Page 54 of Together Is Where We Belong

Luke tugged on the side of my dress as we waited for Leo’s dad, Sawyer, to say grace.

“Yeah, buddy,” I whispered as I looked down at him.

He motioned for me to come closer, and I leaned down so he could whisper in my ear.

“Who’s all these people? Like what are their names,” he asked in a soft voice, his little hand cupped in front of his mouth to hide what he’d asked.

I did the same and whispered back, “Why don’t we let your dad introduce you? That’ll mean a lot to him.” He nodded at me as he put his small hands in his lap and waited patiently.

“Who’s this little guy?” Sawyer asked as he gave a heartwarming look to Luke.

“This is Luke. Luke, this is everyone,” Leo said.

“My name is Luke Alexander Courtright. But, Dad,” Luke said as he looked over at Leo. Everyone let out a collective gasp at hearing Luke call Leo dad. Ainsleigh and Lillian’s hands went to their heart as they gave an awe expression.

“Yeah, bud?” Leo asked and looked at Luke as he waited for him to ask his question.

“You didn’t tell me their names,” Luke said, and everyone let out a low chuckle.

“Oh yeah. I didn’t, did I?” Leo said as he introduced everyone.

“You met my mom, Lillian. That’s my dad, Sawyer, my sister, Ainsleigh and her husband Gentry, my brother Brooks, and my brother Holden,” Leo said as he went around the table so Luke could carefully follow who was who.

“And the baby, Dad. You forgot her name,” Luke said as he stared over at the sleeping baby propped on Gentry’s shoulder.

“That’s your cousin, Olivia. We call her Livvy for short,” Leo explained. Luke turned his head to the side as he took in the sight of Gentry holding Olivia.

“You’re her husband?” Luke asked Gentry as he pointed over to Ainsleigh.

“That’s right,” Gentry agreed.

“My mom said if she got a husband that would make him my stepdad, and I told her I didn’t like that idea,” Luke honestly said, and I looked down in embarrassment as my cheeks grew hot.

I felt Leo’s eyes on me as I looked over at him. The smile he had on his face as he introduced Luke now gone and replaced with a scowl.

“Why don’t you like that idea, bud?” Leo asked as he broke his stare at me and looked down at our son.

“I don’t want another dad. I have you,” Luke honestly replied. Out of the mouth of babes.

I didn’t take my eyes off Leo as I stared at him to gauge his reaction. He smiled softly at Luke as he processed his reply.

“You’ll always have me,” Leo promised as he looked back at me with a pointed gaze.

“How about we say grace so we can dig in?” Sawyer suggested, breaking the tension between Leo and me.

Sawyer thanked God for the food and blessings in their lives and included Luke, making my heart happy and my nerves settle a bit.

After grace was said, I went to scoop out some food for Luke, but Leo beat me to it. He placed a little bit of everything on Luke’s plate, one chicken finger, a small scoop of mac and cheese, and a small scoop of green beans.

“Can I have a biscuit too, Dad?” Luke asked as he picked up his fork and waited patiently for Leo.

“Of course,” Leo said as he picked up a biscuit with a pair of tongs and placed it on Luke’s plate.

“Lillian, what kind of oil did you use when you made the chicken tenders?” I asked, immediately regretting not telling Leo about Luke’s allergy before now.

“Avocado oil. Why?” Lillian asked, her face and voice full of concern.

“Luke is allergic to peanuts,” I told her, and Leo snapped his head in my direction.