Page 19 of A Little Thankful

“And your aunt and her daughter seem to be cool with the whole thing,” Mace offered.

“Yeah, well my aunt is kind of a wild child. Before she had Sami, she hiked the Appalachian Trail all by herself, lived in a commune, joined a cult, was part of a group relationship that contained both men and women, was a paid medium, and memorized the entire Bible.” If these three thought they were just getting me and Autumn in this deal, they had to think again.I came with an entire entourage, and unless they started dying off, they were part of the package.

“I’ve always liked your family,” Forrest said. “From when we were kids. Your mom threw the best birthday parties in town.”

“She did, didn’t she,” I said, agreeing, remembering jugglers, cowboys teaching us how to use a trick rope and horse rides, magicians teaching us magic tricks, and even a rock-climbing wall. We baked cakes, made pizza, bread and pies. There was even one party where we helped build a dog house for Winston, my first real best friend, a chocolate Lab.

“Your gram gave me her secret recipe for the best lemon cake I ever tasted. It was at one of your birthday parties. I use that same recipe in my shop. It’s my best-selling cake.”

“Did you ever tell her?”

“No. I didn’t think she’d care,” Mace said.

“I think she’d love it, especially if you give her credit for it.”

“I already do. It’s my Iris lemon cake.”

“Then you’ve got to tell her.”

“I will. As soon as I can.”

I couldn’t help the yawn that overtook me.

“Let’s go,” Hunter said. “It’s been a long day for everyone.”

Then he hugged me, and not a friend’s kind of hug, a full-on body to body, kind of hug. Or was that me pushing in closer to him so I could give him a kiss. Nothing too long, but enough of a kiss to remind both of us of those three delicious days and nights.

When we pulled apart, he held my hand for a moment longer and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Turkey Trot at ten. Moon Street. Autumn will love it.”

“We’ll be there,” I told him, right before Mace slipped his hand around my waist, pulled me in close and reminded me what an incredible kisser he was. Not that Hunter was a bad kisser, he was amazing, but Mace… well, he could bring me tomy knees with those lips. Which he had, and the memory still burned bright.

“Tomorrow,” he said, stepping away as I worked on keeping my balance. Their cars were all parked in our circular driveway. Hunter’s monster truck, Mace’s silver van, and Forrest’s black BMW.

“Looking forward to it,” Forrest said, right before he crushed his lips on mine, ran a hand down to my ass, pulled me in tight enough so I could feel his massively hard cock, and left me positively breathless.

“All that from the accountant,” I whispered as I watched him walk away. “Yep, I’m going to take my time and get to know them better. Sure I am.”

And as I walked back into the house and headed for my bedroom where my sweet baby girl was already fast asleep, I couldn’t help but think of my cousin’s words:This is so cool.

Mace 6

Sleep had eluded me last night, and now I was paying for it. I could barely keep my eyes open this morning, and it was one of the busiest days of the year. I had to rub myself off at least two times, just to get a few hours of sleep, but even that didn’t help. All I could think of was her tight, warm pussy surrounding my cock, and I’d get all fucked up all over again.

Even porn didn’t help.

I wanted Sage in my bed, and until that happened, until we could convince her to stay and maybe even come live with us, I would never sleep again.

“I’m opening the door,” Melonie Lockhart shouted from the front of the shop.

Melonie was one of our oldest employees… not in age, but in the time she’d been working for us at the shop. She used to work for my grandfather, and gladly stayed on when I took over. She opened the bakery five days a week, and this was one of the most important days, the day of the Turkey Trot. For the last three years we’ve been selling out of almost everything. I knew this year would be just as good. We’d been preparing for it for the past week, plus, I’d been baking with my team since three this morning, not four. That extra hour made all the difference, but now I was spent.

Her familiar morning call was my clue to show my face, but instead, I decided to close my eyes for a few minutes while I sat back in my desk chair.

“Mace. Hey, Mace,” the angel said. “It’s time to wake up.”

I didn’t just wake up, I jumped up like I was on a spring, knocking Sage right on her ass. Fortunately, baby Autumn sat in her stroller, and thought Mom’s falling was the funniest thing she’d ever seen. Her high-pitched giggle reached in and touched my heart. This little girl could get me to do just about anything. I felt sure of it.

“Are you okay?” I asked, as I helped Sage up. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, but I was dreaming about angels and… it doesn’t matter.”

---