in there the first time we made love.
She’s already six months pregnant, but looks further along than that to me. If I had to guess, she’s having a boy, which scares me a little. She’s so tiny, and our Jennings boys aren’t small. But I’ll have to wait until he or she comes. Addison doesn’t want to know the sex, so it’s all just guessing at this point. I don’t care either way. I just hope they have dark hair and green eyes like her. I want to look at our kids and see her all over them.
“I’m fine,” she says, yawning again, and I shake my head at her.
“No, you’re running yourself thin. I think we should hire someone to help in your barn.” She pouts out and bites her lower lip. I started calling it her barnwhen she started filling the thing. I reach down and pull her lip from her teeth. “It will be fine. You can help me find someone.”
“I just worry someone won’t care for them like I do. I love them all.” Her eyebrows draw together in concern, and I use my thumb to push the worry line away. Because she doesn’t need to be worrying about anything. Especially all the animals she’s been collecting. They are more than well cared for. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
I don’t even know where they’re all coming from, but if there is a hurt, neglected, or unwanted animal within a hundred miles of here, I think it’s found its way to her barn. Slowly she’s been filling up our farm with them and nursing them back to health, sharing all her sweetness with any creature that might need it. God, I love how much heart she has.
Hell, I’m freaking lucky my brother Blake’s new wife is a vet. Otherwise I might have had to hire one myself. Even after she gets them nursed back to health, she can’t bear to let them go. So now we have a menagerie of tame animals that adore Addison.
“We’ll find someone. I promise.”
“Okay, I know you’ll find the perfect person.” She smiles up at me, and I know she believes I will, because I’ve never broken a promise to her. Not once. I’ve spent every moment since she walked into my world proving to her that I’d give her anything she ever wanted. I’ve tried to give her the world and will never stop.
I thought being as sheltered as she was, she might want to travel. I took her away after we got married, and two days into the trip she started to get sad and say she missed our home. She didn’t like the hustle and bustle of the city. Neither did I, and I was more than happy to cancel the rest of the trip and take her back home to our bed, which we didn’t leave for weeks.
“I’m thinking we might need a second barn at this rate.”
Her eyes light up at my words.
“Will this one have air conditioning?” she asks, making me laugh.
I had to install insulation and air conditioning in our current barn because she was worrying herself into a fit that the animals would get overheated. I tried to explain to her that animals are used to the heat, but then said fuck it and had them installed. I didn’t like her running around in there in the heat, anyway. Well, she mostly waddles nowadays.
“Anything you want, baby doll. I’ll build it.”
“Liar,” she teases.
“All right. I won’t build it, but I’ll have it built,” I correct, knowing I won’t be spending my days building a barn. I like my days with her and helping her with the animals, teaching her how to care for some of them.
“You’re right, though. We’ll need someone when the baby comes.” She places her hand on top of mine.
“Maybe Blake’s wife, Luciana, will know someone looking for some work. Her family is moving out this way and maybe they want to help.”
“I love that idea.”
“I love you,” I tell her, leaning down and placing my mouth to hers.
My hands and mouth start to roam, and I give her two more orgasms before exhaustion takes her. She sleeps softly in the sunshine without a worry in the world.
Epilogue
Addison
Two years later…
“ H
Craig Strete
Keta Diablo
Hugh Howey
Norrey Ford
Kathi S. Barton
Jack Kerouac
Arthur Ransome
Rachel Searles
Erin McCarthy
Anne Bishop