“Me is chewing it. Him was in a bag.”
“In a bag?”
“Uh-uh, him eat a wabit food.”
“Oh, there was a mouse in the rabbit food bag?”
“Aunt Sam was fraid.”
Alexis laughed while picturing a mouse jumping out of the bag. “Did she scream?”
“Him wike me.”
“The mouse liked you?”
“Uh-huh. Me swawoed it.”
Alexis looked through the rearview mirror at Riki, holding her hand around her throat. She didn’t even respond, but she did make a mental note to carry packs of fruit snacks in her purse from now on. She couldn’t keep letting her swallow chewing gum.
Riki loved being at Walt and Lola’s as much as she loved being at Sam’s. Walt had to follow Alexis home on his quad just for Riki. Alexis tried to tell him no, knowing they were only feeding the fire. Riki had them all hooked. That’s why she drove the four-wheeler home. As soon as she tilted her little head and pouted her bottom lip, she had them, especially Walt. “Pwease, Pawpaw Kinney,” she begged. That’s all it took. Riki followed behind her jeep with her arms spread wide while she drove the quad.
After an hour-long bath, Riki was settled on the sofa, snuggled with Alexis and Doc McStuffins. “Him wikes me.”
Alexis kissed her wet hair and nestled her closer. “He does, and I wuv you.”
Riki giggled and pushed her kissing lips away. “Me have a see Doc Stuffins, Wexis.”
“Oh, sorry. Continue.” Alexis checked her phone for a text message. Nothing. It was nearly eight o’clock and he still hadn’t gotten home. Trying not to be the jealous girlfriend, wondering if he was with someone proved harder than she thought it would be. She had to talk herself out of calling him the entire thirty-minute show. She wasn’t that girl. Grrr. Yes she was and she had good reason. Guys cheat. That’s what they do.
“Hey, you want to go read a book in your bed?”
“Me wike a wead a book,” Riki agreed.
After stopping to pee and brush her teeth, Alexis let Riki pick a book and then argued about the Pull-Up. “Let’s put this on first.”
“No, no, me not wike it.”
“But, you might have an accident.”
“Me did pee in a potty.”
“Do you promise not to pee the bed?”
“Me won’t.”
“Why should I believe you? You told me you wouldn’t swallow your gum, either.”
“Me wike a gum.” Alexis lifted the covers and Riki climbed in. “Me can have a gum, Wexis?”
“No, not tonight. We’re going to read a book.”
“Pwease, Wexis,” Riki begged with the cutest little pout ever, the same one that did Walt in.
“No gum, and you can’t whine about it, either.”
“Me wike a whine.”
Alexis laid beside Riki and opened the book for distraction. “Look, here’s a puppy. Let’s see what he’s doing.”
“Him a fall in a hole.”
Alexis laughed when she read the first page. “Polly the puppy jumped over the puddle.”
“Him fall in a hole.”
“His paws, slipped and slid. Polly the puppy fell in the hole.”
“Me teld you.”
Reading to Riki was exhausting. By the time she told Alexis what was going to happen and made her read it, the five-minute book with two sentences per page, took twenty minutes. At least she yawned by the end of the book. Alexis knew when she rolled to her stomach that Riki was moments from sleep. She hummed “Amazing Grace,” rubbing her back and wondering if she should make her put on the Pull-Up.
As soon as Riki was out, Alexis sank into a tub of lavender. Her hair flipped over the back of the claw-foot tub and she closed her eyes, wondering what was keeping Cory.
“Hello,” he finally said ten minutes after Alexis had gotten in the tub.
“I was getting worried about you. Are you hungry?”
“No. I grabbed a sandwich,” Cory replied as his shirt fell to the floor. “I hope you have room for me in there.”
“I’ll make room.” Alexis moved forward and he slid in behind her.
“It’s too hot,” he whined.
“It is not. Sit down, you big baby.”
“Did you just call me a big baby?”
“I did,” Alexis admitted. She leaned backed to his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.
Cory hissed from the hot water, deciding that it felt amazing. He kissed the side of Alexis’s head, and settled in behind her. “You smell like a pretty flower.”
“You smell like you just left the gym.”
“I feel like that, too. How was Riki tonight?”
“Sweet as can be. We ate supper at my parents’, she talked Pawpaw Kinley into bringing her home on the quad, we walked down to the pond and fed the fish bread, took a bath, watched Doc McStuffins, and read Polly Puppy.”
“You know what, Lex?”
“What?”
“It feels really good not worrying about her. I knew she was in good hands, happy, and loved,” Cory confessed.
“I’m glad. You’re going to have to take her to my sister’s next week. I have school pictures, that’s an all day job, but I’ll pick her up.”
“We need to get another car seat.”
“Yes we do. Let’s do that this weekend.”
“Or you could just order one online.”
“Oh, yeah. I can do that.” Alexis and Cory talked about their day, Cory’s Canterville patients, and Riki. Alexis finally got out when the water started to cool down. She left Cory to bathe and wrapped herself in a towel.
After a quick peek on Riki, Cory slid in behind Alexis. “You’re naked,” he alleged while his arms pulled her to him.
“You’re pretty smart. Tell me again how you got to become a doctor?”
Cory smiled down at her, propped on one elbow. “Shut up and kiss me, smartass.”
Alexis rolled him to his back, straddled him, and kissed him with all tongue. She felt the flood of arousal between her legs, immediately soaking Cory’s fingers. The faint but unmistakable aroma of her arousal was a silent declaration of total approval. Alexis moaned when his fingers slid gracefully through her slit. With a tender smile, Alexis kissed his chin and moved down his chest. Her eyes seductively glanced to his.
“You like that? How about here?” she asked in a gravely tone, kissing the middle of his chest. A little lower. “How about here?” Right above his bellybutton. “How about here?” Along the straight line of hair below his bellybutton. “What about here?”
“Lex, come here,” he interrupted her seduction and pulled her back to him. “You don’t have to do this. I shouldn’t have said that to you on the phone today. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.”
Alexis smiled and kissed his lips and then slid her tongue slowly back down his chest. She stroked him in her hand a couple of times, and then took him in her mouth, sliding him to the back of her throat. Jesus, Bernie was right. It was the most sensual, erotic feeling she’d ever felt and there was nothing disgusting about it at all. Cory placed both his hands above his head, closed his eyes, and relaxed, seizing the moment. At the precipice of his undoing, Cory flipped her over and hovered above the throb, clearly registering its intent on what it wanted with every pulsating sensation. Her hips thrust toward his hardness, begging for penetration. Cory sucked and kissed, giving each one of her breasts ample attention. He touched the overzealous part of her slit with quick, short pumps.
“Right now, Cory,” Alexis panted with writhing hips. Her back arched and her hands grasped the bottom sheet when Cory plummeted deep inside her without warning.
“This what you want, Lex?” he questioned. His hands firmly held her ass and her legs fell apart more.
“Aaah, yes. Hmm, yes, right there,” she coaxed. The way he held her ass, spread her in the perfect position, and thrust into her was her collapse. Destruction was instant, not only for her, but him as well. As s
oon as Alexis called out in ecstasy, Cory came, too. She would never get tired of this. Ever.
***
Cory never left. He ended up staying the entire week and come Saturday, he was still there. Alexis knew it was too soon, but it really wasn’t. She loved, loved, loved them being there. They fit like an old glove and they couldn’t have been more comfortable had they tried. They belonged there and Alexis didn’t want them to leave. Her parents may have disagreed, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
Riki was raring to go as soon as her little feet hit the floor. She knew she was going to Papaw Kinney’s and Emily would be there.
“Riki, we have to wait until my macaroni salad is done,” Alexis tried to explain.
“No, me not wike it.”
“Well, Papaw Kinney likes it. You need to take a little—you need to rest before we go,” Alexis rephrased when she almost spilled the nap word. She knew Riki would be going full force once they got there. She also knew what a crab she could be when she didn’t get a nap. That didn’t take long at all to figure out.
“Me not tired.”
“Let’s go swing on the porch, Riki,” Cory suggested while scooping her up and getting her out of Alexis’s hair. Riki followed Mr. Dog around the yard for a while, picking up sticks and looking for a purple rock. He didn’t even ask. He let her look for the colored pebble amongst the other stones. By noon, she sleepily crawled onto Cory’s lap, yawning. She snuggled to his chest and talked busily, trying not to fall asleep. Unfortunately, Daddy’s soothing hand rubbing her back while he gently rocked was like a Valium. Her eyelids were just too heavy to fight it.
Cory held her for a good half hour before laying her on the sofa. After glancing in the kitchen, he walked upstairs to find Alexis, standing in front of the mirror in her bra and jeans.
“You smell good,” Cory complemented while kissing her bare shoulder and then the sensitive place, just below her ear.
“You stop that, we just had sex sometime in the middle of the night. By the way, why do you do that? I can barely comprehend what’s going on when you do that.”
Cory smiled at her in the mirror.
“Because that’s what you do to me. I can’t help it. I roll over to your so naked, beautiful body, and my soldier stands at attention. Urgency becomes a necessity.”
“Your soldier?”
“Yes, do you want to meet him?” he asked with his fingers on the snap of his jeans.
Alexis turned and kissed him. “No thanks, we’ve met. Get ready,” she demanded. She tried to sidestep him and squirm away, but he stopped her with another kiss.
“Please,” he whined.
Alexis laughed. “No, get dressed. You should wear that pair of jeans with the ripped pocket. I love your ass in them.” Cory stared after her, defeated. Damn.
***
“There’s a lot of people here, Lex,” Cory nervously worried.
“There always are, don’t worry, they’ll love you.”
“Is this all family?”
“No, I’m sure there will be some stragglers, like Bernie.” She laughed.
Riki could hardly contain herself, wanting out to find Emily and Papaw Kinney. Cory carried her while following Alexis in to deposit her macaroni salad.
Alexis’s thirteen and fourteen-year-old nieces came to retrieve Riki just inside the barn, “We’re on little kid duty,” one of the girls said. “We’re going to play in the sandbox with them.”
“Do you want to go play in the sandbox?” Alexis asked Riki.
Cory gave her a disapproving look. “I don’t know.”
“Cory, she’s fine here. Let her go have fun.”
Cory reluctantly let her leave with the older girls and turned to shake Walt’s hand.
“I hope you brought your appetite. Lola made enough food to feed an entire army,” Walt said with a firm handshake.
“Doesn’t she always?” Alexis questioned while wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.
“Hey, Sputter Bug.”
“Come on, I want to introduce you to the rest of the family. We’ll catch up with you in a little bit, Dad,” Alexis said while pulling Cory away. The next twenty minutes was spent shaking friendly hands and engaging in small talk.
“Let’s walk out and check on Riki,” Cory countered when Alexis pulled him toward Aunt Rosaline. He didn’t need to spend twenty minutes nodding his head while she talked.
“She’s fine. Whatever, come on. I want to see if Bernie is here, anyway.”
“Did I tell you how much I love the cowboy boots? I think we need to wear them the next time you’re naked.”
“Shut up!” Alexis ordered with shifty eyes in search of ears that overheard.
Cory laughed and took her hand. “Why does your dad call you Sputter Bug?”
“He’s called me that since I was Riki’s size. I was a little obsessed with tractors. Oh, I should dig them out of the attic for Riki,” Alexis said when she remembered the collection of tractors she’d accumulated as a child. “There’s Bernie and Travis.” She nodded when she saw Travis’s truck pull next to her Jeep. Taylor ran off with Rex and Max, her brother Mike’s twin boys, as soon as the truck stopped.
Bernie shoved a thermos jug into Alexis’s chest. “Here, Lex, hold this until I get back. I have to take my potatoes in.”
“What is it?”
“Just fruit punch and sherbet.”
“Spiked with?”
“Vodka,” Bernie said with a hushed finger over her lips.
Travis shook Cory’s hand and hugged Alexis, lifting her feet from the ground.
“I better go carry something, I’ll see you in a few, and Lex, you’re drinking shots with me later.”
“Oh, no I’m not, Travis. The last time I did that I ended up making love to that tree.” She nodded toward the other end of the yard.
Travis laughed, remembering, too. “That was one hell of a night,” he called with a pointed finger.
“Travis is awful friendly with you,” Cory said with a tug on her jean pocket, pulling her to sit on top of a picnic table beside him.
Alexis turned her head to look at him with a big grin. “Are you jealous, Doc?”
“No, I just don’t like other men that close to your body.”
“You’re jealous, admit it.”
“Okay fine. I’m jealous. Happy?”
“Yeah, I am. I think it’s cute, but just for the record, Travis and I are like brother and sister. He pretty much lived here as a teen, helping on the farm.”
“So he was always around Bernie, too?”
“Yes, but they never hooked up until about four years ago. Somehow, he ended up in her tent one night while we were all here. They’ve been together ever since.”
“You sound shocked about that.”
“We all were. I mean he had always been a part of the family. He’s a little older than us and she used to despise him.” Alexis laughed while thinking about how he used to torment them.
Bernie interrupted, singing. “Red solo cup. Drink up, Lex,” she demanded.
“Not until later, Bernie, it’s not even three yet and I have to eat something first. You better hold off, too, or you’re going to be finished before the rest of us get started.”
“Grandma wants you and Cory to come in the house for a minute,” one of the grandsons ran up to tell Alexis.
“Thanks, Quinn. How’s your arm?”
“It itches. I get the cast off next Thursday.”
“Good, don’t be jumping any more cars on bikes.”
“I got five thousand hits on YouTube.”
“Was it worth it?” Alexis asked with a ruffle to his head, walking hand in hand with Cory.
“Nah, not really. I hate this thing,” Quinn admitted with a frown, holding up the casted arm.
Lola stood against the counter, stirring something in a pot, when Alexis entered the kitchen with Cory. She laughed to herself when she noticed her two teenage cousins, whispering about Co
ry with googly eyes from the table. “Hi, Mom.”
“Mrs. McKinley.” Cory nodded.
“Hi, kids. I hope you’re hungry. We have enough food out there to feed a platoon of soldiers. I just wanted you to come in so Quinn could show Cory where he would be sleeping. I don’t want him getting lost after hanging out with crazy McKinleys.”
“Tell me she’s joking,” Cory whispered from behind her. He knew she wasn’t joking when Alexis elbowed him in the ribs, and he followed two boys down to an open room with an old box-style television and a lot of beds. The fold out sofa would be his sleeping quarters for the night. What the hell? He didn’t want to sleep in the basement. He wanted to sleep with Alexis.
“You didn’t tell me I had to sleep in the basement with a bunch of teenage boys,” Cory quietly whined, walking back to the barn for dinner.
“You’ll be fine, I promise. Besides, if Bernie and Travis have their way about it, you’ll be too drunk to care anyway.”
“What about Travis, does he get to sleep with Bernie?”
“Yes. They sleep in a tent and they’re married.”
“So, we sleep in the tent and they can take your room.”
“Cory, stop it. You’re being childish. Let’s go find Riki and fix her a plate.”
“But I’ve been at your house for the past week.”
“My parents are not aware of that. Let’s keep it that way. I promise you’ll be fine for one night. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow night. With these.” She gave him her best ornery grin, tapping the heel of her boot.
“I’m holding you to that. How many boys are going to be down there?”
“Hmm, I would say at least ten. Grab Riki.”
Alexis and Cory waited in line surrounded by Sam, Travis, and Bernie, Cory laughed several times. He loved how close they all were and he loved being a part of it. Every one of them made him feel like he belonged, like they’d known him for years, and they treated Riki just the same—like a niece, a cousin, a granddaughter, and like she, too, belonged. That’s what it was about. This was exactly the kind of life he wanted for her, and the decision to uproot them to a small town was worth it all. Cory loved this family.
With full plates of everything imaginable, Alexis led her clique out to the picnic table, relishing the warm sun while she could. The table talk consisted of the Brady County Dragons, the alcohol they planned on consuming, and the new rifle Travis had just bought. Even coming from where he did, Cory never once felt out of place. He could watch Alexis interacting with her friends and family all day long.