More James as requested! Love you guys, thank you for your awesome reviews. Enjoy...
Of Sharing and Surrendering
A few days after their surprise guest had arrived, Hanna and Caleb had settled into a routine with James in the house. He'd usually haul himself out of bed after 10am, leaving them to start their day as normal with the kids, before he naturally seemed to provide endless entertainment in the afternoon for their two oldest kids. It wasn't always pretty (worrying that Logan had concussion after James had encouraged him to run as fast as possible through the garden which left the five-year-old stumbling over his own feet had not been enjoyable) but it was fun and light relief for Hanna and Caleb who were starting to run out of ideas to keep everyone happy as the end of the summer holidays neared.
It also meant Hanna had more time than ever to finish planning Everly's first birthday party. She couldn't believe her final baby was going to no longer be a baby in one short week and whilst the thought depressed her more than she'd like to admit, she'd also loved when her elder two had finally started to talk more and let their personalities really shine through and she knew it would be no different with her youngest.
"Babe," She called, heading out into the garden where Caleb had set up camp for the afternoon on the lawn with James and all the kids. They had the sprinkler on that clearly Mila had been running through. "I'm just heading into town," She said, scrunching Logan's hair as he sipped on his drink near the blanket.
"Where you going Mommy?" He asked, squinting up at her in the sunlight before Caleb had so much as a chance to reply.
She cupped his cheeks in both her hands, "I'm going to pick up some decorations for Evvy's party."
"Can I come?"
"You don't want to stay here and play with James and George?" Hanna murmured as he leant against her, looping his fingers through her belt loops. She'd really hoped to do this as a solo trip so that she could zip in and out quickly.
"I want to come with you," He pouted, "I'll be good," He promised, almost desperately.
Hanna couldn't fight a smile, "I know you will," She reassured him, "Go put some shoes on," She whispered, squeezing his shoulder before he scampered off happily to go and locate some footwear.
Caleb stood, Everly content as always on his hip. She'd really found her spot. "Don't let him convince you into buying the latest Transformers toy," He smiled, "I already said no."
"He wouldn't dare," Hanna grinned, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss against the back of Everly's head. "Is she practicing her walking?" She asked, dropping a hand to his waist. Everly had been a bit of a late bloomer and still was yet to take her first steps – but she was pretty keen on clinging onto something as she coasted around a room.
"Ish," He murmured, "She's more interested in watching James and bug try and stand on the sprinkler."
Hanna glanced over at the two of them who were trying to stop the water coming out with their feet. "I can't decide if he brings out the best or worst in her."
"I'm still on the fence," Caleb laughed in agreement as Logan came jogging back out, his converse shoved on his feet.
"I'm ready Mommy," He called, "Bye Daddy, bye Evvy."
"See you later," Caleb smiled, leaning down to squeeze his waist and press a kiss against his cheek, "Have fun with Mommy."
"I will," Logan smiled, wrapping his arm around Hanna's leg, "Don't be sad without us."
Hanna and Caleb shared a look, "We'll try not to be," Caleb muttered.
"Bye," Hanna grinned, giving him a gentle kiss before she grabbed Logan's hand and led him out towards the car.
"Did Daddy say you could drive his car Mommy?" Logan asked innocently as she guided him towards Caleb's beloved Porsche, opening up the front door for him to hop in.
"Daddy and I share everything," Hanna told him as she settled into the driver's seat, checking his seatbelt was on before she did her own. "I don't need to ask him."
Logan sighed as she turned the engine on, but didn't say anything further. "What's up?" She asked, glancing across at him.
"Do I have to share everything?"
"Not if you don't want to," She said, "But it's nice to share things. Your sisters love it when you share with them."
"Yeah," He mumbled quietly.
There was silence for a moment until Hanna spoke, "Are you enjoying having Uncle James around?" She asked as she took the turning towards Target.
"He's fun," Logan agreed, "He's grumpy in the morning though."
"He is," Hanna laughed, "But Daddy used to be grumpy in the morning too, so I think it's something they both got from Nana."
"Can we go see the doggies after we've got Evvy her things?"
Hanna paused for a moment; maybe this was the real reason he wanted to come. "If you really want to…" She said slowly as they pulled into the car park of Target.
"I do," He nodded quickly.
"Then I guess we can stop and say hi on the way back."
"Yay!" He cheered as they came to a stop. "I need to find Evvy a present too Mommy."
"Okay," Hanna agreed, "We can see if they have something you want to give her here," She told him, "But that does not include a new transformer bubba."
"Ugh," Logan threw his head back against the car seat, before he opened the door and pushed himself out. Hanna followed his lead, a small smile on her face as she met him at the front of the car, wrapping his hand up in her own. "Daddy tells you everything!"
"He sure does," Hanna gave his fingers a squeeze. "Now let's go get your sissy all the flower decorations she could ever want."
Back at the house, Caleb had just put both girls down for an afternoon nap. He was actually slightly grateful that Logan had pounced on Hanna to go with her as it gave him a pretty rare opportunity to sit down with just his brother and talk. Although, he could tell that James was trying to avoid it as much as possible by the way he headed straight to his room under the pretense of having a shower and getting changed.
But Caleb was patient, biding his time until James came back downstairs looking to raid their cupboards of food. "So," Caleb stepped out of the laundry room as he spotted him.
"Dude," James held a hand to his chest, "Don't pounce on people."
Caleb ignored him, reaching for the fridge, "You want some food? I was thinking grilled cheese sandwiches?" He suggested, pulling out the ingredients he'd need.
"Sure," James agreed, letting Caleb do his thing as he poured himself a coke. They made small talk whilst their snack cooked before Caleb guided him out to the back deck to eat.
He'd just about let his little brother take his first mouthful before he asked him his first question, "How are you feeling at the moment?"
James paused, before resuming his chewing as he spoke through his mouthful, "About what?"
Caleb smiled, "Staying here, going back home, seeing Mom…"
"Hanna's cool," He shrugged.
"She is pretty awesome," Caleb agreed with a grin, "But we already knew that," He added, "How are you feeling about going back to Cali?" He asked again, "Your flight's only in a few days."
James sighed heavily, clearly feeling like he was baring the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Divorce sucks," He eventually mumbled.
Caleb frowned, "Your Mom and Dad aren't getting divorced," He said, thinking about the last conversation he'd had with his Mom about her and William. She'd told him they'd been having a few problems, but that they were going to spend some of the summer apart and see how they felt at the end of it. Not that they were fully divorcing.
"They will eventually," James said, "Everyone knows it, they just won't tell me and Clay what's going on. Like we're stupid 5-year-olds or something."
"I'll pretend you didn't just try and insult my very smart 5-year-old," Caleb shook his head as James cracked a smile, "Bud, your Mom has not said anything to me about her and Will getting a divorce. I swear."
"Why do you always say my Mom?" James asked, "She's your Mom too."
It was Caleb's turn to sigh, "I know," He said, "But she wasn't my Mom for a really long time and sometimes those things are harder to get over than people think."
"Did you ever hate her?"
"Who?" He asked, "Mom?"
"Yeah," James nodded.
"I hate what she did," Caleb told him clearly, "But I've never hated her."
"Sometimes I get so angry at her," He revealed, "Like she thinks she's fixing things when all she's going is making it ten times worse."
"Is that why you came out here?"
James nodded, "She kept trying to tell me everything was fine because she thought that was what I wanted to hear, but it just made me so mad."
"And how do you think Clay feels about you running off?"
James shrugged, "We don't talk about it much."
"Well I think it kind of sucks dude," Caleb told him honestly, "You'll realise when you're older that you can't just run away from your problems. I tried to do that and it meant I lost Han – it was only when I faced up to them that she came back to me."
"At least you had someone."
"Hey," Caleb snapped, "Back when I was 17, she was all I had. You've got me… Mom and Will… your brother… Hanna…" He trailed off, "We're all here rooting for you but it means you have to snap out of feeling sorry for yourself and do what you can to make yourself feel better."
James held his face in his hands, trying to control his emotions. "I just got so mad," He muttered.
"We know," Caleb shuffled leant forward on the outdoor table, "And none of us are holding it against you. All Mom does is call me and ask me if you're okay."
"I thought she'd be crazy angry…"
"I mean she is pretty angry," Caleb agreed, "More about the cost of the flight," He admitted, "But you need to talk to her about how you feel. That's the only way it's going to get better." He leant across and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.
"Okay," He finally agreed quietly, his final resolve crumbling. "Should I call her?"
"I think that would be a good thing to do," He nodded, "And I know your flight is pretty soon, but why don't you ask Mom if her and Clay want to come out here for Evvy's birthday and then you can all fly back together after," He suggested, feeling slight relief when James nodded at him. He'd already spoken to his Mom and encouraged her to fly out, but he knew she wouldn't commit until she'd talked to James. "Now you wanna ask me about girls or anything? Because I'm pretty good at that too."
James rolled his eyes and slouched his shoulders as he tucked back into his sandwich, beginning to feel infinitely better about the situation. "You've been with Hanna since you were like 16."
"So?" Caleb shrugged, "I had to work pretty hard to get her in the first place… Come on, hit me…"
Across town, Hanna was already regretting letting Logan come with her. It had taken her twice as long to pick out all the decorations she'd wanted after Logan insisted on having an opinion on everything, before he'd dragged her around the store to prove that there was nothing there for him to get Everly for her birthday. She'd felt complete sympathy for him, knowing how much effort her sweet little boy liked to put into presents.
That was, at least, until they got to the dog shelter where Logan had proceeded to insist that the only thing that would be good enough for his baby sister's first birthday was her very own puppy. And that was something that had absolutely not been on the cards.
"Mommy," Logan tugged on her hand, encouraging her to look at one of the dogs in front of him. "Look."
"I'm looking," She said, squeezing his fingers.
"Evvy will love a doggy," He whispered, reaching his hand out to stroke the dog's fur. "And the doggy will love her."
Hanna sighed quietly, squatting down and pulling Logan in between her knees, scrunching his belly affectionately, "Hey bubba," She murmured, "You know getting a dog is a big responsibility."
"I know," He nodded, "But we have George already."
"Exactly," She told him, "And looking after George takes a lot of time," She said, "You and Daddy, or me have to take George for a walk every day."
"And feed him."
"That's right, and feed him," She agreed.
"George is happy Mommy," Logan wrapped his arms around her neck, "He told me," He whispered.
"I'm glad he's happy," She sent him a smile, "But me and Daddy need to have a serious talk before we agree to getting anymore pets."
"Serious?" Logan's lip began to wobble as his emotions got the better of him, "That means you'll say no."
"It means me and Daddy need to agree what we're doing. Remember you said we share everything?" She said, stroking his side as he nodded, "Well that includes making decisions."
"Okay," He sighed, leaning forward against her shoulder.
She stroked a hand through his hair, turning her head to press a kiss against his forehead before she stood up and took his hand again, "Let's go home."
As soon as Hanna walked through the front door, Logan shot off up the stairs to greet George who'd been staring through the banister, clearly waiting for someone to come and play with him. Hanna tried not to roll her eyes – Logan was crazy for that dog.
She headed through to the kitchen, dumping the two bags of decorations on the kitchen table before she made herself a drink. She could vaguely hear Caleb's voice through the open patio door and was about to step outside and ask if they wanted something before she stopped herself.
"Hanna definitely made the first move," She heard Caleb say; she could just imagine the smirk on his face right now.
"There's no way," James retorted.
"She did," Caleb insisted, "I'm telling you, she did."
"You do know she's way out of your league right?"
Hanna smiled to herself as she heard Caleb laugh, "Every time I look at her I'm reminded of that fact," He agreed, "You'll know when you meet the right person though," Hanna could tell he'd gone slightly serious, "And then it doesn't matter who makes the first move or how quick you get to second base."
Hanna wanted to stand there forever and listen to their conversation - it wasn't often that she got to see Caleb in big brother mode - but the sound of Logan's feet and four scampering paws on the floor meant she had to step away from the door frame prematurely.
"Mommy," Logan called, a little out of breath, "Did you talk to Daddy?"
Hanna rolled her eyes, grabbing her water, "Not yet," She said, following him towards the garden, "I'll tell you when I have," She added as they stepped outside.
"Hey," Caleb immediately grinned over at her, "You're back," He said, giving Logan a cuddle as he climbed up onto his lap to steal the remnants of his lunch, "Did you enjoy shopping with Mommy?"
"Uh huh," Logan nodded, scrambling back down, "But I can't talk to you Daddy, Mommy has to," He insisted, taking George by the collar and encouraging him down onto the lawn to play.
"Do I even want to know?" Caleb asked, looking up at his wife with an eyebrow raised.
"No," Hanna smiled, placing her water down so that she could wrap her arms around his neck as she stood behind him, "I'll tell you later," She promised, kissing his cheek as she trailed her hands across his chest before she stood and then seated herself next to him instead.
"You get everything you need?" He asked, watching her as she watched Logan.
"Yep," She nodded, turning her attention to him, "Pix is gonna have flowers for days," She said, glancing at the two video monitors Caleb had placed on the table. "What did you guys get up to?"
"We were having man chats."
"Man chats?" She shot a look at James that made him smile.
"Caleb was bragging about how good he is at chatting up girls."
"You've only chatted up one babe," Hanna reminded him.
Caleb rolled his eyes, resting a casual arm on the back of her chair, "I did more than chat you up."
"Nope," She shook her head again, "Don't remember that."
"Han."
"All that I remember," She moved her arm around his neck, stroking his jaw with her fingertips, "Was you making the first move."
"I so knew it," James muttered, "There's no way I'm taking your advice dude," He added, grabbing his plate and standing up to take it into the kitchen.
Caleb sighed, scooting his chair back so that he could pull Hanna onto his lap as he watched his little brother disappear, "You've ruined my cred with him."
Hanna smiled down at him, dropping her lips to give him a gentle kiss, "You've still got Logi," She reminded him, "And he's gonna think you walk on water for a few more years."
"I hope so," Caleb agreed, both of their eyes following James as he reappeared and headed straight for his nephew and George.
"Besides," Hanna drew his attention back to her, "You have only used your moves on one person," She reminded him, "You can't claim to be a stud just yet," She patted his chest.
"You've never complained about my moves," He teased her, running his hand up and down her waist before he squeezed territorially.
"About that…" She started, grazing his stubble with the back of her fingers as a smile graced her face.
"Don't even think about it," He growled in her ear before he reached his head up to silence her with his lips. They were pulled apart by the sound of crying coming through one of the monitors Caleb had on the table. "Lucky," He grumbled, encouraging her off his lap so that he could go and see to his girls.
"Love you babe," She called after him, smiling from ear to ear.
"Yeah yeah," He waved her off, shaking his head before he disappeared inside.
She sat there for a moment, simply watching Logan playing with James and their pup before she remembered the long list of things on her 'to do' list for Everly's birthday party the coming weekend.
How was her baby girl almost one? She mused silently as she grabbed her laptop and the first bag of decorations from the kitchen before heading outside to browse the pinterest board she'd made for her thoughts on theme and colours. She grabbed the little gem crown and fake flowers she'd bought, beginning to wrap the flowers around it.
"Do you want any help?" James' voice made her jump as he appeared on the other side of the table again.
She paused – it wasn't often he'd really offered to help with something during his stay here. "Sure," She decided to send him a smile, reaching in for another more simple crown and more flowers, "Mila will go crazy if Evvy has a flower crown and she doesn't," She told him, passing them over to him.
"It's not her birthday though…"
"She's two, James," Hanna reminded him, "And wakes up thinking she's a princess because your brother tells her she is every night."
He laughed, "Yeah," He agreed, "I guess you have to do them both one."
"So did Caleb talk to you about your Mom?" Hanna asked tentatively, "And coming out here for the party?"
The teenager looked up from the fake flower in his hand, "Does he tell you everything?"
Hanna rolled her eyes, thinking about Logan's comment earlier, "You're not the first person to realise that today," She sent him a gentle smile, "We trust each other, so yes we tell each other everything."
"What did he say?"
"That doesn't mean I tell you everything," She laughed, "Just because we're married doesn't mean we can't have secrets."
"Whatever," James muttered.
"But you're okay with her coming out here?" Hanna went back to her original tack.
"I guess," He agreed, shrugging nonchalantly.
"We just want you to be happy J," She reminded him, "But I think having your Mom come out here with Clay will be good for everyone."
James was silent for a moment, "Does Caleb talk to you about her?" He asked, "And what she did?"
Hanna stopped her fiddling with the flower headband she'd now created and looked up at him, "When he wants to," She said tenderly.
"Do you think he ever hated her?"
"No," She swallowed, pushing her emotions away as she thought about every time she's been there for Caleb as he dealt with the pain of his childhood, "He hated what she did."
A smile tugged at the edge of James' lips, "That's what he said."
"Why are you asking?" Hanna couldn't help herself.
"I guess if Caleb can't hate her," He shrugged, "Then neither can I."
Hanna was about to open her mouth and respond when she heard Caleb's voice coming through the patio doors, "There's Mama," He cooed tenderly down at Everly who was walking towards her in between his legs, her fingers wrapped tightly around her Daddy's for that support she always sought from him. "Can you walk to Mama?"
"Hi," Hanna gasped, moving off her chair to bend down and hold her arms out, "Are you almost walking?" She said in faux shock.
"Still gripping pretty hard," Caleb smiled, walking her towards Hanna slowly.
"Mama," Everly called.
"Hi," Hanna repeated, encouraging her closer, "You're getting so big," She pouted, scooping her up and cuddling her close once she reached her.
"Dada," Everly reached for Caleb from Hanna's arms.
"I'll try not to be offended," Hanna shook her head as she passed her over, "I've only been second best for the past 3 months."
Caleb chuckled, reached an arm out to squeeze her shoulder tenderly, "She loves you really," He brushed his lips against her forehead. "Didn't take you as the arts and crafts type," He teased him, sending a smirk in his direction.
"I'm going to see Lo," James quickly ditched the flower crown, rolling his eyes at his brother before he headed down to play with Logan again. It was better than being ribbed by his brother.
"You lost me my helper," Hanna pouted, sitting back down.
"I'd say we'd help but I'm just going to lounge in the sun with pix."
"I hate you," Hanna bit her lip to contain a smile as she watched them.
"Pix, tell Mama to come cuddle with us instead," Caleb whispered loud enough for Hanna to hear.
"Mama," Everly sent her a toothy grin, holding an arm out.
"Come on Mama," Caleb held his hand out too.
"Fine," Hanna conceded, lacing their fingers and grabbing the monitor that was focused on a still-napping Mila, "But only because you're cute."
"And you said I can't chat up girls…"
Later that night, Hanna found herself finishing her daily skincare routine and thinking about the conversation she'd overheard between her husband and his little brother. James had certainly said one thing right and she was going to rib Caleb for as long as she could…
She flicked off the bathroom light, moving into their bedroom, "So," She grabbed his attention from the magazine he was flicking through as he laid in bed, waiting for her. He quickly tossed the magazine onto the floor as she padded towards him in one of his t-shirts that he always thought seemed to drown her tiny frame.
"So," He murmured, his hand automatically reaching out to touch her as she climbed on top of him.
She settled her hips over his, running her hand through his hair as she cocooned them in, "I'm out of your league, huh?" She smiled teasingly, her grin growing as he rolled his eyes. "Your brother knows what he's talking about."
"He has no idea how good-looking I was when I was 16," He retorted, his fingers splaying over her hips underneath the hem of her nightwear.
"You were ok," She agreed, squealing as he poked her hard.
"And yet you threw it down for me."
"What can I say?" She pouted, before gently connecting their mouths, "It was your bad boy persona," She murmured, "I couldn't handle it."
"Oh I think you handled it," Caleb's eyes flared as he gazed up at her, his hand moving to cup her jaw so that he could guide their lips together again. She sighed contently as their mouths slanted over one another's, hands tenderly keeping each other right where they wanted themselves. Caleb pulled back, his face an inch away from hers, "You gonna throw it down for me now?"
She smiled at him, before nodding silently and then leaning down to connect their lips again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, lacing her fingertips through the tendrils of hair she found as he moved her onto her back, covering her body with his own. She could have kissed him forever, but she knew he wanted more and gave him the space to pull her t-shirt off, his mouth immediately dropping to her bare breasts to worship each one in it's own right.
"Caleb," She whispered, throwing her head back against the pillow as he began to trail his lips down her navel.
"What?" He mumbled teasingly, his eyes darkening as he looked up at her through thick lashes.
She sighed as he reached her panties, looping his fingers over the top of the material and slowly pulling them down her legs. "I really hope your brother doesn't walk in again," She muttered as she shuffled back on her elbows, giving him a helpful flick of her ankle to get rid of the lacey material.
He climbed over her again, giving himself just enough time to take what he wanted from her lips, "Trust me," He whispered, "He's under clear instruction to not walk in after 9pm."
And then he was back between her legs again, his tongue seeking out her clit as she processed his words. She gasped and frowned, her hand reaching down to grip his hair as he began to worship her with his mouth, "Did you talk to him about us having sex?" She managed to get out, her fingers scrunching against his scalp.
He paused, pressing a kiss against her inner thigh as he looked up to meet her eyes, "I told him that we're not used to having someone older than 5 walk into our room," He murmured, "And that he almost killed the mood for me."
"Caleb!" Hanna almost screeched.
"What?" He muffled a laugh, pressing one final kiss against her before he climbed over her, "He did."
"I can't look at him the same," She shook her head, gripping his shoulders as he lined his cock up, teasing her with the tip as he pushed her wetness around. It never took long for him to get hard when she was lying there naked and waiting for him to take her.
"Babe," He dropped his forehead to rest on hers, dipping into her before he pulled back out, "It's not like I told him what your favourite position is."
"Which is?" She raised her eyebrows challengingly.
"Cowgirl," He growled, rolling them over so that she was on top.
"Damn straight," She gasped, raising her hips slightly before she sank down and guided him into her. He moved his hips up, smirking as she tightened her inner muscles around him in response. He reached out to palm one of her breasts, before he sat up and took her nipple into his mouth, wrapping his arms around her back as she began to slowly move her hips on top of his.
She moaned, holding him against her chest as she felt her clit rubbing against his skin. He thrust up hard suddenly, releasing her breast before he pushed her onto her back and moved her legs onto his shoulders, "Definitely out of my league," He teased her as he began to move his hips quicker.
"You'll do," She gasped in agreement, placing her fingertips on his chest as he thrust into her over and over again. The things he could do to her, she thought, as he pushed her legs back further to allow him to create more of an angle. "Caleb," She groaned his name as he suddenly thrust deep and pushed her legs off his shoulders onto the bed.
He leaned down, giving her a deep kiss before he pulled out and encouraged her to roll onto her front for him. She looked over her shoulder at him as she pushed her knees up for him, "What?" He sent her a smirk as he grabbed his cock to tease her again.
"Logan wants another dog."
"Not the time babe," He rolled his eyes as he sank into her again, holding her hips against his.
"I'm just saying," She gasped, gripping the sheets as he began to move faster, his hand on her lower back. "I said I'd talk to you."
He sighed, too many thoughts running through his head about what position they were in and what his son had clearly said. "Han," He murmured, kissing her back before he pulled out of her again and encouraged her back up into the middle of their bed on her back, "I love you," He said gently, "But please stop talking," He pleaded, cupping her cheeks as he settled between her legs again, pushing into her slowly.
She sighed, letting a smile wash over her face as he moved his nose to bump with hers, their lips gently meeting. "One more thing," She whispered, her arms gripping his shoulders as their hips tenderly met.
"What?" He muttered, a hand groping her chest as the other pulled her leg up, still continuing to move in and out of her.
"You're right," She smiled, kissing him deeply before she pulled back and stifled a gasp, "You've still got all the moves."
He shook his head, trying not to laugh at her, "Despite your best efforts," He teased her, smiling against her mouth, "Yeah I do," They kissed again as she began to move her hips in time with his, "Now please shut up…" He whispered, moving his head into the nook against her neck.
She said nothing. Right now, there was nothing she'd rather do than surrender to him silently. And as he began to roll his hips more, that was exactly what she was going to do.
Next chapter is the last one! I can't believe it... my second to last request for a review if you liked this instalment xox
