His Little Sunshine by Della Cain

Epilogue

Quinn

Do you want to sit here with your treehouse, or do you want to wait downstairs for your friend?” I was squatting beside Brad as he played with his gnome-and-troll dollhouse shaped like a giant tree.

When he sat down to design this room, I knew he needed to have a dollhouse and, through the wonders of the Internet, I was able to find an artist who would custom make them in any design you wanted. Not giving it to my Sunshine until his birthday had been the hardest part of it all.

“Papa Troll is getting ready to play a game with the fairies.” He didn’t look up at all, fully immersed in his game, which was good. I’d been worried when he asked to have his first playdate. Not that he wouldn’t have fun but that it might be too hard for him to fully let go.

That was why I encouraged him not to have Declan over for an afternoon. They were like brothers, but also they were work partners. There were too many things that could distract my boy, and I wanted today to be as perfect as possible.

“Okay, Sunshine.” I kissed the top of his head. “Call Daddy if you need him.”

He didn’t answer, too busy lining the fairies up on the tree branches. A flying game it was.

I went downstairs and double-checked things in the kitchen. I had found the most adorable bento-type snacks on the Internet and done my best to recreate them. All of the items were animal themed, from cheese cut out like lions to boiled eggs turned into mice to picks featuring farm animals decorating the tiny sandwiches. There were even bear-shaped popsicles in the freezer if they wanted more.

As far as the playdate went, I had no idea if they were going to play for ten minutes or an hour or even more. But I had every confidence that with his first little date being Evan, it would be a sweet memory for him. Evan had a way of making all feel cherished and accepted. Plus, he brought candy.

They pulled up a few minutes later, and I greeted them at the door.

“There is always construction,” Sebastian teased. Although he wasn’t wrong. They were always tearing something or another up.

“I brought prezzies.” Evan held up a bag from his store. “They’re little treats. Lollipops and gummies and candy shaped like bricks.”

“Evan?” Sebastian prodded.

“There are truffles for the daddies.”

I tried to hold in my amusement as I accepted the bag. “Thank you. These will be much enjoyed. If you want to get changed in the bedroom at the top of the stairs, I can show you the nursery when you’re done. Brad is super excited about you coming over.”

They went up the stairs, and I filled two sippy cups with watered-down apple juice. They were about to have enough sugar for a week. They didn’t need it in their juice, too. I met them as they were coming out of the bedroom and showed them the one we’d turned into the nursery.

It had been quite a project that included moving a wall and adding a door, but the end result was perfect. Brad still had his place in the city, and he needed it. His work couldn’t all be done here, but this place was home. And, at the end of the day, that was what mattered.

I opened the door to find Brad still at his tree house. “Sunshine, your friend is here.” He crawled right over, his onesie featuring a fae king that looked nothing like one. But he’d asked me to draw him, and I tried. He said it was perfect because it was drawn with love. I couldn’t deny him that. Everything I did for him was done with love.

Evan went to his knees to be on his level. “I brought candy blocks, but my Bastian says it’s for later.” Evan pouted.

“My daddy would, too. He likes me healthy.” Brad rolled his eyes. “Wanna see my new room?”

“Yeah.” He and Evan crawled off.

I set the sippy cups down on the little mushroom table and waved Sebastian over to the love seat. This room was definitely more a playroom than a nursery. There was no crib, no changing table. It did have a couple of foldable cushion-type pieces that were all the rage and could become a “bed” if needed, but really it was all about playtime.

“This is impressive.” Sebastian sat next to me. “Who’s the artist?”

“Someone Brad and Declan know from work, a Cody, I think. They were only here two days.” And somehow they managed to turn the walls into a masterpiece. “They even managed to make my doodles look good.”

Brad had saved each and every one I had drawn for him and made sure they were incorporated into the design. It was like a ginormous search puzzle.

“The whole thing looks amazing. I can see why they are in such high demand. This place shouts Brad.” He was right. It did.

Evan and Brad settled down in the building corner. “Brad likes to build things.”

“And Evan likes to knock them down.” Sebastian chuckled.

Sure enough, once there was a tower, down it went. Over and over again, until Brad declared it snack time.

“You have to clean up first, Sunshine.”

“But I want to play more after I eat.” He was already picking up the blocks. He enjoyed the idea of possibly being bratty but not enough to follow through. He loved being praised and cuddled too much to risk it. Not that I’d ever withhold affection as a consequence, but he grew up with that very much the case, and I understood why it was an automatic response.

“After lunch, I thought you wanted to make playdough.”

Those blocks were put away so quickly, if you blinked, you’d have missed them.

The playdate lasted three hours, Brad all in until the very last second. Had we not promised to attend a grill-out at the main house, they’d probably have played longer.

Evan and Sebastian left ahead of us. Brad enjoyed his aftercare almost as much as his playtime, and I told them we’d meet them in a bit.

“Thank you for my playdate, Daddy.”

I helped him up and off the bed, his body now completely naked, all of his little clothing in the laundry basket.

“I’m glad you had fun.”

“I did, but I got very sticky eating my lollipop. I should probably take a shower so the bugs don’t pester me at dinner because I smell so sweet.” He grabbed my belt loops and pulled me to him in one swift, sexy move. “Maybe you can help me clean up.”

“I think I can manage that, but I might need to get you dirty first.” I nibbled on his bottom lip. “Would you like that, Sunshine?” I wrapped my hand around his already-stirring cock. “Would you?”

“We’ll be late for steak.” He was already reaching for my jeans.

“Truth.”

“I had a big snack.” And down the zipper went. “My daddy always takes care of me, you see.” He pushed the jeans over my hips and let them drop to the floor. “I think he loves me more than steak.”

“I know he loves his Sunshine more than anything.”

“Good.” He grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it up and over my head then let it fall to the floor. “Because that’s how much I love you, too, Daddy.” He sealed his lips to mine.

Spoiler alert: We missed the steak. Worth it.

Want to spend more time with everyone from Country Daddy/City Little series and some familiar faces from Collared Ever After? Click here for Touch of Gray, Country Daddy/City Little Book 3