Hold Me (Hart of Stone Family 2)

“We all know it’ll be Keller, but he’s not going to do it in front of Alana and her family. You might want to bank that idea for the time being,” Mom diffuses the situation, mainly because she’s right. I won’t do anything to fuck up a good thing, so if it means leaving Asa be for now, I will. I’ll be the one giving Alana the ride of her life later on tonight, especially if she’s had a few glasses of wine and gets on top. God, I love the way she rides my cock, slow and easy, nothing but time on our hands. Shit, it’s a gorgeous sight.

“You take all the fun out of it, Ma,” Deke relents.

“You’ll live. Did you line anything up for school break, Keller?” Mom asks.

“Not yet. Jace is trying to convince me to get a puppy, even pulled Alana into it, so I imagine I’m going to come home one day, and those two will have a puppy in tow.” That’s another thing that’s happened. Thankfully, Alana’s school doesn’t frown upon teachers dating parents, allowing us to be pretty open with our relationship. It’s helped if I’m in a bind while working with clients, but most of the time, Alana will text and just let me know she’s got Jace, and my boy thrives with having her around so much.

“Shit, you’re whipped.” Asa sneaks up behind us, inserting his opinion like I care what he has to say. He’s still on my shit list.

“Just you wait. Nothing better than having a woman by your side day and night,” Tanner replies before leaving us. Smart move on his part.

“Nah, I’m good. Too many fish in the sea, if you know what I mean.” He exaggerates his wink.

“You’ll be lucky if a woman looks at you twice,” Deke counters.

“Enough. Well, since you have no plans, there are a couple of camps he might be interested in, for children who are advanced, much like my genius grandson.” How Jace got so lucky, I’ll never know. A lot of children who are born to drug-addicted mothers usually have issues. Somehow, the opposite happened, and Jace came out stronger, a whole lot smarter, and I thank my lucky stars every night.

“I’ve got no problem with that. I’ll check with Alana, see if she has any plans. If so, we’ll work around them. I already know she’s going on our family vacation with us.” Every year, Jace and I take a week off. Sometimes, we’ll go to the mountains, sometimes it’s the beach, others it’s a new city. And in the last three years, it’s been his choice, and I always let him pick.

“Where to this year?” Mom asks. Asa is off to the side, pulling stupid googly faces, making fun of me. There will be a time when a woman knocks him off his ass and he’ll be the one changing his life plans to fit her in his life.

“Not sure. If we get a puppy before then, are you up for dog sitting?” I ask.

“I’ll have to talk to your father about it. I’m sure he won’t mind, especially if it’s Jace’s puppy.” She winks; at least this time it’s to be a co-conspirator with Dad and not me.

“Thanks. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go see what Alana and Jace are up to.” I kiss Mom on her cheek, my eyes locking on the two people that mean the most to me in my world. Alana is on the swing with Jace is on her lap while she lazily kicks her feet in and out. Christ, every time I see the two of them together, it socks me right in the heart just how amazing it is to have the three of us building a life together.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

alana

“Alright, you can go to your centers for the remainder of the day.” We’re nearing our summer break in the next week. The greatest thing about teaching Kindergarten is that we don’t have as many rigorous tests, and once the tests we do have are over, it’s time for fun.

“Yay!” A chorus is yelled throughout the classroom. Next week, we have a movie day, a field day where they’ll have lots of fun, and on the last day, we’ll have a pizza party where parents can come in and celebrate with their children. That evening, it’ll be the graduation night, then it’s a wrap. A couple months off to relax with Jace and Keller is just what the soul needs.

I move to my desk to do a little bit of work while they’re all playing, keeping my eye on them from time to time. This class is much better than last year’s was, I’ll say that much. They definitely gave me a run for the money, and I think their parents knew because at the end of the year, I was sent home with more than a handful of care packages, most of them including bottles of wine. I remember laughing when a particular student wrote me a thank-you note. I never expected it because that one… wow. He almost pulled down my chalkboard while attempting to hang from it; my eyes couldn’t leave his body for a second after that incident.