Page 5 of Daddy’s Little Secret

He squealed, and Tae joined in his excitement. “When?”

“This weekend. You and Daddy have a lot to do this week. Packing, getting rid of Daddy’s old furniture. We have all nice, new stuff in our cabin already.”

Trey ran across the room and nearly knocked me down. In his excitement he forgot we were nearly the same size. “Sorry, Daddy. I’m just so excited.”

I hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head. “Daddy wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to get you excited if the meeting didn’t turn out as we’d hoped.”

“I’m sorry I was such a poo-poo head this morning. I just love it so much up there.”

“I know you do, Angel.”

“What about Grandma?”

“Uncle Chuck and I were just discussing that. Think she’d like to come up and stay in the grandma’s cabin or in one of our spare rooms?”

“You’d let her do that, Uncle Chuck?”

Chuck smiled and shook his head. “Sweet boy, you’re family. That makes your grandma family, and family comes first. She is welcome anytime, and FYI, you helped build those cabins too, so you have an equal say in who stays in them.” Trey ran across the room and hugged Chuck so tightly he groaned while Tae giggled.

“You squished my Daddy!” He sang as he jumped around. “This is so exciting. Do we get to go up north more too, Daddy? The kitties love it up there.”

“We do, sweetheart, but we need to wrap up the jobs down here first. Oscar and Trey are gonna be running right out of the gate. I think Momma was planning to spend the summer up there out of the heat herself.”

“One big, happy family!” Tae cheered, and Trey joined in. The two of them skipped around the house singing their silly song.

“Let’s head into the office and hash out the details while those two run off their excitement.”

“Man.” I loved how this was all falling into place. “I can’t stop smiling.”

“You and me both. I’ll have to come back and forth to check on things, so we’ll definitely keep this house. Then no matter which of us comes down, we’ll have a place to crash.”

“Good call, Chuck. I’m more than ready to get out of the shitty apartment in an equally shitty area of town. The only reason I’ve stayed there as long as I have is because it’s cheap.” Moving would stress most people out, whereas for me, it was that light at the end of the tunnel. Life was changing and for the better, for all of us.

“It really has. Tae’s artwork and commissions are coming in faster than he can complete them. His studio in the cabin is his favorite place to create. If I wouldn’t miss him like mad, I’d send him back up there with you guys while I wrapped up a couple jobs here.”

That I more than understood. “I hear ya. They’re our hearts, and it’s hard to breathe without them around.” Can’t believe I’d made it all those years without Trey in bed beside me. Staying at the cabin gave me the push to decide to live together. Well, that and our discussion yesterday. Even though I knew I already wanted it, saying it aloud made it real.

“As soon as I get the info from Gil’s assistant, I’ll set up meetings for you with the local businesses we’ll need to set up accounts with. Hopefully, they’ll give us a fair price for all the extra sales we’ll bring them.”

“Sounds like a plan. Gonna hit the hardware store on the way home and grab our packing supplies. Holler if you need me.”

“Bringing you in as a business partner was one of the smartest moves I’ve ever made, Oscar.”

“Accepting your offer was mine.”

3

“Grandma! Grandma!” I hollered as I opened her front door and ran inside. “Where are you?”

She came around the corner wearing the familiar apron she’d always worn to keep her clothes clean, tied around her waist. She was so tiny, the straps wrapped around her twice and tied at the front. “Boy, close that door before you let all my expensive cold air out. I swear to God’s green acres, sometimes I wonder what you did with the brains the good Lord gave you,” she tsked, but I knew she was only joking. “Come and give your grandma a hug.”

Daddy and I had been gone longer than we’d meant to, finishing our cabin, and just in time it appeared, given today’s good news. Because of that, it’d been forever since I’d hugged her, and I missed that terribly. Grandma was my rock and the one constant in my life.

“Guess what?”

“You’re pregnant!”

“Wait. What?”