Penny nodded. And then she raised her eye-brows. "Did you know…that if a little girl has broken her arm…when the doctors and nurses fix it, she can choose a pink cast to wear for weeks and weeks?" Then Penny shook her head. "But I guess you might choose a green one."
"Nooo…I want pink…"
Penny put her thoughtful face on. "Hmm… but you’d have to get out of the car and come to where they make the pink casts."
Mia’s face crumpled.
"Tell you what…" Penny was looking around the car. "Is that your jacket? The pink one?"
Mia nodded.
"If I put it very carefully behind you, I could tie the sleeves over the front and that would keep your arm very, very still while we get you out of the car. And if Dr Joey lifts you, you won’t have to move at all and it won’t hurt more than a little
Mia’s smile was all the response needed.Her mother was smiling, too. "I can’t thank you enough," she said. "I don’t know what I would have done if you two hadn’t found me.""It was our pleasure," Joey said. Wasn’t it, Penny?""Sure was." Penny's smile lit up her face and Joey's heart gave a curious little extra thump. He turned away from that smile to say goodbye to Mia and her mother. It wouldn’t make any difference because he couldn't act on that attraction. He wasn’t even going to be in the same house with her soon if everything went well, which was a good thing for himWith the passion she always displayed with Howard and to keep her independence, he knew that Penny was the type of woman who would fall in love and be just as passionate about being a loving and loyal partner. Just as she had been with Jeremy.The guy that wo
It was nice how he could feel enthusiastic about a garden. Penny thought."Carrots," he added, with a satisfied nod. "And silverbeet. That was always here. Huge bunches of it.""Maybe there’s still some hiding.""I doubt anything’s lasted under this carpet of weeds." he replied.But Jeremy struck gold in the very last cor-ner of the overgrown patch when their efforts had brought them close enough to be working together."Don’t pull that one out," Penny exclaimed."That’s rhubarb…"Dropping her fork in her excitement, she stumbled over the rough earth to pull the veil of sticky biddi bid weeds from the huge, dark green leaves beneath. Joey reached in to help her but it didn’t stop her singlet from getting covered with the tiny green seed balls.Joey even got so
Joey got to his feet but he made no sound other than a grunt Penny couldn’t interpret. Maybe he was relieved at the interruption. Maybe he was disappointed. Or maybe he just had stiff muscles from all that physical work in the garden.He offered Penny a hand to help her up and she took it but it didn’t feel anything like the hand that had been caressing her skin only moments before.And still, Joey didn’t say anything. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to, but then he closed it again, uttering nothing more than another uninterpretable sound as he bent over to pick up the garden fork.Penny picked up the baby monitor. She glanced over her shoulder as she went to collect her shirt.He was turning over earth as if his life de-pended on making this garden look as per-fect as possible.-----------------A foot on the fork. A pile of
Joey's hands slowed. He didn’t even lift the plate that was now perfectly clean under those soap suds. Penny's voice was so quiet now it was almost a whisper. "Joey? Do you understand?" she asked. Joey swallowed hard. Then he turned to face her, his hands dripping water as his eyes met hers. He looked.... Mad. "I understand, Penny" he said huskily. His hands made a fist, like he was willing them not to reach for her and grab her, then he brushed past her and out of the kitchen. ------------------ "Is everything okay with you Audrey" Penny asked Audrey as she joined her in the living room after putting away the dishes Joey had left behind. Audrey looked up from her phone and stared at Penny, "I'm fine. Everything is fine. Why do you ask that?" she replied. Penny took a seat beside Audrey. "You have been coming hom
What if she and Joey got together and something happened and they had to break up. Audrey would obviously have to be on her brothers side. As she should be, Penny thought truthfully. She couldn't bear to come between two wonderful siblings. And if that happened, their friendship and relationship would be ruined. Penny didn't want that. But it didn't matter now, obviously. Because Joey was leaving, and he didn't even bother to say anything about it to her, and maybe soon she'd get her own place and leave with her baby. He'd obviously given up the idea of them being together, because now he was moving on. And she couldn't blame him. He'd gone through a lot with her. Stayed with her and loved her even when she didn't return his feelings. She had rejected him so many times and now he he'd finally let her go. It was all her fault. Penny knew that, but it didn't stop her from being mad at him. He should have at least told h
Penny opened her mouth but no words came out. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because for the first time since she met Joey she'd never seen him look so angry. Or because she had just heard him use those swear words that way. Or maybe because of his plain admission of his attraction towards her. Or maybe it was all of it.She didn't know. Didn't want to care. She could feel her body start to react to him being so close to her, but she fought to concentrate. No matter what happened, she had to remember that she was still really angry with him."You can't blame me for all that, Joey" she said, trying to make him understand, "I had a bad break up with Jeremy and I .....""I'm not Jeremy...." Joey said a little harshly, his fingers digging into her arm."I know you are not, jerk" Penny replied. For some reason she felt her voice crack. Oh no. She wasn't going to cry. She shouldn't cry
Penny loved every inch of the house. And as he showed her around, she understood more why he loved it. A home for a family... As he had said. She wanted the same thing too....she always had. There was a time when that dream included Jeremy.... Not anymore. Right now, she could almost picture herself, Joey and Howard being a real family. Maybe with two other babies... Maybe twins. She loved twins. Always hoped she'd have them someday. Once she heard the twins were never born to women who wanted them, but that was probably another old wives tale, she thought.Joey's voice snapped her back to reality."Thank you for coming, Penny" he was saying, "You have no idea how much I have missed you. Missed hanging out with you""I have missed you too. Howard too. The house is really not the same without you" Penny replied softly, and seeing the way his eyes darkened with desire as he stared at her, she moved away a
His hand moved slowly.... Determined..... Straight inside her blouse from the bottom and then upwards. His big hand cupped her left breast and squeezed gently.Penny gasped in surprise when he did that. It was weird because she'd been expecting his touch. Waiting... And looking forward to it actually. But when his thumb and index finger found her nipple and squeezed, she moaned and her hands snaked around his neck, pulling his head down towards hers.Despite the lack of light, Joey's lips found hers with undeniable precision. Like his body, their warmth coaxed out a desire in Penny that she’d been trying to keep at bay, but it only kept growing stronger and stronger.Joey broke the kiss and moved back.“Sorry,” he started, voice suddenly very low. “I—I know what happened the last time we....I'm”Penny pushed her body forward, hand o
She leaned back and looked up at him. "I can't believe I'm standing here like this" Penny said."Like what?" Joey asked."half naked in your kitchen" she replied simply.Joey laughed. "You could always take off my shirt""No way. The lights are on"He paused, then began to unbutton the shirt.She grabbed his hands. "What are you doing?""Taking back my shirt" Joey replied, like what he was going was very normal. Like he had been doing it for a long time."You have on jeans. You don't need this shirt as badly as I do"He slid his hands to her wrists and pulled her fingers away. When she tried to pull free, he wouldn't let go."Joey" she said with a warning in her voice.He switched tactics and started at her neck, moving his mouth over her soft skin. He cou
Penny groaned, the sound low and desperate. Holding her by the hips to keep her steady, Joey tilted her closer, right where he wanted her, and explored her pretty, slick folds with his mouth. As he’d expected, she nearly buckled at the sensation, but he kept her steady, completely in control. And he didn’t relent, just kept pleasuring her until he heard her cry out her climax a few moments later.“Beautiful,” he murmured against her thigh, watching as she shook from the power of it.He let go of her hips. She stretched again, easing this way and that, her body warm and pliant and, he would suspect, still pulsing from her powerful orgasm.He had wanted to go very, very, slow, but right now, Joey wanted to share the moment, to be part of her deep pleasure. So he pushed his boxer shorts down, not even kicking them all the way off. Using his teeth to tear open one of the condoms he’d
Penny breathed a sigh of relief. She was so grateful to Audrey. "Thank you, Audrey. I honestly don't know what I would do without you. You are a blessing. Good night dear""Good night" Audrey replied and they hung up.When Penny turned around, it was to see Joey resting on the wall, watching her. He'd put on his boxers, Penny noticed. Good for her, she thought. She stood right where she was when he pushed himself from the wall and walked towards her."See, I told you Audrey's got this. You worry too much" he said, and as he did, he slipped a hand behind her and pulled her towards him, crushing her breasts to his hard chest."I'm sorry.... I just had to be sure that everything was fine" Penny said softly, wrapping her hands around his neck and clinging to him. He obviously wanted her to cling, because his hold on her tightened and his other her grabbed her butt.&n
That realization seemed to make him grow even more engorged against her, and he threw his head back, the cords of muscle standing out in his neck.Penny wasn’t entirely sure how far this kind of thing could go. She didn't know if he was close to cumming. Nor was she selfless enough to give up truly having him inside her. But she did like it. A lot. She especially liked that he was visibly losing a little of that infamous control, his hands clenched tightly in her hair, his breath coming in short gasps.“Gotta have the real thing, babe,” he muttered, dropping his hand to her shoulders and pushing her onto her back.“I wish you would,” she whispered, wanting him desperately.But instead of pushing her farther back on the bed and climbing on top of her, Joey went to the drawer and got a condom, then returned to stand between her parted thighs. He ope
His hand moved slowly.... Determined..... Straight inside her blouse from the bottom and then upwards. His big hand cupped her left breast and squeezed gently.Penny gasped in surprise when he did that. It was weird because she'd been expecting his touch. Waiting... And looking forward to it actually. But when his thumb and index finger found her nipple and squeezed, she moaned and her hands snaked around his neck, pulling his head down towards hers.Despite the lack of light, Joey's lips found hers with undeniable precision. Like his body, their warmth coaxed out a desire in Penny that she’d been trying to keep at bay, but it only kept growing stronger and stronger.Joey broke the kiss and moved back.“Sorry,” he started, voice suddenly very low. “I—I know what happened the last time we....I'm”Penny pushed her body forward, hand o
Penny loved every inch of the house. And as he showed her around, she understood more why he loved it. A home for a family... As he had said. She wanted the same thing too....she always had. There was a time when that dream included Jeremy.... Not anymore. Right now, she could almost picture herself, Joey and Howard being a real family. Maybe with two other babies... Maybe twins. She loved twins. Always hoped she'd have them someday. Once she heard the twins were never born to women who wanted them, but that was probably another old wives tale, she thought.Joey's voice snapped her back to reality."Thank you for coming, Penny" he was saying, "You have no idea how much I have missed you. Missed hanging out with you""I have missed you too. Howard too. The house is really not the same without you" Penny replied softly, and seeing the way his eyes darkened with desire as he stared at her, she moved away a
Penny opened her mouth but no words came out. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because for the first time since she met Joey she'd never seen him look so angry. Or because she had just heard him use those swear words that way. Or maybe because of his plain admission of his attraction towards her. Or maybe it was all of it.She didn't know. Didn't want to care. She could feel her body start to react to him being so close to her, but she fought to concentrate. No matter what happened, she had to remember that she was still really angry with him."You can't blame me for all that, Joey" she said, trying to make him understand, "I had a bad break up with Jeremy and I .....""I'm not Jeremy...." Joey said a little harshly, his fingers digging into her arm."I know you are not, jerk" Penny replied. For some reason she felt her voice crack. Oh no. She wasn't going to cry. She shouldn't cry
What if she and Joey got together and something happened and they had to break up. Audrey would obviously have to be on her brothers side. As she should be, Penny thought truthfully. She couldn't bear to come between two wonderful siblings. And if that happened, their friendship and relationship would be ruined. Penny didn't want that. But it didn't matter now, obviously. Because Joey was leaving, and he didn't even bother to say anything about it to her, and maybe soon she'd get her own place and leave with her baby. He'd obviously given up the idea of them being together, because now he was moving on. And she couldn't blame him. He'd gone through a lot with her. Stayed with her and loved her even when she didn't return his feelings. She had rejected him so many times and now he he'd finally let her go. It was all her fault. Penny knew that, but it didn't stop her from being mad at him. He should have at least told h
Joey's hands slowed. He didn’t even lift the plate that was now perfectly clean under those soap suds. Penny's voice was so quiet now it was almost a whisper. "Joey? Do you understand?" she asked. Joey swallowed hard. Then he turned to face her, his hands dripping water as his eyes met hers. He looked.... Mad. "I understand, Penny" he said huskily. His hands made a fist, like he was willing them not to reach for her and grab her, then he brushed past her and out of the kitchen. ------------------ "Is everything okay with you Audrey" Penny asked Audrey as she joined her in the living room after putting away the dishes Joey had left behind. Audrey looked up from her phone and stared at Penny, "I'm fine. Everything is fine. Why do you ask that?" she replied. Penny took a seat beside Audrey. "You have been coming hom