Begin Again (25 page)

“Yes. No. Maybe
. I’m just a little worried that she’s going to go whole hog into this and then have her heart broken if he fucks up again. I support whatever type of relationship she wants with him, even if I’m not his number one fan.”

Journey came back in after being outside for a while.
She was smiling so that was a good sign. Coming right over to him she sat in his lap. “I think he had a good time, don’t you two agree?”

She looked at them expectantly
. It worried him a little that she was overly enthusiastic about everything. He knew he was being Mr. Negative, but he preferred to be prepared if the shit hit the fan.

“
Yeah, I think he did. You did really well making him feel welcome and included. Just remember what I said: Take it slow.”

“I know.
I promise I’ll be careful. I’m going to go with him to a therapy session next week. He wants me to be honest about what it was like growing up with an addict for a brother.” He heard her sniffle and hugged her.

Nan handed over Joey when she was leaving a little while later.
Dylan changed his diaper and put him to bed. Abby had fallen asleep shortly after they were done eating, so Journey had put her to bed earlier. He made sure the doors were locked and shut off the lights. When he walked into the bedroom, Dylan’s dick started to stir. Her hair was down around her shoulders. She was wearing a baby blue satin nightgown. It hugged her slight curves and gave him a prime view of her gorgeous tits. The length was modest, but still showed off her great legs.

She was on her knees in the middle of the bed.
He closed the door behind him, pulling off his shirt as he walked toward the bed. Dylan couldn’t take his eyes off of her when he reached the side of the bed. Even with a makeup-free face she was breathtaking. He slid his hands into her hair so he could tip her face up to him. His lips brushed hers with gentle touches. Her hands slid up into his hair. He felt the slight tug and that caused his cock to practically punch through his jeans. Deepening the kiss, he licked the seam of her lips until she opened, welcoming him inside.

He felt her hands tug open his jeans, but instead of her
reaching inside she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. She pulled her mouth away from his. “D-Dylan, I need to te-tell you something.” She bit her lip and wouldn’t look at him.

Well
, shit, it couldn’t be good if she wouldn’t even look at him. “Okay, baby. Whatever it is you can tell me.” Her mouth kept opening and closing but nothing came out. He was wracking his brain trying to think of what she was trying to tell him. “It’s okay, baby. Just say it.”

Her eyes lifted to his. A small smile graced her lips, “I’m-I’m in lov-love with you, Dylan.” Journey’s cheeks flushed prettily as she held his gaze.

He was trying very hard not to fist-pump in front of her, but that was the best fucking thing he’d ever heard. For so long he wanted to say it to her, but he wanted her to know she could trust him not to run away from her again. He cupped her face in his hands. “I love you, too.
”

They shared a long
, slow kiss. He put all of the love that he felt for her into it. Slowly he lowered her to the mattress, his body covering hers. Going slow wasn’t an option, once he settled between her thighs. He ripped the nightie over her head and growled when he discovered she was naked underneath. His lips wrapped around her nipple, sucking it with hard pulls. His other hand slid down her stomach until he reached her hot center.

He had to kiss her to quiet Journey’s cries.
Sliding one finger, then two into her, he felt her hips thrusting up, grinding against his hand. Pulling his finger out of her pussy, he brought them up, circling her clit. He bit into her nipple and then switched to the other one, treating it to the same sucks, licks, and bites. Her eyes were closed, her head tipped back, and her body was writhing underneath him. She was completely lost in the pleasure he was giving her.

He reached for the nightstand and grabbed a condom out of the drawer.
Ripping it open and quickly sheathing himself, he settled again between her thighs. Dylan leaned down kissing her lips. Against her lips he whispered, “I love you, baby.” Then he thrust his cock into her.

He groaned at the feel of her tight pussy squeezing his dick.
Neither of them said anything as their bodies moved together slowly and sensually. With every thrust he ground against her clit, bringing her closer and closer to orgasm.

Journey’s cries became more urgent and he could feel her pussy start to contract around him.
He slid a hand between their bodies and rubbed her clit.

“
Come for me, baby.” Covering her mouth with his hand, he felt her scream against it as her pussy soaked his cock and triggered his own orgasm. She milked him until he was completely emptied out. His body collapsed on hers, and instead of complaining she wrapped her arms and legs around him-holding him tight. His dick was still pulsing inside of her before he felt himself start to soften inside of her.

Reluctantly he pulled out of her, disposing
of the rubber. He grabbed her nightie and slid it back over her head as she smiled up at him. Kissing her lips quickly before he stood up-grabbing his pajama pants off of the floor. Shutting off the light, he crawled back in bed with Journey. She settled her back against his front. Dylan kissed her bare shoulder. “I love you, baby.” He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of saying that to her.

“I love you
, too,” she whispered. It wasn’t long before he heard her breathing change and he knew she was asleep. He kissed the back of her head and let himself drift off to sleep.

Chapter Eighteen

Wednesday mornings were always hectic for Journey and Dylan. She had an all staff meeting at seven and Dylan met with his brother and Luke for breakfast to go over the jobs they had going. Nan took Abby to school on those days since she couldn’t drop her off that early. Joey’s daycare opened at six in the morning, so Journey could drop him off on her way.

She was packing her lunch when Dylan came into the kitchen with Joey in his arms. Out of the corner of her eye
, she watched him get Joey a little bowl of Cheerios and a banana. Going back to her lunch, she packed it all in her lunch bag. She looked out the window and frowned. It was cold and rainy out. It was perfect weather to stay home all snuggled up on the couch with a good book, but duty called and she had to get to school for her meeting.

After Joey ate
, she wiped his face off and put his shoes on. Dylan was across the street delivering Abby to Nan. Journey grabbed her raincoat and boots and threw them on. She’d change the shoes once she got to work. The chill in the air outside caused her to shiver. She hurried to the car, placing Joey inside and strapping him in his seat.

Before she climbed in herself
, Dylan came running up to her from across the street. “Hey baby, since the weather’s shit I may just pick up Joey early today. We can spend the day together. If you want I’ll pick Abby up, too. That way you don’t have to leave school early.”

“Thanks, that’d be great.
I wonder if they send the kids home early if the weather gets any worse.” She didn’t like driving in the rain and falling temps. It could quickly turn to sleet, making the roads slicker than shit.

“Okay, baby. Drive carefully
. I’ll call you when Joey and I get home. We may go to my place since it’ll be closer to Abby’s school. I’ll call you if anything changes.” He leaned down to kiss her goodbye. “I love you, baby. I love you, little man.”

Joey yelled bye-bye from the backseat and Journey reveled in the way Dylan’s face lit up when their little boy chattered away.
She climbed into the car and he shut her door for her. She smiled and waved-pulling out of the driveway, a block away from the house the rain started coming down in sheets. “Just great,” she mumbled.

Journey got to the school with ten minutes to spare
, so she had time to run to her class, change out of her boots and into her ballet flats. She grabbed a pen and a legal pad off of her desk and headed down to the cafeteria. The other teachers were walking in there as well. She found Zach by the table that held fruit, donuts, bagels and juice. He noticed her when she came and stood next to him.

“Hey
, Zach, how are you?” It was like they weren’t even friends anymore and that made her a little sad. He’d become important to her and the kids, but now he didn’t come around at all. She wondered if maybe Dylan asked him not to or maybe he was mad that she didn’t go have lunch with him.

“I’m good. You look beautiful as always.
How are things?” She grabbed a banana, juice and a bagel and followed Zach to two empty seats at the table with room left.

“Things are pretty great.
Can you have lunch with me today? There’s so much I want to tell you about. My brother contacted me. He’s sober and has been for a while. I want to tell you all about it.” Of course he knew all about her brother.

“
Wow. That’s good, right? What does Dylan think about that?”

Before she could answer
, Principal Andrews came in and their meeting got started. While the meeting went on, she kept glancing outside. The wind was really whipping around and the rain was coming down hard. She would feel much better when she knew Dylan and the kids were home safely. Most of the meeting was to go over ever-changing policies.

By
7:30 the meeting was over and the other teachers were heading back to their classrooms. She said bye to Zach as he headed up the stairs to his classroom. It was going to be an easy day for her. Her students were working on finishing up their outlines for their papers since they were done reading
To Kill a Mockingbird
.

T
he kids were grumpy during her first period class, but that’s because half of them looked like drowned rats. They did more talking to each other than working.

“Come on
, guys, I know we’d all rather be home instead of here, but y’all still have work today. I need your completed outlines by Friday. Raise your hand if you’re done.”

Only about half of the class raised their hands.
“Okay, those of you done, I’ll call you up one by one and we can go over what you have.”

The ones that had their outlines done had done a really good job.
They’d have an easy time writing their papers with the information they had.

During third period
, she had only a couple of students that had their outlines done. She made the rest of the class work silently on theirs. Journey was working on her lesson plan for next week when the intercom sounded in her room.

“Ms. Cummings, can you come down to the office
, please?” It sounded like the principal.

“Um
—yes, I’ll be right there.” She stood up and looked at her students. “Guys, I’ll be right back. Please behave yourselves.” They all started laughing and agreed to behave themselves.

As she walked down the hall
, she felt a sense of dread wash over her. Deep down she could feel that she wasn’t going to like whatever she was about to hear. Her ballet flats slapped the linoleum floor as she walked down to the office. She reached the office door, opening it and stepping inside.

***

Dylan raced through the streets trying to get to the high school as quick as he could.
He’d been at the office getting ready to leave and get Joey when Zach had called him. There were two officers there looking to talk to Journey. All they would tell Zach was that they needed to speak to her. He was thankful that Zach had been down there and thought to call him. When he pulled up in front of the school, his heart was beating wildly in his chest. If something happened to her brother, it was going to kill her.

He entered the school and they buzzed him back.
Zach met him outside the door. “They just called her down. She should be here in a minute.”

“Thanks for calling me, man. They wouldn’t tell you why they’re here at all?”
Dylan rubbed his sweaty palms on his pant legs.

“No problem, Dylan.
And no, they wouldn’t say anything at all.”

They stepped inside
. Zach told the officers that Dylan was her boyfriend. They nodded their heads solemnly. Dylan’s stomach started knotting up. They only had to wait a few minutes before the door opened and Journey stepped into the office. She looked around, and when her eyes caught Dylan’s, she looked at him with a mixture of fear and confusion.

“Are you Journey Cummings?”
one of the officers asked her.

“Uh
, yes, I am. What can I do for you?” She kept looking at Dylan.

“Do you know one Nanette Jensen?”

Oh fuck, this couldn’t be good. He could feel his pulse rate increase while he watched Journey. So many scenarios were going through his head and none of them were good.

“Y-
yes, I know Nan. What’s happened?” Dylan went to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“At 7:45
, this morning a car hydroplaned and triggered a three car accident. Ms. Jensen, from reports, swerved, trying to avoid it, but she overcorrected and slammed into a bridge embankment. I’m sorry to tell you, but Ms. Jensen died on the scene. They took her and the little girl that was in the back seat to Mercer Hospital.”

Dylan felt like he was going to be sick.
Nan was dead, but what about Abby?

“What’s the condition of-of the little girl? She’s our
s.” He could feel Journey’s body trembling against him. Zach looked like he had tears in his eyes, as well.

“She was completely unharmed
, not a scratch on her. Ms. Jensen turning the wheel at the last minute probably kept them from hitting on the girl’s side. They have her in the ER, so you can go ahead and head there now if you wish. They’ll need someone to identify the body. The ER staff will be able to direct you where to go. We’re sorry for your loss, ma’am.”

Dylan watched the officers leave
and then turned to Journey. Her face was expressionless: her eyes held no emotion whatsoever. “Baby, let’s get your stuff and head to the hospital, okay? I’ll call one of the girls to pick up Joey.”

Nodding
, she led him to her class. He stood just outside the door while Journey grabbed her bag. She spoke to her class and then came back into the hall. Her principal was coming towards them with another teacher in tow.

The older woman grabbed Journey, pulling her into a hug.
Dylan could hear her tell Journey how sorry she was and to take all of the time she needed. She made no attempt to touch the other woman or acknowledge that she even spoke. It was obvious Journey was just in shock right at the moment.

He
kept her close, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he led her outside to his truck. His dad or brother would help him get the car later. He loaded her up and buckled her in. She stared out the front windshield, her eyes unblinking. He kissed her temple before he shut her door.

Before he jumped in the truck he called his mom. He was going to need her to pick up Joey and keep him until they were done at the hospital.
She answered on the third ring.

“Hi
, baby, how are you?”

“
Mom, I need your help. There’s been an accident.” He felt tears fill his own eyes. “Nan and Abby were in an accident this morning.” Dylan heard her gasp. “Abby is fine, completely untouched.”

“Oh my god, Nan?” His mom and Nan had gotten close over the last month.

“She died at the scene. Journey and I are on our way to the hospital now. I need you to go pick up Joey. I’ll get him later.”

“Okay
, sweetheart, I’ll go get him. Oh my god, I can’t believe it. How’s Journey taking the news?” 

“She’s in shock
, I think. I’ll call the daycare and tell them you’re coming. Thanks, Mom.”

“No problem
, sweetheart. I love you and give my love to Journey. Call me later if we need to come get Abby.” He had the best parents in the world. They loved Journey and the kids as much as he did.

He disconnected the call and climbed into the truck.
Silence filled the cab as he made his way towards the hospital, on the way he called the daycare and told them his mom had permission to pick up Joey. When they got there, he pulled into the parking lot outside of the emergency room. He helped Journey out of the truck. Leading her into the emergency room, they stopped at the front desk, letting them know why they were there.

The woman manning the desk got up and led them to the back.
Dylan spotted Abby immediately. She was sitting at the nurses’ station drinking a juice box.

“Abby!” Journey called out and ran to
her. He watched Journey pick up the little girl, squeezing her tight. He went to them wrapping his arms around them both, trying to give them both his strength.

“Mommy, we was in a accident.
Nana went to sleep. She wouldn’t wake up. I was scared. Where is she, Mommy? They wouldn’t let me see her. She’s probably scared.” Abby was breaking his heart.

“We’ll talk about Nana in a little bit
, okay?” Journey was at least talking, but her voice was flat, emotionless.

He flagged down a nurse and asked about where they needed to go to identify a body.
Her eyes immediately filled with tears. Apparently this was Nan’s hospital. The nurse explained that they took Nan’s body down to the morgue. They’d send someone to take them down there soon. He made a quick call to his mom that he needed her to come get Abby. She told him she was sending his dad so she could get Joey.

When his dad showed up twenty minutes later he was relieved.
Journey was still sitting in a chair with Abby in her lap. Abby was chattering away like usual, but Journey was barely responding to her. He went to go talk to his dad before they had to go downstairs.

His dad wrapped his arms around him.
“God, son, I’m so sorry. She was a good woman. How’s Journey?”

“I don’t know.
She hasn’t really said anything. I think she’s still in shock. We were just waiting for you to get here before we went down to the morgue. I don’t know how she’s going to take it, but it needs to be done. I’ll call you later when I’m ready to come get the kids.”

“No hurry, you take all of the time you need.
” He slapped Dylan on the shoulder and walked towards his girls.

Dylan watched his dad get down on his haunches in front of Abby and Journey.
He couldn’t hear what he was saying to them, but whatever it was it made Journey nod her head and Abby to go to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Dylan’s dad stood up, but bent down to kiss Journey’s forehead. With Abby still wrapped around him, he came back to Dylan.