“Daddy…”
“Yes, boy.” He kept rocking.
“You were right. I flew.”
Willem chuckled. “Daddies sometimes are, Elias.”
Eli rubbed his face against Willem’s shoulder. “While my bottom is hot, my legs are cold, Daddy.”
Willem sighed. “I was worried about that but didn’t want to let you go to grab a blanket.”
“It’s okay…” Eli yawned. “Can I take a nap in my daybed?”
“Of course.” Willem pressed a kiss to the top of Eli’s head. “But that means you’re gonna have to let go of Daddy.”
“K…” Eli snuggled closer, before crawling off Eli’s lap to kneel between Willem’s legs. “Tuck me in?”
“Absolutely.” Willem stood and offered his hand to Eli. “Come on, let’s get you tucked in.”
Eli stumbled over to the daybed, his gait a bit off due to his well blistered bottom. He tugged at the covers to reveal the busting bronco sheets. After he crawled between them, Willem tucked them around his boy, loving how Eli curled up on his side, his thumb finding his mouth. Something his boy only did when he was emotionally spent. A quick glance at the clock on the wall assured Willem that his boy could sleep for an hour before he’d need to get up and be ready for kids.
“There you go. Rest. Daddy will wake you in time.”
Eli’s lids were drifting shut even as he nodded. “Cowboy song, Daddy?”
A small grin crossed Willem’s face. It was the first time that Eli had asked, but he’d noticed how his boy hung on every note when he sang some silly Spanish lullaby he’d learned as a young man in fourth grade. He wasn’t even sure what all the words meant, but it’d stuck with him through the years.
“Of course, boy.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, his knees too old to kneel for any length of time. “Es mi callabo…”
