“Okay… what?” I prodded, stunned by her answer, having expected more of a fight.
“We will move in with you and your brother…temporarily, but we will have to do some shopping. I have little in the way of a crib, a playpen, or toys for Charlie.” she seemed to get lost in her head for a moment. Her shoulders drew inward and her head hung between her shoulders.
I could see the uncertainty gnawing at her. Was this shift in attitude because of the grief of Charlie’s father’s passing, the unsettling experience of sharing a house with strangers, her bone-deep exhaustion, or some toxic combination of all three? I could see the weight of it pressing down on her.
“I’m sure we probably have some things in the attic from when Wade and I were kids. Ma was a hoarder of sentimental things. I’m sure she probably even kept locks of our hair and some of our baby teeth.” I assured, hoping to comfort her with a soft smile.
“Let us help.” I added for good measure.
About the time I saw the resignation seep into Stella’sfeatures, Charlie started to stir and rub her eyes. She let out a face splitting yawn, and I chuckled. She startled for a moment, forgetting where she’d fallen asleep and looking around for her mama.
“Good morning, sunshine. Sleep well?” I said with a grin.
Stella sucked in a sharp breath, a sound like air hissing through a punctured tire, and I looked up at her, concern etched on my face. Had I said or done something wrong? Her eyes filled with tears as she reached over to shift Charlie onto her own lap.
I helped plop the toddler into the comfort of her mama’s arms and rubbed the back of my neck, attempting to stretch out the kink from holding the little chunk. I sure wasn’t conditioned to holding babies for any length of time.
“Did I say something wrong?” I asked hesitantly, thinking back on what I’d said.
“No, Max. You didn’t.” Her emerald eyes met mine, and from just one look, I felt my world shift. “You said nothing wrong at all.”
After walkingStella and Charlie back to the Mayfair to gather their things, I gave her directions to the ranch. Though not far from town, the back roads leading there were barely more than narrow, winding tracks, easily missed by an unfamiliar driver.
As she strapped Charlie into her car seat, I instructed her to stay close behind me. I noted the way she adjusted the straps, tightened them down, and shifted the clip to right over the center of Charlie’s chest.
Never having strapped a baby into a car seat before, I found it oddly complicated. It looked like there were twenty or so straps, and I had no clue how they all clipped together. I made a mental note to watch some YouTube videos about car seat safety later, in case of an emergency.
The drive to the ranch, a scenic route through rolling hills and past grazing cattle, took approximately fifteen minutes. Stella stayed close behind my truck the entire way. When we pulled onto the property, I hooked a right to head towards the big house.
The left of the property was mainly stables for our personal horses and a barn to store hay in for the winter. There was also a walking trail that my Ma and Pops had worn down that went through the woods to one of my favorite spots.I made another mental note to show Stella around. I figured that having an overview of her surroundings would show her that she was going to be safe here.
Pulling up to the house, I parked on the right-hand side. We had a makeshift parking area that could fit four or five large sized trucks comfortably, side by side. We rarely filled it, but with the extra vehicle, I wanted to make sure Stella had enough room to get Charlie in and out of her car seat comfortably.
Stella pulled in right beside my truck and killed the engine. Before I even had a chance to hop out and help, she had Charlie unbuckled and propped on her hip. Resigning myself to the fact that Stella didn’t need constant coddling, I motioned for her to walk towards the front porch.
The big house wasn’t fancy; its weathered clapboard siding and mismatched windows spoke of a long, quiet history. Most folks thought that every ranch had a ‘big house’ that was reminiscent of what they saw on Yellowstone, butours couldn’t be further from that. It was a modest five-bedroom house with white siding and a wrap-around porch. Ma had insisted that Pops install a porch swing on the side.
She used to say that every good southern farmhouse needed a rickety porch swing, and she often spent many nights curled up on that thing, drinking a cup of tea and regaling stories of her and Pops’ good ol’ years.
In the two years since she’d been gone, none of us Daniels men could stomach sitting on it. It stood as a vigil to the wonderful woman we had lost. It brought back the gut wrenching pain of losing our family matriarch, but none of us wanted to remove it.
“Let’s see this bachelor pad, cowboy.” Stella teased with a grin, knocking me out of my trip down memory lane.
The country air must have given her a little sense of peace. She seemed marginally happier out here in the sticks, away from the hustle and bustle of town. I took in how her hair glowed in the warm summer sunlight and the way her eyes sparkled as she took in her surroundings. She seemed lighter, even in the last twenty or so minutes.
As she sauntered towards the front porch, I noticed a slight sashay in her hips. I’m sure it was just the counterbalance of carrying a child on her hip, but reason flew out the window the instant she cocked her head over her shoulder and called back, “You comin’?”
Fuck.
Yes, yes, I would be coming. Right in my fucking Wranglers if I didn’t get a grip on the hard on that was thickening in my jeans from watching her tight ass crest the porch steps.
Maybe I had a mommy kink, maybe I got off on playing savior to the damsel in distress, maybe I just had a Stella fetish. Whatever it was, this woman was playing with fire andI knew trouble wasn’t just going to be a nickname; she was trouble personified.
As we stepped up the couple steps to the wraparound porch, I hesitated. I should have warned Wade that I was bringing a woman.. and a baby.. home. Gripping the handle of the red front door, I twisted it, pushed it open with a creak, and silently prayed that he was clothed. Apparently, the universe thought I didn’t need a win in that department.
“Fuck, bro! You scared the sh…” Wade stopped as he rounded the corner from the kitchen into the foyer. He was in nothing but a pair of black boxer shorts with tiny red hearts all over them and his cowboy hat.
For the lord’s sake.
