Always with You - Part One(3)

I smile again. Ginger is good for me.

I throw in with her. Not because it's right, but because it just makes me feel better.

"Right? And what if she won't work when she grows up? What if she's really lazy and she just wants to live in the basement of the new house until she's fifty?"

"A basement-dwelling fifty year old-every father's dream. Hell, she might even be toothless by that point. They look like two women who are prone to dental hygiene problems, don't you think?"

At this, I laugh outright. Both Sophie and Isabella look clean and neat and nowhere near the vicinity of having bad dental hygiene, but I love the picture Ginger paints. Although completely unrealistic, it somehow soothes me to think of them this way. At least for a few minutes. Until my poor heart can recover from being devastated by the two beautiful interlopers.

"I love you, Ginger," I tell my friend.

"I love you, too, Livie. And if you want to become lesbians and run away from this mess, I'll consider it, but only after I've had a run at Gavin. Deal?"

"Deal."

She leans over to kiss my cheek before she stands and practically pushes me across the floor when she opens the door.

"Your turn, Thor!" she calls out. She glances back at me long enough to wink before she disappears and the door closes again.

I'm ready for Cash to come to me now. I'm ready to feel his arms around me. I'm ready to feel his lips brush my temple. I'm ready to hear him tell me he loves me and that I'm the only one. I'm ready to hear that more than anything.





CHAPTER TWO



Cash



Ginger gives me a thumb's up when I pass her on the way to Olivia. When I reach the bathroom door, I twist the knob and push. I feel resistance against it, so I push, slow and hard, until I can get it open enough to make it through. I'm a big guy. I can't squeeze through a damn crack like Ginger.

Once inside, I look down into my wife's pale face and my anger returns. Damn Sophie and her unexpected appearance!

Without a word, I bend, scooping Olivia into my arms and then turning to sit against the door like she was, cradling her against my chest. I brush my lips over her forehead.

I think of the best way forward, taking into consideration the way Olivia's mind works and what she needs most from me. My guess is reassurance. I know this was a blow to her. Probably not Sophie as much as the little girl. But I want her to know where I stand with both of them. If not for her peace of mind, then for mine. This woman is more important to me than anything. When she hurts, I hurt.

"When I was in junior high, Dad got us a dog. We'd wanted one for a while. I guess he got tired of us asking him about it, so he broke over and got a hound dog. Named him Stanley. Nash and I were both into comics at the time. We figured it was better to combine Stan and Lee rather than giving our dog two names, so we agreed on Stanley. Stanley was a great dog. Smart, fast. Drooled all over the place, but the only one who cared about that was Mom. It didn't take long for him to become a member of the family. Stanley Davenport.



       
         
       
        

"About three years later, Stanley got the neighbor's new dog pregnant. She had pups and we got the pick of the litter since Stanley was the father. We were into sports by then, so we named that dog Heisman. He was cute as hell at eight weeks when we got him. I loved him immediately. Something about seeing him when he was born, about knowing that he was part Stanley's, it's like he was family from the first breath he took. Seeing him grow up from just a pup, watching him through those gawky, all-legs months … he was almost human. Or at least it felt like it. I got so attached to him, he even slept on the end of my bed most nights. I loved Stanley. He was still a member of the family, but Heisman was mine. He felt like mine more than Stanley did. I watched him grow up. I taught him tricks and held him on the way to the vet for his shots. We were part of each other's life in a different way than Stanley. We were all family, of course, but there was just something special about Heisman."

I glance down at Olivia. She's staring up at me, her bright green eyes shining. If I'd given it more thought, I might not have used a couple of dogs as analogies for real children. I guess I just want to make her feel better so much that I'd say just about anything. Including telling her some boring story about my childhood animals.

"I'd be able to love any kid of mine, but I won't lie and say that a child with you wouldn't be different. Because it would. The love I have for you … watching our baby grow in your belly … seeing it come into the world … hearing it say 'Daddy' for the first time … there are few things in life I could love more than that. But you're one of them. If we are blessed with a baby, I'll love it like my own flesh. If we're not, it won't make me love you any less. Or love another child any more. There's a place in me … way down here," I tell her, thumping the center of my chest with my fist, "that's reserved for you and our baby. Nothing else can ever live there. Just you. And our child. If we don't have a baby of our own, all of this will just be yours because you are my whole world. Nothing and no one will ever change that. Do you hear me, Olivia Davenport? Nothing. And no one. Ever."