Hotel Key

Chapter 27

"Aren't ya excited fer Christmas at yer gran's?," Daryl asked, shoving the last box into the backseat of her jeep and using his body to force the door shut. RickyJo giggled and nodded her head.

"What is all that stuff?," she asked. "Ya know Jess said only one present each fer the girls. They've got enough crap." Daryl nodded as he rounded the rear of the vehicle and pulled her into his arms.

"This ain't fer Cassie and Des," he said, rubbing his hand over her rounded belly. "...It's presents fer the baby." RickyJo tossed her head back and laughed. The little fellow was going to have a hard time opening his presents. Considering he hadn't even been born yet.

"Why don't ya just leave that baby stuff here and I'll open it when we get back," she suggested. Daryl pulled back, looking at her like she had gone totally insane.

"If we leave it all here, ya won't be able to open it on Christmas," he countered. RickyJo decided she couldn't argue with that logic. So she wrapped her arms around Daryl and kissed him. This was their first Christmas as an official couple. And how excited Daryl was about it just made her happy down to the tips of her toes. She also felt the guilt that now clouded over her joy. But she pushed that down for now. She already promised herself that she was going to end things with Merle. And this time she meant it.

They made the drive out to the farm in good time, only making one small detour to an Amish store her Nana liked. RickyJo picked up all the kitchen staples they needed to make Christmas cookies. The prenatal vitamins made her sick, so she'd been on a health food kick to make sure the baby was getting all the nutrition he needed. And she was looking forward to treating herself and maybe even binging a little on all the yummy Christmas treats she knew her Nana was going to make.

"Get yerself a coffee so I can have a sip," she requested, pointing to a little coffee shop near the store. Daryl laughed. RickyJo had no problem giving up drinking and smoking. But she was always dying for coffee. Her doctor told her she could have one cup a day. And she already had that when she got up that morning. Daryl found RickyJo's strict adherence to her doctor's orders to be about the sweetest thing he ever saw. And he was sure it was proof that she was going to be the world's best mother. Not that he had much basis for comparison. He was pretty sure his own mother didn't even bother to stop drinking when she was pregnant with him.

After a healthy gulp of his coffee, RickyJo was content to drink her hot cocoa while they drove the rest of the way to her Nana's house. Though they were driving south, the air outside seemed to be getting colder. And though it was rare in Southern Georgia, the news said there was a chance they might even get a light sprinkle of snow for Christmas.

Nana greeted them with hugs and kisses and lots of enthusiasm when they arrived. And RickyJo headed into the kitchen with her while Daryl unloaded the jeep. It wasn't long before her nieces came running down from Jessica's house, eager to see their Aunt and put their hands on her growing belly to see if they could feel the baby moving. The girls ushered RickyJo away into the rear of the house, to show her the nursery that they helped to decorate. She knew her Nana was planning to set up a room for the baby, but she wasn't expecting this. The woman not only went all out, RickyJo guessed she must have hired a professional to do the painting and put the furniture together. The room was woodland themed, with soft white curtains and linens. There were small framed drawings of squirrels and deer on the walls.

"I know ya said yer planning ta stay in Atlanta," Nana said, stepping into the doorway and enjoying her granddaughter's reaction to the room. "...but I still thought the little one could have a room here."

"This is perfect," she gushed, rushing to wrap her arms around her grandmother. "...thank you so much!" RickyJo took another look at the room. "You should give me the number of whoever ya hired ta do this, I'll have them do the nursery in my apartment." Nana chuckled. But it was Desiree that chimed in, announcing that it was in fact her uncle Merle that painted the room and put all the furniture together. RickyJo's mouth dropped open in shock. "Merle really did all this?," she asked.

"Yeah," Jessica hollered in from the doorway. "...he's got plenty of time on his hands for projects since he still doesn't have a damn job."

Jessica headed into the room, wrapping her arms around RickyJo and giving her cousin a big hug. Then she moved her hands down, resting them on her stomach and smiling. But RickyJo had her nose wrinkled up, unimpressed with Jessica's commentary.

"It's not like ya need the money Jess," RickyJo countered. Jessica rolled her eyes.

"It's not about the money," she snipped. "He drives me crazy sittin' around all damn day drinkin'. And why are ya takin' his side? You always take his side!"

"Girls!," Nana chided, "...that's enough. It's Christmas." Both RickyJo and Jessica were quick to apologize to their grandmother. And each other. They all headed back down the hall and into the kitchen. RickyJo helped her Nana finish getting everything in the oven for dinner. Jessica perched on the counter with a glass of wine and they struck up a more pleasant conversation, talking about Christmas and catching up on what was happening in their lives. The next night was Christmas Eve. And they were planning to do the big dinner then, and open up the presents they got for each other. That way Christmas morning, everyone could just relax and let the girls go wild with whatever Santa was bringing them.

RickyJo was concerned that there might be some awkward tension. Being that she was about to have dinner with her husband and the man she was sleeping with behind his back. But for once in his life, Merle seemed to be willing to behave himself. He and Daryl tinkered around with the cars in the pole barn while dinner cooked. Nana turned on a Christmas movie. And everyone settled into the couches and chairs with their bowls of lasagna instead of eating at the table. It wasn't until RickyJo got up to pee that there was an issue.

When RickyJo came out of the bathroom, she ran smack into Merle. She gasped and shoved at his chest, irritated with him for startling her like that. And maybe just a little grateful that he caught her on her way out of the bathroom. Or else she would probably need a change of pants. He backed her into the small room, cornering her. She pushed him with her palms flat against his chest. But her resistance didn't deter him. He leaned into her, pulling her close and sliding his hands under her oversized sweater to grab at her ass through her leggings. When he tried to kiss her, she turned her head to the side to escape his lips. Unable to capture her mouth, he kissed her neck instead, sucking gently at the sensitive spot behind her ear. Merle shifted his hand, sliding it down and rubbing against her pussy from behind.

"Stop," RickyJo said, shoving harder against him and wriggling her hips to escape the heat his touch was already building between her legs. She pushed against him more forcefully. "I said stop," she hissed. "I don't wanna do this here! Let go!"

Merle didn't completely release her from his grasp. But he did move his hands up and away from between her legs.

"Fuck," he cursed. "I'm sorry. Ya look so fuckin' sexy." A little chuckle escaped from between her lips. RickyJo was wearing leggings. Because her stomach was so big that none of her pants fit. She also had on a big red oversized comfy sweater and a pair of knee high socks with the Grinch on them. She was pretty sure sexy was not the way anyone would describe her look at the moment.

With his hold on her slightly relaxed, RickyJo was able to duck out under his arm and extricate herself from Merle's grip. Before he could try anything else, she headed quickly back into the living room and settled herself back down on the couch next to Daryl.

"Y'alright?," he asked. "Yer face looks red."

"I think I'm just tired," she lied, relieved when the first thing Daryl suggested was that they go to bed. She gave her Nana a kiss and padded down the hallway with Daryl, eager to escape the hungry looks Merle was still casting in her direction.

Nana made up the bed with fresh sheets and blankets. But other than that, RickyJo's childhood bedroom remained untouched. Her posters were still on the walls. And her stack of well worn paperback books was still next to the bed. There was an old picture of her and Jessica in a frame on the dresser. Their arms were around each other and they were standing in front of a plot of sunflowers they planted together with big smiles on their faces. RickyJo was wearing shorts and a bathing suit top. And the scars on her neck and shoulders still looked fresh and angry. RickyJo lifted the picture, running her fingers over the glass and wishing she could hug the girl she used to be and tell her everything was going to be alright.

"I feel kinda weird sleepin' in here," Daryl admitted, exploring the space much like she was doing. "...feels like yer Poppa might walk in and catch us."

RickyJo giggled, setting the picture down and closing the space between them to wrap her arms around Daryl's waist. She wasn't worried about getting caught. But she had to admit, there was something strangely pornographic about sleeping together in her childhood bedroom. Like they were doing something naughty. Daryl slept over with her before. But they never had sex in her room before.

"Remember the time I snuck ya in and we drank up all that moonshine?," she asked.

"Barely," Daryl teased, his chest already starting to shake with laughter at the memory that suddenly returned to him.

RickyJo's Poppa grounded her for some shit that she probably well deserved to get grounded for. So she wasn't allowed out. Instead of sneaking her out, which would have been the logical thing to do, Daryl snuck in. Because that technically wasn't breaking the rules. Since RickyJo was still in her room. They got drunk and played cards on her bedspread. And either the moonshine was too strong or they drank too much because before too long, they started getting loud as hell. Her Poppa burst in, thinking he was about to catch them having some sort of sexual relations. But instead, they were fully clothed and jumping up and down on her bed, laughing like crazy idiots. The man just shook his head at them and booted Daryl out to the living room couch.

Daryl gripped the hem of her sweater, gently tugging it up and over her head. He whispered that he loved her when his lips found hers. They kissed as they tugged at each other's clothes. Once they were both naked, RickyJo pulled the sheets back so they could climb into her bed together. She grabbed the base of his dick, making him moan and she rubbed her hand over him.

"Better keep quiet," she teased, "...or we'll get caught."

"Yer the noisy one," he countered, his voice low and throaty with his building pleasure. When RickyJo giggled like there was no way what he said was true, he slid down under the covers, intent on proving his point.

Pushing her thighs apart, he buried his face between her legs. And as his tongue flicked across her clit, he could hear her trying to muffle her moans with a pillow. It never took him long to coax an orgasm out of her. And this was no exception. When he thrust his fingers into her, he felt her spasm around them almost immediately. But he didn't stop and move up to enter her like he usually did. Instead, he kept up his assault on her pussy, sucking on her clit and curling his fingers upward inside her until her legs were shaking and not even the pillow she had pinned over her face couldn't muffle her cries. He kept going until he forced a second orgasm out of her. She arched her back, her hips lifting off the bed as her hands snaked down under the covers and twined into his hair.

Daryl finally tossed the covers back and snatched the pillow she was using to muffle her pleasure. He folded it in half, shoving it under her hips to help put her stomach at a better angle so that it wasn't smashed between their bodies. She was pressing her thighs together, trying to protect her now overly sensitive core. Daryl grabbed her legs and pried them apart entering her in one rough thrust. Her insides were squeezing in around him, hot and and still throbbing from her second orgasm. He pulled out completely before slamming into her again and trying to think about anything but how good she felt wrapped around him and how long he'd been waiting to fuck her in this bed. He reached forward, pulling at her nipples as he pounded into her. She tilted her hips back, wrapping her legs around his waist.

She cursed and gasped for air as she came for the third time, her walls clenching in around him so tight that he swore he saw black spots swimming in front of his eyes with the force of his own release. Daryl withdrew, pulling the pillow out from under her ass and tossing it towards the head of the bed before he collapsed down next to her. He tugged the blankets back up over their bodies. Pulling RickyJo close to him, he grinned a little when he realized that she was already bordering on the edge of sleep. He pressed a kiss into her hair before he snuggled in behind her and followed her into her dreams.

RickyJo slept in late and then spent the rest of the day baking Christmas cookies with her nieces. Cassie had clearly inherited Jessica's artistic talent. Because the cookies she decorated looked like tiny works of art, almost too pretty to eat. They picked a small plateful of her best creations, setting them aside for Santa. RickyJo knew the girls were really too old now to actually believe in a magical man that came down the chimney. But she was happy to see they were having fun with it anyway.

Between finishing up the end of the semester and trying to get everything squared away at the garage in time to take the holiday break off, RickyJo felt like her life had been more than hectic lately. And it felt better than she expected to just slow down and enjoy some time with her family. She had been debating whether or not to take the whole next year as an extended maternity leave. And Christmas eve with her nieces made up her mind for her. She was worried that taking too much time off work would drive her stir crazy. But really, it would just give her more time to do things like this.

After eating too much of Nana's Christmas roast, everyone gathered in the sitting room to open presents. RickyJo sipped on her hot mug of tea, wishing just a little that it was a glass of the special peach brandy her Nana only broke out during the holidays. But as she felt her baby move, she rubbed her hand over her belly, deciding she would happily trade in all the peach brandy in the world for the precious gift inside her. Daryl wrapped his arm around her, kissing her cheek and tucking her into his side.

Cassie and Des played Santa first, handing out all the sweet little handmade gifts they created for everyone. Nana went next. She bought everyone the same thing every year. New pajamas to sleep in on Christmas night. They were always wonderfully tacky. And this year was no exception. They were red and green plaid. And RickyJo laughed like crazy when she saw hers had momma bear written across the front. Then she laughed even harder when Daryl opened his to find he had been dubbed as papa bear. Not even daddy bear but papa bear like he was an eighty year old man or something.

"My turn next!," RickyJo exclaimed. She had a small stack of envelopes on the table next to her that she dolled out one at a time. It was a habit of her to give out an experience instead of an actual physical gift. Jessica and her Nana got a wine tasting tour at a local vineyard, complete with a chauffeured car so they didn't have to worry about driving. She bought her nieces tickets to see Taylor Swift, plus extra tickets for them each to bring a friend and tickets for their chaperones, which were two of RickyJo's grad students that already happily agreed to take the girls. When Cassie and Desiree got done screaming and jumping around, RickyJo pulled out Daryl's gift. He gave her a suspicious glance. He picked all her gifts from her baby registry. But he didn't ask her for anything. He had no idea what might be in his envelope.

"Holy shit," he said, turning quickly to wrap her up into a big hug. Seeing that everyone else was waiting with anticipation to see what he got he added, "...It's a three day chartered ocean fishing trip."

"No shit," Merle said, moving to the seat next to Daryl on the couch so he could see what the trip entailed. "That boats so big you can reel a shark in if you can hook it," he said, pointing to a picture in the brochure. I always wanted ta do this."

"I know," RickyJo announced, shoving her last envelope at him. "That's why yer goin' too!" Merle ripped open his present, confirming that he also was going fishing before he let out a string of excited curses and jumped up off the couch. Seeing him get as excited as the girls set everyone off laughing. And when he snatched RickyJo up off the couch and planted a big kiss directly on her lips, everyone laughed harder. Everyone except Daryl, who grumbled under his breath that he was going to pitch the fucker overboard.

Jessica handed her presents out next. She baked everyone their favorite cookies and wrapped them up in cute little boxes. She said the cookies were from her and Merle, though it was clear he didn't take part in the cookie making and probably just wasn't into gift buying this year. His habit was to give something out before the actual day so he could pretend he was too cool for Christmas. His present to Nana was fixing up the nursery for her. And the girls both got new guns and the promise of shooting lessons. Jessica got a new tv that he mounted for her in their bedroom. Whether or not RickyJo or Daryl were going to get anything from him remained a mystery.

Daryl was generally considered to be the worst gift buyer. Which made it funnier to open his presents. The girls each got new backpacks. Which weren't going to do much for them, since they were both home schooled. Nana got a handwritten note that said he promised to bring RickyJo home for Sunday dinner every week for a year, which she actually seemed quite pleased with. Jessica and Merle got a gift card for dinner and a movie, which Jessica was sure RickyJo picked out since the dinner was actually at a nice place and not for Red Lobster like last year. When he was done with everyone else, Daryl started hauling out all the wrapped gifts he got for the baby and piling them up around RickyJo. She enlisted her nieces to help her unwrap them. And before long she was sure she was staring at every single item off her entire baby shower registry.

"Did ya get everythin' off my registry?," she asked, trying her hardest not to burst into hysterical laughter. Daryl nodded, assuring her that he did indeed get her every single thing she wanted for the baby. While she appreciated that Daryl made sure to get her every single thing she put on her list, the whole point of the registry was so that the people she invited to her shower would be able to get her something. Now she was going to have to make a new list for her guests. The whole situation was hilarious. And Daryl was really too cute for words. She climbed over the mountain of baby items and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you," she gushed. "I love all of it."

RickyJo sat back down, kicking her feet up onto a large box with a baby bouncer seat inside it. She took a drink of her tea and pulled her box of pecan pie cookies over onto the arm of the couch. She was getting ready to start picking the tape open when Merle abruptly shoved a neatly wrapped box into her lap. She took it, glancing at him in surprise. Since Daryl was busy hauling the mountain of baby items back where they came from, Merle was able to take a seat next to her on the couch. He gestured towards the gift, encouraging her to open it. She cast a nervous glance around the room. Then she pulled the paper loose and opened the rectangular white box that was inside. Her breath caught a little as she pulled out a beautiful silk kimono style robe. The background was a dark emerald green with sunflowers on it. Not only was she partial to silk robes. But she also loved sunflowers. And underneath the robe, there was a smaller box hidden. Encouraged by the beautiful and surprisingly thoughtful gift she just received, she eagerly pulled the top off the small box. Inside there was a delicate gold chain necklace with a sunflower pendant that matched the robe. Aside from her wedding ring, it was most certainly the most beautiful piece of jewelry she ever received from anyone. And since her previous relationship was with a woman that knew her taste well, that was really saying a lot.

"I knew you were gonna get all kinds of baby stuff," Merle explained, "...so I thought you might like ta get somethin' that's actually fer you." RickyJo had no idea how to even begin to respond. Her hands were shaking when she lifted the necklace out of the small box. And she was grateful to Cassie, who sat down on the arm of the couch and helped her with the tiny clasps, fastening the delicate chain around her neck. RickyJo lifted her hand, adjusting the pendant so it was centered between her collar bones. She blinked back the water in her eyes and turned towards Merle.

"Thank you," she said, "...It's beautiful." Merle pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly and whispering into her ear that he loved her. She was quick to pull away, afraid of what everyone was going to think about their little exchange. But other than Daryl, no one seemed to be affected. Jessica called Merle an asshole and asked where her jewelry was. But she did it with a laugh as she shoved him over so she could sit down next to RickyJo and help her open up her cookies. It wasn't until the festivities were over and they were alone in her room that Daryl gave his opinion on Merle's gift.

"Gonna kick his ass," he announced. He stepped forward, looking closer at the pendant that was hanging around her neck. "Take that shit off," he hissed.

"He was just being nice," RickyJo suggested hopefully as she hurried to remove the necklace. "...It's Christmas," she added.

"Nice my ass," Daryl huffed. "Merle ain't nice. I saw the way he was lookin' at ya."

To be fair, Merle had been looking at RickyJo like that for years. It never bothered Daryl before. But that was because she never got pregnant with Merle's baby before. And though Daryl knew deep down that getting a woman pregnant had more to do with timing and chance than overall manliness, he couldn't help but feel like he failed to get the job done. He didn't get her pregnant. While Merle was able to plant his seed in her on the first drunken try. Daryl was jealous. He knew that RickyJo was his wife. And sleeping in his bed. He had no reason to be jealous of anyone when it came to her. But he still was.

"I'm sorry," RickyJo said. Daryl could tell her voice was turning thick with emotion. And he realized that upsetting her was really the last thing he meant to do.

"Fuck. I'm sorry too," he said, pulling her into his arms. RickyJo didn't full on lose it. But she did gasp and sniffle a few times into his chest. Daryl just held her and let her feel whatever she needed to feel. But for the first time in a long time, he was scared of what that was.