Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)(65)
And this would be her last. Last time to feel a baby moving inside her. Last time to nurse. The only thing that could possibly make it better was Matt being here. She hadn’t wanted to get close enough to miss him, but she did, she thought smiling. And at least for now it didn’t hurt so much, thinking of him. Actually the opposite.
Some nights she’d put him on speaker while they ate dinner, took baths, or got ready for bed. The kids sang him silly songs from the bathtub, and a couple of times he’d even told them a bedtime story over the phone.
After the kids were asleep, she’d curl up, phone pressed to her ear. They’d talk for hours about everything and nothing—movies, TV shows, his life, her life. Sometimes they’d watched the same show all the way through as if they were sitting on the couch together.
He didn’t say a lot about his military work, and she didn’t ask. They focused more on how she spent her days, the kids, and the progress with his current house. He’d sold another one and bought two more, which were in the early planning stages. A man of many talents.
Her phone rang as she folded the last baby blanket. Seeing Matt’s name come up, she answered quickly, a smile on her lips. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Matt said. “What are you doing?”
“Talking to you. What are you doing?” It was their standard exchange. Even through the phone, she felt closer to him than anyone in her entire life.
“Just grabbing a late dinner.”
“Matt, it’s nearly ten o’clock.”
“Like I said, late.”
“What have you been doing all day?”
“Painting. Building. How are you? You feeling okay?”
“I’m good, but I’d kill for some Phish Food right now.”
“Okay, babe, that is weird.”
“Ha-ha. It’s a Ben and Jerry’s flavor. You know, chocolate ice cream, marshmallow, and little chocolate pieces shaped like fish.”
“Ah. An ice cream craving.”
“Yes. I can’t believe I ran out. I’ll stock up tomorrow.”
“So, how is everybody?”
Abby started to give him the short version, but, as always, he wanted details. “Well, we started our day with Jack spilling cranberry juice on Gracie’s favorite yellow shirt and then telling her it was ugly anyway.”
“Ooh, dissing a woman’s clothes. I’ll have to talk to him about that.”
“Good luck. He’s in an I-hate-girls phase.” Abby wondered if Matt would be around when Jack changed his mind, but she quickly pushed those thoughts aside. “Charlie had dinosaur day at preschool, probably the best day of his life to this point. I’ll let him tell you about it himself. Gracie had a teddy bear picnic. They brought their favorite stuffed bear and ate lunch on the big-kid playground. You know how it galls her to have a special playground for preschoolers—such a nasty word.”
She’d heard Matt thanking a checkout person during that long recitation.
“What are you buying?”
“Just some frozen stuff.”
She skipped the part about her meeting at school with William. No need to upset him. “Charlie got a scraped knee at Jack’s football practice when he tried to demonstrate a tackle on one of Gracie’s friends, but what really made him cry was Gracie telling him he played like a girl.”
“Well, that’s a pretty bad insult.”
“Really? I’ll let you say that to Gracie’s face next time you’re here.”
“Okay, I take it back.”
“Baby.”
“Yep. I’m not going to tangle with that three-year-old spitfire. Hey, do me a favor and go check the doors while I’m on the phone.”
Matt was always reminding her to be safe. “I’m sure I locked them.”
“I’m sure you did too. Just go check for me one more time while I’m here.”
“Matt—”
“Humor me.”
“Fine.” She checked the back door and walked to the front. “It’s locked.”
“Thanks for checking.”
She heard the words coming from the phone, but she also heard— “Matt?”
“What?”
“Matt!” She unlocked the door and nearly threw it off its hinges.
There on the bottom step stood a gorgeous Matt, his cell in one hand, a pint of Phish Food in the other.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had to train or—”
“I did. I do, but I heard someone here was desperate for ice cream.”
She was kissing him before he even got in the door. Attacking him, not caring if they were in or out.
He walked her through the doorway, closing the door behind him with his foot and reaching back to turn the dead bolt.
“Don’t you want your ice cream?”
She took it from his hands and dropped it on the floor. “I’d rather have you.” Abby tugged his head down for a kiss. But it didn’t take much. Matt’s lips were hot on her skin, his teeth scraping against her neck. Then he took her mouth, hard and completely, the same way he’d taken everything else.
—
Hours later Matt held her against his side, listening as her breathing returned to normal. Outside the bedroom walls she was a buttoned-up mother of four, but in bed…holy God. He’d never forget how wild she’d been, riding him, breasts swaying, a smile on her face. Greedy. Impatient. The look of shock and pleasure when she came around him. The vision was forever burned into his brain. He’d have it to call upon all the nights they were apart. Too many nights.