Page 48 of Hope Found

“Just a couple more minutes, bud. The rest of the people have to get on, okay?” Odin replies affectionately.

“Aww, your son is so cute. How old is he?” the little blonde girl coos. She is pretty, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a great body, but she is wearing a shirt that shows off her boobs–and of course she’s pushing them up so we can damn near see her nipples.

Odin glances at me, and raises an eyebrow, so I shrug. He turns and faces the girl. “Thanks, and he’s four.”

She giggles, freaking gag me. “That’s sweet, is he your only child?” Callum and Bodie hear her and have turned to watch the exchange.

Bodie is the one to speak up next. “Nope. We have three kids, two of which are right here watching your desperate attempt at flirting with one of their dads with their mother right there. I know very damn well you heard both of the kids call her mom. It’s absolutely pathetic behavior.”

Callum’s face is red from trying not to laugh, but I don’t have the same reticence and I start snickering. The blonde cuts her eyes at me then switches spots with the other girl, sitting down with a huff.

I lean over and kiss Bodie’s cheek. “Thanks babe,” I say with a grin. It’s nice to have someone in my corner. I’m no longer afraid to defend myself, but it’s nice to have them step in now and then.

They finally get everyone loaded and the attendant gets the safety bars put down. As soon as the ride starts swinging, Lochlan starts whooping and howling happily. The ship gets a little higher than I thought it would, and Vivian is NOT a fan. She starts screaming bloody murder. “DADDY! I scared!”

Bodie and Callum both are trying to soothe her. “Princess, it’s okay, it’s almost over. Do you want to get some cotton candy when we are done? We can find some other rides that aren't so high, okay?” Callum says, brushing her hair down.

She sniffles and answers wobbly, “Otay daddy.” She snuggles closer to Callum, pulling Bodie closer too.

Odin and I are watching Lochlan have the time of his life, his hands up in the air, excitedly laughing and giggling. “THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!” he yells.

When the ride ends, we file out. Vivian is wrapped around Callum, and once we get out of the crowd I am finally able to check on her. “Are you okay sweetheart?” I ask worriedly. Though it falls away at the sly grin she gives me.

“I’m otay mommy. Daddy is getting me cotton candy,” she tells me happily.

* * *

ORIN

We are waitingin the line, Arden talking animatedly about how excited he is and how he can’t wait to ride the roller coaster.

“Are you sure you want to do this one, bud? Once we get on and it starts, we can’t get off until the end, okay? Will you be alright if you get scared?” I ask him.

“I won’t be scared cause I have two of my daddies with me and I know you will keep me safe,” he replies. Instantly I’m a puddle of sap, and Silas looks like he wants to cry.

“You’re right buddy, we will. We love you, Lochlan, Vivian, and mommy so much,” Silas says, kissing his head.

The line is moving pretty fast, Arden getting more exuberant the closer we get. Fifteen minutes later we are loading on to the roller coaster, ending up in the middle of the ride. Thankfully, it's three seats across, so we put Arden in the center seat.

Silas still looks nervous as shit, but Arden is vibrating with enthusiasm. The roller coaster has four loops and three really high points. Once it starts rolling, Arden throws his hands up, laughing and giggling happily. He keeps looking over and smiling at me and Silas–who is finally relaxing. I have to say, this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I love seeing things for the first time through the kids' eyes.

When the ride is over Arden is in front of us a couple feet, but he stops once we get out the gate and turns to face us. “Thank you for riding with me, and spending time with us. Our old daddy never wanted to take us to do fun things and wouldn’t let mommy take us either. And thank you for making mommy laugh again.” He hugs us both, and we lean down to hug him back.

Silas stands and picks him up, telling him, “You don’t have to thank us for that, buddy. I’m sorry your other dad wasn’t very nice, but I promise no matter what we will always be here for y’all okay? Now, do you wanna ride on my shoulders while we look for the others?”

“Yes!” Arden giggles.

I never really thought about what was missing in my life before Isla and the kids showed up, but now I don’t think I could go back to how it was before.

* * *

ISLA

We spendthe next couple hours going between rides and eating lots of junk–at least, Silas and I do. Everyone else eats the stuff Bodie packed, but in my opinion nothing beats greasy fair food. The rides and games are a huge hit, each of the kids and myself end up getting stuffed animals from the guys.

Odin gets a stuffed dolphin for my grandmother, whose birthday is tomorrow, and Monday is the twins' birthday and Halloween. It was such an amazing day, and the kids had an amazing time, but somehow I knew it wouldn’t last.

When we get out to the cars there is an envelope on my windshield. I notice it before the guys and stop dead in my tracks.

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