Page 29 of Comforted By The Mountain Man
I have to take several deep breaths before I can speak without my voice shaking with fury.
"Ryder, look at me." I wait until his brown eyes meet mine. "Your dad should never have done that. Ever. It's never okay for a grown up to ask you to lie to your mommy. The only secrets that are okay are good ones, like if we're planning a surprise for Mommy's birthday or making her a present."
He nods, processing this. "So I wasn't supposed to keep those secrets?"
"No, buddy. You weren't. And you never have to keep secrets like that again. I promise."
"Will you ask me to keep secrets from Mommy?"
"Never. If I have something to tell you, your mom can hear it too. That's how families are supposed to work."
The word slips out before I can stop it. Family. Is that what we are? What we're becoming?
"Are you going to be my new daddy?" Ryder asks with the directness only children possess.
The question stops my heart. "Would you want that?"
"Yes!" The enthusiasm in his voice is immediate, genuine. "I want you to be my daddy because you're nice to Mommy and you don't yell and you let me help build things and you make the best pancakes ever."
Something swells in my chest, so big and warm it threatens to choke me. This kid. This amazing, resilient, brave little kid wants me to be his dad. The magnitude of that trust, that acceptance, nearly undoes me.
"I would be honored to be your dad, Ryder. But that's something your mom and I would need to talk about together, okay?"
"Okay. But I hope she says yes." He launches himself at me, wrapping his small arms around my neck in a fierce hug. "I love you, Mr. Asher."
And there it is. The words that break me completely. This child, who's been through hell and back, who's learned not to trust easily, loves me. Wants me to be his father.
"I love you too, buddy," I whisper, my voice rough with emotion. "So much."
I'm still holding him when I hear soft footsteps in the doorway. Sierra stands there in one of my flannel shirts and a pair of sleep shorts, her hair messy from bed, a soft smile on her face. But I can see the tears in her eyes, the way her hand covers her heart.
She heard. She heard her son tell me he wants me to be his dad, heard me say I love him. And instead of panic or fear, there's nothing but warmth and gratitude in her expression.
"Thank you," she mouths silently.
I reach out with my free arm and she comes to us without hesitation, wrapping both Ryder and me in her embrace. For a moment, we stay like that, the three of us holding each other in my garage surrounded by scattered wooden blocks and the promise of something beautiful.
This is family. This is home. This is everything I never knew I wanted until it walked into my life and changed everything.
"Good morning, Mommy!" Ryder says, finally pulling back but staying close. "Me and Mr. Asher were talking about heroes and building castles and stuff!"
"Were you now?" Sierra's voice is slightly husky, emotional. "That sounds very important."
"It was! Mr. Asher says, real heroes protect the people they love."
Sierra's eyes meet mine over Ryder's head and I see everything she's feeling reflected there. Love, gratitude, hope, and something that looks a lot like forever.
"That's right, baby," she says softly. "They do."
The soundof tires on gravel interrupts our peaceful morning. I glance toward the driveway and spot Grayson's military issue Jeep pulling up to the house.
"Looks like we have company," I tell Sierra, who immediately tenses.
"It's okay," I assure her quickly. "It's just Grayson. My brother."
She relaxes slightly but still moves closer to Ryder instinctively. Old habits die hard and the urge to protect her son is probably always going to be her first response to unexpected visitors.
"Uncle Grayson!" Ryder bounces with excitement. He's taken to calling all my brothers 'uncle' since dinner at Beckett's and none of them have corrected him.
