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I scoop her up into my arms and feel my heart quiver with the love I feel for her as her arms go around my neck. She lays her head on my chest and mumbles, “Love Daddy.”
“Daddy loves you too, munchkin.” I fight back tears as I walk down the hallway to where she shares a bedroom with her sister, Winter.
I feel blessed everyday to have a wife I can’t live without and two beautiful daughters. They are my world and I know it with every breath that I take. Not a day goes by that I don’t tell Thalia what she means to me.
Our daughter Winter is the spitting image of her mother and as she holds her hands out to me from her crib, I place Leigh on the floor. “Go and play with your Frozen playset while I get Winter up and change her diaper, okay?”
“Kay.” Leigh pads off to the corner where Thalia has set up her playset so that it can stay out instead of constantly having to be put away.
Seeing Leigh happy for the time being, I turn back to the baby of the family and hold my hands out to her. I do this daily because I love watching the excitement on her face when she realizes I’m going to get her out of the crib. She doesn’t let me down this time as she shouts unintelligible mumble jumble while I lift her into my arms.
I nuzzle into her neck and tickle her with silly kisses all over her face, causing a lot of baby giggles. Leigh gives up on playing and comes to watch me change Winter’s soggy diaper. Leigh loves to help and Thalia has it down right with her, but me, not so much. I can do a diaper as well as anyone, but when I have small hands helping…let’s just say it’s easier without the help, and leave it at that.
After blowing lots of raspberries on both of my daughters’ bellies, I carry them down to the kitchen, where Thalia already has oatmeal with apple cooking on the stove.
The kitchen smells like Christmas so I’m guessing Thalia has added cinnamon to the oatmeal.
With Winter fastened in to her highchair and Leigh seated at the table, I walk toward my wife, wrapping my arms around her waist as I nuzzle into her neck.
“You two are like newlyweds.”
Before turning to face our expected visitor, I whisper in my wife’s ear, “I loved this morning.” I kiss her on the lips and quickly step away before I end up sporting a boner for all to see.
I drop my weight into a chair between the girls and pass them both the warm milk that is already waiting for them on the table before finally turning my attention to Robin.
“Wait until you meet a guy you can’t live without.” I point at Robin. “Then we’ll see how long your honeymoon lasts.”
“Ha, you’re funny…not!” Robin drawls and meets my gaze. “I need a favor.”
“No,” I reply.
“What do you mean, no?” She glares. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”
“When you’re at my house asking me for a favor it usually has something to do with me talking your brother down from the ledge.” I raise a brow and wait.
“Reece is impossible,” Robin sighs dramatically.
Thalia chuckles and places breakfast in front of me. She adds some cold milk to Leigh and Winter’s before she gives Leigh her bowl. “Here, please feed Winter for me,” she asks, and passes the bowl to Robin. “Do you want some of this?”
“I’m good. Thanks anyway. Mom made me eat before I left.”
Now it’s my turn to chuckle. “Feeling a bit overwhelmed being back home, huh?”
“You could say that.” Robin grumbles.
“Okay, I’m curious. What’s going on that you need me to talk to your brother for you?” I shovel some oatmeal in, and add for my wife, “This is really good, babe, with the cinnamon.” I pat my lap.
Thalia sits on my knee and I wrap an arm around her. “You were saying?” I prompt Robin.
“I hadn’t started yet.”
We eat in silence for a few minutes, and then Robin says, “I have a job, providing Reece is okay with it. The thing is, I don’t think he’ll be okay with me working there, but I really want this. It’s only until the New Year, but he’s going to go nuts when he finds out.”
“Who would offer a job providing your brother is okay with it…Ryder?”
“Ryder?” Thalia says with me.
“Yeah. He said he doesn’t want to have an argument with Reece, so if he’s okay with it then I have the job.”
