Page 15

Chapter Fifteen

H ope walked into the bail bonds garage and looked for Locks. When she’d texted him that she was ready to give him her answer, he’d asked if she could meet him at the garage and go on a little excursion. She’d agreed because she could give a little, especially before she gave her list of demands. And they were demands because she wasn't settling for less than she deserved.

“Locks?” she called.

He walked out of the office and strode toward her. Tonight was going to be harder in more ways than one because he was smiling at her.

He grasped her hands and held them. “I appreciate you agreeing to meet with me and go on an excursion. I know you said you had a decision. Would you like to tell me here before we go? The excursion will take about ten to twenty minutes.”

“Can we do them at the same time?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes. Let’s get in the vehicle.”

Locks held her hand and then helped her into the side-by-side. She’d seen them for sale at all the lumberyards and sporting goods stores, but she hadn’t ridden in one since she’d come to Bluff Creek.

This one had two rows of seats along with a small area in back to haul stuff. It had a glass windshield in front and a hard rubber-type roof like she’d seen on some Jeeps. Just like the Jeeps, the side-by-sides didn’t have any doors, so the sides were open. Locks waited while she put on a seat belt, then started the side-by-side, heading across the compound. She debated how to start, then decided she’d just put all her demands out there.

“I want to be with you, Locks, but I can’t do it the way we have. I have a list of demands or needs that I require to move forward with you if you’re still interested,” she said.

His hand left the steering wheel to pick hers up between them, twining his fingers with hers. “I do want to. Tell me your needs to move forward.”

“I need to be treated as your partner. None of this being all sexy and sweet at night, then cold in the light of day. Either you want me all the time or not at all.”

She stared at Locks and saw him breathing deeply. “I can do that. I’ve spent some time soul-searching and realize I want you in my life permanently. To do that, I need to make sure I’m not letting the past influence my behavior.”

He finished and pulled the vehicle to a stop beside what looked like a dirt track of some type.

“This is stop one on my excursion I planned to show you what you mean to me. To do that, I think I need to share some things. This is the racetrack where Kathryn let our girls have it when one of them broke her arm racing her sister. It’s also where Kathryn told me she wasn’t going to do the last round of chemo. The doctor had told her a cure was out of reach, but the chemo could maybe give her an extra month or two. But the chemo could make her so sick that she probably wouldn’t enjoy the time left with us. Instead, she opted for the pain medicine and packed as much in with me and the girls as she could. I waffled between supporting her decision and being so angry she was leaving us. The reason I stopped here is because there are places all over this compound that I have memories of Kathryn. A man who I consider one of my best friends told me to pull my head out of my ass and realize that just because I had that doesn’t mean that I can’t make new memories with you. I think it was easier to stay stuck in the past than to open myself up again,” Locks said.

He'd continued holding her hand through his words, and she thought about what he said. He was sharing how he’d struggled.

“I appreciate you opening up. I know you had a deep and true love with Kathryn, but I don’t believe that we only get one person meant for us. Sometimes the ones we love are only with us for a season. When the season is over and we’re left behind, I don’t believe we’re supposed to be alone. I wasn’t looking for a man to love when you came in the house on Christmas Eve. I was looking for a way to get Benji and myself safe. But I got both. If you’re willing to work at this, I am too.”

Locks nodded and started up the side-by-side. He pulled the vehicle out and drove across the compound. Hope wondered what else Locks had planned.

“Another thing I have as a demand is that we don’t hide and try to minimize our previous loves. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk about Kathryn, and I don’t want to feel like I can’t talk about Giles. They helped shape who we are. I also think that with two of your daughters pregnant that them having Kathryn not be here for those things will come up. I know I can’t take Kathryn’s place for them, but I want to be able to be a help with them.”

She waited to see what Locks said about that. He nodded and pulled the side-by-side up to a gated cemetery.

“I agree that we have to be able to discuss things. Kathryn wrote me a letter before she died and another one inside of it that is supposed to be shared with the woman I want to spend my life with. I peeked into the envelope, but once I saw it had two, I just couldn’t do it. Fuck, Hope, I have wanted more with you from the first, but I was just too scared. Kathryn’s letter to me pushed me. I’d like for us to sit here, and I’ll read her letter to me, and then she wrote a letter for us to read together.”

Hope followed Locks into the cemetery and sat down on the bench. This wasn’t at all what she’d planned when she said they could talk about it, but maybe this was exactly what they both needed to begin their life together.

Locks opened the letter and slid his arm around Hope.

“I don’t think I can read this aloud if I can’t hold you while I’m doing it,” he said.

Hope nodded her consent, leaned up, and placed a hand on his cheek. She didn’t need to speak. Locks could see the love and comfort in her eyes.

My dearest Noah ‘Locks’ Franks,

I’m so sorry we didn’t get to grow old together, but we had some wonderful years with our girls. You were the love of my life, and I am thankful for every day we had. You made my life a journey where we grew up together and learned the business and parenting together. But our time is over. Treasure our memories but…

You nitwit, I know you’re trying to screw your relationship up because you’re worried about it taking the place of our love.

Locks chuckled and wiped a tear away.

“Kathryn loved watching In Plain Sight and started calling all of us nitwits like Mary did because she said it was the perfect term.” He paused, then looked back down at the letter.

Yes, I said nitwit. And if you need a reminder, the word comes from the German word Nit meaning none and the English word Wit for intelligence. So when I call you that, it literally means no intelligence. And you are an intelligent man. So it’s time to move on. Loving someone else doesn’t lessen the love we shared. Love is infinite. You have enough to love again, and it’s what I expect. I don’t want you alone in the later years. I want you to have someone to share your life with. So get out of your own way and grab onto the love of a good woman and hold on tight.

I love you and want the best for you.

Kathryn

Noah sat there with tears rolling down his face until she reached up with a handkerchief and wiped them. He sniffed and sat there staring at her.

“Did she call you Noah or Locks?” Hope asked.

Locks chuckled. “She called me my full name only when she was trying to get my attention or was angry. She called me both. Sometimes I was Noah, especially if it was something with clients for the company, and other times she called me Locks. You can call me whatever you prefer.”

“I like Locks. Locks was the biker who rescued me on Christmas Eve. Are you ready to not be a nitwit?” Hope asked.

Locks grinned, then chuckled. “I am, but I’m not sure I can read this second letter.”

Hope took the folded sheet of paper from Locks and opened it. Then she smiled and giggled.

“What?” Locks asked. Hope turned the paper toward Locks so he could see it.

I hope you and this nitwit have many years together. Now get to living. You’re not getting any younger.

Love, Kathryn

Locks slid his arm around Hope, kissing her cheek.

“So, I guess the question is what else are your demands for you to have many years together with this nitwit?”

Hope leaned up and brushed her lips against Locks. “I think I’ll reserve the right to add more as we grow old together, but I think I need you to take me somewhere and have your way with me. I need to be reminded how much you love me and how much I love you in a very, very physical way.”

Locks claimed her mouth, then tugged her up off the bench. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her to the vehicle.

“Far be it for me to not follow my woman’s wishes. Let’s get to living.”

Locks held Hope’s hand and walked her down the hall. In an effort to have a fresh start, Locks had moved his stuff into a different suite. It was the largest of the lockdown ones. He’d moved his clothes and his toiletries.

He opened the door, and she paused, looking around the room.

“Why?” she asked.

“This is a new start with us building our life together. If you want to keep the same master suite I had, then I want you to get to redo everything. If you want this one to become our master suite, then I’ll have the wall right here knocked out to expand this and give us a fireplace and sitting room. You can think about that later because I want to show you how much you mean to me. And then I want to show everyone tomorrow when you ride on the back of my bike in the Poker Run.”

He slid his hand up to cup her face, then slid it into her hair, tugging to tilt her head back. He’d learned everything about what she liked since they’d started their time together, and his woman enjoyed a little bit of roughness sometimes. And he was going to make sure she had everything she wanted, especially after the hurt he’d caused her. She toed off her shoes and then shivered at his touch.

He nibbled on her ear before claiming her lips. Each touch, each taste made him realize he was right where he was supposed to be.

He unbuttoned and slid her blouse off while she was unbuckling his belt. There was comfort in this dance they’d perfected, but she deserved more. He pulled his lips away and stared into her eyes.

“New start, right?” he asked.

Hope’s forehead scrunched in confusion. She was fucking adorable, and he loved it.

“Yes,” she whispered.

He slid his hands down to her waist and lifted her up. She grabbed his neck with a sweet squeak.

“What are you doing? Are you going to hurt your back before the ride tomorrow?” she asked.

He chuckled, carrying her toward their bed. “If I do, it will be for a good cause, but I don’t plan on it. Now, I am going to lay you down, strip off your jeans and panties, and feast.”

Hope stared at him, and he laughed again. He’d broken their routine. Sure, he loved licking his woman’s pussy, but Hope also liked them to get down to business and had no problem coming from just him inside her.

But tonight was about a fresh start, so no routine. Each touch and each taste would be new.

“Umm, why the change? Do you not like what we do?” she asked.

“I love what we do, but you deserve so much more, and frankly, I missed tasting you and seeing your eyes glaze over. So let’s lay you back on the bed and let me get started.”

He laid her on the bed because dropping her might look fun in the movies, but he and Hope were both older and didn’t need to be dropped anywhere. He stared at the gorgeous woman lying on the bed with her top off and her breasts in a lacy bra. Her short gray hair fit the no-nonsense woman she was.

He unbuckled her belt, popped the button, and slid the zipper down, then grasped the jeans and her panties and tugged them down her legs. He grinned at each inch he planned on tasting. Hope’s nipples hardened behind the lace.

He tossed the jeans over to the chair, then lifted her legs apart and knelt between them.

“Now, that’s a pretty pussy that looks all wet for me. Where should I start first?” he said, leaning down close to her, pressing a kiss to her right knee, then her left and each thigh.

Hope’s hand slid down, and she tapped above her clit. “Umm, right here is my first choice.”

He chuckled and laid down, sliding his fingers around her clit and down, dipping inside her a little before making circles around her nub.

“Locks, I ache for you,” she groaned.

He breathed deep of Hope’s scent, then set about pleasing his woman. He licked and sucked until she was writhing and groaning, grabbing his head and directing his mouth where she needed it most.

He slid his finger inside her, rubbing that spot that would have her coming quickly because eating his woman’s pussy had him hard as steel in his jeans and ready to come. He might need a little cool-down time.

“Oh, fuck, Locks, I’m so close,” she moaned.

Locks doubled down on his efforts and felt her pussy walls clench at the same time her body bowed, and she screamed as she came, her body shaking. He kissed her pussy, then crawled up her body, pulling her onto his shoulder and holding her.

He ran his fingers through her hair as she laid against him. They’d been having sex for months, but tonight felt different. He was pledging himself to her with each touch and taste.

Her hand traveled down his chest, ruffling his hair, then she cupped his hard cock through his jeans.

“It seems like we need to take care of this condition, Mr. Franks. I’ve heard it can be painful if left in its current state,” she said, giggling.

“It can, but I don’t think we’ll have that issue,” he said.

Her hands finished unzipping his jeans. She leaned up and wrestled his jeans and underwear past his thighs. Grasping his hard cock, she ran her hand up and down it a couple of times. He put his hand on hers.

“If you keep doing that, then I’m going to come before I get inside you,” he said.

“We both know for a man in his seventies, you recuperate plenty fast for me. It’s only fair that I do something different since you did. Lay back and let me have my way with you,” she said.

He nodded and then just let himself feel. He groaned at how quickly her hand sliding up and down his cock had his release building.

“Hope,” he moaned, watching her pleasure him. She winked at him, then leaned over and fucking engulfed his dick to the root in one go.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he said, trying to hold on as she used her tongue and lips as she pulled up, then took him deep again.

His spine tingled, and he knew he needed to just let go and enjoy it. There wasn’t any way he was making this last longer with her hot, wet mouth deep-throating him and that little swirl she was doing with her tongue on the underside of his dick as she came back up. He grasped her hair and let the whirlwind wash over him, coming in her mouth as she took him deep again and swallowed.