#jared paladecki

𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 - 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚟

⸝⸝ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲

Being friends since childhood, their fates felt interwoven.

From stolen sunrises and first kisses to whispered promises beneath the Texas sky, there wasn't a version of the future where they weren't together. But after tragedy changes the world overnight, one impossible decision tears them apart.

As years pass and life takes them down different roads, old wounds refuse to stay buried. Some loves fade with time.

Theirs never did. ⸝⸝

Pairing: Cordell Walker x fem!reader

WC: 5.8K

CW: 18+ MDNI, angsty slow-burn, unprotected pinv, fingering (f receiving), size kink, first time receiving oral sex (f) & orgasm, aftercare, marking/biting, rough-ish sex, manhandling, language, discussion of past abusive/toxic relationship & divorce, grief & loss, mentions of war & deployment, lots of warm fuzzies.

A/n: based on this request. This was super fun to write and incorporate some of my local culture! I haven't written smut in a while so hopefully this was worth the wait.

Every dress, blouse, pair of denim jeans, and leggings you owned was scattered across the floor of your bedroom. Sweat beaded on your forehead as you kicked off a pair of bootcut jeans that made the top you’d chosen look boxy. You groaned as you glanced at the time and realized Cordell was picking you up in an hour.

You didn’t know why you cared so much about what you looked like—he was just a friend. Friends don’t care what their friends wear to platonic dinner dates. Not that it was a date. Even if it was a date, friends don’t date their dead friend’s husband—

“Is that what you’re wearing?”

Maeve’s teasing tone startled you out of your spiral.

“I was probably going to wear pants, but yes.”

Her expression made you second-guess your choice in the way only a teenage girl can. After some eye-rolling and gentle ribbing, she found a flowy top and a pair of high-rise jeans that didn’t look too mom-ish.

“And you should wear these,” she said while pulling your old cowboy boots out of her closet.

Baffled by her choice in thievery, you gave her a questioning look. She just shrugged and informed you that “vintage was in.” You hadn’t worn them since moving home from Oklahoma. Luke didn’t like them, so you’d buried them away in your closet, unable to completely part with them.

Clearly, you hadn’t hidden them well enough because your teenager was now offering them to you to wear on a date.

A date with a man who was standing on your front porch, trying to take in the sight of you while keeping his gaze respectful.

More than twenty years later, he was still the tall, awkward boy from across the street tripping over his words.

His heart ached when he noticed your expression falter as you hesitated about letting your teenager choose your outfit.

“Sorry.” He sighed, trying to expel the anxiety in his chest. “You look amazing.”

You bit your cheek and smiled nervously. Like a fish out of water, this wasn’t your element. You weren’t used to compliments about your appearance that didn’t come with strings attached. Comments like that needed to be earned.

There wasn’t any coldness in the way Cordell looked at you. Even if the night ended on your front porch steps, he’d consider himself a lucky man just for the opportunity to take you out. That didn’t mean his jeans didn’t fit a little tighter when he saw how perfectly you filled out yours.

You offered Maeve a few instructions before she waved you off from her spot on the sectional. You shared a knowing look of commiseration that only parents of teenagers can offer one another. 

The sun was setting as you made your way to a destination unknown. Everything was bathed in a soft orange hue. The ranch land outside of Austin had changed relatively little aside from a few new houses and upgraded buildings. You commented on who owned what land now and traded stories from your time apart as if no time had passed.

It finally crossed your mind to ask where he was taking you.

“It’s a surprise.”

He was visibly pleased with himself as you pouted slightly. 

“It’s a good surprise. Honest.”

You were pleasantly surprised when you pulled into the familiar gravel parking lot. Even more surprised by the number of vacant parking spots. Not usual for a Friday night.

“The Sidestep?”

Cordell nodded and threw his truck into park.

You knew the bar well—not that you had been there in ages. Luke hadn’t liked any of your old friends, so you never asked him to go.

“It looks pretty deserted for a Friday night.”

The cab light flicked on as he grinned and climbed out, waiting for you to join him.

“You comin’?”

Closed for a Private Event

You stopped on the wooden patio when you noticed the sign posted on the door. Before you could question him further, he turned a key in the lock and gestured for you to enter.

“Oh, wait—”

He felt your muscles tense beneath his hand when he gently grabbed your forearm to stop you. He released his grip immediately and silently apologized. He’d been so excited about the future that he’d momentarily forgotten about your past.

“Just close your eyes, okay?”

You hesitated for a moment before letting your eyes flutter shut. With a warm hand splayed across your lower back, he guided you across the threshold and into the dark space. The only sound was the quiet reverberation of your boots against the polished wood floor.

He stood behind you and you could feel the warmth radiating from his broad frame. You picked up the woodsy notes from his cologne which only added to the tingly feeling that began to envelop you. He kept a paper-thin distance between you, not sure if he was ready to feel the way you fit against him. The rough surface of his palms lightly brushed your skin while he shielded your eyes.

“Ready?”

Your lips parted as you drew a quiet breath and relaxed into his presence. Finally, you nodded.

He stepped away to watch you take in your surroundings. Your eyes traced the string lights stretched across the room overhead like stars and wrapped around the wooden pillars, giving the space a cozier vibe. The bar had changed a lot since the last time you’d been there more than a decade ago. You smiled when you recognized some of the original decorations still adorning the walls.

Your eyes finally returned to him after taking a few steps into the nostalgic space.

“So… you bought a bar just to shut it down on a Friday night?” You teased while your insides turned to mush.

“Something like that.”

For the first time in your life, you ate a meal cooked for you by a man. Something other than processed meat thrown on a charcoal grill. He offered to make you a drink, but you wrinkled your nose. The smell of alcohol had soured for you. Having it spat at you on the hot breath of your ex-husband made your stomach twist at the thought.

The glowing jukebox drew your attention and you threw a playful glance over your shoulder as you wandered toward it.

He had mostly ignored the old machine after Emily died. It held some of their favorite songs that he couldn’t bring himself to remove from the queue. Now, he watched your delicate fingers dance across the buttons as your eyes traced the song titles. His heart swelled when you smiled at a song you recognized.

“Really?”

He groaned dramatically at your song choice.

“What? Too good for country music now?”

“Sweetheart,” he scoffed while moving from behind the bar. “This is new country.”

You rolled your eyes at his argument while he sauntered toward you.

“What’s wrong with new country?” You tone dropped an octave as you mocked his argument.

He carefully brushed past you and let his fingers graze your hip.

“Nothin’, but if I remember correctly,” he said with a cocky grin as he flipped through the albums. “You’re a diehard Diamond Rio fan.”

You’d had a Diamond Rio tape loaded into the tape deck of your old Ford Pinto for an entire summer. It could have been your mother’s. It might have come with the car when your uncle gave it to you after your freshman year of high school. However it ended up there, it got stuck in the tape deck that summer and became the only source of music in the old beater. Cordell teased you mercilessly about knowing every word on the album by July.

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

How could he forget? Especially when he got to watch you blush and try to squirm out of his arms whenever he teased you.

You hated how good it felt to fit between his arms again.

You hated that there was room for you there. That he had lost the love of his life and you were merely filling a space that would always belong to her.

He felt your smile fade and your shoulders slump, but he only tightened his hold slightly.

“Hey.” He pulled back just enough to look down at you. “It’s okay.”

“It’s just dinner, right?” You tried to swallow the emotion balling in your throat. The words were meant more for you than him.

His expression softened immediately.

“No, it’s not.”

Your stomach tightened.

“I mean, I don’t want it to be just dinner.”

You looked away first and scanned the empty bar nervously. Waiting for someone to tell you that you didn’t belong there. 

“Cordi—”

“I know.” His thumb brushed absentmindedly across your side once, then again, before he let his hand fall away completely. “I know what you’re worried about.”

The jukebox crackled quietly behind you as the song ended.

“Emily left a hole in me that doesn’t need filling.”

Your eyes stung and the corners of your vision blurred.

“She was my wife. I’ll love her for the rest of my life.” His voice was steady, like he’d memorized the words. “And that’ll never change.”

His honesty was surprisingly comforting. 

“But that doesn’t mean there’s not room for anything else.”

What he didn’t say was that there was always a space in his heart carved out for you. You had a piece of him that would always keep him tethered to you. Even if it was only in memories.

“I don’t know how this works, Cordi.”

He sighed nervously and smiled down at you.

“Well that’s good.”

You frowned.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t either.”

You could feel the barrier began to melt. One that was keeping you stuck on the other side of happiness. 

The city lights gradually faded into darkness. Only punctuated by the occasional porch light that dotted the countryside like fireflies. Cordell could tell you were deep in thought by the way you worried your lower lip between your teeth.

You jumped slightly when his hand settled on your knee from across the center console. The warmth radiated through your body. The familiar kind you hadn’t felt in years, but recognized immediately.

“Can I show you something?”

You quickly nodded. You felt like a giddy teenager again, deciding to test your luck and stay out late. He beamed back at you and signaled toward his family’s property.

It had been years since you set foot there, aside from the foreman’s cabin you’d stayed in the night you left Luke. The ranch had grown over the last twenty years. New buildings. New corrals. Still vaguely familiar, but dark enough that you struggled to get your bearings.

He grabbed a lantern from the barn with a knowing smirk on his face.

“Are you gonna tell me what we’re doing out here? Aside from dodging rattlesnakes and scorpions?”

He simply shrugged and gestured for you to take his hand. You couldn’t help but recall the night Cordell carefully guided you home when you were kids. The way he would glance over his shoulder to offer silent reassurance, even though you both knew what was waiting at home.

Before you knew it, your surroundings began to take shape beneath the blue glow of moonlight. You were standing at the familiar hilltop where you’d spent countless evenings together. As you got closer, you noticed an old blue pickup, similar to the truck he drove when he was sixteen.

Your pace slowed as you struggled to stay afloat beneath a wave of nostalgia. The memory of the night you left came rushing back. You realized how much unresolved guilt and pain still lingered there and wondered if he had ever managed to let it go.

Hearing your name brought you back to the present.

“Well?”

You hummed in response and rubbed your arms as a chill brushed against your exposed skin. Even in early autumn, when the days were oppressively hot, the evenings carried hints of the coming change in season.

“C’mere darlin’.”

Joining him at the back of the old truck, he lifted you effortlessly onto the tailgate. He draped a blanket around your shoulders and subtly enclosed you in his arms.

Once your hands settled against his chest, the next part came naturally.

The first kiss was soft and tentative. Silently searching each other for any lingering reservations. Then your fingers threaded through his hair as you kissed him deeper. His hand settled at the base of your neck, keeping you close. It was messy and desperate from decades of separation, but ignited like a powder keg.

His breath came unevenly as he rested his forehead against your shoulder. He groaned softly when your legs tightened around his waist but forced himself to pull back slightly. The sweet floral notes of your perfume. The warmth of your skin beneath his fingertips. The way your curves fit so naturally in the slope of his hands. It was overwhelming and intoxicating.

For a moment, he felt like that awkward teenage boy again, hopelessly in love with the girl next door.

You let your hands fall into your lap balled into fists like you were trying to restrain yourself.

“Sorry.” You sighed nervously. 

He shook his head and cupped your face in his hands. 

“Sweetheart, I'm just trying to act right.” He drawled in a voice huskier than normal. “Besides, I didn’t bring you out here just to disappoint you.” 

You snorted at the absurdity of his comment before lying back onto the nest of blankets he’d made in the truck bed. You were sensible enough to know that this wasn’t something you wanted to rush and risk destroying. Having teenage children made things even more delicate. Now that you had found each other, you couldn’t imagine losing him again.  

You stayed at the overlook for a while. Talking about the past and comparing notes. Bickering over the details that didn’t really matter to either of you. He didn’t talk about losing Emily and you didn’t talk about surviving an abusive marriage. 

He smiled when he noticed your eyelids getting heavy while you laid with your head in his lap. He brought you home and watched as you walked into a home he knew was safe. 

Over the next few weeks, you both agreed to take things slow. He hadn't told his kids about you yet and you both knew it was for the best. It was hard for him not to spend every free moment he had with you. When you were together, you felt like a couple of sixteen year olds. You hadn’t been with anyone who looked at you the way he did—not even Luke before things got bad.

He looked at you like you’d hung the moon and lit each of the stars in the sky by hand. 

You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t been teasing him a little bit. 

It was little things. Brushing up against him. Giving him knowing looks. The tiny, subconscious noises you made when he kissed you that made him hold on a little tighter. After two weeks, he’d reached his boiling point. 

It was Maeve’s weekend with her dad and Cordell was sprawled out on the couch with you. You’d decided to have a night in as work had been hell for both of you. He had the tv remote at his side opposite of you. Instead of asking for it to change the channel, you reached across his lap, intentionally brushing against the obvious bulge in his pants. 

He groaned as he finally snapped. With one hand on your hip, he flipped you over and pulled you beneath his imposing frame. The speed was both exhilarating and terrifying. 

“Baby girl, you’re driving me crazy.”

The hazel coloring in his eyes was almost completely swallowed by black pupils. His hand was shaking slightly where it gripped your waist. 

“I noticed.” You narrowed your eyes playfully, almost a silent dare to make the next move.

His resolve snapped as he kissed you hard. Nipping at your lower lip and coaxing you open. Tongue lapping at yours while he swallowed the tiny gasps and moans from his wandering hands. His hips stuttered slightly when your thighs squeezed his waist.

You tightened your fingers in his hair as he trailed his mouth across your jaw and down the curve of your throat. He pulled your shirt up high enough to admire the matching set of cotton and lace that you had certainly worn on purpose. 

He leaned back to fully appreciate the sight of you. 

“So pretty.” He mumbled, almost to himself.

With a callused hand flat on your belly, he slowly moved up to cup one breast, rubbing his thumb over one covered nipple. Then gliding to the other and repeating the motion. Your lips parted slightly and you arched into his grip. 

“You sure this is okay?” 

You nodded emphatically. 

“I’m sure.”

With that, he pushed away from you and, before you could question what he was doing, scooped you off the couch. You let out a surprised squeal as he carried you bridal style to your bedroom and gently dropped you onto the mattress.

He quickly shed his layers while keeping his gaze fixed on you. All pretty and laid out beneath him with your hair haloing around your head. Just an old T-shirt and flimsy lingerie keeping him from seeing all of you.

You peeled your shirt off and tossed it onto the growing pile on the floor. Before you could unhook your bra, he crawled over you and replaced your fingers with his.

“Lemme help.”

You both laughed while he awkwardly fumbled with the clasp. His lips were on you as soon as the fabric fell away. Sucking each nipple into his mouth and grazing his teeth over it while rolling the other between his thumb and index finger. 

He pulled back periodically to silently check in with you. And to remind himself that this was real. That this wasn’t just another dream. When he moved over you to kiss you again, you felt how hard he was straining against his boxers. When you rolled your hips against his cock he quietly whimpered against your lips. A pitiful sound coming from a six-foot-four wall of muscle.

“Honey, you can’t do shit like that or this ain’t gonna last long.” 

You hummed a laugh while you tightened your grip in his hair. His teeth and lips moved down your body, leaving a trail of tiny bite marks and saliva in their wake. 

He felt the muscles in your belly tighten when he got to your panty line. 

“W-what are you doing?” Your voice shook as you propped yourself up on your forearms. 

He felt like he’d be caught doing something he shouldn’t be. You didn’t look angry or upset. You looked genuinely confused. 

“Why would you want to do that?” 

Now it was his turn to be confused. 

“Why would I not want to?” 

It became apparent to him that these moments had probably never been about you. He wanted to ask if anyone had ever had the privilege of burying their face between your thighs. But he didn’t want to know the answer to that question.

From that point forward, he was going to make it his mission to make you feel worshipped for as long as you let him. 

Your legs twitched when you felt his warm breath fanning across the sensitive skin between your thighs. Still covered by the cotton that was beginning to cling to your skin. 

They nearly pressed together when he pressed a kiss to your clothed core, but his broad frame kept you spread for him.

“Just lemme take care of you, baby.” He murmured against your skin.

You nodded as he crawled from between your legs to cup your chin and kiss you while searching your face for any fear or apprehension. The tiny peck you placed on the tip of his nose made his heart throb. 

He grabbed a pillow to put under your head after he hooked his arms around your thighs and dragged you to the edge of the bed. 

“I want you to watch me. Tell me to stop if you don’t like it.”

You had convinced yourself that you didn’t like having the focus be on your pleasure because it made your sex life less disappointing. 

You had mastered the art of faking orgasms because it was better than your ex-husband pouting for a week when him pressing on your clit for sixty seconds didn’t make you come. 

It wasn’t even that he was bad at sex. He simply didn’t try making it enjoyable for you. Sometimes he would just take his frustrations out on you and call it rough sex. 

This was a whole new experience for you. 

He slid your panties past your knees and gently pulled them off, carefully tossing them aside. Out of instinct, you tried to press your knees together but he stopped them with his hand. 

“Open up for me, sweetheart.” 

You sighed and relaxed your muscles, allowing him to move closer. 

Your breath hitched when he grazed your clit with his thumb, rubbing back and forth over the bundle of nerves. He quietly groaned watching your arousal start to gather near your tight entrance.

The feeling of his tongue dragging across your glistening core was so unnaturally euphoric. Cordell watched you start to writhe underneath him but he was powerless to slow or stop himself. The sweet, tangy taste of your pussy was making his head thick and fuzzy. 

He watched as you started to adjust to the sensation before he started flicking his tongue against your clit. 

That made your back arch into him. 

The fingers that were firmly pressed into the plush skin of your thigh moved to circle your entrance. Once they were coated in your wetness, he pushed one of his thick digits inside and felt your velvety walls squeeze him. He struggled to look away from the way you took him so well, but when he did, he noticed how relaxed and beautiful you looked. Your brows knit together perfectly and your pink lips slightly parted while you struggled to keep your eyes on him.

He added a second finger and pressed it deep. Curling them upwards to hit that soft, spongy spot deep inside you. The one that you needed a vibrator to reach. 

He peeled his eyes away from your entrance to start rhythmically sucking on your clit while he started to thrust and scissor his fingers inside of you. Hitting your g-spot every time.

Cordell could feel your walls start to pulse tightly around his fingers and tasted your growing wetness. You felt a familiar tightness building low in your belly. Something you had never felt with anyone but yourself. 

Every cell in your body felt like it was tingling and vibrating as you struggled to keep your eyes open.

“Please don’t stop, Cordi.” 

He moaned against you and doubled down. Desperate to hear the beautiful sounds you’d teased him with over the previous days. 

Your legs were shaking around him and tears were pricking the corners of your eyes from how deliciously overwhelmed you were. Both with pleasure and raw emotion.

Your voice cracked and you sobbed when you came. He groaned watching and tasting as you gushed around his fingers. You didn’t even realize you were crying until you finally heard him calling your name. 

Cordell quickly wiped his face and he moved over you again. 

“Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?”

You just shook your head and smiled, covering your face nervously.

He gently pulled your hands away and admired the blush blooming across your tear stained cheeks.

“I just came.” 

He shook his head in confusion. 

“That’s a good thing, right?” 

“Like I actually came.”

He just stared like you were from another planet. 

“Has that never happened before?” 

“Yes, Cordi.” You rolled your eyes. “Just..not with anyone else.” 

He was heartbroken but unsurprised. 

“Well, I’m not done with you yet.” He gave you a subtle wink before standing up and kicking off his boxer briefs. 

“Oh my god.” 

You’d seen the outline through his boxers and felt it pressed against your thigh during heated make out sessions, but seeing his dick standing rock hard, leaking against his abs was another story. You expected him to be proportional, but you were unprepared for the size.

“What?” He asked with that clueless puppy dog expression. An expression that didn’t belong on a body like that.

“I’m trying to decide between a joke about having back issues and asking if you’re registered to conceal and carry!”  

He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“You don’t need a permit to conceal and carry in Texas. But don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

He pulled you back towards the edge of the bed and moved the pillow under your hips to angle them up towards him. 

He rubbed the thick mushroom head through your folds, paying extra attention to your overly sensitive clit. Your thighs twitched with every tap making him smile to himself. 

“Cordi stop teasing me.” 

His eyebrows raised at that, recalling the last two weeks of torture you’d put him through.

He finally settled at your entrance and he could feel your walls tense. There was a noticeable weight to him that made your mouth water and stomach flutter. One hand spread your thighs wider and the other gave himself a few pumps to spread your wetness down his length. 

“Just relax, I’ll go slow.” 

The pleasure-pain balance of being split open by him was perfection. True to his word, he slowly eased into you. You could feel every curve and vein pass through your tight channel. Like you were being moulded around him. He had to wiggle his hips slightly to fit against you, practically squeezing the last molecule of oxygen out of your lungs. 

His eyes traced a line from where you were connected, up to your face, admiring the blissed out smile tugging at your lips. 

He stilled his hips and brought his thumb back to your clit. Rubbing gentle circles and helping you relax around him before he started to move. 

He gradually built up his pace. Every thrust massaged your g-spot and you felt your orgasm building faster and harder this time. He memorized the way your body responded to him in the same way he memorized every other thing about you. As soon as he felt your walls start to pulse around him, he hooked one of your legs over his leg to give himself better access. Fucking you even deeper than you thought humanly possible.

He wants to slow down and drag this out. Maybe make you beg for it, just a little bit. But looking down at you and seeing how good you feel, finally, he wanted to give you the world. 

“Gonna come for me again, pretty girl?” He drawled. His voice sounded as wrecked as you were. 

All you could manage was a tired nod before your back arched and your eyes screwed shut while you shattered around him. Your voice broke screaming his name. 

Any self control he had was shot to hell. With your legs wrapped tightly around him and heels pressing into his back, he drove into you at a blinding pace while chasing his own release. He leaned over you and you wrapped your arms around his neck to ground yourself. Your nails dug so tightly into his shoulders he was sure he’d have half-moon shaped bruises there tomorrow. Somehow, he had the self-control to pull out and finish on your tummy. 

“Oh, fuck,” he mumbled to himself. “m’sorry darlin’.” 

You stifled a laugh while he grabbed his shirt off the floor to delicately wipe the mess off your skin. 

Giving you the best sex of your life wasn’t enough for him. He was going to take care of you the way you deserved. 

He ran a warm shower for both of you. Grabbed you a clean shirt—one of his that he left at your house, naturally—and even picked a pair of your everyday panties to sleep in. He brought you water and tucked himself around you in bed. Holding you tightly against his chest and soothing you to sleep with a hand gently stroking your back. 

The next morning, you woke to golden sunlight filtering through the blinds, making you squint when it reached your eyes. The space beside you was empty, but the blankets were tucked neatly around you. The smell of coffee brewing chased the sleep from your body and you finally registered the familiar voices drifting in from the kitchen.

Maeve and Cordell.

Maeve, who was supposed to be with her dad. Not in your kitchen talking to the man from your past who had nearly fucked your brains out the night before.

You muttered a string of curse words under your breath as you scrambled to get dressed, sore muscles protesting every movement. You studied your reflection in the vanity mirror, taming your bedhead and rinsing the sleep from your face before facing the inevitable damage control.

Pulling your sweater tightly around yourself, you padded into the living area to find Cordell in the kitchen cooking breakfast and Maeve perched at the bar beside him with a plate in front of her.

“Hey honey,” you pressed a kiss to her head that she attempted to dodge. “Why aren’t you at your dad’s?”

You were anxious to know when she’d arrived and prayed it hadn’t been last night after Cordell carried you to your bedroom.

“Dad didn’t come home last night. So he picked me up.” She said without looking away from her phone, nodding toward Cordell.

His eyes flicked up toward you with that familiar, guilty expression, silently checking to see if he’d done something wrong. Unbeknownst to both of you, Maeve had found the card he’d given you years ago. Before you’d found the courage to leave. You wanted to ask why she hadn’t called you first, but mostly you were grateful she had someone she felt safe calling.

You sighed, knowing you’d need to call your ex-husband and let him know she was safe. It would probably end in an argument you’d try to keep out of Maeve’s earshot.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you—“

You blushed and shook your head, silently absolving him of any wrongdoing.

“Did you thank Cordell for the ride?”

She groaned and muttered a thank you before abandoning her breakfast, eyes still glued to her phone.

You watched her walk off, slack-jawed at her audacity before turning your attention back to him.

“You were the same way, darlin’.” He laughed. Even harder when you gave him a look of disbelief and tried to argue otherwise.

“Well, the secret’s out I guess.” You mumbled while slouching onto a barstool as Cordell handed you a mug of coffee.

“It’s not so bad, right?”

Your first instinct was to be afraid of Luke finding out you were seeing someone. And that someone had stepped in to care for his daughter when he abandoned his responsibilities. But you’d wasted too much of your life being afraid of him.

Cordell knew exactly what you were worried about. He wanted to protect you and shield you from the inevitable fallout of dealing with a toxic person. But he didn’t want to insult you by treating you like you needed saving. You’d fought your way out of that marriage and survived it. He knew you could handle this. Besides, he’d be no better than Luke if he made you feel small and helpless.

After a few more weeks and some careful planning, you and Maeve joined the Walker family at the ranch for dinner one night. Abby pulled you into a tight hug, nearly squeezing the breath out of you. She was making up for all the nights they had invited you to family gatherings you were too afraid to attend. Maeve was on her best behavior and immediately gravitated toward Stella, who was a couple of years older than her.

Cordell had explained your relationship to his kids ahead of time and, while it would take time to adjust, they were old enough to process the change.

Neither of you had any plans to remarry.

You had no intention of having any more children.

You just wanted to be together because you loved each other. There was no obligation. No expectation. Just a choice you made every day.

Later that evening after dinner, Cordell, you, and the kids ventured up to the old overlook together. The sun was grazing the horizon and the first stars were beginning to shine overhead. Contrails crisscrossed the red and yellow sky. Cordell had built a fire pit at the top of the hill and the teenagers were gathered around the small fire, laughing and taking pictures of God-knows-what.

You and Cordell sat on the tailgate of his truck, gazing out over the familiar landscape bathed in an orange glow. Next to you were two stacks of old, faded letters. The letters he wrote you during the war along with a handful of pictures of him and his war buddies. Most of them were lighthearted telling you all of the good memories from his deployment. He didn’t want you to worry, so he never wrote about the horrors he witnessed. Just things that would hopefully make you proud of him one day. 

The other stack were your letters to him that he pretended he hadn’t seen before. He got to watch your face light up when you told him about your adventures in Oklahoma. He loved that you still talked with your hands and that the world’s cruelty hadn’t stolen your ability to smile and laugh. 

After swapping a few stories, you laced your arm through his and rested your head on his shoulder, letting him press a kiss to the top of your head before pulling you a little closer.

At that moment, everything felt perfect.

But there was a bittersweet undertone.

One decision twenty years earlier had separated you. Your decision to leave created space in both of your lives to find your people and build families.

You would never regret your relationship with Luke because without him, you wouldn’t have your beautiful, feisty teenager who would probably admit to loving you again someday.

Cordell wouldn’t trade the years he had with Emily for anything. He’d go through the heartbreak of losing her again and again. She lived on through the two beautiful children they had together. He also knew that if Emily would have chosen anyone for him, it would have been you.

So while you both had to go through hell to get there, you knew that you were exactly where you belonged in that moment.

Together.

𝚆𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝:

@thesundontshineontheseeyebrows , @casanddeanswife , @mrs-cactus69 , @ferncloud0191

╰┈➤ 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Apparently, his son accidentally caused him to hit his head while they were practicing martial arts, but he’s fine and nothing serious happened

Oh no! Jared hurt himself doing something completely wholesome and it's not a big deal. However will his haters cope?