Page 293 of Bride of Choice

“Of course, baby.” Rosa waved at Dorothy, who smiled and waved back.

“Hope you don’t mind!” Dorothy called out. “Spotted you all and thought a picnic would be a lovely idea.”

“They knowed, Mama,” Khri called out with a grimace.

Dorothy’s overdone cheerful act fell. “Well, shoot,” she muttered.

“Meedaw!” twin screeches cried out. Popping up, fruit pieces abandoned, Rosa’s boys chased after their sister, who had a good head start on them, after their meedaw, as they called Dorothy.

The second my arms were empty, I held them out to Khri. “My turn, traitor,” I called out sweetly, wiggling my fingers.

Mal snorted and Khri smirked but handed over Binc.

“Mine,” I teased him, a genuine smile tugging at my lips when he growled and softly snarled, “Mine,” in the most possessive display of daddy over the moon for his girls cuteness.

“I’ll give her back.” Rolling my eyes, I stared down into their baby girl’s eyes and was immediately smitten.

This. I so wanted this.

But I wasn’t going to ever have this.

“Have to give back.” Doogie came and sat down right beside me, scooting in to play with his niece over my shoulder.

“Hey- Hey, baby hog! Wait your turn,” I groused at him.

“I babies hog?” Doogie sputtered, gesturing at me wildly. “What you do?”

“Cuddling my niece-godbaby. Duh.” With a sniff, I shifted so he could see her better.

Leaning in, he brushed a finger down a downy cheek. “Getting big,” he told Khri, Boog, and Mal, who grinned like the proud parents they were.

“It sucks,” I muttered. “I love them when they’re this small.” Leaning in, I gave her tuft of fluff on her head a good sniff. “Love that baby smell.”

“What babies smell? Poop?” Doogie made a show of making a face and pinching his nose.

“Babies don’t smell, Kunkle Doogie! That’s not nice!” Kehko burst out, making us all laugh.

The boys, spying Doogie, cried out, “DOODIE!” and ditched their grab-daws (grandpas), Meedaw (grandma), and kunkles to charge straight for Doodie.

“Doodie?” Choked laughter left me.

Doogie shrugged but threw his arms open to catch the boys. Moving away from us, he played with the boys in the grass until Rosa called them back to finish their food.

“Kooky, mama?” they asked Rosa, one and then the other.

Clearing his throat, glancing briefly from his mother and fathers to Khri, Doogie told them, “Kooky hunt.”

“Hunt what?” Kehko asked.

Doogie thought about it a minute before answering, “Loud, bitey beast. Snaps. Mean. Lots of colors.”

Wondering if that was a jab at me, I gave him a look. Absorbed in the conversation with the littles, he didn’t pay me any mind, so I dismissed it.

Awkwardness filled me, regardless.

Refocusing all of my attention on the little one in my arms, the whole thing was soon forgotten.

As our picnic wound down and we packed up, we ran into Mina and her family group as we were trekking back to the village.

---