Page 23 of A Little Thankful

“I can’t. But I’d like to think it was the angel of sex.”

“He or she would have to be a wicked angel, because that was some wicked sex.”

“Devilishly wicked sex,” I told her as I swept her tangled hair off her glistening face. Her arm draped over my shoulder and our legs were intertwined. “And I want more.”

“Now?” she asked, looking a bit startled.

“Not now, but before you leave in the morning.”

“At least two more times,” she teased.

“I’ll hold you to that,” I told her.

“As long as you hold me, I’ll do anything you want.”

“You shouldn’t talk like that. It makes me hard.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, but her eyes had closed and she was already drifting off. I pulled her in tighter, pulled the throw off the back of the sofa over us, and fell asleep right along with her, letting out a contented sigh that surprised even me.

Sage 7

I woke up late, eight fifteen according to my phone. The good thing was there were no text messages or missed phone calls from my mom or my grandma. However, I knew my daughter. She’d probably been awake for at least an hour. I didn’t know if my mom was okay with not only babysitting last night, but also this morning when I knew at some point, she would be baking pies for the apple pie bake off.

Mace had long since left for his bakery, but the memory of some wicked sex with him, lingered. He’d kept his promise before he left with some wild sex, and I was going to join him in the shower, then follow him to his shop, but I never made it to the shower. I fell back to sleep again.

The man was a driven machine.

How he kept up this mad schedule, day after day was beyond me. He did, however, take Monday’s off. The bakery was closed on that day. But today was Sunday, and the place would be jumping with customers getting ready for the Holiday on Thursday.

Once dressed, I secured an Uber, and made it home by eight-forty-five, hoping my mom wouldn’t give me the third degree.

Instead, I found my gram tending to Autumn whose little face lit up as soon as she saw me.

“There’s my sweet baby girl,” I cooed, as I walked over to her.

She was on the floor on a brightly colored blanket in the living room. Her arms and legs shot out and she giggled like she couldn’t wait for me to pick her up, which I did. I sat on the floor, and cradled her in my arms. The absolute joy of my life.

The house reeked of cinnamon and sugar, a truly delicious smell, and my mouth watered for apple pie. Mom always made an extra pie or two for us when she entered the bake-off and I couldn’t wait to have a slice.

“Thanks so much, Gram,” I said, once I snuggled my sweet Autumn. She smelled so good, that I couldn’t stop kissing her neck, which always caused her to belly laugh. Music to my ears, that was for certain.

“Anytime, Sage. She’s a joy to be with. I love watching her, and just know that you can drop her off with me anytime,” she said, and I could tell she meant it.

Gram looked especially good this morning, wearing a jean blouse, black jeans and red sneakers. She’d always been a thin woman, much like my mom and my aunt. All three of them guarded their weight, much like I tried to do… except for these last five baby pounds.

Gram’s naturally gray, shoulder length hair was pinned back. She wore her usual amount of makeup, including lipstick, which she always loved. She couldn’t seem to stop smiling this morning. I hadn’t seen her this joyful since I was a little girl.

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” I told her. “You’re glowing this morning, Gram. I love seeing you this way.”

“It’s little Autumn. She’s simply a delightful child. I’ve never seen a child so happy, but then look at her mother. Always a delight to be around.”

We hugged then, and kissed each other’s cheeks. I truly missed her, and out of all the people in my family I would have wanted with me during my pregnancy and birth, it would have been my grandma Iris.

Unfortunately, she would have had no choice but to tell my folks about my pregnancy, and I wasn’t ready for any of that.

“So, what are your intentions, my love?” she asked, as she sat on the floor on the blanket where she’d been playing with Autumn.

“About what, Gram? That’s a leading question.”

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