Page 64 of My Demon Manny

As I fed him, I glanced over at the clock, frowning when I realized it was another hour before Archer would be home. I missed him every time he left, but he enjoyed his work just like I enjoyed taking care of babies, and I couldn't ask him to give up something he loved just because I missed him.

I got to spend time with Gunner, though, so I didn't really mind being apart from Archer. I just felt much more content when he was with us. I also felt a little bad for him because he had to spend the whole day without Gunner.

Gunner reached out for the spoon, and I smiled, offering him another bite. He chomped it down, then did some more dragon mimicking as I laughed softly. Damn, I truly loved this boy.

I'd never imagined a job as a manny would lead to me getting a family of my own. All I'd hoped for was that I'd get to take care of a baby, and maybe help them grow into a happy child. That was all I'd wanted to do.

Instead, I'd found an amazing mate who appreciated me just as I was, who wanted me to stay in my true form because he knew I felt more like myself this way. He loved me regardless, and maybe a little bit because of it.

I'd also found a son—because Archer had assured me again and again that Gunner was as much my child as he was Archer's—who was bright and cheerful, and never failed to make me laugh.

I felt lucky to have so much love in my life. I wanted to spread it around, to maybe offer some of it to kids who weren't so lucky.

I'd been looking into it in my free time, and I'd found a few places that I could do some good at. They were all volunteer opportunities, which suited me perfectly since I had no need for money.

Before I contacted anyone, though, I wanted to talk to Archer, especially because taking on any project would mean I would be taking Gunner out into the world.

I had no doubt I'd keep Gunner safe out there—I'd die before I let anything happen to him—but it was still something Archer had a say in. I'd never make a decision as big as this without him, and I knew, without a doubt, neither would he.

"Dada!" The word ripped me out of my thoughts as my eyes snapped to Gunner, who was watching me impatiently. He held his mouth open, and I quickly fed him another bite.

Had I imagined that, or did Gunner just call me Dada?

I watched him with bated breath as he chomped on the spoonful of baby food for an unreasonably long time. Once he was done, he gazed up at me, as if waiting to see if I'd feed him more.

Feeling bad about holding back food just so he'd speak again, I was about to scoop some more food onto his spoon when he said, just as clearly as before, "Dada!"

I was grabbing my phone and video-calling Archer before he'd finished speaking.

Archer picked up on the third ring, a smile on his face as he greeted us. "Hey, Lux. Hey, Gunner! What are you two up to?"

"Well, I was just feeding Gunner, and something incredible happened."

"Oh? What was it?"

I turned to Gunner, keeping the food away from him. Hopefully, he'd forgive me for it. "Gunner, will you please do that again? Pretty please?"

Gunner glanced from me to Archer, then seemed to decide Archer was the one more likely to feed him, since I was taking too long.

Reaching out a hand toward Archer, Gunner said, "Dada! Dada!"

Archer's eyes went wide, then snapped to mine, as if he wanted me to confirm what he'd heard. I nodded, grinning widely at him as his lips parted in wonder.

"Yeah, little guy. I'm Dada. We both are," he said softly, and I felt an unbearable urge to hug him. Or to watch him hug Gunner.

"Are you alone?" I asked, and Archer knew what I meant, because not only did he glance around his office, he also flicked the blinds so anyone outside couldn't look in.

As soon as he nodded, I shifted into my human form—just as a precaution—and then picked Gunner up and teleported us to Archer.

His arms were around us in the next moment, and he squeezed tight as he held us. I hugged him back as I held Gunner close with my other arm, just soaking in his warmth as we both vibrated from the excitement of this moment.

I wondered if every parent felt this way when their child first spoke. Gunner's softly spoken words were more than worth all the dirty diapers and spit-ups and staying up late because he couldn't sleep.

"Dada?" Gunner asked, his voice going up inquisitively, and we pulled apart, both glancing down at the little miracle. I couldn't imagine my life without either of these humans now, and I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure they were happy, because their happiness would make me the happiest demon in all the realms.

Archer

That night, we celebrated Gunner's new skill with takeout and a movie. An animated movie so Gunner could watch with us, of course.

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