I bend down, check out the fort, and crawl inside. “Hey, guys, why don’t you all come on in?”
Amelia’s the first one in. Christian crawls in next to her. And Kenna comes after. Mia doesn’t follow. I guess she’s giving us a moment.
“We need to tell you something,” I say.
Christian, as smart and intuitive as he is, instantly looks at Kenna’s hand. “Yes!” He pumps his fist. His smile is miles wide, but he doesn’t ruin the surprise for Amelia.
I grip his shoulder and nod. Then I hoist Amelia onto my lap. “Hey, pumpkin. Remember what you asked me a few times about being your daddy?”
She nods.
“Well, I was wondering if it’s something you still want.”
Her eyes go wide. “You want to be my daddy?”
“More than anything. Last night, I asked your mom to marry me, and she said yes. That means we’re going to be a family.”
Amelia looks to her mom for confirmation.
Kenna smiles. “It’s true. Carter and I are getting married. He’s going to be your daddy, and Christian will be your brother.” She leans over and puts a hand on Christian’s arm. “And if he’ll let me, I’d love to be his mom.”
For the first time since Christian was a little kid, I see tears well in his eyes. He’s trying to seem all mature about it, but I know I’m not the only one here living my dream. He’s never come out and said it, but I know how badly he’s wanted a mother. A sibling. A family.
Amelia looks utterly surprised. “You can be my brother?”
“Yeah…” Christian looks away and blinks. “Pretty cool, huh, squirt?”
Amelia, being the only one short enough to stand inside the fort, springs off my lap and dances around. She hugs me. Then Christian. Then her mom. Then she makes the rounds a second time.
Kenna holds out her ring, and Amelia stops dancing long enough to fawn over it for a few seconds. Christian studies it and jokes, “I expected it to be bigger.”
I elbow him playfully then pull him against me into a hug.
Kenna snatches her hand back. “It’s perfect. I’m never taking it off.”
Amelia is still dancing. She sings, “I have a daddy! I have a brother! I have a daddy! I have a brother!”
I think she’s the only one of the four of us who isn’t crying. And if I’m not mistaken, I think I hear sniffles coming from outside the fort as well.
Amelia stops suddenly and plops down on the floor right in front of Kenna. “Mommy? Can we live upstairs now?”
Kenna smiles. “Absolutely.”
“It’ll be the first thing we do,” I add, then I think about it. “Wait, no… the second thing.” I pull out my phone, tap around on it, and hit play.
“Dancing Queen” blares through the Bluetooth speaker. I scoot out of the fort and hold my hand out for Kenna and Amelia, then help Christian back to his feet.
And then… then we have our very first dance party as a family.
Epilogue
Kenna
“Do I look okay?” I ask Christian one last time.
“You look beautiful, Kenna,” he says, gazing down at my wedding dress.
“You don’t look so bad yourself.” It’s true. He looks more and more like his dad with every passing day, especially now that he no longer has to wear thick glasses after having Lasik surgery last month. “You know, after today, it would be okay if you wanted to call me Mom.”
