Merry Mitchell (Mitchell/Healy Family #3.5) (5 page)

It wasn’t until my girlfriend got home that all hell broke loose.

“Oh my God! Noah, get in here!”

I jumped up, not even realizing she’d come home. My heart raced as I headed in the direction of her voice, the whole time wondering if she was in trouble.

Then I saw it; the reason for his dismay.

The room smelled of feces, and as I got closer I noticed that the toilet was filled with it. We both covered our noses as I flushed it again. More brown water flowed out, and that’s when I knew what happened.

“That little fucker is goin’ to pay.” I rushed out of the bathroom and headed straight for the door.

Shalan ran after me. “What are you talking about, Noah? What is it? How do we fix it? Is the plumbing broken? Do we need to shower at your mom’s?”

I turned to give her attention, while trying my hardest to remain calm as I spoke. “Jake did an upper decker in the fuckin’ tank.”

“What’s an upper decker?” She asked.

“It’s where you take a shit in the top tank, so that when people flush only shit water comes out. I’m seriously goin’ to kick his ass.”

They’d paid me back for the vinegar, and now it was on. That stink bomb was going in their car, and they’d have to drive home with the windows down for a month to be able to handle the stench.

Chapter 7

Shalan

I wasn’t able to go hunting with the family, on account of the news I’d received at the doctors. I still didn’t know how I felt about it, more less how I felt with Bells knowing. I can’t say a part of me wasn’t excited. I was. Hearing the doctor diagnose my problem was enlightening. I had hope that my symptoms were only going to be temporary.

In eight months I’d have another reason for no sleep.

I was pregnant, and now I had a million things I needed to take care of. First and foremost I had to tell Noah the news. Since he’d been egging the subject on, I had a feeling that he’d be thrilled. My concern was that he wasn’t going to let me go out on the road, even if I cut my schedule in half. I was under contract, and would lose so many fans if I let them down, not to mention breaking the guidelines of my professional agreements.

Coming home to the house smelling like shit only made my sickness heighten. Noah ran around spraying air freshener, after I’d finally gotten him to calm down. Since they’d not just messed with Noah, but our new home, I was inclined to assist him in making sure they paid.

While he paced around the house, sharpening his mental knives, I focused more on our own situation. Inside of me was a little life. I felt an overwhelming amount of love.

I found my way upstairs to one of our empty bedrooms. My eyes took in the space, and I quietly imagined what it would look like as a nursery. I wondered if I’d decorate in a neutral color, or would Noah want some kind of farm theme, no matter if it were a girl or boy.

When I heard the sound of Noah coming up the stairs, I quickly removed myself from the room. I needed time to prepare him for the news. It was important that I focused on getting my career settled. I was going to have to cancel the whole tour.

Noah met me in the bedroom. I’d begun folding clothes to keep him from being curious. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my abdomen. His hot breath lingered over my ear. “What did the doctor say?”

“He said I’ll be fine. I’m just going to need to take it easy for a few days until my body can settle.” I absolutely hated lying to him, but I knew I’d feel better about everything if I had all my ducks in a row.

Since it was technically a holiday weekend, I knew my agents and manager wouldn’t want to have such a serious conversation. It would require them a lot of work, and probably some very angry event planners. I decided to wait until Monday to make that kind of call. In the meantime I’d lay low and stay quiet about my little bundle. A few days wouldn’t kill Noah. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Noah led me to sit down on the bed. “You didn’t even notice that I finished putting up all the decorations for you. Are you sure you’re alright?”

He was right. I hadn’t noticed anything, because I was in shock. “I noticed,” I lied. “After the whole bathroom episode I got sidetracked. I’m sorry, babe. I know you worked hard on them.”

“The twins helped. I’d prepare for somethin’ to go wrong though. There’s no telling what the two of them did.”

I grabbed Noah’s hands to get his undivided attention. It killed me to know that I had such a big secret I was keeping. “How about we spend the rest of the afternoon in bed?”

I could tell I’d distracted him. While biting down on my bottom lip I considered a good way to keep him occupied. Even though I’d been sick earlier, I was beginning to feel a little better. Knowing I’d be vomiting again in the morning, I quickly made the call to enjoy the time I had with my guy. “I love you.”

He placed his hands over my backside and pulled me close. “I love you too, darlin’. What’s up with you? You’re never like this in the afternoon.”

“I think I’m enjoying my time home a little more this season. It’s nice being around everyone, even with all the pranks going on. Your family is the best, Noah. I hope you know that. If we ever get to tie the knot, I’ll be proud to call myself a Mitchell. It’s beautiful what you all have together. I’ve always envied that.”

He cleared his scruffy throat. “They all love you already. You don’t need my last name to have that. Although, if I’m bein’ honest, it’s gettin’ harder every time we push that date back. In the back of my mind I keep wonderin’ if one of these days you’ll change your mind.” I hated that he was saying things like this. Didn’t he know that I was in this for the long haul? Now more than ever we needed to get married. We had a baby on the way.

“I won’t change my mind about being your wife. You’re too sexy to let go of,” I teased.

“Oh yeah?” He was taunting me.

“Yeah.” It was obvious that the mood in the room had shifted. “Why don’t I show you how hot you make me?” Our lips locked, but only briefly. I bit his tongue when he started to pull back, and from there I knew what was to come. He took no restraint as he lifted my sweater over my head. The next time our lips met the spark had been set. The rest of our clothes came off with little effort as we began to get lost in each other.

Noah took his time, kissing my tender skin. He sucked a nipple into his mouth, dragging his teeth over it before letting go. After removing his hat, I dug my fingers into the thick hair on his head while enjoying his actions. My knee came up and started rubbing against his already stiff erection. I was so turned on, and I could tell he was in the same position. “I want you bad. Touch me, Noah.”

He growled while sliding his hand between my legs. He separated my lips, traipsing inside of them with at least two fingers. The moment his touch slid across my clit my body jerked. He repeated the process, this time using more pressure. Our mouths connected again, this time in a more aggressive kiss.

He fucked me with his fingers, so hard at times I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. My body began reacting to his groove. I swayed my hips to match his thrust. Move for move we worked in sync until I felt my body responding. My back arched as I succumbed to my greatest desire.

Noah grinned after knowing what he’d done. Feeling eager to return the favor, I took him in my hand, drawing his large girth toward my mouth. He lifted my chin before I was able to place my lips around him. “I’d rather you not hurl in my lap, darlin’.”

Since he wasn’t going to let me blow him, I felt the need to repay him in other ways. He steadied my legs as I stood up and hovered over him. Noah folded his arms behind his head as he watched me moving slowly over top of him. I let my hair down out of the ponytail it had been in, and shook it. With it dangling down over my breasts, I ran my hands over both of my nipples and then I trailed on down between my legs.

Noah loved to watch, and I was very aware that he hadn’t yet blinked. My body swayed around the bed, until I sank down, straddling him. I was so turned on, and completely ready for him to be inside of me. He wasted no time maneuvering himself. With little effort I felt him slipping in. He filled my tight walls, encompassing my channel with a slow groove. I took over, moving erotically over the top of him.

Noah laced his fingers with mine as we continued making love. After a few minutes I felt the need to lean forward and feel his lips on mine again. His kisses got to me; so much that it caused me to speed up our pace. While he attempted to slow me down, I kept fighting him, grinding my pussy as fast as I could move. He gripped both of my hands and tried to hold onto my ass, but it was too late. His eyes closed tight and I watched as he rapidly lost all control. Then I could feel it, his whole release filling me.

It was a moment like this that had created the tiny miracle growing inside of me. As Noah held me close, I traced his skin and fought with myself to tell him our news. That’s when it hit me. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I was going to give him the best Christmas present possible. My only problem was going to be convincing his cousin that we should wait a whole month to tell him.

Chapter 8

Noah

This was the first year that none of us got a buck on opening day of deer season. Jax and his dad managed to snag a couple doe’s, but the rest of us left empty handed. As the weekend came to a close I anticipated the moment that my cousins prepared to leave to head home. Since Shalan seemed to be feeling better, she rode with me and my sister, Christian, to plant the stink bomb in their vehicle.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this, Noah. After all these years I feel like we’ve made amends. If they find out I was here with you, there’s no tellin’ what they’ll do.” My sister was feeling guilty. I should have known she’d have trouble, since she was always wanting to keep the peace.

“Stop bein’ a sissy. You know it makes you feel good to torture them a little.”

She smiled, but shook her head. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

The smell was so strong that I started gagging before I could get the door shut. Then I felt so bad about it that I actually considered leaving the door ajar until they discovered it.

When Shalan reminded me of the shit in my toilet tank I quickly changed my mind. They deserved this for everything they’d put everyone through.

An hour, a whole thermos of hot chocolate, and a lot of laughs later we watched our cousins approach their vehicle with their bags, while we hid in a small patch of the woods. Since we were all three dressed from head to toe in camouflage I knew they wouldn’t be able to see us.

Almost at the exact same time they opened the doors and were taken back by the stench. I was laughing so hard that tears began to run down my face. The two of them started to gag, and then one at a time they backed away from the car and began vomiting.

Never in my life have I ever seen my sister laugh so hard. We were in such hysterics that none of us realized that the twins were still puking. The sound of my dad’s voice caught our attention. He approached the vehicle and covered his whole face with his jacket. We watched in silence as he stepped further away from it, unable to keep the vile smell from reaching him.

I was rolling around on the ground, laughing so hard that I felt dizzy. When I sat back up the girls pointed, showing me that my uncle Ty had showed up, only to walk away dry heaving.

Out of nowhere my sister held her hand up in the air to high-five me. After all these years we’d come out with the greatest victory.

While we remained hidden we watched as Jax started kicking his bag around, because they wouldn’t be able to leave until they figured out how to rid the awful smell from the car. Jake started arguing with his brother, which in turn resulted in them getting into it over Jax’s girlfriend. All the while the three of us sat there ducked down in the woods.

It took seven days for the smell to finally go away. They ended up riding home with their parents, because it wasn’t drivable in that condition. We all played dumb when the family approached us at first, but I came clean to my dad the next morning. I even paid someone to come out and detail the vehicle just to make sure it was no longer lingering.

The next few weeks were a little chaotic. Between working on my secret project with my dad, and Christmas shopping for our huge family, Shalan and I didn’t have much time to relax. It felt like she was being distant, but my cousin Bells assured me it was the season to be unpredictably stressed.

She also told me it was my guilty conscious getting the best of me. I mean, I was the one with the huge secret that I was keeping from the woman I loved.

By the time the twenty third came around I thought I was going to explode. We’d been tiptoeing around for weeks, and were finally down to the grind. I had twenty four hours to pull everything together.

The family started showing up that night, and since we were hosting Christmas, Shalan was a nervous wreck. She was all over the place with orders and seemed to be freaking out about everything. On top of that, she wouldn’t stop crying. Literally she cried about everything.

It drizzled and she cried. The sun came back out and she cried. I was honestly wondering if she was losing her mind.

Thankfully Bells and Rusty showed up, and with the assistance of my mother and grandmothers, Shalan got the help she needed.

My dad and I met all the guys in the barn. We’d gotten all the lighting set up, and put the tablecloths and centerpieces on all the tables. They were supposed to have been delivered a week before, but finally came in after being on backorder. My nerves were shot, but the place looked spectacular. I could see everything coming together.

My dad stood back and gave it all a once-over. “You managed to incorporate all of her ideas into this place. She’s goin’ to love it, son.”

I smiled, imagining her face when she saw it. “I hope so. I’ve waited for this day for a long time. It’s important for it to be perfect.”

“She could still change her mind,” Jake yelled from behind me.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s just pissed because he wants to bat for the other team and doesn’t know how to tell dad.”

We all turned to watch Jake punching his brother in the arm. “You’re an asshole. Just because I think your girl is a waste of space don’t mean you can give me shit, Jax. Back off, dude.”

“Geez, you can’t even take a joke,” Jax replied.

“Guys, come on. Knock it off. Jax, go hang out with Reese for a while. I’m sure all those women are making her nervous.” Uncle Ty did his best to keep them apart, even if it was using Jax’s girlfriend to make it happen. I didn’t know much about it, but from what I could see the new girl was causing all kinds of problems for the once inseparable brothers.

When Jax left everything got back to normal. Jake helped carry in a few more boxes, and we managed to get the entire area finished for the event. I could feel my nerves getting the best of me, so I decided to sit down for a second. My dad and uncle walked outside to grab a beer, but Jake stuck around inside with me. “You look like you’re goin’ to be sick, cuz. You havin’ doubts?”

“Na, it ain’t like that. I reckon I’m nervous about how she’ll feel about all this.”

“You think she’ll get on a horse and run, like that one movie?”

I laughed and shook my head. “No. Shalan wants to be my wife. It’s all she talks about. Here lately it’s been even worse. I’m just worried that she’ll be overwhelmed from this bein’ a secret.”

“What’s it feel like?” He asked. Honestly I had no idea what he meant, until he reiterated. “Bein’ in love. How do you know?”

I lifted my hands up feeling like it was hard to explain. “I don’t know. I guess it’s a feelin’. I know I want to wake up next to her every single mornin’. I want her to be the mother to my kids, and the thought of ever losin’ her makes me feel terrible.”

“Yeah, I get it.” He looked down at the ground for a second. “If I tell you somethin’ can I count on you to keep the secret?”

Before I could agree to anything my dad and uncle came back in the barn. Jake walked out, leaving me more curious than I was before.

His secret was easily forgotten when I got around the rest of family. After a nice meal, a full house of people, and a lot of conversation, everyone retreated back to wherever they were sleeping.

The only people left in our house besides Shalan and myself was my cousin Bells, her husband Rusty, and their daughter. I watched as Shalan held our niece in her arms. She seemed like such a natural, and as much as I wanted to talk to her about starting our family, I knew I didn’t want to have any negative feelings when I was about to spring a wedding on her. It was important to make sure everything was perfect, even when I was dying to spill the beans.

That night while she slept peacefully beside me, I laid awake going over everything that was supposed to happen in the morning. I’d hidden my tux at my parents. Christian and Addy were going to get dressed there, and Bells was going to wait until the last minute.

My mom had come up with the idea to lure Shalan to the barn, by telling her that a professional photographer was coming to do photos of her in the fancy dress she’d chosen. Since I wasn’t allowed to see it, the plan was that all of the men were going out for last minute shopping.

Thankfully she’d fell for it, and was actually excited to be able to wear her dress. My aunt Miranda was going to do her hair and makeup, for what she called a practice run of how she’d do it for the real event.

That night I spent nearly half of it worried sick that something would go wrong. The other half I tossed and turned in the bed, unable to settle down. By the next morning I was a force to be reckoned with.

Like every day I got up early and left the house, except I wasn’t off to work on the ranch. I was off to get ready for my wedding.

The look on my mother’s face was priceless when I walked inside of her house. I found her waiting for me at the window, anxious for a few moments alone to talk. She brought out two cups of coffee to the front porch, and we sat together on the old porch chairs. “What’s up, mom? Is somethin’ wrong?”

“No,” she shook her head and stared into her mug. “It’s not every day that your son gets married. I’m a little nervous for you, and I guess for myself. We’ve been through so much this past year. It’s about time something good happened for a change.”

I took my mother’s hand and brought it up to my lips, kissing it. “Mom, I couldn’t do any of this without you. I hope you know that.”

She smiled confidently. “I appreciate that, Noah. I’ve done my best with you kids. Lately I’ve been feeling like it wasn’t enough.” She started to sniffle, even though she still looked happy. “I failed your sisters. If I’d taught them to be stronger…”

“Stop! You didn’t fail anyone. We have to learn from our mistakes, no matter how bad they are. You taught us that everything happens for a reason. If that’s true, and you believe that wholeheartedly then you can understand why I disagree. You’re everything a mom should be. We’re lucky to have you, and dad. I get that now. If I can have half the life that you and dad do than I’ll be content. I’m so lucky to be your son.”

She leaned her head on my shoulder. “Oh, Noah. I’m so proud of you. I know you’ll be a good husband and an even better father someday.”

I patted her hand. “I hope I can, but if I struggle I know where to turn for advice. It’s not like I’m movin’ away. We’re just down the path, and that’s where we intend on stayin’. Like it or not, you’re never gettin’ rid of me.”

“Of me either,” Christian added as she walked toward us. “I’m only movin’ up the road a bit. It’s still not for a while, though.”

Chris sat down on the other side of our mother. We both looked at the woman who’d raised us, who’d showed us what love was, and how to forgive. Our mother looked from me to my sister. “I can’t believe that you’re both grown. It seems like just yesterday you were little children. Where has the time gone?”

I lifted my hand to wipe away her tears. “I guess it’s time for a new chapter in our lives. Soon your house will be full of grandchildren, right, Chris?” I need my sister to go along with it, because I could tell our mother was a bit depressed.

“Of course. Ethan wants like ten kids.”

We all laughed. “And once I convince my wife to stop doin’ world tours, maybe we could add to the pile.”

“I just want you to be happy. I want all three of you to be happy.” She sniffled, but managed to smile. “I’m just very proud. Let me have this moment, for just a second. Let me pretend you’re little children again, running around the yard, playing with Sam. Do you remember how much you both loved that dog?”

My mother was rambling, and while I thought of ways to comfort her, I saw the one person who could do a better job. Our dad climbed the steps to the porch and came over to kneel in front of her.

“What the fuss about, darlin’?”

She shrugged. “They’re all grown up.”

“That ain’t nothin’ to cry about, love. It’s somethin’ to be proud of.”

She lifted her head and looked to our dad with tear-filled eyes. “I am proud. I just can’t stop crying.”

We all hugged her together. “Hey, what about me? Am I chopped liver?” Addy  walked out the door in a pair of flannel pajama pants. She joined in, putting her arms around our dad. We sat there for a few seconds, all huddled together. I couldn’t remember the last time we’d done something like this, and I didn’t know if it would ever happen again, so I savored every second of it, and I think they all did too.