26. Hayes
Chapter twenty-six
Hayes
I wake up, not with Lennon still in my arms, but between my legs, with my cock in her mouth. Usually, I am the one between her legs in the morning, but I’m not going to complain about the change. My moan escapes as she swirls her tongue, my hands finding her, fingers tangling in her hair. She tugs on my balls as she takes me deeper, and I’m about to lose it. I release her hair and flip us, with me now hovering over her naked body. “Good morning, sunshine. Did you wake up needy?” She nods her head, as she reaches back for my cock. I chuckle at her impatience. I start to trail kisses down her body. I know her well enough now to know where she likes; the spot on her neck under her ear, her nipples lightly tugged on, her stomach is ticklish, so I skip that and moves along further south. “Hayes…please fuck me.”
“Hmm. I could do that now. But you had your time to play. It’s only fair.” We don’t have long, I have a surprise for my girls today, so I won’t get to worship her for as long as I want to today. Her back arches off the bed as I swipe her entrance with my tongue. I know what my girl likes, and me going down on her is one of them. And it’s one of my favorite things, but I’m on a time restraint here. After a few minutes of teasing her clit, I push two fingers into her. “Hayes! Please!” I pull my fingers out of her and make my way back up her body. I stick the fingers that were just in her, in my mouth, while her heated gaze is on me. “Have a taste, sunshine. You taste like fucking heaven.” I bring my fingers to her mouth and wait until she parts her lips. “Fuck, Lennon.” I let out a low moan when she swirls her tongue around my fingers, and I can’t wait any longer to be in her. Lennon can sense my urgency, because she lifts her hips, ready for me. She lets out a small gasp when I push inside of her. I start off slow, but when the base of my spine starts to tingle, my movements become more forceful. She matches my pace, eager to cross the finish line. “Hayes…I’m going to come.” She pants right before she throws her head back. As she is coming, the tightness on my cock sends me over the edge, and I am moaning her name moments later.
“Wow. How does it keep getting better?” Lennon whispers. I gently pull out of her, loving the mixture of our release that escapes. We both want more kids, and I would be lying if I said that I would be mad if she came to me tomorrow and said that she was carrying our baby. “Because it’s us, sunshine. Because we are meant to be.” I lean down and capture her lips that are already swollen from this morning’s activities. I climb out of bed and extend my hand to her. “Time to get up. We have a busy day.” She gives me a questioning look, but takes my hand and follows me into the bathroom.
After another round in the shower, I leave Lennon in the bathroom to get ready while I go down the hall to wake Rosie up and get her ready for the day. I’m shocked that she isn’t up yet, but she did stay up later than normal yesterday. After giving her a bath, we go back into her room, and I find a dress already laid out on the bed. I shrug my shoulders, while Rosie gets dressed, and we head downstairs to wait on Lennon. From the kitchen, I can see the shop doors open, and Travis’ truck parked in front of the building.
Morning. You’re here early today.
Travis
Morning, boss. I umm…didn’t leave last night.
He worked all night? How is that possible? He got to work yesterday at six in the morning.
Travis…you have time to get this done. You don’t have to kill yourself. Have you eaten? Slept?
Jesus. I’m coming across like I am his father, but I can’t help but be worried.
Travis
Don’t worry about me, bossman. I caught a few hours of sleep, and I brought some sandwiches.
I don’t have time for this today, but when I read his response, I pull out the eggs, some bacon, and a pan, and start making some breakfast for him. Travis isn’t just my employee; he has turned into someone that I trust within my circle. By the time Lennon comes downstairs, I have breakfast ready, and three to-go coffees on the island. I hand one to Lennon and take in the long dress and sweater that she has draped over her arm. Rosie comes running around the corner, screaming about how they match. I don’t know when Lennon did it, but she knew that my daughter would love to match her. They both have long burnt orange dresses with flowers on the bottom on, and cream sweaters in their hands.
“Well, don’t my girls look beautiful! We just need to run this down to Travis and then we can go.” I decide that it would be better to drive down to the shop, so we get loaded up in the truck and drive down. We spend twenty minutes talking to Travis, before we leave him for my surprise. I let him know that he is more than welcome to go into the house and give him the security code, before leaving.
A little over an hour later, we pull into our destination. Both Lennon and Rosie are looking around with wide smiles on their faces. I’ve taken us to a place that I know Lennon hasn’t been since before her parents passed away. Cash told me that about how their parents would bring them to Haven Shores, a small town in Michigan on the lake, every year. Their town festival is a mixture of things— games, booths filled with crafts and food, and small rides for kids. Cash and Shelby are bringing their kids tomorrow. I get out of the truck and open the back door for Rosie first. She already has herself unbuckled, but I stop her before she jumps down. “Listen, Ro Ro. It is going to be very busy in there. You need to hold either my hand or Lennon’s. No exceptions. Understood?” She frantically nods her head. “Yes, daddy! I promise!” I help her down, and she eagerly grabs my hand while we walk to the passenger side door.
I open her door and find Lennon looking up at me with adoration in her eyes. “How did you know about this place?” I help her out of the truck and intertwine our fingers. “I had a little bit of help. Cash told me that you guys used to come here every year. I thought it would be something that you would like to start doing again.” I hope I didn’t fuck up; she looks like she is happy but what if it makes her sad to think about the memories with her parents? “This is amazing. Thank you, Hayes. I love you.” I give her a quick kiss. “I love you too, sunshine.”
We stop in one booth that is full of different kinds of fabric. Lennon and Rosie are looking at all the bolts— yes, I know what those are, thanks to my sister. I can tell the minute Lennon likes something because her eyes go wide, and her smile even bigger. She grabs the material, leans down to say something to Rosie, which looks like my daughter agrees, and they go to pay. I try to hand over my card, but Lennon shakes her head and hands hers over to the attendant. “I want to get this for Tess. I think she can make something beautiful out of this.” And that’s Lennon; always thinking about other people. After paying, we take a card to give to Tess, and head to the next booth.
I noticed that Lennon kept looking at pottery at one booth but kept putting the set down, so when the girls go play some games, I head back to the booth. “Hi there! Is there anything I can help you find today?” an older woman greets me, while another woman stands next to her, smiling. “Good afternoon. My fiancée was in here, and I could tell that she wanted to get this set, so I wanted to get that for her.” Lennon isn’t my fiancée…yet, but saying girlfriend seemed wrong. I already have plates and bowls, but my home is also Lennon’s now and if she wants new dinnerware, then that is what she is going to get.
“How sweet of you! My granddaughter here makes everything you see, in a studio she has set up behind my house. Did you want the full set? That is four big plates, four small plates, four bowls, and two coffee mugs.” I think it over before responding, and then look back at the women. “You do great work, these are great. Can I do two of the full set and also two more mugs? I better get some for my sister, too.” They both laugh at that last part and thank me for the compliment. Once they have everything bagged and I pay, I quickly go back to my truck and put the items in the back seat.
I find Lennon and Rosie at a flower stand, both of them leaning over to smell the flowers. I take out my phone and snap a photo before stepping up next to them. I give Lennon’s butt a light squeeze before wrapping my arm around her. I ask my girls what bouquets they want, and once they both pick one out, I pay and we make our way towards the food trucks. Both pick out what they want for lunch, and I send them to pick a table while I order.
I set the overflowing tray down in the middle of the table and sit down across from my girls. Rosie wastes no time taking a big bite of her corn dog. “Today is the best ever!” Lennon and I laugh with Rosie. Lennon looks down at Rosie with a wide smile. “It’s been the best day, sweet Ro Ro.” We quickly eat our lunch, and after I throw away the trash, Rosie requests that I win her a stuffed animal. I don’t bother to tell her that all carnival and fair games are rigged, I just say okay, and follow behind them.
Forty dollars later, Rosie is carrying a large stuffed dog with the widest smile on her face. I wanted to throttle the teenage boy every time he grinned at me as I handed him more money. But I would have kept giving more money just to see the smile on Rosie’s face and the laughter coming from Lennon. I would do anything for those two. We almost reach the exit when Rosie stops dead in her tracks. “Mommy! Look! Puppies!” Rosie lets go of Lennon’s hand and runs to the enclosure that is housing some large puppies. Lennon gasps and slightly stumbles, and she looks at me with wide eyes that have tears in them. “She called me Mommy.” she whispers, almost to herself. “Is that okay, Hayes? Are you upset? I swear I didn’t tell her to call me that.” We get to where Rosie is sitting in the grass talking to a puppy through the gate. I pull Lennon close and lean down to whisper in her ear, “I’m more than fine with it, sunshine. You are her mother. You treat her how a mother should. The better question is if you are ok with it. If you don’t want her to call you that, I’ll talk to her.” She tilts her head back, and all I see is fire in her eyes. “You better not say anything to her, Hayes. I am her mother.”
We turn our attention downward to where Rosie is laughing as the puppy licks her fingers. Lennon and I both squat down next to her. “Rosie, you ran off. What did I tell you?” I hate it when I have to reprimand her, but this is about her safety. She looks up at me, her smile fading. “I’m sorry Daddy! But I saw the puppies and I couldn’t help it!” Lennon tries to cover up her laugh by coughing, which earns a laugh from a man standing in the enclosure with the puppies .
“Hi there! Would you guys like to come in and play with these guys?” With how quick Lennon and Rosie stand up and nod their heads, I fear today I will not be able to tell Rosie no on getting a puppy. They both voted yes on a dog, my opinion be damned. I stand up and follow them in, where we are bombarded with puppies fighting for our attention.
“Are these Saint Bernards?” Lennon asks the man as a puppy climbs into her lap and lays down. “Yes, ma’am. They are ten weeks old. Their mama had twelve puppies, and we don’t usually have puppies. But the momma got out into where the male was at, and bam, we had too many puppies. My wife kept one, and we need to find homes for the rest. We love these dogs, and she would have kept all of them if I let her.”
A puppy comes up to me and jumps up, wanting my attention. I sit down next to Lennon, while the puppy runs around us before climbing into my lap. “Oh Hayes, look.” I follow where Lennon is looking and I find Rosie laying on her stomach, nose to nose with a puppy. She lets out a loud laugh when the puppy starts licking her face, and that is the moment I know we are going home with a puppy.
I hang my head and lightly shake it back and forth. I pick my head up to find the man looking at us like he knows this is inevitable. “Is this breed good with young children? Not only do we have our daughter, but a niece and nephew that come over frequently.” Lennon squeezes my hand as we wait for his response. “Yes, sir. These guys have been around my grandchildren every day. You couldn’t pick a better breed for your daughter.”
I look back over at Rosie, and then back to Lennon. “Rosie, can you please come here?” She gets up and walks over, with the puppy following behind her. The man walks away to give us a moment and to greet the next family that walks up. Selling puppies here was a good idea on his part, with all these families walking through. I turn to Rosie with hopefully a serious look on my face. “I know you want a puppy.” She nods her head with so much force I’m surprised it doesn’t hurt. “But a puppy is a big commitment. It will need to be fed and watered. Trained. Walked and played with. Puppies aren’t toys, they need to be cared for and treated with respect.”
“I know Daddy. I will take care of my puppy. And love it. I will love it so much!” Lennon has been quiet during the exchange, but I want to know what she thinks. This will be all of our dog. “What are your thoughts, sunshine?” Lennon looks at me for a moment, clearly trying to gauge where I stand on the topic. “Well, I do think it is a big commitment. And Rosie, I know you want a puppy, but we don’t have to pick one of these. We can keep looking.”
Rosie hugs the puppy that has seemed to claim my daughter. “I want this one. Please, Mommy? Please, Daddy?” I can see on Lennon’s face that she is sold I sit there and act like I am still making up my mind. I didn’t expect to be coming home with a dog today, but I should have known this would happen. I reach over and pet the puppy in Rosie’s lap. “This is the one you want?” Rosie stands up and walks the few feet over to me, the puppy still by her side, and brings her hands to my cheeks. “Yes, Daddy! I love him so much!” I glance back over at Lennon, and she gives me a nod with a smile on her face.
I guess we are getting a puppy.
I stand up and walk over to the man. “Is the one with our daughter still available? And how much are you asking?” The man gives a full-bodied laugh at my expense. “Yes, sir, he is. And five hundred. I know I could be asking more, but I just want them to have good homes. It wasn’t about the money. They have all of their puppy shots. Here are the mom and dad. Great, truly great dogs.” He hands me his phone that has a picture of the massive adult dogs on his phone. I gulp at the thought of how much this puppy is going to eat. He tells me what brand of food the puppies are on, and I put that into my notes on my phone. I spot an ATM, and since I only have two hundred in cash left in my wallet, I jog over to the machine to pull out money.
Once I am back in the enclosure and pay the man, Lennon comes over and asks a few more questions, before we head back to the truck. Lennon helps Rosie get into the truck and buckled into her booster seat, while I set the puppy down in the grass. Once he relieves himself, I pick him back up and set him in Rosie’s lap. I open the passenger door for Lennon and when she sits down, I buckle her seatbelt. “I think this earns me a kiss, sunshine.”
She smirks, and I know she is going to tease me. “Hmm…I don’t know. I think you had this planned. You were always going to bring home a puppy today.” I bark out a laugh, because I absolutely did not have this planned, and she knows it. “Just kidding.” She leans forward and kisses me, her hands snaking around my neck. Too quickly, she pulls back breathless. I give her another kiss on the forehead before shutting her door and walking around to the driver’s side.
It doesn’t take long before everyone else in the truck is asleep, including the puppy. When the yet to be named dog lets out a snore, I wonder what I got myself into. This dog is going to grow up and weigh more than Lennon. Hell, maybe as much as me. I make a mental list of all the things that we need to get for our new family member. But those thoughts take the back burner when Lennon reaches over for my hand.
I glance down at her hand, the hand that I can’t wait to put a ring on, and smile.
She is everything I never knew I needed.