Daddo: Do you think you’re coming for lunch? Sorry, just need to know how many sandwiches to make.
Oh, whoops. I never texted Dad back.
I sent the same text to both of them.
Me: We’ll be there.
Half an hour later, we were in my dads’ condo, and before I saw either dad, I had two short blood witches wrapped around my waist and a baby dragon standing back, looking shy.
I gave both Isidore and Reef a big hug, and I was touched when they both hugged Roman too. Then I moved a little closer to Blossom, squatted down, and opened my arms. “Hey there, Blossom. Can I get a hug? It’s okay if you don’t want to.”
She twisted back and forth for a moment, clearly thinking about it before she stepped in and almost fell against me. I hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head, holding her until she pulled away. As soon as she did, she got shy again and ran behind Isidore’s legs.
She was the cutest little thing and was starting to come out of her shell little by little. She had really bonded with Dad, and when she wasn’t attached to Isidore, she followed him around like a little duckling.
He’d even taken to bringing her down to his office on work days. She colored—usually on his lap—while he worked, and it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
Daddo and I had snuck a bunch of pictures the other day, and I was planning on framing one for him.
The teens were a little more standoffish, which was understandable, especially since they didn’t think this was a permanent thing. It was clear to me that they were afraid to get used to living here and having great dads, which made me sad. But after seeing how much both my dads loved all three kids, I knew they weren’t giving them up. Ever.
I stood, grabbed Rome’s hand, and tugged him into the kitchen where I could hear my dads.
“Hey,” I said, leaning against the door frame.
Roman stood a little behind me and to the side, but he kept his hand on my hip. “Hey, Gar, Tan.”
My dads offered smiles, then came over for quick hugs.
The two of them shared a look before Dad nodded me out of the kitchen and said, “Come with me for a moment.”
Curious, I followed him all the way to his bedroom and was surprised when he shut the door and set the silencing ward so no one else could hear us. What the hell was he doing?
Was something wrong? Was this about a new mission? Were one of the kids sick or hurt or something? They’d seemed fine to me, but I wasn’t a doctor. Could they have—
“I want to ask you something,” Dad said, staring at me with a serious expression.
“Uh, okay. What’s up? Is something wrong? Are the kids okay?”
He smiled a little. “The kids are great.”
“Good… that’s good.” I took a breath. “Okay, then what’s up?”
He took a deep breath as if composing himself. “Tan and I have been talking, and we… well… we confirmed that Izzy and Reef’s parents are dead and they don’t have any other family, and that Blossom’s parents are also out of the picture.” He staredat me for a moment. “Kid, we want to know if you’re okay with us adopting Isidore, Reef, and Blossom?”
My heart soared, and a huge smile crossed my face. “I knew it!”
Dad’s eyebrows jumped up at my exclamation.
“I knew you guys would want to keep them!” I pumped my fist in the air. “Hell yeah. Adopt them! Please! I would love to have three little siblings.”
Dad smiled, a big, rare one this time. “Really? You’re okay with it?”
I laughed and gave him a quick hug. “Yes, Dad. I’m more than okay with it. I seriously love those kids like siblings already.”
He nodded, smiling softly. “You know, Isidore and Reef told me what you did.”
My brow furrowed. “What I did?”
