Part 44 (1/2)
”They do seem devoted to each other.”
”Indeed. And what more could any father want for his daughter than a man who is utterly devoted to her?”
”Nothing, I suppose. Are you going to tell him that?”
”As soon as I get the chance.”
Reid was already in bed by the time Kate got there just after midnight. She'd gone around one more time to make sure everyone knew where the extra blankets, pillows and towels could be found. In the living room, she'd discovered her brother Eric sacked out on the sofa. She covered him with a blanket and then planted a kiss on his cheek because she could.
He'd gotten so grown up since she last saw him. According to Andi, he was shaving and had a girlfriend at home, not that Kate was allowed to ask him about either of those things.
”What're you thinking about?” Reid asked as he gathered her in close to him.
”My brother Eric. He became a man when I wasn't looking.”
”It happens. Did you have a good time tonight?”
”It was wonderful. Everything I'd hoped for, and then some. How about you?”
”Much better than expected. And the song... Wow, Kate. You blew me away with the new verse.”
”I'm glad you liked it.”
”I loved it.”
”Let me turn over so I can kiss you.”
He released his tight hold on her, but only for the time it took her to turn to face him. Then she was right back in his arms again.
She found his lips in the dark, running her tongue over his bottom lip, teasing and cajoling until he allowed her in. Their tongues mated and tangled as his hands found their way under her s.h.i.+rt.
Wanting him desperately, Kate arched into him, tightening her arms around his neck.
Reid drew back from the kiss, eliciting a whimper of protest from her.
”It was just getting good.”
”It's always good.”
”Then come back.”
”I can't make love to you when half your parents are sleeping upstairs.”
She wrapped her hand around the erection that made a liar out of him. ”Yes, you can.”
With his hand over hers, he stopped her from stroking him. ”No, I can't.”
”Seriously? You're going to make me wait days and days and days?”
”It's only two days, and you'll survive. It's enough that I'm sleeping with you while they're here.”
”Of course you're sleeping with me. You live here.”
”Let's wait, baby. It's only two days, and think about how amazing our wedding night will be if we wait.”
She squeezed him, drawing a tortured groan from him. ”I don't want to wait.”
He peeled her fingers off his erection. ”Katherine...”
”Oh my G.o.d!” She flopped onto her back. ”You're serious!”
”Yes, I'm serious. It's also because you're running around here like a crazy woman seeing to their every need. You, my pregnant love, need your sleep.”
”You're not the boss of me.”
He laughed, as she'd hoped he would. ”Now you sound like a five-year-old.”
”You aren't going to deny me what I want just because I'm pregnant, are you?”
”I'll never deny you anything-after we're married and as long as the doctor says it's safe.”
”Fine.”
”That's my girl. Now go to asleep.”
Kate was already well on her way.
The next afternoon, Kate took Jill, Maggie and their mom to see the home for troubled women they were creating at Reid's family estate. The nausea had taken a much-needed day off, and Kate was enormously grateful to not have to hide her condition from her family while fighting the need to vomit.
She walked her mother and sisters through the downstairs, which had once boasted heavy velvet curtains and elaborate works of art that were now in storage. While the graceful bones of the old house could never be downplayed, Reid and Kate had decided to simplify the decorating to make it cozier and more welcoming to women in need. In the dining room, she smiled as she remembered Ashton asking her to sing ”Crazy” for them the day she met them. Reid always said he'd fallen in love with her the minute he heard her sing, right here in this room.
Maggie asked no fewer than a thousand questions as they toured the kitchen where the women would be encouraged to share communal meals, the downstairs bedrooms that would be converted to counseling rooms and the suite where Martha had once lived, which would be made available to the program director if he or she chose to live on-site.
”This is very impressive, honey,” Clare said. ”I can picture it from how you describe it.”
”Thanks, Mom. We're really excited to start interviewing for the director. A lot of what happens here will depend on who we get.”
”Where are you with licenses from the state?” Maggie asked, running her hand over the mahogany banister.
”Ashton is handling all that. Once we had the idea of how we could put this place to good use, we didn't want to wait to get it moving.”
She showed them through the upstairs bedrooms that had been converted to accommodate mothers and their children. Some rooms could hold up to five people, while the smaller rooms were outfitted for only two. ”We've also got the horses and can give the kids riding lessons.”
”Have you given any thought to offering therapeutic horseback riding?” Maggie asked.