Dominion Trust Series - Vol.1 (65 page)

What the hell were they going to do now?

It’s time to put on the big boy pants, pal. Dad.

Tom sat down on a padded stool, laying his clipboard on the exam room counter. “Keihl, hormonal markers don’t lie. It’s a sure thing.”

After Kirsten had come home, she’d gone to her normal OB/Gyn, and Keihl had asked Kirsten to have the results sent to Tom. Keihl had wanted to get a second opinion; the sour puss OB/Gyn Kirsten liked didn’t exactly inspire his confidence. After he’d gotten the news, his emotions were a maelstrom of frustration, elation, anxiety, and strangely, excitement.

Mixed in with all of that was the instinctual, quintessentially male pride at doing his most basic of duties. It was absurd, but the feeling was real.

Congratulations, dickhead. You managed to reproduce. Would you like a medal?

“What’s the problem? You seem… kind of spooked about this.”

Keihl grunted. “Easy for you to say, man. You and Sharon have had three kids already. This is my first.”

Tom stood up and moved to the exam room counter, washing his hands. Keihl didn’t know why he’d need to wash them, but he figured docs just did it out of habit more than anything else.

“Just wait,” Tom said, looking back over his shoulder as he ran his hands under the water. “Soon enough you’ll see why Sharon and I are thinking about having a fourth.”

“You are?” Tom’s kids were as beautiful as their parents were. Keihl only hoped he and Kirsten could be as blessed as his best friend had been.

“Of course! We love it. And we both love kids, so why not?”

Tom sat back down, rolling the stool across the floor, moving behind the black flat screen monitor mounted on an arm extending from the wall. A shelf, mounted to the base of the monitor, held a keyboard and wireless mouse, Tom’s fingers typing away as he talked.

“What do you mean by ‘we love it’? You mean more kids?”

“Sure, but that’s not all.” Tom’s fingers stilled, then clicked the mouse.

“I don’t get it.”

“Well,” Tom peered around the monitor, one eyebrow raised. “The process is pretty great too.”

“Yeah, we get the easy part, don’t we?”

“Oh sure, but I meant the whole process. Pregnancy itself.”

“You’re kidding with this, right?” Keihl leaned forward, planting his elbows on his knees. “I remember Steph’s pregnancy. It was hell. They had her on bed rest for the last six weeks. Good thing my nephew turned out to be a good kid. He just about killed his mom.”

“How is Connor? He’s what, five, six?”

“Six. Starting kindergarten in the fall.” Keihl shook his head. “Still can’t believe it.”

“Well, look, your sister had a bad pregnancy, no way around it, but most aren’t that way, luckily. And sometimes they can be… amazing.”

“Okay, pal. Not exactly unbiased considering you just happen to be in the kid-catching biz.”

Tom chuckled, then turned the monitor so that it faced Keihl. “Come take a look at this.”

Keihl stepped closer, then whistled softly.

“Is that…
Sharon
? Look how young she is!”

“Oh she’s still plenty young enough.” Tom said, smiling. “What do you think though?”

The picture showed Tom’s wife, her blonde hair piled atop her head, the stray strands glowing in the dying light of the sunset behind her. She was in profile to the camera, her hands grasping a railing, a diaphanous white gown stretched over her swollen belly, the prominent, dark nipples just hinted at under the translucent fabric. The shot perfectly outlined her belly and breasts, the straight, trim nose, and her plump lips. A beautiful woman in the prime of her life.

Watch it, dick. That’s Tom’s wife.

“How far along was she here?”

“I think thirty-five or thirty-six weeks. This was when she was pregnant with Charlie.” Tom turned the monitor around again, the vision of the blonde woman before that brilliant pink sunset still fresh in Keihl’s mind.

“That’s a rather, ah, intimate shot.” Heat spread across Keihl’s face. “How’d you get her to go for it?”

“She loves it now — shows it to anyone who’ll look, actually. But yeah, at the time, I had to talk her into it. She sure liked the results though.” Tom winked. This was sort of the photo that got things rolling for she and I.”

“Not sure I’m following you, dude.”

“After this”—Tom scratched his temple, a sheepish grin on his face—” well, we started to see the possibilities. And we explored every damn one of them.”

“Possibilities? I think I’d have been freaking out — kind of like I am now. She’s carrying our
child
. Heavy shit, you know? I feel like I want to put her in a glass case and post guards around her twenty-four seven.”

Keihl looked down, the meaning of it hitting him in a whole new way. This was
really
happening, and despite his genuine excitement, even pride, there was no denying he was scared shitless.

“It’s normal to feel that way. Totally normal. But you need to know something — something I think you’re getting at, but you’re being an evasive lawyer about.” Tom leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just because a woman is pregnant doesn’t mean she stops being a sexual being. Quite the opposite, in fact. Don’t forget it.”

“Tell that to me when I’m holding her hair for her while she’s puking her guts out. I’ve heard the stories.”

“You’ll hold her hair for her, and she’ll love you for it. You’re going to be seeing a lot of changes — and not just in her. You’ll start seeing things — and her — very differently, and you need to be ready for that. Nobody said this process was easy. But you’re gonna work for it — and you’re gonna help her through this.” Tom’s eyes twinkled. “It’s so worth it.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Prick.” Tom’s voice softened, and he gave him a knowing nod of his head. “I know all this because I’ve been where you are. I’ve seen hundreds of Dads in your shoes. You’ll do fine — but don’t forget what your number one job is.”

“And what’s that?”

“Take care of her. Protect her.” Tom gave him a smile. “And love her.”

Okay this has taken a definite left turn into Mushville.

“Why’d you show that to me? That picture. It’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but… “

“Because I want you to see that the journey is as important as the destination. Yes, that destination, that beautiful baby, is what’s most important.” Tom stood again, pushing the monitor back against the wall. “But you need to enjoy the road that gets you there. You’ll
never
forget this, and what’s coming up. And when you’re on your deathbed, you’re going to remember how beautiful your wife looked when she was carrying your babies.”

Tom rested a hand on Keihl’s shoulder.

“Savor this, my friend. She’ll appreciate it.” His grin stretched from ear to ear. “And so will you.”

* * *

K
eihl walked downstairs, following the drone of the elliptical machine. They’d converted most of the unfinished basement into a rec room/exercise space. Lit garishly by long banks of fluorescent lighting (he’d had them installed instead of incandescents in an effort to cut down on the heat), the area was strewn with mats, weights, and several exercise machines. Kirsten loved all of them, was a gym rat from her teenage years, and thus kept herself in top shape.

She was on the elliptical, watching yet another vapid reality show with the sound turned off, white ear buds from her phone dangling from her ears. Another fucking episode of the show that seemed to be popular simply because of the large ass of one of its stars. He’d watched it a couple of times, but had been disappointed at the distinct lack of good shots of the star’s bodacious assets.

He stopped behind his wife for a minute, enjoying the view. Though Kirsten’s did not have
quite
the same dimensions of the backside on the TV, she was still looking pretty damned good. Her firm ass was set off well in the black tights she favored for workouts. A black tank top worn over a sports bra contained the wobble of her breasts. Her dark hair bobbed behind her in a neat ponytail.

He inhaled the scent of her sweat. She was always mortified when she caught him doing that (she being paranoid about smelling), especially during and after her workouts.

But he loved it. The only thing better was the smell of their bedroom after a night of making love. The smell of her sex would permeate everything, including his skin. It embarrassed her a little when he commented on it, her blush suffusing her beautiful face, but she wouldn’t comment on it further. He found her bashfulness intriguing — and arousing. He’d have to enjoy that while he could though. She probably wouldn’t be interested for a while.

He’d read up on pregnancy, he being the studious type, and not wanting to be caught off guard by anything. While he was apprehensive about the changes a child would bring, he had to admit he was looking forward to the second trimester. Though he wasn’t sure how he’d react to seeing Kirsten’s pregnant belly, his friend Tom had assured him that all would be well in that department. He remembered Tom winking to him as he’d said it.

Now, as he watched the roll of her shapely buttocks, he couldn’t help but wonder what she’d look like in a few months, as she started to show. He had a feeling she’d still be gorgeous. He had to take the good with the bad. While he was worried, very worried, about how they were going to juggle careers with a new child, at least he had something to look forward to in the meantime.

The thought of her being pregnant, heavily pregnant, actually was confusing to him. It intrigued him in some strange way he’d never thought of before.

What are you? Some kind of perv?

Keihl put the thought aside; he’d have to examine that one later. Nobody but him had to know, right?

He patted her right buttock, and she jerked, startled.

She looked back at him smiling, yanking the phones out of her ears. “Don’t do that! You scared the crap out of me!”

He laughed, stroking her hip as she continued her loping movements on the elliptical. He hated using that fucking thing. It made both his hips and knees hurt, but he couldn’t argue with the quarter-bouncing firmness it lent to Kirsten’s ass. No, he couldn’t argue with that at all.

“Did you come here to tell me something, or did you just want to stare at my ass?”

He laughed. “I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be home until late tomorrow night. I have the impact statements for the North Fork watershed. Then Tom and Sharon invited me to dinner afterward.”

“I’ll just grab something after work then. Don’t be too late, okay?”

“Probably ten or so, honey. Will you still be up?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. That’s awfully late. If you were earlier there might be a little something in it for you.” She winked, putting her ear buds back in.

He laughed, patting her on the ass again as she continued her workout. He walked back toward the stairs, his cock at full attention. He’d drag her off that thing and fuck her right there if he thought she’d let him.

Instead, he waited until he was at the base of the stairs and pulled out his cell. He punched in a text to her, and sent it. He watched her pick up her phone and read it. She stumbled on the machine, catching herself on the handles, looking to the side, her face suffused scarlet.

He smiled. Flustering her had almost been worth the insistent throb of his cock.

Chapter Four

K
eihl pulled the Acura into the long driveway leading up to Tom’s house. One of the many perks about being a doctor was the ability to buy a house with acreage, apparently. Tom had told him about the place he and Sharon had found, but Keihl had no idea the lot was as large as it was. The driveway itself stretched several hundred yards away from the highway, and it appeared there were no neighbors even close.

The house was perfect; all wood tones, low-slung and modern. Douglas fir and Hemlock loomed overhead, surrounding the house on three sides. He parked and walked to the porch where a smiling Tom, drink in hand, waited on him.

“Glad you could make it out here.” He shook Keihl’s hand and clapped him on the upper arm. He pushed the drink into Keihl’s hand.

“What’s this?” Keihl peered at the pale amber liquid.

“Drink it,” Tom said, winking at his friend. “Come on, there’s something I want to show you.”

“Where’s Maggie, Charlie, and — Carrie?”

Can’t remember the kids’ names? Some friend you are, douche.

“Sharon’s parents. She needs a break from the Mom thing once in a while. We don’t really bring the kids up here much anyway.”

Tom showed him around the house, and Keihl was impressed with the immaculate cleanliness and the modern, tasteful look of the place. Not too feminine, but it definitely looked like it was decorated by Sharon.

They walked out onto the covered cedar deck, and Keihl breathed in the smell, his nostrils flaring.