Chapter Forty-seven
Dallas
I shovel the last of the chicken casserole into my mouth. I think I’ve gained five pounds over the past three months, courtesy of Marti’s mad cooking skills.
Even though my house is three doors down from hers, we eat together almost every night. Then I leave, she puts Charlie to bed, and I come back. Sometimes we accidentally fall asleep in Marti’s bed. I’ve almost been caught by Charlie a time or two.
I have the perfect house in mind for when she’s ready for the next step. But I haven’t pushed her. She’s been worried about Charlie and moving on too quickly after Charles’s death. Me—I’ve been ready to live with her since Christmas. And not only her… Charlie too. He is amazing. He’s wormed his way into my heart in a way I never thought possible.
I stand and pick up the plates, always doing the dishes with ‘help’ from Charlie.
“Bex needs to go out,” Marti says. “Charlie, will you take him?”
Her rental has a fenced-in back yard. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. Same as mine. Neither are anything special, but honestly, after living in the cabin for years, both seem palatial. And it wasn’t the houses that mattered. It was my proximity to them that did.
Marti stands by the French doors, supervising her son and Bex as Charlie lets him do his business then throws him a tennis ball.
I snake my arms around her, sneaking a hug. I kiss her neck. “Those two are best friends if I’ve ever seen any.”
She nods. “I actually think Bex is the reason he wanted to move here. He gets so excited on the days Bex sleeps here.”
Marti and I share ‘custody’ of Bex. He alternates sleeping here and at my place. From the beginning, it’s felt like he’s been more our dog than my dog, so it was the only thing that made sense.
When Charlie and Bex come back inside, Charlie gets out his AI robot, Robbie, and Bex barks at it. He’s still uneasy around the thing and it’s become quite entertaining to watch Robbie chase Bex around the room.
Bex is incredibly intelligent for a dog. Sometimes I think he acts this way around the robot simply because he knows Charlie loves it. Charlie giggles at the controls, which he’s nearly mastered by now, as he guides Robbie through the living room.
Marti and I watch this routine for nearly an hour, her sitting on one end of the couch and me on the other. Her feet are in my lap. It’s the closest we’ve come to showing affection around Charlie. After all, his father only died four months ago. And I, of all people, have to respect that. Even though Charlie hasn’t gone through the grieving process an older child would have, there are still moments when you can tell he really misses Charles.
“Time for bed, buddy,” Marti says. “Go get into your pajamas and use the toilet. I’ll help you brush your teeth in a few minutes.”
“Okay then.” I stand, recognizing my cue to leave. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”
As he always does, Charlie trots over and gives me a hug. Today, however, he does something different.
“Dallith read to me?” he asks, looking at his mom for permission.
Her eyebrows shoot up in delight. “You want Dallas to read your bedtime story?”
Charlie nods excitedly.
Marti looks at me, not wanting to answer on my behalf.
“I’d love to.”
He skips back toward his room, Bex at his heels.
“That was unexpected,” I say.
“You sure you’re okay with it?”
I draw her into my arms. “Sweetheart, I’d have been okay with it months ago. But what do you think changed? Why would he ask now?”
“I don’t know.” Her eyes dart from one side of the room to the other, as if she’s deep in thought. “But now that I think of it, a few days ago at preschool, they had a ‘daddy day’ where all the dads came in and did projects with their children. I went myself, as did one other single mom, along with a woman who’s part of a lesbian couple. Charlie drew a picture of Charles and Alex. It was very sweet.”
“And you think that has something to do with him wanting me to read a book?”
She shrugs. “Every parent took turns reading out loud to the class. It’s been a long time since Charlie’s been read to by a man. That has to be it.”
“Ready!” Charlie shouts from down the hall.
“On my way, buddy.”
I smile at Marti, feeling a sense of pride that he asked me to do the honors.
Marti helps him brush his teeth as I peruse his collection of books. Bex has already picked out his spot on the end of Charlie’s bed, as I imagine he does every night he sleeps here. My heart swells a bit knowing that I’m now a part of the nighttime ritual. It’s something I always looked forward to with DJ—the day we’d be able to snuggle in bed and I’d read to him until he fell asleep. It’s not anything I ever dreamed I’d do after losing him.
When Charlie races out of the bathroom and jumps onto the bed, a huge smile crosses my face. The vision I had may have involved different people, a different house, and no dog, but it’s happening all the same.
And, not for the first time, I reflect back on what Allie once told me about Marti and I being perfect for each other because we each had voids that needed filling.
Unsure of when my little sister became smarter than me, I’m more than happy to accept the fact that she is.
I sit on the edge of the bed with an armful of books. “Which one will it be?”
He pulls one from the middle. Are You My Mother?
An odd choice, considering I’m the one reading to him. But I never claimed to know the inner workings of a child’s brain.
I sit next to him, shoes off, legs outstretched on his bed. He lays his head on my arm, and I take it as a cue that I should wrap it around him. He tucks in close. I shut my eyes for a moment and think of DJ. This one’s for you, bud.
Marti stands in the doorway, watching as I read the book, her face illuminated with a glow of happiness.
When I’m done reading, I close the book and set it down, wondering if he’s going to ask me to read another as I imagine kids do.
“Are you Bex’s daddy?” Charlie asks, looking up at me.
Interesting question . “I suppose I am.”
He looks over at Marti. “Are you Bex’s mommy?”
“I guess I’m the closest thing to it,” she says. “So, yes.”
Charlie glances between the two of us and settles his gaze back on me. “If you’re his daddy and Mommy is his mommy, does that make you my daddy?”
My heart lodges square in the middle of my throat. I scramble for something to say because Marti seems as stunned as I am.
“You still have a dad, Charlie. He may not be with us anymore, but he’ll always be your dad.”
His little hazel eyes study me. “Scarlett has two mommies. And if mommies and daddies can have more than one kid, why can’t kids have more than one mommy or daddy?”
I poke the tip of his nose. “You’re pretty smart for an almost four-year-old.”
He beams with pride even though I never gave him an answer. And he doesn’t ask again. He simply picks up the same book we just read and hands it to me. I happily oblige his request, the book now having so much more meaning to me than it did a minute ago.
~ ~ ~
Marti lays her head on my chest as soon as I crawl into bed next to her.
I never did have to leave tonight and do the same dance we’ve done for so many other nights. Because tonight, I was the one putting Charlie to bed.
I’m still reeling from the experience.
I squeeze her shoulder. “I don’t ever intend to take Charles’s place. That wouldn’t be fair to him. But I’m telling you right now, Marti, I’m ready to step up and be the man Charlie needs.”
A warm tear falls onto my chest. “I know you are. And I think he’s ready too.”
My entire body stiffens in anticipation. “Are you saying you’ll move in with me?”
She looks up at me and nods, biting her lip in a way that has me instantly hard.
But my cock has to wait its turn. I have something else I need to do first. “I want to show you something.” I pull her up next to me so we’re both sitting against the headboard. I get my phone off the nightstand and open up my photo app.
“What am I looking at?” she asks when I tilt my phone toward her.
“House plans.” I swipe through them. “In January, I bought two acres of land in that neighborhood you love. I’ve had an architect working on these for months. You can make any changes you see fit. I just wanted something ready to go when the time came.”
She takes my phone and enlarges the floorplan. “This is huge.”
I elbow her. “That’s what she said.”
She giggles. “Seriously, Dallas.” She enlarges it even more to focus on the bottom corner where it lists the square footage. “Oh my god. Charlie will get lost. And is that an… elevator?”
“I know how much he loves the one in my parents’ house.” I swipe again, showing her the design of the pool. “And he’s going to love this.”
Her head shakes over and over. She’s still not used to the money. The not worrying about bills and budgeting and car payments. But she stopped protesting a while ago, which is why I know she’s going to be on board with this.
She studies all the pictures at least two more times, then she hands me the phone. “He’s going to love it. I love it. But more importantly, I love you .”
“There’s something else my architect is working on, but I want you to help design it.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m rebuilding the cabin.”
Her eyes widen. “You are?”
“At Christmas, when you said you wanted to go up there with me again, I knew right then that I’d be rebuilding. Will you help me design it?”
“There’s nothing to design. I think we should build it exactly like it was.”
I cock my head. “No bedrooms? What about Charlie?”
She nods to my phone. “Everything you’ve done in the new house is for him. The cabin—that’s just for us.”
My heart expands. That’s the thing about Martina Alexandra Carver. Just when I think I can’t possibly love her more, she says something incredible. Does something amazing. Makes me feel like the luckiest man alive—a herculean task I thought was damn near impossible.
I put my phone away, slide her back down so she’s lying on the bed, and climb over her. “Sweetheart, I’m about to show you everything I plan on doing to you when we go there.”
“Speaking of which.” She flashes me a sexy smile. “I’m really glad you put the master bedroom away from all the others in the new house. Because I can’t wait to be able to scream your name again.”
“I fucking love you, Marti.”
“Show me how much.”
“Gladly,” I say, my lips lowering to meet hers.
And for the next two hours, I show her. I show her over and over again.