Free The Last American Cowboy by Vanessa Devereaux

your belly for me.” I did as he asked and felt him massaging my ass cheeks. “Such a cute butt.”
    He ran his finger down my crack and in between my cheeks before inserting a finger inside me. I bucked against it, thinking it would be great if we could spend every night together but, of course, we couldn’t.
    He was inside me, riding me, while I’d been daydreaming.

 
     

     
     
     
     
    Chapter Seventeen
     
    Lily wanted to go to the park when Blake and I collected her from my parents’ Sunday night. He was heading back to Montana early the next morning, but for now we sat on a bench in the playground, watching my little girl go down the slide with another child she’d made friends with ten minutes earlier.
    “She has lots of energy. Don’t you ever get worn out, working and looking after her?” he asked me.
    “I do, but I couldn’t do any of it without my parents.”
    “Yeah, my dad’s always been a big help to me, too. My stepmom as well.”
    “How long has he been married to her?”
    “Twenty years. He was convinced he’d stay a widower the rest of his life, and then Jenine came along.”
    “They didn’t have any kids together?”
    “Jenine couldn’t have any…something wrong with her fallopian tubes or something.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    “Yeah, I guess it would have been nice to have half-brothers and sisters.”
    “Mommy—and Blake, too—watch me, okay?” shouted Lily.
    “We will, but this slide down has to be the last, because you need to take a bath then go to bed to be ready for school tomorrow.”
    “Two more,” she shouted back.
    I held up one finger to her.
    “I bet it’s hard to say no to her,” said Blake.
    “It is, but you have to,” I told him.
    Lily attempted to go back on the slide despite me saying no, so I marched over to her and got hold of her hand. She threw a tantrum and cried. I dragged her toward Blake, who’d been holding Montana while she’d played.
    “Do you want Blake to go home thinking you’re a spoiled little girl and never wanting to come back to see us again?” I asked her.
    She continued to cry and began stomping her foot on the ground.
    “I think someone’s up way past their bedtime and getting irritable,” I said.
    She wiped her eyes and made a whimpering sound now. I sensed she was playing it up, hoping Blake would side with her. I prayed he wouldn’t.
    “How about I show you how we carry little girls home in Montana?” asked Blake.
    She stopped crying and nodded. Blake to the rescue. He handed me the doll then lifted her onto his shoulders. She grabbed a tuft of his hair and held onto it as we walked home.
    Blake even got roped into reading her a bedtime story and, when she was fast asleep, we sat on the couch and drank wine.
    “How about you and Lily come to visit me soon?”
    “That would be fun.”
    “She can ride a horse and get to see all the animals.”
    “She’d love it. Maybe we should do it while she’s on summer vacation.”
    “Okay, let’s plan on that.”
    * * * * *
     
    Just when you think things are going smoothly, life always throws something at you. Two weeks after Blake’s visit with us, I was sitting at my desk and checking what assignments were due. I looked at the oversized calendar in front of me and realized my period had been due five days ago. I slid back in my chair. I’d been so busy with work that I hadn’t paid any attention to the little fact that I’d had none of my usual I’m about to get my period symptoms. No bloating, no sore boobs, no craving for chocolate. I crossed my fingers, saying a silent prayer that I wasn’t pregnant. Blake and I had used a condom every time we’d had sex while he was visiting. No, it had to be a false alarm, because I didn’t even feel the same way I did when I was pregnant with Lily. I ran my hand over my head. Having another baby was the last thing I wanted. Sure, I might want that to happen one day, but I didn’t relish being a single mom to two