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“The hell?”
We all look at each other when the sound thumps again, followed by a little voice calling out to her daddies.
My fucking heart drops. Flashbacks of the first time I laid my eyes on Lyric flash through my mind. Her frantic cries. The tears I couldn’t wipe away fast enough. Shit.
“River better not be dead again,” Rad hisses, running toward the door as we all follow behind with our hearts in our throats.
I grunt when Asher slams into my back as we huddle around the door. Nerves shake my fingers when Rad throws it open, staring down at our little girl.
“Daddies,” she says with a big grin, clutching two white bunnies to her chest.
“Little Blue,” I say, kneeling down in front of her. “What’s wrong?” I frantically check her over, noting the backpack glued to her backside. She smiles so damn wide it’s almost blinding.
“Nuffin. I’m staying here tonight. We’re having a sleepover! With lots of cotton candy,” she says with a shrug, casually pushing me out of the way with her tiny hand. I don’t fall on my ass when she shoves by, but I think I could have.
“What the hell?” Rad asks with his eyes glued to the little girl strolling into our house with nothing but a smile, her backpack, and her two stuffed bunnies.
“She wanted a sleepover,” River says out of nowhere.
“A sleepover?” Callum blanches.
“Yeah. Good luck!” River says, waving a hand as she turns to leave.
“Whoa! Pretty Girl!” Rad grunts, rushing after her with determination. “What’s happening right now?” he asks, clutching her shoulders and stopping her retreat.
“I’ll uh…make sure she’s settling in okay. Looks like we have a guest for the night.” I nod at Asher as he walks away with a grin lining his face. I bet he can’t wait to cook and play with her.
Callum sighs. “I’ll help him.”
“She wanted to stay with you guys,” River says, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. Amusement soars through her sparkling eyes like she finds the prospect of us alone with Ly hysterical.
“Oh, yeah?” Rad asks, lighting up at the idea.
“We don’t mind,” I say, meandering over to where they’re standing at the bottom of our porch. “She’s welcome any time. You know we love to spend time with her.”
“You could sleep over, too,” Rad says in a low voice, smirking when she shudders from his touch.
“That, too,” I say, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “You could sneak in after we put her to bed. Then we could play some adult games.”
She snorts, batting us away. “Such charmers. Would these adult games include the no pants dance?”
“That could be arranged,” Rad says, waggling his eyebrows as he undoes his belt.
“Jesus, keep your pants on,” she laughs, shoving him away. “Listen, I couldn’t stop her. She just packed a bag and told me she was going. I barely had time to grab shoes when she stormed out the door. For some reason, she was determined to get here. I think—” Her brows furrow. “I think she misses seeing you guys all day, every day.”
“We could fix that, River Blue. We could build a big house right over there for the five of us.”
I can see it now. Our beautiful forever home rises in the distance with enough room to accommodate all of us, plus more. If we wanted, of course. There’s nothing that sounds better than knocking River up ten times more and having kids and pets running around. It’s the normal family I’ve always dreamed of. With an abundance of love pouring through the house to fill the ocean. Our children would never know what it felt like to lie in bed at night, wondering where the next meal or hug would come from.
“Keep dreaming, Romeo,” she quips.
I don’t miss the way she looks out in the distance to the place I pointed to with dreamy eyes. She’s keeping us at arm’s length, doing what she needs to do. That’s fine. I can tell it’s eating her alive not to be by our side. She’s aching to fall into our loving arms and ride happily out into the sunset.
“Well, then, Pretty Girl. Enjoy your day all to yourself. Just if you take a hot bath or play with that amazing little rose later, take lots of videos for me. Moan my name a little so I can go to sleep with a smile.”
River rolls her eyes, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Mmmhmm,” she hums with mischief.
“Enjoy your day, River Blue. We’ll take good care of our baby girl.” I kiss her lips before she walks away.
