Chapter 4 #4
I smiled.
Mikey stood a little taller.
Too fucking cute.
Shortly after, Kelly drove off again, and Mikey and I headed inside—
Mikey gasped. “It’s a cat!” he yelled. With that, he dropped everything and sprinted into the living room, effectively scaring off Paws.
I winced through a laugh. Okay, lesson one in having a kitten… Don’t yell, don’t sprint.
“Mikey!” Hallie complained. “Now he’s hiding under the couch. You have to lower your voice and move slowly.”
Nate poked his head out from the kitchen. “Don’t forget the litter box, and I’m calling for pizza.”
Thank God. My stomach was growling.
Nathan Riley
Yesterday was real.
Yesterday happened.
I’d never struggled to get out of bed as much before. Goodness, I just wanted to stay there in his arms. He looked so damn handsome. Covers riding low, epic bed head, one arm folded under his head, the other extended across my side, all that ink on display, the chest I’d slept on most of the night…
But it was five thirty in the morning, and I had a lot to do until his alarm went off in half an hour.
Dad would be here in fifteen minutes with a Lily who was probably dead to the world, so I forced myself up, pulled on a pair of sweatpants, and aimed for the kitchen.
Little Paws accompanied me and seemed to observe everything I did. Ash liked his bacon crispy, so I turned on the oven and prepared two whole trays. The eggs could wait, but I plugged in the toaster so it was ready for the bread. I prepped the coffeemaker too. Then I went to the bathroom.
If only I could stop yawning…
Christ.
I scrubbed my hands over my face.
Even so, tired as I was, the happiness kept me moving. Goddamn, I was happy. And at ease. I felt…relaxed and—just happy. To the point where I caught myself smiling randomly.
I was myself again.
It was us again.
I grinned quickly to myself and pinched my lips together.
We had more chapters to write. More memories to make.
The security I felt was proof that so much could be up in the air—about the future, about the married couple Ash had met, about kink, about moving, about selling the house, about finding our way back to old routines, creating some new ones along the way…
It was fine. I wasn’t worried, because we were gonna tackle that together.
One by one, the kids came down the stairs in various states of half asleep. Dylan yawned and stretched out in the kitchen, almost stepping on Paws. Good thing he was a fast little kitten. Hallie collapsed at the kitchen table, clutching her gift for Ash.
Micah was flat on his back on the kitchen floor, lazily reaching for Paws.
I popped four slices of bread into the toaster and adjusted my glasses.
“Micah, do you have your gift for Dad?” I asked quietly, grabbing more food from the fridge.
The only way Ash loved breakfast in bed was if we all ate together, so it was a bit of a project here.
“It’s in the hallway,” the boy mumbled.
Finally, my dad was pulling up.
“Kids, I know you’re tired, but I need some assistance over here,” I said. “Dylan, please scramble the eggs. Hallie, can you mash the avocado and cut up the tomatoes?”
The bacon needed a few more minutes.
“Yup, yup,” Hallie yawned and came over. “Do we have lime?”
“There should be one in the fruit bowl,” I replied.
“But it’s all hard and dry.” She grimaced.
I grabbed it for her. “Even better. It’ll be sweeter. See this? When the peel has hardened—but there’s no mold, no mushiness—it’s still good. You’ve seen Nana’s citrus bowl, haven’t you?”
She normally soaked up everything Nana preached, but given the early hour, I couldn’t fault my daughter for being tapped out.
I left the kitchen and checked to make sure Ash was still asleep before I went to get the door.
True enough, Lily was passed out in Dad’s arms, still in her pajamas.
“Mornin’, son.”
“Good morning, Dad.” I smiled and grabbed her as gently as I could, positioning her on my hip so she could use my shoulder as a pillow. “I take it she was no trouble?”
“Never is.” He brought out an envelope from his back pocket and extended it. “This is for Ash. We assume there will be a family get-together at some point?”
“Yeah, of course.” Knowing him, it would be something related to golf or fishing. “I’ll get back to you with a date.”
He nodded with a dip of his chin, then eyed me a little. “You seem to be in a brighter mood.”
I grinned. “I am.” And I would tell him all about it soon.
“Daddy, I’m sleepy,” Lily whined.
“I know, baby, but you can fall asleep again in Daddies’ bed as soon as we’re done singing to him.
” I inspected the breakfast trays while she glued herself to my leg.
Okay, let’s see. Avocado toast, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, toast with preserves, some blueberry muffins, fresh coffee, strawberries—the toaster waffles popped up right then and there, so Dylan placed them on the tray with the most space available.
Apple wedges, some cheese, Lily’s grapes, which were her latest obsession, milk, OJ, and whipped cream. “I think we’re ready.”
Lily yawned. “I’ve never seen Daddy sleep.”
Oh, she had, but it’d been quite a while.
“Everyone, grab your gifts.” I handed over one tray to Hallie and one to Dylan.
Then I picked up the biggest one, and we walked out of the kitchen.
Well, Lily tagged along, planted firmly on my right foot.
I exchanged a quick look with Hallie and Micah in the hallway before I started singing.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
The kids filed in, with Micah singing louder than everyone.
Ash was stirring and rolling over.
“Happy birthday, dear Dad…happy birthday to you!”
Lily bolted for the pullout and jumped up on it. “Wake up, Daddy. It’s your birthday! I wanna sleep!”
He rumbled a drowsy chuckle and yanked the girl to him. “You’re gonna sleep on my birthday? Huh?”
“Yes!”
“Let’s make room for breakfast and gifts, everyone.” Unless we wanted breakfast trays to go flying, I had to be strict here. So while the children wished Ash a happy birthday, I directed where they could sit and where the trays went.
Ash dragged himself up to lean back against the cushions, Lily ended up next to him, I took my spot on my side, where I could keep two trays, and Dylan, Micah, and Hallie shared the lower half.
“Ain’t this a sight for sore eyes,” Ash murmured.
“How old are you now, Daddy?” Lily asked.
“He’s forty-six!” Micah answered.
Lily nodded once. “Four and six. That’s not a lot. I’m a five.”
“Your math is flawless.” Ash kissed the top of her head.
I chuckled and handed him his coffee.
“Don’t we need plates?” Hallie asked.
“I’m doing laundry after this birthday madness, so go nuts,” I answered. I had my first patient at nine, and I intended to get a whole list of crap done before then.
“We’re starting with my gift,” Dylan said. “Hallie’s just gonna outshine us anyway. Happy birthday, Dad.”
“No one’s outshinin’ anyone in this family,” Ash replied. He accepted the box and gave it the mandatory shake. “Well, it ain’t china.”
Micah snorted. “You can’t fit a country in there.”
I grinned and took a sip of my own coffee. “Go on—get something to eat, kids.”
Lily dove for the bowl of grapes.
Dylan bit into a waffle, providing the bed with its first round of crumbs. “I know you don’t really go for the golf brands, so I figured this was safe.”
Ash unboxed a new ball cap and smiled widely. Yeah, the Eagles sure worked.
“Fan-fucking-tastic.” He put it on backward, which was just sexy as hell on him. My bad boy. “Thank you, son. This means a lot. Theo’s been givin’ me shit about my old one.”
Ah, the famous Sweat Brim.
“My turn!” Micah declared around a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
That seemed to inspire Ash, who snatched up a strip of bacon. “It’s perfect.”
I smiled and leaned in quick for a kiss, because I fucking could.
He smiled back.
Dylan smirked, too cool to show that he was happy. But Ash and I had seen it last night. He was relieved.
We hadn’t had the opportunity to sit down with him and Hallie properly yet, so we’d decided that I was gonna talk to Hallie after school, and Ash was going to talk to Dylan since he was stopping by Ash’s work later. That way, we could tell everyone about the house tonight at dinner.
“Happy birthday, Dad.” Micah handed over his gift.
The gift was admittedly hilarious, and he’d thought of it all on his own. I’d been impressed by his creativity.
Ash opened the box to find six golf balls that Micah had doodled on. Aside from critters and trees and shining suns, each one had some funny words.
He cracked up when he read my two favorites. “‘Ouch, that hurts,’” he laughed. “‘Please don’t hit me!’”
Micah beamed.
“You’re too funny, sweetheart. Thank you. Who’s next? Gimme all the gifts.”
Lily snickered and extended hers. “I made it.”
We loved the homemade gifts, even if they came with a fuck-ton of glitter. Like hers usually did. She’d decorated a picture frame, and I’d helped her pick out a photo of her and Ash.
He knew the drill too. He opened the wrapping carefully and didn’t tilt it so the glitter wouldn’t drop in his lap. It wasn’t his first rodeo.
“Would you look at that.” He smiled at the photo of the two of them. I’d taken it when we’d been on one of our road trips. Lily was on Ash’s back and pretending to be an airplane while Ash ran around. “It’s us, princess.”
“Yup!”
“Thank you so much. I’mma keep it in my office.”
Hallie sat up straighter, with the sweetest smile on her face, and extended her gift next.
“Happy birthday, Daddy. I hope you’ll have the best day ever.”
I hid my grin by biting into a blueberry muffin. Hallie—our type A personality fighter—always wanted to give the best gift. She succeeded most of the time too, but we weren’t sure she was doing it for the right reasons. The girl was incredibly competitive.
Dylan shook his head in amusement and focused on stuffing his face.
It was a wonderful gift, though.
Ash felt up the box and shook it. “A pair of socks?”
“You’re so funny, Daddy,” Hallie laughed.
Dylan and I exchanged a look.
She was laying it on thick. Ash ate it right up. But I was starting to wonder if Hallie was gearing up to ask for something. She didn’t play the Daddy card too often.
When Ash lifted the lid—and the tissue paper—and he saw the soft case Hallie had made for our National Parks Passport, she officially had him wrapped around her finger for the rest of the year.
“Goddamn, baby girl.” He brushed his fingers over the cross-stitch patterns.
She’d bought a regular toiletry case, a flat one in cotton.
And then she’d used her cross-stitching skills to make it ours.
The Riley Family’s Adventures. Embroidered stick figures from an old drawing of hers of the whole family, an RV, two road signs, and a bunch of little hearts.
The passport would fit perfectly in there.
And we had more adventures to look forward to.
“I can’t thank you enough for this, Hallie,” Ash murmured. “We’re putting the passport in here today. Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled brightly.
She’d been trying to nudge us back together all year. Considering my own gift to Ash, maybe she took after me…
“Does that mean it’s your turn now, honey?” Ash shot me a smirk.
“Actually, Dad’s gift wins,” Dylan chuckled.
Hallie looked miffed at that. “He’s a grown-up with a full-time career. He has all the money.”
Oof. No, I sure did not. What I did have was a credit card and lonely nights. Well, the latter was thankfully not true anymore—but the other day when I’d been up late, crying in my wineglass, I’d sure set my Visa on fire.
I’d be paying this gift off in six installments.
I dug out the envelope from under a stack of magazines on the table next to the bed.
Ash crammed more bacon into his mouth and made a gimme motion.
I suppressed a sigh. It wasn’t honestly bothering me, but he would certainly see through my original intentions with this gift. To lure him away from his new partners—or partner, as I’d figured at the time—and force him to spend time with me. Under the weak guise of it being a family trip.
Lily climbed up on my lap as Ash opened the envelope.
“Do I know what it is, Daddy?” she asked, cupping her hand around her mouth.
“No, you don’t.” I kissed her nose. “Because you can’t whisper or keep a secret.”
“Yes, I can!”
I flinched at the volume, to which everyone else laughed. Except for Ash; he was busy reading the reservation I’d made for us.
“Hold on,” he said. “We’re goin’ to Mammoth Cave National Park?”
“They don’t have mammoths,” Micah explained. “I asked.”
I grinned.
Ash turned to me.
“For three days,” I confirmed. “I know we usually rent an RV, but I figured it would be nice to try a hotel sometime. So I found that retreat—it’s family-friendly. We can drive there. It’s ten hours, so I’d imagine we split that into two days for the little ones’ sakes, and…”
“Check out the picture on the back, Dad,” Hallie urged. “You’ll see our suite.”
“Suite? We are not suite people.” Ash lifted his brows and turned the page. “But I am willing to give it a go. It’s an entire luxury lodge. Sweet Jesus, Nate. This is incredible. Is, uh…is that a hot tub in our bedroom?”
I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “I couldn’t very well opt out, and we need a room big enough for everyone.”
“Meanwhile, the rest of us will share the other bedroom,” Dylan drawled.
“There’s a big couch in the living room area,” I mentioned. “You’re welcome to sleep there if you want.”
“Or on the balcony,” Hallie sang.
“Or on the roof!” Micah laughed, thinking it was a game. “Where else can he sleep?”
Lily popped a grape into her mouth. “In his butt.”
That was…an option too.
“And it’s soon,” Ash said, surprised. “First weekend in June.” He glanced my way, one part happiness and affection, one part amusement. “You made this reservation…when?”
Why was that important?
“You should focus on eating your breakfast,” I replied. “You all should. You need to get ready for school soon.”
No more birthday celebrations until tonight.
“Eeeeep!” Lily sat ramrod straight, eyes wide, and pointed toward the hallway. “It’s a cat! There’s a cat here! Look at the cat!”
We probably should’ve told her about the cat.
For the record, Paws had bolted back into hiding.
“You have to whisper, Lily!” Micah exclaimed. “You’re scaring him.”
“But it’s a cat!” Lily whipped around to face me, then Ash, then me again. “Do we have a cat now?”
Topic effectively changed.