All was going fairly well as the days went on. Although, while Jackson was sleeping in the same room as Misty, he had yet to crawl into bed with her. Jackson was terrified of hurting the sweet woman. On the upside, her nightmares had lessened in frequency.

On one particularly frigid night, Misty lay in bed feeling more than half frozen. Even when she was wearing Jack's extra pair of flannel pants and one of his sweatshirts. She knew that Jackson had already fallen asleep on his pallet on the hard floor. She could hear his muffled snores as he lay sprawled out on his stomach. She looked over the edge of the bed noticing that he looked almost like he was hot. He was wearing his t-shirt and flannel pajama pants. His blanket was pushed down by his knees. The dark hid most of him, but the window let in just enough light for her to see the outline of his bulky body.

"Jackson? Jack?" She gently poked his shoulder.

"What?" He mumbled tiredly he lifted his head from his pillow as if it weighed a ton.

"I'm freezing. Will you join me?" She heard him sigh. "Please?" He slowly pushed himself onto his knees and picked up his pillow.

"Alright, alright, you've convinced me." He crawled into bed next to her and fluffed his pillow under his head. "Damn woman- your feet are like ice!" He drew her into his chest and kept his arms wrapped tightly around her. Misty snuggled into his warmth, trying to get as close as possible. Jack clamped a hand on her hip. "Don't move."

"Sorry." She squeaked.

Jackson awoke several hours later with Misty still wrapped up tightly in his arms, her own arms were tucked between them and her face buried into his chest. Jackson ran his upper hand along her curves, committing the feel to memory. He pulled her in closer, nudging her legs apart just enough to ease the cramp in his thigh. Misty moved her leg up over his, linking it around his upper thigh. Jackson barely stifled a groan. Misty had all of her delicious curves pressed against him.

Jackson gently woke her up a few minutes later with a kiss to her hair. Misty rubbed her eyes against his shoulder. "Hey Sleeping Beauty."

"Hey yourself." She stretched against him. "You're so warm." She yawned as she curled up into his side.

Jackson chuckled quietly. "We need to get up." He tried to crawl out of bed, but Misty wrapped her arms more snuggly around him. "Come on Sweetheart, time to get up." Misty groaned and buried her face into his chest.

"I don't wanna. It's cold in here."

Jackson chuckled at her sleepy whine. He kissed her hair again. "Autumn is going to wake up soon."

"How can you tell?"

"Your breasts are heavy."

Misty pinked as she groaned in mortification. She reluctantly crawled out of bed and pulled on her house coat. Jackson stood and stretched. Misty shuffled to Autumn's room.

Jackson quickly shucked his flannel pants and t-shirt and donned his work clothes before going down stairs to start breakfast.

After Misty fed and changed Autumn, she headed down the stairs to the kitchen.

Jackson stood at the stove scrambling eggs and frying bacon. Coffee percolated on the stove top, filling the air with its bold aroma. "I can take over-" Jackson nodded and plucked Autumn from her mother's arms. He moved around the room, the little girl cooing and gurgling as her new daddy talked sweetly to her. Misty couldn't help but shake her head at the tough cowboy, who was currently promising her baby girl the world.

Jackson sat at the table, bouncing Autumn on his knee while he ate his breakfast. She giggled happily as she played with his napkin. "Hey Jack?"

"Yeah?" He slid his gaze from Autumn to Misty.

"When can we- you know?"

Jackson shrugged his shoulders. "We'll just have to ease into it. I don't want you to be scared when the time comes."

"How do you 'ease' into something like this?"

Her innocence made him smile a little. "I'll show you, I promise."

"When?" Jackson chuckled as he dropped his head back.

"Woman, I swear you'll be the death of me." Jack stood from the table and carried Autumn into the den where he had set up the pack'n play. He placed her amongst the pink blanket and toys before going back into the kitchen. Misty had the plates washed and the cups cleaned. Jackson slipped his arm around her waist. "Come." Misty happily followed him into the den.

Jackson sat down and pulled her into his lap. She wiggled a little to get comfortable. Her feet dangled over the edge of the chair. Jackson simply held her close as they watched the western movie channel. Jackson pressed his lips to her forehead.

Misty tipped her head back and pressed her lips to his.

With a smile, Jackson melded his lips to hers. Misty tangled her fingers in his hair as he gently assaulted her mouth. Misty wiggled against him causing Jackson to groan against her lips. "Let's get you turned around." He effortlessly picked her up and turned her so she straddled his lap. Misty gasped and pulled away from him.

"Uhh-" she blushed bright red.

"It's a natural reaction. I promise you that I won't act on it until I feel you are comfortable with that thought."

"How Jack?! I'm gonna be terrified either way!"

"This is why I'm easing you into it. I'm giving you time to slowly adjust." Jackson smoothed his hand over his curves, brushing over her sensitive areas. "We'll just work on the kissing and touching part with our clothes on. And then go from there. Is that okay with you?" He looked genuinely concerned as he stared into her eyes. "If it helps, you can watch everything I do when we're doing this. You can tell me what you like and what you don't like. If you don't like it or it makes you uncomfortable, I'll make sure that I don't do it again."

"What about you though?"

"Touch wherever you want. I'm not picky. Although I wouldn't touch my feet. I'm horribly ticklish there." Here Misty giggled which had the desired effect of relaxing her. Jackson shifted just a bit to put the foot rest up.

He continued to caress her curves and she watched his every move. "Let nature take over Misty." She sighed as she relaxed further. Jackson leaned up and kissed her lips. "I need to get to work. The boys are probably wondering where their boss is."

Misty laid her head against his shoulder. "Why can't you stay?"

"I need to go work with the horse in the round pen and then get the stock ready for sale. Not to mention preg-checking about twenty of the yearlings. The others will have to be cycled throughout the week."

"Why can't one of the boys check the cows?" She slipped her arms around his waist. Jackson seriously started questioning himself in that moment. But he knew that he needed to be out there working.

"I'll be back in by noon for lunch." He kissed her hair as he moved to get out of the chair. Misty looked up at him with her arms still linked around him. Jackson dropped a kiss to her sweet mouth. "I'll be back. I promise."

#

Misty called one of the gals she had befriended while working at the café. She asked her friend the delicate question of what a woman did in the bedroom. Thankfully, or not, she was full of detailed information. That's what you get for asking the local gynecologist for sex advice.

Feeling a little better- but mostly nervous. She fidgeted as she waited for Jackson to come home at noon. She was so nervous about everything that her milk wouldn't dome down so she could feed Autumn.

She sat at the kitchen table trying to get Autumn to nurse, but now she and the baby were both getting aggravated.

Jackson walked into the kitchen to find Misty near tears as she tried to get the screaming baby to suckle. He knelt next to her and smoothed his calloused hand over Autumn's downy hair. "What's going on?"

"I can't get my milk to come down and Autumn is starving." Jackson stood and kissed her lips as he tucked her hair behind her ears.

"What's got you into a dither?"

"I'm horribly nervous about everything."

Jack smiled and framed her face in his hands. "Relax woman. I don't plan on doing anything anytime soon." He smoothed her hair away from her face and down her neck. "I got your test results back this morning." Jackson sighed. "You're pregnant."

"What about those horrible cramps I was having? Besides my hormones are screwed up since I'm breastfeeding." Misty frowned.

"We took the hormones into account, and we'll have to do an ultrasound to see if the baby is still there." Jackson rubbed her arm, soothing her frayed nerves with that simple act.

Misty got a pained expression. "What am I going to do?" Jackson took Autumn and helped her latch on. The baby closed her eyes as she ate.

He leaned down to look her square in the face, an arm braced against the table to keep him steady. "Misty, no matter what, I will be here to help you. Look, we don't even know if the baby is still there."

Misty leaned her head against the arm he had braced on the table. "I don't want to have his baby again. What if it looks like him?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Autumn finished and yawned. Jack smiled as he took the precious baby into his arms to burp her. "Come with me? I need to get cleaned up and then we can go to the clinic." Misty only nodded.

Jackson set Autumn in her crib before heading towards the bathroom- Misty trailing behind him.

She felt uneasy when he turned the water in the shower on. He then turned to her. "Will you help me undress? I promise not to move- my hands at least. I can't control if something else moves."

She swallowed her fear and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. She lifted his hands to undo the buttons at his wrists. Jackson decided that maybe talking to her would distract her from her task.

"If none of this would've ever happened. Would you want kids?"

"I love children. I was always the self-appointed babysitter at the family gatherings."

"If it was with the man of your choice. Would you still want children today?"

Misty shrugged. "Depends I guess." She helped him shrug out of the sleeves of his work shirt. Misty spotted something poking out from under the left short sleeve of his white t-shirt. Curiosity had her rolling the material up to take a better look.

Jackson had a tattoo of a very detailed feather in a soft blue-gray on the inside of his bicep. The words 'I'll fly away' scrawled underneath of it. "What is this for?"

Jackson smiled fondly. "My mother Maggie. She passed away when I was seven. I got the tattoo when I was eighteen." He kissed her forehead. "I wanted it because it was my mother's favorite song. I remember her standing in the kitchen, doing something or another, and singing that song. And I remember that she had blue-gray eyes."

"That's really sweet of you Jackson." Misty had tear filled eyes and a sad smile on her lips. She pulled the undershirt free from his jeans and he took it off the rest of the way. And that's when she saw the scars.

They littered his skin like freckles littered hers. She ran her fingertips over the raised marks. "Who?"

"My dad mostly. I was a very rebellious child after my mom died. I got into a lot of fights- well I still do. I've had many a busted beer bottle slicing me open. I can't tell you how many times I was shipped off to a different boys home because I got into too many fights." Misty slid her fingers down the waist band of his jeans. It took her a very long moment to make any movement at all.

She shook when she finally went for the button and zipper on his jeans. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes as she struggled with the fear that was engulfing her.

Jackson saw her tears and quickly wiped them away with the pads of his thumbs. "What's wrong Sweetheart?"

"I'm scared! I don't know what to do! I don't know whether to be absolutely terrified, or if I want to fall onto any flat surface and let you have your way with me." Jackson kissed her forehead as he tried to hide a smile. He was glad that she was feeling as confused as he was.

"Baby, I'm the one who should be scared. Not very many women have brought me to my knees. You're the only woman I know that can look sexy as hell dancing around the kitchen in my shirt, but smile so innocently when you get caught with flour everywhere. I've never had to take so many cold showers to cool my blood- even as a teenager."

"Jackson, I don't want you to hate me because I can't give you what you want."

"I don't want anything you can't give. I'm a pretty easy guy to please. A hug, a kiss, maybe some cuddling up here and there. That's all I ask. Anything more than that is an added bonus. I won't ask for anything that you aren't comfortable giving." Jackson kissed her puffy eyes as he wrapped his long arms tightly around her small frame.

Jackson pulled away to look at her. "You don't have to stay in here if you don't want to." He tucked her hair behind her ears. "Unless you want to stay for the show." He grinned at her flushed cheeks and how she wouldn't make eye contact.

#

Jackson held Misty's hand as they looked at the ultrasound screen. She sighed with relief when there wasn't anything, not even a heartbeat. "Oh thank God!" Misty let her head fall back onto the pillow.

"Congratulations you aren't pregnant!" Dina, the gynecologist, wiped the excess gel off of her belly and pulled her shirt down. She pulled up the file on her computer to see the results of the pap smear. "Looks like you're all clean." She closed the laptop and turned to her patient and an anxious Jackson. "Now you two can safely do whatever it is that you want." She pulled off her glasses. "Do either of you have any questions as to what might happen in the bedroom?" Even if Misty hadn't confided with her that she and Jackson were getting serious, she would've seen the signs. Those two couldn't keep from touching the other in some way and they had the 'look' in their eyes.

Jackson looked somewhat uncomfortable when he asked, "Will I hurt her? If I really take my time and do things right?" Jack absently rolled the brim of his cowboy hat as he waited for her answer.

Dina couldn't help smiling at the man she had grown up with, the poor guy was getting embarrassed. "She might feel a pinch the first few times due to some scar tissue, but with time it should return to its normal elasticity. If you feel like you need it, lube will help make things- easier." Here she couldn't help but chuckle at Jackson's face.

Jackson blushed and rubbed his neck. That serious expression that he wore all of the time came back to the surface. "Will she be able to have children?"

Dina sighed and looked between the two of them. Misty had a sliver of hope in her eyes and Jackson, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Since her body rejected this baby and miscarried even though she was in a pretty normal, semi-peaceful setting living with you, I'm going to say no. At least until the scar tissue is repaired or removed." Dina squeezed Misty's free hand. "I'm sorry sweetie, but right now there is no way to tell for sure. After you've been sexually active for a while, come back and we'll do some tests. It could be something as simple as the embryo not attaching in a good place."

#

Jack cuddled close to Misty. Her bottom pressed against his straining member and his arms wrapped tightly around her. She shifted and stiffened. Jack kissed her shoulder and loosened his hold on her just a bit. "Shh- Misty it's just me." He mumbled against her skin. She rolled toward him, bumping his very sensitive organ. He hissed and moved away from her. He held up a hand, praying that she wouldn't move. "Give me a minute." Misty sat up and turned on the lamp. God, must not be listening to him. Jackson was curled up, holding himself, trying to breathe again.

"I'm sorry Jack-" She sounded scared and all he could do was laugh through the pain.

"Woman, I couldn't hurt you right now if I tried. I can't hardly move!" Misty clutched the blankets tightly around her. "Honey, I wouldn't hurt you. You know that." Jackson gathered the strength to inch up into a sitting position next to her. "Come here Darlin'." He opened his arm for her. He kissed her hair and set his chin on her head, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to breathe evenly. "I'm really tryin' to be gentle with you, girl. But sometimes I forget who I'm talking to."

They say there in silence of a while. Misty smoothed his t-shirt over his broad chest. "Does it still hurt?"

"It's not bad."

"I'm still sorry. I wish I could take the pain away-" Jackson smiled softly at her as he tilted her face up to him. This woman had no idea just how sweet she was. Even though she had endured so much pain, she still wished to take away the pain others might feel. He leaned down and kissed her eyes, cheeks, nose, and finally her lips.

"You're helping just by being next to me."

Misty's hand cupped his jaw and pulled him back for another kiss. Jackson leaned into her to push her back into the pillows. Misty seemed to panic a little so, Jackson pulled her onto his lap shifting her around so she straddled his thighs. He slid his hands under the hem of her shirt; he groaned when he found bare skin. Misty pulled away just long enough to pull her shirt over her head. "There you go." He smiled and leaned up to kiss her bare collar bone. His hands gently caressed her soft skin. He was afraid that his rough hands would irritate her skin, but she arched into his touch.

Misty looped her arms around his neck as she focused on Jackson's touch. She moaned when he let go of her to turn the lamp off. Misty swallowed hard. "Shh- Relax Misty. I just plan on touching, nothing more."

Knowing that Misty was uncomfortable, he shifted to scoot back down under the covers. He pulled the blankets up and tucked them in. Misty still lay against his chest in nothing but her panties.

Jack wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. "G'night."

Jackson simply held her close and made sure she was warm.

That next morning Jack awoke tangled in Misty's arms. He was half on half off of her and his arms were wrapped tightly around her, his fingertips teasing the undersides of her breasts. He slowly started littering lingering kisses on her bare skin. She moaned and moved beneath him. Her fingers tangled in his hair.

Jackson smiled against her breast as he loved on her body with his hands and mouth. He was going to drive this woman crazy. He kissed his way back to her lips. "I'll go grab Autumn."

#

Jackson had been slaving away for the last week on the ranch. He was gone at dawn and didn't get back home until well after dark. He fell into bed each night dead tired.

One night he barely made it through a shower and was too exhausted to dress before falling onto the bed.

Misty, who had been in the other room nursing and changing Autumn, walked in to find a naked Jackson passed out on top of the bed. She got a very good view of his tight ass as he laid on his stomach. She gathered the courage, since he was passed out, to undress completely. She covered Jackson with an extra blanket before crawling under the covers. She fell asleep easier than she expected.