Chapter Twenty-Four

I"m drinking my coffee, waiting for Daisy to come into the kitchen. I"m going to ask her to do something with me. Something I"ve never asked of anyone else. My hand slightly shakes as I bring the cup to my lips. I"m beyond nervous.

She shuffles into the kitchen, hair a mess, and smile sleepy. This is my favorite way of seeing her. It"s special because only I get to see her this way. "Morning." She yawns, wrapping her arms around herself. "How long have you been up?"

I push a cup of coffee across the table toward her. "Not long. That"s still hot."

Glancing outside, she smiles. "It looks warm out there for the first time in months. Have you been out yet?"

"Yeah, went to go grab the mail, and it is warm. Which is good, because I have something I"d like for both of us to do today."

"Oh yeah?"

I gather all of my courage and forge ahead on asking what I"ve wanted to. "Do you think you"d like to come to The Hamilton Foundation with me today? On Saturday"s that are nice, we like to get all the kids out onto the playground and get them some sun."

She smiles so wide, there"s slight dimples in her cheeks. "I"d love to, but can you explain to me a bit more about what The Hamilton Foundation is? You"ve talked about it, and I know it means a lot to you, but I haven"t learned much about it myself."

I tend to explain it in a way that shows how emotionally attached I am to this program, so I try to keep all of that out of my voice when I talk to her. "We tend to work with underserved youth and families, but the families have to be under a certain income limit. During the week and on Saturdays the foundation provides free childcare and activities to keep the kids occupied while the parents get things done. We can only service around twenty at a time, but I love going to spend time with them." I run my fingers through my hair. "I"m fully aware that my situation was completely different, but I was left alone a lot as a child, and I hated it. I wanted to be around children my own age and to be doing fun things. It was really important to me to be able to offer that."

"And that"s what you did." She reaches across the table, grabbing hold of my hand.

"Damn straight. The kids who qualify don"t pay anything. They count on these afternoons with their friends and the counselors that help them. Which is why I couldn"t let this go away. It means too much to me, and them."

Daisy pushes her hair back from her face. "If it means that much to you, then it means that much to me, too. I would love to go with you today. Please show me what you do for fun and let me in on a part of your childhood."

"It scares me," I admit softly. "Letting you see a part of what made me who I am, but at the same time, I know you have to see it. I hope it helps you understand me better."

She gets up, coming over to wrap her arms around my neck. I scoot back in my chair, allowing her to sit in my lap. I close my arms around her and burrow my face in her hair. This is what feels like home to me. She"s it, the peace I"ve been searching for my entire life.

"Don"t be scared." Her nails scratch against my scalp. "I want you to share everything with me. I"ve wanted this for longer than you can even imagine. Thank you for finally trusting me enough."

The scary part is I"m not sure that I actually do, but I"m willing to push all of that to the side because I want to experience all of this with her. I"m sick of doing things on my own. She"s my partner in life, and it"s time I start treating her like it. "Thanks for being patient with me. We gotta get a move on. You mind eating with the kids?"

Her laugh is throaty and indulgent. "I eat with kids every day. This is no different."

"Then let"s go." I hitch my head toward the door.

* * *

"I"ll get it for you." I put a hand on Daisy"s thigh across the center console. "Don"t touch that door." I don"t know what the fuck is coming out of my mouth, but initiating her into this portion of my life, makes me want to do all the things I should"ve done before. She deserves the best and I want to give her that. I hop out and jog across the front of my truck. When I get over to the passenger side, I open the door, and reach up with my hand for her.

"I don"t know what"s going on with you." She laughs. "But I like it a lot."

Closing my hand around hers, I pull her out, before dropping my hands to span her hips. "I"m trying to be the man you deserve," I admit softly.

"You don"t have to try." Her hands come up to palm my cheeks. "You are the man I deserve. I want you to be someone you"re proud of." Leaning in, she drops a kiss against my lips.

I"ve never been the type of person who enjoys public displays of affection. More than likely because I never saw my grandfather with anyone when I was younger. But I"m learning by watching Boone and Abel with the women they love. They don"t shy away from showing the world what those women mean everything to them. Maybe that"s what I"ve been missing my entire life?

That"s why I take the kiss I"ve wanted all morning. I crush her to me, covering her mouth with mine. She makes a little noise in the back of her throat, and melts against me. It"s hard, but I pull away, before rolling my lips together and pressing my forehead to hers. "Not the time, and not the place, but it was worth it."

She giggles. "Definitely worth it. C"mon, show me what this place is about."

Daisy

I"m watching a different man as he sits patiently, letting one of the little girls put stickers on his face. If I hadn"t loved him before now, this would seal the deal.

"Daisy?" the little girl named Amaya shrieks over at me. "Should I put one here?" She points to his chin.

"I don"t know if it would stick because of his whiskers. Why don"t you put it here?" I point to his forehead.

"Sure, let"s make it to where more people can see." Jasper laughs. "Go right ahead."

He"s griping, but it"s good-natured. "Put it on there, and I"ll take a picture," I offer, holding my phone up.

The girl scoots in, smiling so wide you can see that she"s lost a couple of teeth. He puts his arm around her, smiling along with her. It"s a look I"ve never seen on his face before. A joy I"ve always wanted to witness, but never been able to. "Say, cheese," he tells her.

It takes me a minute, but I finally take the picture, and swallow hard. What I just saw could be our future if the two of us end up having a girl. God help me, I want it more than anything.