Page 7 of Bound By Fate
“Good. You?” I asked, pulling down the plates and putting them by the buns so it was easier for people to get their food. That was one thing that annoyed me. Why would you have the plates on the opposite end of the counter when the first thing people are going to pick up were the buns? It never made sense to me.
I digress…
His smile grew wide, and joy flitted through his eyes. “Couldn’t be fuckin’ better. Got my two girls. My family. Couldn’t ask for more.”
Another sucker punch. Yeah, I didn’t fit in here. I wasn’t inthe family. Not like they were. That was hard as hell to navigate. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for him. Ecstatic even. It was just something I was still mourning for myself, and it cut like a blade right through the chest.
“You’re a lucky man.”
He moved to Ensley and curled her into his body. “Don’t I know it.” Then he turned to the room. “What are ya waitin’ for? Dig in. We have cake and a little girl who wants to open her presents!”
Dryerson had put Remy down, and surprising me, she came right for me and took my hand. Looking up at me, she said, “Come eaths. We gots tot dogs and chweeze and tips and wathermelon.”
“Well, who could pass that up?” I replied on a smile, getting one in return.
Remy guided me through the line, and I could feel eyes staring at me, making me warm all over. It had to be Dryerson because he was the only one who made me feel like this. I hated it, yet loved it.
Crazy. Yes, I was. When you’d been through as much as I had in my life, it was expected. My head was so screwed up, there was no way to unscrew it.
I helped Remy get her food and carried both our plates outside to one of the several picnic tables.
The outside of Ensley and Micah’s home was set up much like the inside. Lots of comfortable places to sit and socialize. There were outdoor couches, chairs, adult swings and tons of pillows. A huge playground area for the kids and wide-open grassy areas were also included. I knew Micah, Ensley; and Remy spent a lot of time out here. Because of that, Micah wanted them to have a comfortable space, and he'd hit the nail on the head.
Sitting next to Remy, she dug into her hotdog. My burger looked good and tasted just the same.
“Iz excited for my Twollz!!” Remy said, clapping her hands together then grabbing a chip and putting it in her mouth and chewing.
“Me too.” I smiled. “It looks like they exploded in your house!”
“Days did! Youz come payz wit me,” she told me through her crunches. It had only been a few days, but I sensed she felt the separation between us a bit too. I just hoped she did better with getting past it than I had.
“Absolutely. I’ll come over and play soon.” It would be inevitable that Ensley would want to talk during the play session, but it was for my Remy. I’d walk on water for her if she needed me to.
“Mind if I sit here?” The voice I knew without even looking up. He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, Dryerson put his plate on the other side of the table and scooted into the seat.
“Yous gets me Twollz, Unkey WyWy?” Remy asked Dryerson who chuckled, his face lighting up.
“You know I can’t tell you that, bug. It’ll ruin the surprise.”
My heart clenched at him using the pet name I had for her. It was utterly sweet, and I loved that he used it on her. Probably a bit too much.
“No ones tells me my pesents!!” Remy said, taking another bite of her food. Determination crossed her face. She then jumped down and went off toward the house, no doubt going to talk to her daddy about opening presents.
“Guess she’s done eating,” Dryerson responded, and I realized that Remy had left me alone with him. Flat out alone. Great. This would be fun. Time to put on the mask I used when he was near. Each time I put it on, it got heavier and heavier to hold up. I feared one day I wouldn’t be able to hold it up when it came to him.
“It’s her party. She can run if she wants to,” I answered, not looking up, needing a brief moment to pull my shit together. We hadn’t been alone together for a month or two, but it felt like yesterday. His touch was seared into my memory and made chills run down my spine just thinking about it. Avoiding him these past six months had been seriously challenging with him so close to Ensley and Remy.
His whispers on my neck and his hair tickling me as he kissed me. All of it I’d never forget.
“She can do anything with Micah around. He lets her get away with murder on a daily basis. Told him he’d have his hands full if he didn’t watch that.”
This grabbed my attention, and I looked at him. “Daddy Dryerson? Do you have kids you’ve never told me about?”
He laughed. It was deep and sexy as all heck and a pain in my butt. “No. Just have seen it with Mazie.” His head nodded over to the young woman in question. She was smiling and talking with her father.
“I wouldn’t think she’d get away with much considering Rhys is her father.” Rhys was scary. There were no other words for it. He freaked me out, and I gave him a wide berth.
“You’d be surprised.” He chuckled, taking a large bite of his burger and chewing it. His heat was like a magnet, a tethered string that kept wanting to pull me in. I wanted to be closer and feel that warmth, but I hung back and forced myself not to lean into him.
