by Aria Grace
Tonight, however, I've prepared in advance. Sadie's got the baby monitor in her room and there's no pressing appointments in the morning. I can let myself relax and enjoy a peaceful night fast asleep in the arms of my alpha.
Which is why I'm particularly annoyed when I'm woken up at seven a.m. to someone knocking on the bedroom door.
"What's going on?" I mutter grumpily. "Who’s at the door?"
"Hey, guys, it's me." Sadie's voice is muffled but clear.
I'm instantly awake. Sadie wouldn't be knocking unless it was important. She sounds calm though, so there's a disconnect in my brain. If something were truly wrong, she wouldn't be this calm. That's just not Sadie.
"What's wrong?" I ask as I slowly climb out of bed and search for my underwear.
"Nothing’s really wrong," she says softly. "I just thought you two might want to make yourselves decent and unlock your door. We've got a surprise for you that's probably going to be ready in...about twenty minutes."
"Thank you, Sadie," I say with a little smile as I turn toward Reynard. He's wide awake, reclining against the pillows with a grin on his face.
I listen for the sound of Sadie's footsteps withdrawing before I say anything. "What are you smiling like that for?"
"Just enjoying the view," he says with a smile. "Have I told you how beautiful you are?"
"You might have mentioned it." I blush beneath his gaze, but I don't hurry to get dressed. It's nice to know he enjoys the sight of my body. The truth is, it's hard to maintain a positive body image when you've got stretchmarks from two pregnancies and a little extra baby fat that just refuses to go. Somehow, that hasn't lessened his desire for me in the least.
"Sounds like we've got something to look forward to," I say, changing the subject. "You should probably help me clean up a little."
"Should I get dressed or...pajamas?" Reynard asks, slowly crawling out of bed. "I'm not really sure what the protocol is here."
I chuckle. "Well, I'm sure we're being served breakfast in bed. So pajamas."
Reynard and I hastily don our PJs and pick up the clothing scattered across the floor. I toss another blanket on the bed, just in case there's any evidence of last night's activities. When I finally unlock the bedroom door and prop it open a little, the smell of bacon is already wafting up from downstairs.
I crawl back into bed beside Reynard and snuggle up next to him.
"This is such an odd feeling," he admits. "I've had breakfast in bed loads of times. One of the perks of being royalty. I've never been excited about it though. It's not something that ever got me worked up. Now, however, I feel like I'm waiting for one of the most important events of my entire life."
A smile twitches across my lips, but I don't say anything.
"Yesterday, when you started talking about Father's Day, I honestly caught myself wishing we could just skip it," he continues with a sigh. "You know what my relationship with my father is like. Even though we've mostly reconciled now, I still have these gaps in my childhood where he should've been. And it's not just that he wasn't there but that he made the decision to focus on other things. I've resolved to learn from his mistakes and be a better father than he was, but to be perfectly honest, I've been terrified that I'll fail. That no matter what I do, I'll wind up making the same mistakes he did. I never want to be so wrapped up in whatever else I'm doing that I won't notice when the kids need me."
"And now?" I ask, looking up at him expectantly.
"Now I feel...well, I'm still terrified," he admits with a light laugh. "No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, something's going to happen. They're going to get hurt, they're going to go through hard things, and they're going to wind up with bumps and bruises along the way. But...but I think I understand now, what it was that was missing from my life when I was a child. When I was bullied in middle school, my father's solution was to send a bodyguard to school with me. No one bullied me anymore, but I also didn't have any friends. In high school, I convinced him to leave the bodyguard at home. Kids started bullying me again, so I wound up using my position to basically buy myself a group of friends. Eventually, I even bought my bullies. They all wanted to hang out with me because I bought them things and threw really crazy parties. But I developed this really convoluted idea of friendship."
"I feel like this explains why you bought me a car out of the blue," I chuckle as the puzzle pieces finally click into place.
"Yeah, actually," Reynard admits. "I needed you to stick around, badly. So I guess I was trying to buy your loyalty." He looks thoughtful for a moment. "Anyway, if my dad had just taken an interest in my life, tried to figure out why I was being bullied, offered me some advice, or...well anything really, things might've been different for me."
"Well, if it means anything, I think Kit appreciates the effort you're putting in," I tell him. "I saw him practicing his old karate moves in the mirror before bed last night. You're kind of his hero right now."
"I'm glad," he admits. "At last I'm doing something right."
"For what it's worth, I think you're doing a lot of things right," I say. "Our kids are downright lucky to have you in their lives."
Reynard flinches slightly and looks at me in surprise. "You said..."
"'Our?'" I chuckle. "Don't tell me you're still struggling with that? I thought after yesterday it'd be clear. You're as much Kit's dad as I am."
Reynard shakes his head slowly. "I wish that were true."
Before I can say another word, the sound of movement in the hallway attracts my attention. A moment later, Sadie peeks her head in the door with her eyes tightly closed.
"I really pray you two are dressed," she says before slowly opening one eye. "Okay, thank God," she chuckles. "I just wanted to check on you real quick. Breakfast incoming."
She withdraws without waiting for either of us to speak.
"Is it just me, or has she been more chipper than usual lately?" Reynard sits up straighter in anticipation.
"It's this web design class she's been taking," I explain. "She's always happiest when she's learning something new. I'm surprised she's awake so early though."
A few minutes later, the rattle of dishes and the smell of coffee draws my attention to the hallway. Sadie enters the room, carrying Pearl on her hip, and a carafe of coffee in her free hand. Behind her, Kit carries in a breakfast tray, loaded down with all sorts of breakfast goodies.
"Happy Father's Day," Kit announces as he delivers the tray to us. I'm grinning from ear to ear, but when I look over at Reynard, my heart skips a beat. Massive tears are welling up in his eyes, and he's struggling to hold them back.
"This is wonderful," I tell Kit as I look over the tray. "How much of this did Aunt Sadie make?"
"Aunt Sadie made the coffee," Sadie says as she sets the carafe on my nightstand. "Kit did the rest. I just made sure he didn't burn the house down."
"There was a slight incident with the first batch of bacon," Kit admits. "But the rest of it is completely edible, I promise."
Reynard laughs, despite the cascade of emotion he's currently fighting with. "This all looks so wonderful. Honestly, I don't know what to say."
"Well, don't say anything just yet," Kit says before glancing back at Sadie. She nods and Kit quickly ducks out of the room without another word.
"What's going on?" I ask suspiciously.
Sadie shakes her head and presses a finger to her lips, signifying her vow of silence.
Pearl squeals in her arms and reaches for me. "Dadadadada."
"Did you hear her!" Reynard exclaims with enough excitement to fill a football stadium. "Did you hear that?"
Pearl looks surprised by his outburst but then immediately devolves into giggling and cooing, matching his volume and excitement level.
"Say it again, sweetie," Reynard encourages. "Say 'dada.'"
Pearl shakes her head and blows raspberries.
"She's not going to do it now that she has an audience." I laugh and tickle her belly.
Reynard tries to coax her again, but Pearl has caught sight of the bacon on the tray nearby and is reaching for it with every ounce of strength in her tiny body.
"Your daughter is a bacon fiend," Sadie says as she steals a piece from the tray and hands it to Pearl, who immediately begins chewing on it with her toothless gums.
Kit slinks back into the room with a small wrapped package in his hands. "This is for you, Dad," he says, handing it to me with pride.
I always get so excited whenever he gives me something. My heart races as I slowly unwrap the carefully fastened paper. Inside is a picture frame with a family photo from our trip to Loremstein. The frame has a grid of LED lights carefully arranged around it and what looks like a battery pack with a switch on the back. I flip the switch as soon as I find it and the lights sparkle to life. They shimmer in a mesmerizing pattern that brings a smile to my lips. Kit's technical skill with Christmas lights has always been a point of pride for me. Ever since he and Reynard started planning lighting projects, his skills have gotten more and more precise. This is the first time he's ever used those skills in something non-Christmas related though.
"This is wonderful, I love it," I gush as I show it to Reynard.
He's grinning from ear to ear, clearly unable to contain his emotions as tears freely run down his cheeks.
"There's one more thing," Kit says as he pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He looks down at it uncertainly before circling around the bed and handing it Reynard. "I'm not very good at this sort of thing..." he says as Reynard unfolds the paper and looks down at it.
I glance over his shoulder to read what looks like a poem.
He's not my real birth dad. That guy skipped town
But he's a pretty cool guy. And he's always around
He looks out for me. And helps me a lot
I know I've said things that I really regret
But this guy was quick to forgive and forget
He's made my family more happy than ever before
And he's made my papa's heart soar
So he's not my birth dad, but I'm sure Pearl will agree
He's probably the only dad for me
My eyes well up with tears by the time I'm done reading it. Reynard is struggling to hold back a sob.
"I know the rhymes aren't very good," Kit says. "And I know I call Dad, 'Dad' but I used 'Papa' in the poem because I thought it'd be too confusing to use dad for two different people." He continues rambling as he tries to explain his poem and make excuses for his skills.
"Kit..." I say his name gently to try and nudge him out of his downward spiral. "It was beautiful, sweetie."
Kit takes a deep breath and nods slowly. "So, I mean, I guess…" He looks up at Reynard. "It's really awkward to ask this, but...can I call you 'Dad?'"
Reynard loses it. A massive sob escapes his lips and he nods as he extends his arms toward Kit. The two of them hug as Reynard tries to get his tears under control.
"Dadadadada." Pearl squeals with delight.
"She thinks it's a good idea too," Sadie agrees, giving Pearl a little bounce.
"I love you all so much," Reynard says when he finally gets his emotions under control. "I...thank you, for showing me what Father's Day really means. It's so much more than I can fully put into words. Thank you."
I grin and lean over to kiss Reynard's cheek. "Next year's going to be even better," I tease.
Reynard looks at me in confusion. "This one isn't even over yet..."
"Sure, but next year...the family's going to be even bigger," I say as I take his free hand and press it against my belly. "Looks like Aunt Sadie was right about that trip to Loremstein."
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