Graham
“Alright ladies,daddy’s about to teach you two something.”
Charlotte and Quinn are sitting in their bumbo seats, looking at me like I’ve got three eyes and two heads, but fuck it, that’s what dads are for, right?
I grin and kiss both of their chubby cheeks before I step back and gesture to the big green tractor behind me.
“This is a John Deere tractor, and it is one of the finest pieces of farming equipment you’ll ever find.”
Quinn blows raspberries and spit bubbles, while Charlotte keeps sticking her tongue out adorably. I guess in the last few days she’s realized she’s got one, and she keeps sticking it out like she’s trying to touch the tip of her nose. It’s so fucking cute I can’t handle it.
I swear when they fart, I’m like, “aw, baby girls.”
I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I do know that these girls are my saving grace. My girls and their mama are the only thing keeping me in one piece right now. As much as I want the girls to spend time with Ma, she just hasn’t had the strength. Chemo and radiation is wearing on her, and she’s been spending more time than not sleeping. Allie and I both have had to force her to drink chicken broth, just to get something in her.
My stomach lurches, thinking about Ma, but I’m trying to focus on the girls. I keep telling myself that no matter what, they need their daddy in one piece. When I woke up this morning, all I wanted was my girls.
I got their pink onesies out, and matching blue jean overalls, and dressed them for Daddy’s day out on the farm.
“Now, this machine can do lots of things. It can help with planting and plowing. Fertilizing and harvesting crops. Quinn, are you paying attention to Daddy?”
More baby babble. Okay, looks like I've still got their attention. Good. Good.
“Alright and...”
The door to the barn opens, and Emery slips inside.
Ugh, Jesus fucking Christ. She’s wearing this pale yellow, flimsy little sundress that ties around her neck and pushes her tits up, completely making me lose my train of thought.
Tractors.
Fertilizing.
Mmmm, fertilizing my baby mama-
“Graham,” Emery says, snapping her fingers in front of me, “Did you hear me?”
I shake my head, trying to erase the daydream of Emery on all fours in front of me and smirk. “Well, you walked in with that little dress on and I was having a daydream about a picnic on the hill up there. Completely,” I lean forward and whisper, so the girls can’t hear me, “naked.”
She throws her head back and laughs, a sing-song sound that I fucking love. God, I love her laugh.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Okay baby, hit me, me and the girls are in the middle of a very important conversation. We’re discussing different farming equipment.”
Her blue eyes roll. “You do realize they’re only four months old, right?”
Shrugging, I pull her to me and steal a quick kiss, which turns into a breathless one quickly, but I pull back and try to restrain myself. “Never too early to learn farming basics, Davidson.”
Emery looks at me then back at the girls. She chews her bottom lip nervously.
Wait, why does she look so nervous?
“Spill it,” I say, eyebrows raised. I cross my arms over my chest and wait.
“I want to get married. Like…reallymarried. No longer pretend but married, for real.”
I’m pretty sure I’m asleep, and I’m fucking dreaming because there’s no way Emery Davidson is standing in front of me saying she wants to get married.