“My mama had a soft spot for a hell raisin’ boy, so she had two more just like him. It takes an angel to raise a family that comes from a long line of sinners like me…”


It was still pretty amazing to wake up in the new house. Walking down the staircase in only her underwear and not worrying about whether or not Jordie would see her was somehow liberating for Cassidy. That mixed with the fact that this house seemed more like a home and not a bachelor pad.

It had been nearly a week and a half since Jamie’s second surgery, and he had been cleared to go home two days ago. Of course, that clearance came with some conditions. First off, he’d have to take it easy for a few days; which meant doing little more than showering and spending his waking hours in bed. And second, any time he wanted to needed to walk, his doctor insisted that he use a walker. It would give him something to put his weight on to keep him steady.

But morning two of being home, Cassidy walked into the house after having spent the past hour walking Truman and Shiloh with Kennedy. And the first thing she saw when she walked into the kitchen to get water, was Jamie standing at the fridge in his boxer briefs.

“Jamie what are you doing?!” Part of her was frozen at the threshold, not believing her eyes that not even two weeks after surgery, he was already walking around like it was a normal day.

“Looking for food…” He turned to look at her before gazing back into the refrigerator.

“You’re not supposed to be walking around. How’d you get down here?” Cassidy rushed to him, clinging to his forearm, and gently led him towards the stairs. Mostly she was afraid that he’d trip over a piece of dust or something, and shatter his pelvis into a million tiny pieces.

“I walked… just like you said,”

She looked down at the floor, taking each step slowly. “Jamie… honey… darling… light of my life… you’re supposed to use the walker.”

“I didn’t want to,” he clutched at the railing, easing himself each step cautiously. When they finally reached the top, he began shuffling his way towards the bedroom with Cassidy beside him.

“Jamie… honey… darling… light of my life… I don’t care.” She was being blunt now, but it was the tough love he needed to hear. If he was going to have a shot of being fully recovered by the time training camp began, he’d have to play by the rules for awhile as to not jeopardize anything. “I love you to pieces, but you’re being stubborn and childish.”

Jamie groaned and laid back down in bed, watching as Cassidy recovered him with the duvet. “It’s so obnoxious. It clicks against the hardwood floor, and I knock it into the walls. I’m fine to walk, Cass.”

“Hey, just humor me and use it… for a week at least.” Her tone was gentle now. It couldn’t have been easy on him, going from an incredibly active person to basically feeling like a senior citizen. “Please… can you do that for me?”

He looked up for her and reached for her hand to keep her still, leaning in quickly to kiss her lips. “I can’t promise you anything more than a week,”

She smiled against his lips, “I don’t want you to. Celebrate small successes, right? One week at a time,”

“Has anyone told you lately that you’re going to make an amazing mum?”

“You may have mentioned it once or twice, “ she joked.

“Have I mentioned that I couldn’t be happier you’re going to be the mother of my children?”

“Once or twice,” she repeated, leaning in to kiss his lips quickly again. Even though they were married, the kisses didn’t lack passion or intensity. If anything, they were intensified. “I’ll make you breakfast. Stay put, and holler if you need anything.”

Cassidy flicked on the TV and threw the remote at him before exiting the room. She skipped downstairs, squeaking good mornings to the puppies as they followed her into the kitchen. They were yearning for food, and Cassidy appeased them by pouring a cupful of kibble into each of their bowls.

She pulled open the refrigerator door, turning her head quickly to look into the backyard. In the new house, it was still a treat to look out and see the spacious and grassy yard. Soon she returned her attention to the task at hand and pulled out two eggs, bread, and then reached into the freezer to pull out the packet of bacon. She began cooking it all, somewhat distracted with her own thoughts as she looked down at her stomach. It had grown considerably in the past week. There was no way she could hide the fact that she was pregnant anymore. Now towards the end of April and nearly eighteen weeks in, Cassidy no longer fit into the clothes she had stashed away in the closets.

Cassidy moved the eggs around in the skillet, while simultaneously set one hand over her stomach, rubbing it slowly. In a few days, she’d have the appointment that would identify the sex of the twins. Most of all, Cassidy hoped Jamie would be feeling well enough to make the trip with her. He’d fight her every step of the way about using the walker, but when it came to the appointment, she didn’t really care if he used the walker or not. She just wanted him to be there.

It was crazy to think that she was pretty much halfway done with the pregnancy. As the doctor had said, this would be shorter than most as twins usually don’t go full term. But honestly, Cassidy was okay with that. The glow she’d always heard people going on about seemed to be just a myth. Because as far as she was concerned, she didn’t feel especially glowy at all… just bloated and nauseous. On any regular day, bacon, eggs, and toast would smell delicious. But today just the thought of it made her want to hurl. Although he wouldn’t really know what it was like, Cassidy wished her dad was still here so she could talk to him about it. He’d always had some thought provoking answer to her questions, and she really needed that now.

Cassidy walked back up the stairs, having transferred the food from the skillets onto a plate, along with a bottle of water. Although Jamie wasn’t doing much of anything, it was still important that he stay hydrated; a fact Cassidy would be sure to keep up on. Back in the master bedroom, she shook her head at the sight of Truman and Shiloh curled into Jamie’s sides. By the looks of their wide eyes and low wagging tails, they could sense they were doing something wrong.

“You know if you bend the rules with them now, they’ll think it’s okay to do when they’re massive,” Cassidy spoke calmly as she handed the plate to Jamie and set the water bottle down on the side table. “I don’t know if you know this, but ridgebacks were originally bred to hunt lions in Africa. They get pretty big,”

“I know. I just wanted to cuddle,” he set the plate in his lap and scratched the rumps of each puppy. “Alright boys, time to go.” The dogs jumped up and hopped off the bed, circling onto their own and laid down. As Cassidy smiled and turned to leave, Jamie reached out for her, “will you lay with me? I’ll share my food with you,”

He was trying to be more convincing, but the thought of eating the food was too much. In any event, Cassidy crawled across the bed and propped herself up against the headboard next to her husband. When he offered her a forkful of eggs, she put her hand up and shook her head adamantly.

“Feeling sick?”

“You don’t even know,” she murmured. The heavy feeling in her throat eventually disappeared, and she set her hand in Jamie’s lap and rested her head against his shoulder.

Jamie set the fork on the plate and held it in the palm of his hand while he reached over with the other and set it on Cassidy’s stomach. “Babies, you gotta be good for mum,”

“Pretty soon here, I’m gonna be wearing your clothes. Nothing fits past my waist and belly,”

“That’s okay,” Jamie said as he took a bite of the bacon, “you wear my clothes anyway.”

Cassidy giggled and closed her eyes. She felt Jamie press his lips to her forehead gently before he continued eating. Slowly, she opened her eyes again and glanced up at him, “you promise not to move your hips?”

“Hmm…?” He was so enthralled with the golf tournament on TV; she doubted if he even heard her.

Instead of asking again, she looked down at his lap, and moved her hand to tuck her fingers beneath the waistband of his briefs. She flicked her eyes up to his, grinning when she saw the smile on his own face. Cassidy slipped her hand further down, closing her fingers around his shaft. He was already on his way to being completely hard and began giving him long, slow strokes. Jamie tried his best to finish his breakfast, but as his erection began to throb, he set the plate down on the side table.

Cassidy smirked and crawled away from his side, positioning herself in between his legs, and carefully eased his briefs down from his hips, exposing his length. She gathered her hair in her fist and pulled it all to one side as she lowered herself to him, creating a tight entrance for the head of his cock to push past. He let out a throaty groan and tilted his head to the side to get a better view of the pleasure she was giving him. And as she began to bob her head, Jamie reached for her hair, and took it in his hand, keeping it out of the way.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, elongating the word as he bit his bottom lip. They hadn’t had the chance to be intimate with each other since the honeymoon, and now nearly two weeks later, they both knew they needed the attention.

Cassidy pulled her head back, Jamie’s member left her mouth with a pop, and she looked up at him, smiling as she leaned in to kiss his lips while she continued to stroke him closer to his climax with her hand. They couldn’t do much, but with what they could do, they gave complete effort. No marriage was easy, and only a couple weeks in, they were already seeing that. But there wasn’t a doubt in Cassidy’s mind that Jamie was worth it. And if it took hard work to keep a happy marriage, she’d work as hard as she needed to.

---

Cassidy helped Jamie out of the car, taking each step slowly as they approached what they could now call the old house. Jordie was by the front door, holding it open as they neared closer and closer. Once inside, the new project was to get him to the couch in one piece, but that was slow going as well.

“Where’s your walker?” Jordie asked, helping Cassidy get Jamie to the couch. They were able to sit around the coffee table together.

“I told him to use it for a week… he did, but now he refuses to even use it around the house.” Cassidy set her purse down and folded her hands across her stomach.

“Using it isn’t going to get me ready by September. Doing physical therapy, pushing myself to walk is going to get me rehabbed,”

“Or it’ll get you back in the hospital…”

Jamie looked at Cassidy, and then refocused his eyes to his lap. Although there was tension, he knew it was just coming from a place in her that worried about it. So instead of snapping, he set his hand on top of hers.

Sensing the discomfort, Jordie cleared his throat. “How’d the appointment go?”

Cassidy smiled and shot her eyes up to him. Today had been the day they were waiting for; the day that would determine the design of the nursery. “Amazing. And you, Uncle Jordie, are the first to find out,”

Jamie looked at Cassidy and then at his brother, with a wide grin across his face, “boys.”

“No way! That’s great. Already been thinking of some names?”

“Well, Knox for sure,” Cassidy felt like her heart was racing now. Every time she heard the news, it sent a new wave of giddiness through her. “And we’re not too sure about another name yet. But thankfully we have a few months before we have to decide,”

“I’m so happy for you. Two more Benn brothers added to the family.”

Cassidy leaned in and linked her arm with Jamie’s. There was no doubt they had been pretty blessed. As Doctor Turner had said, the twins seemed to be developing nicely, however they both seemed to be a bit small given that she was nearly halfway done with the pregnancy. It wasn’t anything to worry too greatly about, but Doctor Turner mentioned they’d keep an eye on their growth.

She had also said that now came the fun part, of figuring out how to decorate the nursery, buying all the amenities that twins might need, but also planning out the birthing process. That part maybe wouldn’t be as fun. And as Jordie and Jamie spoke about the impending arrival of the babies, it made Cassidy more and more nervous.

Notes

This chapter is titled after "Sinners Like Me" by Eric Church.