I felta tug on my pants.
“Daddy, daddy, daddy.”
My mouth dropped open in shock at the sweet voice that had yelled out words I’d never heard in my life.
A gasp sounded from beside me and I knew it was Ruby, but my eyes veered to the tiny form below.
Not quite sure what to do, I paused for a minute and another tug came. I settled for acting as normal as possible even though my heart was beating a mile a minute. Bending, I leaned over and swept Autumn up into my arms.
“Hey, Pumpkin, what’s going on?”
“Daddy, play.” She pointed her small finger toward some of the other kids and the guys who were kicking a ball around and laughing.
I was at a loss, I looked to Ruby for an answer, not wanting to hurt Autumn’s feelings, and unsure why she was calling me Daddy when she always used my name.
Ruby looked stunned but tried talking to Autumn. “Hey sweetheart. You want Lyric to play with you and the others?”
“Daddy,” she said in a stubborn tone.
It was great that she was coming out of her shell and even though her talking had come slowly, she was doing more and more each day. But I’d never heard her sound so adamant.
Right then, I was grateful that Summer and Gyth stood beside us because both Ruby and I froze.
“Autumn, I need some help getting juice boxes for the kids,” Summer said. “Do you want to help me?”
Autumn wiggled to get out of my arm, playing forgotten, and once down, she took Sumner’s hand to follow her inside to help.
“She does love those juice boxes,” Gyth said, chuckling.
Ruby sighed and Gyth kept talking.
“It’s only natural at her age to latch onto you. Plus she sees the other kids calling the men in their life daddy.” Gyth slapped me on the back. “It isn’t a bad thing and I wouldn’t be surprised if she does the same thing with you, Ruby.”
He smiled at Ruby and went on. “That is basically who you two are to that little girl who needs parents. Now if this man here would seal the deal, you all could make it official.”
Ruby blushed.
“When did you get so smart, Dr. Phil,” I asked Gyth.
His deep laugh had everyone turning in our direction. It wouldn’t be long before they all started asking questions, trying to figure out what was happening. They were a bunch of gossips, but amazing ones at least.
“I've always been smart, dumbass.” Gyth smacked me upside the head. “It would be wise to listen to me.” He gave us a smirk and headed inside the house.
We liked to get together at different homes and all spend time together when we could. It was Gyth and Summer’s turn. We also had newcomers headed our way soon. Bodie and his girls would show up any time.
“So, that was unexpected.” I wrapped my arm around Ruby and pulled her into my side. “Maybe we should talk about that later and decide how to handle it?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Gyth is right though.” Ruby gave me a quick kiss. “I’m gonna see what else needs to be done with the food. Will you check on Gramps and the others?”
By others, she meant Jett, Patience, and Patience’s son. Everyone had come with us because we were not leaving them at home alone. Plus, they liked the group and everyone thought of Ruby’s family as theirs too.
“Sure, babe. I’m on it.”
She gave me a soft smile and then also headed into the house.
After she walked away, I stood there thinking about what had just happened. It had thrown me when Autumn had called me daddy and I didn’t want Ruby to be upset about it.
But I had to admit it felt damn good.
