Caught by Emma Louise
Epilogue
My backyard is like a fucking zoo. Literally, there is a pen with farm animals set up to one side, and what can only be described as a hoard of screaming six-year-olds in there petting the animals.
"Don't you think this is all a little much?" my brother asks, taking a long pull on his bottle of beer as we both watch two hyped up little boys race past.
"Cassidy gets whatever Cassidy wants." I shrug, like it's the most obvious thing. And to me, it is. Cassidy turns six today, and after the shit we've all had to deal with this year, I'd give that kid the moon if she asked for it. Luckily for me, she only wanted a petting zoo and an ice-cream truck, and both of those I could give her.
"How bad is Darcey's freak out going to be when she sees the gift you got her?" I can't help the smirk that breaks out across my face at his question.
"Get ready for an epic meltdown. She's going to want to kill me." I chuckle, giving Jake a slap on the shoulder as I go in search of my fiancée. After all the shit that went down with her getting kidnapped, I decided I want Darcey to marry me immediately. I admit that my proposal wasn't the most romantic one ever. Hell, I don't think that buying a ring on my lunch break, coming back to the office, and demanding that she put it on even classified as a proposal, but once she stopped complaining about the way I'd asked, she finally said yes. It turns out, that was the easy part. Getting her to actually organize the wedding has been a very different story. I'd fly us both to Vegas this weekend if she'd let me, but Darcey wants the white dress, the marquee, and the flowers, so I'm stuck waiting for her to organize it.
Speaking of the love of my life, I head toward the kitchen where she and Natalie are getting enough food ready to feed an army. Narrowly avoiding getting nailed in the balls by a kid wielding a balloon animal, I stop when I see through the doors that Darcey is greeting yet more people as they arrive. I watch as she's pulled into a hug by someone, and it's not until they part that I see that it's Mark Dixon. The anger that I had toward him dissipated some when he called to check on Darcey after she was first released from the hospital. In the chaos of that day, she had no idea what had happened and who had been involved in getting her back safely. Mark had come to check on her, and she cried with gratitude in his arms; I just couldn't stay angry any longer.
She's here, she's safe, and that's all that matters now.
Since then, Mark and his wife, Charlie, have become regular visitors here, so it's not a surprise that Darcey has invited them today along with Jackson Cole and his wife, Catherine, who are in town visiting from the west coast. Their kids take one look at the animals and take off running to join the melee, leaving their parents to deal with the discarded coats and gift bags.
Darcey takes turns greeting everyone with a wide smile and a warm hug. I could watch her like this all day. She's dressed casually in ripped jeans and a tight T-shirt, her hair hanging in loose dark waves to her shoulders, there is not a drop of make-up on her face, but she's still fucking stunning, hands down the most beautiful woman on this earth.
"Do you think she's having fun?" Darcey asks when we finally manage to find ourselves alone for a second.
"There are probably a hundred people here who have all bought her a gift, and she has Felix feeding her ice cream while she rides a pony around her back yard. I don't think the day has sucked for her,” I reply, getting a chuckle out of Darcey.
"Sounds like an average Saturday in the life of Miss Cassidy," she says, sliding herself in close to me and pushing under my arm so it's wrapped around her shoulders. Shifting her so she's facing me, I pull her in closer so I can grab a swift kiss before some other drama comes up and someone steals her away from me again.
I'll never get used to the sparks that fly between us anytime we connect like this. Gliding her hands up my chest, she tangles her fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck. Letting my tongue lazily rub against hers one last time, I finally pull my lips from hers. I wish we could stay like this all day, but that can't happen until this party is wrapped up. Something that can’t come quick enough for me.
"Thank you," I say, leaning down to rub my nose against hers softly.
"What for?" she whispers.
"For being mine. For giving me you and Cass."
"Max—" she starts, but the ringing of my phone in my pocket cuts her off. Pulling it out, I see a text from my dad letting me know that he's arrived, and he has Cass' gift with him.
* * *
"It's present time!" Cass yells from her perch on top of a pony that's being walked around in circles, ruining my lawn. It feels like hours have passed, but the party is only half-way through when Cass declares it's time to open the mountain of gifts she's been given. The stampede of kids all runs toward the gift table, led by one very sugar-hyped little girl, and before the adults can even blink, there's a mountain of brightly colored paper at Cassidy's feet. I have no idea what most of the crap she's opening is, but she looks happy, so I guess it doesn't even matter what it is.
"Poppa!" she yells when she sees that my dad is here. Within the first few hours of their meeting a few months ago, both Darcey and Cassidy had grown close with my family. Jake and my dad have accepted them both as part of my life, and Cass took to calling my dad Poppa and Jake her uncle right away. "You came!" she exclaims, jumping up excitedly and running toward him. "Is that for me?" she gasps when she sees the big white box with a rainbow colored bow sitting on top.
"Sure is, short stuff," he replies gruffly. "Go ahead and open it up."
"What on earth is in that box?" Darcey asks, trepidation clear in her voice as she moves to stand next to me. Throwing my arm around her shoulder, I pull her in close so I can lower my voice as I answer.
"Remember when Cass asked for a baby brother?" Her head swings to look up at me, eyes narrowing at my reminder of the epic tantrum Cass had thrown when Darcey told her there was not going to be any babies in our house anytime soon.
"Yeah, I remember," she says carefully.
"Well, I thought this would be a good compromise … for now." I'd have babies with Darcey tomorrow if she would agree to it, but she has her heart set on doing things right, so it's the wedding first, then as many babies as I can talk her into giving me.
"Max…" Darcey glares up at me. "What did you do?" Her eyes narrow when she sees the unrepentant grin on my face.
"Look! Mommy! It's a puppy!"
"I'm going to kill you, Max Arden," Darcey seethes from behind the fake smile she gives Cassidy. I can't help but smile down at her. Not for the first time today, I wish we were alone so that I could kiss the shit out of her without scaring a bunch of little kids in the process.
Instead, I settle for a brief skim of my lips over hers, safe in the knowledge that once everyone finally leaves it will be just us. My woman, our daughter, and now, our puppy too.
* * *
"Can Daddy read us a story tonight?" my steps falter as I walk into Cassidy's room where she's just getting into bed. That's the first time she's actually called Max Daddy. She'd said it to Felix and me the day she drew the picture of us all, but I haven’t brought it up with her, not wanting to push it when there was already so much going on for her.
"Can he, Mommy? Pwease?"
"Can I what?" Max asks, coming in behind me, the puppy bounding in close at his heels.
"Will you read me a story tonight, Daddy?" The air in the room freezes, and Max's whole body turns rigid. His gaze swings to me, and I'm blown away by what I see there.
Need.
Longing.
He wants that … he wants to be her dad. His eyes beg for me to tell him that this is okay, that I'm okay with it.
I can't speak, tears have me choking up, so all I can do is nod, silently telling him that I’m good with it if he is.
Thank you. He mouths the words before turning toward the bed and picking up the storybook from the side as he goes. He leans over the bed, making sure that Cass is tucked in tightly just how she likes it. He drops a soft kiss to her head as he settles in next to her to tell her the story. Doesn't he know it should be me thanking him? After all, he's the one who is giving me the chance to live this beautiful life.
I can't look away from the scene before me. Not when it's a dream come true. A dream I thought I was never going to get, one that was almost cruelly stolen from me. He stays there, the low, reassuring rumble of his voice continuing the story even after she's fallen asleep.
Seeing him like this makes me ache to give him the baby he keeps asking me for, and I know now that I've been an idiot for making him wait. I wanted to do it right, especially after the unconventional way we started. I didn't want to get married right after his divorce was final; I wanted it to be more special than that.
But watching the man I love being a father to my child, I know that I'm done waiting. I don't care what others might think, or what they might say. I'm ready to take the leap into forever with him because I know without question that he'll be there to catch me.
* * *
Picking the puppy up from where he's napping on Cass' bed, I make sure she's tucked in tightly. After the bomb she dropped on me tonight when she called me dad, I'm tempted to sit here all night just to watch her sleep.
Dad.One word, three short letters that pack enough of a punch to have me fighting back fucking tears. That precious little girl, the one who has burrowed her way so deep inside my heart, wants me to be her father? I'm the luckiest son of a bitch alive right now.
Locking the still nameless puppy into his crate, I make my way into our bedroom, expecting to see Darcey curled up under the covers with a book. Instead, she's kneeling in the middle of our bed waiting for me.
"I want to get married," she blurts out, stopping me in my tracks.
"Say that again," I demand.
"I want to marry you. I don't want to wait anymore."
I'm on her before the words are past her lips. "There's no going back now," I warn her, pushing her down to the bed as I start to strip her out of her clothes. "Once we do this, you're mine forever. You and Cassidy. No going back."
"No, no going back," she agrees, lifting her face to mine so I can steal the kiss she’s offering.
"Are you going to be mine?" I ask when she's finally naked and underneath me.
"Forever," she breathes as I slide inside her.
"Love you," I tell her, knowing down to my bones that I'll devote every second of the time I'm alive making sure she never doubts that for even one minute.
THE END