Page 45 of Justice for JoElla

“Are you going to hit me in the head again in the morning?”

She laughed silently. “Most likely.”

“Okay. As long as I know what to expect, I’ll be fine.” Brandon reached for her, pulled her in, and kissed her. It wasn’t an open-mouthed kiss, just their lips pressed together like a promise, something she could hold onto until they were alone in her apartment again. He gave her kisses. He gave her butterflies, in the air and in her stomach. He’d given her a family for the evening. And he’d given her an orgasm the night before.

In the previous twenty-four hours, he’d given her five things she’d never had before. Like a bolt out of the blue, she realized that wasn’t true. He’d given her six. Kisses, butterflies times two, family, an orgasm…

And hope.

* * *

The soundof a baby crying woke JoElla, and she glanced at the clock. Five thirty-four. She got up early during the week but, damn, on a Sunday? Her bladder was full, so she crawled out of bed with a glance toward Brandon. He was asleep on his stomach, his face and left arm hanging off the side of the mattress, and he didn’t move when she stood. Even after she came out of the bathroom, she could still hear Sim whimpering, and she followed the sound until she got to the kitchen.

Only the light over the sink was on, and through the large doorway she could see Jerrica in the overstuffed armchair in the living room, the baby in her arms. As JoElla got closer, she could see that the young mother had the front of her gown open and a swollen breast protruded from it, the nipple disappearing into the hungry baby’s mouth. She rounded the end of the sofa slowly, and when Jerrica spotted her, she smiled up at the guest. Her whispering voice was coarse with sleep. “Oh, my god, I’m so sorry he woke you!”

“Hey, no problem. It’s his house, not mine! I just didn’t want to startle you.” She stood there, a little unsure. “Mind if I sit?”

“No! Of course not! Have a seat! I’m hoping he’ll go back to sleep when he’s full. My shift doesn’t start until three, so I’d really like to go back to bed for a little while.”

JoElla had no idea how all of it worked, two parents taking care of the same baby. “So does Landon get up with him sometimes?”

“Yeah, pretty often, actually. But I can tell when he’s fussing about a wet diaper and when he’s hungry. Of course, if he’s hungry, Landon doesn’t have the equipment, if you know what I mean!” she said with a giggle.

“Do you like doing that?” Jerrica gave her a curious look. “Nursing, I mean.”

“I dunno. It does make me feel closer to him, and it’s nice to know that I’m giving him something that only I can give him. Guess it’s bonding at its finest,” the blond said, beaming down at the infant as he sucked and threw his little fists around.

“It’s always seemed so… weird, I guess. I mean, I think of that as something guys do to, you know… I mean, that sounds awful, I guess, but?”

“No, I get it. Really. And yeah, it can be arousing, but only because of the signals it sends to the cervix and the pelvic floor. Has nothing to do with who’s doing it and everything to do with anatomy. Jesus, I sound like a nurse,” Jerrica said and laughed again.

“Does it ever make you want to go find Landon and… you know…”

“Oh, yeah, now. In the beginning, no. I mean, the postpartum thing… There were days when he couldn’t even look at me. If he had, I probably would’ve… hit him in the head.”

JoElla groaned softly. “Oh, god, Brandon told you about that.”

“Yeah. He did. I thought it was funny as hell.”

“He didn’t think so.”

Jerrica was still laughing. “I guess not! I haven’t had a chance to tell Landon about it, but he’ll think it’s hysterical. I mean, Brandon should be used to being hit in the head, as many times as he and Landon fought over the years.”

“I can see them doing that, absolutely. Liella, um, not so much.”

“She was enough younger than them that no, there was nothing like that. But I guess Brandon’s told you about her.”

“He hinted that something had happened there, but he didn’t say what.”

“You should ask him about what happened to her. He and his parents were very harsh toward her for something… Well, let’s just say my husband beat himself up mentally for years because he wasn’t there for her, but he couldn’t have been.”

“Brandon said he hadn’t been very nice to her and needed to make amends.”

“Needs to kiss her feet, that’s what he needs to do. She went through hell and back, and she’s finally coming out the other side. We thank Breckin for a lot of that. He’s the best thing that ever happened to her. Guy is a saint.”

“Brandon did tell me about him. I mean, about how your in-laws treated him.”

“Yeah, and he turned it right around on them and made them eat crow. My hero, BreckinMcDermott. His mom and stepdad are amazing people too.” The baby had quieted and Jerrica smiled down at him. “Guess he’s full. He’s stopped sucking. Just wallowing it around in his mouth. Lawd, when he gets teeth, he’s going to have to be weaned. He’s already almost gumming me to death.” The younger woman held the baby out a little, pulled her gown back over her breast, and squeezed him to her again. “Sometimes I think I’ll be so glad when he’s older, and then I see people with their kids graduating and think about how fast they grow up.”

---