Top Dog

I dashed down the stairs like a bat out of hell.

“Daddy!” Ava called from her seat at the table next to my wife.

She shot me a toothy grin, throwing her hands in the air as I passed by. I picked her up, and Ava squealed with delight, a high-pitched laughter bubbling up out of her. It was the best sound. I hugged her tight and spun her around. Shannon shook her head at our antics, trying not to laugh.

“Oh, you two. Sit, eat,” she said. “We're gonna be late as it is.” The frown lines on her beautiful face told me she meant business. She always had the cutest expressions when she was serious.

“Gotta do as mommy says. She’s the boss, you know?”

I kissed Ava on the head before putting her back down into her high chair. Her smile quickly turned upside down. Her second-year birthday had just passed, and she was growing up too damn quickly.

“Hey now, don't be sad, darlin',” I said. “You're gonna see daddy play guitar tonight. Won't that be fun?”

“Daddy plays guitar?” she said, eyes wide. “Can I play?”

“After the show, baby girl, promise,” I said, ruffling her blonde hair.

She'd gotten her blonde curls from her mama, but her big, brown eyes were all me.

“You’re gonna knock em dead, sweetheart,” Shannon said.

“Thank you,” I said, kissing her on the cheek.

“Be careful driving in the rain baby. I’d drive you myself, but I need to be there early for setup, and you’d be bored to death waiting for us. Just remember, there's a band on before me, so no need to rush.”

“Thank you, babe. We won’t wait too long. I want to get the best seat in the house. Hey, have I told you lately how proud I am of you?” Her blue eyes sparkling as she took my hand and squeezed it tight.

“You work all day in the fields, and then burn the midnight oil at night in practice. I don’t know how you do it. I'm in awe of you. Really babe.”

“You're both worth it, trust me. Besides, Paul’s my helping hand, and he helps to pick up where I leave off every day. Don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Shannon passed a delicious platter of meatloaf my way, and I loaded my plate up with steamed veggies on the side, along with a healthy dollop of mashed potatoes. She'd been trying to get me to eat greens for a while now, so I humored her and put a few pieces of broccoli on my plate – hidden behind the mountain-sized mound of mashed potatoes.

Shannon chuckled but didn't say anything, and I winked at her. “Hey, at least I'm eating some greens. Baby steps, darlin'.”

“Baby steps,” she said with a grin and chuckled at my comment. It always filled me up to see her laugh. Her smile went all the way to her eyes.

God, she was beautiful.

We had been high school sweethearts. Friends told us, first love, never last, but there we were – happily married with a daughter, and many more babies in our future – if I had my way.

I'd inherited my dad's grand ranch after he passed. It was a lot of upkeep, but it provided a good, steady living. We had a roof over our heads and food on our table, but I wanted more for my family. I wanted Ava to grow up knowing that she could follow her dreams, whatever those would be.

My dreams were obvious. Outside of being a father and husband, I wanted to play music – and make a living doing it. Sure, ranch life was nice, but music was what brought me to life.

As we ate, Shannon had to urge Ava to eat more veggies. The apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

“I wrote a song for you,” I said, looking directly at Shannon.

“You did?” she said, her cheeks flushing. “Another one?”

“I saved it for tonight,” I said. “About you and baby girl. You two have make me the luckiest man alive.”

Shannon leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. Her long, silken blonde hair was pressed against my face and smelled like orange blossoms. I kissed the top of her head, and we went back to eating.

I looked at the time. “Shit,” I muttered, then I noticed Ava watching me. “You didn’t heart that from me. Sorry, darlin'. I'm running late.”

I stood, plate in hand to take it into the kitchen, but Shannon stopped me. She grabbed my arm, and I stared down into those heavenly blue eyes of hers.