“YES, TUCKER. OH, FUCK, RIGHT there.”
Piper moaning in my ear spurs me to take things up a notch, hitting my stride, but also trying to keep the bed from banging against the wall. Having sex with a kid in the house is no joke. Our sessions have been relegated to late at night or super early in the morning, which is the case right now.
I have to admit, there’s nothing like waking up to Piper in my bed, especially when she’s naked.
“Oh, God, Tucker!” I muffle her scream with my mouth, kissing her until she hits her climax.
With a few more thrusts, I follow her, my arms giving out as I collapse in a heap. Wrapping my arms around Piper’s shoulders, I roll us over until she’s resting on my chest.
“I swear, I thought there was never going to be anything better than the awesome hate-sex we used to have, but I was so wrong,” she whispers, kissing my neck. “This is better, so fucking better. I wish I could go back and slap that girl silly. She should’ve got her shit together a long time ago. We could’ve been having these amazing orgasms this whole time.”
“I don’t know. I remember you getting your fair share of mind-blowing orgasms back then. Lots of screamin’ and makin’ a scene.” I laugh, kissing the top of her head.
“How about round two?” she asks, getting on her knees and climbing on top of me. I love the way her hair falls in a curtain around us. It used to be shorter, but she’s let it grow out some and it’s gorgeous, just like the rest of her—from her stunning eyes to her kind heart. I love her, every inch of her.
A small knock on the door makes Piper jump, her eyes growing wide with a knowing smile.
“Daddy!” Sammy yells from the other side. “Why’s the door locked? It’s my birthday party today!”
“How about a rain check?” I whisper, kissing Piper’s nose and then her lips . . . just one more to tide me over until later.
Piper scurries off the bed and throws on a flowy dress, tossing her hair up in a messy ponytail. I finally pull myself from our oasis and put on some shorts. As I open the door, I pull a T-shirt over my head and smile down at my little girl standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.
“Who’s birthday is it?” I ask, playing dumb to get a rise out of her.
“Daddy!”
“Oh, right. It’s your birthday.” I slap my forehead and lean down closer to her. “Like I’d ever forget your birthday, sunshine. One of the most important days of the year.” Kissing her nose, I finally get a smile out of her.
“How about some pancakes?” Piper asks, coming up behind me. She’s no chef, definitely no Nanny Annie or Grandma Kay when it comes to skills in the kitchen, but she’s learned to make a mean pancake.
“Yay! Pancakes!” Sammy’s hands fly in the air and she runs down the hall toward the kitchen.
She still misses her mama. She still cries sometimes. She still wakes up in the middle of the night and needs someone to sleep with. But she’s doing good, better than good. She loves Piper being here. They have their own special bond. Just in the couple of weeks since her return, they’ve fallen into a routine—breakfast in the mornings, lunch with Aunt Cami or Aunt Dani, afternoons at the big house or the farm.
Eventually, Piper will have to find work, but for now, she’s just enjoying some much-needed regrouping time. We’ll figure the rest out as it comes.
After pancakes and showers, Piper fixes Sammy’s hair and puts her in her special princess dress that Kay bought her for the party. I can’t wait to see her face when she sees everything we’ve planned for the day. There won’t be many kids, just her and Carter, but it should still be a fun day.
“Who’s ready for a party?” Piper asks, causing Sammy to whoop and holler.
When we pull up at the big house, Sammy’s already unbuckling herself out of her seat. The three of us barely fit in my old truck, proving that we’re going to need a new vehicle soon. Piper’s still renting a car. She sold her old one before she left for Connecticut, but again, we’ll figure all of that out as we go.
“Happy birthday, Sammy,” everyone yells as we walk into the house. Annie has the entire place decked out. There’s not an inch of foyer space that doesn’t have crepe paper or balloons attached to it. As we walk into the kitchen, it’s the same. The whole family is there, including my very pregnant sister. She’s been sticking close to home for the past month, practically on bed rest due to early contractions, but she’s finally in her thirty-eighth week and her doctor thinks she can go any time.
My dad and Kay take turns scooping Sammy up and showering her with kisses before we finally make it into the dining room where the cake is on display.
The large castle cake sitting in the middle of the table catches Sammy’s eye and she runs over to it. “A castle cake! Daddy! A castle cake!”
Walking over, I kneel beside her as she takes it all in. “I know, sunshine. A princess has to have a castle cake for her birthday.”
She turns and throws her arms around me, hugging my neck fiercely.
“Thank you, Daddy. I love it.”
“Tell Annie thank you, too. She’s the one who put all the pink stuff up.”
Turning around, she runs to Annie and hugs her too. “I love it all.”
“Oh, I love you, baby girl. Happy birthday.” Annie’s eyes are a little misty as she hugs Sammy to her. We share a glance that lets me know she’s thinking of my mama. Me too. I always think of her on this day, but today, a little more than usual. It’s a happier thought, though—one of gratitude and appreciation.
“This place looks amazing,” Piper says, walking around and checking out all the balloons, bouquets, and streamers. “Magazine worthy.”
Annie smiles over at her. “I can’t tell you how good it is to have you home.”
“I can’t tell you how good it is to be here,” Piper replies, and it’s still music to my ears to hear her call this home. “Pretty sure this is where I was always meant to be, just took me a while to realize it.”
“I want in on this love fest,” Dani chimes in, walking over and hugging her best friend to her.
“Let’s eat so we can have cake,” Annie suggests, sending everyone into the kitchen for plates.
“I don’t think I can fit anything else into this belly,” my sister says with a moan, rubbing her protruding stomach. “I seriously feel like I’m gonna pop.”
“I wasn’t gonna say anything, but,” I tease, earning a slap to my chest. And then another upside my head. That one came from Deacon.
“My wife is perfect and gorgeous,” Deke says, giving me a look of warning. I’m going to guess this has been a subject of conversation at their house recently.
“Of course she is,” I agree.
“Sammy, have you seen your giant blow-up castle in the backyard?” Deacon asks, like the big kid he is.
“Deacon!” Annie, Micah, and Dani all say in unison. Cami normally would be right there to return the slap he gave to my head, but she’s barely standing on her own two feet right now, so she’s not quite up to par.
“What?” he asks, looking puzzled. “There is a big blow up castle in the backyard.”
“It’s a surprise, dip shit,” Micah says, rolling his eyes.
“That’s a bad word,” Carter chides, snagging a tiny sandwich, taking a bite, and then going back for more.
“I wanna see the castle, Daddy! Please!” Sammy begs, pulling on my arm. “How big is it? Is it pink?”
I glare at Deacon, but I don’t say anything, because I feel like I still owe him for keeping mine and Piper’s secret all those months.
“Sure, Sammy. We’ll go see the castle.” I mean, you only turn five once. So, I sit my plate down and follow her to the back door, with Carter hot on my heels.
Once the kids see the castle, it’s all over. It’s huge, like Olympic size, and has a bounce house with a tall slide on one end. There’s even a tower they can climb up inside.
Sammy’s face is pure joy as she claps her hands together and gives a silent squeal. Her hair bounces with her, the excitement oozing from her pores.
“Go, on. It’s your birthday,” I encourage.
And they do. They take off running, straight for the door to the bounce house.
“Take your shoes off,” my sister yells from somewhere behind me.
“Hey,” I say, as she walks up beside me, or waddles, rather. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”
“Yeah, but I’m sick and tired of resting . . . and hurting . . . and being pregnant.” She sighs, but it comes out almost as a whine, which is not my sister.
“Anything I can do?” I ask, as we watch the kids play.
“I wish. Not unless you have some magic juju to make the baby come out.”
“Fresh out,” I laugh.
“I have been noticing a ring on an important finger of Piper’s left hand.” She says it so nonchalantly, like she’s commenting on the weather, never taking her eyes off the bounce house.
We’d thought about making some kind of announcement, but we just haven’t gotten around to it. We’ve been enjoying just being together, without any pressure about the future or plans.
“Yeah,” I acknowledge, but don’t offer up any information.
“That’s good.” Cami nods her head. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
She sighs again, stopping mid-breath. Her hand comes out and grasps my arm.
“Cami?” I ask, turning my attention on her.
“Uh, I think my water just broke,” she says, looking down at the ground between her feet where there is a significant wet spot.
“Deacon!” I yell. “Deke, get your ass out here!”
The back door flies open with my brother-in-law blowing through it like the house is on fire.
“Cam?” he asks, coming around so he can see her face. “Are you okay?”
“My water broke,” she repeats, while I stand there like an idiot with no clue what to do.
“You got Carter?” Deacon asks me.
“Of course.” I nod, looking up to see everyone else running out of the house.
“Micah, get my car and pull it around the side of the house.”
Micah runs back into the house and is back in an instant with a set of keys, jogging around the side of the house.
“We’re going to the hospital,” Deacon yells to everyone. “Can you walk or do you want me to carry you?” he asks Cami.
“I can walk.” She’s panting now, holding tightly to her stomach.
Annie and Kay come out with their purses and a bag. “We’ll follow y’all. Sam and Clay can put the food up and lock the house.”
“Me and Piper will keep the kids. Y’all call us when it’s close and we’ll come up.”
I catch Piper’s eye across the yard, and she smiles back at me, completely unfazed by everything. “We’re having a baby,” she mouths excitedly.
It makes me laugh, easing a little of the tension I’m feeling.
Maybe one of these days, it’ll be us having the baby.
I think I like that idea.
Looking back over to the bounce house, I see Sammy and Carter still playing happily without a care in the world.
This is life. It goes on, with or without us. I feel like Sophie’s looking down on us. I don’t know why that thought comes to my mind in this moment, but it does. And I think she’s happy—happy that Sammy is a part of this big, crazy family.
I am too. I don’t know where I’d be without my family, and I’m happy that now includes Sammy and Piper. They make me feel complete, like everything is right in my world. I’m the same person I always was, just a tamed, less troubled version, and it’s all thanks to them.
Everyone sets into motion, working like a fine oiled machine, like we do this every day.
And, in a way, we do. It’s chaos, but it’s perfect chaos. That’s what it’s all about, right? It’s life and death and change; love and acceptance and growing. It’s good times and bad and everything in between.
I’d be crazy to think my mama didn’t have a hand in all this. I bet she’s sitting up there, organizing the whole, chaotic thing.
“I see you, Mama.”
The End.