A Little Thankful (Small Town Lovers #8)

Forrest 10

I never had my time with Sage, nor did we ever get to convince her to stay using our new sex tactics. Instead, it was a whirlwind of realtors and lawyers telling us to sign on the dotted lines.

As it turned out, Jess had decided to buy another property instead, so our deal went straight through. Despite my apprehensions, we offered Dr. Charles her asking price, and she didn’t hesitate. Still, it required a stack of paperwork to fill out, which I had the time to sort through, so it was all good. My clients were too busy with their own holiday festivities to want anything from me.

Plus, a fire broke out in the hills surrounding Sweet Whiskey, so Hunter was completely out of the picture. Although, I did manage to get his signature on several forms, and was also able to send him forms for his electronic signature.

Pinning Mace down was even harder. He had so many orders to fill from all over the area including some of the finer restaurants in Napa, that getting him to cooperate was like wresting the wind.

And our new fiancée worked with her mom on some business ideas, while her dad chose to drive down to San Francisco to deal with Sage’s new replacement. Sage wanted to do it herself, but her dad wouldn’t hear of it. I told her he probably needed the time to sort this all out. After all, he was never for any of it to begin with. Hell, he was still having a problem accepting the fact that his baby girl had a baby girl of her own. That fact alone was enough to send his mind spinning.

When Thanksgiving finally arrived, I was exhausted, and I was certain that everyone else felt the same way. Neither group sex or a group meal appealed to me, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter… the meal, not the sex part. That would happen later, and I wasn’t sure we were still on for a little guy-on-guy action. We hadn’t had a chance to talk about it.

And besides, she had already agreed to stay. I mean if the woman proposed to us, and we accepted, I had a feeling that meant she was staying put.

By the time I arrived at her parents’ house, I could barely keep my eyes open and it wasn’t even five yet. As I pulled up, Mace was right behind me, and before either of us could park, Hunter had driven up in his monster pickup.

As soon as we saw each other, all we could do was laugh. It had been such a hellish few days that we hadn’t had time to discuss everything that was happening to us. We were a family or at least, we were on the road to being a family.

What the actual fuck?

Yes, we all wore our best clothes. I almost wore a suit, but then called Mace about it, and he told me I’d look ridiculous. Still, we all looked the part, but we could see it in each other’s eyes that this meal was going to kill us.

“Bro,” Hunter said, as we grabbed each other’s hands, and bumped shoulders. “You look dead on your feet.”

“You don’t look any better,” I told him as I carried in a bottle of white wine.

Then we saw Mace and he looked as though he could fall over with the next breeze.

“I don’t know how I’m going to get through this,” he said. “I think I’ve had five hours sleep in the last four nights.” He yawned as he carried handled bags in with him.

“Let me take one of those,” Hunter offered, and slid it out of Mace’s hand.

“Thanks,” he said after what had to be the biggest, and longest yawn ever made by a human. “Would it be rude if I left early?”

“How early?” I asked him. “Because I’d like to join you. Getting all the paperwork ready for this transaction has just about killed me. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Sage had just bought it on her own, but because we will all be owners, the paperwork kept me up every single night.”

“Thanks for all of that,” Hunter said, as we approached the front door to the brick mansion.

“Can we leave right after dinner?” Mace asked.

“Before or after pie?” I asked.

“Before.”

“I don’t think we can do that,” Hunter told us as he rang the doorbell. “We have to at least stay for pie. Her mom made a couple apple and the pumpkin pies are from Sweetie Pies. We can’t be rude.”

Then he yawned as he rang the bell.

“I heard you guys got the fire out,” I told him.

“Yeah, by yesterday afternoon, it was totally contained. Didn’t lose one structure, and no casualties.”

I’d never told Hunter how much I admired what he did for a living. Putting yourself in harm's way on a daily basis was some kind of heroism I didn’t understand, but I admired the hell out of it, and him.

“You’re pretty incredible… what you do, I mean. You save lives,” I said.

“Thanks,” he said. “I do what I can to help.”

I was about to tell him that I thought he was a true hero, when the door swung open and derailed my attempt at praise. As soon as I saw Sage with baby Autumn in her sling, giggling, legs and arms jerking with joy, and those precious belly laughs, she melted my heart. All that fatigue I’d been feeling suddenly disappeared, and my attempt at telling Hunter what I truly thought of him would have to wait for another time.

“She’s so excited to see everyone,” Sage said, as she gave each of us a sweet kiss. She looked absolutely beautiful, with her hair swept up in a messy bun on top of her head, loose-fitting jeans, a snug white sweater, and bare feet with powder blue painted toenails.

She had the prettiest feet I’d ever seen, and I loved that she didn’t like to wear shoes in the house.

“I’m so happy to see both my girls.” The words slid out of my mouth like I’d said them before, which I never had. I hadn’t seen either of them since Monday when we decided to buy the old lumber warehouse, and I’d been missing them more than I thought I ever could.

I ran my hand over the top of Autumn’s silky head, and kissed her sweet forehead. It made me emotional, like I was finally realizing the scope of all of this.

They were my family now.

My girls.

My loved ones.

Wow!

Both Hunter and Mace kissed Sage, then gave little Autumn all the loving she required, and at the moment, she required a lot.

“Come on in,” Sage said. “My dad should be here any minute.”

And with those words, I could feel the burst of tension as we followed her into the kitchen.

“I didn’t think he wanted to make it back here in time for the holiday,” Mace said.

“According to my mom, he’s better now. Came to some conclusions.”

“How much better?” Hunter wanted to know as we entered the kitchen.

She turned back to us. “That has yet to be determined.”

We tried to let that go, and simply went with the flow of things.

After we delivered the wine and baked goods to Martha and Iris, we each took the offered beer.

“You boys make yourselves at home. You’re family now. There’s beer in the fridge, and wine in the wine fridge next to it. If you prefer red, there are several bottles open in the dining room. Please help yourselves to whatever you’d like.

Hunter and I grabbed a beer, while Mace poured a glass of white wine. The tension didn’t abate, even when we saw that big golden bird slide out of the oven.

“He’s here,” Martha said, just as she was getting ready to transfer the bird to a platter. “Maybe I’ll wait for him to make the transfer. This turkey is at least twenty-five pounds.”

“I can help,” Hunter offered. “I’ve done this several times. There’s a trick to it.”

And he took over, just as Vernon walked into the kitchen, wearing a big, wide grin.

“You made it, Dad. I’m so glad,” Sage told him as Autumn let out a little yelp. “She’s excited to see you.”

“And I’m excited to see her. Can I hold her?” he asked, as Sami, Sylvia and Iris busied themselves with getting all the side dishes on the table. I even saw Sylvia’s award-winning cranberry sauce go by, and my mouth watered. I was a sucker for good cranberry sauce.

“Sure, if you can pull her out of this sling,” Sage told him.

And while they did that, Mace turned to me, and whispered. “Did he have a revelation while he was gone? He looks different.”

“He looks calm. Relaxed. Drugs?” Hunter asked.

“I think he’s had a come-to-Jesus moment and realized he can’t alienate his only daughter,” I whispered.

“I don’t know, but he’s coming over,” Hunter said. “Mr. Pilgrims. Nice to see you again.”

He was holding Autumn now, who seemed to love being in his arms.

He held out his hand, for Hunter and said, “Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you, sir,” Hunter said, taking his hand and giving it a pump.

“Call me Vernon,” he said.

“Thank you, Vernon,” Hunter told him.

Then he turned and took my hand, gave it a firm pump, welcoming me into the family, then did the same with Mace. Each time, he seemed sincere and authentic.

We were all shocked.

“Vern, if you’ll bring in the turkey, we can start,” Martha said, taking Autumn from her husband.

We followed them into the dining room, and took our seats. Everything smelled and looked delicious.

Vernon stood at the head of the table, and held up his wine glass. “Before we get started on this beautiful meal, I would just like to say that I’m thankful for my lovely daughter, her beautiful baby girl, and for these fine young men who will take care of my girls, love them, provide for them, and keep them safe. I couldn’t ask for a better family. To Sage, may she always be queen of her castle, and may her new business blossom and do better than she ever dreamed it would.”

“This is so fu… frickin’ cool,” Sami said, and with that we all clinked glasses.

THREE HOURS LATER, after everything was cleaned up, and Autumn was fast asleep with Iris close by, the four of us had gone off to spend our first night together since those three days at the cabin, down by the river. I had the biggest bed, and the biggest house.

Thing was, when we first arrived, we couldn’t do anything but curl up and sleep for at least nine hours straight. We were, in fact, still exhausted. And even the thought of sex wasn’t enough to keep us going.

I first woke up to the sound of the shower in my bathroom, and when I looked around, I realized Sage was in there, alone.

I slipped out of bed, Hunter was still asleep on the far side of the bed, while Mace had crawled up on the recliner in front of the fireplace.

My room had remote controlled blinds that kept the morning light out, so the room was still dark, but the clock said it was seven-thirty.

I snuck into the bathroom, and found Sage just standing under the shower, letting the hot water run over her body, looking as though she could stand there for hours.

“Mind if I join you?” I asked as she gazed in my direction.

I had an oversized shower, with a clear glass enclosure.

“Not at all. I’d prefer it, actually,” she said, as I shed my clothes and stepped inside. We’d been so tired last night, that the only thing any of us removed were our shoes.

I quickly washed my hair and body as she watched, then she stepped aside as I rinsed off.

I couldn’t believe how absolutely stunning she was naked. I hadn’t seen her naked yet, and the fact that she stood before me without any bit of shyness caused me to love her even more.

“Oh, babe, this is the way to wake up in the morning,” I told her, as I gathered her into my arms and held her close, our bodies pressing together. My erection started as soon as I saw her, and had reached its max now. My entire body vibrated from the heat of her, from the feel of her, and from the love I felt between us.

I leaned down to kiss those perfect lips, and touch her sweet tongue with mine, and the sensations of that kiss sent shockwaves through me. I was finally having my private time with her, and it hadn’t even been planned.

Everything in my life was always planned, down to what socks I would wear on any given day. I planned my meals, my work, the music I would listen to. My days were planned by the hour, sometimes by the minute. But this… this was something spontaneous, like those three days in the cabin. Spontaneity had given me a daughter. It had given me my entire life’s trajectory, and now it was giving me my private time with the woman I loved.

“I agree,” she said, staring up into my eyes as the hot water slid down our bodies.

She ran her hands over my shoulders and down my chest. Her touch felt like liquid fire. Like her fingers stimulated my soul, and when she wrapped her fist around my solid cock, I pulled in a breath so deep I had to cough it out.

“Are you okay?” she asked, looking concerned, but never letting go of me.

“I couldn’t be better. You do things to me that take my breath away.”

“I’ve barely touched you.”

“That’s all it takes,” I told her, then cupped her breast and sucked on each hard nipple, while she pumped my cock, and ran her thumb over the tip, driving me wild with desire for her.

“Take me,” she demanded.

“Anything you want,” I muttered, my voice so low, I could only feel it, and not really hear it.

I slid my hands under her firm round ass, and lifted her off the ground, as I guided my cock into her tight pussy, the walls closing in on me like a hot vice, causing me to moan the sensation.

“You like that, don’t you?”

“I love it. Your pussy feels so fucking good, like you were made for my cock.”

I pressed her back up against the tiled wall, and she wrapped both her legs around me, taking me deep inside her. I held her up with one hand under her ass, my fingers caressing her crack, then feeling my cock as it slid in and out, drilling her hard and deep. And when she tiled her hips to give me even more of her, I couldn’t help kissing her again, maybe too aggressively this time. But fuck if she didn’t accept my hit, and do the same back. It felt as if we’d been waiting for this moment for far too long, and now that it was here, there was nothing we wouldn’t do to satisfy the other person.

I pumped her hard and fast, pulling away and watching her face, watching her breasts sway, her body move with each thrust.

“Yes!” she moaned. “Forrest. My Forrest. That’s it. Harder. Faster. Come deep inside of me.”

My legs began to shake. My body began to fight me, but I wanted to hold off until she came. Until I could watch her fall apart. Watch her break from an orgasm that split her world in two.

I pushed her hair back off her face, cupped her chin and forced her to look at me, to watch me come with her.

“Don’t look away. I want to watch you. I want you to watch me. Eyes wide open. See our pleasure. Take it in, and never forget it.”

That was when it happened. When I exploded deep inside of her. When her body bucked and quaked. When her face tensed. When her eyes watered. When mine did the same. When we gently said each other’s names, and I felt her pussy clamp down on my cock over and over, like she tightened that vice grip in bursts that could destroy me if the intensity kept going for any length of time.

“Fuck, Sage. Fuck yes!” I finally said, as we both collapsed into each other, my cock already slipping out from its home between her legs. I rested my forehead on the tile wall for a moment, as she rested her head on my shoulder. Our breathing so labored, I knew we both needed to get out of this shower and lie down or we’d be lying on the bottom of it.

I reached up and turned off the water, then opened the door, and grabbed the large white bath towel hanging next to the door. I sort of dried off, but mostly I wrapped her in it, picked her up, and carried her off to the bed, where I deposited her. She instantly turned on her side, made a little satisfied sound, letting out a long sigh.

Both Mace and Hunter were gone, but I had a feeling they were either taking a shower somewhere else in the house, there were three, or Hunter was making a pot of coffee. I knew he needed coffee in the morning or he couldn’t function.

Not two minutes later, they both walked into the room, naked, while Hunter carried a tray that contained everything we needed for a decent cup of coffee.

As soon as Sage opened her eyes, she said, “Let me join you.” And she tugged off her towel.“This is what I like best. Naked coffee with my husbands.”

“And with our wife,” Mace said, as he crawled up on the bed to get next to her.

She sat up, and leaned against the cloth-covered headboard, her lovely breasts taunting us.

Hunter handed her a mug of coffee. “Cream and sugar, right?”

“You know how I like my coffee?”

“I remembered from our time in the cabin,” he said, grinning.

“What else do you remember?” she teased.

“That you like sex a little rough,” he answered.

“I do,” she said. “Sometimes. Not today. Today, I want to make love.”

“And there’s a difference?” Mace wanted to know.

She nodded, as she took a sip of her coffee, then moaned. “Perfect. Yes, there’s a huge difference. What Forrest and I just experienced in the shower… we made love. What Hunter and I experienced this week, and what you and I shared this week… we made love. That’s what I’ve been missing. Hot sex is fun, but making love… that’s an art.”

“But we had some hot sex planned for you that would blow the top of your head off,” Hunter told her.

“Save it for another time… or maybe never. What I want, is more love sex. You guys do it well, and I need more of it. Especially now, when I’m embarking on a whole new adventure.”

“And we’ve mastered it?” Hunter asked as he crawled onto the bed with the rest of us.

“I wouldn’t say we… me included… have mastered it, yet. But we’re damn close.”

“Take another sip of your coffee,” Mace told her. “Because after you do, it’s time to practice.”

She took several sips, then handed her cup over while Hunter already started touching her, and kissing on her shoulder as he slid her wet hair back.

“Ummm, that’s what I’m talking about,” she whispered, right before she turned to Hunter and brought her warm lips down on his.

I could see Hunter’s muscled body physically relax, as he cupped the side of her face, and intensified the kiss.

Mace didn’t hesitate, he ran his fingers over her breasts, then leaned over and lapped up a nipple, then did the same to the other while I watched. I had to admit, I liked watching them touch her, and love on her. Not only did it give me ideas, but it was hot as hell. Plus, right now, the way they were touching her, and kissing on her, I could feel the love.

She pulled out of the kiss with Hunter, then turned and kissed Mace, who moaned when their mouths touched. Hunter, took over on her breasts, while I decided that I needed to taste her pussy this morning. I hadn’t done that in the shower, so it was time.

I ran kisses down her stomach, then on the tops of her thighs, and as soon as I did, her legs opened for me. I kissed the very top of her lovely slit, then spread it open with my fingers, running them over her clit, and feeling her slick skin.

I crawled around her, and wanted to have full access, so I laid down on the bed, and nuzzled in between her legs, sliding her down a bit more.

“Open your legs wide for him,” Hunter told her. “Bring your knees up and let them fall so he can eat your sweet pussy.”

She followed his instructions, moaning out my name as I licked her, and drilled her with my tongue. She tasted like heaven, exactly how I’d remembered. I ran my hands lightly over the insides of her thighs, then pulled her clit into my mouth and gently nibbled it between my teeth. I heard her suck in air, as her hand came down on my head.

I stopped and gazed up at her then, and saw that she had taken Hunter into her mouth, while Mace sat back and watched both of us love on her. He pumped his cock, and I motioned for him to join me.

He hesitated, then came over and we found a way to both enjoy her pussy at once. I crawled over her leg, and we knelt on either side. One of us flicked her clit, while the other one finger fucked her with two and sometimes three fingers. Then we took turns eating her, until our mouths were covered in her juices. Then Mace did something I never expected. He looked over and kissed me. A big stop-the-show kiss, and not only could I taste him, but I could taste Sage’s pussy on his mouth, and it was so fucking hot, I couldn’t get enough of that kiss.

“What the fuck, guys?” we heard her say. “Are you two in love or what? Because that’s the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

When we pulled apart, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “That was insanely hot. But never do it again… unless you’ve just had your mouth on her pussy. Fuck if that wasn’t crazy.”

“So, you liked it?” Mace asked, “Because I thought the same thing. Kissing a guy after oral sex with a woman is on a whole other level.”

We turned and looked at Hunter. “Don’t look at me,” he said. “I’m not ready for that.”

“Yet…” Mace said. “You’re not ready for that yet. But you will be. I can guarantee it. Just like I can guarantee that I’ve never felt this much love for anyone or any other men in my life. I’m in love with everybody. Go figure.”

“Me too,” I told him. “We’re in this thing for the long haul.”

It was then that the waterworks turned on for Sage.

Hunter kissed her eyes. “Babe, don’t cry. We’ve got you.”

“I know,” she said. “And I can hardly believe it. I never thought… I mean… I can’t… what I mean is…” she took a deep breath and let it out, trying to sort out her thoughts. “I found my soulmates right here in Cricket, and I’m so fucking thankful, that I can’t stop crying. My parents love you. My grandparents and my aunt and niece love you. I love you, and even Autumn loves you. How did I ever get this lucky?”

“Blame it on the lousy weather in Cricket,” Mace said.

“And that pie eating contest,” Hunter said.

“And our sweet miracle daughter, Autumn,” I said. “Now let’s give our girl some lovin’. She looks like she needs a mega dose.”

And just like that, despite the probability of this kind of arrangement never working, we were living proof that sometimes, on rare occasions, even the logical thinkers and the genius mathematicians can’t predict a spontaneous happily ever after.