Page 102 of Single Mom's Mountain Men
He squeezes Katie’s shoulder, leaning forward to take Maddie’s hand too.
“Well,” he says. “Your mother has decided to marry us and we’re going to be your daddies. How do you feel about that?”
I gasp. I didn’t think he would break it like that. Leave it to Mitch to decide that I’ll marry him without ever even asking the question.
But looking at the determination on their faces, I don’t think any of the brothers are willing to let me go at this point.
And I don’t want them to. I’m giddy at the thought of belonging to them forever.
Both girls have their eyes as wide as glittering coins. “You want to be our daddies?”
“Yes,” Wes says. “All of us.”
Their heads swing between all three men for a silent second.
“We get three daddies and a brother?” Excitement lights up Maddie's voice.
“I’ve never heard of anyone having three daddies before,” Katie says doubtfully. “Stacey M had two but she didn't have a mommy. But we get three daddies and a mommy?”
“It’s unusual.” Charlie admits. “And you don’t have to tell your friends if you don’t want to. But we love you girls. And if you would have us, we would really really like to be your daddies.”
“I want you to be my daddy too!” Maddie responds first hopping up and down Charlie’s lap much to everyone’s delight. “You can be Daddy Charlie! And Daddy Wes! And Daddy Mitch!”
I grin. I was wondering how they would differentiate between each ‘daddy’ but Maddie figured it out in less than a few seconds.
“What about you Katie?” Mitch asks quietly as the girl stares down at her hands, deep in thought, chewing her bottom lip. Even though they hide it well, I can sense their anxiety as they await her response.
“You won’t…” Katie starts and then looks up. “You won’t ever leave us, or hurt us like the other dad. Right?”
“Never Katie,” Mitch answers fiercely, emotion thick in his voice. “We’ll never do that to you. We’d rather die than hurt you, or your sister, or your mother. We love you guys very much and we’ll protect you from all the bad guys in the world. We want to make you and your mommy very happy.”
It’s slow coming but, after Mitch’s speech, the hope begins to glow in Katie’s eyes. And then she offers a smile that breaks the tense atmosphere like the sun flashing through the clouds. Her next words make the tears leak from my eyes, tears of joy at the relationship we’ve established.
“Yes please. You can be my daddy.”
Wes whoops and swings her out of the seat, tossing her inthe air and catching her as she squeals and giggles. Charlie grins and kisses Maddie on the cheek, as Mitch’s eyes meet mine. I can see the emotion brimming in there, as well as the gratitude, the same one I feel.
A family. We’ve made a family.
Epilogue
CHARLIE
The sun is setting on the mountain and laughter greets me at the doorway before I walk in. Cinnamon and eggnog scent the air and childish voices sing along to a Christmas Carol.
It's still late October and snow is barely dusting the grounds, but my girls are in full Christmas spirit and have already started hanging up Christmas lights indoors. My lips spread at the light, happy sound.
I push open the door, taking a few steps into the room, and the echoing calls of "Daddy Charlie!" meet me.
I instantly drop to my knees, to welcome my girls into my arms. Maddie jumps right in and wraps her spindly little arms around my neck. Katie attacks from the side, and I draw her in closer, smacking a kiss on her cheek, love flowing through me.
"Daddy Charlie" is what they’ve been calling me since the wedding, a small ceremony that we had on the mountain attended by a few of our close friends. We wanted to do more but Patty insisted that that was what she wanted, just a smallevent with a couple of people like Jamie and Mrs. Weatherby in attendance. Intimate and perfect.
On the legal end, we all signed documents marrying us to Patty, and then our lawyer threw a dice to see which one would get filed. No one but the lawyer knows who's actually her husband on file and no one cares. Like the baby she’s currently carrying, Patty belongs to all of us and her daughters are ours.
"Did you have fun at school today?" I ask my girls, and they nod.
"Katie got a new boyfriend."
