“We just might.” Reid grins proudly.
“I think we might,” I say, smiling at Coral.
“Thanks for keeping an eye on her. I’m going to go see what my wife needs from me.” He rushes off. Admittedly, in the beginning, I’d been worried about him being the one my daughter chose. Not because of the kind of man he is, but because of his career. Reid, though, makes it work. He gives all the time he’s not on the field to his girls, and I’m damn proud to call him my son-in-law.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still weird seeing him with my daughter, but she’s always smiling and watching him like he hung the moon. As her father, that smile is all I’ll ever want for her.
“Come give Grandpa a hug,” I tell Coral. Once the other kids get here, and the rest of the guests, I won’t have this one-on-one time with her. Her little legs carry her to me as fast as she can, and she crashes into my chest, her arms wide open. I wrap her in my arms and lift her off her feet, making her giggle.
Damn, do I love that sound.
“Happy birthday, my precious girl,” I say, giving her another squeeze.
“Cake!” she cheers, and I laugh.
“That’s right. Cake, and presents, and your friends are coming over to play.”
“Pway!” she says, before climbing off my lap and rushing back across the room to grab her football. She tosses it again, and it falls just a few feet in front of her this time. I stand to grab it and toss it back when the doorbell rings.
“Coral, there’s someone here for your birthday,” I tell her.
“Ber-day!” She rushes toward the front door. I intercept, scooping her up into my arms, as we make our way to the front door.
Pulling open the door, I see a frazzled Amanda standing on the porch. She’s loaded down with her daughter, Mia, on her hip, two gift bags, a diaper bag, and another that looks like it’s got some food inside. “Hey, Amanda, let me help.”
Leaning in, I manage to take Mia from her mom with my free arm and place her on my opposite side from where Coral is perched. Coral reaches out to take her hand, and Mia giggles.
I laugh with them as I step back, allowing Amanda room to come inside out of the cold. “Come in,” I tell her.
“Thanks, Mr. Warner.” She gives me a tired smile.
“It’s Will,” I remind her. “Or Coach. Mr. Warner makes me sound older than I am.” I laugh.
“Oh, stop,” Amanda says, before blowing her hair out of her eyes. “Age is just a number, right?”
“That’s what they tell me.”
“Thank you for helping.” She places her bags on the floor. “I can take her.” She nods toward her daughter in my arms.
“I’ve got this. Get settled, Momma. Take a breather. I’m going to be right over here, supervising these littles.” I give her a smile, letting her know I don’t mind helping, and move back to the large toy basket. I set Coral on her feet, and she dances around, pointing at Mia, saying, “Baby,” when she’s just a baby herself.
Lowering myself to the floor with Mia in my arms, I settle her on my lap, her back to my front so that she can see Coral, but she turns her head to peer up at me. I’m a little worried she’s going to start crying. Her lip quivers, but then something happens I wasn’t expecting. This precious little gem smiles at me.
Mia twists on my lap, so I turn her and help her stand. She holds on to my fingers. Her tiny feet are pressing into my thighs as her legs bounce up and down. Her smile grows, and a giggle escapes her lips.
“Aren’t you the sweetest thing?” I tell her with a laugh.
“Daddy!” Coral exclaims as she takes off running as fast as those tiny legs can carry her, crashing into her dad. Reid swoops down, lifts her up, and tosses her over his shoulder. She cackles with laughter, and Mia laughs, too.
“She’s funny, huh?” I ask the baby.
“Thank you again,” Amanda says, coming back into the room. “I’ll take her.” She reaches her arms out, but Mia turns her head and snuggles into my chest.
I chuckle and wrap my arms around her. “She’s fine, Amanda. Take a break.”
Reid and Bellamy have clued me in to what’s been going on in her life. Her now-ex-husband was cheating on her with his secretary, something we all suspected because he was never around, and got her pregnant. They were in the process of adopting Mia, and Amanda went through with the adoption on her own.
She’s now a single mom, doing it all on her own, so she needs to take advantage of moments like this when someone else is around to help lighten the load.