The three of us head down the stairs. “Can we play with Kel-Kels?” Russ asks.
He gestures toward the living room. Kelly is sitting in her ball pit, Dad in the armchair with a paperback in his hand, eyes flitting over to Kelly and then to us. He smiles warmly, and for the thousandth time, I mutter a silent thank you that he was able to accept my and Maxton’s relationship.
“Go on. I’ll watch these crazy boys,” Dad calls out.
They rush over to him. “Grampy, Grampy, want to see my wrestling move?”
I walk over to my dad, lean down, and kiss him on the cheek. “I’m glad you came over. I’ll get started on dinner now if you’re hungry?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
After saying hello to Kelly – our cuter-than-a-button two year old – I leave the living room and head into the kitchen. A light autumn rain patters against the glass as I lay out all the ingredients for dinner.
Maxton walks in, cradling Lily to his chest. Our newest addition is only a couple of months old. My heart quivers when I see my husband, still in his dress shirt from some weekend work, sleeves rolled up, looking sturdier and more secure than the day I met him.
He smiles at me as he rocks Lily, wandering over, walking in that careful way he does whenever he’s holding one of our babies. I remember the way he cried as he cradled Genny for the first time, emotion bursting out of him. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it.
“Need any help?” he asks.
“That’s funny. I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
He chuckles softly, handing me Lily. I cradle her and Maxton wraps his big arms around us both, holding us to his chest. “I missed you all so much today. But that’s not saying much. I always miss you.”
“We missed you too,” I whisper.
“I love you, Maddie.” He kisses my forehead tenderly. “To the stars…”
“And back. Always.”
As the sound of Russ and Alex wrestling reaches us, and the rain patters against the glass and dad laughs warmly, my husband cradles us even tighter.
I close my eyes and think about the scared girl who never thought Smolder would want her and thank the stars I took a chance on our gamer love.