Jett
Iwalk up Tanner’s grand front entrance with Kennedy and Daylen standing on either side of me. Taking a deep breath, I knock on the front door.
Tanner opens it looking a bit more casual than I’m used to seeing him. He’s in jeans and a black sweater. I suppose I’ve never seen him in his home.
“Hey,” he pinches his lips together. “You ready for this? She’s not going to make it easy.”
I nod. “Yep. It has to be done. Thanks for being agreeable.” I offer my hand to shake with sincerity. My silent peace offering.
He gives me a small smile as he takes it and then opens the door wider in invitation. “She’s in the kitchen with Bailey and the babies. Daylen knows the way.”
We walk in through the foyer of Tanner’s immaculate home. It’s traditional with a modern touch. The house is well kept and professionally decorated, much like Tanner, but there’s also a warmth to it. I’m not sure why that surprises me, but it does.
As we enter the kitchen, we see the babies on the kitchen table in bouncy seats. Bailey is giving one baby a bottle while Harper is doing the same with the other.
“Good morning, ladies,” I offer.
Bailey smiles and cheerily replies, “Good morning.”
Harper scrunches her nose at me without responding. I deserve that.
Swallowing nervously, I ask, “Harper, may I please talk to you?”
She looks at Bailey in question, who nods. “I think you should talk to him. It’s okay. Why don’t you four head into the living room for some privacy? Daddy will take over feeding Rory.”
Harper shakes her head. “I don’t want to talk to him. He’s mean, and he made Mommy cry.”
Daylen walks over to her and holds his hands out for her. “Come on, little nugget. He’s a good guy. I promise. I’ll be with you the whole time, and I’ll let you braid my hair next time it gets long.”
I’m grateful for his attempt to put her at ease.
She hesitates briefly before placing the bottle on the table and allowing Daylen to easily lift her into his arms.
As we walk into the living room, Harper tugs on Daylen’s facial hair. “I’m not a little nugget. I’m the third-tallest girl in my class.”
Daylen chuckles. “I stand corrected, big nugget.” He pretends to bite her arm. “Hmm, yummy. You could use a little honey mustard sauce though.”
She giggles as he sits on the sofa with her on his lap. She leans back into his chest, clearly extremely comfortable with him.
Kennedy and I sit across from them with only a square, metal coffee table between us. I lick my lips nervously. “Harper, thank you for agreeing to talk to me.”
She purses her lips and crosses her arms. “I’m hearkening.”
I raise an eyebrow, having no idea what that word means.
She rolls her eyes in annoyance. “I’m listening. You should get word of the day toilet paper to increase your pedestrian vocabulary.”
Kennedy lets out a laugh, while I bite back a smile. You’ve got to appreciate Harper’s gusto.
I nod. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll have to ask your dad where to buy it.” I fidget a bit in my seat. Why does this kid make me so nervous?
I eventually look her in the eyes. “I owe you an apology for scaring you like I did that night in your mom’s room.
I wish I could go back and do it differently, but I can’t.
All I can do is tell you from the bottom of my heart that I’m truly sorry.
I was having a horrible day. Not that it makes it okay.
It doesn’t. But I need you to know how much I regret my actions. I would never intentionally scare you.”
She considers my words for a few beats. “Why were you having a bad day?”
Before I can answer, Kennedy does. “I kept a big secret from my dad, something you should never do. He was sad I didn’t tell him the truth.”
Harper nods in understanding. “My mommy always says candor is a cornerstone of all relationships.”
Kennedy gives her a knowing smile. “Doesn’t your mommy also say that if someone says sorry, it means they value the relationship?”
“Touché, Kennedy. Touché,” Harper responds.
Daylen lets out a laugh. “I hope my kid is just like you, Harper.”
Harper grins. “Kennedy said the same thing to me the other day.”
“It’s true,” Kennedy agrees. “I want all kinds of little…err…big Harpers running around.”
Yeah, me too.
“Anyway,” I continue, “I came here for a few reasons. The first is to apologize to you. Would you be so kind as to accept my apology?”
Harper looks like she’s about to say yes when my daughter again interrupts, “Maybe you should get a few bags of Skittles out of him first, Harper.”
She smiles and looks at me. I nod, having come prepared. Reaching into my back pocket, I retrieve two bags of Skittles and place them on the table, raising an eyebrow.
She giggles, and it’s music to my ears. “I accept your offer.” She quickly jumps off Daylen’s lap to gather her candy before climbing back up onto Daylen as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
I have a rare moment of affection for my son-in-law. He’s obviously been very good to this little girl throughout the years for her to feel so comfortable and safe around him.
“Thank you for being so gracious. Now I’d like to talk about your mom.”
Her face drops. “You made my mommy sad all the time. And she cries. A lot. Boys aren’t supposed to make girls cry.”
My heart feels like it’s splintering that Harper had to watch Fallon suffer so much. “Again, I’m sorry. But I have a plan to make sure she doesn’t cry anymore. A plan that might make her happy again. It’s a secret though. Can you keep a secret?”
Her eyes widen with a hint of excitement, just as I had hoped.
“I can keep secrets. I didn’t tell anyone that Dylan broke her mommy’s expensive perfume bottle and blamed it on the dog.
” She sucks in a breath and covers her mouth, realizing she just spilled the beans.
Her adorableness is almost too much to bear.
I bite back my smile. “How about I agree not to tell Dylan’s mommy about the perfume, and you agree to keep my secret?”
Harper nods enthusiastically, almost in relief. “Okay. Deal.”
“I love your mommy so much.” I tap the left side of my chest near my shoulder. “My heart hurts when I’m not with her.”
Harper shakes her head. “Did you know your heart isn’t all the way over on the left side of your chest? It’s only just left of center. Daddy and Uncle Cheetah taught me that.”
“Good to know.” I tap closer to the center of my chest. “My heart hurts when I’m not with your mommy. I know I made her sad, but I want to spend the rest of my life making her smile. Did you know the first thing I noticed about your mom was her smile?”
Harper grins widely. “She has a pretty smile. People always say so.”
“You two have the same smile.”
Her eyes widen. “We do?”
“Yep. I know you don’t like to be called pretty. But you do have a pretty smile. Is it okay to say that?”
She nods. “It’s okay. I know I have pretty privilege.”
Kennedy snorts in laughter. “Fucking best kid ever.”
I’m about to chastise her when Harper gasps. “You owe money to our swear jar, Kennedy.”
I chuckle. “Why didn’t I think of that when Kennedy was your age? You’re so smart.”
Harper nods. “Thanks to Aunt Kam, we have enough money in our swear jar to go on vacation. That’s what Daddy says.” She looks at me with her big blue eyes. “Will you tell me the secret now?”
I get down on my knees on the ground so I can get a little closer to her, happy when she doesn’t flinch or anything along those lines. I make a bit of a show of whispering, “I want to ask her to marry me.”
Harper’s mouth widens. “You do?”
I nod. “I do.”
Kennedy quickly interrupts, “That will make us sisters.”
Harper screeches in obvious joy. “For real?”
“For real,” I answer. “And I have a son. You would have a brother too.”
I can literally see Harper’s wheels turning. “I would go from no brothers and sisters to four?”
“Yes,” I answer. “With your two new baby sisters, that will make four.” And hopefully more, but I choose not to share that with her.
“Wow,” she breathes.
Kennedy stands and waddles over to Harper, sitting next to her, and takes her little hand. She rubs that hand over her big belly. “It will make you an aunt to this baby.”
And…jackpot. Harper screams in excitement this time.
I chuckle. “I’m glad that makes you happy. I want to ask your permission though. You’re the most important person in the world to your mommy, and it’s important to me to have your blessing. Is it okay with you if I ask your mommy to marry me?”
Harper raises an unamused eyebrow. “She’s mad at you. I’ve never seen her so mad or sad about anything before.”
I swallow down my emotions. “Oh, I know. I’m going to apologize and then get down on my knee and beg her to marry me.
” I pull a ring box out of my pocket as I move a little closer to Harper.
Again, she seems at ease, so I move toward her until I’m on one knee right in front of her. Opening the box, I offer it to her.
She lifts her head to look inside, carefully examining the contents.
“I thought of you when I saw this ring because I love your smile and your mommy’s smile. This is for you. It’s my promise to only make you two smile, not cry. To never make either of you sad again. Will you accept it?”
It’s one of those cheap, yellow smiley face rings with a thick, smooth, plastic coating. At first I was going to buy her something truly nice, but I thought this would be more meaningful, and if she loses it, it’s easily replaceable because I bought an entire case of them to keep on hand.
She nibbles nervously on her lower lip as she first looks at the ring and then back at Daylen. He nods. “It’s a pretty cool ring. I wish I had one just like it.”
“Nah,” Kennedy says, “Harper has a great smile. Yours is crooked. You can’t wear that ring.” She winks at Harper. “Pretty privilege.”
I move the ring box a little closer to Harper so she can better reach it. “Do you accept my proposal?” I ask again.
She turns to Kennedy, who nods in encouragement, before looking back at me. “I don’t want my mommy to be sad anymore. She was happy before, when you were her boyfriend. If you promise to make her happy again, I’ll accept.”
I smile. “Agreed.” I take the ring out of the box and place it on her little finger. She stares at it like it’s the most precious thing in the world. My heart swells with pride that we’re able to get to this place and with affection for this compassionate, forgiving little girl.
“Now I need to share the biggest secret with you. Are you ready?”
She nods eagerly. “Yes.”