“Whoa. Okay. Shh. Listen to me, sweetheart. The only reason I might have looked unhappy is that I wish you had woken me up when you needed to go potty. I don’t like that you held it in. Youcould get an infection, and I’m not okay with that. I’m upset with myself that I didn’t think of that and tell you to wake me up.”
“I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
Beau gently taps my bottom. “You could never. I just want you to be happy. That’s what makes me happy.”
Twisting my fingers together, I peek up at him from under my lashes. “I want to be your Baby Girl, but it’s new to me. I think it might take me some time to adjust and be able to fully embrace being in such a dependent headspace.”
His big hand slides up and down my thigh, his wedding ring shining in the morning light. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes. We do what works best for us, okay? Just because Maddox and Brynn or Angel and Nora do things a certain way doesn’t mean we have to do the same. We make our dynamic fit for us. So for now, what’s going to happen is you’re still going to be my Baby Girl. You will be diapered throughout this entire vacation. But when you need to go potty, if you still can’t use your diaper, you tell me, and I’ll take you to the bathroom. We do thingsourway. At all times. Understand?”
I nod and take a deep breath. After two years of being married to Beau, I don’t know why I still worry about disappointing him. He’s the most patient, loving, genuine person I know.
“I love you.” I snuggle into his chest and smile when he tightens his arms around me automatically.
“I love you more.”
9
ANGEL AND NORA
Angel
“Are you girls excited?” Knox asks.
The entire family has piled into three SUVs for the short drive to where we’re going to cut down a tree for the lodge. I’m crammed into one of the back seats with Nora beside me, leaning into me like a lifeline. Little does she know, she’s mine. I just have a different way of showing it.
My brother twists around to look at the girls piled back here with me. My wife tightens her hold on my arm and nods silently as she stares at Knox. She had a rough night’s sleep last night. On top of her anxiety of traveling and lack of rest, Nora hasn’t been verbal since she woke up this morning. I sent a group text to my brothers, so none of them are surprised if she doesn’t speak to them.
Knox winks at her while the other girls chatter and giggle nonstop the entire five-minute drive.
As soon as everyone is out of the car and the guys make sure all our girls are wrapped up warm enough to be outside, wefollow the signs that are supposed to lead us where we need to go. The girls wanted to get a tree from the wilderness, but we weren’t comfortable taking them out in unknown, snow-covered terrain. Thankfully, the guys we rented the lodge from told us about this snow park that doubles as a tree farm. Safety first for our girls always.
Taking Nora’s hand, I hold her as we walk with the rest of the family toward a trail that leads us to a grove of trimmed trees, ready to be cut down.
“Hey.” I glance over at my wife and smirk. “What do snowmen eat for breakfast?”
Nora’s face breaks into a grin as she thinks about it. One thing that will always get my girl out of her head is a ridiculous, cheesy joke. Little does she know, I get daily emails that come from multiple websites with a Joke of the Day, just so I always have one to tell her.
“Carrots?” she asks after a long pause.
I shake my head. “IceKrispies.”
She instantly bursts into giggles, and the other girls who heard the joke laugh, too.
“I love you so much,” Nora whispers, and this time, it’s me who grins.
Thank fuck. I’ll never know why she loves me as much as she does, but I’m never going to take it for granted.
Nora
“I love you, too, Baby Girl,”he replies warmly.
There’s something to be said for walking beside such an intimidating man. I never feel afraid when I’m next to Angel. Or his brothers. I know they mean well. They’ve all tried so hard to connect with me. Lately, I’ve been trying to give them the chances they deserve. After all, they aren’t the monsters from my past. They’re the ones who would die for me now. I know that for a fact.
“When is Angel going to realize his jokes aren’t nearly as good as mine?” Ash asks as he and Kylie walk up to us. “Who’s never hungry at Christmas?”
Kylie and I look at each other, trying not to giggle over these two men telling us Christmas jokes.
Angel’s hand tightens slightly, and when I glance at him, he’s glaring at Ash. Biting my bottom lip, I try to hide my amusement over my husband’s irritation with his own brother telling me a joke. So jealous.
