Destined to Succeed (13 page)

She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “He had something else he had to do. I didn’t really figure you’d want him here anyway.” She was right, I didn’t, so I let it go.

“Ya’ll still gettin’ married, Saturday?”
Please God, let her say no. Please let her say she’s changed her mind and isn’t gonna marry that jerk.

“I hate to have the wedding so close to the funeral, Cade, but it’s all planned. Your momma wouldn’t want me to postpone it. You know that.” No, what I know is that my momma wouldn’t want her to marry an asshole, just because he knocked her up.

“How are ya feelin’? Any of that mornin’ sickness I hear so much about?” She punched me in the arm.

“Stop talking like that, Cade.”

“Why, Suzy Q? We both know that’s why you’re gettin’ married. You know you don’t have to marry him. Everyone will help ya with the baby.”

“Not today, Cade. I’m not talking about this today. I love him and we’re getting married. Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to be there with everything that’s happened.”

“Really? Oh, I’ll definitely be there, hon. I wouldn’t miss this for the damn world,” I said in a snarky tone. Yeah, I was bein’ a snarky ass, but I really didn’t care.

We walked into the funeral home together and I went through all the motions that I had just went through for my dad. I listened to everyone say “I’m so sorry for your loss” and “I’m here for you” and all the other nice words of encouragement that I just wanted to stop. All I wanted was to go home to the ranch, take a shower, and try to get back to livin’ my life...back to normal. At least as normal as I could be now that everything was placed on my shoulders. I couldn’t screw this up. It was a lot of pressure for a nineteen-year-old dumbass, but I was gonna put my all into it. This ranch would succeed with me runnin’ it. I’d make sure of that.

After the funeral, the whole damn town showed up back at the ranch. This was the norm for small towns. Everyone would come to show their respect. I wouldn’t have to cook for a year. Every old lady in town had made me some kinda casserole. I had everything from lasagna, to green bean casserole, to sweet potato casserole, to chicken and dumplin’s. They had them all ready to freeze with directions on how to reheat them proudly taped to the top of the aluminum pan, that I could throw away, or casserole dish, that I was expected to return.

“Now, Cade honey, don’t you worry ‘bout returnin’ my Pyrex dish. You just hang onto it and I’ll pick it up when you’ve done ate all the chicken and dumplin’s I made for ya. Ya just heat ‘em up at four-twenty-five…”

“Thanks so much, Mrs. Ross. I can’t wait to eat me some of your famous dumplin’s.” I tried to give her a little smile. My normal smile I used to get a ladies attention, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. All I wanted to do was have this day end.

I walked Mrs. Ross out and sighed. Finally, she was the last person to leave. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Now I could be alone with my thoughts. Did I really want that though? My thoughts these past few days were pretty damn dark. I honestly didn’t even know anyone was still in the house until I heard the water runnin’ in the kitchen sink. I walked in and saw Suzy Q standin’ there. She still had on her black dress she wore to the funeral. She had the prettiest hair I’d ever seen. Those red curls just did somethin’ to a man. They were sure doin’ somethin’ to me. Leave it to me to be horny after my parents’ funeral. This was just more proof that I’m a sick son-of-a-bitch.

I walked up behind her and took the towel out of her hands that she was usin’ to dry the dishes. “You don’t have to do that, hon. I’ll take care of all that tomorrow.”

“I wanna do it, Cade. You shouldn’t have to worry about dirty dishes. I’ll clean up the rest of the place before I go too.” She tried to smile, but I could tell she was about to cry. She put her hand on my cheek. “I’d do anything for you, cowboy. Don’t you know that by now?”

I did know that and the feeling was more than mutual. I would always be here for her no matter what she did or who she married.

As she rubbed her finger along my cheek, all I could think about was the look on her face when she came in my bed. Our first time. How magical it was. That was when I realized how I think about that time with her a lot and that look on her face. I stared down deep into those whiskey-colored eyes and prayed that what I was about to do wouldn’t scare her off.

I placed my hand over hers on my face. Rubbin’ my fingers over hers, I noticed the look in her eyes changed. I remembered that look, most beautiful fuckin’ look I’d ever seen. I needed to feel her lips on mine. I needed to be inside her. This girl was like home to me. She made me feel things that I hadn’t felt with anyone since her and was sure I wouldn’t feel with anyone after her. Right now I needed to feel this with her. I needed this. I needed her.

Very slowly, never breakin’ eye contact, I leaned in and placed my lips over hers. She didn’t kiss me back right away. Finally, like a prayer had been answered, she closed her eyes and kissed me back. I didn’t wanna scare her, so I went slow…at first.

My tongue lightly licked her lower lip just beggin’ her to let me in. She opened her mouth and that was it. My damn body took over. I picked her up and sat her on the counter. I pulled her dress off over her head and dropped to my knees. When I pulled her panties off she moaned. God, I missed her sounds. Sure I’d heard those sounds from lots of other girls, but none of them sounded as sweet and perfect as my Suzy Q. She was so wet. She wanted me as much as I wanted her. It felt like I was losin’ everything that meant anything to me. I needed my girl, my Suzy Q.

I was usin’ my tongue to draw circles on her tight little bud. She was squirmin’ all over the counter and tryin’ to ride the fingers I’d slid into her wet pussy. Makin’ her come had been my priority, but I needed to be inside her when she did it. She gasped as I pulled my fingers out and stuck them in my mouth, sucking them dry. “Damn, you taste so good.” I started to lean in to kiss her. She pulled away and jumped down off of the counter.

“What the hell, Suz? What’re you doin’?” I couldn’t believe she was stoppin’ this. I turned around and caught her arm before she could get past me to pick her dress up off the floor.

“I can’t do this, Cade. I’m pregnant with another man’s baby. We’re getting married in a couple days. This is so wrong. Don’t you understand that?”  I couldn’t help myself. I picked her up, twisted around, and sat her back down on the counter in front of me.

Placin’ my arms around her, I nuzzled into her neck, “Please don’t make me stop, Suz. I know you’re gettin’ married and this makes me the biggest asshole in the world, but please let me have you one more time before you’re his. Please. I need you. I need this. Everything in my life is fuckin’ fallin’ apart and you’re all that makes sense to me. Please?” I sounded like a fuckin’ pussy, but I didn’t care. I needed this like a starvin’ man needed a meal.

She slowly worked her hands up my chest and gently pushed me away from her. That was it. She was gonna stop this. She reached down and took hold of my belt buckle, unbuckled it and removed my belt, pulling it slowly through the loops on my Wranglers.

She unbuttoned my jeans and ran her hand along cowboy. I closed my eyes and shuddered from my head to my toes. Lookin’ up at me, she whimpered, “I need this too, Cade…one last time.”

Her big, brown eyes were starin’ into my soul. For that moment in time, she was mine and I was hers. I wanted to carry her to my bed and slowly make love to her all night, but I couldn’t hold back. Slammin’ my mouth onto hers, I took her lips with so much force that her head hit the cabinet behind her. “Ow!” She rubbed the back of her head, “Slow down, cowboy.”

“Sorry,” I whispered as I picked her up and carried her over to the kitchen table. She wrapped her legs around me lookin’ down at the table and then back to me like she couldn’t understand why I took her to the table. I smiled and said, “What? Bigger surface. More room to spread out.”

I pulled my Wranglers off and started to grab a condom from my wallet when she stopped me. “No. Nothing between us this time, okay?”  I nodded.

I’d never had sex without a condom before.  She was so wet and ready for me. The sensation when I slid into her was almost too much to bear.

“I’m not gonna last long like this, hon. I’ve never ridden bareback. You feel so damn amazin’. Uhhhh.” It was killin’ me…I was tryin to hold back. I wanted to make it last. I really did. I needed to see her beautiful face when she came undone all around me. I’d dreamed about that look so many times.

I felt her tensin’ up under me and there it was, the most fuckin’ beautiful thing I’d ever seen. A few more thrusts and I came inside her with a long, deep howl. Collapsin’ against her, I said, “Thank you.” She tried to slide out from under me. “Please don’t leave yet. Can’t we have a little more time together before you go to
him
?”

She put her arms around my neck, “Whatever you need, cowboy. Whatever you need.”

~Chapter 9~

Wedding Day

Suzanna~

I woke up this morning just like I had every day for the past month- puking my guts up. This was my wedding day. I was supposed to be happy and wear white and be pure. Well, that was a total load of crap. Branch and I had sex and I got knocked up and now we were getting married.

At one time, I’d believed I loved Branch, but I don’t know that it was ever really love. Wanting to feel special and loved was a lot different than actually being in love with someone. I’d never planned on marrying Branch. My hope always laid at Cade’s feet. I hoped he would straighten up and stop his womanizing ways and realize we were meant to be. But that just wasn’t in the cards for us. As difficult as this was gonna be for me, I needed to come to the realization that I wasn’t his and he wasn’t mine and we didn’t have a future together.

Sleeping with Cade after his momma’s funeral was a huge mistake. I could see that now, but when it was happening it felt right - like it was meant to be. I knew better - I shouldn’t have let it happen, but it did and now I had to do what was right for me and my munchkin. I rubbed my stomach and thought about what this new future with Branch would hold.

When I found out I was pregnant, he immediately asked me to marry him. I knew the embarrassment of her daughter having a child out of wedlock would kill my mother and it wouldn’t do wonders for Branch’s family either. So, I agreed to marry him and we set a date and now that day was here.

Cade had guessed that I was pregnant. He knew me better than anyone. He knew I wouldn’t just marry Branch. Nobody else knew anything about it. They assumed Branch and I were meant to be. We were written in the stars, the perfect couple. I guess we could be…if I tried a little harder.

Branch had been so mad at me the past month, because I was spending so much time with Cade. I tried to explain to him that Cade was going through some serious stuff and needed me, his best friend, there to help him. Branch and Cade had hated each other for years. Branch hated the fact that Cade was my first. Hated it...with a passion.

The night I got pregnant we had fought - again - about that. Throughout our entire relationship, we had sex three times and two of those we didn’t use protection. The night at the creek and the night I got pregnant. The fight that night had been pretty intense. He wanted me to stay away from Cade. No matter what I did, I couldn’t convince him that we were nothing more than friends. That night when we had sex, he was rough. I felt like he was trying to mark me. He wanted to prove that I was his. Well that worked wonders. I was gonna have a baby in about six months and that would definitely prove to the world that I was his.

I finally made my way from the toilet I had been hugging to the shower. When I climbed out of the shower and dried off, I dropped my towel down and looked at my naked body in the mirror. I wasn’t really showing yet, but I placed my hands over my belly. “I love you, munchkin. Your mommy and daddy are getting married today and you are our special guest of honor.” No matter what happened in the future with Branch and I, this baby would always have my heart…always.

I put on my bra and panties before I pinned my red curls up on the sides with my favorite golden dragonfly clips and started to put on my make-up. I was sitting at my vanity applying my mascara when I heard something outside my window. I slid on my robe and walked over to see what the noise was. I lifted the window and looked out to see Cade standing there with his Stetson in his hands in front of his chest. My heart skipped a beat when he looked up at me through those long eyelashes. Why do men have such long eyelashes?
It has to be just to mess with us ladies.

“Wanna go for a walk?” he asked.

“You do know what today is, right?” I asked with a smirk.

“I do. It’s the day my best friend makes the biggest mistake of her life,” he said with that damn cocky-ass smirk of his.

“Fuck you, Cade Walker!” I screamed as I slammed the window shut.

He was trying to screw up my wedding. He knew I had to do this and instead of being my friend and supporting me he was being an asshole. I couldn’t deal with him today, so I finished getting ready and was all done by the time my mom came upstairs.

“You look beautiful, Suzanna. Branch will be so proud when he sees you walking down the aisle to him. You’re marrying into an excellent family. I couldn’t be happier.”

“That’s great Mom. That had been such a huge concern for me growing up. When I thought of a husband, all I thought about was the excellent family I would marry into. Thanks so much for your support.” I was being a snotty bitch and I didn’t even care. All my mother cared about was what people thought. I was marrying Branch because I was knocked up, and in that moment I really wished I had the balls to tell my mother that, but I didn’t. Instead I just said, “We don’t wanna be late to the event of the year. We better get going.” Then I plastered the fake smile on my face that I would have to wear all day.

When we pulled up to the church my mom and I headed toward the dressing room near the front of the church. Mom said that the guys were already in the back getting ready.