Page 21 of Dirt Driven

Mine?

For months I had gone on believing she’d been sleeping with both of us, but it was then, the very second our eyes met that I knew that hadn’t been the case. Not with Arie. So why did I have this anxiousness now?

Beside me, Bristol curled herself into the crook between my arm and chest, much like her mother does at night. I pressed my lips to her forehead. “You smell like pancakes.”

She smiled up at me, syrup on her cheeks and in her hair. “Mama made them.”

“Oh yeah?” I tickled her sides and ribs. “Did you save me some?”

She squirmed and tried her hardest to wiggle out of my grasp, but I wrapped my arms around her chest and held her arms down at her sides. “Nope. I ate ’em all.”

“Whaaaat?” My jaw dropped open, my scruff hitting her shoulder. “You didn’t!”

“Daddy, let go!” she shrieked, struggling to get loose as her laughter filled through the room.

Burying my head in her hair, I held tighter. “You little pancake monster. Give me them.”

“Never!” she yelled between giggles. “Pace! Help me! Daddy got me!”

Soon I had all three boys on the bed trying to wrestle their sister loose. If there was one thing my little Bristol Bear had going for her, it was the help of her brothers. They would do anything for her. Even Hudson, at only two years old, he would straight up headbutt your ball sac to protect her. Ask Tommy. He stole Bristol’s bike to get a rise out of our sweet girl and Hudson went for the closest thing to him. Which happened to be a tire iron and nailed Tommy between the legs.

On top of me, Pace dug his elbow into my stomach, Knox smacked the side of my face, and Hudson bit my shoulder. “Let her go!” Pace screamed.

“Arie!” I yelled as Hudson took a handful of my hair, all four of them laughing so hard they could barely catch their breaths. “They got me.”

She came around the corner and while I couldn’t see her, with Hudson sitting on my head, I heard her laughter too. This was why I loved this life we had now. Sure, I didn’t get to fuck my wife as often as I wanted, but we had our kids with us every day and showing them what life had to offer.

And then I took a knee to the balls and regretted everything I just said. Taking the pillow beside me, I smashed it over my face and groaned, bringing my knees up. “Fuuuuck.” I saw stars. Not even joking. My fucking face was beet red and I wanted to scream out loud.

“Okay, crazies, let’s let Daddy have a minute,” Arie urged, laughter on her lips.

“Daddy?” Hudson ripped the pillow off my face and then hit me with it. “Ouch?”

I couldn’t speak to answer him. Babies are dicks.

Arie took him off the bed. “You have an autograph session in about fifty minutes.”

I curled into the pillow so rudely taken from my face. “Where?”

“The merchandise trailer. You, Caden, and Dad.” Arie’s eyes lifted from her cell phone as Hudson hung off her hip. “Axel and Casten already did theirs.”

We found that most days Casten and I weren’t allowed to do autograph sessions together. If you knew Casten, you understood why nobody wanted to stand next to him in front of fans. He once offered me up on a date with a dude.

“Can you change him for me? I need to clean up and then I have to meet with Jerry and my mom about the schedule changes for Calistoga and Chico.”

Nodding, I took Hudson from her arms, only to have him start crying and telling me no every time I tried to change his diaper. “Listen, boy,” I said firmly, trying to make him listen to me. “I don’t like changing your diaper any more than you like having it done. So you either learn to use the toilet, or we do this.” I wanted to add, stop fucking up my sex life, but it was because of that sex life we had this kid.

He frowned, and though I know the little shit knew exactly what I was telling him, he acted as if I wasn’t making any sense to him. Squirming around on the bed, he kicked, screamed, and nearly drop-kicked my throat, but I got his diaper changed—without him peeing on me like he usually did.

Arie frowned when he came running out of our bedroom in only his diaper. “Aren’t you going to put his clothes back on?” I stared at her, confused. She didn’t tell me that part. She said change him, and I did. Her eyes dragged down my body, hunger in her stare. “And yours?”

Right. I still hadn’t put on any clothes. At least I had my boxer briefs on, but still. Naked for the most part.

Rosa, who was sitting on the lounge chair next to the door, smiled at me. “I don’t think you need to put on clothes.”

Of course she didn’t. Turning around, I made my way back into the bedroom to get dressed. Arie was waiting for me outside the motor home, the kids heading inside Sway and Jameson’s motor home parked on the other side of ours. We moved from the parking lot of the truck stop to the track at noon. I took a much-needed nap, but it wasn’t doing anything for my annoyance this morning.

Especially when I saw my wife wearing jean shorts and a tank top falling off her shoulders. I glared at her for tempting me with that curve of her neck and that ass I wanted to grab a handful of even though her dad was walking toward us.

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