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I chuckled drowsily.

“In fact, you should write that down,” he said.

Oh yeah, I was gonna write it down. Absolutely.

I couldn’t wait for tomorrow, though. I’d be gone for most of the morning, because I had so many errands, but then I was gonna spend the rest of the day showing the two loves of my life how their birthday should be celebrated. Also, meeting Danny and Emerson—finally!

Next week, I had a lot of errands with my brothers too. Levi needed clothes for his graduation, TJ was having girl problems, TJ also had a dentist appointment, we had our weekly pizza night, and we had to find a day to go put flowers on Mom and Dad and Myah’s grave. Dad’s birthday was coming up, and birthdays and Thanksgiving were the times we visited their headstone.

Daddy eventually put away his phone, and he dipped down and kissed me on the forehead.

“Have I told you today how much I love you?”

I smiled and stretched out. “Yes, Sir, but you can tell me again and again.”

He smiled back and brushed our noses together. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” I kissed him quickly. “Did you know you’re the best Daddy in the world? You should write that down.”

He grinned. His eyes were unbelievably gorgeous when he smiled like that.

Oof, all kinds of pleasure coursed through me when Master started rubbing my feet under the blanket. He was in a food coma too, sitting real low on the sofa, head tilted back, eyes closed.

It was best he slept in the middle of the bed for a while now. Daddy and I had to make sure he rested better.

I understood why they’d focused on me so much after the fire, making sure I recovered right, but they’d been there too. They took turns processing their own struggles from that night, and I wasn’t sure we’d cracked the real reason behind Master’s. Because with Daddy, his nightmares had centered around losing Owner and me. But with Owner…there was something else too.

“Excuse me, everyone?”

That was Kit. He’d taken to the stage.

“Did I miss a name on the list, sweetheart?” Daddy asked him.

“No, Sir.” Kit shook his head. “But I wanted to say a few words before we leave.”

Daddy was quick to tell everyone to pipe down.

I sat up so I could see better, and I landed back against Master’s chest.

He kissed the top of my head.

“I wanted to say thank you,” Kit went on, maybe a little nervously. “Not only for celebrating today with us, but for welcoming me into your family.” He swallowed, and I watched Colt and Mr. West walk closer to the stage. “It’s inevitable to lose family over the years. Most are lucky to lose them to old age or, you know, the standard today, a heart condition.”

My mouth twisted. That was my brand of dark humor.

He cleared his throat. “Regardless of why we say goodbye to loved ones, it’s tough. It’s very tough. I was in a dark place before I met Colt and Lucas—but I was desperate to chase the light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted new people in my life. I wanted celebrations and friends and fun times.”

I reached up and looped an arm around Master’s neck, and I scratched him a little there, right where his hair started.

“I never expected this, though,” Kit admitted. “Out here at House Mclean, you’ve shown me that family can look a hundred different ways.”

I caught Daddy glancing over at Owner, only to look away quickly.

“Thank you for being my family,” Kit finished.

That one kind of got to me, but I smiled and applauded with the rest. Family—I knew a thing or two about losing some and gaining some. Kit and I had been on very similar journeys.

“Thank you right back, sweet cheeks!” Corey hollered.