“She’s probably dreaming about you.”
“Yeah. I bet she is. Do you dream about me too?”
“Of course. You’re in pretty much all my dreams. Last night, we were riding unicorns and eating cake.”
“Oooh, I love cake.”
“Same, sweetheart. Cake is the best.”
“We’re the same because you’re my dad.”
“That’s right. We have the same curls, and we both like cake, because I’m your dad and you’re my girl.”
“I like being your girl.”
“It’s my favorite too. Let’s go downstairs and talk about this some more while Mommy sleeps, all right?”
“Good idea. Mommy’s so tired.”
I cracked one eye to peek at them. Ben and Katty were standing at the foot of my bed, her hand tucked in his. Their curls were equally wild, and her glasses were slightly crooked.
My heart stuttered at how happy they both looked with each other.
Ben’s gaze landed on my face, catching me watching them. He shot me a crooked smirk, not giving me away, and returned his attention to Katty.
“That’s because Mommy works hard to take care of you and make her brain bigger,” he said as he bent to scoop her up. “Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into downstairs.”
After they left, I lay in bed for a while, ruminating. I didn’t often get a chance to do this, so I took full advantage. Of course, my mind was all over the place. On school and work. On last night’s conversation with Ben. All the changes over the past few weeks and how things would continue to evolve.
I wished my dad was here. He would have something wise to say…or at least be my sounding board while I freaked out. Instead, I had to sort through everything on my own.
Soon, I’d have less time with Katty, that was a fact.
I’d have to run every move I made and the steps I wanted to take for our future by Ben. The landscape of our future would be colored by Ben’s opinion.
As much as I welcomed him into our little world, it was a hard pill to swallow after doing it on my own for so long.
But catastrophizing wouldn’t get me anywhere. I could almost hear Aunt Barb telling me not to borrow trouble since I had enough of my own. So, taking a deep breath, I threw back the covers and got ready to face the day.
By the time I was dressed and ready, there were more unfamiliar voices drifting up the stairs. I crept down, unsure of what I was about to walk into, and immediately got thrown into the deep end when a toddler boy streaked by, followed by a giggling Katty.
Ben was right behind them, a big, goofy smile lighting up his face, then he spotted me and stopped midstride.
“Good morning, Mazzy-mazz.”
The toddler and Katty reversed course, shrieking as they barreled toward the living room.
“Morning, Ben.” I laughed, brushing my hair off my forehead. “Seems you have a visitor. Was that Jonah?”
“Yep. Shira, Bea, and Jonah showed up while you were in the shower. Bea brought muffins, so I let them in.” He slid an arm around my shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze, his body still warm from the chase. “Come meet everyone. Katty’s already claimed Jonah as hers. She’s pretty tickled to have a younger cousin.”
“I wasn’t expecting this.” I should have been, though. Everywhere I turned, there was another of Ben’s friends or family members.
“Neither was I, but around here, you go with the flow.” He tipped my chin up with a knuckle, his grin softening. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I’ll tell them to get the hell out if that’ll make you more comfortable. Or you can hide upstairs until they get the hint.”
I shook my head. “I’m good, but thank you for looking out for me.”
He opened his hand and cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of my mouth. “Always, baby. Now that I’m in your life, I’m your watchdog.”
