35: THE WOMAN

Emma burst through the front door, her emerald, green dress sparkling through the dress bag in the fading light of day. She couldn't wait to share her exciting day with Brayden. As she entered the living room, she spotted him sitting on the couch, his eyes fixed intently on his phone.

"Hey, my love!" Emma exclaimed, dropping her purse onto the coffee table. "I had the best day ever! Ginger took me on a shopping spree to remember. I have a whole new wardrobe and I found the most amazing dress for the gala."

Brayden looked up, a hint of a smile on his face. "Hey, that sounds great. I'm glad you had fun."

Emma plopped down beside him on the couch, her eyes shining with excitement. "It was incredible. We went to this little boutique in the Fashion District, and I found the perfect dress. It's emerald green and has this stunning lace trim."

As she continued to gush about her day, Emma noticed Brayden's expression growing increasingly serious. She paused mid-sentence, sensing something was off.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

"It's just...I got a weird text from an unknown number," Brayden said, holding up his phone. "It was a threat towards you.”

Emma's eyes widened in shock. "What? Let me read it," she said.

Brayden shrugged and handed her the phone. Emma couldn’t believe what she read. This person was threatening to hurt Emma if Brayden didn’t leave her. The text said that Emma was a homewrecker and didn’t deserve such a special person as Brayden. They called her a country bumpkin and a hillbilly. Emma felt a surge of anger and hurt. She took a deep breath and began to recount her encounter with the mean woman at the salon.

"So, I think I know a little bit of what this is about. Ginger took me to a salon called Sally’s Place to see about getting my hair and makeup done for the gala. We were talking to Sally and your name came up. This tall slender blonde stormed at me shoving her finger in my face and calling me names. She was so rude and condescending. She said that I stole you from her and you were the love of her life," Emma said, her voice trembling with emotion.

Emma’s troubled voice caught Jackson’s attention in the kitchen. He had been cooking supper for the three of them and didn’t hear her come in. However, when her voice reached this sound and he could tell she was in distress, he came running to see what was going on. He stopped in the doorway to listen once he saw she and Brayden were talking.

Brayden's face darkened with anger as he listened to Emma's story. But then his expression changed, and he looked at Emma with a mixture of sadness and frustration.

"Actually, I think I know who that woman is," he said slowly.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Her name is Heather. I broke up with her a few months before you and Jackson came for Thanksgiving. I wanted to see if you had any interest in me still and if Jackson would approve of my idea of all three of us being together," Brayden explained. "She was...intense, to say the least. She was another one of those who wanted me for my money, and I figured that out after only being with her for a few months. Heather didn’t take the breakup well and I had to tell her there was someone else to get her to stop harassing me. I thought we were done for good."

Emma's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh no, that must be why she's being so awful."

Emma felt a surge of protectiveness towards Brayden. She knew that she had to do something to put an end to this nonsense once and for all.

"We'll deal with this together," Emma said firmly. "We'll show her that our love is real and that she needs to leave us alone."

Brayden smiled slightly at her determination. "Yeah, we will," he said, pulling her into a tight hug.

Jackson came from the kitchen wrapping his arms around the both of them. “I love you guys!” he gushed.

As they hugged, Emma felt Brayden's hand slide up under her dress, his fingers tracing the lace trim on her underwear. She gasped as his hand cupped her sex, his thumb rubbing gently against her clit. Jackson ran his hands down the front of her plunging neckline grabbing both of her breasts and squeezing hard.

"Oh," Emma moaned, feeling herself getting wetter by the second.

Brayden pulled back slightly, his eyes burning with desire. "I think we need to take a break from all this drama," he whispered.

Jackson ran toward the kitchen yelling, “Let me turn the oven off.”

They laughed at Jackson and Emma nodded eagerly as Brayden led her to the bedroom. Jackson trailing behind them tearing his clothes from his body. They shed their clothes quickly, their bodies colliding as they fell onto the bed.

They were lost in a haze of passion and desire as they made love with reckless abandon. They chased away their troubles with each other's bodies, their love strong enough to overcome any obstacle.

As they lay entwined afterward, Jackson ran to the kitchen and gathered up the dinner he had prepared, bringing it to them for dinner in bed. It was delicious as always. Jackson was just as good a cook as she was, his mother had taught him well.

Emma felt a sense of peace wash over her as she lay looking at Brayden and Jackson. She knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, she, Brayden, and Jackson would face them together. Her love for them grew each day and nothing would ever change that.

" I love you," she whispered into Jackson and then Brayden’s ear.

"I love you," Brayden replied, his breath hot against her skin.

Jackson leaned against her other ear, “I love you forever and always, Emma.”

And as they drifted off to sleep, they knew that their love would conquer all.