CHAPTER SIX #2
Asher and Mayson stand up and start clearing the table without anyone asking.
Daisy, who insisted on sitting between Hanna and me, informs me, “Daddy and Uncle Asher are clearing the table ‘cause they know what’s for dessert. They also know what’s good for them and if they didn’t help wit even one ting, Gamps and Papa would make tem do chores, the kind tat aren’t fun.
” This little girl is a spitfire. Hanna’s shared with me how Daisy came to their family and to her brother Mayson, but all I can see is she is the spitting image in behavior of all those around her.
Shows me the strong will and strong family ties I thought were there are even more prevalent than I first thought.
I can’t help but think that’s a good thing.
I know I was raised in a strong, close-knit family, and the fact that Hanna was too tells me that us building our own together has a fighting chance.
Plus, you throw in the fact that my woman is as stubborn, if not more so, than her mom or my mom, and I should probably be afraid.
Afraid and running for the hills, but I can’t imagine being anywhere else but where I am at the moment.
***********
I roll over and open one eye. By the time on my clock, I know I’ve got a bit more time before my alarm goes off. I pull Hanna closer to me and let my mind wander as I feel her settle back on top of me.
The last few days have been eventful, but awesome.
Hell, even my conversation with Hanna’s dads went better than expected.
I replay that entire conversation in my mind, happy with how things seemed to have settled.
We had sat outside for a few minutes, enjoying the nice weather before Jackson broke the silence.
“You and Hanna seem to be getting serious pretty damn fast. She mentioned something about possibly moving down to your place soon.” I only nod because I know there’s more to come. Wyatt leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees, never taking his eyes off me.
“I know she’s an adult and able to make her own choices in life, hell, she’s more mature than both Asher and Mayson combined, but she’s always going to be our little girl…
” Wyatt continues the line of thinking and finishes Jackson’s sentence.
It’s something I think they’ve done for decades without thought.
“She is, and she’s smart as a whip, beautiful, and likes to keep us on our toes. She’s remarkable. She’s also got some unique challenges with her sight, and that makes her special and—”. I interrupted Wyatt before I could realize what I was doing.
“No, she’s not.” Both men looked at me in surprise and a mix of confusion that looked like it was quickly turning into anger, so I quickly continued, using my fingers to count off each of my points.
“She’s special for all those reasons you mentioned.
She’s smart, funny, beautiful, sexy, and more stubborn than any other person I’ve ever met.
She’s special because of that. I don’t see her as special because she’s losing her vision.
Partly because that’s just something to adapt to and be there when she needs help, but nothing to be hyper-focused on.
Another reason is that I know she hates being seen as special because of her eyes.
It’s something she has and deals with the changing aspects of her vision, but that’s not part of who she is.
Who she is…is the person I’m in love with and see a future with.
I know she loves you and is close to your whole family like I am with mine, but I also know her stubbornness will not hesitate to come out if you try to stop us from being together.
I don’t say that with disrespect, but because I know her well enough to know that’s a fact.
I know I’m not necessarily a prize when it comes to partners in that I’m not rich.
I am away a lot of weekends for matches, and I’ve got a dream to make the national team, but from almost the moment I met your daughter, she’s jumped to what matters most to me.
I do come from what I consider a decent family.
I have a full-time job offer for when my body decides my rugby career is over, and I would like to think I know what’s most important in life. ”
After that, both men didn’t have a lot to say other than Jackson told me to keep my priorities straight and if I ever intentionally hurt Hanna, he wouldn’t think twice about making sure I disappeared, never to be found again.
Wyatt seconded what Jackson said and added that if I’m gonna be family, then they would need the hookup with some good seats to as many matches as they could make it to.
All in all, the talk with them went better than I thought it would.
Hanna later told me I’d won over her mom the moment I offered to help set the table.
Apparently, between that and what she already knew was enough for her to decide.
Asher let it slip that their mom goes with her gut when she meets people and that her gut from the start has told her I’m a decent person.
I might have been more nervous about her mom’s reaction than her fathers’, because I think Hanna is a lot like her mom.
Once she’s made up her mind about something, it’s almost impossible to change it, and I didn’t want that kind of battle on my hands.
Hanna stirs in my arms. “I can hear your brain working from here. That’s a lot of thinking before coffee. Is everything okay?”
I kiss her temple before I answer. “Yeah, I’m good. I was just replaying the last few days in my mind.”
She moves her head slightly and softly kisses my chest. “They have been busy, but good. I’m glad my parents didn’t go all nuts, and I love your family. Your mom is freaking awesome like Emma, but in totally different ways. Your dad is great. You remind me of him.”
“Well, I am his son after all, and I have been told we look a lot alike.” She lightly smacks my bare stomach, not amused by my smartass comment.
“You know I didn’t mean just that, though it is good to know how you’ll look in twenty-five years.
A woman likes to see that.” A small growl comes out. Was she checking out my dad?
She smacks me again. “I know you. I was not checking out your dad. I was just appreciating what I’ll have to look at when we’re that age.
That wasn’t what I meant though.” She kisses my chest lightly a couple more times.
If she keeps that up, this conversation is going to be over faster than she realizes.
“What I meant was, your dad is this big, strong man who owns his own construction company. He’s quiet in that way strong men often are.
He can come off a little intimidating at first, but then you watch him look at your mom, and there’s nothing but love on his face.
He’s a big ‘ol marshmallow when it comes to her. I also noticed he doesn’t even think twice about helping her when she needs it when she’s got her prosthetic off.
It’s like not even a thing. He just does it without words or before she even has a chance to ask…
” She stops, and I feel something wet hit my chest. I move to adjust, and Hanna looks at me with tears in her eyes.
I move instinctively to wipe them away, hating to see her cry.
“Hey now, what’s all this about? My dad didn’t do something—”
She shakes her head immediately. “No, like I said, your dad is awesome. Almost as much as you are. No…these tears are because you are like him so much. You’ve done things for me and never mentioned them, or you do them and don’t seem to think twice about it.
I know you switched out your lightbulbs before I came over the first time.
I know you changed the curtains in here to get rid of the blackout ones.
Hell, you got it so I can get your match feeds on my phone even when it’s not streaming somewhere so I can watch it from the stands.
” I shrug my shoulders because none of that was anything big.
It wasn’t like it took a lot of thought or time to do any of it.
She gives me a smile and shakes her head.
“See, that’s what I mean. I know you think all of that isn’t anything much, and to some people it might not be, but to me, that means so much.
I know it’s how your mom feels about your dad, too.
You just see it as something small you can do to make my life easier, and I know in the grand scheme of things it probably is small and insignificant, but to me…
to me it’s so much more. It shows that you won’t tire of having to make adjustments or won’t leave when the day comes that I have no vision at all.
To me, it means you see me when you look at me and not just my condition.
You’re a rare breed, Cade, and you make me fall more in love with you every day. ”
I haven’t told her what was said between me and her fathers, but I need her to know exactly how I feel.
I give her a quick peck on the lips before I say what I need her to really hear.
“You are all I see. I see your smile, your heart, your laugh. I see your inner beauty along with your gorgeous smile and that ass that I love to smack. You. You are the person who I see myself with. Now whenever I think about the future and try to picture what that looks like, you’re right beside me in every scenario.
I love you, and I don’t see that changing as long as there’s breath in my body. ”
Hanna
I’m pretty sure Cade’s parents heard us having sex this morning.
I mean, I bit the pillow, but when he hit that one spot just right over and over again, my volume control seemed to disappear completely.
I’m not sorry we did it. I mean, how could I not pounce on that man after he said that?
You know you would too if your man said that sort of thing.
Stay off mine, thank you very fucking much.