“Hey, Dad,” Austin said from the doorway behind me.
I turned around to see my little boy, who wasn’t so small anymore. He was now almost eight and looked more like me with each passing day. He still split his time between my place and his mother’s but preferred it here. We added on to the cabin about a year ago, and he now had a room he called his man cave. I chuckled when he referred to it like that, but it wasn’t far from the truth. He had a full-size bed, a flat-screen television, and all the games a boy could wish for. He was spoiled, but that was fine by me because he appreciated everything I had ever given him.
“Hey, bud,” I answered as I continued to rock Nora from side to side, still holding her close.
“Alena just called. She said she’s bringing dinner home. She wanted you to know so you didn’t throw anything on.” He paused as if he was running their conversation through his mind. “Oh yeah, and she said Trinity is coming over too.”
I nodded. “All right. We still on for a game of basketball later?”
“Uh, yeah, it’s fun beating you,” he said with a smile. Little shit had been hanging around his Uncle Jackson too much. He was getting too good at giving me hell.
“You ever think maybe I don’t just let you win?” I arched an eyebrow, and my little tormentor actually laughed.
“Yeah, right, Dad. Face it, you ain’t got game.” He turned around and walked down the hall, leaving me behind to chuckle and shake my head. Damn kid. I had no doubt he would be talking smack better than Jackson in no time.
Nora stirred in my arms, and my attention instantly shifted back to my sweet little girl. “Shh, I got ya, darlin’,” I assured her in a soft, soothing voice. “Daddy will always have you, sweet angel.”
Life teaches us all types of lessons, and it’s up to us to decide what we do with those lessons. I chose to never repeat the same mistakes twice. Yes, I hit a snag in the road when Alena and I went through a hard time in our marriage. Hell, it hit us during our honeymoon phase, and I’ll be honest, the idea of losing her scared the shit out of me, but we made it. And today we are stronger and better than we were in the beginning. We’ve learned to lean on one another, to understand that no matter what happens, we have each other. I will never again think otherwise.
Right here under this roof I had everything a man could every wish for. I had my son and daughter, who were both healthy and happy. And I had my best friend, the woman who I fell in love with more and more each day. She kept me grounded and made me feel whole.
I was definitely one helluva lucky man.
***
Alena
Arriving home to find my handsome and sexy-as-hell hubby snuggling our four-month-old never grew old. Our adorable little chubby-cheeked girl had her daddy wrapped so securely around her finger it was insane. One look at her was all it took for Noah to get lost in her world. From the moment he first saw her, I knew she would never in her life doubt the love of her father. That thought alone gave me peace.
Trinity followed close behind as we placed the takeout from the diner on the counter. “Something smells good,” Noah said as he walked toward the kitchen.
“The special was country-fried steak, and I know how you love Betty’s steak,” I said as he stepped up to my side.
“I wasn’t referring to the dinner, gorgeous,” he whispered before burying he face against the side of my neck. He placed a gentle kiss just beneath my ear, and heat rose in my neck.
Over the years, Trinity had gotten used to our displays of affection. She and I had grown quite close, especially after she brought Noah and I back together after the loss of our first child. She was like part of our family now. She had gone through a lifetime of her own darkness, and when she got tired of watching Noah and I drowning, she forced us to see what was right in front of us. We had one another, and that was something we had both forgotten after our loss.
“I missed you today,” Noah added just before pulling back and placing our daughter in her swing. As it began rocking, I couldn’t help but smile when I noticed she had Noah’s T-shirt wrapped around her little body instead of her blanket.
I gave him a questioning look.
He grinned brightly and shrugged. “What? She loves the smell of me being close.” He smirked as if he knew just what was running through my mind.
I knew he was probably right. Nora sought the comfort of Noah, just as I did. And just like she did, I loved resting my head against his chest and just breathing him in. It was a safe place, the place where no matter what I felt like, no one or nothing could hurt me. As long as Noah held me in his arms, I was content. He was my home, and for once in my life, I felt as if I didn’t have to be perfect. Noah loved me regardless of any flaw or hardship we may have faced. They only made us stronger.