Moore than Forever Read online

  “Would you like me to read you and Bupe a book?”

  Knowing exactly what she was going to choose off the bookshelf, Mia came and sat on the floor next to the bed, “I think you already know this one,” and Mia held up the vividly colored book.

  Gasping, “It’s the moon.”

  As Mia started to read her the book they shared daily together in Zambia, Portia sank deeper into her pillow, curling up into a ball under pink and white eyelet covers. She was asleep long before the end of the book.

  Quietly carrying a sleeping Nathaniel to his crib, Schooner stood watching as Mia tucked in Portia.

  Getting up from the floor, she went to him, arms wrapping around his waist, face buried in his chest. They stood there, silently, for the longest time before leaving their children to their naps.

  Chapter Forty-five

  “You must be exhausted,” they closed the door to the kids’ room.

  “I could use a nap and some Mia time,” he kissed the top of her head as they walked down the hallway to their bedroom. “Hello bed, I have missed you,” Schooner sat on the edge and pulled off his shoes. “I have been in these clothes for far too long,” he stripped down to his boxers.

  “Do you want to take a shower?”

  Shaking his head, no, “I’m too tired to shower.”

  “Poor baby,” Mia lied down next to him, pulling his head to her chest, gently brushing his hair back from his forehead.

  “Mmm, that feels good. You feel good,” he looked up at her, “I missed you, Baby Girl.” And then the smile, “When did I become such a wuss, I hate being without you.”

  Laughing, she dipped her head to kiss his forehead, “Not a wuss, you’re a family man. You just love being with your family.”

  “Mmm, I like that answer,” he nuzzled his face into her soft breasts, “I spent the last three and a half weeks dreaming of making love to you.”

  “And you’re too tired,” she finished his sentence.

  Looking up at her, his tired sapphire eyes twinkling, “Still love me?”

  “More than ever, Pretty Boy,” she continued to gently stroke his hair. “So, let me ask you a question.”

  “Shoot,” he began to rub his thumb over her nipple, clearly enjoying making it hard.

  “Did you have to sell your soul for this?”

  Focusing on taking her breast out of her shirt and bra and getting her nipple into his mouth, he didn’t look up, “Nah, not my soul. Just some stock and that’s pretty soulless stuff anyway.”

  Running his tongue around it until it contracted into a hard little knot, he drew it past his teeth, sucking hard until Mia began to moan. Tangling his legs with hers, he pressed his throbbing cock against her thigh.

  “Are we going to be ok?” she wanted to finish the conversation.

  He stopped sucking and gave her nipple a hard lick before looking up at her, “Yeah, we’re fine and even if we weren’t, I still would have done it. She belongs with us.”

  “I love you.”

  “It’s smoochal, Baby Girl,” he sucked her nipple back into his mouth and ran a hand up her thigh, excited to see how wet his sucking had gotten her. Releasing her nipple, he looked up at her with his All-American boy smile, “Sleep is overrated. I’ll sleep later,” and plunged two fingers into her warm, awaiting wetness, totally turned on that he did not find the usual silk bikini under her sundress.

  Pulling her underneath him, he pushed her thighs apart with his, “I need a welcome home pussy hug,” and he was not going to wait another second to take what he needed as he drove deep into her with a low guttural moan.

  Chapter Forty-six

  Dressed in a bright colored Mini Boden ‘Vintage’ dress, courtesy of Nana Lois and Uncle Seth, Portia Moore was enjoying being the center of attention at her “Welcome Home” party.

  Practicing all the new names; Nana (Lois), Poppy (Bob), Uncle Seth, Aunt Kami, Uncle Charles, Aunt Gaby, Paola, Aunt Yoli and Aunt Debbie, Portia was not at all overwhelmed in meeting her new family. She had met Grandma Dee and Grandpa Gavin and her other brother and sister, Zac and Holly, via Skype earlier in the morning where Holly had asked, “Dad, can I call you later?” Both she and Zac were staying with their grandparents.

  “Is everything ok?” Schooner was concerned.

  “Yeah, fine. There’s just something I want to talk to you about.”

  “Wonder what that is about?” Mia and Schooner were both perplexed at the end of the call.

  “We’ll find out tonight,” and he and Mia continued to prepare for Portia’s party.

  With the homecoming celebration in full swing, Schooner grabbed Yoli and headed down the hall to the study. Yoli had come in to mind L9/NYC during Schooner’s prolonged absence.

  “It’s good to see you. She is really adorable, Schooner.”

  With a proud smile he nodded, “She is something special, isn’t she?” Sitting down at the desk, “It’s really good to be home,” he stretched out his long legs, leaning back in the chair, knitting his fingers behind his head. Schooner was happy and relaxed.

  “I’ll bet. Mia and Nathaniel have missed you. And I think so has the staff.”

  Laughing, “Ah, so you’ve been going all Dragon Lady on them?”

  Yoli rolled her eyes, “Believe it or not, no. I love this staff, that have so much more on the ball than most of our west coasters. Everything is just done immediately here, without having to ask even a first time. They anticipate and I like that.”

  “So, do you like New York?” He opened the bottom desk drawer and pulled out a bell shaped bottle and two heavy crystal, ultra modern glasses. Pouring two fingers of the amber liquid into each snifter, he slid one across the desk to her. “Do you like it enough to live here?”

  Yoli choked on her first sip, “Come again?”

  “As soon as I can get my hands on Mia,” he loved making her grimace. “Seriously though, how would you and Debbie feel about moving east.”

  “We’d love it, but what’s going on? Please don’t tell me you’re retiring or doing a John Lennon stay home with the kids and bake bread thing.”

  Laughing, “Damn, I miss you.” Schooner took a sip of his cognac, “I want to continue the work I’ve started overseas. Expand it and formalize it, too. I want to establish a foundation to begin funding physical rehabilitation sites in developing nations.”

  “Would it be the L9 Foundation?”

  “That’s what I’m thinking. Expand on a respected brand.”

  “Wow Schooner, that’s exciting.”

  “I’d like to officially move L9 headquarters to New York, Yoli. I want you to step into the President’s role and oversee all U.S. operations.” As he said it, he could feel his excitement growing. His whole life was beginning to truly take shape on the East Coast. With Zac starting college in the fall at a small private school outside of Boston, he would have his whole family, except for his parents, on the Eastern Seaboard.

  “You know what my concern is, don’t you?” Yoli looked him square in the eye.

  “Not having a strong enough operations person to run multiple sites on the west coast.”

  She nodded and took another sip, “I don’t have backfill strong enough there yet, Schooner. Lucas is good, but I think he’d be in over his head and we really need someone we can trust. Someone who will be in it for the long haul.”

  “The trust piece of it is the most important aspect. There is someone I’m thinking of who I would totally trust, he’s run multi-facility organizations, just not in this industry. Smart guy, likable and between us we can teach him what he needs to know. Let me reach out to him and see if he’d even be interested in making a move. If he’s interested, I’ll put you two together.”

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw her standing in the doorway looking up at him through her eyelashes.

  “Hi, Daddy,” she twirled slightly from side to side, her dress and its bright yellow underskirt swishing with her.

  “Hi, Sweetheart,” and t
he minute he held out his arms she came bounding into the room and up into his lap.

  “Are you having a good time at the party?” Yoli asked.

  The little girl nodded vigorously and settled herself against Schooner’s chest.

  “She is precious, Schooner. It’s very clear who’s going to be Daddy’s girl.”

  Nodding, he laughed. The extra time he had with her in Zambia created a bond that he never saw coming. Just as she had found her way into Mia’s heart, Portia stole his, and every morning he rushed from his hotel over to the site to spend time with his soon-to-be daughter. It wasn’t long before he found himself taking her everywhere, and as the days turned into weeks, there was not a shot in hell that Schooner Moore was leaving the country without his daughter, Portia Msikana Moore, in his arms.

  “You’re so Brad Pitt,” Yoli teased.

  Hugging his young daughter to his chest, he let out a guffaw, “Do not call Mia Angelina or she will go absolutely postal on you.”

  Portia’s eyes were getting heavy as she tried her hardest not to fall asleep, but the excitement of the day (and probably a little too much sugar) had worn the little girl out.

  “Was it hard to get her out?” Yoli whispered.

  He just nodded, his somber eyes locked in on his friend’s.

  “Harder than Mia knows?”

  He nodded again.

  “Are you ok?” her brows drawn together, there was concern in Yoli’s deep brown eyes.

  “Oh, yeah, we’re fine. The business is fine. Don’t worry about anything. Let’s just put it this way, the sale of the house on Linda Isle was very timely.”

  “Wow,” Yoli knew the house had sold for a staggering amount of money and even with giving half of it to CJ and paying broker’s fees, Schooner’s share was high seven figures, “you are such a good guy. You really are.”

  “She makes me better,” he nodded his head toward the living room where Mia was entertaining everyone.

  “She does. She makes you better,” Yoli agreed, “but I have a feeling you make her better, too.”

  With his real smile shining all the way to his eyes, he appeared reflective, as if he were smiling internally, “We are a pretty formidable team, she and I,” and then his smile became external. “Did I ever tell you about the conversation CJ and I had the day we signed the divorce papers?”

  “Pour me some more of that, I have a feeling I’m going to need it,” and she slid her glass back across the desk to him.

  Picking up the bottle of Hennessy Paradis, “Do you believe that scumwad, Beau, drank a whole bottle of this at my house. Eight hundred bucks a bottle and he just helped himself,” Schooner just shook his head, poured Yoli a stiff drink and slid the glass back across the table. He started to laugh again, his eyes dancing, “So, she told me not to move my boat back east, because Mia and I didn’t look good together and I wasn’t going to be able to handle that,” he could hardly finish his sentence he was laughing so hard, nearly waking Portia.

  Yoli’s mouth hung open, “I’m speechless. Has she totally lost touch with reality? It’s amazing how little she understands, even after all these years, just what makes you tick. So, what did you do?”

  “The only thing I could do. Left the meeting and made two phone calls. One to the transporter guy in Newport Beach and the other to the marina in Ocean Beach to rent a slip.”

  “True Compass is here?”

  Schooner nodded, “I haven’t seen her yet. We’re planning on going out next weekend. Charles has seen her, said she looks fine. Arrived without a scratch on her.”

  “Aunt Yoli’s present, let me buy the kids little life vests.”

  “That’s a great gift, Yol. You are an amazing Aunt.” Yoli Perez was the sister Schooner Moore never had and he couldn’t have been happier that she wanted to be a part of his children’s lives.

  “So, when are you getting married?” she sipped the smooth cognac.

  “Good question,” Schooner shrugged his shoulders, “I just got home, so I don’t know. Ask Mia,” and with a smile and sparkling eyes, “or better yet, ask Seth and Lois.”

  Together they laughed at what they knew was the absolute truth.

  Chapter Forty-seven

  With the last guests gone and the kids asleep, Schooner and Mia finished cleaning the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Mia smiling at him.

  “What are you smiling at, Baby Girl?” his panty wetting smile was at full wattage.

  “Us. Look at us,” she leaned against the marble counter.

  Coming to stand in front of her, Schooner lifted Mia and sat her on the counter. Smoothing her hair, that was curling in the summer humidity, he smiled down at her.

  “It’s pretty nice, isn’t it?” continuing to smooth her curls with his fingers.

  “It’s so,” Mia paused to think, “normal,” and she hit him with a devil grin.

  And they both laughed.

  “Don’t you just love it?” Schooner was relaxed and calm, rested from his long journey with Portia.

  “I do. I’m just thinking how wonderful the rest of this summer is going to be. I can’t believe it’s July and we haven’t been out to the beach house yet.”

  “Next weekend.”

  “I can’t wait to see how the two of them respond to sand and the ocean. Don’t forget to bring the video camera, I have a feeling our kids will put on a good show for us.”

  Schooner laughed, “Why do I have this suspicion that Nathaniel is going to be a sand eater?”

  Smiling up at him, “Because he is going to be a sand eater. Everything goes in that mouth.”

  Taking his finger and running it gently along her lower lip, he watched her intently, a small smirk on his face. Mia opened her lips slightly, the tip of her tongue coming out to meet the tip of his finger, swirling around it slowly.

  “Nice tongue action, Baby Girl. Is that a preview of coming attractions?”

  “Help me clean this kitchen and it’s a promise.”

  “You know what, I forgot to call Holly back,” Schooner grabbed his phone off the counter.

  “Anything to get out of cleaning this kitchen. I know your tricks, Pretty Boy,” she pointed a serving spoon at him.

  Laughing, he dialed Holly’s cell, “Hi, Sweetheart, I wanted to get back to you … oh yeah, it was great, she did really well meeting a lot of people … I know, isn’t she adorable. She’s such a good girl, too. Sonkwe and Bupe have done such a nice job raising her … So, what’s going on.” Schooner’s eyes widened and the look on his face was pure amusement. “Really? She wanted you to personally tell me that? Well, I’m sorry she saw fit to make you the messenger, Sweetheart … Seriously? She wants my reaction? … Ok, well tell her I laughed and said, “He’ll never marry her.” … Yes, exactly like that… How are Grandma and Grandpa feeling? … good, good … So, are you going to spend some time with us on the beach? … Sweetheart, don’t ever feel like you need to be asked … we want you there always … Mia’s nodding her head … Zac wants to know if it’s ok if he comes, too? … Tell him of course,” laughing. “Yes, Mia is still nodding her head. But that might be a headache … we’re going out next weekend and I’m sure Mia will be there with the kids through Labor Day … I know, he misses you, too … you’re not going to believe how big he’s gotten … ok, Sweetheart,” laughing, “yes, that is my message … I love you, too. Get some plane tickets. Goodnight.”

  “What was that all about?” Mia looked truly perplexed.

  “CJ and Beau are engaged,” Schooner’s smile told a tale of happiness.

  Mia screeched, hands flying to her mouth, “Oh no, I hope I didn’t wake the kids,” but there was no sound from their bedroom. “Wait, she wanted Holly to tell you that? That’s so fucked up.”

  “That’s so CJ,” he laughed.

  “And your response was, ‘He’ll never marry her?’ I don’t understand,” Mia’s brows were knit together.

  Nodding his head, his sapphire eyes were truly alig
ht.

  “I don’t understand your response,” Mia was still perplexed.

  “There is a method to my madness, Baby Girl.” This time he jumped up and sat on the kitchen counter, long legs dangling.

  Going over to stand between his legs, “Ok, ‘splain it to me, Lucy.”

  He laughed, “Well, if I tell CJ, he’s never going to marry you, she is going to be hell bent on proving me wrong and she will get that fucker to marry her yesterday.”

  “And that means no alimony.”

  “You are right, Baby Girl. It’s not that I have an issue paying CJ alimony, because I don’t. I was married to her for a long time and I get that. It’s supporting that fucker that really chafes my ass. He actually sold his condo and moved into my house. I was paying that fucking freeloader’s rent. So yes, I want her to marry him, because it is my alimony check that he is living on.”

  Rubbing her hands up and down the front of his thighs, Mia thought reflectively, before speaking. “Do you think he’ll marry her?”

  “Fifty-fifty shot. Am sure he likes the current financial arrangement and marrying her means she becomes his expense and CJ is not a cheap expense. He’s also forty-four years old and has never been married. So those are the cons. On the pro side, he’s wanted her his whole life and he’s thrilled to have her as arm candy.”

  “And he’s getting laid,” Mia couldn’t hide her devil grin.

  “Yeah and not paying for it,” Schooner cracked himself up. “Well, he is paying for it. He just doesn’t have to call and schedule it through an 800 number.”

  “So, shall we take bets? Will they or won’t they? And if they do, the date.”

  “You’re on, Baby Girl. I say they do. If he balks, she’ll seal it with a blowjob,” picking up his phone and hitting the calendar app, he scrolled, “Sunday, August 25th.”

  “Let me see that,” Mia reached for his phone, “I agree, she will get him to marry her. It might take some coercing, but she will get her way,” she looked up at Schooner, “we know that first hand. But I don’t think they will stay married for too long. I give it twelve to sixteen months. Hmm, let’s see, Friday, August 15th is my guess. If she gets married before that I win and get the prize of my choice, if it’s after the 25th, you win and choose your prize. I think she’ll want to do it before Holly and Zac are back east in school, but she’ll want to mess up their time on the beach with us.”