44 Dane
Dane
“AXE MARKS THE SPOT!” Kas cheers loudly as she jumps up and down.
We’re in the elementary school’s gymnasium for a parents’ night, where I’ve set up some little games for the kids, one of them being the kid-friendly axe throw.
I stare at the rubber axe embedded in the target next to another one—it does kind of look like the axes are making an X when you stare at it.
“Slay, Chaos Kas.”
“OMG.” She giggles. “Don’t ever say that again.”
“Slay or Chaos Kas?”
She rolls her eyes. “Both, Logger Dane.”
“I thought you liked that nickname best?”
She sighs, but the smile on her lips tells me she likes it and she’s just ribbing me, as she enjoys doing. “At least it’s better than Captain Kas.”
I ruffle her hair, and she groans but doesn’t stop smiling.
It’s been about three months since my life-changing night with Lindsey, and since then, things have been good. More than good. So good, in fact, that I’m still getting used to how good things can be. Especially since I’ve started integrating myself more in Lindsey and Kas’s life.
It was a little awkward at first. Lindsey and I haven’t had a direct conversation with Kas about how serious things are—serious as in, we’re-moving-in-together serious—but she knows her mom and I are “dating.” That word feels too small for what we are, but it’s the simplest one to use, especially while Kas is still getting used to me.
That said, she’s adjusted to me being around a lot easier than I expected.
I’ve watched her on weekends and evenings while Lindsey’s worked, and she’s even taught me how to play Critter Cove.
We also spend our Saturday afternoons together for obstacle course sessions, which have now moved inside, since it’s November, and it’s getting cold out.
When I called Levi and told him I wanted to continue the course, now on weekends since school is in session, he thought I wanted him to teach it.
I told him that I would be the one to do it, and he thought I’d been taken by body snatchers.
He asked if it had anything to do with the woman I was seeing, one who happened to be the mom of one of the kids, and while I was annoyed he knew, it wasn’t like it was a secret.
I called him not long after I gave Lindsey her training collar.
We hadn’t exactly been out frolicking like most couples, but we were already the subject of small-town gossip.
It’s why Lindsey and I decided to tell Kas we were dating not long after that night at my cabin.
She deserved to hear it from us, and we didn’t want some other kid—or their parents—bringing it up before we had the chance.
“Did you get two bull’s-eyes in a row, honey?”
At the sound of Lindsey’s voice, the peace I feel when she’s at my side returns, and a smile tugs at the corner of my lips.
Both Kas and I turn our attention to her as she walks over.
She’s wearing tight jeans and a thin, green V-neck sweater, and while it’s pretty, my eyes go immediately to the delicate necklace I placed around her neck three months ago.
It’s her day collar, the one she can wear out and about and not cause any heads to turn.
It’s a golden choker with two strands. One has a couple of white beads in the middle, and the other has an O-ring that sits perfectly at the center of her throat.
I was happy she liked it and agreed to wear it.
I prefer the leather one we use when we do a scene, though, which is a rarity lately, since we have Kas and, of course, her job. Not to mention my work.
I may not be a Pro Dom anymore, but I still have my Loopr account, and it’s thriving. Lindsey loves that I kept it, especially since all the videos I record are me pretending that I’m speaking to her or involve things she’s told me to put online.
She likes that other people drool over what she has, and I can’t say that doesn’t turn me on, so I’ve kept up the channel and have been using a lot of the money to fix things in her home.
Like staining her private dock on the lake and putting together the loft above her room as a place for Kas to game and Lindsey to read.
Along with the Loopr account, I’ve been working a few days a week for Fox and Morgan, helping with some reforestation projects, which means I’ve gotten to know Nathan better, too. I like him. Which is good, since I plan on making him my brother-in-law in the near future.
“I did!” Kas answers Lindsey’s question. “I can’t wait until I can try with a real axe!”
Lindsey chuckles. “Eventually. But I’d rather you keep all your body parts until you’re older.”
“Gross, Mom. But Logger Dane won’t let me chop off anything. Will you?”
“I won’t,” I promise.
“See?”
Lindsey laughs again before she looks at me with a smile.
I pull her into my side, her body settling against me like a missing puzzle piece.
She places her hand over my chest. “I know you won’t,” she says to me before turning her gaze to Kas, who’s smiling the way she does when she wants something, all sweet with big, wide, puppy-dog eyes.
“But we’ve talked about this, Kas. Not until you’re older. ”
She pouts. “How old?”
“I think ten is a good age.”
“That’s like two years from now!”
“Way less than that. You’re going to be nine in January,” Lindsey counters.
“But Mooooooom,” Kas whines.
“But Kaaaaaaas,” Lindsey parrots.
She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m going to ask Dad what he thinks.”
Lindsey stiffens in my arms, and I gently rub my thumb over her hip in a calming motion.
I’ve spoken to Lindsey about how much she wants me to interject with Kas when she talks back or is misbehaving.
She’s said she doesn’t mind me laying down the law if I need to, but it’s still new territory, and I want to tread lightly.
I’ve been very careful not to overstep so I don’t upset Lindsey or Kas.
Kas already has a dad, even if said dad is a complete and utter asshole.
I’ve had the displeasure of meeting Jeremy and his new wife once. Lindsey and I drove Kas to his place, then spent the weekend with her mom a couple of weeks back. Lindsey’s mom, I loved. Jeremy is the dictionary version of a weasel.
We didn’t speak for long, and thank god for that.
Had I listened to him make passive-aggressive digs at Lindsey for another second, I would have knocked him out.
Lindsey had to practically drag me away as it was, and I left in a bad mood, one that only Lindsey was able to get me out of later that night by reassuring me that his words didn’t hurt her anymore, especially since I’d come into her life.
I’m about to tell Kas to listen to her mom, but Lindsey beats me to it. “I don’t care what your dad says; he doesn’t have experience with axes or axe throwing.”
“No.” Kas rolls her eyes like both she and her mother love to do. “Not that dad—Logger Dad.”
My hand on Lindsey’s hip stills, and she tenses in my arms. I have to admit, of all the funny, sassy, or unexpected things Kas has said, this one has caught me the most off guard.
We’d planned to tell her tonight about the move—that I’ll be officially living with them, even though I spend most of my time there already.
What I haven’t told Kas is that I plan to propose to her mom.
I was going to ask her this week, when I have her to myself while Lindsey’s at work.
I want to make sure she’s okay with it, because if I wanted permission from anyone, it’d be Kas, especially given that my relationship with her mom evolved quickly.
Quicker than most relationships do. It’s a trait Lindsey joked must run in her family, since Nathan fell in love with Fox and Morgan over a snowed-in weekend together.
But love, I’m figuring out, rarely makes sense.
And trying to make sense of it or control it will drive you crazy. It’s better to simply surrender to it.
“Kas,” Lindsey whispers. My grip on Lindsey’s waist stays firm as I look between them. Lindsey’s brown eyes are watering, and her lips are opening and closing as she tries to find more words.
“What?” Kas asks, as if what she just said wasn’t a huge deal. As if I’m not fighting tears of my own.
I never thought someone would call me dad, much less a cool kid like Kas. I always thought she’d continue to call me Logger Dane, no matter the status of my relationship with Lindsey.
“You called Dane Dad.”
Kas shrugs, looking between her mom and me. “Is that bad?”
Lindsey shakes her head and kneels in front of Kas so they’re at eye level. “It’s not bad, honey; we just haven’t talked about it.”
She shrugs again then looks up at me. “You’re always together now, and I overheard Uncle Fox talking to Aunt Morgan. He said you and Mom are like married already or something.”
Lindsey’s hand moves to her neck, fingering the O-ring on her day collar. Kas doesn’t think anything of it, but I know she must be thinking what I am: that Kas overheard Fox talking about Lindsey wearing my collar.
While most people wouldn’t know what the necklace around Lindsey’s neck could mean, Fox and Morgan do. There’s also the fact that I’ve recently spoken to Nathan about my desire to propose to Lindsey. That could be a discussion Kas overheard that Lindsey does not know about.
“We’re not married yet,” I say softly to Kas.
“Oh.” Kas pauses to think. “Good, because I want to be there. I was sad I didn’t get invited.”
Lindsey takes Kas’s hands. “Of course you’ll be invited. You think I would get married without you there?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Dad got married to Ava when I wasn’t there.”
Her words make me feel sick, giving me yet another reason to castrate Jeremy, or hire a “logger hitman” like Lindsey and I joke about.
“Oh, honey. No.” Lindsey squeezes her hand. “We would never. If Dane and I decide to get married, you’ll be the first to know.”