"Yeah, actually," he said. "I don't have the first clue how to do any of this, though."
"This time, I get to teach you," I said before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips.
His hand found my forearm, but he didn't try to deepen the kiss. He just held me, even as I leaned back. When I opened my eyes, his were right there waiting, and the soft smile on his lips was perfect. All of today had been perfect.
"Do you think Faith is really okay with this?" Ash asked.
I blew out a breath and turned to lean back against the workbench. "I honestly have no idea. She was so mad at both you and Violet, and now she's just fine? I don't know if she's winding up for something, or if maybe she really is fine now that she understands more."
Ash shifted to mimic my pose. "She seemed to like the idea of Cy going to puppy lessons with her."
"But Cy didn't get in trouble," I reminded him. "Remember, he and I supposedly were the ones who got cheated on."
Ash mumbled under his breath and nodded. "Bad time to mention that she asked me about butt sex?"
I just groaned. "How did you handle that?"
"I tried to make it clinical," he admitted. "And yeah, she specifically asked if we had had sex. And you and Cy. And just about every combination imaginable. Yes, she also asked about group stuff."
I just leaned my head back and closed my eyes. "Would you like to give me a heads-up on how you answered so I don't accidentally make a mess of this?"
"I was honest," he shrugged. "Luke, she's thirteen, her best friend is a guy. They both have phones that can search the internet. Trust me, they know about sex. The problem is that they only know about porn sex, not the kind that comes with love."
"Yeah, and porn isn't really the best example for my daughter," I said. "I want her to grow up and know that sex is okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I don't want her to worry about if she's a slut or if something she wants is bad. More than all of that, I really want her to be able to talk to me about this - but I'm her dad."
"And she'll talk to me," Ash assured me. "Faith is stuck at that point right now where she understands boy parts and girl parts and that they fit together, but she doesn't really understand why. Sure, people talk about orgasms, but I don't think she can conceptualize why they're such a big deal. She wants to be wanted, and she wants to be liked, but she hasn't yet stopped to think about the fact that she deserves to be respected and pleased as well. So, I may have mentioned that making our partners feel good was a point of sex. Not us, but them."
I leaned my head over to rest on his shoulder. "I knew that when I came out to her, she would learn all about sex. If it wasn't from us, then it would be from someone else. I am really not ready for this, but I want to get it right, Ash."
"You are," he assured me. "Luke, we all came from the shittiest families you can imagine. We don't have a model to draw from except Vera and Bea: a lesbian couple. These kids that are going to come through Southwind? Half of them will have been abused by their parents and the other half neglected. The three of us are making this up as we go along, but you? You are a good dad. You've already proven that you know what you're doing - and you're doing it right. Faith is a great kid, so don't you dare complain about the money I spent on her today."
I just laughed. "Wasn't gonna. I realized that both you and Violet do that because it makes you happy to give someone something nice. It's not you trying to make me or Cy or Faith feel guilty because we're not rich. It's just you sharing everything you have."
"It's my way of taking care of the people who matter to me," he admitted. "You make things, Violet makes things happen, and Cy makes us feel safe. I'm the money guy. When I was younger, I always wanted to be rich, and now that I am, I realize that it doesn't matter. Yes, it makes life a lot easier, but having money only feels good when I get to spend it. Especially when I spend it on others."
"And that's why I'm not complaining," I assured him. "It's also why you're going to help me with the stairs. And when we're done finding the wood and planning it out, then I'll go tell Faith that you're spending the night with Violet and I'm spending the night with Cy."
Ash's head jumped up. "What if I wanted to spend the night with you?"
I clasped the back of his neck and smiled. "Why don't we go ahead and tackle the difficult stuff over the weekend so that if there's a blow up, then we can handle it before she has to go back to school? She got mad because you slept with Violet. Let's make sure she knows that you really are allowed to sleep with Violet, okay?"
He just lifted a brow and looked at me like I was an idiot. "Do you honestly think I'm going to have a problem with crawling into that woman's bed?"
I just smiled back. "Do you honestly think I'm going to have a problem with crawling into that man's bed and getting to play with his new puppy?"
Ash slowly shook his head. "Not if you have half a brain." Then he paused. "Luke? I have done a lot of really big and very impressive things in my life. I have hit milestones that are supposed to have been impossible. I have had some of the best days and some of the worst in my life…" Then he turned to look at me. "And right now, today is at the top of my list. This? Acting like I'm a family with you and your daughter?" He slowly began to nod. "More than I ever knew I wanted. This, right here, is the happily ever after I never thought I'd be able to have."
"Yeah," I agreed, "me too. I just hope we get to keep it."
Chapter Twelve
When Faith took her puppy out for the last time before she headed up to bed, I followed her out there. The little pig dog didn't have a name yet, but she would run back to just about any noise that Faith made. However, she did a great job of vanishing into the darkness of nighttime, even though her coat was a bright red color.
"Hey, cupcake?" I asked as I headed over to where she was waiting on the concrete.
"I love my dog, Dad," she said. "Zeke says I should give her a little dog name like Princess."
The words were barely out of her mouth before the little pup heard something and stood up like she was full grown and tried to growl towards the pastures. The sound that came out was not at all threatening, but the hair standing up on the dog's back - all of it facing the wrong way - was much too cute.
