Until Friday Night (The Field Party #1)(64)

Both his hands moved up and cupped my breasts as a small cry that I couldn’t help escaped me. I loved his hands on me and the way they made me feel.

Too suddenly he pulled back. “If I’d done this that night I would have expected you to knee me in the balls,” he said, breathing hard.

“I probably would have fainted.”

He kept his hands on me and brushed his thumb over my nipples through the satin of my bra. I shivered and squirmed, trying to get more.

“We aren’t ready for this part of our night. I have a plan,” he said, his eyes full of the same arousal I was feeling.

“I thought this was your plan,” I said, closing my eyes as he moved his fingertips just inside the satin of my bra. “No, but it is a helluva lot better.”

Take All the Time You Need

CHAPTER 48

WEST

Two weeks later. . .

I held Maggie’s hand as we stood at her mother’s grave. Last night after the game we hadn’t gone to the field to celebrate. Instead we’d packed our bags. Maggie hadn’t been to her mother’s grave since the funeral she barely remembered. When she’d shared that with me, I had wanted to get her there.

I visited my dad’s grave every Saturday morning to tell him about the game the night before. It helped me cope. It made me feel like he was close even if he wasn’t there. I wanted that for Maggie.

Her small hand slipped out of mine as she turned to look up at me. Brady was waiting in the truck for us. His being there was the only way her aunt and uncle would approve of an overnight trip.

“I want to talk to her alone,” Maggie said softly.

I bent down and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Take all the time you need.” Then I turned and left her there to face her past and her pain. I wanted to hold her hand while she did it, but I wasn’t going to force her. I just wanted to be there when she needed me.

Brady glanced over at me and frowned when I opened the passenger door. “You leave her there all alone?”

“She asked to be alone.”

He sighed and picked up his phone and then handed it to me. “Just got this text from my dad. He didn’t call because he was afraid Maggie would hear him. They want to tell her.”

I read the text several times as my stomach twisted and my heart felt heavy.

Her father had hanged himself in his cell this morning. There were no details on how he’d managed to do that. Maggie acted as if he was already dead, but how would this affect her? I turned to look at her as she stood by her mother’s grave.

She had faced so much that I hated adding more to it. I wished I could keep this from her, but I knew she deserved to know. Seeing her hurt was hard.

“I called Dad. He said her dad left her a letter. Dad is going to get it and read it first. We don’t know if she should see it. She just started talking and living life again.”

“Don’t tell her without me there,” I told him.

“We won’t,” he replied.

One day we would look back at this time, and the pain wouldn’t be so fresh. I wanted that day to get here.

I Cried for Me

CHAPTER 49

MAGGIE

I’d fallen asleep at some point on the drive home. My head was tucked against West, and his arm was around me. I could feel his fingers gently playing in my hair. He made me feel warm and safe. I’d needed that after visiting my mother.

I hadn’t been prepared. Knowing her body was underground was one thing. Seeing the actual grave was another. West’s hand in mine had given me the strength I needed to face it. Once I had been sure I wasn’t about to fall to the ground in a sobbing mess, I’d let him go so I could talk to her.

I’d told her all about life with Uncle Boone, Aunt Coralee, and Brady. I’d started from the day I’d arrived, and I’d tried to tell her all the important things. Especially about West and his dad. When I’d finished, I’d realized West was right. Talking to her had made it feel as if she were close to me somehow.

“Dad’s texting me. He wants to tell her tonight,” Brady’s voice said in a whisper.

Her, as in me? What were they talking about?

West tensed underneath me, and I stayed still, my eyes closed. “She needs a little time after seeing her mom today,” he said so softly, I wondered if Brady could hear him.

Brady sighed. “I agree. I’ll talk to Dad. Your mom’s home again? Right? Didn’t she come home last week?”

West’s mom was home, but she was acting strange. I knew he was worried about her. She had left so abruptly after his father’s death and had gone to stay with her own mother, leaving West to deal with things alone. It didn’t seem like her at all. Now that she was back, she was acting odd. Forgetting things, burning food, sleeping half the day.

“Yeah, she’s home,” he replied. The worry in his voice was obvious. I wanted to hold him and promise him it would all be okay. But I couldn’t do that because I didn’t know for sure that it would be.

I waited to see if they said anything more about what my uncle wanted to tell me. When they didn’t after several minutes, I stretched and slowly sat up.

“About time you woke up. You’ve slept most of the drive,” Brady said in a teasing tone.

West chuckled and pulled me to him as he kissed the top of my head. “Leave my girl alone. She’s had a long day.”