Page 3 of Candy Cane Kisses (Kissing Junction, TX 3)

“Bye Santa. Bye Ms. Lorelei.” They hop to quickly, forming a neat and orderly line. I am still sitting shocked in my chair. What the hell? I'm going to be a father. Not only that, but the woman of my dreams is the mother.

Looking over her shoulder one last time she says “See ya later Santa.” Tossing me a saucy wink before strutting off with her class. Oh, she will definitely be seeing me tonight, and she'll be seeing me every night for the rest of our lives. Because I am never letting her go, she is going to be my wife. I am going to take care of her and our children the rest of our lives.

Chapter Four

Kristy

Oh, fuck, what the hell come over me? I can’t believe I said that out loud. I barely have my head wrapped around parenthood myself, but I know I want him involved every step of the way. The whole way back to school, I think about when he was close to Lorelei and how I felt this surge of jealousy. How dare the father of my baby be talking to another woman? Holding her hand, even medically, if I heard that right, almost killed me.

I know I have been wishy-washy about him, but I am done with all that. He is fucking mine that is the only reasonable explanation for me to have said anything about me being pregnant to him. I'm done running, but I want him to chase me one last time. I need him to be mine, and I want to be his. I have so much anticipation for when I see him again. I wonder when it will be, I expect and kind of hope for him to call me at some point, but as the day goes on and it is time for me to go home.

I still haven't heard from him. My hope starts to fade, and I begin to panic. I am freaking out. What if he doesn't want to be a father. What if he’s moved on. Had I pushed him away enough that he doesn’t want me anymore? What if he is with Lorelei right now? Like with her, with her. I am going to have to move. I won’t be able to see the man I love with another woman all the fucking time, in a town the size of a postage stamp. Love. Where the fuck did that come from?

I head out for the day and get in my car. The bitch won’t start. Just my luck. Letting out a huge sigh, I grab my bag and walk toward the road. It should only be about a fifteen-minute walk to my apartment. As I reach the halfway point, I feel the sudden urge to puke my guts out again. Morning sickness my ass. As I am bent over the grassy area on the side of the road, dry heaving, I hear a car come up alongside me. I wave them around me, but it doesn’t move. I hear the car door open and close.

“Kristy, are you ok baby? Where is your car?” Sam asks coming up to me. I start crying uncontrollably as he picks my bag up off the ground. He then picks me up and carries me to the front seat of his truck. I am freezing and still crying. I'm sure he’s wondering what he’s gotten himself into. Sitting me down on the front seat he lifts my chin with his finger until I'm looking at him. Running his thumb under my eye where my tears are streaming down my face he says, “Talk to me baby, what's the matter?”

Through hiccupping tears, I start rambling. “I'm having a baby. I thought you didn’t care and my stupid bitch of a car won't start. God damn these stupid hormones are fucking with me. Where the fuck did you come from anyways?” I say as I slap him on the chest.

I intended to pull my hand back, but he traps it in his, keeping it above his heart and with the other, he grabs the base of my neck in a firm hold, not hard enough to hurt but just enough to get my attention. Inhaling sharply, I bite my bottom lip at the intensity in his eyes as he steps closer to me.

“Baby, how many times do I have to say it? I am not going anywhere. You're my girl, and this is my baby. There is no way in fuck I'm letting you go. Not now. Not ever. I didn't call because I knew you were busy with the kids and I had a couple of things I needed to do before I came to see you. I was actually going to meet you at the school when I saw you on the side of the road.” God, I love it when he uses that firm voice as he calls me that.

Dumbly all that comes out of my mouth is a breathless “oh.” “Yes, oh” he says with a chuckle. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down I get a whiff of his amazing scent. He smells like sandalwood and man. The smell instantly calms my nausea, and I almost start bawling again. It’s the first time in a week I haven't wanted to blow chunks everywhere. Oh my God, he’s like fucking magic! Leaning forward I take another deep breath and let out a little whimper.

“Did you just smell me?” he asks as he lets go of my hair and quirks his brow. Turning bright red, I fold my arms over my chest and lift my head up looking at him with all the bravado I don’t feel.

“So, what if I did, what are you going to do about it?” Leaning towards me until we are at eye level he growls “I am going to take your ass home, with me, where you belong.” I want nothing more than for him t

o take me home, but I can't let go of my bratty attitude to fast. Straightening my spine, I sassily tell him “What if I don't wanna go home with you? What if I wanna go to my apartment alone?”

Standing to his full height, he shrugs his shoulders and tells me “Well you could do that but there is nothing in your apartment.”

Wait, what? I wasn't expecting him to say that. “I'm sorry, what did you say?”

“You heard me, woman, you are coming home with me. You are having my baby, and there's no way I'm going to let you or my child live in that tiny, shitty ass apartment.

His shoulders tense and I can tell he thinks that I am going to have a freak out. But I'm done running. I need this man. I want this man. I love this man, and I don’t care how crazy that is. So, when I simply rub my fingers over his beard and whisper “Okay Sammy take me home.” He stands stock still and looks at me like he doesn't know what to say. “Sammy, I'm hungry, I need a bath, and I need to change these clothes. Can we go?” Leaning into my touch, he closes his eyes and exhales a relieved breath like he's been waiting years for me to say those words.

Grabbing my hand, he brings it up to his lips and kisses my palm. “Okay baby, I’ll get you home.” Kissing my palm one more time he backs away and waits until I am situated in my seat before closing my door and jogging around the front of the truck. He quickly gets into the driver's seat and starts to pull away from the curb.

We sit in silence for about ten minutes before I speak up. “Can you drive fast, I feel like these spandex pants are cutting off my circulation,” I say as I pull the waistband down. Feeling like I can finally breathe, I let a sigh and place my hand on my still small tummy. Continuing, my slight rant, “Oh fuck! I am going to get fat, and how the hell am I supposed to tell my dad? He’s going to shit a brick, or worse he is going to kill you. Like, kill you dead.” I know I am rambling, but I can’t help it. I'm nervous about going home with Sam, and I don’t know how this is all going to work out.

Laughing he grabs my hand and brings it to his lips before placing it on his thigh. “Baby relax, everything will be okay. Your dad isn't going to kill me because I have already talked to him.”

“YOU DID WHAT?” I shout and try to move my hand, but before I can, he grabs it. “Not about you being pregnant, I asked for his blessing.”

“Blessing for what?” I think I know, but I want to make sure.

“I'm gonna marry you baby, and my mama always told me when I find the one I’d better ask her daddy for her hand. I did that right before I called Candy and asked her for the key to your place. Which resulted in her calling Teagan and me having to explain what I was doing to both of them. They helped me get all your stuff ready.”

“Ok, how did you get his number?” I ask him.

“I didn’t. I went over to his office. Before you ask. I called Suzy and asked for his address, but she didn't have it, so she told me where he worked.”

Okay, then I was not expecting that. You think I'd be mad or even upset a little, but for some reason, I can't find it in myself to be mad. My girls were just trying to take care of me because they must have known that I had feelings for him even when I couldn’t admit it to myself. Having never been to Sam’s house before, I am awestruck when we pull down a long driveway that ends in front of a huge log cabin style two-story home. The first thing I notice is the wrap around porch. It is complete with two rocking chairs and wisteria plants. They are my absolute favorite. I wonder who told him that.

I unbuckle my seatbelt, open the door and hop down. “You live here?”

---