“I panicked and turned it around on her. Asked what she wanted to call me.”
“Ah, their creepy twin-thing makes sense now.”
“It does?”
“Yup. Reagan won’t do anything without Rogan. She knows he only acted out before because he’s afraid to care. She’ll wait for him to give in.”
“How long will that take?”
“Fine,” Rogan grumped.
“Not long,” Sloane snickered.
“We want to call you Daddy,” Reagan announced.
Daddy.
My heart stopped, then restarted, galloping faster than was considered healthy. Holy shit. I was somebody’s Daddy––not just one somebody, double it. Until that exact moment, it hadn’t felt real. I found myself at a crossroads with my biggest fear front and center, staring me in the face. Would I be a good father? Guess we were about to find out.
Sloane
I couldn’t have been more proud of my girl if she’d won gold at the Olympics. She didn’t know the impact her words would have on the man sitting to my left, but I did. From the soft gasp he took to the faint tremor of his hand, he was genuinely shook, in a good way, of course. Duncan swallowed once, then twice, likely trying to find his voice. Reagan had that effect on people, especiallywhen she was beaming from ear to ear, the way she was doing then.
“I’d like that very much,” he choked out.
Dang it all to heck. My eyes were gonna leak again.
“Can I ask you somefing?”
“Anything.”
“Do you like puppies?”
“Reagan Leigh!”
She had the audacity to look offended. “What?”
“We hab to know.” My son argued his sister’s case.
I glared at Duncan, who was hiding a grin behind his hand. They’d run roughshod over him if he didn’t learn how to be stern when the situation called for it. Yes, they were adorable, and smart, and the best freaking kids on the planet, but when they wanted something badly enough, they could be manipulative monsters. And what they wanted most was a puppy.
“Don’t encourage them.”
“Sorry.” He coughed, then answered his daughter. “I’ve never had a puppy.”
“Us eider,” she pouted.
Their birthday was coming up. Little did they know, their furry wishes and four-legged dreams would be coming true. Mine too, actually. Mom was allergic to dander, therefore the only animal allowed in my house growing up was the occasional goldfish. In my opinion, caring for a pet would help teach the twins about responsibility and compassion. It was a life lesson that would hopefully follow them into adulthood, making them better human beings.
Finn found a litter of puppies a few towns over that would be ready for adoption in a few weeks. He showed me pictures and that was it. Then, like a responsible pet owner, I researched the breed. They were protective, good withkids, and didn’t require a lot of grooming. All check marks in my book. What had me second-guessing the whole idea was their size. Those precious wrinkly babies were going to be massive, as in a hundred fifty plus pounds of drool and muscle. It was too late to back out. I was in love.
The rest of the afternoon flowed smoothly compared to the chaos of our morning. Rogan even dropped his bratty act for a bit, asking Duncan a question or two about his job. He answered each one, only hesitating when Reagan brought up his family.
“I think that’s enough for today.”
“It’s okay, Sunshine.” He laced his fingers through mine, squeezing once as he explained. “I don’t remember my mom or dad. They died when I was really young.”
Death wasn’t a subject either of the kids was familiar with. They’d never had to deal with losing someone they loved. From the look on their faces, their seven-year-old minds were appropriately processing the information, while also struggling with how to proceed. Reagan, with her empathetic heart, took the lead.