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Every Day is a Winding Road
Chapter 16

"Abbey, stop it," Jed scowled, as Abbey licked her fingers again to smooth his hair into place. "I'm not Nicky's age."

"Well, right about now you're acting his age. Sit still and let me fix your hair before we go back out to the party."

Jed rolled his eyes but let her fix his hair and wipe smudges of lipstick from his face and neck.

"Now, what about me? Anything out of place." She twirled in front of him.

Jed eyed her up and down. There were a few tendrils of hair that had come loose from her upswept hairdo and her lipstick was pretty much gone, but there was nothing about her that would draw attention to what they had been doing, at least nothing she could do anything about. If she knew about her slightly swollen lips and her flushed cheeks she might stay in the garden the rest of the night. Alone. "You look fine. Let's go."

Jed took her hand and they re-entered the party arm and arm.

"Mr. President, we've been looking for you." Linc Stewart, a heavy Hoynes contributor immediately bustled his way to the couple.

"My wife was just showing me Suzanne Hoynes beautiful garden." Jed turned to give Abbey a lazy, sly smile. "Amazing what she is able to grow out here without the benefit of rainfall. Did you know that this part of Texas only gets…"

"Excuse me." Abbey managed to excuse herself knowing that, bless her husband's heart; he was going to bore Linc Stewart to tears with Texas weather trivia, which gave her the getaway that she needed. She immediately made a beeline to the ladies room, not trusting Jed's assessment of her presentability.

She eyed herself critically in the mirror. Her pupils were dilated, her cheeks still flushed and her lipstick was completely gone. Look fine, my ass she thought to herself. She reached into her purse for her cosmetic case pulling out a tube of lipstick and began to reapply the soft rose shade to her tender lips, then she did the best she could to fix the fallen tendrils of hair, finally deciding it looked better just to leave them curling down looking natural.

After doing what she could to fix things, she turned to go back out the party and nearly bumped into one of the Anna Nicole's who was waiting to use the bathroom. As the woman passed her she gave Abbey a little half smile and a wink. Abbey stood rooted for a moment in shock. Evidently she hadn't covered things up quite as well as she'd thought.

****

It was well after midnight when Abbey and Jed finally stumbled wearily into the guesthouse that lay a few hundred yards from the ranch down by the creek. Suzanne had informed Abbey that in the ranch's heyday the cabin had been used to house the many ranch hands that worked the spread but after the family turned more to oil rather than cattle they had transformed it into a little home for John's widowed mother. The widow Hoynes had lived there until her death seven years earlier and now they used it to host businessmen and dignitaries. Suzanne had felt that the President and First Lady might enjoy the cozy privacy the cabin afforded their family rather than staying at the ranch house like everyone else. She was right.

Abbey kicked off her shoes as she entered the cabin and turned to Jed. "I'm going to check on the kids then take a bath before bed."

Jed nodded and was already moving toward the phone. "I have a couple of calls I need to make."

"Jed, it's almost one," Abbey protested.

"Not in Germany."

Abbey shook her head and presented him with her back so he could unzip her. He did so without prodding.

After slipping into her robe, Abbey went down the hall to check on the kids. She moved stuffed animals, fixed blankets, brushed hair back and leaned against their cribs listening to the sweet sound of their breathing, the soft sighs and the sucking noises their lips made. They really were such good babies. She thanked God that they traveled as well as they did, they just seemed to go with the flow. As long as they were with mom or dad, it didn't seem to matter if they were sleeping in the White House, Harmony Point, New Hampshire, Air Force One, a strange hotel or even a cabin in Texas. She wondered if or how this would affect them later in life. Would it make them easygoing and able to accept change, or would it do the opposite and make them unsettled and fearful. She hoped it would be her first assessment and that she was doing the right thing in trying to keep them with she and Jed as much as possible.

"Ma'am?" Izzy stood in the doorway in her bathrobe.

"Sorry, Izzy, did I wake you?"

"No, I was in my room reading. Is everything okay?"

"Fine, I was just checking on them before I go to bed. How did they go down for you?"

"A little fussing for you but nothing serious. I think they were a little overtired from the rodeo. They didn't eat much supper."

"I don't doubt it. With everything their father bought them to eat at the rodeo it's a wonder they weren't sick all night."

Izzy grinned. "He does love to spoil them."

"Yes, he does."

"Well, you can't blame him, I guess. He really loves them so much and he doesn't get to spend as much time with them as he'd like so he sort of over compensates."

Abbey nodded, although she could have told Izzy this was nothing new. Jed had always delighted in spoiling the children. Sometimes she played the hard ass just so they could think they were pulling something over on her. She loved the bond that "don't tell mom" had created between her husband and their daughter's. She was their mother, she had all the ins and outs of the female psyche, the mother/daughter chats about puberty and boys, the bonding of clothes shopping and ear piercings, so if spoiling them a little was Jed's way of bonding with them then it was no skin off her nose to look the other way when he did it and to let them all believe that they were pulling the wool over her eyes.

"Ma'am, are you okay."

Abbey realized that she'd been lost in thought. "Yeah, I'm fine, just exhausted. I'm going to take a bath and hit the sack, good night, Izzy."

"Good night, ma'am.

****

Abbey lay back soaking in the tub with her eyes closed very close to falling asleep. She heard the bathroom door click shut but didn't open her eyes. She knew who it was.

Jed stood at the edge of the tub watching Abbey's rosy nipples rise through the bubbles with every breath. "Abbey?" He said softly.

"Hmmm…"

"You're not falling asleep, are you?"

"No." She still didn't open her eyes.

"Liar" Jed chuckled, as he began to unbutton his shirt. He went so quietly about his business that Abbey was startled when she felt him step into the tub.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Jed crouched in the tub in front of her and began running his fingers up her silky wet inner thighs.

"I think you're trying to get lucky."

"Bingo. I always said you were a smart lady."

"Jed, I'm tired," Abbey yawned. "And we already had sex tonight."

"That," Jed scoffed. "That was merely quick, take the edge off tension sex. I told you we were gonna do naked later."

"I don't know if I'm up for naked. It's been a long… day." The last word was nearly choked out as Jed's finger found it's ultimate destination sliding across her clitoris.

"Still think you're not up for naked?"

"I'm not sure. Try that again. I might be waking up."

Jed laughed and pressed his thumb firmly against the sensitive little nub wiggling it back and forth until Abbey's hips thrust up at him and an involuntary moan passed between her lips.

"Still tired?"

"I think I'm waking up," she admitted.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

****

Later, they lay spooned together in bed, Abbey's back tucked up against Jed's chest. Jed propped his head up on his hand and began stroking Abbey's hair back off her face, toying with the bright coppery strands. Her eyes were closed, her face soft and relaxed completely at peace. It wasn't often that he had the time anymore to simply lay and watch her fall asleep, to take pleasure in every little detail of her features. The way that her dark lashes lay against her fair complexion. The way that, devoid of make up, the tawny freckles of a red head lay sprinkled across her nose and face like fairy dust. The way the tiny lines of age lay at the corner of each eye and the way the soft rosy flush caused by their lovemaking still highlighted her cheekbones. How nice it was after weeks of an empty bed just to have her in his arms again, to hear her breathing beside him, to feel her cold feet against his warm legs and to have the flowery feminine scents of shampoo, bubble bath, body lotion and talcum powder filling his senses.

"Mmm…Jed?" Abbey murmured sleepily, as she rolled over to cuddle up against him laying her arm over his hips and her cheek on his belly. It was softer now than it had been when they had first married and his body had been young, lean and tight, but she liked it this way as well, he made a nicer pillow now. Snuggable, she thought as she burrowed in closer that's what he was now, snuggable.

"What, baby?"

"Don't stop. That feels nice."

Jed realized that he had stopped stroking her hair and began to do so again smiling at the way she snuggled into him, like a kitten enjoying being stroked. He loved the way the silky strands of her hair fanned out over his belly and chest and he continued to stroke her until she fell asleep.

****

"Mumma…mumma…."

"Hmmm…" Abbey mumbled. She was laying on her stomach at the edge of the bed one arm dangling over the side her hair covering her face. Jed's arm lay heavy over her back and she could feel his warm breath against her shoulder.

"Mumma…MumMEE…"this time the voice was starting to sound a little indignant.

"Hmmm…" Abbey cracked an eye to see that it was still gray in the room and when she did so she saw Aislinn in her Cinderella nightgown with her curls all askew standing by her head. "Whassamatter, Ash?"

"Up."

"It's too early to get up. Come in bed with me and daddy." She reached a sleepy hand down to pull the toddler up onto the bed and felt Aislinn scamper up to the pillow. She heard Jed groan and roll over to make more room.

Aislinn however, was not ready to go back to sleep. Abbey felt something running over her head and realized that her daughter was brushing her hair.

"Prity," Aislinn said. "…Prity." Abbey jumped as her daughter's brush caught a snarl in her hair.

"Aislinn, stop." She took the brush away. "You can brush mommy's hair later. Go to sleep."

"No sleep." Aislinn pouted.

"No sleep." This time it was Nicky's adamant voice and it was right in front of Jed's face on the other side of the bed.

"What are you doing up, sport?" Jed's voice was as husky with sleep as Abbey's had been. "You two aren't supposed to be crawling out of your cribs."

"Toons."

"It's too early for cartoons," Abbey muttered.

"Pungebob," Nicholas demanded.

"Abbey." Jed sleepily pushed his toe against his wife's leg and on the tail of a yawn he asked, "Is Spongebob on at the break of dawn?"

"Doubt it. I brought their Spongebob DVD's with me."

"Pungebob!" Aislinn began bouncing on the bed.

Abbey moaned and pulled the covers up over her head.

"I don't think we're going to get them back to sleep," Jed told her.

"What time is it?"

"Just after 6."

"I can't open my eyes."

"I'll get up."

"Have Izzy----"

"Nah, I haven't seen the little buggers in a while. I'll go watch cartoons with them. You go back to sleep." He patted her hip and began to slide out of bed. He didn't have to say it twice. By the time Jed and the kids had made it to the living room, Abbey had curled back up into a deep sleep.

A couple of hours later, feeling a little more human, Abbey awoke for the second time that morning. She slid her robe on over the tank top Jed had put on her prostrate form after making love to her and shuffled down the hall to the living area.

She found Jed leaning back on the couch; his bare feet propped up on the coffee table, his robe gaping open at his chest. His hair was falling messily over his forehead as it usually did in the morning. Both children were snuggled up close to his torso. Her heart did it's usual flip flop at the sight of the three of them all cuddled up together, especially when she noticed that while the children were wide awake gazing at the television, Jed's head was thrown back and he was half asleep. It was Aislinn who finally noticed her standing smiling in the doorway.

"Mumma, baby" Aislinn pointed at the TV.

Abbey stepped into the room to see what Aislinn was pointing at and she had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing at what they were making Jed watch. The Teletubbies were something even she couldn't stand.

"Yes, that is a baby. Just like you."

Aislinn shook her head negatively and took a swig from her sippie cup. "No baby."

"You're not a baby?"

"No."

"Are you a big girl?"

Aislinn nodded with a grin.

"Well, you're still mommy's baby." She kissed the top of her curls. "And so are you," she leaned over to give Nicholas a kiss.

Jed grabbed her wrist as she started to stand and pulled her down to give him a kiss. "You owe me big time for this," he whispered into her ear.

"I thought you were going to watch "Spongebob"," Abbey laughed.

"Spongebob I can take, although I still think he looks like a piece of cheese wearing underwear."

"No dadda, PUNGE" Nicholas informed him emphatically.

"Yes, Nicholas, you've made it very clear to me all morning that he is a sponge, not a piece of cheese. Anyway, you only brought two DVD's so little Miss. here starting flipping through channels and look what she found. Weren't we lucky?"

Jed's sarcasm was lost on his daughter who began to nod her head. "Lucky." She agreed still engrossed in her show.

"Well, did you all eat breakfast?" She asked.

"There was a woman named Rosa here earlier and she brought some fresh muffins. She was ready to cook us a big breakfast but I told her the muffins were fine. The kids and I have already eaten."

"I'm going to get a muffin then." Abbey went to the kitchen and began pilfering under the white linen napkin that covered a basket of assorted fresh muffins. She chose a banana nut and moved to pour herself a cup of coffee nearly dropping it when she turned to see Jed standing in the doorway grinning at her.

"What's that cocky grin for?" she asked, sipping her coffee.

"I wore you out."

"What?"

"Last night. I wore you out so badly you couldn't wake up this morning."

"Leave it to you to chalk up my exhaustion to your sexual prowess when it really had more to do with jet lag." She took a bite of her muffin.

"Jet lag my ass." He moved closer sliding a hand over her hip. "Remember what happened to you when you lied to me last night."

"You really think that's a deterrent for lying?" She giggled as his hand slid inside her robe hitting a ticklish spot on the side of her breast on his way to cupping her in his palm.

"Jed----" She warned.

"Abbey----" He mimicked her as he began to knead the soft mound.

"Jed, I'm serious…The kids are right in the next room."

"They're watching alien babies."

"Teletubbies." Abbey gave a soft laugh as he dipped his lips to nuzzle at her neck while he continued to gently mold her breast in his hand.

The sound of a door shutting caused them to break apart like two guilty teenagers.

"Oh, uh, excuse me." Suzanne Hoynes' face flushed red with embarrassment at having caught the President and First Lady in an intimate moment. Abbey immediately began belting her robe more tightly around her tiny waist very aware that she wore nothing but a skimpy tank top under it.

"What can we do for you, Suzanne?" Jed asked nonchalantly, as if he were caught every day with his hand inside his wife's bathrobe.

"I apologize. I knocked and when nobody answered I just came in."

"No harm done." Abbey smiled to put the other woman at ease.

"I just wanted to make sure that you have everything that you need."

"We're fine, thank you."

"Okay then, well, if you're looking for something to do feel free to come up and use the pool at the big house. I thought we'd have lunch there today and then I guess the President and John are going into Dallas for some afternoon meetings"

Jed saw the panic flash in Abbey's eyes. Dallas. He knew how she hated that word. He knew that every time he had to go there she pictured the top of JFK's head getting blown off and relived Rosslyn over and over and over. It didn't matter that there had been other sites of assassinations and assassination attempts, Dallas was the one that was deeply embedded in the psyche of every person who had been alive during that tragic time. She'd been in school at the Sacred Heart when they got the news from Sister Mary Alice that the President was dead. He knew that she had cried. He too had been at school, but he hadn't cried, at least there. His father despised JFK, even more so probably because his wife and sons admired him so much, so Jed didn't see much point in sharing his grief with him. Instead, he and Jon had walked home in shock and disbelief, the tears only coming when he saw his mother kneeling on the floor saying decades of the rosary and he realized that the usually unemotional woman was actually crying.

"We'll be up in a little bit," Abbey assured her, her voice bringing Jed back to the present. "I'm sure the kids will love to go for a swim."

****

A little later Abbey and Jed walked hand and hand up the small scrub grass covered hill that led to the big house. Aislinn and Nicholas, already in their bathing suits, were scampering excitedly around their legs, eager to get in the pool.

"When we get there I'm going to tell Suzanne that I need to use the ladies room," Abbey told him. "Then you ask her to help you put the floaties on the kids arms so I have time to search around the garden for my underwear."

"And my bow tie," he reminded her.

"I'm hardly as concerned with a bow tie as I am my thong."

"I wouldn't be concerned at all. Nobody is going to know that was YOUR thong, there were over a hundred people here last night."

"All of whom watched you and I come back from the garden together. Oh, they'll know. Please, just do as I ask."

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm taking part in some bad Lucy skit?"

"That's the second time somebody has compared me to Lucy."

"Who was the first?"

"Never mind."

"Come on, tell me."

"No."

"Pretty please." He ran a teasing finger up her arm. "If you don't tell me, I'll have to tickle it out of you."

Abbey felt his finger starting to delve into her armpit and knew he was as good as his word. "Well, if you must know it was CJ.'

"What harebrained idea did you try to pass by her?"

"It wasn't HAREBRAINED and I'm not sure I like your inference that my idea's are foolish."

"Come on, Abbey, what idea was it?"

"The night that we snuck out of the White House to find out who gave that picture to Danny Concannon. May I remind you that without my HAREBRAINED idea we never would have found out that Janet Ritchie was behind it, and we never would have stopped her from going forward to the press."

"Okay, okay. I guess that one worked out for the best, HOWEVER, you know how I feel about you sneaking out of the White House without your agents."

"Yes, yes, yes." She sighed. "And I promised I wouldn't do it again. Now are you with me on this, or what?"

Jed watched Suzanne open the pool gate to greet the children with a big smile. "I guess I'm with you." His statement was grudging but Abbey took what she could get.

****

Wearing her bathing suit and a Hawaiian print wrap tied around her waist, Abbey got down on her hands and knees and began searching around the shrubs that surrounded the bench where she had laid her dress the previously evening.

"Dammit," she muttered under her breath. "How far could Jed have flung them."

She crawled around the edge of a shrub then stopped abruptly when she saw a pair of cowboy boots in front of her face. Slowly, her heart racing, she gazed up over the edge of her dark sunglasses to follow the length of long denim clad leg to see the sardonic half smile of the man who was twirling her panties on his finger.

"Looking for these?"

TBC...

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