sugar coated my lips and chin when his family joined us at the ring toss.

The girls and I took a step back as the boys showed off their masculinity by seeing who could win the largest prize. It was neck and neck between Andrew and Nate, but my man succeeded in gaining the win. I selected a large blue gorilla as my prize and laughed as Andrew secured it around his neck by its Velcro hands.

Later, I’d tell him the gorilla reminded me of him the first time we met. An angry exterior with a soft inside. Most of the couples walked in pairs, which gave Andrew and me a chance to walk together, but I stuck close to Rory so she wouldn’t seem suspicious.

“Oo… popcorn,” I said as the scent of kettle corn wafted through the air.

“Didn’t you just devour two funnel cakes?” my best friend asked.

“And there’s a rule saying I can’t have popcorn too? Come on. You know you want some.”

She groaned but smiled. “Of course, I do.”

Returning with a large plastic bag of kettle corn for the two of us, I grinned up at Andrew like I’d won the best prize at the entire fair. And really, between him and the yumminess I’d been consuming so far, I had.

“Don’t overdo it,” he whispered as he leaned toward me. “You don’t want a stomachache.”

“It would be worth it.”

Thankfully, Owen joined our small group and asked Andrew how the home building was going. Something I had been curious about as well, but I knew it wasn’t any of my business.

“I touch base with the contractor daily. He says things are progressing quickly, since I called in an additional team that Colton recommended. He assured me we could move in probably the first week of December.”

“We?”

My heart stopped as Owen caught Andrew’s slip-up.

“I was thinking of getting a dog. Someone to keep me company around the farm.” Andrew’s lie was easily believable, and Owen clearly bought it, as he asked what breed Andrew was looking for.

“I figured I’d just stop by the pound and find one up for adoption.”

“Cool. That’s a great idea. Aspen has been asking about a pet, but we travel so much….”

That was how the rest of the day went. Either Andrew or I was almost caught in our act but played it off as best we could.

I thought the sisters and their husbands bought it, but Nash kept sending me glances of both curiosity and warmth. Either he knew about me and Andrew, or Marisol spilled that she thought I was expecting.

Or it could be both . I nearly choked on a popcorn kernel as I shoved another handful from my plastic bag into my mouth.

“You okay?” Rory asked, as she grabbed our foot-long corn dogs from the vendor.

“Yes, sorry. Just went down the wrong way,” I said as I closed the popcorn bag and twisted the cap off of my bottle of water.

“Want to go on any rides? Talon is a big wuss and won’t ride anything.”

I took a hearty bite of my scalding-hot corn dog and ignored the pain in my mouth as I came up with a fib.

“Um… with all the food I’ve partaken in, that probably wouldn’t be the best idea.”

She laughed, because clearly I had eaten my weight and more in snacks since we arrived. Rory had barely made a dent in our popcorn bag, whereas I’d finished more than half the contents.

I was always a sucker for kettle corn.

“You’re probably right. Definitely the Ferris wheel before the night ends. You may have to sit with Andrew though. Or by yourself. I’m not sure which would be worse.”

“I’ll take my chances with your brother. He’s been nothing but nice to me since I’ve stayed with him.”

“He wasn’t so nice that first night. I gave him an earful.”

Rory was once a beloved schoolteacher here in Ashfield before she met Talon. Most people thought she was the sweetest, most innocent woman when first meeting her. I knew I had. But she was one of the most fun people I’d ever known. And I absolutely believed she told Andrew off about how he acted toward me when I first arrived.

As I nipped at my newly acquired corn dog and watched the people moving around me, Rory skipped over to her sisters to convince one of them to ride the carnival rides with her. Talon looked down on her with big, red hearts in his eyes, and his arms wrapped possessively around her waist.

I looked at them with envy. Even when I was with Caleb, I was his hidden secret. We couldn’t let the team know about us, nor his family. He met my mom once, and that had been a nightmare. I vowed that was never going to happen again. And now, with Andrew, we had to keep our relationship locked in a fireproof safe, all to spare us from the reaction of his sister.

Slowly, I backed away until I was tucked beneath the shade of a tree. I leaned against its trunk, ignoring the way the bark dug into my arm, and observed the family I craved as a kid. They stood around laughing as Rory still tried to get one of them to go on the rides with her.

At some point, I allowed the intrusive thoughts to take over. Would they even notice if I left? Would any of them care if I removed myself from their lives completely?

“What are you doing over here all by yourself?” the tall figure asked as he stood in front of me, casting a shadow over my body and blocking me from the view of the crowd.

“Just wanted a little shade,” I lied.

Andrew gripped my chin and tilted my head up to face him. His eyes searched mine as I smiled through my lie.

“Want to ride the Ferris wheel with me?”

“Won’t that look suspicious?” I asked, even though his sister already suggested the same thing. I was just bitter after my pity party.

“I really don’t fucking care right now.”

He didn’t wait for my response. Instead, he stole a kiss from my lips when no one could see us, his gorilla-covered back blocking any onlookers.

Andrew pulled back and smiled down at me. “Are you having fun?”

“Yeah,” I said as I took another bite of my corn dog.

“So, will you join me?” he asked, and there was absolutely no way I was turning him down.

We walked toward the Ferris wheel, the oversized stuffed gorilla in tow, leaving his family behind. We didn’t hold hands or make things obvious, but it was clear where we were headed.

Glancing over my shoulder, I found his siblings following closely behind.

As the sun started to fall across the valley, the lights on all the rides began to twinkle. It was mesmerizing. My fingers itched to touch him as we strolled through the crowds, heading toward the large apparatus at the end of the field, but I held back. We walked close enough to each other that our arms would randomly brush together, and I relished the feeling.

“This town is so beautiful,” I said as we passed a group of teenagers busy fighting over pieces of a soft pretzel.

“It’s nothing compared to what I see,” Andrew replied as I glanced up and found him staring down at me.

“Charmer.” I reached up and patted his cheek, hoping it could be seen as a playful slap if Rory noticed.

As we continued, a few people stopped us to speak with Andrew, and I wasn’t surprised. He lit up whenever anyone asked about the farm. Despite his reluctance to take over for his stepdad, Andrew loved Sunny Brook Farm just as much, if not more, than his siblings. I already knew he was anxious to get back to the farm and prove to Nash that it wasn’t a mistake to put him in charge.

Waiting in line, I watched women eye Andrew like he was up for grabs like the gorilla had been. One good shot and they’d win the coveted prize. Except the prize they wanted was mine.

“Our turn,” Andrew said as he nudged me with his hip, setting the stuffed animal aside so we could grab it when we exited.

I followed him into the cart, and soon we were making our way up into the air as his siblings and their partners piled into the carts in pairs beneath us. His hand rested on top of my thigh as we ascended.

“So, you still want to spill the beans tonight?” he asked me as we both looked out over the landscape at the sunset.

“I do. It’s like a huge secret I’m carrying around. And plus, I can’t hide it forever,” I replied, gesturing to my stomach, causing the cart to rock. Andrew’s hand left my leg, and he gripped the metal restraint holding us in.

His eyes were wide in a way I’d never noticed before as he gritted out through his teeth, “That’s true.”

“It’s scary though, knowing people will judge me for having a baby and not being married.”

“Don’t worry about any of those people. We’re all here for you. Especially me.”

“I know, and I’m more than grateful for everyone.”

“Also, be prepared for a ridiculously extravagant baby shower. My sisters will go overboard.” He said it like it was a bad thing. Being included with his sisters was one of the best perks for dating him.

After the cart took us around the full loop, we joined Marisol and Nash after we exited the Ferris wheel and waited for the other couples.

Once we were gathered together, I gripped Andrew’s hand for strength that I didn’t know was a necessity.

“Hey, everyone,” I said quietly, trying to garner their attention without making the people walking by stop to hear the news. “I have something I wanted to tell you.”

“Are you moving here permanently?” Rory asked, shifting on her toes in excitement.

“Did you find a new job?”

“Are you two dating?”

I glance over to Marisol and Nash and eyed their supportive grins.

“Um. Actually, I wanted you all to be the first to know… I’m pregnant.”

“What?” Rory shouted, her eyes immediately narrowing on Andrew as she took a menacing step toward him, and I found myself immediately back-pedaling.

“No, Rory. It’s Caleb’s. I’m eleven weeks along.”

“Oh.” She winced and apologized to her brother.

“It happened during his birthday weekend in Vegas.”

The group remained quiet, a reaction I hadn’t expected. Maybe I chose the timing wrong, or maybe they didn’t really care that I was expecting. I wasn’t their child, after all. But I had gotten my hopes up, thinking I’d have their support.

“Guys,” Andrew chimed in, “she’s keeping the baby.”

Suddenly, the group erupted in congratulations and compassionate well wishes.

Rory was the first to gather me in her arms. She squeezed me with surprising strength. “I’m so happy for you, Kelsey. You’re going to be the best mom. I’m so sorry I jumped to conclusions. I’m just a little protective of you.”

“Thank you. And it's okay. I understand why you reacted that way.” And I did. She’d made it very clear that her brother was off limits. It was too bad that she was going to be thrown for a loop if she ever found out about me and Andrew.

I was moved throughout the group, each person embracing me longer than the last. Nash held on the longest, in a fatherly grip I missed over the years since my dad’s death. I was nearly in tears by the time he let go.

“I’m so happy for you. You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”

“Thanks, Nash.”

“Let us know if you need anything.”

“I will,” I said, lying through my teeth. I wasn’t used to asking for help, not even from friends. Having Andrew help me when I was sick was the most I’d ever requested.

“I can’t believe it. Another baby to love and spoil!” Marisol exclaimed as she clapped.

Laughing, I said, “I’m pretty sure you already knew.”

“I suspected,” she replied with a grin of her own.

The mood of our little crowd changed with my news. There was a new kind of excitement that I could sense while the girls asked me questions as we walked, and their husbands would constantly make sure I was okay. I almost felt bad for Andrew, as he was relegated to the back of the group while we walked toward a tilt-a-whirl ride. But when I stole a glimpse of him over my shoulder, he smiled in a way that put me at ease.

He wasn’t a fan of crowds or the growing attention surrounding him as he walked, but he was content.

I met his grin, and as Rory and Aspen piled into the ride cart, I slowly inched toward Andrew.

“How are you doing?” he asked, his eyes searching mine. Beyond him, Nate and Owen were watching us with curious expressions. Nate’s arms were laden with the oversized gorilla as a gift for the twins.

“I’m great. This is so fun.”

“Yeah. The town does a nice job. Was there anything else you wanted to do? The haunted house or carousel?”

“Maybe the carousel? I’ve never been a fan of haunted houses. Once, in high school, I nearly peed my pants at a haunted farm.”

He laughed and tucked me under his arm, directing me toward the rotating attraction. Andrew had gone without his crutch and wore a more flexible brace beneath his jeans. To the naked eye, it would look like I was helping support him as I wrapped an arm around his waist.

“How’s your leg doing?”

“It’s okay. Much better now,” he claimed, smiling down at me.

“You’ll probably need to take it easy tomorrow and let it rest.”

“Oh no,” he said sarcastically. “What will I ever do to occupy my time?”

“I’m sure your physical therapist could come up with a few ideas.”

“She definitely puts me through the ringer,” he added just as we got in line for the ride.

The current group began exiting the carousel, and I noticed Nicole immediately. She ushered four kids from the ride while she carried one on her hip. A nondescript man waited for her and strapped two of the kids into a double stroller while a sulky preteen strolled over.

“She met him in college in Chicago. They got married after graduating and stayed in that area for a while. When she had her twins, they moved back here.”

“I thought you didn’t keep up with anyone.”

“I don’t. Mom told me.”

The family moved past us, the kids pointing out a booth for a duck game as they went by.

“What happened to you two?”

Andrew sighed and dropped his arm from around me, immediately making me regret asking.

“You don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business. It’s just… you never told me that night after the dress shopping. Of course, we did something much more enjoyable that evening,” I added, trying to change the subject so we could get back to the jovial mood from before.

“The older I get, the more I see how silly I was to get so upset. But I was infatuated with her. I was a football player. She was a cheerleader. We had always talked about going to the same college, graduating together, getting married, then making a home somewhere here. You know, the idealistic dream of puppy love.”

I nodded for him to continue as we moved up in line.

“Turned out, we weren’t on the same page. On the night of our high school graduation, I proposed. I spent the entire summer mowing lawns and, in the winter, shoveling snow to afford a ring for her. She turned me down and claimed she couldn’t spend one more second in Ashfield. And she certainly didn’t want to be married to a farmer.

“She’d accepted a spot at a fashion school in Chicago, when she had never even told me that was a field she was interested in. Nicole had only ever talked about being a psychologist to learn what makes people tick.” He shook his head. “That night, I was thrown for a loop, and with my teenage broken heart, I swore I’d never be in another relationship again.”

“She crushed your dream,” I said, reaching out to clasp his hand.

“Looking back, I should have seen it coming. She got really distant the last month of school. And anytime I asked what was going on, she claimed to be studying for exams.” He scoffed. “I can’t believe I held onto the anger all this time.”

“I can. Everything you planned together ended up being a lie. That’s a hard thing to overcome, especially as a teen. Most adults can barely deal with change.”

Our turn to board the carousel came up, and he lifted me onto the pastel-painted horse, then took the one next to me. It was extremely comical seeing this large man on a tiny horse. He caught me giggling as he settled into place, and instead of getting angry or shouting at me like Caleb would have, Andrew took my reaction in stride.

“Giddy up, cowgirl.”

My cheeks flamed as his meaning sank in.

There might be some riding in my future.