A Million Different Ways to Lose You (Horn Duet 2)

I push the wet tangle of long blonde hair off my daughter’s face while she chatters on about how many laps she swam, and how she wants me to time her while my son screams at the top of his lungs, which at the moment seem to be much larger than his small body. My wife’s warm, brown eyes meet mine. There are no words, just a profound understanding of what a gift we’ve been given. “Is this what you wanted?” she asks, her question barely comprehensible over the sound of our children.

“This is everything,” I say as I stare at the woman who brought me back to life, who erased the quiet with laughter, and filled the emptiness with love.

“You better amend that edict,” she mutters cryptically.

Panic sets in. So does a weight pressing down on my chest. “What? Why?”

“Because I’m pregnant again, that’s why.”

“Holy shit.” The panic vanishes only to be replaced with a hot lump of fuck knows what that gets stuck in my throat. I take two deep breaths. But damn, I gotta get a handle on this shit.

“Daddy,” my daughter scolds. “You said another swear word.”

“I’m sorry, Love. How much do I owe the swear jar now?”

“A lot––like a lot a lot.” My daughter’s face is very serious. I try like hell not to smile. “It’s okay, Daddy. If you don’t have any more, Mommy can help you,” she tells me while she pats my cheeks, not very gently by the way. One glance at my wife and I know she’s desperately trying to look serious and failing. And then I start laughing, and she laughs right along with me.