Chapter Eleven
Maysen
We got a lot of things at the mall today. I can’t believe that Miss DJ got me all of those things! I can’t wait until I get to live with my daddy. I already love him so much that it makes me sad when I have to leave. I get to spend the night tonight and Ray and I have decided to have a pajama party in her room. We had to stop at the house because Miss DJ said our sheets had to be washed or something. I never had sheets so I don’t really know what she means. I’m gonna ask Miss Trinity if I can live with my daddy and DJ now. I really hope she says yes, because it makes my heart hurt when I leave. I feel safe with Daddy, and I know DJ loves me, she shows me by hugging me and smiling at me, my mom never did that. I think I may love her too, but I’m scared that makes me a bad person to love her more than I did my mommy.
Ralynn
While Momma puts our sheets in the wash—me, Maysen and Lily go up to my room so we can change. I’m so glad Momma moved us here because now I have a daddy to love me, and I’m getting a little sister and even have two big brothers! I always wanted brothers and sisters to play with. Momma and I aren’t lonely anymore, she smiles more now than she ever has. Lily looks at me and says, “We should takes ‘Frozen’ with us to watch! Nan made us a movie room at the clubhouse.”
“Does you think it’ll be okay?”
“I thinks so. I knows we’re going to be there late and they don’t lets the kids stay outside once it gets dark.”
“I want to take ‘Trolls’ too in case the boys wants to watch a movie,” I say.
“Can we still have our slumber party, Ralynn?”
“Yes, Momma and Daddy don’t stay too far past dark. We can go home and watch a movie and talk. Daddy's taking us to get our nails done tomorrow too,” I tell Maysen.
“He is?” she asks me.
“Yep, we should get matching colors.”
“Yes! Can we do purple?”
“Oooh, we should do one pink and one purple. We can switch them out! It will be so cool!”
Maysen laughs which causes me to laugh. I look over at Lily and she looks sad. “What’s wrong Lily?”
“I want to get my nails done with you too.”
“Let’s ask your momma and daddy. I bet they’ll let you come also.”
“Maybe my daddy can come too! It will be so much fun!”
“Let’s go ask your mom!” Maysen says.
“Yes!” Lily cries out. We run down the stairs and Lily is calling out for her Mom.
“What is it?” Cara asks.
“Can I goes with Ralynn, Maysen and Uncle Hatch to get my nails done tomorrow?”
DJ
Cara raises her eyebrows in response to her daughter’s question. “Umm... Uncle Hatch is taking them to get their nails done?” I start laughing at the look on her face.
“He sure is,” I tell her.
“Well, if Uncle Hatch is taking them, why don’t we get your daddy to go with y’all.”
“Yes!” Three little girls begin giggling and dancing around the kitchen in excitement.
“Braxton’s going to kill you,” I inform Cara.
“Not when I let him know that Hatch is the ‘bestest daddy in the world’ and he’s been bumped down a notch.”
“Competitive bastards,” I say. And they are, always competing with each other on anything. Including their children. “Well, I’m taking the boys shopping if you and Luca want to come along.”
“Count me in,” she replies.
I notice Trinity sitting there with her hand over her mouth trying to hide her laughter. “Wanna come shopping with us and the boys tomorrow?”
“Sure, I don’t have any other plans, plus I need to bring you and Hatch some financial paperwork to sign.”
“Financial paperwork for what?” I ask.
“For the boys. Even though you’re an emergency foster home, you still get the monthly stipend.”
“We’re more than capable of taking care of them, Trinity.”
“That’s not the point. The funds are there so whether you tuck them away for the boys, or you use them to get everything they need, you’ll have them.”
“Hatch’s not gonna be happy,” I mutter.
“Hatch will get over it,” Cara says. “This is about the boys getting what they need, DJ. Don’t take it as a personal slap in the face. We all know you two can financially take care of them, but think about what they’ll need once they’re older. This money could set them up a college fund, finance them their first car or whatever they desire.”
“Ha, knowing Hatch? He probably already set up a college fund for them.”
“Um, DJ?” Trinity asks, her voice cautious.
“Yeah?”
“The parents had a life insurance policy on them as well. Should you and Hatch decide to adopt the boys, that money is in trust for them until they each hit eighteen.”
“Fuck my life. Well, guess this means they’ll have a nice cushion to start off with. But they’ll never not have Hatch and me if they need anything. They’re our boys and we’ll always be there and take care of them and any needs that should arise.”
“I knew you two were the right choice,” Trinity whispers, almost to herself.
“We appreciate your faith in us, Trinity. But seriously, we would do the same for any kids that need help. As a matter of fact, I’ve been meaning to bring something up to you. I was wanting to start a foundation to help out kids who don’t have a place to call home. I was going to ask the guys if we could set up our own version of a ‘brothers and sisters’ kind of club. That way, these kids have someone to talk to and rely on. I think all kids need mentors who are not their immediate family that they know will be in their corner, y’know? I’ll have the financial aspect of things taken care of, but I need to know where to set the funds up to be delivered.”
“Oh my God! Are you serious, we are horribly underfunded and have a turnaround rate like you wouldn’t believe. People take these jobs wanting to make a difference, but it’s such a heartbreaking career that most can’t handle the sadness and despair of these kids and their stories. The abuse and trauma they suffer is enough to cause nightmares every time you close your eyes.”
“I can’t imagine what you’ve seen,” Cara states. “But no child should ever feel unloved or unwanted.”
I get up while they’re still talking and swap out the loads in the laundry. We’ve still got a few hours before we need to head to the clubhouse, but I don’t think we’ll have enough time to make the beds because we still need to do lunch and I’m thinking three little girls might need a movie rest before we go. The last thing I want is Ray showing her temper because she gets overtired, especially since she’s got a fun day planned tomorrow as well with Hatch and Maysen, and apparently, now Braxton and Lily. My giggles erupt thinking of the two badass bikers with their feet in pedicure bowls being pampered.
“What’s so funny?” Cara asks.
“Picturing Hatch and Braxton with their feet in pedicure bowls scowling at the technicians as they clip and file and scrub on them.”
“Do you really think they’ll actually get pedicures done? I’m picturing them sitting on the sidelines watching the girls.”
“Nah, I doubt Ray will let that happen. She’s already imagining her dad sitting next to her getting a scrub down…” I begin laughing hysterically again.
“Dear Lord, to be a fly on that wall,” Trinity says with a smile of her own.
“We should let the girls take a phone so they can video it for us,” I tell them.
“Oh God! We’re going to be in so much trouble when they get home.”
“It will be well worth it,” I respond to Cara.
“Yeah, it will be,” she replies.
I’m about to say something when three little giggling girls come into the kitchen. “Momma, what does you think?” Ray asks, twirling around so fast I can’t tell anything.
“If my twirling girl would settle, I can see how you look.”
She continues to giggle, but she stands still and I see Lily and Maysen come to stand on either side of her. Damn, they look adorable. They got matching t-shirts and then each got a pair of leggings in their ‘special’ color. Then, in some bizarre decision that they made, they added a short little tutu thing, I guess because they all really wanted dresses to begin with. “You girls look fantastic!” Trinity exclaims.
“Yes you do,” Cara adds. “Now, how about we put some braids in your hair so you can play and have fun today.”
Ray runs out of the room yelling, “I’ll go get the brush, Momma!”
“Don’t forget the rubber bands, Ray!” I holler out after her.
“Okays!” she calls back, I can’t believe how fast she’s growing up. I’m going to miss all of their mispronounced words and quirks as they get older. I wish I could freeze time and keep her little forever. I know Hatch would be a happy camper as well.
When she walks back into the kitchen, her hands full, I give her a look. “Momma, I forgot the rule about running in the house,” she says.
“It’s not meant to be a punishment, Ray, the rule is in place to keep you safe. I know you’re excited right now, but next time you’ll sit in time out,” I say, trying to keep a straight face.
“I’ll be better, Momma,” she tells me.
We each take a girl and get braids done, then we lay them down in the living room to rest.
The girls ended up falling asleep while watching one of their movies. The girls and I talked about the foundation I want to start up and made notes of the best places to hit up for sponsorship. The club, we’re hoping, will be the biggest contributor. We put notes away and ended up having time to get the beds made after all. We got everyone loaded in the car and went to lunch. It’s a later lunch, but the girls will be hungry before dinner time I’m sure, so I made sure that we have plenty of snacks at the clubhouse. I called Nan and she assured me she was well-stocked and I didn’t need to bring anything with us. We pull up to the clubhouse and see the party has already started. Cara and I look at each other and roll our eyes, it doesn't take much to get these guys willing to party. Any excuse to get together and have a few beers with each other is enough of a reason to them. The family unit of this great group of guys is what drew me to them in the first place, lucky for me, I got Hatch out of the deal as well.
I’m helping the girls out when I feel two arms wrap around me from behind before I hear, “Hey, gorgeous,” whispered in my ear.
“Hey, lover, how was your day with the boys?”
“It was good,” he tells me, “they fit in well with the other two. We had a great time, Jasper and Talon laughed and relaxed and I got the opportunity to see the real them. I enjoyed seeing them let their guard down and have a good time. This was meant to be,” he tells me. “What about my girls? Did y’all have a good time?”
I start laughing at how our morning at the mall played out. Every store that was kid-oriented was checked out and we made multiple trips back to the SUV to drop off our bags. “We did but I’m still a bit concerned you’re gonna freak when you see the credit card statement next month.”
“Daddy!” two very excited little girls call out to him.
“Hey, baby girls,” he says letting go of me and going over to help them out. “Did y’all have fun shopping?”
“We had so much fun!” Ray tells him.
“Guess what?” Maysen asks him.
“What, baby girl?” he smiles at her.
“I got a lot of clothes, and I even got some movies and a Frozen comfortable for my bed!” He looks at me with his eyebrows raised in question.
“Comforter, she and Ray both got matching comforters,” I inform him.
“Ah, I bet y’all have the best dressed little girl’s room in the world,” and they both nod at his statement.
“We is going to have a pajama party tonight, too, Daddy!” Ray exclaims. “And guesses what? Uncle Braxton and Lily is going with us tomorrow!” About that time, Braxton walks out the door and over to us to help Cara and Lily out of the car.
“Where exactly are Lily and I going tomorrow?” Braxton asks the girls. I start giggling and Cara joins me. Oh shit, here we go.
“We is getting our nails done tomorrow, Daddy!” Lily yells as she leaps into his arms. “I is so excited! You’re the bestest daddy ever, just like Uncle Hatch!”
“We’re doing what? What is she talking about, Cara?”
“Well…” she begins, “you lost your status of best dad today.”
“And how exactly did I do that?” he asks her. Meanwhile, Hatch is doubled over laughing holding his stomach.
“Fuck yes,” Hatch says between his bouts of hysteria.
“What have you done?” Braxton asks Cara.
“Daddy! Do you not want to go with me?” Lily says crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her bottom lip out. Lord have mercy, that girl knows exactly what to do and say to get her dad to do whatever it is she wants.
“Pumpkin, I didn’t say that,” he starts, “I just don’t understand why us dads are taking you instead of Mommy and Aunt DJ.” Little crocodile tears come down Lily’s face causing Braxton to start freaking out. “Don’t cry, baby, I’ll do whatever you want as long as you don’t cry.”
“Because I opened my big mouth and inserted my foot,” Hatch states.
“I need a beer,” Braxton replies.
“Stock up today, mister,” I tell him, “because there’s no way you’re getting out of this.” I start laughing at the finger he throws at me behind his daughter’s back.
“That’s not nice, Uncle Braxton!” Ray says, showing her sassy side. Maysen agrees with her giving Braxton a look that could kill.
“That’s our Momma!” Maysen exclaims then throws a hand over her mouth after she realizes what it is that she just said. I’m fighting back tears because she called me ‘Momma’ and I don’t know what to say.
“Yes, she is,” Hatch responds, pulling me close to him.
“Did I say something bad?” Maysen asks her dad.
“No, sweetheart,” he tells her.
“Then whys is she crying? I did! I did something bad!” she begins to cry. We release each other and both go over to her and surround her body with our arms.
“Oh, sweet pea, I’m crying because I’m happy,” I tell her, pulling her close to me and crooning in her ear. “You know I love you, right?”
Her sobs are breaking my heart and I can see Hatch is about to lose it as well. “Y-yes…” she finally stammers out.
“So when you called me ‘Momma’, it made my heart happy and sometimes, when my heart is happy, I cry.”
“My heart is sad that I don’t live with you. It cries, so I thought you were sad and that’s why you was crying,” she says and I hear Trinity quietly sobbing behind us.
“I need to make a phone call,” Trinity states before she steps away from all of us.
“What’s everyone doing out here standing around?” Nan asks, coming through the door. “The party’s out back. Oh, look at you three,” she says to the three little girls. “Honey? Why are you crying?” she questions, crouching down by Maysen.
“Because I thought I hurt Momma’s heart,” she replies. “But her said her heart was happy and sometimes her cries when it is. But my heart is still sad because I don’t lives with her and Daddy and Ray.”
Nan looks up at all of us adults standing around then, looking over my shoulder, I notice her concerned look change into a smile. She’s a beautiful woman with a heart of gold and I hope that someday, a man will see how special she is because she deserves that in her life. “I’m thinking Trinity may have something to say.”
I stand back up and Hatch’s arms go back around me as we turn to face Trinity. “So, how do y’all feel about Maysen coming to stay with y’all permanently. Starting tonight,” she says to us.
“Do you mean that?” Hatch asks. I can hear the emotion in his voice and I know the grip I’ve got on him is likely going to leave marks, but I don’t care.
“I do,” Trinity replies.
“You mean I get to live with Daddy and Momma?” Maysen asks with apprehension in her eyes. Nothing has ever worked out in her favor before, so she’s still skeptical that things will now.
“Yes, I do. It’s already been approved,” she tells not only Maysen, but all of us standing around.
“Sounds to me like we have several things to be celebrated today,” Nan says happily.
“Then let’s get this party started!” Braxton calls out.
We go around to the back and the girls run off to play on the playground with the boys. We adults all sit at a picnic bench and talk about our day and future plans. I tell them about the foundation I want to start, and Braxton tells me he’ll bring it up at church for a vote. Before I know it, it’s time to eat and we gather the kids, get plates fixed and finally sit down ourselves to eat. With dinner out of the way, the prospects begin to clean up and the guys take off leaving us women here to sit and wait for what’s to come.
Hatch
We leave the women and kids outside as we go inside to get their cuts. We have a special ceremony to induct the old ladies. I look at DJ’s cut with pride in my eyes, then Twisted comes up to me with four extra cuts. I can’t help but wonder who the other two are for.
“I thought you’d want to include the boys so I took the liberty of having theirs made for you.” Looking at their cuts, which have ‘Property of my Dad, Hatch’ on the back, I find myself blinking back tears. At this rate, I should just burn my man card and purchase a bitch card instead. I know that these boys are going to be a part of our family even though it’s early days, and these cuts will let them know that not only do I have them, but the whole RGMC brotherhood does as well.
We walk out of the door and out into the backyard of the compound. Axe whistles loudly gathering everyone’s attention. Music turns off and everyone is either standing quietly around us or sitting on the picnic benches that are sporadically spread throughout the yard.
Twisted calls out, “Cara, DJ, please step forward and stand in front of your men. Backs to them and face the brothers.” DJ walks up in front of me and kisses me on the chin before she turns around and faces everyone. Law comes over and hands us the women’s cuts, which he took from us before we walked out the doors. “Becoming an old lady is sacred in the eyes of the RGMC. You are not only committing yourself to your men, but to us as a whole. We offer you loyalty, honor, respect and protection, in return you offer us the same. Do you, Cara and DJ swear in front of the brotherhood that you will honor your men, their brothers and our family in these things.”
“Yes,” Cara replies.
“Absofuckinglutely,” DJ hollers out, causing the brothers to chuckle, myself included.
“Axe, you go first,” Twisted tells him.
He slips the cut on her and says, “Cara, with this cut I offer you me, my brothers and the family. We will support you, love you, respect you, and honor you until our ties shall sever with death, this is for life baby.” He turns her around and kisses her deeply.
“Hatchet, you’re up, brother,” Twisted tells me.
“DJ, with this cut, I promise to love you, honor you, and respect you until my last dying breath. This is us, forever and always.” I say sliding her cut up her shoulders. “This is forever baby, I give you my brotherhood and my heart.” I turn her around and kiss her.
“By the bond of RGMC I now would like to introduce to you our forever old ladies, Cara and DJ.” There are a lot of hoots and hollering and the brothers come up to hug the girls and slap our backs in unity. Damn, it feels good, she’s not only wearing my ring on her finger, but my cut on her back. She’s mine in every way that counts until we say our I do’s at the altar. Axe and I pull the girls to our side, knowing that the kids are up next.
“Luca, Talon, Jasper, Ralynn and Maysen please come forward,” Twisted calls them up. They stop in front of us and I want to laugh at the looks on their faces. “Please stand in front of the adults.” Luca stands in front of Axe, Talon and Jasper stand in front of DJ and Ralynn and Maysen stand in front of me. “You will also be honored on this day,” Twisted begins. I look out and see Lily and Tig standing proudly in front of us all with their cuts on. Nan must’ve slipped theirs on knowing what was fixing to happen. While us men are the ones to hand out the cuts, Cara and DJ stand here as a show of solidarity. Since I have four kids to cover, she’s holding the cuts. This time, Twisted lets us talk since they’re our kids, going back over to Paisley and Tig.
I nod at Axe to let him know to go first.
“Luca, face the family,” he says, and I watch as Luca turns. Seeing his friends with cuts on has his eyes widening because he realizes something special is happening. “Since I met your mom and you two became a part of mine and Lily’s lives, you’ve displayed the characteristics that make a good brother. You’re loyal, protective, courageous, and caring. This cut signifies that you have the protection of every member of the RGMC at your back, just like your mother and I are, now and forever. You are my son in every way that counts.” He then slips the cut over Luca’s arms and the little boy turns and leaps at Axe. Yeah, dry eyes? Not anymore.
With Luca now done but our two families so intertwined, Axe and Cara stand beside me and DJ. Fuck, now I have to talk? Deciding to do the girls first, I say, “Ray, you’ve been a beam of light in my life since I met your mother. Maysen, since I found out about you, I’ve wanted you with me as part of our family. Today, you girls get cuts to show that your mom and I will always love you unconditionally, no matter what, and that every member of RGMC will protect you as if you were their own.” Once both girls have their cuts on, I’m spider-monkeyed and can hear the chuckles from the other men in the crowd. I whisper to them both, “I gotta do the boys now.”
“Okays, Daddy,” they both say, almost in unison, before they climb back down and stand next to Luca, who holds out his hands for them. Yep, he’s gonna make a helluva good brother when he’s old enough, I can see it already.
“Talon? Jasper? Please come and stand in front of me.” Once they do, I speak again. “The men and women you see before you will protect and love you much as your own parents did when they were alive. We promise that no matter what happens in life, we’ll be here for both of you. You will never be alone, we’ll always be standing at your back when you need support, in front of you when you need a guiding hand, and beside you when you need a shoulder to lean on.” I slide their cuts on them and none of the women have a dry eye.
“Thank you, Mr. Hatch,” Jasper says to me. I lean down and hug him close, being mindful of his injuries.
I honestly don’t know what to say to either of the boys. I mean, we’re not looking to replace their parents by any means, but we want them to know we’re going to love them to the best of our ability as if they were our natural-born kids. Before I can say anything, I feel arms go around me and I look up to see Talon standing there. It’s amazing to me that in less than twenty-four hours, I’m seeing a different side to both of these boys. Last night, they were cowering and standoffish, and I’m sure that the fact that neither Axe nor I are small men wasn’t easy. I hug him back before ruffling his hair, causing him to grin. “You good, bud?” I ask.
“Yes, sir,” he replies.
We dismiss the kids and they run off, all of them showing off their individual cuts to each other. DJ looks up at me as she wraps her arms around my middle, “It was meant to be,” she says.
“It sure was, gorgeous, you, me and these kids. We may not have expected them, but they are going to complete us in every way.”
Trinity walks over to us and says, “That was lovely. I’m going to head out but will be over tomorrow around ten? I’ll bring the rest of Maysen’s belongings and the paperwork we talked about earlier today, DJ.”
“What paperwork?”
“We’ll talk about it later at home, lover.”
“No reason for you to hurry off,” another voice says. Looking over, I see Chief standing there looking at Trinity with longing that I recognize from my days before I made DJ mine. Hmmm, very interesting. As a matter of fact, he has been around a lot whenever she’s nearby. Something to watch and see how it plays out. I may have to give him a hard time the way he did me when I only sat back and watched DJ from afar.
Trinity looks up at him and dammit, I see the interest in her eyes as well. “I... uh...well, I was mostly here to watch this,” she says, motioning to the disappearing kids with their cuts flapping around their little bodies. “I don’t want to infringe on y’alls time with one another.”
“You’re not infringing, come and have a drink with me,” he states, holding out his hand to her.
DJ elbows me and I look at her and grin, nodding my head slightly to show that yes, I caught it all. I watch as Trinity hesitantly takes his arm and walks away with him, I swear I see stars in her eyes.
“C’mon, gorgeous, I wanna have a drink with my old lady.” Her smile lights up and I can’t resist. I lean down and gently kiss her lips. “Let’s go socialize, the quicker we do, the faster I get you out of here and in bed,” I tell her, as I too lead her away to the open bar.
It’s not too late, but Nan has the kids in watching a movie and we’re enjoying a last drink around the bonfire before we take our crew home when Smokey pops up, saying, “Hatch, when are you getting your bus?”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“Well, you can’t fit everyone on your bike or in your truck or even in DJ’s car, so I’m figuring a small bus would work,” he replies, a grin playing around his lips. Smartass.
I’m about to respond when Bandit says, “Always knew you’d have a short yellow bus, Hatch.”
Looking around and seeing no kids, I quickly peg them both with my favorite finger, causing them both to erupt in laughter.
DJ once again makes me proud when she pops up with, “You two would know all about that short yellow bus, now wouldn’t you?” This causes the rest of us to die in laughter at their expense.
Trinity, who was coaxed into staying after all, says, “You know, y’all should be ashamed of yourselves! Those boys lost their parents! The fact that Talon felt safe enough in his minimal interaction with Hatch to call last night when shit went south says a lot about him! Besides the fact that those ‘yellow busses’ y’all are referring too, are meant to protect children in wheelchairs and with learning disabilities from bullies like you!” I’m staring at her in wide-mouthed astonishment. From what I know, she’s rather prim and proper so to hear a curse word come out of her mouth, either she’s getting more comfortable with us or she’s had more to drink than I was aware.
“We’re just joking around with Hatch, ma’am,” Smokey says, his face red with embarrassment. “We know that the smaller busses are usually for children with unique needs. My sister was in a wheelchair so there’s no way I’d ever pick on anyone who had to be in one.”
Just as I’m about to say something, I feel a tug at my hand and see Maysen standing there, rubbing her eyes. “Daddy? I’m tired. Can we go home?”
“They’ve had an awfully long day, Hatch. Maybe we should get them all home, showered and in bed for the night.” DJ says to me, in which I happen to agree with her.
“Yeah, and we’ve got a busy day tomorrow too,” I remind her. “Chief? You’ll make sure Trinity gets home okay?” I don’t want our caseworker in trouble because she was out here drinking or anything. We did kind of goad her into coming and staying, I couldn't stand the guilt if she got reprimanded because of us.
“Got it, Hatch,” he replies.
“Let’s go get the others,” I tell Maysen, who grabs my hand in hers. Seeing how she’s dragging, I reach down and scoop her into my arms to carry her. She’ll never be too heavy as far as I’m concerned.
DJ
We got the kids home and to speed things up, I’m helping the girls in the master bathtub while Hatch gets the boys to run through their showers. I catch myself yawning. Guess all the shopping and excitement from the day has caught up with me. Maybe I need to start taking some vitamins, especially since we’ve now got four kids under our roof. I also make a mental note to ask Trinity if the boys need to be in therapy. I honestly don’t know anything about grieving children, but I’m sure it’s not all going to be sunshine and roses. I want to be prepared as we all adjust to one another and living together. Once the girls are tucked in without a story because they were pretty much asleep on their feet, I head in and catch Hatch about to take a shower.
“C’mon, gorgeous,” he says, “let’s get cleaned up and hit the hay. I’m wiped out.”
“Me too,” I tell him. While a small part of me laments the fact that we won’t be having fun per se, the other part just wants to be clean and curled up in bed against him, listening to him breath. Shit, now I sound like one of my damn characters. When did I turn into a creampuff?
In no time at all, we’re showered and have slipped into bed, Hatch catching the light.
“Hatch?” I ask.
“Hmm?” he responds, turning toward me.
“Today was a good day, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, babe, it was one of the best. The guys are right, though, we’re gonna need a bigger vehicle.”
I sigh because the bigger vehicles kind of freak me out. I’m not exactly tall so having to climb up into a car or SUV makes me nervous. But, we’ve got four kids to haul around so there’s not much choice. “Yeah, I know. I kinda like what Cara got.”
“The Tahoe? How about we finagle some time to go look at one?”
“Yeah, that works.” We fall into a deep sleep wrapped in each other’s loving arms.