Page 9 of All in April

Taking a flour covered finger, she taps the end of my nose. “I like to see you laugh, Brahn. And, no. You didn’t ruin anything. It’ll be ready in about an hour.”

Using the opportunity, I sneak away and head outside for some fresh air. I can’t stand being indoors most of the time unless I’m reading a book. Wolf is painting the garage before it starts raining, so I help him by picking up a brush. His grin irritates me.

“You finally did it?”

My jaw clenches in reply to his question. He doesn’t need to know.

“Well, well, well. Good for you big man. How’d she take it?”

I grunt, not wanting to tell him a damn thing. “How about you focus on the work?”

“You disappointed her, huh? Didn’t get it in?”

“I got enough in. She’ll be ripe with my child soon.”

“You sure about that?” Jack asks as he wanders up with some more paint cans. He glances at the sky, but the weather is still holding up enough for us to get this done today.

“I switched the pills. Bet she’s ovulating by now. Her pussy is certainly wet enough that she probably is,” I say, licking some remnants of what I just did off my beard.

Wolf slaps my flannel shirt covered arm with his paintbrush and I look at the blue stripe with irritation. “See? See how she belongs with us now?”

Thinking back to a few minutes ago, her cheery nature while she made that pie for us. Watching her move. The way she was so willing to try. Her utter sweetness, just like her pies…

“Yeah. I see it.”

“Wow. Brahn’s in love, too,” Jack says with a big smirk while helping cut in around the side door.

I drop the paintbrush and straighten up. My hands land on my hips as I assess the two of them. “You both are?”

They eye each other, but don’t say anything. Which means, they’re probably like me. The flashing sign is down and the train is coming. We’re all falling for the same woman.

My heart does something weird inside when I think about April. Her disposition. The way she’s been caring for all of us. “She is perfect for us, you know?” I say to them and they both give small, dreamy smiles and nod. “And I’m sleeping with her tonight.”

“What do you mean?” Jack stops painting long enough to hold his paintbrush out at me like a weapon.

“I mean, I’m sleeping in her bed tonight.”

“Who says you can?” Wolf interrupts, stiffening as if he could take me.

“Me. I haven’t slept in her bed and that’s what I’m doing.”

“Well, I’m joining you,” Wolf says. I know he goes in there to come in her at night.

“Not tonight. Tonight, it’s just me and her.”

“Maybe April should decide,” Jack says.

We all glance at each other. “Fine.” I relent.

The three of us march toward the back kitchen door, paint smears and all. When we enter, she gasps and shakes her finger at us. “Stop! Don’t come in here dirty! I cleaned the floor!”

It smells of some pine cleaner and soap. The countertops are now clear and gleaming in the bright sunshine, but the old brown floor tiles stay murky all the time. They look okay, but maybe she’ll want to redecorate. Girls like that stuff.

Jack calls to her over my shoulder. “We want to know who you want to sleep with tonight.”

“Sleep with? I thought I didn’t have a choice,” she says, leaning a hip against the butcher block island.

“This is just to sleep with,” Wolf says.

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