Chapter 43

Annelise couldn’t help but laugh as she watched Ollie frolic with the pygmy goats and Grace’s rescue dog. The sounds of giggles, barks, and bleats filled the air, and it was hard to tell who was having more fun.

She was quite smitten with the miniature ponies, and didn’t mind their nudges when she paused in brushing them. Grace and Michael were deep in conversation by the fence, their words lost to her.

“Hey, little sis, you planning on taking a pony home?” JJ teased.

“Um…no…absolutely not! Where would we even put a pony? In the backyard?” Annelise laughed.

“It’s big enough! I bet if you asked Mom and Dad, they’d let you keep it at their place,” JJ suggested with a smirk. “Just tell them Ollie wants it.”

“Don’t even joke about that! That’s not funny at all!” Annelise groaned.

Still laughing, JJ pulled her into a hug and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “How are you feeling, Ani?”

“I’m doing okay, JJ. The baby and I are doing well. I gained four pounds since last month. Michael was over the moon,” Annelise said, rubbing her bump and rolling her eyes. “It’s like he wants me to get fat!”

“You know damn well that man would adore you no matter how much you weighed. And the fact that you’re pregnant? That’s like Christmas and hitting the jackpot all at once! It’s really quite nauseating.” JJ sniffed.

Annelise laughed. “Thanks for that, you jerk!” She paused for a moment, then looked at him. “JJ, I think Ollie’s mom was at our house before we left…”

JJ’s head snapped up. “What?! Why would you think that?”

“There was a blonde woman at the house when Ollie and I got back from the library. Michael asked us both to go upstairs and he looked really upset. She had Ollie’s eyes... Anyway, I went upstairs to change and I heard him yelling and her crying.”

“He called us down a few minutes later, and before we left, he said, ‘Don’t worry. ~Your~ son is safe.’ What do you think, JJ?” she asked, uncertainty creeping into her voice.

JJ let out a long breath. “Wow...I don’t know what to say except talk to Michael. See what he says. I’m sorry I don’t have any other advice. This is ~way~ above my paygrade!”

“I’m not exactly a relationship expert. I just got a girlfriend who has a stable job and can string together a sentence that doesn’t contain the phrase, ‘like, you know?’ So I’m not the one to give advice.”

Annelise smiled at him. “I’m so glad you found Grace. She’s so sweet and really good for you!”

Before they could continue their conversation, Ollie ran up to her, giggling loudly. “Mommy, that puppy keeps licking me!”

Annelise grinned as he clung to her legs. “He does?! I think that means he likes you!”

“I like him too!” Ollie giggled as the dog sat at their feet, whining for Ollie to go play with him.

“Well, then we should go ask Grace if we can come back and visit him,” Annelise suggested, ruffling his hair. He took her hand, grabbed JJ’s, and dragged them over to his father and the pretty woman.

“Daddy! Grace! This doggy likes me. Can we keep coming back to visit him?” Ollie pleaded.

Michael squatted down to Ollie’s level. “Well, buddy, I don’t know. Mommy and I might not have time to come here all the time.”

Ollie’s little face fell and his lip quivered. “We can’t? ’Cause you have to work?”

“Yeah, that’s part of it, buddy,” Michael started, but stopped when Ollie threw his arms around his neck and started to sniffle. “But I like him Daddy! Lots!”

Michael looked up at Anelise and said, smiling, “I know you do buddy, so why don’t we just take him home with us?”

Anelise’s jaw dropped.

“Really, Daddy? He can come home with us? Forever?” Ollie asked, his eyes wide with excitement.

“Yes, he can!” Michael answered, laughing as Ollie shouted and hugged him tightly.

“Now, Ollie, you have to give him a name,” Grace chimed in.

“He doesn’t have a name?” Ollie asked, shocked.

“No, he came here because no one was taking care of him, and he needs a name if he’s coming home with you,” Grace explained.

Ollie thought for several minutes, then looked at everyone. “He really likes the goats, so I want to name him Goat.”

JJ disguised his laugh as a cough, and everyone else grinned as Michael responded, “Well, that’s definitely a unique name, buddy!”

Michael stood up and looked at Annelise. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first, my love, is this okay?”

Anelise looked up at him. “You know damn well I can’t say no to him! So you’re just going to have to make it up to me!”

Michael grinned. “I promise the minute he’s in bed, I’ll make it up to you!”

Ani pulled him in for a kiss, and when she was hugging him after, she whispered, “Don’t forget, we need to talk about our visitor too.”

Michael kissed her nose. “I promise.”

He looked at the little group. “Come on, Ollie. Tell Grace and Uncle JJ thank you and goodbye. We need to go buy Goat some supplies at the store.”

Ollie threw himself into their arms, hugging them tightly and thanking them. Grace handed him a leash and helped Ollie get it on. Then the family went to the car with their newest member and then to the store.

After spending a few hundred dollars, Ollie and Goat were out back, exploring the yard and having a blast. Anelise was busy capturing their antics on camera. She didn’t even notice when Michael came out and sat down on the couch.

“Kara was here today,” he said softly.

Anelise jumped a bit, startled by his voice. “I know. Ollie has her eyes.”

Michael swallowed hard. “An old coworker of hers told her we moved here and that I’d gotten married. I’m not sure why she came, other than to check on me... She didn’t even ask about Ollie until she saw you.”

“I think she was jealous; she made a comment about how young you were. I quickly put her in her place. When she claimed to be Ollie’s mother, I lost it. I told her straight up that she abandoned him.”

“That she gave up her parental rights and that you adopted him. He’s your son. She asked to see him, and I told her no and asked her to leave. She knows she has no standing, and I made it clear that this isn’t up for discussion.”

Anelise moved to sit next to him. “Are you sure, Michael? If you want her to meet him, I guess we should let her. She did give birth to him.”

“No. She only showed up because she heard I got married. She doesn’t really care about Ollie; she just doesn’t want me to move on. She’s selfish.”

“I learned that the hard way; everything always had to be about her. Looking back, I can’t believe I stayed with her for so long…” Michael sighed heavily.

Anelise gently rubbed his hand. “I’m sorry, Michael.”

“Why are you sorry? You’ve done nothing but love Ollie and me. You’ve always put Ollie first, Ani. That’s what a real mother does.”

“I believe it’s my job to put you first and make sure you’re taken care of. I know we’re partners in this, but let’s be honest, mothers usually do more than dads.”

“I can say that because I was both Mom and Dad for a few years. Now that I have you, I see how much you do. You do so much more than you give yourself credit for. So please, don’t be sorry,” Michael added.

“I love you, Michael.”

“I love you, too. Are you okay with all this?” he asked.

“I am. I was freaking out earlier. I called Craig, and he told me to relax, that she wouldn’t stick around, and to talk with you,” Anelise admitted.

He nodded and pulled her to his chest, kissing the top of her head. “I know you were worried, love, but everything is going to be okay.” They settled in to watch the two new best friends tire each other out.

After dinner, a bath, and a few tears, Ollie and Goat were sound asleep in Ollie’s room. One in the bed and the other on the floor, although Anelise knew that Goat would be on the bed if she checked in the middle of the night.

She went to their room to find the shower running and smiled to herself. She dropped her clothes in the hamper and quietly joined her husband in the glass shower.

He was deep in thought and didn’t notice her until she kissed his shoulder, making him jump.

“I’m sorry, Michael! I didn’t mean to scare you.” She blushed.

Michael wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry about it. I was just lost in my thoughts…”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m just mad that Kara showed up. I had planned this dog day, and we have our own Valentine’s Day plans for tomorrow. I feel like she ruined it.”

“We should have been enjoying every minute of seeing Ollie with his first dog, but instead we were upset about her being around. It pisses me off, Ani!” he admitted.

“Hey, don’t let her have that power! She showed up, but did she really harm us? Ollie is still here with his new dog.”

“And she hasn’t made any noise about trying to get visitation or anything. We’re here in our amazing shower, naked and horny,” Anelise countered.

“Horny?” He smirked, rubbing her small baby bump. “I don’t recall mentioning anything about being horny!”

“Oh you didn’t? Hmm…” She pretended to be confused. “I thought this meant you were horny.” She reached down between them and stroked his rapidly growing erection.

“Oh that?” Michael said, kissing her neck and collarbone. “I think it might be doing that because my sexy and beautiful wife is here with me getting all wet and slippery.”

Anelise felt a tingling sensation start in her stomach and slowly spread its way down to her core as his lips nipped and sucked along her chest.

He gently played with her taut nipples, and she inhaled deeply. When she did that, Michael knew she was turned on, and he grinned at her. He kissed her lips again and ran his fingers through her thick, wet hair.

Anelise knew he was stressed about the day’s events and what was on his mind, so she wanted to help him relax so they could enjoy their weekend.

She pulled away from his lips and kissed down his chest. She then got on her knees in front of him and looked up into his eyes, smirking as she slowly ran her hand up and down his hard length.

His eyes widened a bit. “Love, you don’t have to do that. We can enjoy each other.”

“Oh, I have no doubt that we will enjoy each other, but right now, I know you need to relax a little, and this will help.” She smiled and gently licked his mushroom head, making him hiss. She pumped a little more and licked just enough to tease him.

“Don’t tease—” But before he could say another word, she took him completely in her mouth and sucked, making him groan out, “So good!”

Anelise could still recall the first time she’d given Michael a blowjob. She’d been clueless, unsure of what to do or how to do it. But Michael had been patient, guiding her, teaching her what he liked. Before long, she’d become an expert at pleasing him.

She reveled in the power she held over him, the ability to make him feel so good with such little effort. The moment he climaxed, the knowledge that she was the cause, only served to heighten her own arousal.

Michael leaned back against the cool tiles of the shower, his eyes closed as he savored the sensation of her warm mouth on his throbbing erection. He was still amazed at how quickly she’d grown confident in her skills, and he loved being her willing guinea pig.

The first time, she’d been so shy, so worried that he wouldn’t enjoy what she was doing. But he’d guided her, just as he’d promised when they first got together. Soon enough, she was confident, and they were both reaping the rewards of her newfound abilities.

Michael gently held her head, his hips moving in soft thrusts as she sucked and licked him. He glanced down at her, and she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with satisfaction.

A small smile played on her lips. She was doing this. She was giving the man she loved, the man who was so incredibly sexy, pleasure that no one else could. Michael soon grunted, pulling her off him and helping her to her feet. He kissed her deeply.

“I want to finish inside you!” he growled, pulling away from their kiss. He pressed her back against the shower wall, her leg wrapping around his waist. Anelise’s breath hitched in anticipation.

With a rough thrust, he entered her, drawing a gasp of pleasure from her lips. He didn’t stop, his thrusts long and deep. His hand lovingly caressed her baby bump as he drove them both towards a wet, intense climax.

“I love you, Michael,” Anelise panted, pressing a kiss to his chest.

“I love you too, Ani,” Michael replied, a grin spreading across his face. He planted a kiss on her nose. “Now let’s get to bed. We need to be up early for Valentine’s Day!”