ALMOST HEAVEN

Chapter 26

 For Optigal74. Thank you

Hey, Laurel, you got a minute?" Bob asked Laurel as she headed over towards her car at the end of the day.

"Sure, Bob. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I heard from that contractor up in Delaware. He said Jason showed up on Monday morning like he was supposed to. They talked things out and the contractor decided to keep Jason on but he insisted Jason take some time off. He said he personally dropped Jason off at the airport to catch a plane to Michigan. Contractor said he didn't feel right firing Jason when we couldn't show any proof that he'd done anything. I guess Jason talked a good talk because the contractor sorta implied that Clyde was the problem. I just let it go. As long as the man's away from here, that's the important thing."

Laurel nodded. "I think his parents live in Michigan. He must have gone to visit them. I won't deny it, it's nice to know he's far from here. Clyde will be happy to hear he's gone. Thanks for letting me know, Bob."

"Over here would be the library, on the first floor and then, the master bedroom would be right above it on the second floor," Clyde said as he pointed with a pencil toward the left side of the big piece of butchers' paper that was spread over the bottom of their bed. "Walk in closet and a big bathroom. We can put in radiant flooring in the bathroom. Keep your feet warm in the winter, angel."

Laurel turned her head to look up at him with a smile. He was naked, perched on the side of the bed, eyes scanning the rough blueprint he had just sketched for her. She was lying on her stomach, sheet pulled up over her waist, her chin resting on the palm of her hand. She used her other hand to point out a spot on the paper. "What would be here, Clyde?"

Clyde tapped his pencil where she had pointed. "Kitchen, a big eat in kitchen. And off of that, a family room." He traced along an imaginary line. "This would be the dining room."

"What's above it?" Laurel asked.

"Bedrooms, at least two. Probably three. Another bathroom. Maybe two bathrooms. Haven't decided yet." He studied the paper, serious look on his face. "Two car garage over here." Another tap of the pencil.

"You've been giving this a lot of thought, haven't you?"

He looked up from the paper and nodded. "I've been thinking about this house for years. I just never had someone to share my thoughts with before, someone who made me want to put pencil to paper, so to speak." He suddenly smiled, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. "This will be our home someday for our family, Laurel Anne. You, me, and a couple of kids."

"Couple of kids, huh? Boy and a girl?"

"Sounds good to me, angel. Plenty of room out there for a nice backyard, maybe put in one of those wooden playhouses." His eyes shined as he looked down at her. His voice suddenly got low. "You look so pretty right now, lying in my bed, those curls of yours down your back." He leaned over and kissed her shoulder as his fingers played with her hair. "And not a stitch of clothes on you." He ran his hand down her back and slid the sheet down to her thighs. "Perfect ass, Laurel."

"You're not going to spank it, are you? I have been a good girl." One eyebrow lifted as she looked at him.

"Not tonight, angel. I just want sweet love from my good girl. You got any for me?"

Laurel turned to her side, her smile warm and inviting. "I got plenty for you, Clyde. But hey, you said this was your bed, I thought it was our bed."

Clyde leaned down and put his hand under her chin. He kissed her lips softly. "Sometimes I just like the sound of my girl in my bed." He kissed her again, more insistently. "Mine, mine, mine," he whispered softly as he pulled the sheet that was entangled around Laurel's thighs away from her body. "That's more like it. That sheet's just getting in my way." He gathered the sheet up and tossed onto the floor where it joined the blanket that Clyde had pulled off the bed when he'd gotten the butcher paper from the kitchen.