Page 14 of One Lustful Summer
“Did you ever bring Jodi out here?” Maggie questions.
I nod and tell her about a few of our adventures. Teaching Jodi to swim and fish. When she asks where Jodi is, I tell her about the girls’ shopping adventures for today.
“You’re doing a great job with her. She’s a hoot.” Maggie exclaims.
“Thank you. Sometimes I wonder if I’m giving her a goodlife. I’m just a man, and I know she needs a mom, a woman’s touch. But she got stuck with me. That’s why I’m so thankful that my mom helps as much as she does. Lauren, too.”
Maggie’s hand lands on my thigh, her touch sparking the electric feel that buzzes anytime we touch. “She’s not stuck with you. She’s lucky to have you.”
Her words hit hard. It’s the first time an outsider, someone who isn’t family or a friend, or a town person who has known me most of my life, has said those words to me. Words that I actually hear because I see she means it from her heart.
“That means a lot to hear.” I tell her. I reach behind the seat and grab the blanket I keep hidden. “Come on, let’s go check it out.” I step out of the mule and unhook the cooler from the back. “Let’s take a seat near the creek.”
Maggie steps out and waits for me to walk to her side. She takes the blanket from under my arm and we walk in silence to the bank near the creek. The grass is shorter here, probably from the wildlife grazing and walking alongside the creek.
Maggie spreads out the blanket and takes a seat in the middle. Her legs folded in front of her.
I set the cooler in front of her and then take a seat next to her. I open the cooler and grab a soda and water. Holding them out to her, I wait for her to pick her choice.
“I’ve done so much thinking here. If these trees could talk.” I reminisce. “This is where I came to collect myself when I found out that I was going to be a dad.” I look over at Maggie. She gives me a small smile, and I continue.
“Katie, Jodi’s mom, and I were young. We were focused on partying and hookin’ up.” I cringe when I think about how that sounds. But one look at Maggie and there is no judgement. “Katie freaked out, and well you could say I did as well. Hell, I was twenty-four, living in the upstairs garage apartment at my parents’ house. I was nervous, scared, like could I evenbe a father? But as time passed, I watched her body grow and Jodi develop, and things changed. I learned about the pregnancy and baby development. And with all the changes and knowledge, I became more excited and ready for fatherhood.”
I take a breath. This next part hurts the most. Not because Katie is not here, but how she treated our daughter. My daughter. “Two days after I turned twenty-five, Katie went into labor. I’m told it was an easy labor, according to mom and the nurses. After Jodi’s delivery, the medical staff placed her on Katie’s chest. She wanted nothing to do with Jodi. Katie just sat there and stared at the wall. She wouldn’t look at Jodi, would hold her. So I did the skin on skin. I fed Jodi her first bottle, changed her first diaper, and within a few hours, Katie was insistent that she didn’t want to be a mom. That this wasn’t what she had planned for her life. So, with the help of social services in the hospital and the help of my parents, Katie signed over her parental rights. And when the hospital released Jodi, it was Jodi and I from then on.”
Chapter 10
Maggie
There’s a vulnerability in his words. This strong man beside me shares his memories of when his life changed. And it changed for the better.
I shift my body, tucking my legs underneath me, and look over at him as he stares at the creek. I watch while he gathers his thoughts.
“You’re a great dad, Rowan. A great man. Not everybody can do what you’re doing, and it sounds like you have a team full of people at your back. Keep doing it.” He looks at me, his green eyes searching.
“I can say the same about you.” He expresses as his hand reaches towards my face.
His calloused fingers brush my cheek and the slide down my neck, stopping where my shoulders begin. He applies slight pressure with his fingers as our heads drift to each other.
I hold my breath. We’ve been here before, on the edge of a kiss.Twice. But something always ends this moment before it begins. I lean forward, taking the lead. His lips are soft and warm, a complete contradiction of any other kiss I have had.
I pull back and lick my lips. Did I overstep? Before I think about what just happened, his hand threads through my hair at the base of my neck and he pulls me closer, as his other hand wraps around my back.
This kiss, in contrast to the previous one, is intense anddesperate. Our mouths pressing hard against each other, his lips crush mine until they feel swollen and raw. Our tongues exploring each other as we become lost in the sensations.
I pull back, desperate for air, panting through parted lips. He tastes so good, like heaven, sweet like soda and a little salty, a perfect flavor against my tongue. I grab his face, raking my fingers over the scrub of stubble that gives his chin texture. My nipples harden, yearning to feel my skin against his.
While our bodies shift closer together, he cups my ass and pulls me closer so we are hip to hip. I release a deep groan at the sensation. I should be embarrassed at the sound, but I’m not.
“Maggie,” his deep grumble makes my name sound beautiful and erotic. “You taste so good,” he pants his praise against my neck.
His mouth returns to mine as he devours me. He kisses, licks, and nips my throat. His stubble scraping my skin and leaving behind the most delicious burn. Within moments, I’m withering with desperation for more of him.
I lift his face with my hands to catch my breath. Rowan moves our bodies and my back hits the blanket. He hovers over me, his arms on either side of my head, and places his knee between my legs, close to my core.
He continues to explore my mouth with his tongue, while one hand skims down my arm until his fingers clasp with mine. As the kiss deepens, I’m desperate for more.
We kiss and groan, huffing out hot breaths and shifting our bodies against each other. I squirm against his knee. The ache I fell for him is so deep. If he moves his knee just a little higher, I’d be a goner.
