“Not yet, though,” he said, and the disappointment was instantly obvious on her face. Even Ben had to laugh. “My own dad is sick right now, and he needs me.”
“Is that why you’ve been gone a lot?”
“Yes, that’s right,” he said, nodding his head. “I need to be with him right now, but after he gets better, we can find a place to live together.”
“You won’t be coming to live with me, Mom and Grandma?” she asked innocently.
Ben and I shared a look.
“No, honey,” I was the one to say it. “We can't, but, once we get a new place, we can get a dog!”
That instantly caught her attention and had her jumping up and down in excitement. Then she went back to playing, leaving Ben and I.
“She actually took it well,” he murmured to himself as he slowly stood up.
I got up right beside him and patted him comfortingly on the shoulder.
“I told you she would be fine.”
“This is the last of it, right?”
I was confused for a moment what he was mumbling about. Then he turned to me, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. Not too close, though, because we were still in public.
“Nothing else is holding us back, right? Once the issue with my dad is over with…”
“Then we can take care of our family,” I finished for him, smiling warmly up at him. “I love you.”
Ben looked stunned for a moment, then grinned down at me. “That’s the first time you’ve said that to me, you know? Since I came back.”
I thumped his shoulder, ducking my head down.
“You didn’t deserve to hear it before, but now you do,” was my simple explanation.
Ben’s arms moved from around my waist to cup my cheeks, tilting my face up and placing a chaste kiss on my lips. I smiled into the kiss, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck, reveling in our happiness.
Epilogue
Ben
Scarlett and I were just stepping out of the hotel. We were leaving it in the hands of the management, and the new staff we’d managed to hire.
“When do you think Dad will come back?” she asked with a groan. “It should be soon, right?”
“What right do you have to fucking complain,” I retorted. “There are people around to take care of the place, you don’t need to keep going there if you don’t want to.”
“But one of us has to be there,” she said defensively. “To protect the place.”
I just sighed and shook my head at her, rolling my eyes and ignoring her pout.
We broke off as we got into our respective cars. Scarlett was going with her son and husband, while I was driving by myself, out to the house I’d built for Ginger and Fern. It had been an uphill battle just managing that much, and in so short a time. Not even a year after we told Fern that I was her dad, a lot of things had changed. The greatest of all, was that Ginger, Fern and I finally got to live together.
For the past couple weeks, we’d been setting up the house, and it was finally ready for all three of us to move into. I’d had Ginger and Fern go ahead of me so I could finally check myself out of the hotel.
The drive wasn’t so long, and in no time we arrived. The distance from town meant Ginger wouldn’t be making walks at night, and I was all for that. Scarlett and Dan arrived a moment behind me, and they followed me into the house.
“Seriously,” Scarlett persisted. “What did Dad say? He didn’t tell me anything!”
“Right after the doc declared him recovered, he told me he wanted to come back, because his girlfriend, the whole reason he moved so far in the first place, dumped him the moment he had the heart attack because, like you, she was worried about the hospital bills.” The name we’d gotten from the doc had been more complicated, but according to Dad, that was what happened.
Scarlett sighed. “Well, I can't fault her. I thought it too. But it’s fine.”
“You’re okay with him coming back?” I asked to clarify.
She shrugged. “Sure. He’s still Dad, after all.”
“Fine,” I said, nodding. “If you’re okay with it, then I guess I am, too. He’ll probably be back by next week.”
Dan laughed, bouncing little Makas in his arms. “This family sure is growing at a fast pace!”
“No, no,” Scarlett countered. “It’s more like, it’s always been this big, and everyone is just coming together now.”
“True,” I said, shrugging.
We walked into the kitchen, and Fern came in from the backdoor, barreling right at me with Ginger behind her and a puppy on their heels. I picked my little girl up in my arms and twirled her around, holding her up high, before settling her properly in my arms, laughing at the enthusiastic puppy trying to bark at me.
“And how are both of my girls, hmm?”
Ginger walked over to me and gave me a light peck on the mouth. “You girls are doing just fine, but we’re both getting a little hungry.”
I smiled at the subtle prompt, setting Ginger down.
“Dan,” I called, moving over to the fridge. “It’s the guys cooking dinner tonight, so get over here.”
He sighed, resigned, as he handed Makas over to Ginger as he came over to me.
This wasn’t the first time we’d gathered like this, but it was the first time in my new house. While Dan and I got to working, Scarlett was out in the back yard with Ginger and Fern, marveling at all the details we’d put in. I hadn't had a chance to see the full effect yet. We’d set up the porch wide and hung up a bunch of little lights, along with an outdoor dining table. Because it was a warm summer night, one of the few left before we hit the fall and Fern started going to school, we would be dining out.
Once we were done, we set the food up and everybody sat down to eat, dinner table appropriate topics floating around because of the kids. Right afterwards, Scarlett took Makas upstairs to sleep in the extra bed we’d set up in Fern’s room for the times I’d end up looking after him. Fern insisted on staying up a little longer with the adults, and Ginger and I were both fine with it.
As we moved on to the wine drinking stage of dinner—with Fern getting grape juice—Dan and I shared a look.
“Scarlett,” he started, setting down his wine glass, and moving to stand in front of her, taking her glass as well and setting it down for her.
“What?” she muttered, blinking at him in confusion.
Ginger glanced at me, but I just smiled.
“You and I have been together for two years now,” he said. “So, I thought it was time I did this properly.”
He went down on one knee, holding onto her hand, running his thumb over the ring he’d given her. Scarlett gasped, her eyes widening as she put a hand over her mouth.
“Dan…”
“Scarlett,” he said again. “I’ve loved you for…well, to be honest, since a couple years ago, but I’ve wanted you from the first time I met you. I know things were a little bumpy for us, I left you to deal with things on your own for so long, and I’m lucky you still wanted me after that. We’ve waited till now, but I wanted to ask, will you marry me? Preferably, within the next couple months?”
It was such an intimate moment to watch, and I didn’t need to guess that my sister would definitely say yes, so I turned to look at Ginger instead.
“I thought you two were already engaged,” Ginger said, surprised.
“So did I,” I muttered, sarcastic. “But that guy over there out of the blue asked Dad if he could have his daughter’s hand in marriage, he even tried to buy a ring again yesterday, and he dragged me with him,” I continued to grouse.
In the next moment, though, I also set down my glass, then Ginger’s. I got down on one knee, right in front of her, holding up the box open so she could see her ring. Fern was having a field day, squealing and jumping around us, the puppy running around her and barking in confused excitement.
I didn’t have as many words as Dan had, so I was very direct.
“Ginger,
” I said, smiling softly up at her as she perfectly mirrored Scarlett’s pose. “Will you marry me?”
Her smile, when she dropped her hand from her face and let me see, was beautiful. Tears glistened in her eyes, but when she answered, her voice was loud and clear.
“Yes.”
###The End###
More Books By Stephanie Brother…
Single Daddy
Book 1 in the Single Daddy series
Chapter One
Noah
“Who’s at the fucking door?” I shout out as I leave my bedroom. They’d better have a good excuse for continually ringing the doorbell like that.
“I’m not deaf!” I shout as I start to walk down the stairs. I’ve a killer hangover from the rodeo last night. I don’t even feel like getting up today, especially with the sweet pussy that I had after the rodeo. These cowgirls get a kick out of riding not only the horses but guys too.
“Again!”
I’m getting even more agitated at the idea that they keep ringing the bell. They’re not saying anything—just ringing the damn thing.
I walk glumly toward the door as the person gets the hint and stops ringing the bell. Obviously, it’s no one from the ranch. They typically just walk in the house and shout my name. It can’t be Harper who comes to clean the house every other day. No, it must be someone I don’t know. Maybe I should have pretended not to be in just so that they’ll go away and stop ringing the damn bell as if their life depends on it.
As I open the door, I see something on the doorstep. I wonder if I woke up drunk because I must be fucking hallucinating.
I spot Carl sloughing by, so I point at it with my eyes half-open. Shit, I can't even focus properly, because the sun’s shining hard. I shout out, “Dude!”
I wish I would stop talking like that, but that’s what happens when you spend too much time in sunny California.
“Who left this?”
He lifts up his shoulders in a half-shrug, as if it’s too much effort for him to do a proper one. Why does he always look as if he’s been trekking around America for the last few months? The guy always looks tired. No matter the time of day or how many hours he’s slept, the guy looks the same. If he weren't such a good hand on the ranch, I would get rid of him. Not only because of his tired looks but because he’s just clueless. He’s a hard worker, but everything has to be spelled out for him. Thinking out of the box, isn’t an option.
“But, you must have seen someone come by and just…”
I can’t even get the words out. I keep looking at my feet, and I’m trying to pretend that it isn’t there. That this isn’t happening to me.
My life’s simple here. Get a few cowgirls that want to live on a big ranch, tease them and please them, and then when it’s all done, I tell them that I can’t commit. I can’t. Not now, not ever. I tried a relationship once, but after my ex, Jessica, spat in my face about the idea, I promised myself never again would I ask a girl to move in. She told me that I love playing and never take anything serious. If that was the case, I never would have asked her to move in with me.
“Oh, welcome to the land of the living,” Aria sings as she comes closer to the house. I want to go inside and close the door. This never happened. No one left a basket outside my fucking door with a baby in it. The baby’s crying. Shit!
“Holy cow, Noah. I thought that she was leaving a basket of fruit or something.”
I grab hold of Aria’s arm as she comes closer, thinking that maybe if I catch up with the person, I can give it back.
“Who?”
She bends down and sighs, “Isn’t he the cutest?”
She’s joking. Sure, it’s cute or that’s what people always say about their babies. I steer well clear of them, which is why someone must have made a mistake when they dropped this one here. But, why would someone just come and drop a baby at my doorstep?
“Are you going to tell me who, or are you going to keep me guessing all day?”
My head’s throbbing, and the last thing I need at this time of the morning is to play guessing games with Aria. She’s bitchy because she thought that I was coming on to her and that I was into her. No, I was fucking horny. Dad always said don’t mix business with pleasure. I did, and now I have to play the price. She works with the horses, and I should have known better than to try and get it on with one of the staff.
“Some girl. She was holding the basket and pressing the bell like crazy. I thought that she was an idiot like me.”
Aria’s looking me directly in the eye, trying to figure out if there will be some reaction from me. There’s none because I told her once and I’m not doing it again. It was one night. I was horny, wanted to get my leg over, and she thought that I wanted a relationship. I made it clear that I didn’t. So, if she’s still upset about it, she could leave. There’s plenty of ranches around here. This isn’t the only one. Besides, she’s good at her job, and I pay her more than any ranch would pay her—which is probably why she sticks around.
“Look, there’s a note.”
I grab it quickly and read it out loud. I don’t need her to wind me up even further. There’s a baby outside my house. She lifts the basket saying, “You can’t leave him here all day.”
“Sure, his mom will come back for him. Maybe she left a number on this note.” I realize that I’m fucking talking to myself, as Aria’s already in the house with someone else’s baby. I turn around and she’s making those funny sounds, the noises that people tend to make whenever they see a baby. It’s as if they’ve lost their mind.
Dear Noah,
I know that we met that one night when you were in Vegas eleven months ago.
I can’t cope with the baby. His name is Richard, after my granddad. I need you to look after him for a while.
I hope that you become friends.
Please don’t try and contact me.
I had nowhere else to go. I need Richard to be safe, and he’s your son.
Candy
Holy shit!
The one-night stand… My hands are trembling and my heart’s beating out of control as I flashbacks of the night enter my head. Dan, my best friend from high school, was getting married. I was best man, and I booked the whole damn bachelor party—the hotel, car, and flights. I remember having a one-night stand, and I was pretty wasted that weekend.
But, I used a condom. I’m like 99% sure that I used one, just so that I didn’t get in trouble. Like I seem to have done now. Besides, Vegas is fucking notorious for one-night stands. I scratch my head as I now realize her name.
Candy!
That’s it. I kept teasing her asking if she’s ‘as sweet as candy,’ and I meant from the waist down. She can’t just come here and drop a baby on me. What was she doing during those eleven months? Why didn’t she try and get in contact then?
I avoid going to the living room where Aria’s still making the noises with the baby. I get my phone from my back pocket and call Dan. Shit, we’ve got to go back to Vegas. We need to find Candy. I shut the door and start making the call.
“Dan.”
“Hey, man, surprised you’re up. You were pretty wasted last night.”
Fuck the small talk.
“Who’s that?”
Right then, little Richard starts crying again as I pace in the hallway to avoid going directly into the living room.
“That’s exactly what I’m calling you about.”
He starts laughing. “You’re a daddy.”
“Look, it’s not funny. Some chick just left a note and said that I’m the daddy.”
“Shit, I thought they only did that type of shit in movies.”
I’ll say, but for the first time, this is happening to me in real life. I think that maybe he’s right. I was pretty wasted last night, so this could be a bad dream. It must be as I look up and see Aria in front of me trying to soothe Richard. I only have nightmares with her in them.
But, I’m not fucking delusional. There is a baby in front of
me. My dreams are vivid, but not so fucking real that I’m walking around with this killer of a hangover. Whatever Aria’s doing to Richard, it’s not working.
Her phone rings and she starts walking toward me. “You take him. Maybe he wants his daddy.”
Again, Dan starts laughing. “Shit, you are a daddy. Don’t go anywhere. I’m coming over, and I’m bringing the boys. They’ll love to see this.”
Any other time, I would join in and have a laugh too, but when it comes at my expense it’s not fucking funny. I’m balancing my phone in one hand and Richard in the other. That’s when I notice something.
Aria laughs as she comes back into the room. “See, he did want his daddy. Good luck, Noah. I’ve got to get a job.”
Then she leaves. What the fuck is she talking about? She works here on the ranch. What job?
I attempt to put little Richard back into his basket. Every time I do, he starts crying. I still need a DNA test. The fact that Richard’s winding me up kind of proves that he’s mine, but it’s not enough to convince me. I can’t do this. Not all day. I’ve got a hangover to get rid of, horses that I need to tend to. My day’s filled with chores, and none of them involve looking after a baby.
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Fake Daddy
Book 2 in the Single Daddy series
Chapter One
Chad
Fuck, why are strollers so fucking hard to control?
I thought that with modern technology they would have made them easier, not fucking impossible. I bet my sister, Olivia, paid a small fortune for this fucking monstrosity. I was an IT guy, I built apps, developed programs, but that was fucking easy compared to trying to fold or unfold a stroller.
“Do you need a hand?”
A guy asked, as I parked outside the pre-school for the last ten minutes trying to figure out how to unfold the stroller so I can take my nephew around in peace. I could just hold him. I had the carrier, but as I looked at that in the back, I decided that was just as fucking complicated as trying to unfold the stroller. When Olivia handed it to me, I told her that I wasn’t going to put myself in that straight jacket. Besides, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with Joshua being strapped to me. He was safer in a stroller. If I could fucking unfold the damn thing. Besides I was only an uncle, not a dad. Noah had taken on the role like a duck to water. He could write a book on it, along with Martin. They acted as if they couldn’t breathe if they didn’t know everything there was to know about being a dad. It was like a fucking disease with those two. They fed off each other about the latest bottle warmer, stroller and anything else that came out and they just had to fucking get it!
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