Page 19 of The Mountain Man's Flame

“Daddy!” Lee, my four-year-old, calls out for me.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. Once again, he got on the pole because his brother dared him. But he only ever manages to cling to it, too scared to go down. I’ve tried to explain to Carl that his brother is smaller, and the world feels scarier. “What were you thinking? He could break his arm up there.”

Lee starts sobbing then. “I don’t want a broken arm!”

“I got a cool cast when mine broke,” Carl yells up. Of course, Carl broke his arm. He’s my daredevil. Nothing scares this kid which scares the shit out of me. If I bald early, it will definitely be Carl’s fault.

“Nothing is going to get broken. Dad’s coming,” I yell. “Just hold on right there.”

I start climbing the pole as Carl begins shoving a handful of gummy worms in his mouth. I’m going to have a talk with Nova about limiting his sugar intake.

Having three kids under the age of eight is great. Most of the time I love their energy and enthusiasm. Getting to raise them is my second greatest blessing. The first is being married to my best friend.

“Dad has you,” I reassure Lee as I slide down the pole with him. I set him on his feet and drop to my knees so he can see my face. “You’re alright. See? No broken bones.”

Lee is my cautious overthinker. He’s the one it took two hours to convince he was not in fact dying from a spider bite last week. Meanwhile, his brother was encouraging him to give his toys away since he couldn’t take them to heaven. I let Nova handle that one.

He sniffs. “It’s scary up there.”

“You were really brave today,” I reassure him. “One day, it won’t be so scary. You’ll be able to do it easily.”

Carl opens his mouth to make a smart-ass comeback and I shoot him a look, warning him to button up.

“Hey, Dad,” Ben calls from out front. “Your daughter is pissing on a fire hydrant.”

“What the actual fuck?” I mutter. I didn’t swear this much until I had kids. No amount of marriage and parenting books prepared me for this life. The life I love. Sometimes.

I hurry out front to find that Sasha, my two-year-old, is indeed attempting to piss on a fire hydrant since apparently her brothers can do it. That was a great call to receive from the school earlier this week. Nova let me handle that one.

Sasha is my only girl, and she tries so hard to keep up with her brothers. But at the current moment, she’s pissing herself instead of the hydrant.

It takes me a good twenty minutes, but I finally get Sasha cleaned up, suspend Carl’s gummy worm consumption, and reassure Lee one more time that none of his bones are broken.

By the time Nova shows up, Daddy needs a drink. She laughs when she sees me and smooths my hair down from where I’ve been running my fingers through it. “Did you have a rough day?”

“Did you get your errands done?” I grumble. That’s why she dropped off the kids with me in the first place. She was cryptic about the whole thing.

She beams at me. “I helped Everly with some research for her upcoming documentary.”

Everly, or Goldilocks as most of the family calls her, makes amazing documentaries. She won an award for the one she did on orphan diseases and how long patients often go undiagnosed.

“She was very grateful,” Nova says as she buckles Lee into his seat. He wants her to inspect his arm for broken bones too. She does that, endlessly patient with our kids, before she closes the door.

I let out a breath once they’re all buckled up and we’re standing outside the SUV. I wrap my hands around her generous hips, pulling her close. It’s been years and her body still delights me. I love these curves, especially as they’ve grown more pronounced thanks to three pregnancies.

“You look beautiful today.” I pay her a compliment every day. I want her to always know that I don’t just love her, I appreciate her. Hell, I treasure the woman in my arms.

The horn sounds causing us to spring apart, and I glare at Carl who is in the front seat. He laughs despite the look I’m shooting his way.

Nova squeezes my hand. “I forgot to mention the best part. Everly was so thankful for my help that she said she’d take the kids for the night.”

I chuckle. “What do you suppose we could do with a night alone?”

“I’m sure we’ll find something fun,” she teases.

The horn beeps again.

“I’m getting a vasectomy,” I insist. It’s what I promise her every time the days with the kids are long. I don’t actually want one. I’d get one if that’s what was best for our family. But I’d like to grow it again at some point.

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