Knocked up by the Mechanic

I was crazy in love with a wild-untamed girl, I was going to be a father and have to teach a child about the world. Every car I’d ever dreamed of working on was about to materialize in my own personal luxury warehouse, and a cliff by the sea, was about to become home for us. As far as problems went, I only had one, that I couldn’t get enough of the girl in my arms.

I kissed Harley back as I unloaded my seed into her already fertile womb. I groaned into her sweet mouth and pulled her hips as close to me as possible.

“Wyatt, I love you,” Harley whispered. She nuzzled my neck and in return, I covered her face with kisses. “Sorry to make you a fugitive,” she said.

The captain announced the descent into Roma and Harley squeezed my hand. Sunny, a cloudless sky, a pleasant twenty-two degrees Celsius.

“Harley Dunne,” I said, “there are no fugitives in paradise.”

Epilogue- 5 Years Later

HARLEY

Hiking behind my gorgeous husband on The Path of the Gods overlooking Capri, he’s got Leo in a framed backpack baby carrier and I’ve got Ava Katherine, who we affectionately refer to as “Ava-Kat” by the hand. This is her first long hike, but it’s mostly downhill and she’s a force of nature so she’s doing better than I am, frankly.

We speak English at home, but both kids are learning Italian in school. Ava-Kat is yelling things like, Andiamo! Via! Forza! And Dai! Gotta love a soon to be five-year-old who can crush you at most things she puts her mind to. Wyatt says she takes after me and doesn’t let others dictate what she’s supposed to do.

“Wyatt, how much more to go until we reach the peak?” We’ve planned a picnic in the vineyard and I need both wine and food to recharge and complete the trek.

“I can see it already, Harley. Ava-Kat, come hold daddy’s hand.”

Watching Wyatt parent Ava and Leo is sexier and more romantic than all of the sexy and romantic gestures the man has ever made toward me, and that’s saying a lot, because Wyatt is and does both pretty much all of the time. My girlfriends back home warned me that the honeymoon period would end, that especially after children, Wyatt’s devotion would waver and his eye would wander. But if I had to give them a report today, I’d say my husband is more intensely devoted than ever. He treats me like a gift, and that’s not to say he’s gentle or mushy or wears white gloves when we’re together. Wyatt is still raw, he’s dirty, he’s passionate about a lot of things—cars, kids, food, his wife. But he never takes us for granted and every damn day of my life I feel loved.

“Harley, you want to stop here? I’ll go get wine and water.” He takes Leo out of the pack, but kisses him on the head before setting him on our picnic blanket.

I grab Leo’s chubby little body and pull him into my lap. Ava-Kat sits down beside me and tears a piece of bread from the corner of the loaf and takes a bite. I love to watch her eat, enjoy delicious food with the gusto she has.

“Mommy, Daddy said that in America, he worked for your family, but then Grandpa Brooks said to come here to Italy because the food was much better. Grandpa says pizza in Wexler is an abomination.”

“Something like that, babe,” I told her. I gathered her long brown hair and arranged it over her tiny shoulder. She continues to tear at the bread like a puppy with her little teeth. She has her father’s dark eyes and my curiosity, her father’s tenacity and hopefully not my impulsiveness. Leo on the other hand, is the spitting image of his father in all ways, quiet, intense, constantly observing, already a problem solver at eight months old.

“I got us a red and white, figured we could try them both!” My stunning husband returns with not one, but three bottles of wine in his hands.

“We can’t drink all that!” I tell him confused. I realize it’s my birthday weekend, but we can’t drunk-hike down the trail with two kids in tow.

“Maybe we’ll make some friends,” Ava-Kat suggests.

I’m shaking my head at Wyatt and smiling, he’s got the look that tells me he’s scheming.

“Zia e Zio!” Ava yells and takes off running. I stand with Leo in my arms to see what all the fuss is, just in time to see Stefano and Livia, Gianna and Alexandra coming over the crest of the trail. Gianna, maybe for the first time in her life, is dressed in hiking clothes.

“Oh my God,” I say with my hand to my mouth. I burst into tears and crush Wyatt in a hug before handing over the baby.