Traffic Jam

"Dad, you can be with her. If she wants it too."

"Ryder?"

I was in awe, couldn't even find words to put there.

"Dad. I saw the look on your face when you came back from Maine. That faraway stare you had. I know that feeling now."

"But Ryder, I thought..."

"Just listen baby. I love you and I want you to be happy. I know you need a lot of sex, sometimes I work days in a row and I can't come home. If Dad were here, he could be with you."

"I don't need a lot of sex, I just really like it."

"A lot. And I know you and Dad were really hot in the camper, and when he was with you at your place. You can have that with him sometimes and then I will come home."

Reece had a small smile on his face, his eyes danced happily as he looked at me.

"I love you Tanya, and I want us to be...us. For forever."

"I love you too Ryder. I don't know how all of this will work."

"Neither do we baby. But, for now, we could try."

"No fighting, not over me."

"No, we will schedule our days. Ryder knows his schedule a month in advance, we will work with it and when he is home, then you will be with him."

"And when I am at work, you can be with Dad."

"I am in shock, but...it could work."

Chapter:

The next weekend Reece hired a moving company to gather my belongings from my apartment, and move them to Ryder's house. A shining new red SUV stood in the driveway when I arrived there that afternoon. I pulled open the envelope under the windshield wiper, had my name on it.

Tanya-

This is your gift from both of us. And Dad will come to you after 4pm.

Love, Ryder

I slid the card back in the envelope and watched the team move my belongings in to the room upstairs. I had left most of my things in the dumpster, or given them to my neighbors. I had no need of furniture or bedding. Ryder had purchased a new bedroom set for me, set it up in the biggest of the extra bedrooms. I would set my art studio on the far wall, nearest the windows, everything else would come after.

I thanked the moving team and climbed the stairs to my new room. I was hanging a few of my framed pieces when I heard Reece call to me from the staircase.

"In the big room at the end of the hall."

I yelled back, set the framed art onto its' hook and heard his hurried feet come toward me.

"Hi baby."

I smiled at him, he pulled me into his arms.

"Getting settled in?"

"A little at a time. How are you?"

"Wonderful now that you're here."

"When does Ryder come home?"

"He gets off shift at seven, takes about twenty minutes to home. We have time. Do you need a hand?"

"Just with this big one, I already set the hooks in the wall."

He lifted the heavier piece, hung it beside my desk. I stepped back and gazed at it for a moment, Reece joined me and slipped his hand into mine.

"Done for now."

I slid my hand under the button of his shirt, popped the first two buttons free. Our tongues tangled wildly as clothes were tossed to the floor. He walked us backward, well he was front, I was back to my bed. His grin was devilish as he peeled my panties from my legs, his warm hands ran up the inside of my thighs as he knelt on the floor below my legs.

"I am going to savor you baby. Then, I am going to fucking pound your pussy."

"Fuck yes!"

I cried out as his tongue began to lap at my clit, his hands held my thighs open. I reached down and gripped his hair with my hands, he laughed against my pussy and I soaked his face. I heard him groan and suck at the juices. He slid two fingers in my hole and curved them up, reaching my ultimate spot. He rubbed at it and his tongue flicked against my clit, I cried from the stimulation and I gushed out over his face.

He left me there, for a moment and he dried his face with a towel, his cock prepared with a condom when he helped me into the bed.

"I feel like the luckiest man. I get to be with you in the way I need it the most."

"I need you Reece. Take me like you took me in your camper. I need it hard!"

He groaned and thrust inside me, he opened me further than Ryder as his hands mauled my breasts. I lifted my legs and he took the hint, pushed them back toward my head. He was pounding from above and I cried out in ecstasy as he growled out his coming.

"Fuck yes!"

He was trembling with release, but he let my legs down nice and slow. I was soon curled against him, rested my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head tenderly.

"Love you princess."

"I love you too."

His kiss was gentle as he began to leave, I wished he would stay but Ryder would be home soon. I prepped dinner, what I could find anyway and put a few more things up in my room. I heard the garage door open and I raced down the steps and into his arms.

"Well now I definitely have a reason to come home every night."

"I love you Ryder."

"I love you so much Tanya."

I glanced at the timer on the oven, still twenty minutes, and I pulled him to the couch. I knelt on my knees and he fumbled with his pants, tried to pull them off without unbuttoning them. I settled his hands and helped.

"Why are you nervous?"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are. You are fumbling, your hands can't stand still."

"I am just horny as hell. And I guess I was nervous, cause I know you were with dad today. Maybe you wouldn't want to be with me too."

"Oh Ryder. If I ever felt like only being with one, I'd choose you. I'd choose you for everything. I love you."

"Oh baby."

I placed my mouth on his cock and swallowed every spurt that he unloaded in my mouth.

I began private art classes with Reece's tutor that he hired for me and it was deemed that I didn't need to go to Skomond. A month after I had moved in with Ryder, I had my first gallery opening. He proposed that night, and we began trying to have a baby. Three months later, it still hadn't happened. Ryder was growing frustrated each time I took a test and it was negative. He was adamant it was him, not me. I wasn't so sure, but he went and got tested anyway. We kept trying as we were waiting for results, but Ryder wasn't surprised when he read the results to me. Low sperm count, low motility.

I came home from a friend's opening, both of them were in the living room.

"What's going on?"

"Sit."

I glanced at Reece who patted the spot next to him.

"He's got something on his mind."

"Apparently. That's the only time he's bossy."

Ryder cleared his throat.

"I can't give you a baby Tanya."

"The doctor said..."

"Just listen. I can't, but he can."

He pointed to his dad.

"But Ryder."

"Dad, Tanya. I will be happy to take the baby as my own, raise him or her as if he were biologically mine. I just want a child, and I want my fiancee to be pregnant. I think she's going to be a fantastic mom, and she deserves a child. And I can't give it to her, but you can dad."

He was right, we all knew it.

Two weeks later, I'd taken fertility testing and this weekend was deemed my time. I watched Ryder pack his bag, he had two night shifts anyway, he would just stay at a hotel until Monday afternoon. I stood in the garage as the two men traded places, Reece came to my side and we watched Ryder leave into the sunset on Friday.

Reece and I hardly moved from my bedroom, even as we ate dinner I straddled him. I sent him home an hour before Ryder was due back, he already had bought a pregnancy test.

"I just hope this works for you Ryder. I know you want to be a Dad."

"I do. I want you to be a Mom, you deserve it."

I made love to him that night. He pounced on me two weeks later, demanded I take the test. He paced outside the bath as I waited the two minutes, the bold pregnant sign coming up after just thirty seconds. He shouted with joy when I came out with a smile on my face.

He called to me as he left for work that day.

"Call Dad. We'll celebrate together tonight."

I smiled and waved him off, blew him a kiss. Reece arrived a little before 5, Ryder was due home at 7. I was pacing the hall when it was near 8 and he hadn't come home. No phone call either.

"He probably just got stuck in surgery."

"But he always calls. Even if he can't his nurse does. I know Heidi's voice well by now."

The phone rang, scared us both.

"See probably him."

"Is this Tanya?"

"Yes? Who is this?"

"Tanya, this is Doctor Drake, Ryder's boss."

"Of course he spoke of you often. Where is Ryder?"

"Ryder...I am sorry to tell you this, but he has died. He died saving the life of our youngest patients, a fire happened at the hospital today. He ran back in, the pediatric ward to rescue one who had gotten stuck."

"What?"

I screeched, dropped the phone and fell to the ground. Reece picked up the phone.

"This is Ryder's father, please, tell me."

"Reece, it's Dennis Drake."

"Dennis, where the hell is my boy?"

"Gone Reece. He rescued a young patient from a fire, and died in the process. I am so sorry..."

I heard the beep, Reece gathered me from the floor. We cried together that night, first on the couch and then in my bed. We had no sex, we didn't say anything.

Chapter:

Reece moved from his house to the one I had shared with his son. I had no urge to paint, draw or sketch anymore. I wanted to do nothing but cry. Reece had taken nearly a month from work, but even he had to go back eventually. It was two months after that, three since we'd buried Ryder, that I felt something. The baby, he began to move inside me. I crawled into bed with Reece, just after I felt him move.

"Tanya?"

"Reece? Give me your hand."

I felt his hand grasp mine gently, I lay it on my belly, heard his gasp when he felt the movement.

"Our baby?"

"Our baby Reece."

"I love you Tanya. I love you so much."

"I love you too!"

We sobbed together again, we'd done this at least once a week since the death of Ryder. After, we made no move to get up from the bed. It was just past 5:00, on a Sunday morning. Neither of us had to be anywhere today. I rolled to my left side, faced him as he turned to me. I scooted closer, felt his hand push under my shirt again, watched as he licked his lips. I mimicked him, our lips pressed together softly. Within less than a minute, our clothes were off and he was between my open legs.

"I will always love you Tanya, I want to marry you."

"Then ask."

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes Reece, I love you and I want to marry you!"

We married at the courthouse three weeks later, he took me to a secluded private lakeside house in Maine for our honeymoon. We'd planned on only staying there three days, but we stayed two weeks. A few dozen phone calls later, and he bought the house. Just before our one-month anniversary, we moved to Maine permanently. He retired from his job in order to help me with my touring art-show and being pregnant.

I gave birth to our daughter Chelsea Ryce, and just under a year later, gave birth to our son, Ryder Jamison.