Risking Fate (46 page)
“Hi, Daddy.” She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“Princess, Daddy wants to give you something special before everyone gets here. Are you ready to open it?”
Izzy climbed over on my lap and gave me her best efforts at a smile. I handed her the little box with a bow
on
top and couldn’t contain the smile on my face. I looked up at Miranda, who was winking at me. She’d gone with me to pick out the perfect present for our daughter, but when I saw this particular gift, I knew I had to get it for her. She opened
the little box and pulled out the tiny gold chain that held the personalized heart charm on it.
Izzy had been asking for big girl jewelry like her mother wore. The little charm said Daddy’s Little Girl on the front, but on the back I had it inscribed.
Isabella Mitchell
She gave me a big smile as she held it up to me. “Put it on, Daddy.”
“Do you like it?” Miranda came and sat on the opposite side of Iz.
Izzy nodded her head. “Now I have real jewelry like you, Mommy.”
I was reaching around her neck and hooking the clasp. “It says ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’, because that’s what you are.”
She giggled, “I know.” She looked down and grabbed the necklace so she could look at the charm. “It says my name too.
“It’s the only necklace in the whole world that says your name on it. Daddy wanted you to know how special you are to him.”
I wrapped my arms around her little waist and kissed her on the cheek. “The day you were born was one of the happiest days of Daddy’s life. I just can’t believe it was five years ago.”
She rolled her little eyes. “I know, Daddy.”
I started tickling her. “I just don’t want you to ever forget it, silly girl.”
When Noah came running into the room, we knew it was time to start getting the house ready for the party. Colt and Van were at her parents, but everyone else was staying at my parents. It was only a matter of time before they all started showing up.
Our daughter was going to be spoiled with gifts in just a short while and my wife was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, trying to have the house perfect. The twins were finally starting to be in a good enough routine where she could get things done while they napped. Of course, sometimes she took a nap with them.
I was really looking forward to spending my life working on the family farm and being able to spend more time with my kids. The boys were starting to smile when I talked to them and I loved watching them grow every single day.
Izzy came out of her room dressed in a tutu with some glittery shirt. She looked ridiculous, but was proud of her outfit. “Daddy, do you like my birthday outfit?”
Miranda came out of the room behind her. She lifted her eyebrows when she saw the look on my face. “Mommy bought that for you?”
“Yep!” she twirled around, causing the skirt to fly up.
Before I could even comment, Miranda approached me. “Tell her how pretty she looks,” she said quietly.
I put my face into her hair next to her ear. “She looks ridiculous, Baby. Please tell me you didn’t pick that out.”
She pulled away and laughed. “Bella picked that out herself. I think she did a great job.” She said it loud enough that Iz could hear. She got a big smile on her face as she continued twirling around.
I leaned down and kissed my daughter. “You look pretty in anything you wear, Sweetie.”
I saw Conner walking in the house and seeing Izzy’s outfit for the first time. He looked as shocked as I did. I walked past him into the
kitchen. He kept looking at her in the multi-pink colored tutu and bright green glitter shirt. “Don’t ask.”
He laughed and leaned against the counter. “It’s your kid. Anywhoo, I got the surprise in the barn, so let me know when it’s time and I will bring it in.”
“Sounds good, Bro, thanks.”
The family showed up a little while later and the house filled with chaos. The twins were in rare form and crying every time someone tried to hold them. Christian was trying to walk all over the place, even though she didn’t have it mastered yet.
All of the sudden a loud scream was coming from the bedroom. Izzy came running out crying her eyes out. “Mommy!”
Miranda was feeding Jake and gave me that look where I needed to get my ass up and attend to the kids or I was getting cut off for a week. I sat down my beer and rolled my eyes as I walked away from Colt and Conner. I could hear them making fake whip sounds as I headed in the direction of my daughter. I held up the middle finger behind my back as I walked.
“What’s wrong, Iz?”
“Noah pinched me.” She screamed at the top of her lungs and pointed to her red-face cousin.
I could hear Colt across the room. “Noah, get your little butt over here right now!”
“Why did Noah pinch you?” She obviously made him mad about something.
She was still dramatically crying. “I don’t know.”
Colt grabbed my nephew by his shirt collar and drug him over to me and Iz. “Tell her you’re sorry.”
Noah put his head down and I could tell he was pretty scared of his dad. “Sorry, Bells.”
I nudged Noah and made him look at me. “Why’d you pinch her?”
“Cause she said that I smelled like a turd.”
Colt and I let out a cackle. “A turd? Iz, did you say that?”
She shrugged her shoulders and started twirling around again. Van squatted down in front of them. She held up her damn fancy ass camera. “Let’s hug and makeup.”
Colt and I rolled our eyes and got up to leave her with the two trouble makers. Once we got back in the kitchen, we found Conner talking to Amy. They moved away from each other as we approached. Colt cocked his eyebrow but said nothing, until Amy walked away. “You got it bad.”
“I ain’t got shit.” Conner sat down and attempted to not look as Amy sat down next to Miranda.
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Don’t let your sister catch you. I had to threaten to spank her if she said anything to Amy today, but I have to warn you, I think she wants me to spank her anyway. I guess I should have threatened her with something she doesn’t enjoy so much.
I heard the two guys make comments under their breath and started laughing myself. Izzy sat down on the floor and started opening her presents. Of course, she opened the largest boxes first, because she was a kid and thought the best presents were in the largest packages.
The whole family had coordinated her gifts this year. She wanted one of those dolls that looked like her. My family took that as a go ahead to buy her every single thing that you could buy that went with the doll. After all of the boxes were open, she had the doll, a friend for her doll, a giant dollhouse, with a bedroom suite, a living room, a bathroom and a
salon. She also got a horse for both dolls and a scooter. Even Noah was excited and they immediately began playing.
We were still having a party for her friends at school, but our family wanted something separate and that was fine by me.
I nudged Colt. “Look, your son is playing with dolls. You better make sure he doesn’t go home and try on tutus.”
“Shut up, idiot. They are just kids.”
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”
Christian had held on to everything she could to reach her father. Colt picked her up onto his lap and kissed her little face. “Here’s my favorite girl.”
I watched him giving her his best baby voice. “You made fun of me for the way I was with my daughter. Now I think you actually get it.”
Colt played with his daughter’s little dress. “Yeah, I get it.”
“I have to say, our lives are pretty perfect.” It was the truth. My wife and children made every single day unforgettable. I looked over at Miranda and caught her winking at me. I sat there mesmerized with her; until I realized she was giving me the signal to bring in Izzy’s other gift. I
held my hand up and flagged down Conner. He ran outside and within two minutes the room filled with my daughter screaming again, except this time, she was excited.
A little chocolate lab puppy was being carried in by her uncle. I walked over to where Miranda sat as he bought the puppy to me. “Izzy, this is your other present from me and Mommy. You have to name her and promise to help Daddy train her.”
She grabbed the poor puppy and hugged it way too tight. Everyone in the room thought it was the cutest thing. “Can she sleep in my bed?”
Miranda giggled. “After she is potty trained.”
Izzy looked at me. “How do we teach her to go in the toilet?”
Everyone in the room laughed. “She has to go outside, Sweetie. Doggies potty outside.”
“But what if it’s raining?” She looked up at me like I was the freaking Wizard of Oz and had all the answers.
“They still go outside.”
“But what if it’s too cold?”
“Iz, just think of a name and don’t worry about that right now. How about you take your puppy out front with Noah.” I had to get her to stop asking her normal fifty million questions. Our family had come along way and I knew that was the last thing they wanted to hear.
I watched her and Noah carrying the puppy outside. In five minutes they would be back inside asking if they could take it for a ride on the tractor or something ridiculous. The two of them together spelled trouble.
My mother in law stood up and grabbed John’s hand. “I’m getting married!”
Miranda put her hand over her mouth before congratulating her mother. Everyone took turns shaking John’s hand and hugging Karen. The room was filled with voices, but one thing I noticed was that Conner was missing and so was Amy.
Before I could mention something to Miranda and get him back for having our daughter walk in on us, Colt cleared his voice. He held up a beer in the air. “Welcome to the family, John.”
Van walked over to Colt and looked around the room. “Oh and I’m pregnant again!”
The room immediately got quiet. Colt and Van just stood there, with big smiles on their faces.
I smacked Colt on the back and held up my beer. “Here’s to sleepless nights and a house full of cock blocks.”
As the family began to celebrate both an engagement and a new pregnancy, I pulled my wife into the hallway. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I gently pressed her against the wall. She slowly brought her lips up to mine and held them there. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Sex?
“I don’t know? Are you thinking about going into the bathroom and giving me head?”
She smacked my chest. “No!”
I ran my fingers over her soft lips. “I’m just kidding. I know what you’re thinking and as soon as everyone leaves, I will give you whatever you want.”
She kissed me one more time. “I hope I don’t have
to
o
wait
long.”
“We could go into the bathroom and have an oral conversation while we wait.” Miranda and I peeked around the corner and noticed that our boys were being held and nobody was looking for us. I felt my wife tugging my arm and before I knew it the bathroom door was closing behind us.
End of Book Four
Look For Wanting More Jan 2013
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Jennifer
Foor
lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her husband and two children. She enjoys shooting pool, camping and catching up on cliché movies that were made in the eighties.
