Wrecking Us Saving You Read online

  We finish shopping, grabbing breakfast and snack foods. I don’t argue when we checkout, but I think I broke him. Chord hasn’t said a lot since my jab about women. Maybe I took it too far.

  We swing by for the pizza then head to his place. He turns off the highway into a residential community, not far from his parents’ home. The houses range from modest to amazing, I gasp at a few. They all have the beach feel with a weathered color palette.

  “This is One and Lea’s.” He points to the right. “And Thayer and Hardy’s”

  “They’re neighbors, their houses are amazing. And you’re right, plenty of land to separate them.”

  He turns a right and then an immediate right. The tree-lined driveway opens to a large Craftsman two story home. Dark gray with white trim and the garage on the side. It’s not until Chord reaches for the garage button that I realize where we are.

  “Welcome home.” Chord’s eyes gleam.

  I bite my lip. “You mean, welcome to your home.”

  He releases a heavy sigh. “Fine, welcome. We’ll get this stuff in and I’ll toss his things in the washer while we eat.”

  “You can do laundry?”

  He nods as he parks. “I can and I do.”

  Chord jumps out, unlocking the door. There’s boxes piled everywhere. I help Silas out, turning to grab some bags. We follow Chord through the door, from the mud room into the kitchen. I’m awestruck, the open floor plan showcases a great room with a wall of windows on the back side of the house.

  I wander over. In the distance, you can see the ocean. “The view sealed the deal for the plans. I couldn’t resist looking at this every morning.”

  “I’d say.” I bite my lip as I spin around, taking in the rest of the place.

  “I’m gonna throw his sheets in, the plates are in the cabinet.” He jogs toward the way we came in. I walk over, peeking through to him. The laundry room is to the left of where we came in.

  “Momma, I like it here,” Silas whispers.

  “Me too, baby boy. Me too.” I get to work finding plates and glasses to set the table.

  “I need to pee.” Silas’ eyes are wide.

  “Chord?” I walk toward the laundry with Silas in tow. “Chord?” As I look for him, I find a half bath. “Oh, here ya go.” I push the door open for Silas as he hurries in.

  Chord steps in the mud room. “What’s up?”

  “Why do you need all of this?” I sound more harsh than I mean to.

  He shrugs. “I can’t explain it. Or, at least, I can’t without you thinking I’m crazy.”

  “I’ve already made that discovery.”

  “You were always in my thoughts and plans.” His eyes drop to the floor.

  Silas opens the bathroom door, smiling. “I’m done, let’s eat, folks.” We chuckle. My eyes flicker to Chord; he looks so disheartened. I feel the same way.

  “Here we go, there’s three bedrooms. It has its own bath, and the other two have an adjoining bathroom. The master is straight ahead.” We stand at the top of the stairs, looking around.

  “Can I pick my room?” Silas’ eyes are wide.

  “Any one you want.”

  “You might want to reconsider, he’ll want the biggest one.” Sarah giggles.

  I purse my lips. “I didn’t think of that, besides his sheets won’t fit the bed in there.” I walk over, flipping the lights on to all the rooms.

  Silas runs from room to room. “Hey, baby boy. Let’s take this one, leave that one for regular guests.” Sarah pulls him to the one at the front of the house with the adjoining bath.

  “I love it!” he yells when he runs in.

  “The bed is a full, and there are towels in the bathroom. I’ll run down and get his linens.”

  On my way back up, I toss Silas’ sheets on his bed, finding him in the tub. I walk around, looking for Sarah, to find her in the master. She cuts her eyes at me when I walk in.

  “Sorry, just learning the lay of the land.” She shrugs, staring out the window.

  I lean against the wall. “No worries. I want y’all to feel at home.”

  Her eyes dart to mine. “Please, stop.”

  “Stop what, Sarah? Saying this is your home? That I want to take care of you both? Stop being in love with you because it doesn’t make sense to other people that I’m still fucking madly in love with you, all these years later?” My heart pounds against my chest.

  “Yes.” She sighs. “I can’t let myself get caught up in all of this.”

  “All of what?” I push off the wall. “Wait. You don’t want me, do you? Not like I want you, right?” She spins on me, her eyes wet. “Fuck. I-I’m sorry, I thought.” I wheel around, rushing downstairs.

  I pick up the kitchen, waiting around on the rest of Silas’ bedding. Once it’s done, I take it upstairs, finding them both curled up asleep. I toss the comforter over them, then I turn toward the door and feel a pull on my hand.

  “Chord?”

  I wait. Nothing. I take another step toward the door, and her grip tightens. Turning to look at her, she peers up at me. Her eyes pleading, but for what?

  “I don’t know what you want.” Her eyes flutter closed. I kneel beside the bed, and she rolls toward me. Our faces, inches apart. She opens her eyes, filled to the brim. “I don’t want to push you. I don’t want you to leave. I also don’t want you to stay if you don’t want to. I need you to decide or, at least, give me some direction.”

  Her hand cradles my jaw, and I lean into it, craving her touch. Her love. “Right now, I don’t want you to let go.”

  “I never have.” I press my lips to her head, leaving her to sleep.

  I turn the hall light off, continuing to my bedroom. Electricity shoots through my hand, her touch sending me spiraling. I turn to find Sarah, her chest heaving. The roar of my heart coming to life reverberates in my ears when I step closer to her.

  “Kiss me,” she breathes.

  “I won’t ever stop.”

  “Kiss. Me.” She laces our fingers, and my eyes flicker from them to her eyes.

  “Only if this is forever.”

  Her teeth sink in, turning her lip crimson. “Forever is all I want. Always have.”

  I tighten my grip, hauling her to me. Our intertwined hands land on the small of her back, and I slide the other into her hair at the base of her neck. I tilt her head back, sweeping her jaw with the touch of my lips.

  Her audible moan sends me into a frenzied desire. I brush her lips with mine. She sighs, giving me my opening. I slide my tongue between her soft lips. Swirling it over hers, slipping it around as they tangle and fight through the fire.

  I release her hand, grabbing her hip as I press her body into mine. Her fingers knot into my hair. Our mouths melt together, no longer misunderstanding what the other is trying to say.

  Right now, we know exactly what the other needs. My cock pushes against her stomach as I nip at her lips. Her nipples, hard, push through her shirt. This is the life I’ve longed for. I take her mouth hard, devouring her.

  “Momma?” The sweetest voice in the world rips us apart. She lays her forehead against mine, struggling for air.

  “Yes, baby boy. I’m here.” I release my hold, our hands wrapping our wrists, stretching as far as we can until we let go. She walks toward our son, glancing over her shoulder. She leaves me, for now.

  I’m up and down all night long. I traipse across the hall each time my feet hit the floor. I can’t stop myself, I need to make sure they’re still here. I lean against the door, watching them sleep.

  Silas may be his father’s mirror image, but he sleeps like his mom. I cover my mouth, thinking of the times I woke with her knees in my back or elbow in my ear. She’d always apologize, but I didn’t care.

  She needed to touch me at all times, and I was okay with that. I mean, who wouldn’t be. Then she was small but was built like a teenage boy’s wet dreams. Having my baby made all her curves pop.

  Damn, what a handful they are.

  He
r eyes snap open, startling me. “That’s a little stalkerish, dude.”

  “Sorry, the view is spectacular.”

  She rolls to her back, stretching, giving me a full view as her nipples do the same. “This bed is heaven.” She yawns, sitting up. Her hair is knotted and sticking up in every direction.

  “Good to hear.”

  “Is your bed not comfortable?” She yawns through her words.

  I chuckle. “It is, just cold.”

  Her eyes are on me, her gaze heated. “We have room for one more.”

  I glance at the floor, biting my lip. I take a step toward the bed, she shifts, then watches me through narrowed eyes as I climb in on the other side.

  “Nice boxers,” saying as I lay my head down across from her. Her arm lays on the pillow over Silas’ head, resting on it. I mimic her pose, scooting my hand under hers.

  “Thank you, I’ve been meaning to wear them.”

  She cocks her brow. “You’ve been meaning to? Do you not usually?”

  “Not around the house, suppose that needs to change.”

  Desire boils over between us. “Please, don’t change for me.”

  “I wasn’t planning to.” She licks her lips. “Just wanted you to decide if you were making this your home before I break you in.”

  A line forms between her brows. “Are you asking me to move in?”

  “No.” Her eyes fall. “I’m asking for you both to move in, I want to be a family.”

  Her eyes snap to mine. “We’re gonna have to work hard.”

  I nod. “We always have.”

  She raises her head. “Are you sure? You’re positive you want us?”

  “All those stories you told Silas, did you believe them?”

  Her brow furrows. “Yes, I knew you’d find us one day.”

  “What did you think would happen, Sarah?”

  She licks her lips. “I didn’t think about what would happen, I thought about what I hoped would.”

  I raise my head, gazing into her eyes. “What did you hope for?”

  “That we’d be a family. Have a home together. Be safe and happy.”

  I reach over, caressing her face. “Everything I’ve done in my life was to prepare for when I found you both. So we could be a family, have a home, be safe and to live happily ever after.”

  “You did a great job.” She releases a heavy breath.

  “So did you.” I glance at our son sleeping between us. “I dare say, better than I did.”

  “You already love him so much, don’t you?” Her tears build.

  “From the minute I read you were pregnant, this just makes it perfect.”

  Her eyes flicker between Silas and me. “Are you sure? No one’s ever wanted me, us.”

  “You’re all I’ve ever wanted, he’s just the silver lining.” I lean in, taking her mouth. There’s no resistance, nothing stands between us now.

  “We’d love to.” She places her hands on my face, kissing me wildly.

  “Ohhh, y’all are kissin’.” Silas’ raspy voice floats up between us. We laugh, scooting back down in bed, and we lay laughing for hours.

  We stand side by side, cleaning the kitchen. “You wanna shower first? I can stay with Silas.”

  “Would you mind?” I glare at her. “Old habit, I’ll go shower.”

  “We’ll keep working on it.” I chuckle as she sits down at the bar, digging through her purse. “Oh and there’s no charge for a shower.” I smirk.

  She purses her lips. “A swanky place like this and I don’t gotta pay to shower, Big Daddy?” she says in her best Southern twang.

  “Smartass.” I narrow my eyes. “Keep the ‘Big Daddy’ for later.” I waggle my brows.

  She shakes her head, pulling her phone out. “So not funny.” She looks down. “Piece of shit. I need to charge my phone.” She pulls out a charger, stuffing her papers back in her purse.

  “Here.” I reach for it. “You’re more than welcome to use mine,” I offer as I check out her ancient means of communication.

  “Thank you, I might if mine hasn’t charged by the time I get out.” She stands, putting her purse back in the seat.

  “Alright, it’s here. Unless you want me to call Luke or work. If it’s work, can I tell them you quit?”

  She stops in her tracks, and her mouth hangs. “I need to quit my job, find a new one, tell Luke we’re moving out.”

  “Why do you need to work?”

  She puts her hands on her hips. “First, I’m not letting you take care of me. Second, I have bills, and third, I want to do my part.”

  “What bills do you have?”

  She rolls her eyes. “I have half a year on my apartment, I can’t stick Luke with that and other stuff.” She sighs. “I’m gonna take a shower, can we pick up a newspaper when we go out?”

  “We can. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Silas walks up beside me.

  “We’ll be fine, Momma, Chorwd’s a good man.” We do a double take at him. “It’s what she’s always told Unc, I’m just saying it.” He walks toward the family room, and we laugh.

  Sarah holds her hands up. “You’re repeating it and you shouldn’t, it’s rude. Alright, I’m going.” She hightails it upstairs, and I follow Silas.

  “Hey, buddy. If I were to surprise your mom, do something to make her happy, what do you think that would be?”

  He taps his chin, holding his mouth lopsided. “She wants a new wardwrobe and a chocolate shake.” He smiles.

  “We can do that. Is there anything else, like anything she might have said to Uncle Luke?” I’m making my son a conspirator, bad dad.

  He nods. “She told Unc she will be so happy when the hospital bills were paid, and she said she wished we all could live rent free. Does that help?” His gazes at me, eyes wide.

  I ruffle his hair. “You are a superhero.” He stands, flexing his arms. “I’ll be right back, you sit here and finish your show.” I hop up, hurrying to Sarah’s purse.

  That’s right, I’m about to commit a crime. I’m going to search a woman’s purse, breaking all the rules. I’m going in and no one’s gonna stop me. I grab her bag, searching it for the paper she had with her phone.

  Pulling it open, I see it’s what I suspected. A hospital bill for Silas. She’s been paying as best as she can over the years. I reach for my wallet, dialing the number and hit call.

  After paying the hospital bill, I go a step too far but if I don’t, she’ll never tell me. My gut twists and I know I’m crossing all the lines now, but I’ll be damned if they live from week to week or worry about money.

  I pull her checkbook out, calling my bank to make a transfer. As I close the book, something catches my eye. A realty company, gotcha. I shove everything back in, Googling the reality place.

  “No, we’ll just keep it between us for now. Thank you, I appreciate your time.” I end the call, turning to find Sarah.

  “Who was that?” She folds her arms.

  I open my mouth, closing it again. “Business.” I wrinkle my nose.

  “Are we telling her now, Chorwd?” Silas runs up to us, throwing his arms around Sarah.

  She cocks her head. “Telling me what, baby boy?”

  “Oh, it’s totally nothing. I wouldn’t worry, are we ready to go?” I wave it off, yanking my keys from the counter.

  Her eyes blaze a trail down my body. “Think you might to want shower and dress first?”

  Fuck. I look myself over, still in a t-shirt and boxers. “Uhh, yeah. Give me ten minutes.” I hold up both hands.

  I take the stairs two at a time, going over my conversation as I rush through getting showered and dressed. I need to swing by the office, check on my test. I also need to go by Walker’s.

  I button my vest as I head down the stairs, adjusting my tie as I turn the corner of the kitchen. Sarah sits on a barstool, hands in her lap, face red. Shit. I’m about to explain myself when her eyes roam my body, sighing heavily.

  She stands, biting her lip as she walks
toward me. Her hips sway, her eyes glint. My cock grows as my mouth waters. She stands before me, toe to toe. Tilting her head, our lips are mere inches apart.

  Her chest heaves. “Looking this fucking hot makes it really hard for me to be mad at you.”

  I lick my lips, swallowing hard. “You think I look fucking hot?”

  She slides her hand between us, palming my cock through my dress pants. “What man, as goddamn built as you, in a three-piece suit, wouldn’t be? You make me wet.”

  I grow solid in her hand. “Sarah, I’m gonna bend you over the counter if you don’t back up.”

  She squeezes my shaft, running her lips over my jaw to brush her mouth against mine. “And if you ever pay my bills without my permission again, you’ll never get to sink so deep into my pussy you come on contact.” She releases me, glaring before sashaying away. “Silas, let’s go, sweetheart,” she yells out the door.

  “Motherfucker.” I rest my hands against the counter. “She did not just leave me with blue balls.”

  “I want a blue ball,” Silas says, bouncing into the room.

  “Well, your mother is an expert at handling them.”

  He peers up at me. “I’m sorrwy you’rwe in trwouble, you should apologize. Momma says it’s imporwtant when you make a mistake.”

  I squat beside him. “Silas, I’m probably going to make a lot of mistakes, but I want you to know, I love you. Nothing will ever change that or the love I have for your mom. Now, I need to tell your momma.”

  “You already did.” My eyes snap to hers. “She loves you too, but you should’ve talked to me.”

  I stand, reaching for her. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked, but I knew you would’ve never told me or let me help.”

  “Listen to yourself. You’re sorry for getting caught, not for doing it.” She places her fist on her hips.

  I shove my hands into my pockets. “You’re right again. Would you like for me to cancel everything?”

  “No,” she huffs. “no, I don’t want you to do that either.” She walks up to me, laying her hand on my chest. “I want us to talk, like we used to, about everything. I want you to know, I appreciate the fact you want to take care of us.”