LLucy’s Revenge(Divine Creek Ranch 15)(145)

Lucy murmured, “We’ll have to take a day off and come back here by ourselves once PJ starts school again. Then we can play all day if you’d like.”

“Stop,” Patrick growled as his cock hardened at the thought of her frolicking naked again on the creek bank.

“I’m starting to yearn,” Beck said, with need and good humor in his voice.

Patrick let out a contented sigh and squeezed her.

They chuckled occasionally as they watched PJ’s antics with the rather rotund dog that didn’t seem to mind getting wet but kept to the shallows where he was safe.

“Think there will be repercussions for PJ when he starts school, like your dad said?” Lucy asked as she twirled a lock of Beck’s hair in her fingers. He’d let it grow just a bit, and had grown a goatee at her request.

Patrick had mulled that question over in his own mind many times as the start of the school year drew near. “Only time will tell. At least he’ll be in Maizy’s kindergarten class so we might have an early heads-up if there are problems. I don’t think there’s any easy answer to that question.”

Beck slowly nodded his head. “I think as long as he sees that we love him and we’re united in taking care of him, we can deal with whatever happens.”

Lucy yawned and said, “Teresa says that Michael and Eleazar have done okay in school. They have lots of friends. They’re both pretty matter of fact about having two dads because that’s really all they know. They aren’t trying to justify something outside the norm to their friends. It’s just a fact of life to them.” Michael was going into the grade above PJ and Eleazar was going into the preschool grade behind PJ.

“Lucky for us, PJ should have the same teachers Michael has had, unless they move or are reassigned.”

After they’d gotten engaged, Patrick had sat his son down to explain to him about marrying Lucy and PJ had crowed and cheered like he’d won the lottery. Explaining about Beck’s role in joining their family had been a little trickier but PJ had accepted it as a good thing. Patrick smiled as he recalled the conversation. PJ’s main question had been to ask what he was supposed to call Beck.

“Do I call him Uncle Beck?”

“Well, maybe think of him as like a second dad. You can call him Dad, too.”

PJ had looked quizzically at him and with a wisdom that defied his years had said, “Dad, don’t you think that’ll get a little confusing? Remember how Lucy renamed me PJ? Beck needs a nickname, too. Cooter is already taken but Pugsly is still cool.”

“How about something simpler?” he asked with a laugh.

“How about Daddy Beck?”

For a little guy, Patrick had thought that would be okay but he replied, “That sounds great but as you get older, if you decide to just call him Dad, that’s okay, too.”

PJ had grinned and given him a thumbs-up. “Deal. Can we celebrate with ice cream?”

“Sure.”

“Dad?”

“Yeah, son?”

He’d looked down at the boy and noticed the pink in his cheeks. “I was wondering if it’s okay for me to get something for Lucy, like a wedding gift?”

Patrick had stifled his chuckle, wondering if he’d even known what a wedding gift was when he was this same age. The boy was too smart by half.

“Sure. What would you like to get her?”

The boy had taken him shopping later that afternoon, and they’d wound up at Clay Cook’s Jewelers, which had surprised the heck out of Patrick. It’d been the boy’s idea, too.

Patrick smiled down at Lucy, in his arms on the creek bank and noticed the way she stroked the pink pearl pendant that hung on a gold chain around her throat. His son had picked it out, happiness sparkling in his eyes, and Patrick hadn’t minded the extra expense. Lucy had been thrilled with the gift and wore it regularly.

Showing considerable savvy, PJ had nudged Beck and mentioned to him that Mr. Cook had a set of pink pearl earrings that matched it. Beck had chuckled and taken the hint, and he’d given them to her a few days later.

Their wedding was set for the end of September and Patrick had been very pleased when Lucy had asked his little sister, Maizy to help her, Grace, and Jayne with the wedding plans. Of course Maizy had been as excited to accept as Lucy was to ask for her help. They’d grown very close in the last several weeks.

Patrick had hopes that eventually Roberta and Rhonda would warm up to Lucy as well. He had the feeling his eldest sister, Rhonda was more curious that outright judgmental of them, taking more after his mom than his dad. Roberta had remained remote though not overtly unfriendly. He hoped she got over it.