Page 43 of A Daddy of the Heart
Eli giggled and pushed a few of the logs towards Willem’s bulldozer. “Take em away, Daddy. We have to clear the ground before we can build.”
“That we do, boy.” Willem chuckled as he helped move the logs off to one side. Damn, he loved this, nearly as much as he loved his boy.
* * *
Eli snuck down the stairs, the next morning in search of coffee. He’d only caught about four hours of sleep, but he felt energized. Not only did he have his Daddy here this Christmas, he also had two munchkins to spoil. He’d never expect Raelynn or Jeremy to call him Dad, because hey, the Daddy title belonged to Will, but that didn’t mean they were any less his kids. He hoped to one day adopt his niece and nephew, if the courts would allow it. But with his bitch of a mother, who knew.
He pushed the thought aside, as he poured himself a cup of coffee and gazed out the window overlooking the pond. It had begun to snow sometime during the night and now a new layer of fresh powder covered everything. Jeremy would get a kick out of following Daddy Will down to the stables to milk Bessie and feed the chickens. Something about stepping in Daddy’s footprints made the boy giggle.
He turned away from the window and carried his coffee into the living room. The tree looked like Santa’s factory had exploded under it, even though each kid had only gotten five presents a piece from the Jolly old Elf. He and Willem may have gone a bit overboard, along with Derek and Sadie, he mused.
After stoking up the fire in the fireplace, he set his coffee on the stand next to the couch and had just sunk into its buttery soft leather embrace when Jeremy appeared in the entrance of the hallway.
“Unca?”
Not moving from his position on the couch, he gestured for the boy to come closer. “What’s up, little man? Couldn’t sleep anymore?”
“No.” His red curls were mussed as he yawned. “Can we snuggle?”
“Of course.” He held out his arms as the boy climbed up onto his lap. Jeremy wasn’t a baby anymore, but Eli treasured these stolen moments of love, knowing one day soon, the boy would no longer want snuggles but instead would want the newest dirt bike, or heaven forbid a car.
“You smell like Daddy Will.” Jeremy whispered sleepily as he laid his head on Eli’s shoulder. “Smells so good, Unca.”
“Yeah it does,” he agreed as he tossed the afghan over them. “I love how Daddy Will smells.”
The little boy nodded as Eli tucked him closer with his head under Eli’s chin. How long they sat there Eli couldn’t say. But all too soon came the skidding run of Raelynn as she rushed to the living room to see if Santa had indeed come. She spotted the presents under the tree with a squeal, before spinning around to obviously run upstairs, but freezing when she spotted him and Jeremy on the couch.
“Santa came Uncle Eli,” her voice was hushed as she came closer, obviously in deference to her brother who had drifted back to sleep.
“That he did.” Eli agreed, as she drew closer to him. He could see the excitement in her eyes at the presents, but also a longing for something else. Something that she wanted a little more than a new present. “Wanna come up here with Jeremy until we go up and wake Daddy Will up? I have plenty of lap for both of you.”
“Can I?” She crept closer. “I mean, when do we wake up Daddy Will.”
“Of course, you can,” he was quick to assure her. “And I was told under firm orders that if we woke Daddy before eight, he’d turn into a growly bear.”
“I don’t like growly bear Daddy Will, Uncle Eli.” She crawled up onto the couch, on the opposite side of her brother. “So, can I snuggle under the covers too? At least until we go wake up Daddy Will?”
“Of course.” He lifted the corner of the crocheted throw. “Come on in.”
He waited for her to settle before wrapping an arm around her as well. Neither one of the kids squirmed or did anything more than watch the fire with him. Both remained curled up around their uncle, their clean, little kid smell teasing his nose. He couldn’t wait for more Christmas mornings like this, with his family in his arms, content to watch the flames in the fireplace as their Daddy Will slept upstairs. A precious memory for him alone – and one that he’d never forget. Snuggled on the couch with two kids that tragedy had delivered to his door, but that he’d welcomed with open arms. He might not be perfect at this parenting thing, but Raelynn and Jeremy weren’t expecting perfection.
His eyes grew heavy as the warmth of the kids lulled him into a light doze.
This was how Willem found them nearly an hour later. Eli awoke to see his Daddy’s warm amber gaze on him, love shining brightly in his eyes as he sat on the coffee table in front of the couch. His own cup of coffee resting next to his hip. “Morning, Daddy. Did you see that Santa came?”
Willem glanced over his shoulder, and chuckled. “That he did.” He turned his attention back to Eli. “But my present isn’t under that tree, boy. It’s sitting in front of me.”
Tears prickled at the back of Eli’s eyes. “Us, Daddy?” He gave the sleeping kids a light squeeze.
“Yep. You and the kids…” Willem said softly. “…are the best damned a gift a man could ask for.”
Before he could force a reply past the lump in his throat, Raelynn woke and noticed Willem. “Uncle Eli, Jeremy, wake up! Daddy Will is up, we can open our gifts now!”
She squirmed free of Eli’s embrace and threw off the afghan. “Come on, sleepy heads. We got gifts to open!”
Eli laughed as Jeremy yawned, then realizing the same thing as his sister, jumped off the couch and ran to the tree, leaving Eli all alone on the couch. “You were saying, Daddy?”
“Merry Christmas, boy.” Willem said with a sigh just before Raelynn rushed back to his side and tugged him off the coffee table.
“Come on Daddy Will. You have to pass out the presents.”
“Merry Christmas, Daddy.” Eli let a huge smile cross his face. Things might not be perfect, but his family was – for him.
