Chapter 28
Seth
IstepintoHarrison’sroom to find him reading to Sawyer and Emily. I press a hand to my heart as I lean in the doorway to watch them for a little bit. God, they’re precious. Emily is sucking her thumb, looking at the pictures in the book, and trying to follow along with the story. Sawyer’s head is on Harrison’s shoulder as he also reads along.
While Emily is a handful, the siblings have always been close. There are rarely any fights. Maybe when they’re older, they’ll fight more, but for now, they get along pretty well. What’s different now is that Harrison, my broody loner, is reading to his brother and sister, taking on the protector and provider role like a natural. I know he’ll always watch over them, even as they get older and more independent.
He stops reading and looks up to find me watching them. I smile at him and walk into the room. “Thanks for reading to them, Hare. Saved me some time tonight.” I wink at him, and he shrugs.
“Time for bed, guys.”
Sawyer climbs out of the bed and comes up to me, hugging my leg. I lift him and give him a big squeeze before putting him back down.
“Night, Dad.”
I’ll never get tired of hearing that word. I hope one day Harrison will say it, too, but I don’t hold my breath. It’s up to him if he wants to. I’ll never pressure him.
“Night, Saw.”
He runs off, and I pluck Emily off the bed. “Time for night-night, Peanut.”
She yawns and rubs her eyes before she puts her head on my shoulder. If she’s that tired, she should go to sleep without a fuss.
We step into her bedroom, and I gently tuck her into bed.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Peanut.”
“Whas abopted?”
Having a toddler learning how to talk, you have to be a perpetual translator of an entirely new language. Then it dawns on me what she’s asking. “Are you asking ‘what is adopted?’”
She nods and looks up at me with her dark and sleepy eyes.
Sawyer and Harrison know that Malcolm and I adopted them. Sawyer was only three at the time, but Harrison had told his brother that I wasn’t his real father. I suppose her brothers told her the same thing tonight.
I sit on the edge of the bed, not wanting to have this conversation with her yet because she’s still too young, but the boys didn’t give me a chance. She’s always believed that I’m her father.
Coming up with an explanation that she understands isn’t easy, so I have to think about my words carefully. I can’t tell her that her parents died. That’s something that has to wait until she’s older.
Emily grabs her stuffed triceratops and waits with a strange sort of patience she’s not known for.
“Well, you and your brothers were alone and needed a home, so I adopted you. That means I brought you all to live with me so that I can take care of you as your daddy.”
“Oh. You’re not daddy?”
“I wasn’t always your daddy. You were a baby when I brought you and your brothers home with me. Now you’re a big girl.” I lean down and kiss her forehead. “Do you like living here and being my little girl?”
“Uh-huh. You always be daddy?”
“Always. Forever and ever.”
She smiles at that, curls onto her side, and snuggles with her stuffed dino.
“Night-night, Peanut.”
I kiss her head, and before I leave her room, I turn off her light and crack the door.
