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“Everything okay? You’re never home this early.”
“Yeah, it’s all good. Cadence works late tonight. I decided to come home and get this little one bathed and in her jammies and have dinner ready when she gets home. That way, we can have our family time before Hazel has to go to sleep.”
“Aww,” Thea says, her eyes welling with tears. “I love the way you love them.”
“Nothing in life is worth doing halfway.” I wink at Thea, give Scott a nod, and gather Hazel’s things. “Thanks, sis.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Hey, we’re looking to move. We want you to keep watching her if you’re interested.”
“Definitely.”
“We’re looking too,” Scott adds.
I nod. “Well, maybe we should discuss locations. We can maybe buy in the same area for convenience.”
“Good schools are a must,” Thea says.
“We agree with that. Nothing has to be decided now. I just wanted you to know we’re looking but want you to continue to watch her. The thought of a stranger keeping her doesn’t sit well with me.”
“We feel the same way.”
“Thanks. We’ll see you in the morning.” I wave to them and head across the hall to our apartment. Since Hazel is still sleeping soundly, I pick up the living room, unload the dishwasher, and start a load of laundry. Thankfully this apartment complex offers a small closet in each unit for a laundry room. I’m just finishing tossing the first load into the dryer and starting a second when Hazel wakes up. We go through the routine of giving her a bottle and reading a couple of books. She’s so still in my arms as I read to her.
“It’s time to start on dinner,” I tell her. “We’re going to set you up in your swing while Daddy gets lasagna in the oven.” I chatter to Hazel the entire time I’m cooking, and she babbles right back. I love every second of my time with her.
“Now that that’s done, it’s time for you, Miss Stinky Butt, to get a bath.” I pick her up and fly her through the house like an airplane, and she laughs. Her little baby giggles are the best sound on this earth. Bath time is fun. The older she gets, the more splashing and playing she does.
I’m zipping up her pajamas when I hear Cadence’s keys in the front door. “Mommy’s home,” I tell Hazel, lifting her from the changing table into my arms.
“What’s going on?” Cadence asks.
“Dinner is almost ready, and this one just got her bath.”
“How did you manage to do all of this? I’m only, what, an hour later than usual?”
“I left the office early. I know you’ve had a long week with your patient load, and I wanted to take some of this off your plate. I know you’ve been missing your snuggle time with dinner and bath each night getting home later, so we did it all before you got here.” I step toward her and slide my arm around her waist, pulling her into me and kissing her softly. “Sit. I’ll make you a plate.” Hazel is already reaching for her mom, so we make the switch, and I turn to walk away.
“Trev?” she calls out. There’s a quiver in her voice.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
The room stills, but my heart keeps on beating like a bass drum in my chest. In two long strides, I’m standing in front of her. Cradling her face in the palm of my hands, I stare into her eyes. “I love you. So fucking much,” I say, kissing her.
I take my time tasting her, showing her with my kiss how much she means to me. Pulling out of the kiss, I press my forehead against hers. We both laugh when Hazel mimics us. “I love you too,” I tell our daughter.
I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to tell her, and this moment, it’s another one to add to my long list of unforgettable. That’s how it should be. Every other memory is them. My girls and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Epilogue Cadence
Cadence
“Come here, you little bugger.” I run after my daughter, who is crawling all over the place, and scoop her into my arms.
“She likes the extra space.” Trevin laughs.
“This is overkill, Trevin. Why do we need a five-bedroom house?”
“For the kids?”
“We have one kid.”
“But we’re going to have more. Trust me. We’ve been practicing. I think the odds are in our favor.” He smirks.
He’s not wrong. It’s been six months since the day I walked into Thea and Scott’s apartment and saw him holding our daughter. Six months of happiness and love. So much love. We’ve been living in my two-bedroom apartment until today, when Trevin and I signed the loan papers to purchase our first house. We have been looking for a while, and nothing screamed home to us. Not until we found this place. It just so happens to be only two miles from the house that Scott and Thea moved into two months ago. They wasted no time purchasing a bigger place when they learned they would be adding to their family. He wanted a house. Hell, he wanted to buy one as soon as he moved back to town. It was my insistence that we take some time before jumping into anything that kept him from it. As soon as his house in Lexington sold, he was a man on a mission. We looked at maybe a couple of dozen before deciding on this one. I thought it was too big. Trev said it was perfect. I admit it’s gorgeous, but it’s huge compared to our apartment.
