Seth’s Perspective
Our come to Jesus with Karen was hard and emotionally draining. My only job was to shut up and let Zach speak… I failed miserably, but we succeeded in convincing her to take accountability and report her violation to her parole officer. Let the chips fall where they may. It was a rough morning and I was ready to be home with my family.
When we got back home, we were greeted by three happy kids, two happy grandparents, and of course one happy dog. I sat down with Kelly and the kids who were working on an art project at the kitchen island. Meanwhile, Zach took Nathan outside and updated him on our conversation with Karen. Nathan backed up our decision 100% and gave Zach some good advice on how to handle the conversation with the parole officer before he and Kelly went back to the villas to welcome baby Merce home.
Once they were gone, Daddy Sach went out in the yard to take his frustrations out on some firewood with Freddy by his side. Freddy was slipping back into being Freddy thank god), I was amazed at how much he had regressed after just one day with his mother. While he was out in the yard with his other dad, I put the other two down for a nap, then went out to tend to the garden and my bees… there was a lot of cleanup to do. I thought about our situation with Karen and what to do about it as I weeded, raked, and picked up debris. There was no turning back now, we had put our stake in the ground, drew our line in the sand… she was banned from seeing the kids until we were sure she was completely free of Johnny Black. In addition, we laid down some rules for her visits when (if) they resumed… phone off and her full focus on the kids. Keeping Karen from the kids didn’t bother me as much as the idea of keeping the kids from their mother. I had a lot of time to think while I worked in the garden and felt better about our decision.
When I finished, I went over to where Zach and Freddy were cutting up the broked tree (FYI, the word ‘broked’ was permanently in our families vocabulary). The storm had passed, the sun was out and it was extremely hot and humid, so Zach was shirtless, wielding an axe and splitting logs from the tree into firewood. The sweat glistened off his perfectly toned physique as he lifted the axe with precision and dropped it down on the log with amazing strength splitting it in half. He set up one of the split halves and I watched spellbound as his muscled bulged from lifting the axe to do it again. Gotdamn, he looked so fucking hot; I couldn’t resist the urge to take a couple of pics. I sent one to Max, Brody, and Gina. The responses were instantaneous: I got a ‘ho-lee fuck’ from Brody, a ‘shit, why isn’t he straight?’ along with a flame emoji from Gina, and a ‘Um, Damn! Come to poppa Daddy Sach!’ from Max.
Zach stopped when he realized I was standing there staring at him, “What?” he asked with a smoldering grin as the sweat poured over his perfect, fucking, body.
“You look hot Daddy Sach… in every freaking sense of the word” I replied getting a brilliant smile in response… I was melting… and I loved that after all these years he could still make me melt.
“Move please” Freddy’s voice said politely from behind me as he scurried his way past me with a couple of split pieces of firewood that he dutifully carried to the firewood pile by the house. He meticulously stacked each piece as high as his tiny arms could reach, my two men were seriously working their asses off. I grabbed an armful of firewood and followed Freddy, I looked up to see Izzy and Ali standing in the window on the second floor watching us… they waved when our eyes met. Nap time was over. Zach and Freddy kept working when I went upstairs to get the other two, they couldn’t wait to come out and help. They couldn’t carry much but they were both determined to contribute… I loved that about all our kids… they always wanted to help and to be part of whatever was going on.
It was late in the afternoon when Zach got a text from his sister, ‘please, please pleeeeeaaaaase take mom and dad out for dinner. I love them but they’re driving us nuts.’ Zach read it to me and laughed. Poor Riley. We all loved the hell outta my mother in-law, and we all knew her heart was in the right place… but she was intense, and when she was on a mission (like planning a wedding, planning a move, helping me heal after an accident, or just being a grandma) she tended to take control and drive us all insane.
“Why don’t we invite them to Jungle Rapids?” I suggested. “We’ve been stuck here for a couple of days; the kids could use a break… and I didn’t really plan anything for dinner.”
“Good plan” Zach said while he texted is parents. It took a few texts back and forth but they finally agreed (Kelly did not want to leave that baby). As soon as they accepted our invitation, Riley, and Eli both texted us a ‘THANK YOU.’ We couldn’t help but laugh. In addition to dinner plans, we also made plans to visit baby Merce on Sunday… Izzy was beside herself with anticipation. At dinner that night, the only conversation was about the baby… Kelly had a million pics of the baby and Izzy had a million questions. But if I’m being 100% honest, my mind was elsewhere, I could not get the visual of LumberZach out of my mind.
That night, I could hardly wait to get into bed and lick the hot, dirty, sweat off my hot lumberjack of a husband’s body! Seriously, seeing him with his shirt off chopping firewood just did it for me… I swear if we didn’t have three kids around, I’d have been all over him like bark on a tree right then and there. We put the kids down then made our way to the bedroom, Zach got naked as was his usual routine, but I stood next to him and shed my clothes faster than you could yell TIIIIIIIIMBERRRRRRRR! He turned around to find his naked-self face-to-face with mine. I planted my hands on his firm buttocks, pulled his pelvis to mine and rotated him so his back was facing the bed, then I fell him like a mighty oak in the forest. He snickered, “What the fuck?”
“You looked so goddamn hot chopping firewood, I’ve been carrying my own wood around all day” I said with an evil grin, “LumberZach, there’s gonna be a logjam in your ass trench tonight” I was growling like a bear shitting in the woods; Zach was laughing at my newfound lust. I dropped on top of him, our naked bodies writhed in pure lust as I ground my wood against his, rubbing our sticks together and sparking our lovemaking like a pile of dry kindling. The hardness of his magnificence felt so fucking good against mine as my tongue passionately probed his mouth so deep that I almost choked him. We were completely lost in our carnal lust, the rest of the world around us just disappeared.
I reached down and moved my trunk so that it was touching his knothole. He pulled his knees to his chest giving me full access as he subtly reached into the drawer of the nightstand to grab the bottle of lube. He put a lube finger in his hole, then stroked some onto my pulsating cock. Oh my god, I was at that point where my cock was bursting out of its skin, my mind was ready to fuck, and my balls were churning in their sac… his touch just accelerated everything! Instinctively I pushed my way into his tight but wanting hole. He planted a hand on the back of my head and mashed our faces together, moaning into our hot, passionate kiss. Holy shit, we were in this now! My log was buried deep inside his ashpit and working its way up the chimney… the sparks were flying.
I was uncontrollably in control as I pounded him hard giving my “total top” a fuck he’d never forget. He was literally screaming into my mouth and the sounds of his painful pleasure worked their way through me like lightning in a forest. I can’t ever remember a time where I wanted to cum so badly, while at the same time wanting to make it last forever. There was an unexpected shot of warmth between our sweaty bodies, Zach’s legs wrapped around me and he screams became more guttural… he shot his sap! He came, hands-fucking-free! The thought of it had my lust boiling even more. I pumped as hard as I could in and out of him, like a high performance log splitter. I was relentless in my orgasmic pursuit, harder and faster I pounded until… finally. Finally, I shot my powerful load up the chute of the man who had started it all by wielding an axe with his shirt off.
I was spent, but Zach kept pumping his ass against me, fucking himself on me. He was like a wild animal… I rode the storm out and eventually we collapsed like a pile of firewood blown by the winds of a hurricane. Fuck, I had never been so sexually satisfied in my life (not that I was ever wanting in that department, but this was otherworldly)! After a few minutes rest, Zach and I took a quiet shower in the dark, then pulled on our boxers and went to bed. We both slept like logs.
It was barely 5AM on Sunday morning when I felt tiny fingers trying to pry my eyes open and a sweet little voice saying, “Okay, I weddy now.” Izzy was doing her damnedest to wake me.
My eyes were still closed when I asked, “Ready for what?” I opened them and looked at my phone on the nightstand to see the time, then I looked at my daughter to see… well… I didn’t know what the hell I was looking at! She was standing there in a princess dress tucked into purple tights. She had two mismatched socks on inside her yellow flipflops.
“Weddy to hode da baby. Get up” she responded as she shook my arm. She was awake and ready to go… oh my god she was so excited to meet her cousin.
“Sweetie, it’s way too early. We’re all still sleeping and so is baby Merce.”
“I weddy now” She answered looking at me with those big, brown, puppy dog eyes. I convinced her to climb into the bed and wait just a little longer. She crawled over me and wedged herself between me and Zach, I assumed she would fall back asleep…nope! She talked. And talked. And talked. Nonstop. Zach slept through it all, A day of chopping wood and a night of getting his ass pummeled knocked him out.
After about twenty minutes or so it became clear that Izzy was not going back to sleep, and I was afraid she’d wake the whole house. “Hey, let’s go downstairs and play with your dollies, you can teach me how to hold a baby.” I suggested. It was the right suggestion. Her eyes lit up, she jumped back over me, off the bed, and grabbed me by the hand. She walked me to her bedroom, picked out her favorite dolly, then walked me down to the living room, sat me in a chair and taught me how to hold a baby. She was in her element, bossing me around and showing off her skills as a baby holder. It was fun spending one-on-one time with her, she had three basic passions, Barbies, babies, and princesses… and not necessarily in that order. She was so animated, so much fun, and so independent… that is until her momma showed up, then this girl disappeared and some clingy, whiny little baby bitch replaced her. This whole Karen thing weighed heavy on my mind, the last thing I wanted was to keep the kids from their momma, but she was going down a path that meant heartache for those kids. Hell, she could be back in jail in a couple of days at the rate she was going… I put the Karen thoughts out of my head. I was hanging with Izzy and loving it.
“I wanna make da baby a cake” Izzy proclaimed out of the blue.
“She’s too little to eat cake.”
“I dood it for her, n’ Fweddy, n’ ALLLLLi, n’ Aunt Wiley, n’ Unko Eli, n’…” She responded and continued to list anyone she could think of. (in case you got lost, here’s the Izzy to English translation: “Let’s make the baby a cake. It’s okay if she’s too small to eat it, I’ll eat it for her, Freddy, Ali, and everyone else can help eat it for her too.”). How could I possibly argue with that logic? The next thing I knew, the kitchen was a freaking disaster and I was neck deep in cake batter and pink frosting. Izzy dictated the recipe, a combination of the yellow cake mix and the fudge, with mounds of pink frosting. She took the tubes of frosting and squirted them across the top and told me it said, ‘we love you baby here’s a cake.’ The cake was done by the time Freddy and Ali came down to the kitchen. “I maked dis fo da’ baby” Izzy proudly announced to her brothers before looking at me. “Okay, day awake, c’mon.” Oh my god, she was on a mission.
“It’s still too early” I replied. I got a sigh and an eyeroll. I made breakfast while Zach slept in… I was secretly proud of the fact that I had tired him out. The next couple of hours went by so slow for Izzy, but FINALLY, it was time. We got in the Atlas and went over to Eli and Riley’s villa. Izzy very carefully carried her cake up to the door.
Uncle Eli opened the door and she handed him the cake, “I maked dis, wao you baby?” (Izzy to English translation: Here, I baked a cake. Now where’s your baby?). I loved seeing her so excited. She made her way into the living room where Riley (who looked like death warmed over) was sitting in a chair holding the baby. She got up and was more than happy to hand Merce over to anybody (even Izzy), she obviously hadn’t slept since they brought the baby home. Izzy sat down in her place; this was the moment she had trained for… Riley got her set up with the baby. She sat in that chair, holding the 5 day old and singing every song she could think of to her. Her lullaby rendition of The Romantics That’s What I Like About You was flipping heart melting. Zach recorded the whole thing. She was in her own world of bliss as she welcomed her tiny new cousin. I admit, I was catching baby fever too, I wanted to snatch that baby from Izzy’s arms but wouldn’t dare try. Merce had Zach’s eyes and my smile, she was nothing short of fucking miraculous. Ali was enthralled with her too, he petted her like a dog as Izzy held her. Meanwhile, Freddy and Uncle Eli had disappeared into the drive to shoot hoops. Riley, sat on the couch and fell asleep… she was so beat. Zach stopped recording and came up behind me. He put his arms around my waist, “You want one of those?” He asked.
“A baby?!” I said back. “We got three.”
“But not a baby, baby. One that’s part you, or part me.”
“No. We got three kids that are all part you and all part me” I said with a laugh. Then asked, “You really want a baby?”
“Kinda” he replied. “I mean I know they’re a shitload of work, but look at the three awesome ones we already have… worth every dollar and second of frustration.” He wasn’t wrong.
“No” I repeated, followed by, “Maybe someday.”
“Yeah, maybe someday” he replied with a kiss to my neck. We both loved the idea, but we also knew the realities of adding a fourth… a baby no less. “Let’s watch and see how this goes first” he said with a chuckle as he nodded towards the snoring Riley.
While we stood there listening to Riley snore and watching Izzy in her element, the front door opened and Kelly walked in. I held my finger to my mouth shushing her so she didn’t wake Riley. She tiptoed past her and came over by us, Ali reached up instantly (god that kid loved to be held). “Look at you, Izzy. You’re doing such a good job of holding baby Merce.”
“Yeah. I am” Izzy said as a matter of fact without looking up. God, the attitude on that little “b-word!” She was clearly giving Grandma Kelly an ‘I told you so.’
Kelly smiled trying not to laugh before looking at me and whispering, “god we’re in for hell. She’s gonna be a worse teenager than Riley.” Ugh… Zach and I knew she was right; we were both terrified and excited by the idea of our kids growing up. Kelly woke Riley and moved her to the bedroom, then she sat with Izzy who taught her how to hold a baby. Zach and I took Ali and went outside to shoot hoops with the boys. We visited for a few more hours, then back home to continue yard cleanup.
Zach’s Perspective
“Well, Coach just texted back the field is fine, so soccer camp is definitely on” I said to Freddy and Seth as we ate breakfast.
Freddy sighed, “hurrication’s over? Aw man!” The kids were loving the “hurrichaos” over the last few days and dubbed our time off as “hurrication.” We all tried hard to make it fun for them instead of scary and it worked. Having River, Che, and Karen sleeping over, chopping wood with dads and Uncle Brody, then after the storm cleared meeting Baby Mercedes. It was a fun couple of days for them… and now it was back to reality. After breakfast, Uncle Brody picked Freddy up for Soccer Camp, and Seth took the kids to daycare. I, on the other hand, had to deal with Karen. I got in the Jetta and went to pick her up.
She was standing in the parking lot waiting when I pulled up. She mumbled a greeting as she got into the car wreaking of cigarette smoke (Karen was slipping back into bad habits). “Good morning, Karen” I said. Other than that, we were mostly silent until we got about halfway there.
“I’ve been thinkin’ a lot” Karen said sheepishly. “I’m, um, I’m sorry I dragged y’all into this.” I just drove and listened; I didn’t respond at all. “I know Johnny’s bad, hell even the judge told me so. I just didn’t think being out of jail would be so lonely. I’m tryin’ to do all the right stuff, I swear it, Zach. I go to work, I try to save my money, but I’m all alone. There aint nobody at the dry cleaner I can relate to, and I don’t go nowhere to meet no one, the only time I don’t feel alone is when I get to see the kids.” Her tone was somber, she wasn’t making excuses as much as she was trying to explain. “Johnny found me, and came callin’, I know it was wrong but it felt good to just talk to somebody like a friend. I didn’t do nothin’ with him, I swear, I only saw him a few times… but y’all are right. He’s a bad guy. He hurt me and my kids and I told him to stay away.”
I listened thoughtfully and tried to empathize with her, hell we gave her all this support, but yeah, she needed a friend. “I get it, but I hope you get that we need to protect the kids.” I said that first because I needed her to know that as bad as we felt for her, the kids came first. We talked quietly for the rest of our trip. I didn’t believe that her actions were malicious… just stupid. Fucking stupid.
Our meeting with the Parole Officer went as good as could be expected. Karen came clean and admitted to violating the terms of her parole, and promised she had cut things off with Johnny. The Parole Officer impressed me, she thanked Karen for her honesty, and really listened to her. The lonely desperation in Karen’s voice was loud and clear. When she was done the officer said, “Listen, Karen. It’s not easy to readjust to being on the outside, a lot of parolees end up back behind bars. You stumbled. I believe you when you say you won’t see him again, so I I’m not going to recommend action… I want to see you succeed at this. You need to build a support network beyond these guys, make some friends of your own, do more than just survive on the outside” she said then nodded towards me, “his family is not responsible for you. You are.” She talked things through with Karen on a level we couldn’t. She understood what she was going through and had solutions. Before we left her office, she made Karen an appointment with a counselor, and set her up in a support group. She was understanding, but firm (and a little intimidating). This is your one and only stupid fuck-up. Next time you go back. No discussion.” This woman wasn’t playing and Karen knew it.
“So, how do you feel?” I asked when we got in the car.
She nodded, “better.” Then there was silence as I drove her to work. When we got there, she asked, “can I still see the kids?”
“No” I responded coldly without hesitation; I knew she would ask. “Not for now.” The look on her face was gut-wrenching. “Karen, I believe you’re sincere, but I’m not convinced you’re strong enough to stay away, and I sure as hell don’t trust Johnny Black.”
She nodded as the tears ran silently down her face and asked, “Someday?” I nodded back. This was as hard on the kids it was for her. We knew how much she meant to the kids; this would hurt them too. Zach and I decided they could call and facetime for now, and we’d see what the future held.
When she got out of the car, I pointed my car towards the office and called Seth to update him. He had just hung up the phone with Sams who was coming back to town for his mothers trial. While we were updating each other, I got a call from River on the other line and hung up with Seth to accept it.
“Hey River, what’s up?”
“Hi Zach, I got this certified letter from a lawyer back in Iowa. I need you to read it” he said.
“What’s it say?”
“I think I inherited a bunch of land.”
To be continued…
