Page 10 of A Country Hood Christmas with the Hendersons

I couldn’t really observe her because I was prepping food and cooking some of it for tomorrow, but I knew my daughter. She was more like me than she cared to admit. She was hiding something beneath her smile and laugh. I could see it in her eyes. She looked like she was so far away from here. Her mind was on something else, although that basketball player was giving her the attention she wasn’t getting or refused from Decklan.

As Carter kissed my toes, I stared at him and asked, “Have you noticed anything weird about Jessica? I mean, like a change in her personality?”

“Like she seems depressed or sad about something?”

“Yes.”

“I have. She hasn’t said anything, but I saw it Tuesday when she left for the Bahamas. I asked if she was okay, and she said she was. I didn’t want to push, especially after she called me dad. You know I get all soft and shit when she does that.”

I smiled slightly. Jessica had bonded with Carter immediately, and I knew it was because of what I told her he and I had shared when she was a kid. He wanted to take us away from Joseph back then, but I was crazy.Stupid.I felt like my complaints with Joseph weren’t serious enough to leave him, but I was cheating. My thought process was ass backwards back then, and they caused way more harm than good to not only me but my children, especially Jessica.

“Yeah. I need to talk to her before she leaves. I think she’s heading out either Sunday night or Monday morning for the airport. You and Shylou working my baby to death.”

“Naw.Sheworking herself to death. She can turn down anything she wants. She accepts it all. Either she loves it, or she’s trying to keep herself busy to avoid something else.”

I looked away, thinking about what he said. Although she was a grown woman, she would always be my baby. I was concerned about her well-being: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I worried about her more than I did Jacob because she endured Joseph’s verbal abuse as well. Although I would go behind him and try to do damage control, I knew that she could have very well taken some of the things he said to heart and carried with her into adulthood.

“I’ll try to talk to her after the wedding.”

“Okay. Until then, I need you to calm down. You have a long day tomorrow. Jessica is thirty years old. She’s very capable of handling herself. I know, as her mother, you’re going to worry, but try to relax. I’ve gotten to know Jess well. If she needs help or someone to talk to, she’ll say so.”

I gave Carter a slight smile, but to hell with that logic. That was my baby. We would be talking ASAP, even if I had to text her tonight. He continued to massage my feet then took a deep breath. Setting my foot on the bed, he went to the dresser and grabbed my phone. When he handed it to me, I immediately awakened my screen and sent her a text.

Hey, baby. I can see that something or someone is bothering you. I can also see that Decklan is that someone. I’m always here if you want to talk. I know Nesha is usually your sounding board, but I can imagine that you don’t want to ‘bother’ her tonight. If you need to talk, it’s never too late. Text or call me whenever.

I set my phone on the bed and looked at Carter as he stared at me with a smirk on his face. “What? She will always be my baby.”

He lifted both hands in surrender. “I didn’t say a word. I know you. That’s why I got your phone for you.”

I rolled my eyes slightly, then said, “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said as he went back to massaging my foot.

I slid it from his grasp and went to my knees in the bed, making my way to him. I went behind him and began massaging his shoulders. He’d been dealing with CJ all day, until he left with my parents, and for us, that was a lot. Carter and I were in our fifties, raising a four-year-old. God definitely showed off his sense of humor when he allowed me to get pregnant.

Carter groaned under my touch and dropped his head back for a second. This man was so sexy, and there were times where I still couldn’t believe he was all mine… again. I truly believed he was all mine when I was cheating on Joseph with him. All I had to do was say the word. Somehow, I’d managed to hold onto his soul for years before we finally saw one another again.

It worked out how it was supposed to. I tried not to question why God allowed me to go through certain things. One day, my silent inquiries would be answered. I knew that most of what I went through was on me. I had plenty of opportunities to change things, but I didn’t. I couldn’t blame anyone but myself.

I leaned over and softly kissed Carter’s ear then wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed my arm. “Let’s get some rest, baby. I’m gonna let you make it tonight. Tomorrow though, we will do this all over again, and I will fuck that beautiful pussy up.”

“I can’t wait until tomorrow, Carter. I need you now.”

He pulled away from me and turned to face me, immediately putting his hand at the back of my neck, pulling me to him. I landed in his lap, and his mouth landed on mine. As we kissed passionately, he slid his hand up my night shirt, gripping my ass, causing me to release a moan into his mouth. When he separated our kiss, I straddled him, subtly rolling my hips.

“Nahra, why you ain’t got on underwear?”

“Because I was hoping to convince you to fuck my beautiful pussy up tonight instead of tomorrow.”

“Mm. Well, wait no longer.”

He lifted me slightly and pulled his dick from his boxers, allowing me to slide right down it. My eyes fluttered closed as he slid his fingers through my hair. “Mm, Carter. Yeeeesss, baby.”

“Ride yo’ dick, baby. Let me feel everything this pussy has to give me.”

As I began bouncing on him, my orgasm snuck up on me, and I nearly bit the shit out of his shoulder. He gripped my ass and began sliding me up and down his dick. My body was trembling as it enjoyed everything he did to me. Carter always made me feel like I was the sexiest woman in the world. I loved the way he loved my kids and me. He took them in as his own, although they were grown.

He gave Jessica her dream job and was teaching Jacob the business side of things for the boutiques. Jacob was also working for Henderson Ranch and Farms in his down time and teaching Carter what he knew. He fit perfectly. Sexually, we were beyond explosive together, and I didn’t know how I let him go all those years ago. As he released within my depths, my phone rang. After remaining still for a moment, I slid from him and went to it, knowing that it could be one of the kids.

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