The Patchwork Heart

Chapter 14

As the months passed, Mitchell and I decided to take things very slowly. We were both unsure of exactly what we were doing so we kept it between ourselves. I knew I had feelings for Mitchell and he had feelings for me, we enjoyed spending time together with Finn. He wasn't in a hurry to put a label on anything with me, which I was happy about.

Finn and I moved into our new home on October 18th. Mitchell had finished putting the office back together by then. He never did admit that he had taken it apart because he was upset about the misunderstanding we had, but I suspected it. He painted it a nice happy yellow, which pleased me. He wanted to install a security system for the house, but I talked him out of it. Mitchell wanted us to be as safe as possible, but I felt we were safe enough with regular locks.

December started with light snow, leaving our little town covered in fresh white powder. I was in the middle of shoveling my front walkway when Mitchell pulled up in his truck. I smiled at him when he got out of his vehicle and walked through the snow to me. He smiled and took the shovel from my hand, "I can do that for you, Bree." I nodded, kissed his cheek and let go of the shovel. I walked up my steps to my front door, "I'll make you some hot chocolate for you when you are done."

Mitchell came inside about ten minutes later. He took off his boots as I warmed up the milk on the stove. He sat down on the floor with Finn and the two of them played with some plush blocks my parents had bought. I put two mugs down on the coffee table, curled up in the chair and watched Mitchell play with my son. I found myself very happy with the scene before me. Though Mitchell was a big, burly man he was soft and sweet with Finn. His touch was careful and cautious. Finn liked to pull him in for kisses and hugs, which made my heart melt every time.

"That smells so good." Mitchell told me as he reached over to take a sip of the hot chocolate. He lifted Finn up and moved around the room with him on his hip. "So, what's on your agenda today?" I asked him.

Mitchell kissed Finn's head and tidied his hair, "Not much. I took a load to Cargil this morning for dad. I was thinking about getting the snow mobile up and running tonight. Maybe take that thing out soon. You?"

I shrugged, "Well someone wonderful shoveled my walkway for me today so that was my big housekeeping task. So now we are just hanging out." He smiled at me. Finn yawned, it was almost time for his nap so Mitchell took him to his room and put him down. I found it adorable when he did that. When he came back he brought the baby monitor with him and set it on the coffee table. Mitchell sat down on the couch and gestured for me to come over to him.

I stood up and walked around the coffee table to snuggle in next to him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. I wrapped an arm around his middle and rested my head on his chest, "You can stay here and hang out with us if you want. I can make supper and we can watch movies." Mitchell chuckled and nodded, "That sounds perfect." We stayed there for a while, just cuddling and enjoying each other's warmth on the cold day. We listened to Finn's gentle breathing through the baby monitor.

I leaned back to meet Mitchell's eyes, "You are pretty wonderful you know." He looked down at me and chuckled, "I am huh?" I kissed his nose, "Yeah. You take care of us like we are your family. You are a wonderful man and I adore you."

Mitchell reached up to touch my face with his free hand and moved in to kiss my lips. This kiss was stronger, more demanding than previous kisses we had shared. He was more intense, I could feel his emotions pouring into me. I returned his kiss eagerly, running my fingers through his hair. A soft moan left my lips and it sent a chill through Mitchell's spine, he pulled me closer as he moaned into my mouth. I felt his hand slide from my face to my chest. I sucked in a breath as his hand caressed me. It felt good to be wanted, to be desirable. I liked the way he made me feel. As his hand moved over my shirt I sat up and moved to straddle his legs without breaking our kiss.

I pulled his face tight to mine and slipped my tongue into his mouth. Mitchell moved his other hand down to my thigh and gave it a soft squeeze. He moved his tongue against mine as we sunk into each other with passion. I tightened my thigh muscles on either side of his legs. I released his mouth to come up for air, my lungs had begun to burn. Mitchell stared at me with a dumbfounded smile on his face, "Wow. That was hot." I chuckled and set my face in the crook of his neck, "Agreed."

I kissed his neck softly, over and over again. Mitchell wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me flush against his chest. I could feel his heavy breathing against my own. He moaned my name as I kissed and nibbled on his earlobe and collarbone. We continued to make-out like teenagers for what felt like hours until we were both tired. Mitchell laid back on the couch and pulled me down next to him. We snuggled together with our eyes closed in silence. It was blissful.

"I like being here with you and Finn," he told me. I smiled against his chest, "We like you being here with us too." Mitchell cleared his throat before he spoke, "I want us to be a family, Bree. I want to be his dad." I looked up at him and I suddenly felt scared.

I stood up and moved away like a scared rabbit. Mitchell tried to catch my hand but I was too fast for him. He stared at me with confused eyes, "Where are you going?" I sat in the chair across from him and sighed, "Sorry, Mitch, I just don't know exactly how I feel about that yet." He sat up and folded his fingers together between his knees, "You can't be surprised that I want this."

He was right, I couldn't. I knew he would eventually tell me that he wanted us to be a family. I was sure it was why he bought the house, why he fixed it up, why he took such good care of us. Mitchell wanted us, and I wanted him with us. I just felt guilty. I felt guilty for wanting him when I knew that Dex would never get the chance to meet his son. It made me sad.

"I know, and I want it too. I just feel guilty because Dex won't ever get to meet his son. He won't know his dad, he will only know you as his dad. I want to be happy about it, I really do. It's just taking more time to heal." I explained.

Mitchell nodded, "I know. I'm sorry if I'm moving too fast but I want you to know where I stand. This isn't a fling for me. I want you both. I want us to be a family, and I want to make you happy, Bree." I moved back to the couch and sat next to him. I kissed his cheek and whispered, "I know. I want that too. I'm almost there, just be patient with me." He smiled at me and kissed my lips one more time.

I made macaroni and cheese for supper, which thrilled Mitchell. We played with Finn and watched some Paw Patrol before bedtime. We took turns reading him stories and walking around the house to get him to fall asleep. After Finn was down we watched a movie and snuggled on the couch. I whispered in Mitchell's ear, "Do you want to stay over?"

He looked at me with surprise on his face, "I don't have a bag with me..." I giggled, "Well, I have an empty drawer in my dresser for you. Why don't you bring your stuff tomorrow and then you can keep some of your things here for times like this."

"I, uh, don't have any... you know... with me..." he managed to say, as the blush flowed across his cheeks. I smiled and nodded, "I bought some a little while ago." Mitchell stared at me, "A while ago? How long have you been thinking about it?"

I shrugged, "Long enough." Mitchell crashed his lips into mine before I could complete my reply. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to my bed. As we undressed he didn't take his eyes off me. I felt a little shy, as my belly wasn't flat anymore and there were stretch marks all over but he didn't seem to care. We climbed into my bed and we wrapped ourselves up in each other's arms. The feel of Mitchell's skin against mine was like a comforting fire; it was hot but he also felt safe. I reveled in it. I pulled away just long enough to reach into my night stand and pull out a condom package and some lube.

Mitchell was hovering over me, his eyes fixated on me. I opened the package and slowly slid it onto him. He let out a soft hiss. I poured some lube into my palm and rubbed it over his shaft before I moved him to my entrance. I reached up to kiss him and wrapped my legs around his torso, encouraging him to enter me. Mitchell moved his lips over mine as he pushed into me slowly. He wasn't rough, he was sensual. He didn't fuck me, he made love to me that night. It wasn't urgent, it was emotional. I had never felt anything like it before.

Afterward I lay on Mitchell's chest as we tried to regulate our breathing. He whispered, "That was incredible." I smiled and nodded, "I had no idea it could feel like that." I felt him glance down at me but I didn't meet his eyes. I let out a content sigh before sleep overtook me. It was the most relaxed I had felt in over a year.