Home Sweet Home Read online

  “Maybe,” Lance said. “But I don’t really want to talk to her and she was pissed about it. Who you are with isn’t my business and I’m not thrilled with her here, but unless she gets in my way, I’m pretty much going to ignore her.”

  Rick stood up. “Fair enough,” he nodded. He nodded to Lance’s suitcase. “Going home to see the girls?”

  Lance’s face broke out into a huge grin. “Yeah. And we get to find out the sex of the baby. I can’t wait.” He glanced at his watch. “My flight leaves in a few hours, so I better motor.”

  “Awesome,” Rick said. “Tell Sam I say hi.”

  “Will do,” Lance replied, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He couldn’t get off this bus fast enough.

  ***

  The flight home was pretty uneventful. He tried to write some, but was too distracted at the thought of seeing his family again. He thought about getting a small drink, but Sam would kill him if she smelled alcohol on him.

  He tried to read, but the words on the page wouldn’t register. He put in his ear buds and listed to the playlist Sam had made for him before he left. It was filled with songs from when they were kids, especially their song, “I Remember You.” He put it on repeat and closed his eyes, almost feeling her in his arms already.

  He woke up to the sound of the pilot telling them to fasten their seatbelts. He couldn’t believe he’d fallen asleep, but wasn’t really surprised considering the tough schedule they’d been on.

  He started getting antsy waiting for the plane to land. When he finally got the okay to turn on his phone, the first thing he did was to text her that he’d landed. Hopefully she and Emma were waiting for him.

  She sent a quick reply that they were there waiting for him. His head fell back on the seat. He was finally going to hold his woman in his arms and he wasn’t sure he would be able to let her go this time.

  As they got off the plane, Lance had to keep from pushing people out of his way. He gripped his bag in his hands and took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe it, but he was nervous to see Sam.

  He walked through the airport, looking around for them. His face broke out into a smile when he noticed her standing there, Emma next to her holding her hand. His pace quickened as he walked to them; they hadn’t seen him yet.

  He scooped up Emma into his arms, startling her. “Hey peanut,” he exclaimed, planting a big kiss on her cheek.

  She squealed and threw her arms around his neck. “Daddy!”

  He glanced over to Sam. She was even more beautiful than he remembered – than what he saw in his dreams. Her stomach had really popped while he was gone; he loved it. “Hey you,” he whispered softly, drawing her close to him with his free arm.

  “Hey,” she replied, her eyes filling with tears as she buried her face in his chest.

  “Shhh,” he chided, leaning down to kiss the top of her blonde hair. “It’s ok, I’m here now.”

  She nodded and sniffled. “I’ve missed you so much, Lance.” She looked up at him. He couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under her eyes. Guilt stabbed at him for leaving her alone while he went out and pursued his dream.

  “I’ve missed you too baby,” he admitted, hugging her tight. After this tour, that was it. No more. If she couldn’t come along, he wasn’t going to do it. He wasn’t going to leave her again.

  They stood in the middle of the airport like that for a few minutes. He had his family back in his arms again and he wasn’t going to let go any time soon.

  Sam pulled away first. “Let’s get you home,” she said with a smile.

  Lance grinned aback at her. “Yes, let’s get me home,” he agreed. He couldn’t wait to get Sam home and in bed.

  ***

  He drove them home from the airport, Emma chatting in the back seat the whole time. He held Sam’s hand as he drove, but she seemed unusually quiet. He held her hand, his thumb rubbing over her knuckles as he listened to his daughter talk and giggle. She must’ve added at least twenty-five more words to her vocabulary while he was gone.

  He squeezed Sam’s hand. She turned to look at him with a small smile on her face. It didn’t seem to light up her hazel eyes like he was used to. What was wrong? Was the baby ok? Were they ok? Maybe she was just tired. He couldn’t wait until they had a chance to be alone and talk.

  “Your mom’s been cooking up a storm at our house for you. She figured the last thing you’d want to do is go out to eat and I’ve been too busy,” she shrugged as they got closer to their house.

  Lance’s stomach growled at the thought of a home cooked meal. He was getting sick of take out or microwaved food for sure. “Awesome,” he said. “But I can think of something else I’d like to eat,” he teased with a wink, not sure of the reaction he would get from her.

  She rolled her eyes and smiled – a real smile this time, looking like the Sam he knew and loved. “Go figure,” she giggled. “Although, it has been awhile. I could go for that for sure.”

  He let go of her hand and rubbed her knee, moving his hand further up her thigh. “Soon enough, babe, soon enough.” He shifted in his seat, his cock hard at the thought of tasting Sam. This dinner was going to be the longest night ever. He was already to skip to dessert and they hadn’t even gotten home yet.

  Chapter Eight

  Sam chewed the inside her cheek as they pulled up to the house. As happy as she was to have Lance home, she was not really looking forward to dinner tonight. She’d told Renee she had to tell Lance about her cancer. He needed to know – no, he deserved to know.

  She had no idea how Lance would react to the news of his mother’s cancer, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be good. He was so attached to her and the thought of losing her would be devastating for him.

  He parked the car in the driveway and got Emma out of her seat while Sam managed to get out of the car. It was getting harder and harder for her to move around and she still had about twenty weeks to go before the baby was born. She was going to be as big as a house at this rate!

  She walked up to the house behind Lance. Emma ran inside, but before Sam could follow her, he shut the door. He grabbed her face in his hands and pushed her body gently against the wall. “I’ve missed you, Sam. So fuckin’ much,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.

  “I’ve missed you too, Lance,” she whispered, bringing a hand up to touch his, fingering his wedding band. Sometimes she still couldn’t believe they were married. She’d thought she’d lost him all those years ago and they were lucky to have this second chance together.

  He leaned down to kiss her, his lips gentle at first, moving across hers. His kiss quickly grew more insistent, his tongue slipping past her teeth to tease hers. She moaned into his mouth, trying to press her body against him, frustrated by her belly getting in the way of being closer to him. Hot tears formed behind her eyes as she thought about their time apart, the news his mother was about to give him, and him leaving again. He was her whole life, her whole world and she was lost without him.

  His mother interrupted them by clearing her throat. “You two keep that up and I’m going to have to get the hose,” she admonished wryly. They broke apart, Lance giving his mom the sheepish smile he always did when he scolded her.

  “Excuse me, Mom. I haven’t seen my wife in over two months. I think a little kiss is in order, don’t you?” he asked with a grin, grabbing Sam’s hand and leading her inside.

  She laughed and snapped her dishtowel at him. “There was nothing little about that kiss, Lance.” She glanced over at Sam. “Although I know she’s missed you, so I will let it slide, but wait until Emma’s in bed at least to attack her again.”

  “Okay, okay, Mom. I can do that. Now how are you?” he asked as he gathered her up for a big hug. Sam bit her lip, fighting back the tears as Renee glanced over at her.

  “I’m good,” she mumbled as she pulled away and hurried towards the kitchen. Sam noticed the tears in her eyes too, but Lance seemed to have missed it. “Now you t
wo get in here and let’s eat,” she called from the dining room.

  Sam knew she was avoiding telling Lance about the cancer. If she didn’t say something soon, she was going to have to pull her aside and push her to do it. Lance had to know now and he had to hear it from her.

  She managed to push all negativity from her mind as they at the delicious lasagna Renee had made from them. They laughed and listened to stories of the band on tour and some of the crazy stuff fans did. Sam told him a little more about some of the book signings she had been on. And of course Emma kept them all entertained with her non-stop chatter.

  After dinner, Lance took Emma upstairs for her bath while Renee and Sam cleaned up from dinner. Bath duty had always been his before he left and Sam knew Emma had missed it as much as Lance had.

  “You have to tell him,” Sam said quietly as she loaded the dishwasher.

  Renee glanced towards the bathroom where the squeals of her granddaughter and the laughter of her son could be heard faintly. “I know,” she replied, wiping her hands on a dishtowel.

  “Tonight,” she replied firmly.

  Renee nodded. Neither of them spoke of it again as they finished cleaning up and headed into the living room. Lance and Emma joined them soon after. Emma ran ahead of Lance, jumping into Sam’s arms and resting her head. The excitement of Daddy coming home had worn her out early.

  Lance sat down next to them, putting his arm around Sam and pulling her close. She settled against him. She was so happy he was home, even if only for a few nights.

  Sam glanced over at Lance and noticed he had on a new t-shirt. “Did you fall in and have to change?” she asked, nodding at him with a grin.

  He looked down at his shirt and laughed. “Yeah, things got a little crazy in there.” He tickled Emma, eliciting a giggle from her. “Right, baby girl?”

  Emma laughed and nodded, throwing herself into his lap. He kissed her forehead as she snuggled against him. Sam thought she was going to cry. She loved seeing Lance interact with Emma. Seeing him with their daughter made her love him even more than she ever thought possible.

  Lance reached his hand out and rubbed her belly absently and she had to bit her lip to stop the tears from flowing. She’d missed those tender touches. Hopefully, the next weeks with him gone would fly by. From then on, she was never letting him out of her sight again.

  They sat around making small talk for a little bit, but Sam got increasingly anxious, wondering when Renee was finally going to say something. Maybe if she left them alone, she would finally tell him.

  “Let’s go to bed, little one,” she said, getting up from the couch slowly.

  “I can take her. I missed putting her to bed,” Lance said, looking up at her.

  She glanced over at Renee. She wasn’t going to give her another chance to avoid telling Lance she was sick. “No, you catch up with your mom. I’ll do it tonight. Say good night to Daddy.” Emma kissed Lance before she scooped her up into her arms. She wrapped herself around Sam despite her belly. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  She took Emma to her room and got her ready for bed. She was distracted as she read her a story, trying to listen to the conversation going on in the living room. She heard raised voices a few times and hoped Lance wasn’t being too hard on his mom.

  She finished the story and kissed Emma on the forehead. Lance wouldn’t be the only one to miss Renee. Emma was quite attached to her grandma. She took a deep breath and turned out the light before heading back into the living room, wondering what she would find.

  What she saw nearly broke her heart in two. They were both sitting on the couch and Renee had her arms around Lance. They were both crying and Sam could no longer hold back her tears.

  “She told you,” she said, fighting back a sob.

  Lance looked up and nodded. “You knew?” he asked.

  She swallowed and nodded. “Yes.”

  He looked at her accusingly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Before Sam could even open her mouth to respond, Renee spoke up. “Don’t be mad at her, Lance. She wanted to tell you, but I told her not to. I wanted to tell you face to face, not over the phone. This is the first chance I’ve had.”

  He got up off the couch. “Tomorrow I’m calling my connections in LA. We’ll get a second opinion. We will beat this, Mom.”

  She stood up slowly and came over to him. “We will talk about it tomorrow. I’m going home now. You two need your time alone.” She hugged him before grabbing her purse.

  Sam walked her to the door where she gave her a big hug. “Take care of my son,” she whispered into her ear.

  Sam swallowed a sob as she pulled back. “I will.”

  She shut the door behind Renee and turned back to the living room, seeing Lance sitting down on the couch again, his head in his hands. She took a deep breath before going to him. This wasn’t going to be easy for him – for any of them really, but she intended to stay by his side and help him through it the best she could.

  Chapter Nine

  Lance couldn’t believe what his mother had just told him. He wouldn’t. There was no way his mom was dying. It just wasn’t possible.

  He squeezed his eyes shut when he heard the click of door as Renee left. He would have to call his manager and cancel the rest of the tour. He had to get his mother out to the best doctors in LA to get another opinion. There was no way he was just going to accept what he’d just told her.

  “Baby?” Sam asked, sitting down next to him on the couch and putting her hand on his leg. “Talk to me,” she murmured softly, leaning into him and resting her head on his arm.

  He sucked in his breath, trying to organize the jumble of thoughts racing through his brain. “I have to get her to LA, Sam. She needs a second opinion with real doctors and not the hacks around here.”

  Sam sat up and narrowed her eyes at him. “You know that’s not true,” she said, rubbing her belly with her hand. “I have excellent doctors here and so does Emma.”

  He leaned back on the couch with a sigh. “I know, but I have to do something for her. I can’t just accept that she’s going to die.” His eyes filled with tears at the thought of losing his mother. “For the longest time, it was just the two of us. We were a team. Before I you and Emma, she was all I had,” he muttered, his voice shaky with emotion. He was not going to cry.

  “Let’s go to bed,” she said, standing up and holding out her hand. He glanced up at her face as he took her hand. She was so beautiful, her hazel eyes shimmering in the dim light of the living room. His gaze traveled down to her ample breasts squeezed into her t-shirt. Her breasts grew a cup size and while he was happy with them either way, he definitely enjoyed the larger size. Despite the somber way the evening ended, he felt a stirring between his legs, remembering what he’d planned to do to Sam when they were finally alone.

  He stood up and as she turned to walk towards their bedroom, he grabbed her arm, stopping her. She turned around, her eyebrows raised. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, he reached out and grasped the back of her head. He pulled her to him for a kiss, his lips moving roughly over hers. He threaded his fingers in her hair as his tongue invaded her mouth, dancing with hers.

  He pulled back from her, ending the kiss. She whimpered softly, breathless. “Sam,” he growled roughly, her hair still wrapped around his fingers. “I need you. I’m going to take you to our bed and fuck you. I’m going to make you call my name over and over, reminding you that you’re mine now and forever.”

  Before she could respond, he let go of her hair and took her hand, leading her back to the bedroom. He’d waited for this night for weeks. For the rest of the night, he was going to forget about his mom and get lost in his wife.

  When they got to the bedroom, he shut the door behind them. “Undress and get on the bed,” he commanded, his voice raw with emotion and desire.

  She quickly slipped her t-shirt off over her head. When she took off her bra, he had to fight back a moan, seeing her nipples a
lready tight peaks of desire. She slid her jeans and panties down her hips, stepping out of them before climbing on the bed.

  He ran his hand over the front of his jeans, his cock rock hard, as he looked at her lying before him. He had to fight the urge to bury his shaft deep inside her. Not yet. He wanted to taste her first. He was like a man who’d been stuck in the desert for days and only she could quench his thirst.

  He removed his shirt and growled deep in his throat before diving between her legs. She gasped as he slid his arms around her legs and spread her wide. He took a deep breath, basking in the womanly scent of her. Hmmm…how he’d missed this. Her sex was already swollen, her lips glistening with the evidence of her arousal.

  He glanced up at her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was cupping her breasts in her small hands. She was rolling her nipples between her thumb and forefinger. Time to make her scream his name.

  He leaned in and licked along her slit with just the very tip of his tongue, running it from bottom to top. A soft moan escaped her lips, spurring him on. He’d missed these little sounds he elicited from her and he wanted to hear more.

  He pressed two fingers into her wet pussy, feeling her stretch around his fingers. His tongue moved back up to her sensitive nub. He usually liked to tease her a little bit when he went down on her, but tonight he wanted to make her come over and over.

  His tongue pressed her clit as his fingers moved in and out of her wet sex. Fuck he loved the way she responded to him. Her hips were lifted slightly off the bed, grinding slightly into him.

  He wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked gently. Her back arched off the bed and the bundle of nerves between her lips swelled. She reached down and grabbed his head; her finger nails digging into his scalp as she held him against her.

  He continued to suck and fuck her with his fingers until her body tensed and she cried out his name. Her orgasm shook her entire body, drenching his fingers. Her warm wet walls pulsed around his fingers as the waves of pleasure racked through her. She cried out his name over and over as another quick orgasm overtook her hard and fast.